#(and danny has some misconceptions about her)

[wolfjackle-creates]

Bring Me Home Arc 3 Part 5

So it's been about 3 weeks since my promised update. Oops. Main issue was breaking my first bone as I'm sure most of you saw. On my right wrist, of course. And being right handed, meant I could barely type for that first week.

But also this is a transition section of the story. And I was struggling with how to best write said transition. I am finally happy with it, though. To make up for being so late, this is a long one! Hope you enjoy. The total word count for this arc is now up to 9.6k. Do with that as you will.

Story Summary: Jack and Maddie install a new ghost shield on the house which activates the moment Danny tries to step into his home. His secret is out and his parents are determined to excise the ghost from their son.

Luckily Danny isn't alone. The Young Justice, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz aren't going to leave him to suffer.

Arc 1: AO3

Arc 2: AO3; Tumblr - First, Last

Arc 3: First, Previous

Word Count: 3.6k (Told you it was a long one!)

-----

Pain was a constant through the rest of that never-ending drive. Danny would wake screaming from the nightmares only to continue screaming from the pain.

Tim was there every time. His words were soft and soothing, even when Danny couldn’t make out their meaning between the throbbing of his human chest and aching core. Any time he woke, Tim did his best to force ectoplasm and liquid foods down his throat. If Danny couldn’t manage even that much, he was given more of Frostbite’s ice chips.

When they finally, finally stopped for the last time, Danny cried in relief. Kon carried him out of the van, a blanket under him as a makeshift stretcher. TTK meant that he was held perfectly flat even though Kon was only holding one end.

Tim’s worried face peered down at him. “Kon’s going to fly you up, okay? I’ll let you in through the window. I’ve disabled all cameras, so no one will see you.”

Danny think he nodded. He wanted to. He must’ve done something because Tim brushed his fingers across Danny’s forehead, nodded, and disappeared from view. Then Danny was leaving the van. For the first time in Clockwork only knew how long. It was daytime, but the sky was overcast and gray.

When Kon flew with him, it wasn’t the weightlessness of his own flight. Instead, he felt like they were fighting gravity. He hated it.

But it was only the matter of a few moments before they approached an open window and Kon carried him in. He was in too much pain to take in most of the room, but he did see a TV bigger than any he’d seen outside of Sam’s home theater.

Kon didn’t stop, and he was carried into another room—a bedroom As they approached the bed, the sheets folded back on their own. Kon set him down as gently as possible, but pain shot up from his chest at even the slight change of position.

He stopped breathing, even the movements of his lungs were too much. Instead he just let the pain wash over him. Wave after wave of it. Vaguely, he was aware of someone grabbing his hand, of voices above him.

Gloved hands pressed something cold to his lips and Danny gratefully took the ice and the numbing coolness it promised. Not enough for full relief, nothing could give that right now. But by the time it was gone, he could at least think through the pain.

This time when he opened his eyes, he saw Tim’s worried face, Kon standing behind him.

“Back with us?” asked Tim.

Danny grimaced and nodded. He tried a shallow breath. It hurt, but he could somewhat function through it. “Sorry.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to hear apologies from you for at least a month. This isn’t your fault.”

“Sorry,” Danny repeated.

Tim just huffed. “How’s the bed? Do you need anything? Extra pillows?”

Danny bit his lip and let himself feel. The bed was soft. As far from the feel of the exam table as it was possible to be. It was also leagues better than the camping mattress he’d been using in the van. Honestly, it was probably better than his mattress back home. And the pillow was the perfect height for lying on his back. “It’s good.”

The look Tim gave him made Danny think he wasn’t believed, but after a moment Tim just nodded. “If you’re sure. Now, Kon and I are going to have to change your bandages and reapply the necessary creams and poultices. After, I want you to try and eat a little more.”

Danny groaned, already dreading the procedure. But it had to be done. He ignored the tears he couldn’t stop and met Tim’s eyes. “Just do it.”

Kon grimaced. “I’ll make it quick.”

Danny tried to smile back but he knew he failed when neither Kon nor Tim looked any less concerned. “I know. Thanks.”

And it was true. Kon’s TTK made the process so much easier that it would have been otherwise. However, there was no way to make it entirely painless. Especially when removing the final layer. Danny couldn’t keep from crying out as the gauze stuck to his wounds. Finally, his chest was bared to the world. Danny trembled with the pain of it before gathering his courage and looking down.

This was his first time seeing his chest since he’d been pulled out of the lab. The incisions were inflamed and leaking, though they were already scabbing over. Green ectoplasm and red blood mingled in the secretions.

Tim and Kon didn’t wait for him to catalog every mark, however. They quickly passed jars of Frostbite’s concoctions to each other and set to work covering every area of his chest. Cold spread in the wake of their ministrations and Danny nearly wept in relief.

“This is already looking better, Danny,” said Tim.

Danny scoffed, then winced as it pulled at the injuries. He clenched his eyes shut as he reminded his body he didn’t need to breathe.

“He’s right,” said Kon. “I don’t think even I’d be healing this quickly from injuries like yours.”

Danny didn’t say anything as they continued to work. When they were done with the medications, Kon reapplied the bandages. Tim gave him another piece of ice which Danny took with relief.

Danny mumbled a thanks around the ice.

“Anytime,” said Kon. “Mind if I take a picture of you so everyone can see you’re safe in Gotham now? Sam’s been texting me non-stop asking for updates.”

Sam’s concern is what finally allowed Danny to smile for the first time since he’d returned home and his parents had learned his secret. “Pull up the sheet first. And just to her and Tuck and Jazz, please. I don’t want your entire team to see me like this.”

“’Course,” agreed Kon. Without Kon moving at all, the sheet rose up out of the blankets at the base of the bed and covered him up to his neck. Kon then took out his phone and snapped a photo before tapping at the screen.

Immediately it started ringing in his hands.

“Are you up for talking to them?” asked Tim.

Danny shook his head. “Want to, can’t.”

Kon waved him off. “I’ll tell them what’s up. Eat something and get some sleep.” Kon turned away. As he left the room, Danny hear him answer the phone with a, “Hey, babe,” before he shut the door, muffling all noise.

“Yogurt, applesauce, or pudding?” asked Tim once they were alone.

“Do I have to?”

“Yes. And another vial of ectoplasm.”

Danny sighed and asked for the applesauce. He only managed a few bites alternated with sips of ectoplasm before darkness pulled him under once more.

---

A throbbing pain slowly dragged him out of the blackness. He tried to cling to unconsciousness, but the throbbing was inescapable. With a quiet moan, he blinked awake in a dark room. For once, he was able to think past the pain. It was a constant, throbbing presence, but not as all consuming as it had been.

The mattress he was lying on was soft. So, so different to the hard table that had been his bed for those long hours in the lab. He twisted his head and rotated his jaw, relieved when the action wasn’t hindered by harsh restraints.

He was in Gotham, out of their reach. Tim was here and he was safe.

He was safe from his parents. His parents had— had— Danny’s breath caught and he couldn’t finish the thought. He pulled in a gasping breath. The ball in the back of his throat made it so hard to breathe.

He’d just… never thought they’d actually do it. He’d been so sure that once they realized who he was, they’d hug him and continue to love him. He couldn’t hold back the sob, loud in the silent room. His eyes burned and he didn’t even try to stop the tears.

Next to him, on the floor, blankets rustled and Danny tensed.

“Danny?” asked a sleepy voice from the floor. Tim was here?

“Sorry,” choked out Danny through ragged breaths. He was safe. His parents hated him. Nothing would ever be the same again.

“Don’t be.” The mattress dipped next to him as Tim sat down. “It’d be weird if you didn’t have a few breakdowns.”

“What’s going to happen to them?” Danny tried to wrap his arms around himself, but cried out at even the light pressure on his chest.

Tim pushed aside the thin sheet he’d been covered in and grabbed one of his hands. Danny clung to him until the sharp pain faded. And when it did, his breathing was more normal. His core still ached at the thought of his parents, but the physical pain had helped chase away the panic attack. At least for now.

“What’s going to happen to them?” he asked again; this time his voice was more stable.

“They’ve been picked up by the Justice League. Tucker is helping with getting all their files transferred to document their history. Jazz and Sam have been giving reports on their behavior, lab and home safety measures, and their actions. Others have begun questioning the general public on Amity. There’s currently a few magic users there trying to determine if they can shut down the portal.”

Something in Danny screamed out at the idea of the portal being gone and he tensed. “No! They can’t shut it down! Please, you can’t. It’s— I— you can’t.”

“What? What are you talking about? We have to at least look for a way to shut it down!”

He was crying. Why was he crying. “You can’t,” Danny repeated. “If it’s gone…” he trailed off. Why did he feel so strongly about this? The portal had done nothing but cause him problems since it had turned on. “I died there. I died for it,” he whispered. Something in him knew it was important. His ghost half refused to accept that the portal could just disappear. “If it’s gone, if it can just be turned off, what was it all for?”

And even that wasn’t the full story. The portal was his parents’ life work. It was the thing they spent time working on. It was what stole them away from Danny and Jazz. They missed Jazz’s recitals to work on it. They missed Danny’s science fairs. Every forgotten dinner or event could be tied back to that portal. And if it was gone, what was the point of it all?

Tim sighed and squeezed his hand. “We can’t just leave it open, Danny. It’s not safe.”

“I can design a door. A better one. One that actually works. Just… Leave it. Please. I can make it safe.”

Tim bit his lip and stared at Danny for a minute. “I’ll let them know it’s an option. I don’t know if they’ll go for it. Constantine is not happy with it existing. But I’ll see what I can do.”

Danny’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you.”

Tim gave a half smile. “What are friends for? Now, think you’re up for something to eat? What do you want?”

Danny groaned. “Don’t wanna.”

Tim ruffled his hair. “Sorry, Polaris. Non-negotiable.”

“Chocolate pudding?” asked Danny.

“Sure. We can—”

Before Tim finished, a knock sounded on the door. “Someone ask for chocolate pudding?” called out Kon.

Tim laughed. “Come on in!” Without delay, the door opened and Kon walked in. It shut on its own behind him.

Even Danny couldn’t hold back the smile. He really had some great friends. “Spying on me, are you?” he asked.

“Not my fault you were talking so loud. Woke me up and everything!”

Danny, very maturely, stuck out his tongue. The grief he felt over his parents was hiding, ready to rear up again at any minute, but for now he had two friends with him. He would focus on that.

For the first time, Danny ate the entire pudding container and drank an entire vial of ectoplasm and wasn’t ready to pass out when he was done.

“Can we put on a movie or something? I don’t want to sit in the dark and quiet right now,” said Danny.

“’Course, Polaris,” said Tim. “What do you want to watch?”

“Kon, where’d we leave off in your movie list?” asked Danny.

But Kon held up his hands and shook his head. “I’m definitely going to fall asleep halfway through if we’re watching a movie. Pick whatever you want and don’t bring me into it.”

Danny pouted at him, but didn’t push. Kon hadn’t spent the last however many days sleeping. So he squeezed Tim’s hand and asked, “Then how about we put on some Star Trek? Short episodes and if we fall asleep, we’ve already seen them.”

Tim’s teeth were bright in the dark as he grinned. “I can definitely arrange that. You just lie there and keep looking pretty and I’ll pull it up. TOS or TNG?”

“What the hell does that mean?” asked Kon.

Both Danny and Tim ignored him. “I’m far from pretty,” retorted Danny. At Tim’s look, he rolled his eyes and said, “TOS.”

“Coming right up!”

Mounted to the wall facing the foot of the bed was a TV, smaller than the one in the living room, but still bigger than the one he had in his living room back home. Within minutes the opening, “Space, the final frontier,” rang through the room.

“Sorry, bit loud,” said Tim before adjusting it down a touch.

Danny didn’t bother replying as the episode started. Then Tim handed over a water bottle and settled back on the floor.

“What are you doing down there?” asked Danny.

“Getting comfortable? Where else would I go?”

Danny rolled his eyes, not that anyone could see. “This bed is huge. Sit next to me.”

“Won’t that jostle you?”

“Kon, move me over closer to the edge. Then you and Tim can join me.”

Kon laughed. “I think I’m going to go back to bed. I’m a morning person, unlike you two. But sure, I’ll move you to make room for Tim.”

Danny grit his teeth as Kon put his hands under his shoulders. Then he was wrapped in the strange sensation of TTK and his entire body was picked up and moved closer to the edge of the bed. Even as gentle as he was, pain radiated at the movement.

Danny clenched his eyes shut and stopped breathing until it passed. When it did, he slowly blinked open his eyes until the black spots faded and patted the bed next to him. “Get in, Secrets.”

“Are you sure?”

Danny glared and Tim grinned sheepishly as did as instructed.

But then he still tried to leave too much space. “Get closer.”

Tim grumbled under his breath, but shifted over a few more inches. He was sitting more upright than Danny was, but it was fine. Danny leaned his head against Tim’s side and finally let himself pay attention to the episode.

Next to him, Tim stiffened, but then relaxed and rested a hand on Danny’s head. “I’m glad you’re here, Polaris.”

Danny just hummed and let the show and Tim’s warmth help chase away the panic and grief he could still feel waiting for him.

---

Within two days, Danny was mostly able to sit upright. Frostbite’s medicines really were miraculous. Though he wished he could go to the Far Frozen and get stuck in a pod unconscious for a few hours and wake up fully healed.

He was video chatting with Ellie on the PDA Tucker had left him, complaining about being confined to bed.

She grimaced in sympathy. “I hate being stuck in one place.”

Danny laughed, then winced. “Trust me, gremlin, we know. You can’t even stay in the same city for more than a week.”

Ellie frowned and looked off to the side.

“What’s wrong?”

“What if—” she cut herself off and bit on her lip. Danny let her collect her thoughts. “I’ve been thinking of joining you. In Gotham.”

“What?” Danny was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open. Ellie had never expressed an interest in coming to stay with him before, instead prioritizing her travels through both Earth and the Realms. “You want to come here?”

She frowned and glared at him. “You told me Superboy is there! And he’s a clone, too. I want to meet him.” Then she looked away. More quietly, she added, “’Sides, who’s gonna be able to keep your ass safe from ghosts if someone decides to attack while you’re injured? You certainly can’t protect yourself right now.”

For the first time since his parents captured him, Danny felt his core trill in happiness. She cared about him. “Of course you can come. I know Kon’s been hoping to meet you one of these days, too.”

She grinned widely at him. “Great.” She spun her PDA around and showed off the aerial view of a city. When she turned it back, she paused on the gargoyle she was sitting next to. “Because I’m already here. How do I find you?”

Danny’s mouth was hanging open again. “You— Ellie!” But he was grinning and holding back laughter, too. “I have no idea. Let me call in Kon and Tim. Maybe one of them can direct you.”

He didn’t even have to call for them before Kon was pushing open his door. “You need us?” he asked.

“Ellie wants to visit. Can one of you tell her how to get here?”

“Sure,” said Tim. “Where is she?”

Danny shrugged and held out the PDA. “Somewhere in the city. But I don’t know where.”

Tim blinked at him for a moment before shrugging and taking the device. “Well that makes it easier.” He looked down at the screen. “Hey, Ellie.”

“Oh my god, you’re Superboy! Huge fan,” she exclaimed. Kon had shoved himself next to Tim so he could see her.

He grinned. “I’m a huge fan of you, too. Sam’s told me some stories.”

“Glad you’re not dead anymore.”

Danny smacked his face when he heard her say that. Tim froze, wearing a fixed smile that Danny could see right through.

“Just tell them where you are,” said Danny as loud as he could.

“I’m getting there!” protested Ellie.

Kon burst out laughing. “I like you, Ellie.”

Danny couldn’t quite make out her reply, but it was enough to get Tim back into the conversation. “Turn invisible and fly down to the street. Show me the nearest street sign, okay? And then I’ll help you get here.”

“Or I could just fly out and meet her and bring her myself,” offered Kon.

“Yes!” cried Ellie. “That!”

Tim shrugged. “Just show us the nearest street sign, okay? I’ll figure out a good landmark for Kon to meet you at.”

Danny let his mind drift as they discussed potential meeting spots. Not even ten minutes later, Kon left.

Tim ran his hands through his hair and returned the PDA to Danny. “They should be back within twenty minutes. Anything we should get ready for Ellie?”

Danny shrugged. “No idea when the last time she ate would’ve been. Couldn’t hurt to have something ready.”

“Fine. I’ll blend you a smoothie and put a pizza in the oven. And set up the couch for her to sleep on.”

“Thanks, Secrets.”

“’Course, Polaris. Need anything before I go?”

Danny waved him off. “I’m good.”

Once he was alone, he pulled up the group chat with Sam, Tucker, and Jazz.

Danny: Ellie’s come to gotham Jazz: Oh good! She arrived. How’s she doing? Danny: You knew she was on her way? And didn’t tell me Danny: Betrayal! Danny: She and Kon haven’t made it to the apartment yet. He just left to find her Sam: Oh good. Have Ellie talk to him about the benefits of stealing child support from an unethical creator Tucker: I’m sure both Tim and I will be *thrilled* to help him out Danny: He’s not stealing his child support? Sam: Nope. He’s an idiot about it. Danny: We gotta fix that Jazz: Tell us when she’s there! Jazz: Have Tim or Kon send a picture of the two of you Danny: Really? I’m still bed bound! Jazz: Picture. Jazz: It’s an order.

Danny groaned, but he was grinning through it. His friends were the best. He closed out of the chat and pulled up a game to kill time until Ellie got there.

He only made it through a level and a half before he heard a squealed, “Danny!” and running footsteps.

Ellie came to an abrupt stop at the side of his bed. Her hoodie had a few new patches since the last time he saw her, and she was frowning as she looked him over. “Are you really going to be okay?”

Danny held out an arm. “Come here, gremlin.”

She hesitated, but when he didn’t say anything else, she climbed into bed with him and Danny wrapped his arm around her in a gentle hug. He wished he could hug her tighter, but this would have to do.

“I’ll recover. Promise. I’m already doing better.”

“This is you doing better?” sniffed Ellie.

Danny winced. Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. “I know. It’s a lot. Feels like a lot to me, too. But I’m okay. Or I will be.”

She sniffed and turned her face into his shoulder. Her voice was so soft he could barely hear it. “I can’t lose any more brothers.”

Danny’s eyes burned at that and he patted her shoulder. “I’m safe now. I promise. You’re not gonna lose me.” He wiped away his own tears as she shook under his arm. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and wished things had been different in so many ways.

-----

A wild Danielle appeared! I've been waiting to introduce her. Next big introduction will be some of Tim's siblings.

Honestly, there's a few things I was excited about introducing this segment! Can you guess the other big reveal I've been sitting on?

I'm going to wait to write any more of Arc 3 until I get all of Arc 2 on AO3. I've ended up rewriting more than I planned on, so editing is taking longer than I expected. Also the wrist. That hindered things a bit, too.

If you want notifications when I update, please check out my Subscription Post.

[nathanbatemanfucker]

REMY!!! REMYYYYYY

"Beyond Misconceptions" is EXACTLY what I needed today oh my GOD my anxiety has been acting up and this was such a tonic 🥹

The fact that Joaquin is the kind of lover to truly and selflessly go "if you'd be better off with someone else, then I want that for you even though it would break my heart" but then he is so comforted I'M CRYING I LOVE THEIR DYNAMIC SO MUCH

Also, bc you said requests are open, if it's not too much to ask... could we maybe get something where Joaquin is very serious about reader and wants to introduce her to Sam and has a convo w Sam about how he feels? Idk if that's too sappy ofc you don't have to im just swooning thinking about it 👀 - ips anon

Between Sips

about this: wc: 658, characters: joaquin torres, sam wilson (f!reader mentioned), contents: alcohol mention, canon typical injury, joaquin’s a simp, SAMBUCKY if you squint, an: hope u enjoy this my sweet love & as always thank you for your support! <3

danny ramirez characters masterlist

Joaquin stands up from his desk, walking across the room to plop down on Sam’s. “Hey, come get a drink with me.”

“Man, I’m going home. To bed. You see this?” Sam points to the sling his arm is in.

Joaquin raises a brow at him, “What if I add in pizza?”

“Dude—“

“I wanna tell you about my girl. Please?” He presses his palms together, pleading. 

“Oh now you wanna tell me about your girl? After I’ve got a couple of broken ribs?”

Joaquin tries to bite away his grin but can’t. “You getting the shit beat out of you kinda made me realize I want you to meet her.”

“Little shit— you’re getting me dessert too,” Sam grumbles, grabbing his bag and heading toward the door. 

“That late night cookie place is right across the street,” Joaquin calls after him.

—

Sam watches Joaquin fidget with a smirk on his face. He’s never really seen the man like this, he’s always overly confident. “So, you gonna stall until the food gets here to stall again or—“

Joaquin’s grip on his beer tightens as he gazes down into the amber liquid. “Nah, man. I just, I don’t know— I’ve never met anyone like her before.”

Sam sobers a little bit, realizing how serious Joaquin is. Sitting up, he leans in a little, curious.

“Tell me more.”

Joaquin takes a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “It was kinda random, y’know? One of those things where you meet someone and think, this person might change my damn life.”

Sam raises a skeptical brow, waiting.

“I met her on a mission—nothing crazy, just some intel work. She clocked me right away, which should’ve been my first clue she was special.” Joaquin huffs a small laugh, shaking his head. 

“She’s got this way of looking at me, like she already knows what I’m gonna say before I say it. And she’s funny, man. Not just funny—sharp. Quick with it. Keeps me on my toes. But she’s also… sweet. Kind in a way that doesn’t ask for anything back. And when I’m with her, it’s like—” He stops, searching for the words.

Sam tilts his head. “Like what?”

Joaquin’s grip tightens on the beer again. “Like I don’t have to be anyone but me.”

Sam lets out a low whistle. “Damn.”

Joaquin laughs, feeling a little shy. “Yeah. Damn.”

“Can I see her?”

“Yeah, hold on,” Joaquin fishes out his wallet, pulling out the photo booth film strip he keeps there. 

Four photos, all of them where he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you— not when you were looking so angelic. Looking at the photo along with Sam makes him miss you more right now. 

“Oh, she’s got you wrapped around her finger.”

“I…I would do anything for her. I think anything, for real.”

“Would she do the same?”

“In a heartbeat.”

Sam nods, taking a pull of his beer. “And have you told her yet?”

“Told her what?”

“That you’re in love with her.”

Joaquin’s cheeks warm. He scratches at the back of his head with a sheepish smile. “Was hoping you could give me some pointers?”

Sam sighs. “Maybe I can finally give you some after this weekend.”

“Finally gonna tell him, huh?”

“Yeah, I think it’s about time. He’s got a weekend off appearances, we don’t have a mission. I don’t know,” Sam shrugs, letting his eyes drift to the mounted tv screen playing an old sports game. 

“It’ll be perfect man. Just be yourself.”

Sam scoffs playfully, his eyes returning to Joaquin. “How’d you end up giving me pointers?”

Joaquin shimmies his shoulders. “Must be the natural leader in me.”

“Yeah, yeah. So when am I meeting her?”

“I don’t know, let me pull up our calendar,” Joaquin starts to type in his password, scrolling through the date. 

“Our calendar? As in your shared calendar with her?”

“Fuck off.”

Sam can’t stop laughing. “I can’t wait to tell Buck.”

lmk if you'd like to be on the sfw (or nsfw for 18+) joaquin taglist!

sfw joaquin taglist: @magikdarkholme, @plan3t-plut0, @mewmew222, @linnygirl09, @ezhz444, @karmaswitch, @badbishsblog, @glader13, @how2besalty, @happypopcornprincess, @hiireadstuffsometimes, @lisiliely, @spider-steve, @nolita-fairytale, @hrlzy, @faretheeoscar, @giuliahowlett, @abriefnirvana, @fanboyswhore9 , @sidkneeeee, @sophreakingfunny, @heartbreakgirlism, @peachyxlynch, @lomlbuckybarnes, @a-randomscrub, @ajcs150, @glimodejun, @isuckatmath, @arsonhotchner, @moonymeloncholymoney, @sidkneeeee, @galaxywannabe, @retrosabers, @marchingicenotes7

[2tcs]

Day 4: Going to an event where a relative is performing and Planet

“Come on hurry up!” Steph’s excitement was contagious as Dick began bouncing on his toes as they tried to find a good spot to see the stage. Tim had offered to buy seats in the balcony to be able to see better without the crowd but apparently they needed the ‘full mosh experience’. 

“Who are these people again Steph?” Tim asked. He knew exactly who they were but it was always fun pretending he didn’t.

“Ugh. Tim! I know you know who the Specters are! And today they’re doing a face reveal at the end of the show!” Steph said as she started to bounce in place. Watching her and Dick standing next to each other reminds Tim of why he ordered more shots of espresso than normal. They were like excited puppies.

“Happy. Excited.” Cass whispered next to him while smiling at Steph and Dick.

“GOOD EVENING GOTHAM CITY!” The lead singer, Farshee, said as a toxic green glow and fog overtook the stage. “WE ARE THE SPECTERS. AND TONIGHT. TONIGHT WE WILL PLAY FOR YOU THE CONCERT OF THE DEAD!”

At the end of this announcement, the lights brightened to wight and the fog cleared and revealed the band members. Farshee the lead singer, Siren the lead guitar, Temptress on the bass guitar, and Jinx on the drums.

“LET’S SET THIS THING OFF!” Siren yelled before letting strumming her guitar as her and Temptress screamed before Farshee started singing.

Throughout the concert, Tim noticed how a lot of the songs involved accidents and death. It shouldn’t have been much of a surprise considering the name of the band and the name they chose for this concert. Tim thinks he remembers Steph saying that it was the name that the band was using for their upcoming album. By the time the band Tim had completely forgotten the reveal. That is until Farshee took off his mask and Time was faced with the face of his twin. The twin he wasn’t supposed to know about. The twin that his parents had given up at birth. Holy shit! That way Daniel!

“So now you've seen our faces.” Farshee said with a slight smile on his lips as his bandmates took off their own masks. “My name is Danny.”

“My name is Ember. Remember it.” Siren said as she strummed a cord on her guitar.

“You can call me Kitty.” Temptress gave her name with a wink as Jinx walked up and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“And I’m Jonny. Sup.”

“Now I know many of you are wondering why we decided to reveal ourselves. Well in order for me to properly explain I need to clear up a common misconception about us. When we first started two years ago many of you pegged us as being metas. Now many of you have noticed that we never confirmed or denied this. And there's a reason for that.” After saying that Danny posed and seemed to be trying to fortify his nerves. As Tim looked at the other members of the band he noticed that they were all fidgeting.

“Nervous. Scared.” Cass said beside Tim.

“Scared of what? Met as are protected.” Steph asked as Dick got a serious look on his face.

“The truth is.” Danny started before nervously licking his lips. “The truth is that we’re not. Metas that is. We do have powers but those powers are something most of our people have. We're what the American government has dubbed an ecto-entities.We call ourselves spirits and ghosts. After tonight our website will have a forum posted for questions if you have any. But the main thing to know is that during Luthor's presidency a set of laws were passed called the Anti-Ecto Acts. These laws state that anything that is made of, produces, or consumes a substance called ectoplasm is to be handed over to the government for containment, experimentation, and disposal.” As Danny spoke more and more voices in the crowd started to shout in outrage at what was just implied.

“That goes in direct violation of the meta protection act.” Dick said in shock.

“Shit. Its real.” Tim gasped in shock as he looked up the law on his phone, catching the attention of some of the people around him who pulled out their phones to look at the law themselves.

“There’s a branch of the government that is tasked with enforcing this law. They are called the Ghost Investigation Ward or GIW. Normally we would not be open with what we are due to this group but in the last month there has been a change. A large number of people nationwide have disappeared. Normally this would, sadly, be normal. People disappear every day. But our people keep a census on who and how many of us are on this side of the vail. And over a third of those people have disappeared practically overnight. So this is us. Calling out to the Justice League and you the people. Help us be able to exist in peace. Help us gain our freedom. And help us call out the US government. This government sanctioned genocide. And if you think that you are safe? That this doesn’t affect you? Just look around. How many people do you know who have had a brush with death? How many heroes do you know of who have died and then come back to life? Death leaves a mark. That is a saying that you hear everywhere. And it is true. Anyone who has been close to death has traces of ectoplasm on them. Therefore they are subject to the Anti-Ecto Act.” Sighing Danny looked up into the crowd. Searching for something before addressing the audience again. “I wish we could end this concert on a happy note. But I can’t brush this off anymore. I can’t ignore it anymore. And I hope you all reach out to your loved ones and make sure they're safe. I hope you all stay safe.”

With a final look around the stadium the Specters walked backstage, leaving everyone else to find their own exit.

“I think the B will want to hear about this.” Dick said.

“I think he’s going to have an aneurysm the moment he hears about this.” Steph adds.

“Mad.” Cass said with a nod.

“Typing up the report now and running a scan of all government documentation that references ghosts, spirits, ectoplasm, and the Anti-Ecto Acts. They’re set to automatically download and save a copy to my private laptop. That way I have a viable excuse if these GIW agents can see if their stuff is tampered with. So far I can see a lot of redacted files. This might take O getting involved.” Tim said before turning away from the exit to head backstage.

“And where are you going?” Dick asked.

“To talk to my brother.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t see anyone else here.” Steph said as she caught up with Tim.

“New old brother.” Cass smiled while looking at Tim.

“Ya Cass. Our parents gave him up for adoption when we were born so he probably doesn’t know. The only reason I know was after the first clone debacle with Cadmus and I did a search on my one face. Got a 99% match and looked into him. Our parents didn’t even give him a name.”

“Well that’s messed up. We’ll just have to make sure he knows that he is always welcome. You know B will have the papers signed the moment he sees him and finds out that he needs help.” Dick chimed in as he typed something on his phone. Judging by the chime that Tim heard from Steph and Cass phones he must have messaged the group chat.

“Hay you! You can’t go back there.” A guard said as they were about to head through the employees only doors.

“My name is Timothy Drake-Wayne. I want to help but I need to talk to the Specters to see if they would be willing to work with the Wayne lawyers to help fight the government. Would you please inform the band of my offer? Me and my family will wait here while you do.” Tim said before leaning against the wall making it clear he wasn’t going to leave until his request was fulfilled.

“I can ask if they will see you but no means no and if they don’t want to see you”

“Then we will leave. Now please inform them of my offer.”

“Pushy rich pricks.” The guard mumbled before gesturing for another guard to watch the door while he delivered the message.

A few minutes later and a coded report to Bruce's batphone the guard came back and waved them through the door and towards the break room that the band was using. Upon entering the room Tim noticed that the band had already changed out into more comfortable clothing and were lounging around the far side of the room. Except for Danny. He was sitting at a table that was placed in the middle of the room. When he noticed them enter he sat up straighter and gave a half smile.

“Hay Tim. Never thought we would ever get to meet face to face. Wish it was under better circumstances though.” Danny greeted them.

“You expected to meet me someday?” Tim asked as he took the seat across from Danny.

“A friend of mine pointed out how much we looked alike and we joked about it until my sister overheard us and mentioned that mom and dad kept my adoption papers with our baby memorabilia in the attic. I thought she was just joking and told her to prove it. So she grabbed the papers and showed them to me. Mr. and Mrs. Drake’s names were on the birth certificate. A little google searching and figured out that we were twins. I also know that you looked into me a few years back yourself.” Danny chuckled.

“After the Cadmus Labs were found to be doing cloning I got a bit paranoid and did a facial recognition scan on the internet. Found you and did my own digging. You looked happy. I didn’t want to intrude.” Tim said before pulling out his phone and bringing up the acts. “I can get a hold of my lawyers and have them fight the validity of this law. I can also make sure that you and your friends and family are safe.”

“Thank you Tim. And here. I was planning on getting Batman's attention while I was here and giving him this but considering the Wayne famile’s connections? This is just as good.” Danny said as he pushed a small cloth pencil bag over to Tim.

“A flash drive?” Dick asked as he looked over Tim’s shoulder as he opened the bag.

“Several flash drives.” Steph said as she took the bag from Tim and started counting.

“It’s all the information that me and my friends were able to get. They’re even color coded. green is for the laws and basic profiling. yellow is for the things that the GIW has been caught doing in public. And red is for the things that they have been doing behind closed doors. I would suggest leaving the red one for the Justice League. It has some really graphic stuff on it that someone who hasn’t seen the worst of humanity wouldn’t be able to handle.” Danny said while looking at his hands. “I don’t want you to see them.”

“They hurt you.” Cass said softly while hugging herself.

“Ya. They hurt me. And so many others… Tim. Here’s my personal number. If you or the League has any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. And here.” Danny began drawing on a piece of paper before handing what looked like a summoning circle over to Tim with his card. “That is a one time use summoning circle for Prince Phantom.”

“You know a Prince?” Dick asked.

“This is Tim’s twin brother. Are you seriously surprised that someone who shared a womb with this weirdo wouldn’t have strange acquaintances?” Steph asked while giving Dick a deadpan look.

“Fine. You have a point.” Dick pouted.

“Here. This is by business card and on the back is my personal cell number. I’ll make sure these get to the Bat. I’ll admit. I’m curious how you got involved with this. So if you’re willing. Can we talk about it?” Tim asked when he handed over his own card.

“Thanks. I’ll think about it. But me and my friends need to get moving so when the GIW storm Gotham looking for us we’ll be hidden away in one of the safe houses that we have set up.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to stay in one of the safehouses that we have set up?” Tim offered.

“No, but I appreciate the offer. It’s just safer if we don’t involve you any more than I already have.” Danny said while going over to the door and opening it. Clearly indicating the end of the discussion.

“Okay. Just know my offer stands. Talk to you later?”

“Ya. Talk to you later. Stay safe.” Danny said before shutting the door behind him.

“Welp. Back to work I guess.” Steph shrugged as she began to walk back the way they came.

“Don’t worry Tim. We’ll make sure these laws are repealed and you can set up a proper meeting with your twin.” Dick tried to reassure Tim as he wrapped one of his arms around Tim’s shoulder in a side hug.

“Protect brother.” Cass promised as she tapped her knuckles against Tim’s.

When they got home they called an emergency meeting in the batcave. And after Batman read through the law he took a quick glimpse of what was on the red flash drive. And immediately took the flash drives and headed to the watchtower.

[cass-danny-weekend]

Cass/Danny Weekend - Fun Fact! Day 7

And so, the beginning of the end. Today is the penultimate fun fact for the Cass/Danny Weekend, and we hope you've all had a blast. For these last two days, I want to talk about a point that I found very interesting and how it mirrored our two characters.

So, and to say this as plainly as I can, Cass and Danny are not often depicted as smart. What do I mean by that? After all, Cass works side-by-side with the World's Greatest Detective. She has to deal with all sorts of Gotham Rogues and genius strategists whose psychological warfare could break the best of men. How is she not smart?

And that's the thing. She is smart. She's just not smart in the traditional way, in the way that society dictates people should be.

Nevermind Cass' training, her intimate knowledge of the human body and how it works, and of course how to break it. In many comics you will read about her, and especially in the early days of her career as Batgirl, Cass is depicted to be inarticulate and illiterate. That is, she cannot speak and read. And while we as an audience can see how capable she is, in a real world sense, she would be considered mentally disabled.

And these are real disabilities that she struggles with for a long time in her comics career. Even when the psychic meta tried to reorient her brain hoping it would help her, there was still a steep learning curve. No amount of powers could automatically fix it all. Because language is a skill you have to learn, and for a long time she never had the opportunity to learn it. Yet just because she can't communicate the traditional way, doesn't mean she doesn't know how to express herself in other ways. This meta includes some great comic panels from the Batgirl (2000) edition that uses framing, body language, and perspective to showcases how her story can be told, despite a general lack of dialogue from her.

And of course, we can't go without touching on Cass and her ability to "read" people. Essentially, Cass takes note of people's muscle movements, posture, and other physical, active traits to anticipate blows or intent, emotions. (Keep in mind, that after the psychic altered her brain, Cass loses this ability. Don't ask me how that works, that's just comics logic for you.) Except it won't always be a perfect read. Because while there are many details that are naked to her eye, that doesn't always mean she can make out a lie. That doesn't always mean she can't have all the right pieces and still come to the wrong conclusion.

There is a common misconception in fandom that Cass seems to have perfect emotional intelligence just because she can read people's feelings, despite their attempts to hide it. Wayne Family Adventures shows us that, although this skill allows her to be more forward with people, it doesn't mean she always knows the right time to approach it and much less how to tactfully do so. You can look at Episodes 32 and 33 of the first season to see how Cass handles this after pushing Stephanie's boundaries when she, with good intentions, tried to force her to open up.

Now you're probably thinking, "Halfa, this is depressing. Are you telling me that Cass has no advantages at all?" And to that I say, no advantages? No advantages?!

Cass has had the odds stacked against her for her entire life and despite an abusive childhood and torture disguised as training, Cass still had the autonomy and critical thinking to realize, in critical moments, what choice she has to make. That's huge! Disabilities are so often depicted poorly (and let's face it, DC doesn't do a great job either), and characters with these disabilities treated poorly as a result. And yet we have a titular character who does not let these disabilities dictate her life!

No, she doesn't have it easy! No, she doesn't have any real advantages. And that's what makes her relatable. That's what makes her character real. Because we don't have automatic advantages. There is no perfect catch-all that will make life smooth-sailing. But despite it all, that doesn't mean we have to give up.

Cass spent nine years homeless. Think about that. In a world so dependent on technology, on being able to communicate on a basic level to get by day to day, or even to read something as basic as a map, Cass survived. She survived nine years on her own. That is a testament to her character. Her disabilities made her life harder. It did not make her life impossible.

And I think that's a message we can all stand to remember in our lives.

Thank you for following our adventures with Cass. We hope you learned something new about her that made you fall in love with her character all over again.

- Mod Halfa

[bartletslesbians]

for the ask game talk to me about liz bartlet!! my favorite sister (personally knowing that amy has known the bartlet family since childhood that’s my ship of choice for her but I crave your thoughts)

Send me a character and I'll tell you...

Ahh perfect timing cause I'm trying to write CJ/Liz for TWWpride atm lmao

My NOTP for them:

Screw Doug, man. She deserves so much better than that cheating husband. In my ideal post-canon world she divorces him.

My BROTP for them:

I loved the brief scene she had with CJ, where she set CJ up to politely turn some board down so they'd feel flattered?? I would've loved to see more between them (I love CJ as Jed's daughter having a good relationship with all the Bartlet sisters really, but she and Liz just work!)

My OTP for them:

I wouldn't even classify it as a true otp, but it is my main thing I picture Liz in so? But I love the idea of CJ having a crush on Liz that rarely goes anywhere, but Liz is kind of aware of and kind of flattered by, and CJ would never act on unless Liz shows any willingness to cheat on her husband (cause cheating on a cheater? not that bad). This stems entirely from "you just can't say not to her can you?" from Debbie to CJ in the S5 christmas episode lmao.

My second choice pairing for them:

Well now you have me thinking about Amy Gardner omg? Cause yes I love the tidbit that Abbey used to babysit that girl, I love the idea of Amy being close to the Bartlet daughters, and she and Liz would be pretty similar in age. The idea of the two of growing up together, and they're both headstrong and loud, but Liz is the oldest of three and Amy screams only child to me, they have such different upbringings anyway, and will lead Such different lives. But like... High School seniors Liz and Amy making out in their bedrooms with Abbey downstairs in the kitchen? (Liz pretends it's just for practice, Amy has no misconceptions.) You know Amy would be furious finding out Doug's cheating, and feeling some serious second-hand embarrassment too knowing Liz is staying with him anyway. I wanna see that conversation happening.

My fluffy pairing for them:

Liz/Mallory? Maybe Mallory gets a quick divorce too idk, or you just say she never was really together with whoever's baby she had. Or it's, similar to Amy, a thing from the past that Liz actually holds nicer memories about than with Amy, cause Mallory has a more similar life to hers, with a famous politician dad but not being super involved in politics herself despite what dad might want? And that could be really nice!

My angst pairing for them:

Liz/CJ but specifically in a scenario where it's just a few really depressing hook-ups in the direct aftermath of Jed's death. We know CJ has a Thing about sleeping with people instead of dealing with the grief or heightened emotions she's feeling (see The Long Goodbye and the first time she and Danny hooked up being the night after Leo died). I think that could be beautiful, and utterly fucking tragic, and it would never last but it'd be exactly what they both need in that moment. (Add to that the Catholic Guilt of griefing their Catholic dad or beloved boss/father figure through lesbian sex???)

My poly ship for them:

I can't really see Liz being a fan of polyamory in any way, but I'm gonna say get the girl a nice threesome post divorce, maybe Liz/CJ/Amy? or Liz/Amy/Andy, or Liz/CJ/Andy? idk. something like that?

My weirdest pairing for them:

How about Liz joins Jenny and Andy's fun little DC Divorcee's club and also maybe sleeps with Andy Wyatt in the process? Like, by then Andy's divorce is long gone and she's doing just fine after it, though in season 7 when Doug's caught cheating, Andy is almost losting re-election bc Toby leaked the shuttle thing. So there could be some fresh emotions there to work out. Liz doesn't want to get a divorce, but does want to get a divorce, but doesn't want to get a divorce, comes to talk to this Congresswoman CJ recommended she chat to bc divorce and politics is a tricky combination? One thing leads to another? And hey! They can bond over single motherhood! There's that!

[penig]

The poor Roselands got elected as the white trash Depression Riverblossom family.

Cyd, uneducated despite his Knowledge aspiration because life be like that, moved in aiming to make his living farming, fishing, breeding dogs, and starting a toy store, which he can do as soon as he has a gold badge and the capital to buy a lot.

Well, making toys costs money. Danny and Sarah did their best to help him with the dog breeding but he never had time to befriend a mate for Porthos (buy a dog? Are you crazy?). Farming is not very lucrative when you've got to eat part of your harvest and the growing season is so short, Riverblossom Hills being Winter/Spring/Fall/Winter and greenhouses not being cheap. Biology beats brains and he and his wife LaShawn don't have the education for effective birth control, but dating is such a sure way to cheer themselves up...

Rather than add risky woohoo when I'm only going to want it for some neighborhoods, I have a 20-sided die and sliding odds on whether or not to try for baby. If a parent has a baby want, I just try. If at least half a couple is educated and they have access and privacy to use mechanical devices like rubbers and diaphragms, they try for baby on a roll of 20. The odds might change for married couples with no reason to be reluctant to have a baby, such as poverty or a baby fear or a wife with career ambitions that strike me as feasible. Lack of education, access, or privacy lower the required number 5% each, with access and privacy varying with circumstances. Peter Ottomas fully intends to be faithful to his wife and doesn't carry a rubber around; if he strays in a photo booth with another Romance playable I took out looking for a new lover, she almost certainly left the house with a diaphragm already inserted or in her purse, but if circumstances overcame an uneducated Popularity sim and Peter, she'd have to count days in her head while distracted and a roll of five or better would be a try for baby.

It's a long way to town, you have to ask the teen cashier for the little boxes behind the counter and you know she's gossiping, Cyd and LaShawn have a few misconceptions about how things work (look, even Simone de Beauvoir thought douches were effective, okay?), and they've got three kids. Gordon is a big help with the farm, the fishing, and the dogs these days. Isabel is old enough to help her mother now. Little Petunia will get there. And everybody's going to be too tired for woohoo, because in addition to farming, fishing, school, housework, dogs, and toymaking they need more room in the house and will have to build in spring and fall.

Things got less crowded after Danny and Sarah died on the same day, leaving Porthos and the last of the puppies, Boots. It's been awhile since Cyd fooled with teaching Porthos tricks, but the loss of the big dogs and the lack of cash to make toys with has him doing it again. He's made friends with David Ottomas, who's hired him to tend bar at the Roadhouse to make ends meet.

Any homework that gets buried in the yard will stay buried till thaw, though. Gordon and Isabel have Responsibilities.

[timothyclare]

ok, so yeah. stephanie is a little suspicious of fenton now. it's freaky everything fenton had access to.

so, what better idea than to invite the guy over to wayne manor so they could work together there? (tim and bruce would be able to get a good face scan, maybe some dna, or even more scans than that)

danny seems amenable to the idea, happily agreeing when she asks him.

when the day comes, bruce and tim are ready in the cave, all the instruments of scanning are set up imperceptibly in the manor.

danny arrives... on foot.

this guy walked here, all the way up to the top of bristol, and he didn't look too tired at all.

steph welcomes the guy at the door (after he walks all the way up the ridiculously long driveway) and danny looks genuinely happy to see her.

they quickly get to work on the assignment. danny isn't the best technical writer, but he has a lot of good ideas and concepts.

he also, apparently, has a lot of feelings about ghosts.

steph listens as the guys rambles on about the unfair treatment ghosts receive, the misconceptions of their nature, the misunderstanding of their biology and how it affects their behavior. steph has no idea how this guy knows so much- at this point it feels like he's venting as much as he is infodumping.

and then danny hits her with the sucker punch (metaphorically).

he tells her about the "anti-ecto acts".

every word he says makes the shock and chill sink into her bones.

as she processes everything he's saying, he rambles on, "and nobody even cares, it's crazy- just because ghosts aren't human doesn't mean they don't deserve the same treatment!"

"danny," steph interrupts, horror showing clearly on her face, "tell me you're lying. tell me that's not true. tell me you are making this up."

danny looks at her baffled, "no?? it's easy information to find, what are you talking about? the anti-ecto act was signed into law in 1999, when i was 9. it's not relevant anywhere without a portal or super high levels of ambecto, but it's still there."

"danny, i tried to look up ghosts and i almost got on a watchlist."

danny gives steph the most confused look before his eyes narrow. "you're fucking with me. this is some sort of prank." danny's face shifts into something hurt and disappointed. he stands up from the couch while stephanie continues to try and comprehend what's going on here.

"i really thought you were cool, stephanie. im... a bit sad you aren't who i thought you were."

"wait! danny," steph says, jumping into action. "danny, i swear on my life i'm not trying to prank you. i genuinely don't know what you're talking about!"

danny sighs. "stephanie, i've been through this a million times before. the bully gaslights me, makes me think i'm crazy, i'm going crazy, i'm stupid and gullible. i'm not going to let you get through your whole prank." danny turns fully to steph now, and the look on his face is... tired. exhausted. sad. "i just want to know why. why do you want to do this? what about me makes me a good victim this time? am i lame? cringe? weird? have people discovered my parents? am i skinny, feminine? what is it this time, stephanie?"

steph... doesn't know how to respond to that.

"i'm not lying danny. i swear. i think you're a really cool guy- i'm surprised to hear that you wanted to be my friend. i want to be your friend too, but I genuinely am not lying when i say that i don't know about the anti-ecto acts. i can bring in people who have never known you to corroborate my story."

danny stares at her, an unreadable look on his face.

"okay, stephanie. you get one chance."

Short DPXDC Prompts #825

Stephanie Brown is partnered with her classmate, Danny Fenton, on a research paper for her English Gen Ed. This single assignment lead to a spiral of circumstances that she never would have dreamed of.

[tanglepelt]

Master list

All fics are cross-posted on A03 more chapters are available on AO3 atm. Will add chapters to Tumblr when it stops fighting me.

A list of all in-progress or completed fics. As well as a link to some eventually maybe all my prompts/ideas.

In Progress

Dates are very subject to change right now. Things have been very wonky due to an illness. Hoping by mid April to get a bunch of stuff posted.

Run ghost run (fic)

The GIW/Fenton parents ignore the Realms. Danny runs to try and prevent a war with only the advice when running he should follow the birds and bats to guide him

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Art: 3 in 1 Tim + Danny = coffee

A shared Core (series)

Umm, I'm an ambassador: 1 2 3 Ellie is captured, and Danny rescues her. Upon a confrontation, Danny claims to be an ambassador. Not mentioning he is king. A bats eye views: 1 Tims's Perspective of Umm, I'm an ambassador

The acts unmasked: 1 2 3

The league discuss the acts and Ellie and Danny go to space.

Order of below three pending

Amity exposed (?)

Tucker and Sam catch two little birds snooping around. Nightwing and Robin weren’t expecting to be called out mid report.

That’s not a dairy king (?)

What’s going on in Wisconsin? Why is spoiler investigating? Why is there a Maddie hologram? Stephanie is perplexed.

Seeing Red (?)

Vlads perspective on the events transpiring. The demand for revenge.

Completed

One Shots

The go bag: Danny struggles to pack his backpack all while the situation gets worse and worse. If he is a Monster, what were they?: Danny is used to nicknames after being exposed they changed for the worst. Falling into the zone: Danny gets lost in the ghost zone having entered via natural portal. The one good thing about it is he catches a vigilante An Electric Core: Danny has an electric core Are we to blame?: After a reveal, Maddie reflects on everything. A shattered Core: Danny gets turned over to the GIW. A core gets shattered. What Caused the Grave: An explosion in the lab leads to the Fenton blaming Phantom for their son's death while they grieve.

Chapter Ones

The blobs among us: 1 2 3 4

Blobs are seen worldwide. The GIW uses this to its advantage and releases the "protection" acts. Danny and crew see right through it. Tim Drake and his team also have their doubts.

Series

The Fall of a King

A blizzard of his own making: 1 Danny has a breakdown creating a blizzard. The fall: 1 Danny takes on Pariah, gets revealed, and his parent's reactions.

Snippet Idea things??

Secrets of amity park

Twin Misconception

Idea/Prompts

Random Ideas/prompts

[noir-renard]

@kiwwles you sent me an ask about fics I recommend, and I was trying to save the answer as a draft and the whole ask disappeared 🥲 I don't know if it got deleted or if I answered it privately, but since it appears all traces of it are gone, I will try to recreate it here, because I worked on it for a while and I don't know why tumblr is like this

AnYwAy, I chose two fics per category, from four categories: DPxDC, DP only, Batman (+ DC), and Other. I focused on DP/DC because I figure if you like IYGABAB, you might want to read more from those fandoms.

Here are my recs:

DPxDC

Vacation Crashers by @impyssadobsessions

Batman crashes in the wilderness following up a lead in a recent case.

Meanwhile the Fenton family was having a camping trip to celebrate Jazz's last year as a "kid", but considering who suggested the location, it spelt disaster.

Now Danny and Jazz have to survive an onslaught of ghosts, take care of an injured Batman, and while worrying about their parents.

This was the first DPxDC crossover fic I ever read; I saw Impy_'s art from this fic and I just had to know more, and now I'm happily tumbling down the rabbit hole into the wonderland that is the Danny Phantom/Batman crossover verse. Vacation Crashers is the first in a series, which is the best news ever ^w^ 10/10 recommendation!

Bat Ghost by @megaerakles

Bruce is attacked by the ghost of Batman from the future. To get to the bottom of it, he pays a visit to some prominent ghost hunters, and happens to encounter a teenaged half-ghost vigilante (?), who just *happens* to resemble Damian. A lot.

On an unrelated note, Tim Drake has done nothing wrong.

I love fics where the Batfam goes to Amity Park. It's always a good time to watch them out of their element and adapt accordingly. This is a particularly enjoyable rendition, and it's still updating, too!

DP only

Exhumed by Marsalias

AU where Danny left behind half his physical body when he half-died. (AKA Corpse AU.)

Marsalias is one of my favorite DP writers, hands down. I really love the Exhumed series in particular, though; the world-building is excellent, the OCs are wonderful, and the writing is skillful.

Trust Your Instincts by @peachdoxie

A new kind of danger threatens Amity Park. With no other leads, Maddie Fenton turns to the one individual that might be able to help: Danny Phantom. Meanwhile, after a near death experience, she begins to question everything she knows about ghosts.

Excellent Maddie-centric fic where a near-death experience forces her to confront her own prejudices and misconceptions around ghosts, as well as the failings of her own scientific hubris. Currently on hiatus, but this fic was my obsession this past spring. Features cool OCs, interesting ecto-science, and lots of heartfelt/heartwrenching conversations.

Batman only

Loading and Aspect Ratio by Jube514

A world where nobody has wings, but people think they do, and that changes everything. (A Batfam Wingfic with a twist)

An excellent twist on the wingfic trope that really suits Batman. Features a Good Dad!Bruce who leans into the misconception that Batman is a cryptid because a)it's funny and b) it's convenient.

Take It Back Now, Y'all by Timthetoaster

(In which Tim finds himself in the past, and tries to do the right thing. It's more complicated than he'd like.)

Tim Drake being a bad-ass, accidental time travel, attempted fix-it. What's not to love?

Other

TAZ(Balance): All The Things You Prayed For by @anonymousalchemist and @marywhal

Taako is The Winter Soldier and Lup is Captain America AU

This is one of the best stories I've ever read, hands down. I've read it about four times *at least*. Even if you are not familiar with The Adventure Zone or The Winter Soldier (MCU), it's written so well that you can enjoy it without context.

TMA: The Magnus Institute vs the 21st Century: a series of emails and IMs by @shinyopals

What happens if the Magnus Institute gets a Data Protection Officer? What's it like to work in Tech Support? How are employee reviews conducted when your manager is Peter Lukas? This series does its best to answers these sorts of hard-hitting questions about office life at the Institute.

If you aren't familiar with The Magnus Archives it might be a bit hard to follow, but this epistolary fic has some of the best CSS coding and humor I've ever seen.

Anyway picking just a few was really difficult because I read a lot! I think every fic I've ever read has affected me in some way. But these are some of the ones most special to me. I hope you enjoy them!

[pochqmqri]

So recently, a YouTuber uploaded a video reviewing the numerous parodies of Denny’s restaurants across different anime, given how ubiquitous the family restaurant is in Japan. Given that, she admits that the video is not a comprehensive list of all parody Denny’s. It’s a fine video, and, given my interest in Detective Conan, I was pleased that she talked about the “Danny’s” restaurants from that anime, though it was only a brief screenshot and she made it seem like it was just a one-time thing across the entire 1000+ episode anime. I don’t expect her to watch numerous episodes of the anime though.

So, I’d like to clear some misconceptions. Denny’s has been parodied and referenced to multiple times in the Detective Conan manga and anime.

Early on, likely because Aoyama had not stuck to a consistent name yet, it was called “Donny’s” and “Doneey’s” (Episodes 4 and 96).

Then, by Episode 651, he stuck with the “Danny’s” name. In fact, Episode 651 involves a murder case that occurs in one of the restaurants (Episodes 791, 651, 925).

(Episode 928).

This is not a complete list, there are other episodes where Danny’s appears in, usually as reused stock footage.

Currently, there’s a case in the manga (Chapters 1091-1093) that hasn’t been adapted for the anime yet, which involves another murder case at a Danny’s.

[goodfish-bowl]

Too Dead for This

Ectoberhaunt Day 24: Past

AO3 Link | Next Chapter

Summary: Things go sharply south after the "Disater-oid" incident. With the entire world being familiar with his face, and the GIW after him, Danny has been on the run for years. But after seven years, Danny stops running, and fights back. He dies for the second time that night. Danny Fenton wakes up in the body of his 14-year-old self, the day after the Accident.

Warnings: Violence in Self Defense, Phantom Planet compliant, Major Character Death

Words: 4381

Notes: Based on this au by @wheatsheep on expect I play more hurt the Danno for now. Perhaps. I've seen to have dug myself into a long-fic hole, so it's not going to be hurt the boy the entire time.

@ectoberhaunt

Danny knew he had awful luck; it was a proven fact. After the whole “Disater-oid” incident, keeping with the media trend of terrible names, he thought he might finally catch a break. Sure, his identity was out to the entire planet, and his face plastered all over every news outlet internationally, but they’d give him a break, right? Vlad wasn’t… around anymore, and the ghosts were actually leaving him alone to recuperate in their own way. He’d managed to save an entire planet, he needed to rest after pulling that off. He felt he deserved that much, at least. It’s not like they were building statues in his honor or anything. Sure, his parents were avoiding him (Jazz said they needed time to adjust), and no one on the news seemed to know how to react to the fact that ghosts were real, one had saved the earth, and said ghost was also a 15-year-old boy from Illinois.

But then there were news reporters seconds away from breaking into his house, and Danny actually had to stop one from trying to climb through his window. Sometimes he’d let one ask him a question from his window, or floating above them as Phantom, just to offer a few crumbs before they started making stuff up about him just to get something out there. He didn’t want another Inviso-Bill situation, especially internationally, and he had at least learned it was better to have a hand in the narrative than let it run wild without him. So no, he wasn’t getting much rest.

Sam and Tucker were also in their own form of social lockdown, which both of them took far more advantage of than he did. Tucker used it to score brownie points, and also got to talk to some big names in tech. Sam used the publicity to push her various causes and had developed an internet cult following overnight. Valerie took to it worse than he did, especially since she had developed a tendency to growl at the reporters if they tried to bother her at work, and nearly broke some tech-guy’s hand when he pushed too hard about her suit, leaving him little time to talk with them himself. The Nasty Burger was doing surprisingly well the past few days at least.

His parents decided to approach him sometime on day three. In short, it was awkward and uncomfortable, and Danny was infinitely thankful for Jazz’s ability to play interference. Danny had ended up spending most of that night trying to explain to his very confused parents that he really wasn’t possessed, hadn’t taken place of their son, did not have any evil influence affecting his every waking moment due to being a ghost, he had actually wanted to do the things he did (mostly), and clearing up any other miscellaneous misconceptions that came up. Jazz was probably the only reason it didn’t devolve into shouting or Danny getting jumped by his own parents and dragged into the lab. He just hoped some of it stuck with them, so he wouldn’t have to explain it again. The hardest part was when his parents asked if he had really died. That of course wasn’t something he really wanted to go over, but he told them all he could about the day in the lab. It seemed to pain them as much as it did him to go over it.

By day four, Danny was sure he could actually start to catch a break. His parents were talking to him (mostly ghost questions), and the news reporters had all miraculously disappeared sometimes late the night before. But he also hadn’t heard much from any of his friends either, just a partially concerned call from Mr. Lancer who wanted to talk to him about accommodations and making up schoolwork over the summer, tacked on to a ‘thank you for saving the world’ and an offer to talk whenever he needed it. Which was nice, but Danny wasn’t so sure Mr. Lancer was equipped to handle even half of his problems, even if he did appreciate the gesture.

Then, that afternoon, it all went to shit. The GIW rolled up to his house and demanded his parents hand him over to their custody. They cited the Anti-Ecto Acts and everything, and suddenly the lack of reporters made sense. The news reported had been chased off by the government. They didn’t want the public to know that they were going after his head. His parents confronted them, while Danny watched from the window. The answer was a resounding ‘no,’ and the GIW didn’t take it well.

Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Jazz had planned if things ever went south, but most of that plan depended on all of them being available. None of them except Jazz now were, but he had to make do. So, he took off, without the money from Sam or way to get in contact from Tucker. Jazz provided the cover and distraction for him to sneak through the perimeter the GIW had set up around his house. It was a close thing, and Danny had to stay human to keep him from pinging on their equipment, along with limited power use. It didn’t help that he was still exhausted, but he had no choice. He had to leave.

And so, Danny fled, and kept running. The entire world knew his face, so he couldn’t find any reprieve either. The GIW’s newest slander campaign was doing its damnest to make him a villain, and while that wasn’t very successful, everyone knew he was on the run. The news fought back, and there had been a reporter near his house anyways and had managed to catch part of the confrontation. He became more intensely nocturnal to avoid people, sleeping in empty hotel rooms during the day, and sneaking around at night. He stole food he needed during the night as well, but only from places he knew wouldn’t miss it. He could get into libraries and cafés to send out an email to Sam, Tucker and Jazz, but those messages were few and far between, and he was never able to get a message back.

The GIW were always on his tail, in some sort of twisted game of cat and mouse. They followed him all across the country, from the big cities to the boonies. Anytime he transformed, he knew he set off their alarms, and his only hope was leave faster than they could get to him. He couldn’t not transform either, he was still recognizable, and someone ended up tipping them off after a time anyway. He didn’t dare return to Amity or anywhere near there. It was too dangerous to both him and those he cared about. It was better to be constantly on the move.

Danny did get his few moments of rest. There was a nice couple in New York who hid him for a while, though he only suspected they did it due to their lost nephew. He also found his way to Aunt Alicia in Spittoon and had managed to hole up there for a good couple month. The people there were protective of their own, and when the GIW came knocking, they fought tooth and nail to buy him time to escape. There were less GIW agents after that. Another small town in Oregon had the GIW chasing their own tail more often not, until some of the locals decided he was too suspicious and chased him out themselves.

Danny fled to Canada for a while, and honestly should’ve stayed there. But it was harder to survive on the move since he didn’t know how to get food in the middle of the Canadian wilderness, even if it was the best hiding spot he found. He would have to venture into a settlement of some kind eventually. He had considered going more abroad to hide, where the US government couldn’t both him, but he didn’t think he could make it over the ocean on his own and didn’t feel like hiding in a place so close to people such as a plane or a boat for an extended period of time longer than an hour. It was too risky.

As for the ghosts, Danny would find one every now and again. He didn’t fight them, and they didn’t try to start anything with him. These encounters were brief, mostly to exchange news since the ghosts didn’t want to associate with him either. Danny never really did check the news himself anyway. His mental state was fragile enough without hearing the GIW blasting ads about what an awful being he was.

It was… lonely, especially once Danny found the rhythm to moving around and his days shifted from intensely stressful to more monotonous. He was too recognizable to be anonymous, and with the GIW chasing after him, no one wanted to get caught in the cross-fire, no matter who he was and what he had done. It had been years since he had seen his friends, only sending the occasional email when he could, and even then, those had become less detail oriented, more like personal journal entries. He wondered if there was anyone other than the GIW still looking for him. It had started to feel like his only hope was to just keep moving until the GIW eventually gave up.

But by year five, it didn’t seem likely, and the GIW were getting closer to catching him every time Danny took a chance or didn’t get out soon enough. They’re weapons were getting better, while they agents themselves got more skilled. But Danny had gotten a lot stronger himself, now that he was an adult. His powers were off the charts, at least he thought so. He hadn’t checked in so long, he no longer had a full bearing on what he was capable of. But he did get really good at hiding and using his powers while in human form. Danny was pretty sure he could completely hide his ectosignature if he needed to at this point.

Danny had just turned twenty-two when it all went further downhill. The slander campaign reached a peak, and now normal humans were gunning for his head, with the media finally backing off of his defense for some reason. He had been camping out in the woods for the day, sleeping far too high in a tree. Someone had spotted him, and the GIW swarmed that small town like nothing else he had even seen. They had new weapons. Ones that looked distinctly FentonWorks in design. They hurt, in more ways than one. Two agents found his tree and shot at him before he could fully wake up.

“Where did you get those?” Danny spat.

The agent snarled, “what? You didn’t think your parents would sell you out, freak? I was honestly surprised it took this long for them to crack, those failures of ectoscientists.”

“What did you do?” Danny hissed, his unused powers boiling under his skin, begging to bet let out.

The other agent laughed at him. “Got rid of those fools years ago! It only took us so long to get our hands on their tech because they tried damn hard to hide their more interesting inventions from us. They tried to protect you, even in death. How pathetic.”

Danny stopped running at that point. After seven years of it, he was tired, and decided in that moment, he had given up on waiting it out. No. His parents were gone, and he had no idea if his sister and friends were okay either. He halted in his tracks and snapped around, switching his tune completely. He was tired of being hunted; it was time to try to opposite to see if that worked instead. Those two agents never left the forest that day.

Cat and mouse became a different game. Danny would wage guerrilla warfare on the GIW, while they, in-turn, hunted him endlessly. Neither of them would relent, and neither would leave that small town as long as the other was there. So that small town in North Dakota became a battle ground. He should’ve felt bad about hurting the GIW, they were just human after all, but after all those years living in fear, Danny didn’t hesitate to strike down an agent. It was a ‘them or him’ situation. And they had killed his parents. It was a clear-cut decision from his perspective.

After so long without being on the offensive, Danny felt like the ectoblasts were burning through his hand, along with whatever he had managed to hit. They were much stronger than he remembered, and his ice came out more freely than it ever had before, but was that much more difficult to reign in. Between his lack of control and the GIW general indifference to collateral damage. That small town somewhere in North Dakota was nearly leveled in the process. He did feel bad about displacing the people that had lived there and hoped somewhere in the back of his head that they had all managed to get out safely.

But Danny could only keep up so long. There was one of him, and hundreds of them. They had managed to get more than a few lucky shots. Danny was littered with holes that burned, and it sapped his strength. But he ground his teeth and pushed through it. Then, it was no longer about survival; he wasn’t going to last much longer either way. He wasn’t going to get to finish growing up, or any of that. He knew what lied ahead of him. Danny was going to take those bastards with him on his way to hell.

Danny stood in the middle of the carnage, right out in the open. He let them fire first, but then unleashed carnage. His wail ripped from his throat, decimating what little infrastructure was left, full of grief and rage. He fired blasts after blast and encased the entire town in an early winter. He fought tooth and nail, hitting with as much strength as he could muster, tanking more hits than he blocked or dodged. He could almost see how Dan had taken comfort in the absolutely violence he wrought. But this was difference than mindless slaughter, he was more of a cornered animal than predator. He only stopped when the agents did, deep into the night. They didn’t come back with reinforcements in another wave, if they even had any left in this this horrible, small town in the middle of nowhere.

Danny collapsed, felt himself switch back, and bleed out in the middle of it all. At least he could see the stars, even if he would never reach.

   Danny awoke with a choked gasp, clutching the sheets and whipping his head around wildly, confusion fogging up his mind. His entire body ached and burned, and his grip on his powers was slippery at best.

Danny awoke in a bed, a familiar one, and that was the first thing he noticed that was wrong. He was in a room, his room, that he hadn’t seen in years. All of his models and posters perfectly in place, just as he remembered, even the ones that had suffered since he had gotten his powers. But his room didn’t have the small stains that at had built up on the carpet from when he would sit on the ground to patch himself up. His sheets were untouched by small burns from ectoblasts set off by nightmares. It was like nothing bad had ever happened, but Danny could feel his powers, dancing in an uncertain flux under his skin. They hadn’t been this unstable since he had first gotten them.

As Danny shook the sleep from his head, the scenery didn’t change, and neither did his memories of the past seven years. It was distinctively not a dream, but here he was, in his own room, after what he knew had been his second meeting with death. Danny climbed out of his bed, and immediately wobbled on his feet. He should be taller than this, and the sudden height change threw him for a loop. He stumbled and wavered on his now too-short legs out of his room, across the hall, and practically crashed into the door of the bathroom when his intangibility refused to cooperate.

The face staring back at him was his own, but not the one Danny had come to know. This one was still padded by baby fat, eyes wide, flesh unscarred by anything other than the bright red Lichtenburg shooting up from the collar or his pajamas. It was seven years too young to be the face he had come to know as his own. Danny swayed and crashed to the bathroom floor. There was a shout from someone else in house. He was fourteen again, just after the accident that had taken his life from him. The past seven years were gone. Danny shuffled himself over the toilet and hurled.

The door opened and he was embraced. Danny stiffened and looked over his shoulder to see bright red hair and teal eyes he hadn’t seen since he had left. Jazz gave him a worried look.

“Danny? Are you okay? You don’t have to go to school if you don’t feel up to it. I’m sure we can convince mom and dad to call you in sick, especially after what happened yesterday. You need the rest, even if it is your first day of high school.”

“Jazz,” Danny whined, his eyes filling with tears. He sunk further into her embrace.

“Oh, Danny…” Jazz said gently, embracing him tightly.

Danny let himself cry and be led back into his room and back into his bed, taking any comfort he could get. Jazz planted a small kiss on his brow before giving him another soft, worried smile.

“I’ll talk to mom and dad. You just focus on getting better, okay?”

Danny nodded, tears blurring his vision as he watched Jazz walk away and out of his room, shutting the door gently behind him. As soon as the lock clicked, he broke down, choking on his own sobs so that no one would hear. He hadn’t cried in years, there had been no time, but now his jumbled mind couldn’t think of anything else to do. His eyes flares with his surge in emotions and he screwed them shut. He was all they way back at the beginning of everything, but a day too late to stop it all. He was already dead, but still too weak and unsteady to be of any use. Was this even a second chance? He could be hallucinating it all, or it could be some sort of twisted joke.

Danny took a deep breath to prevent himself from hyperventilating and grounded himself by focusing on the near-silent hum of his core. It was hard to pick out, which helped him focus in its own way. Last time, he hadn’t noticed until he was already on the run, but now he could feel his core steadily forming and solidifying in his chest after being used to a fully-developed one for so long. This one was still too fresh and fragile, smaller than he was used to. Danny curled up on himself and made a keening noise his throat wasn’t yet equipped to make.

Danny let the exhaustion sink deeper into his bones, which ached, and he fell into an unsteady sleep.

    Danny awoke to the unfamiliar sound of a cell phone. It had been ringing for the past several minutes, forcefully dragging him from his slumber. It took his mind a couple second to catch up to his current situation. It had been hours since he had fallen asleep, apparently, now early afternoon instead of morning. He grabbed the distantly familiar device and struggled to remember his passcode, before figuring it out after a minute of trial and error.

His cell was full of messages from both Sam and Tucker throughout the day, asking him where he was. Danny noticed the messages seemed to get more worried as the day went on. It made sense that they’d be concerned. He had died yesterday, after all. He responded simply and truthfully, with the fact that he’d been allowed to stay home and had been asleep. Their responses were immediate, asking if he was okay and if they could come over.

At the thought of seeing Sam and Tucker, Danny froze. Jazz hadn’t picked up anything different with him, and Danny hadn’t really been acting his (mental) age, but it was possible that either of them could pick up the sudden change. Sam had always been an extremely critical person, and Tucker had known his for so long he new every last one of Danny’s quirks, which had drastically changed over the past seven years. He could be spotted immediately.

Danny could always just tell them. It would be better than lying and pretending, but he wasn’t sure if they’d believe him. They weren’t the same Sam and Tucker he knew, not really. These ones didn’t have the experiences his did. No ghost fights, no possessions, no time travel. They had yet to go through the rough experiences that would follow in the next two years. He wasn’t even sure if he should drag them into all of this ghost business again, but he knew them better than that. They already knew he was a ghost; he wouldn’t be able to stop them from at least helping out.

Danny sent a text back out to the two that he was still really tired and wanted to continue resting. He was fine. It was a lie, but it would be a small one. It was a lie to buy time. Danny went and dragged himself out of bed, and stretched out his hands, trying to get used to them again. The dissonance was still there, but nearly as bad as it had been that morning. It was worse when he overshadowed someone.

Danny’s desk wasn’t the absolute mess it always became during the school season, so it was pretty easy to find a composition book that had been bought for the upcoming term. It gave it a nondescript title, ‘Future Plans.’ It took him hours, and his hand cramped up more often than not, probably from the nerve damage his ghost half had yet to fully repair, and not from no writing anything in years like his mind suppled, even if holding a pen felt foreign to him.

Danny wrote it all down, messily scribbled down in Esperanto. He jotted down everything he could remember, starting from his accident and continuing on over the years, but mostly just until he left. He wrote down what he felt were the causes of certain things in retrospect, and some events he hadn’t known about until long after they happened. He didn’t want to forget anything, or struggle to recall anything in the heat of the moment. If he could stop the worst of it all from happening, then he would consider it a resounding victory.

Danny’s pen stopped in the middle of a phrase. He knew better than to meddle, didn’t he? He had messed with the past before and he knew exactly where they would get him. He wanted things to change, all of the stuff from this point forward, other than certain things he needed to happen, he wanted to alter, but should he?

Danny set the pen down and tried to rub the pain out of his hand, only cramping it further. He let out a low groan. If his parents weren’t in the lab, he could’ve tried to get to Clockwork. He had to know about what was going on and could even be the reason Danny had ‘Returned to Go’ in the first place. But with the portal being newly opened, his parents would be holed up in there for the next week, just like last time.

That brought it into question on if he could even handle the Ghost Zone at this point. He had no control over his own powers, and his core was underdeveloped. It would probably help him stabilize to be in such an ectoplasm-saturated environment, but people would notice is he was gone, especially if he didn’t have anyone to cover for him. No, he couldn’t go to the Long Now yet, but that didn’t write off going into the Ghost Zone in general.

Danny went back to writing, finishing up what had to be the story of what had been the first two years of his life as a ghost in messy, Esperanto-shorthand. It was completely indecipherable to anyone else. Perfect. Danny flipped the book to the back, then upside down, and began again. This time, constantly referencing what he had already written in the first three-quarters of the notebook, Danny started making plans to counter the big bad events and possibly turn things in his favor, sorting events into preventable, unpreventable, and need-to-happen. This time, he had the advantage of information and experience, something he sorely lacked the first time around. He needed to make sure he put them both to good use, both to make some of his battles easier, and to possibly prevent them altogether. He had about a month before the first thing he wanted to change occurred, so that was what he dedicated most of his time to, ironing out all the details he could. It would be great if he could pull this off without getting slammed through a few walls.

Danny had about a month before the larger ghosts started coming through, and about two weeks before the smaller ones learned of the portal’s existence. He had a few good weeks to get his powers under control, now that he knew what he should be capable of. Danny wondered if he could change the time frame and get stronger faster. He would need to be stronger, and more cautious than before.

Danny had a month before Sam inevitably decided to change the school’s menu, and the Lunch Lady appeared in retaliation. He just hoped he would be ready in time.

[ladylynse]

Prompt or musing for TAZ:A x DP crossover?

I went with a musing, Anon, but feel free to drop me a three sentence fic prompt if you like. For this crossover, I’d go one of two ways: Danny or Dani. 

Dani’s already off exploring on her own. It’s perfectly feasible she’d stop in at Amnesty Lodge at one point, with or without hearing anything coming out of the supposedly sleepy town of Kepler, and somehow find herself in the middle of things with people who are fast becoming like family to her. (I love the found family trope with Dani, okay? She needs it.) No one judges her for who she is now, and they’re not trying to pry into her past by asking a billion questions about her parents, and she doesn’t have to hide her ghost half from them, because they’re all like she is. Kinda. She might not be from Sylvain (she’s heard them talking and doesn’t think it’s part of the Ghost Zone, getting there through a portal or no, though she might be wrong as she certainly hasn’t explored every place within the Ghost Zone), but the questionable stability of her molecular structure means she can relate to their problems more than they know.

For Danny, well, Fenton family road trip to Kepler, of course. There have been stories coming out of that area for ages, and it’s ramped up recently. The kids are old enough that they can handle themselves in the field, even if they hate ghost hunting, so it’ll be all right to bring them along. Besides, they might be more eager to actually do ghost hunting with their parents if they aren’t in Amity Park, too.

With the Fentons being on (a working) vacation, they rent rooms in Amnesty Lodge. It’s, uh, no secret what the Fentons are, which makes some residents uncomfortable, but they keep their disguises on and steer clear of the ghost hunters, which is incredibly easy because of how loud Jack is. They’re used to keeping an extra guard up around the FBI; these new guests aren’t terribly different. In both cases, they can’t afford to be found out. 

(Said FBI agents aren’t impressed that stories are spreading enough that some amateur investigators are showing up, since that’s what they figure the Fentons are--though one of them may or may not know someone in the Guys in White and suggests that, if the Fentons really are experts in their field and someone’s playing ghost to murder other people, well, maybe it wouldn’t be completely unethical to let them find out what they can find out...and then go in and do a proper investigation before they mess anything up.)

Danny’s trying to come to terms with the fact that his ghost sense went off the moment they got near this place, meaning his parents were right about there actually being ghosts here. He’s on his guard because of that, knowing he has to find said ghost(s) as soon as possible, because if they’re friendly, he and Jazz need to convince them to leave town for a bit or figure out how to sabotage all the Fenton equipment without their parents realizing that’s what they’re up to and that any sabotage actually happened.

Jack and Maddie go off into town to investigate leads at the earliest opportunity, the kids pleading the excuse of settling in to stay behind, but when they hear about the Cryptonomica, they must all go. There’s no hope of arguing. Danny and Jazz get dragged along even though Danny would rather try to find the ghosts before his parents do. It’s clear enough to Danny and Jazz that the Cryptonomica is a giant tourist trap, but....

There’s an edge of truth in some of it that Danny finds distinctly unsettling. 

For instance, there’s a stuffed yeti that looks like the ghosts of the Far Frozen, and with the Ghost Zone being a mirror of the Real World, being connected....

Things start to spiral out of Danny’s control fairly quickly after that. His parents are trying to show them how to do some actual investigating to track down ghosts in case equipment fails, which involves questioning essentially everyone who will talk to them, and it becomes very clear very fast that weird near death brushes and attacks and murder are a current thing, not a happened at some point in the last fifty years thing, which makes it harder to convince their parents that it’s perfectly okay for the two of them to go off alone. They manage it, mostly thanks to the fact that Jack and Maddie trust Jazz’s judgement.

Naturally, Danny and Jazz aren’t acting like normal children, and Ned heard every word they were whispering to each other in the Cryptonomica, which immediately put them on the radar of the Pine Guard. (And, let’s face it, if Momma’s around, she pegs Danny very quickly.) A quick side investigation into the Fenton family is done to assess how much of a threat they are, and they connection between Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom is made almost before he shows up--but, really, Phantom making an appearance just clinched it. 

A botched investigation attempt on Danny and Jazz’s part ends with them realizing this place isn’t just haunted, that there are more than just ghosts lurking here, and if Danny hadn’t been able to turn the two of them intangible, they would probably both be ghosts. They get rescued and confronted, and contrary to how I usually draw out confrontations with ample misconceptions, there would be frank conversations. Danny and Jazz are kids, and the others are adults. If the kids are not going to sit this out as they should, they at least need to know enough about what’s going on to not get themselves killed--and, frankly, working together might prevent all of them getting killed, as that remains a very distinct possibility.

Jazz ultimately gets benched for her safety, which means it’s her job to find ways to distract her parents and the FBI and cover for Danny. Danny gets to help because, well, he was the reason he and Jazz survived their first encounter, and he can do things the rest of them can’t. He doesn’t meet the Mothman, but he can’t help but think of Clockwork when he hears stories. And the archway in the woods, well.... He’s got some experience with portals. Not good experience, and not necessarily useful experience, but maybe it wasn’t a total fluke that his parents picked this haunted town for their hunting trip.

(more like this)

[twoidiotwriters1]

Written In The Stars LXXXIX (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: I’m sorry for the last chapter, I’m not tho 

P.S. I made a spotify playlist with all the songs I’ve put so far in the story, I’ll leave the link here :) -Danny

Words: 1,992

Series’ Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to: Catch Me -by Demi Lovato

Chapter Twenty-Four: Misconceptions.

She hated that she cared so much now, everything was relevant, every mistake felt like a missed opportunity. 

She'd almost kissed him merely a month ago, and she would've kissed him tonight if it weren't because he'd chosen to blame her for the attention some boys were paying to her.

For Harry, it made sense that Mel would rather spend time with a Quidditch celebrity or a popular Gryffindor than to spend it with him. He was jealous of the Slytherin that managed to change her mind about their least favourite house, and if that wasn't about enough, Erick also had a very attractive cousin, in case Mel needed more options.

She surely had the talent to befriend good-looking boys, she had to at least admit that.

Mel was always changing plans, giving him the best presents, defending his bloody honour! What else does she have to do to convince him that she will always choose him?!

"I saw it this morning, Severus!" An angry voice exclaimed over the bushes. "It looks almost fresh like they just tattooed it in my skin!"

"Really?" Snape's voice came out with disinterest. "Must've been a trick of the light..."

"You know it wasn't! It's an omen! A terrible omen!"

"Quite honestly, I don't see what there is to fuss about, Igor."

Mel realized she'd get in trouble if they were to find her eavesdropping on their conversation, so she tried to flee. However, she crashed against someone's front, Mel grunted and turned around quickly, "Sorry!"

Harry blinked in surprise, probably not expecting to see her.

"Severus, you cannot pretend this isn't happening!" The voice was getting closer. "It's been getting clearer and clearer for months. I am becoming seriously concerned, I can't deny it —"

"Then flee," Snape replied. "Flee — I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts."

Mel jumped out of Harry's grip, fearing that Snape could find a fitting reason to take points away since he seemed to be registering the bushes in search for rulebreakers.

"Ten points from Ravenclaw, Fawcett! And ten points from Hufflepuff too, Stebbins!– And what are you three doing?"

"We're walking," Ron told Snape. "Not against the law, is it?"

"Keep walking, then!" And with that, both men were gone.

"What's got Karkaroff all worried?" Ron muttered.

"Dunno, he was talking about some mark on his skin," Mel kept her eyes on them until they disappeared. "Said something about bad omens..."

"Since when have he and Snape been on first-name terms?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Is weird–" She shared a look with the boy, then remembered she was mad at him and turned hot on her heel without a second glance.

"Wait!" Harry called after her.

Unfortunately, she had to stop a second time when she heard Hagrid's voice coming from the bench ahead of them. Mel hushed him and indicated both boys to be quiet before pointing at the bench. Harry turned to see if they could go back and tapped Ron's shoulder to get his attention and tell him to go back. Ron strongly refused when he saw Fleur there with her date and pulled them closer to the shadows so no one could see them.

"You better hope Snape doesn't find us here, Ronald," Mel whispered angrily.

"Shh!"

"What did you know, 'Agrid?" Madame Maxime was saying.

'I hate this, I hate this, I hate this,' Mel echoed in her mind, eyes fixed on a beetle slowly crawling up the reindeer statue where they were currently hiding.

"I jus' knew... knew you were like me... Was it yer mother or yer father?"

"I — I don't know what you mean, 'Agrid..."

"It was my mother. She was one o' the las' ones in Britain. 'Course, I can' remember her too well... she left, see. When I was abou' three. She wasn' really the maternal sort. Well... it's not in their natures, is it? Dunno what happened to her... might be dead fer all I know..."

"Mel," Harry tried a second time. "Mel, I'm sorry about what I said before, I didn't mean–"

"Are you really trying to do this now?" She hissed. "Shut up!"

"Me dad was broken-hearted when she wen'. Tiny little bloke, my dad was. By the time I was six, I could lift him up an' put him on top o' the dresser if he annoyed me. Used ter make him laugh... Dad raised me... but he died, o' course, jus' after I started school. Sorta had ter make me own way after that. Dumbledore was a real help, mind. Very kind ter me, he was..." Hagrid blew his nose loudly.

Mel jumped and Harry pulled her back quickly, she noticed his hand lingered on her waist afterwards. She didn't try to push it away, for now.

"So... anyway... enough abou' me. What about you? Which side you got it on?"

"It is chilly," Madame Maxime stood up. "I think I will go in now."

"Eh? No, don' go! I've — I've never met another one before!"

"Anuzzer what, precisely?"

The hand on her waist tightened and her shoulders tensed, they were preparing for impact.

"Another half-giant, o' course!"

" 'Ow dare you!" Madame Maxime gasped. "I 'ave nevair been more insulted in my life! 'Alf-giant? Moi? I 'ave — I 'ave big bones!" She stormed off into the castle, after a minute of dense silence, Hagrid walked slowly in the direction of his cabin.

"C'mon," Harry's voice startled her again. "Let's go... What's up?"

"Did you know?" Ron asked. "About Hagrid being half-giant?"

"I didn't," Mel replied.

"No," Harry shrugged. "So what?"

Ron grimaced, he shook his head, pushing them forward. "I'll explain inside, c'mon..."

Mel didn't want to go back inside with them, but the curiosity was killing her and she needed to know, no one talked until they reached a table.

"So? What's the problem with giants?" Harry was the first to ask.

"Well, they're... they're... not very nice."

"Oh, I understand everything now," Mel said sarcastically.

"Who cares? There's nothing wrong with Hagrid!"

"I know there isn't, but... blimey, no wonder he keeps it quiet, I always thought he'd got in the way of a bad Engorgement Charm when he was a kid or something. Didn't like to mention it..."

"But what's it matter if his mother was a giantess?" Harry insisted.

"Well... no one who knows him will care, 'cos they'll know he's not dangerous... But they're just vicious, giants. It's like Hagrid said, it's in their natures, they're like trolls... they just like killing, everyone knows that. There aren't any left in Britain now, though."

"What happened to them?"

"Well, they were dying out anyway, and then loads got themselves killed by Aurors. There're supposed to be giants abroad, though... They hide out in mountains mostly..."

"I don't know who Maxime thinks she's kidding," Harry grumbled. "If Hagrid's half-giant, she definitely is. Big bones... the only thing that's got bigger bones than her is a dinosaur."

"Are we sure is not a misconception like several from around here?" Mel inquired. "Take muggle-borns, for example..."

"Oh no, not at all. Giants are awfully violent and let it very clear during the last war... wonder how Hagrid's dad got one interested..."

"Let's not talk about Hagrid behind his back, all right?" Mel looked around. "More so when there are so many people that could hear."

Five minutes later she was considering to go find the twins and join their table when Harry tried to apologize once more.

"Mel?" He inched just a bit closer. "I'm sorry, I really am– I didn't mean it."

"I know that," She scowled. "You said it anyway, and it hurt."

"That's why I'm sorry," He seemed truly repentant. "I didn't mean to make you cry–"

"I didn't cry."

"I saw your face when we found you," He turned his body, now he was fully facing her. "I felt awful, even before I saw you... I don't want to stop being friends."

"Me neither," She grumbled. "What d'you suggest, then?"

"I want to know if you'll forgive me first," He said with a hint of hope. "Will you?"

Of course she would, she wanted nothing more... She also wanted to yell at him that he had no reason to be so rude. Blimey, why did he have to be so stupid?

"Yes," She glared, "but don't ever talk to me like that again, I'm not the type to take advantage of nice boys and you know it. It's awfully rude, and I have enough of that."

"You won't hear a word of it again."

"Okay... What now?"

Harry smiled shyly. "I can offer you a dance before the ball ends? I know I messed up the last one..."

She could've refused and kept her chin up for the rest of the night, she could've even said she'd rather dance with Goyle than to give him the satisfaction of saying he got to dance a third time with her... but she really wanted to dance with him.

"All right," She stood up and walked without waiting. "Just one. I don't feel like holding hands with you for long periods of time."

"What about short periods of time?" Harry asked, happily following her like a puppy.

"If you find a way to get away with it," She replied with the tiniest smile. "You may certainly try."

By midnight the ball was coming to an end, it wasn't the perfect evening Mel had dreamed of, but it had been nice, even educational. She saw Hermione walked past them without a second glance. Ron had it coming, he and his need to be in a bad mood about everything all the time.

As they started their way upstairs, a voice called Harry. It was Cedric, he rushed over to meet them halfway, leaving Cho Chang at the foot of the stairs.

"Yeah?" Harry asked in confusion.

Cedric looked at Mel and Ron with mistrust, both kids gave him a weird look and kept walking, understanding the message.

"He sure acts like he's worth a lot, the idiot," Ron scoffed.

"Cedric didn't do anything to upset you."

"Cedric?" Ron replied as they got to the second floor. "I wasn't talking about Cedric."

"Then who?"

"Krum! Strutting around the castle, going to the library and talking to Hermione like he has the right to... to interrupt your study sessions."

"Are you jealous?"

He looked scandalized, "Why would I be?"

"I honestly don't know."

The rest of the walk was quiet until they entered the common room, Hermione was waiting for them, arms crossed and a stare that Mel knew all too well.

"Well?" She asked.

"Well, what?"

"Are you going to apologize?"

"Apologize?" Ron gaped. "I did nothing wrong!"

"Yes, you did!" Hermione stepped forward.

"Godric, have mercy..." Mel groaned, walking up to a chair and sitting down heavily.

The Gryffindors that were arriving paid no mind to their argument, most of them were too tired to even notice what was going on.

"I was only telling the truth!" Ron continued loudly. "This has to be another way to get more points on the next task, I don't like it and neither should you!"

"Well, if you don't like it, you know what the solution is, don't you?" Hermione was shaking in anger, her hair was slowly falling down from its bun and her face was getting redder.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Ron yelled back.

Harry arrived then, giving her a puzzled look.

"Just let it happen," She mumbled.

"Next time there's a ball," Hermione continued, "ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!" The girl walked out of the place and straight to the dormitories.

"Well," Ron said, blinking a few times in confusion, "well — that just proves — completely missed the point —"

Mel stood up.

"Get over it," She patted his back and went upstairs.

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

@dee123ksha​ @vampiregirl1797 @siriuslysirius1107 @stardusthigh @mikariell95 @vernon-dursley @thesuitelifeofafangirl @tomshollandz @kylosleftbuttcheek @reverse-hxlland @bloodorangemoonlight @omiwashere​ @t-rexs-world

[aboveallarescuer]

Dany being self-critical or at least self-aware

As I was rereading ASOIAF, I made it my goal to compile all* the book passages demonstrating either certain key attributes of Daenerys Targaryen (e.g. that she's compassionate and smart) or aspects of hers that are usually overstated (e.g. that she's ambitious and prophecy-driven).  Doing such a task may seem exaggerated, but I'd argue it's not, for many, many misconceptions about Dany have become widespread in light of the show's final season's events (and even before).

It must be acknowledged that it can be tricky to reference, say, ADWD passages to counter-argument how she was depicted in season eight (which allegedly follows ADOS events). Dany will have had plenty of character development in the span of two books. However, whatever happens to Dany in the next two books, I would argue that there is more than enough material to conclude that her show counterpart was made to fall for flaws that she (for the most part) never had and actions that she (for the most part) would never take. (and that's not even considering the double standards and the contradictions with what had been shown from show!Dany up until then, but that's obviously out of the scope of these lists)

Another objection to the purpose of these lists is that Game of Thrones is different from A Song of Ice and Fire and should be analyzed on its own, which is a fair point. However, the show is also an adaptation of these books, which begs the questions: why did they change Dany's character? Why did they overfocus on negative traits of hers or depicted them as negative when they weren't supposed to be or gave her negative traits that were never hers to begin with? Another fact that undermines the show=/=books argument is that most people think that the show's ending will be the books', albeit only in broad strokes and in different circumstances. As a result, people's perception of Dany is inevitably influenced by the show, which is a shame.

I hope these lists can be useful for whoever wants to find book passages to defend (or even simply explore different facets of) Dany's character in metas or conversations.

*Well, at least all the passages that I could find in her chapters, which is no guarantee that the effort was perfectly executed, but I did my best.

Also, people could interpret certain passages differently and then come up with a different collection of passages if they ever attempted to make one, so I'm not saying that this list is completely objective (nor that there could ever be one).

Also, some passages have been cut short according to whether they were, IMO, relevant to the specific topic of the list they're in, so the context surrounding them may not always be clear (always read the books and use asearchoficeandfire). Many of them appear in different lists, sometimes fully referenced, sometimes not.

I listed the passages back to front because I felt doing so highlighted Dany's evolution better.

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

To justify the existence of this list, let's see examples of widespread opinions that I feel misrepresent Daenerys Targaryen:

[I]f you are the person who has freed countless souls from chains -- when all those people never imagined freedom was a possibility -- you would feel you know better than everyone else what is best for them. (The Take)

~

And for Dany, the whole concept of "breaking the wheel" was always just about her taking more power so that she could dispense what she believed to be justice. It's a truly terrifying megalomania and one that I think she's had all along, we just didn't always see it. (x)

~

She wants to rule with love, not fear.

It doesn’t always go that way for her. And when it doesn’t — when the people she would rule don’t adore her — she tends to react fiercely. (x)

~

But Dany’s arc is not contrived or “coming out of nowhere” or “out of character”. This is precisely the character that she has shown herself to be from as far back as season two. She has made selfish and rash decisions one after another. She has failed to recognize the larger picture and the true needs of the people around her more times than can be chalked up to “youthful” mistakes. The seeds have been laid, the decisions have been made, and her thoughtlessness towards others and zeal for her own destiny have distorted her intentions. (x)

~

Dany’s true downfall is one of ego, impulse control and rage – and that is a human story, not a gendered story. She has become obsessed with destiny. It seems she doesn’t even have one except in helping set up others, more deserving, to lead. This certainly shows the folly of ego, presumption and dominion without listening and learning. (x)

~

She always has had a tyrant in the making kind of vibe. In addition to mass genocide, what do tyrants have in common? They all have a big ego, which needs to be massaged every now and then. Noticed how often Danny [sic] tells the story about the time she broke the chains and slaves rose up against their masters? It’s the narcissist in her, who not only loved it when people took her name as she passed through the crowd in Meereen after murdering the masters, but continues to tell that story to boost her own ego. (x)

Does Dany "[feels] [she] know[s] better than everyone else what is best for them"? Does Dany have a "truly terrifying megalomania"? Does Dany tend to "react fiercely" "when the people she would rule don’t adore her"? Are Dany's decisions "selfish and rash" in nature? Does Dany have problems with "ego, impulse control, rage, presumption and dominion without listening and learning"? Is Dany a "tyrant in the making" with a "narcissist in her" whose ego "needs to be massaged every now and then"?

I would argue these claims certainly cannot be made after reading the books (some can't even after watching the show's first 71 episodes, but the show can be all over the place and ... I digress), so take a look at these passages.

A Dance with Dragons

ADWD Daenerys X

Her tokar and veils she had abandoned in the pit, and her linen undertunic had never been made to withstand the hot days and cold nights of the Dothraki sea. Sweat and grass and dirt had stained it, and Dany had torn a strip off the hem to make a bandage for her shin. I must look a ragged thing, and starved, she thought, but if the days stay warm, I will not freeze.

~

Dany did not need a glass to know that she was filthy.

~

Once I dreamed of flying, she thought, and now I’ve flown, and dream of stealing eggs. That made her laugh. “Men are mad and gods are madder,” she told the grass, and the grass murmured its agreement.

~

If I stay here, I will die. I may be dying now. Would the horse god of the Dothraki part the grass and claim her for his starry khalasar, so she might ride the nightlands with Khal Drogo? In Westeros the dead of House Targaryen were given to the flames, but who would light her pyre here? My flesh will feed the wolves and carrion crows, she thought sadly, and worms will burrow through my womb.

~

You took Meereen, he told her, yet still you lingered. “To be a queen.”

You are a queen, her bear said. In Westeros. “It is such a long way,” she complained. “I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of war. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and see them grow. I am only a young girl.”

~

Dany, starved, slid off his back and ate with him, ripping chunks of smoking meat from the dead horse with bare, burned hands. In Meereen I was a queen in silk, nibbling on stuffed dates and honeyed lamb, she remembered. What would my noble husband think if he could see me now? Hizdahr would be horrified, no doubt. But Daario ...

Daario would laugh, carve off a hunk of horsemeat with his arakh, and squat down to eat beside her.

ADWD Daenerys IX

Soon Dany was as clean as she was ever going to be.

~

How queer, the queen thought. They cheer me on the same plaza where I once impaled one hundred sixty-three Great Masters.

~

The day she wed Khal Drogo, the arakhs had flashed at her wedding feast, and men had died whilst others drank and mated. Life and death went hand in hand amongst the horselords, and a sprinkling of blood was thought to bless a marriage. Her new marriage would soon be drenched in blood. How blessed it would be.

~

“I suppose I must be thankful for small victories,” the queen said.

“One step, then the next, and soon we shall be running. Together we shall make a new Meereen.” The street ahead had finally cleared. “Shall we continue on?”

What could she do but nod? One step, then the next, but where is it I’m going?

~

Her lord husband stood and raised his hands. “Great Masters! My queen has come this day, to show her love for you, her people. By her grace and with her leave, I give you now your mortal art. Meereen! Let Queen Daenerys hear your love!”

Ten thousand throats roared out their thanks; then twenty thousand; then all. They did not call her name, which few of them could pronounce. “Mother!” they cried instead; in the old dead tongue of Ghis, the word was Mhysa! They stamped their feet and slapped their bellies and shouted, “Mhysa, Mhysa, Mhysa,” until the whole pit seemed to tremble. Dany let the sound wash over her. I am not your mother, she might have shouted, back, I am the mother of your slaves, of every boy who ever died upon these sands whilst you gorged on honeyed locusts. Behind her, Reznak leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Magnificence, hear how they love you!”

No, she knew, they love their mortal art.

~

Pale Qartheen, black Summer Islanders, copper-skinned Dothraki, Tyroshi with blue beards, Lamb Men, Jogos Nhai, sullen Braavosi, brindle-skinned half-men from the jungles of Sothoros—from the ends of the world they came to die in Daznak’s Pit.

~

“Magnificence, the people of Meereen have come to celebrate our union. You heard them cheering you. Do not cast away their love.”

“It was my floppy ears they cheered, not me. Take me from this abbatoir, husband.”

~

In Westeros the septons spoke of seven hells and seven heavens, but the Seven Kingdoms and their gods were far away. If she died here, Dany wondered, would the horse god of the Dothraki part the grass and claim her for his starry khalasar, so she might ride the nightlands beside her sun-and-stars? Or would the angry gods of Ghis send their harpies to seize her soul and drag her down to torment?

[...] In the smoldering red pits of Drogon’s eyes, Dany saw her own reflection. How small she looked, how weak and frail and scared. I cannot let him see my fear.

ADWD Daenerys VIII

No queen has clean hands, Dany told herself. She thought of Doreah, of Quaro, of Eroeh … of a little girl she had never met, whose name had been Hazzea. Better a few should die in the pit than thousands at the gates. This is the price of peace, I pay it willingly. If I look back, I am lost.

~

You saw me as defeated, Dany thought, and who am I to say that you were wrong?

“...Never trust a sellsword.”

Or a queen, thought Dany.

~

“The dragon has three heads,” Dany said when they were on the final flight. “My marriage need not be the end of all your hopes. I know why you are here.”

“For you,” said Quentyn, all awkward gallantry.

“No,” said Dany. “For fire and blood.”

~

Her voice echoed off the scorched stone walls. It sounded small—a girl’s voice, not the voice of a queen and conqueror, nor the glad voice of a new-made bride.

~

She could hear the dragons screaming as she led the boy back to the door, and see the play of light against the bricks, reflections of their fires. If I look back, I am lost.

~

I should never have taken him into my bed. He was only a sellsword, no fit consort for a queen, and yet …

I knew that all along, but I did it anyway.

“My queen?” said a soft voice in the darkness.

Dany flinched. “Who is there?”

“Only Missandei.” The Naathi scribe moved closer to the bed. “This one heard you crying.”

ADWD Daenerys VII

Meereenese seldom rode within their city walls. They preferred palanquins, litters, and sedan chairs, borne upon the shoulders of their slaves. “Horses befoul the streets,” one man of Zakh had told her, “slaves do not.” Dany had freed the slaves, yet palanquins, litters, and sedan chairs still choked the streets as before, and none of them floated magically through the air.

ADWD Daenerys VI

Their eyes followed her. Those who had the strength called out. “Mother … please, Mother … bless you, Mother …”

Bless me, Dany thought bitterly. Your city is gone to ash and bone, your people are dying all around you. I have no shelter for you, no medicine, no hope. Only stale bread and wormy meat, hard cheese, a little milk. Bless me, bless me.

What kind of mother has no milk to feed her children?

~

Dany gazed across the camp, to the many-colored brick walls of Meereen. The air was thick with flies and cries. “The gods have sent this pestilence to humble me.[”]

ADWD Daenerys V

The weaver raised her head. “Every day we told each other that the dragon queen was coming back.” The woman had thin lips and dull dead eyes, set in a pinched and narrow face. “Cleon had sent for you, it was said, and you were coming.”

He sent for me, thought Dany. That much is true, at least.

~

“Others blamed Daenerys,” said the weaver, “but more of us still loved you. ‘She is on her way,’ we said to one another. ‘She is coming at the head of a great host, with food for all.’”

I can scarce feed my own folk. If I had marched to Astapor, I would have lost Meereen.

~

“Even then some said that you were coming,” said the weaver. “They swore they had seen you mounted on a dragon, flying high above the camps of the Yunkai’i. Every day we looked for you.”

I could not come, the queen thought. I dare not.

~

“It is good that you have come,” she told the Astapori. “You will be safe in Meereen.”

The cobbler thanked her for that, and the old brickmaker kissed her foot, but the weaver looked at her with eyes as hard as slate. She knows I lie, the queen thought. She knows I cannot keep them safe. Astapor is burning, and Meereen is next.

~

You warned King Cleon against this war with Yunkai. The man was a fool, and his hands were red with blood.”

And are my hands any cleaner? She remembered what Daario had said—that all kings must be butchers, or meat.

~

“Cleon was the enemy of our enemy. If I had joined him at the Horns of Hazzat, we might have crushed the Yunkai’i between us.”

The Shavepate disagreed. “If you had taken the Unsullied south to Hazzat, the Sons of the Harpy—”

“I know. I know. It is Eroeh all over again.”

Brown Ben Plumm was puzzled. “Who is Eroeh?”

“A girl I thought I’d saved from rape and torment. All I did was make it worse for her in the end. And all I did in Astapor was make ten thousand Eroehs.”

“Your Grace could not have known—”

“I am the queen. It was my place to know.”

ADWD Daenerys IV

“Then heed me now and marry.”

[...] “Tell me, can this king puff his cheeks up and blow Xaro’s galleys back to Qarth? Can he clap his hands and break the siege of Astapor? Can he put food in the bellies of my children and bring peace back to my streets?”

~

“...In him the prophecies shall be fulfilled, and your enemies will melt away like snow."

He shall be the stallion that mounts the world. Dany knew how it went with prophecies. They were made of words, and words were wind.

~

“Why would you want to help me? For the crown?”

~

“...The Seven Kingdoms will never accept Hizdahr zo Loraq as king.”

“No more than Meereen will accept Daenerys Targaryen as queen. The Green Grace has the right of that. I need a king beside me, a king of old Ghiscari blood. Elsewise they will always see me as the uncouth barbarian who smashed through their gates, impaled their kin on spikes, and stole their wealth.”

~

“Bright queen,” he said, “you have grown more beautiful in my absence. How is this thing possible?”

The queen was accustomed to such praise, yet somehow the compliment meant more coming from Daario than from the likes of Reznak, Xaro, or Hizdahr.

~

What have I done? she thought, huddled in her empty bed. I have waited so long for him to come back, and I send him away. “He would make a monster of me,” she whispered, “a butcher queen.” But then she thought of Drogon far away, and the dragons in the pit. There is blood on my hands too, and on my heart. We are not so different, Daario and I. We are both monsters.

ADWD Daenerys III

“I want no slave. I free you.” His jeweled nose made a tempting target. This time Dany threw an apricot at him.

Xaro caught it in the air and took a bite. “Whence came this madness? Should I count myself fortunate that you did not free my own slaves when you were my guest in Qarth?”

I was a beggar queen and you were Xaro of the Thirteen, Dany thought, and all you wanted were my dragons. “Your slaves seemed well treated and content. It was not till Astapor that my eyes were opened. Do you know how Unsullied are made and trained?”

~

“Meereen is a free city of free men.”

“A poor city that once was rich. A hungry city that once was fat. A bloody city that once was peaceful.”

His accusations stung. There was too much truth in them. “Meereen will be rich and fat and peaceful once again, and free as well. Go to the Dothraki if you must have slaves.”

~

Groleo had been a most unhappy man since they had broken up his ship to build the siege engines that won Meereen for her. Dany had tried to console him by naming him her lord admiral, but it was a hollow honor; the Meereenese fleet had sailed for Yunkai when Dany’s host approached the city, so the old Pentoshi was an admiral without ships.

~

Ser Barristan went to one knee before her. “My queen, your realm has need of you. You are not wanted here, but in Westeros men will flock to your banners by the thousands, great lords and noble knights. ‘She is come,’ they will shout to one another, in glad voices. ‘Prince Rhaegar’s sister has come home at last.’”

“If they love me so much, they will wait for me.” Dany stood. “Reznak, summon Xaro Xhoan Daxos.”

ADWD Daenerys II

A shadow. A memory. No one. She was the blood of the dragon, but Ser Barristan had warned her that in that blood there was a taint. Could I be going mad? They had called her father mad, once. “I was praying,” she told the Naathi girl. “It will be light soon. I had best eat something, before court.”

~

She was the blood of the dragon. She could kill the Sons of the Harpy, and the sons of the sons, and the sons of the sons of the sons. But a dragon could not feed a hungry child nor help a dying woman’s pain. And who would ever dare to love a dragon?

~

All the dogs are just as guilty. The guilt …” The word caught in her throat. Hazzea, she thought, and suddenly she heard herself say, “I have to see the pit,” in a voice as small as a child’s whisper. “Take me down, ser, if you would.”

~

What sort of mother lets her children rot in darkness?

If I look back, I am doomed, Dany told herself … but how could she not look back? I should have seen it coming. Was I so blind, or did I close my eyes willfully, so I would not have to see the price of power?

~

Mother of dragons, Daenerys thought. Mother of monsters. What have I unleashed upon the world? A queen I am, but my throne is made of burned bones, and it rests on quicksand. Without dragons, how could she hope to hold Meereen, much less win back Westeros? I am the blood of the dragon, she thought. If they are monsters, so am I.

ADWD Daenerys I

A boy came, younger than Dany, slight and scarred, dressed up in a frayed grey tokar trailing silver fringe. His voice broke when he told of how two of his father’s household slaves had risen up the night the gate broke. One had slain his father, the other his elder brother. Both had raped his mother before killing her as well. The boy had escaped with no more than the scar upon his face, but one of the murderers was still living in his father’s house, and the other had joined the queen’s soldiers as one of the Mother’s Men. He wanted them both hanged.

I am queen over a city built on dust and death. Dany had no choice but to deny him. She had declared a blanket pardon for all crimes committed during the sack. Nor would she punish slaves for rising up against their masters.

When she told him, the boy rushed at her, but his feet tangled in his tokar and he went sprawling headlong on the purple marble. [...]“Enough, Belwas,” Dany called. [...] But as he left the boy looked back over his shoulder, and when she saw his eyes Dany thought, The Harpy has another Son.

A Storm of Swords

ASOS Daenerys VI

When she was dressed, Missandei brought her a polished silver glass so she could see how she looked. Dany stared at herself in silence. Is this the face of a conqueror? So far as she could tell, she still looked like a little girl.

~

All my victories turn to dross in my hands, she thought. Whatever I do, all I make is death and horror. When word of what had befallen Astapor reached the streets, as it surely would, tens of thousands of newly freed Meereenese slaves would doubtless decide to follow her when she went west, for fear of what awaited them if they stayed ... yet it might well be that worse would await them on the march. Even if she emptied every granary in the city and left Meereen to starve, how could she feed so many? The way before her was fraught with hardship, bloodshed, and danger. Ser Jorah had warned her of that. He’d warned her of so many things ... he’d ... No, I will not think of Jorah Mormont. Let him keep a little longer.

~

“The city bleeds. Dead men rot unburied in the streets, each pyramid is an armed camp, and the markets have neither food nor slaves for sale. And the poor children! King Cleaver’s thugs have seized every highborn boy in Astapor to make new Unsullied for the trade, though it will be years before they are trained.”

The thing that surprised Dany most was how unsurprised she was. She found herself remembering Eroeh, the Lhazarene girl she had once tried to protect, and what had happened to her. It will be the same in Meereen once I march, she thought. The slaves from the fighting pits, bred and trained to slaughter, were already proving themselves unruly and quarrelsome. They seemed to think they owned the city now, and every man and woman in it. Two of them had been among the eight she’d hanged. There is no more I can do, she told herself.

~

“I will admit you helped win me this city ...”

Ser Jorah’s mouth tightened. “We won you this city. We sewer rats.”

“Be quiet,” she said again ... though there was truth to what he said.

~

“Bring me the book I was reading last night.” She wanted to lose herself in the words, in other times and other places. The fat leather-bound volume was full of songs and stories from the Seven Kingdoms. Children’s stories, if truth be told; too simple and fanciful to be true history. All the heroes were tall and handsome, and you could tell the traitors by their shifty eyes. Yet she loved them all the same. Last night she had been reading of the three princesses in the red tower, locked away by the king for the crime of being beautiful.

~

But Daario is right, I shouldn’t have banished him. I should have kept him, or I should have killed him. She played at being a queen, yet sometimes she still felt like a scared little girl. Viserys always said what a dolt I was. Was he truly mad? She closed the book. She could still recall Ser Jorah, if she wished. Or send Daario to kill him.

~

That night her handmaids brought her lamb, with a salad of raisins and carrots soaked in wine, and a hot flaky bread dripping with honey. She could eat none of it. Did Rhaegar ever grow so weary? she wondered. Did Aegon, after his conquest?

~

“Aegon the Conqueror brought fire and blood to Westeros, but afterward he gave them peace, prosperity, and justice. But all I have brought to Slaver’s Bay is death and ruin. I have been more khal than queen, smashing and plundering, then moving on.”

“There is nothing to stay for,” said Brown Ben Plumm.

“Your Grace, the slavers brought their doom on themselves,” said Daario Naharis.

“You have brought freedom as well,” Missandei pointed out.

“Freedom to starve?” asked Dany sharply. “Freedom to die? Am I a dragon, or a harpy?” Am I mad? Do I have the taint?

“A dragon,” Ser Barristan said with certainty. “Meereen is not Westeros, Your Grace.”

“But how can I rule seven kingdoms if I cannot rule a single city?” He had no answer to that. Dany turned away from them, to gaze out over the city once again. “My children need time to heal and learn. My dragons need time to grow and test their wings. And I need the same. I will not let this city go the way of Astapor. I will not let the harpy of Yunkai chain up those I’ve freed all over again.” She turned back to look at their faces. “I will not march.”

“What will you do then, Khaleesi?” asked Rakharo.

“Stay,” she said. “Rule. And be a queen.”

ASOS Daenerys V

Balerion floated nearest; the great cog once known as Saduleon, her sails furled. Further out were the galleys Meraxes and Vhagar, formerly Joso’s Prank and Summer Sun. They were Magister Illyrio’s ships, in truth, not hers at all, and yet she had given them new names with hardly a thought.

~

Many of the freedmen believed there was good fortune in her touch. If it helps give them courage, let them touch me, she thought. There are hard trials yet ahead ...

~

“Your Grace.” Arstan knelt. “I am an old man, and shamed. He should never have gotten close enough to seize you. I was lax. I did not know him without his beard and hair.”

“No more than I did.”

ASOS Daenerys III

Arstan Whitebeard held his tongue as well, when Dany swept by him on the terrace. He followed her down the steps in silence, but she could hear his hardwood staff tap tapping on the red bricks as they went. She did not blame him for his fury. It was a wretched thing she did. The Mother of Dragons has sold her strongest child. Even the thought made her ill.

~

Dany fed her dragons as she always did, but found she had no appetite herself. She cried awhile, alone in her cabin, then dried her tears long enough for yet another argument with Groleo.

[...] The anger burned the grief and fear from her, for a few hours at the least.

~

If I look back I am lost, Dany told herself the next morning as she entered Astapor through the harbor gates. She dared not remind herself how small and insignificant her following truly was, or she would lose all courage.

~

Dany mounted her silver. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She felt desperately afraid. Was this what my brother would have done?

ASOS Daenerys II

“Yet I must have some army,” Dany said. “The boy Joffrey will not give me the Iron Throne for asking politely.”

“When the day comes that you raise your banners, half of Westeros will be with you,” Whitebeard promised. “Your brother Rhaegar is still remembered, with great love.”

“And my father?” Dany said.

The old man hesitated before saying, “King Aerys is also remembered. He gave the realm many years of peace. Your Grace, you have no need of slaves. Magister Illyrio can keep you safe while your dragons grow, and send secret envoys across the narrow sea on your behalf, to sound out the high lords for your cause.”

“Those same high lords who abandoned my father to the Kingslayer and bent the knee to Robert the Usurper?”

“Even those who bent their knees may yearn in their hearts for the return of the dragons.”

“May,” said Dany. That was such a slippery word, may. In any language.

~

[“]So tell me, why is that ugly harpy not sitting beside the godsway in Vaes Dothrak among the other stolen gods?”

“You have a dragon’s eye, Khaleesi, that’s plain to see.”

“I wanted an answer, not a compliment.”

A Clash of Kings

ACOK Daenerys V

Jhiqui had braided her hair Dothraki-fashion, and fastened a silver bell to the end of the braid. “I have won no victories,” she tried telling her handmaid when the bell tinkled softly.

Jhiqui disagreed. “You burned the maegi in their house of dust and sent their souls to hell.”

That was Drogon’s victory, not mine, Dany wanted to say, but she held her tongue. The Dothraki would esteem her all the more for a few bells in her hair.

~

Pale men in dusty linen skirts stood beneath arched doorways to watch them pass. They know who I am, and they do not love me. Dany could tell from the way they looked at her.

~

It was not by choice that she sought the waterfront. She was fleeing again. Her whole life had been one long flight, it seemed. She had begun running in her mother’s womb, and never once stopped. How often had she and Viserys stolen away in the black of night, a bare step ahead of the Usurper’s hired knives? But it was run or die. Xaro had learned that Pyat Pree was gathering the surviving warlocks together to work ill on her.

~

“...Give me a son, my sweet song of joy!”

Give you a dragon, you mean. “I will not wed you, Xaro.” His face had grown cold at that. “Then go.”

“But where?”

“Somewhere far from here.”

~

Dany would get no help from the Thirteen, the Tourmaline Brotherhood, or the Ancient Guild of Spicers.

~

Sailors, dockworkers, and merchants alike gave way before her, not knowing what to make of this slim young girl with silver-gold hair who dressed in the Dothraki fashion and walked with a knight at her side.

~

“Sheath your steel, blood of my blood,” said Dany, “this man comes to serve me. Belwas, you will accord all respect to my people, or you will leave my service sooner than you’d wish, and with more scars than when you came.”

The gap-toothed smile faded from the giant’s broad brown face, replaced by a confused scowl. Men did not often threaten Belwas, it would seem, and less so girls a third his size.

ACOK Daenerys IV

Her voice was no more than a whisper, almost as faint as theirs.

ACOK Daenerys III

The drapes kept out the dust and heat of the streets, but they could not keep out disappointment. Dany climbed inside wearily, glad for the refuge from the sea of Qartheen eyes.

~

“I see a deep sadness written upon your face, my light of love.” He offered her a goblet. “Could it be the sadness of a lost dream?”

“A dream delayed, no more.” [...] The Pureborn were notorious for offering poisoned wine to those they thought dangerous, but they had not given Dany so much as a cup of water. They never saw me for a queen, she thought bitterly. I was only an afternoon’s amusement, a horse girl with a curious pet.

~

Yet the men who sat in them seemed so listless and world-weary that they might have been asleep. They listened, but they did not hear, or care, she thought. They are Milk Men indeed. They never meant to help me. They came because they were curious. They came because they were bored, and the dragon on my shoulder interested them more than I did.

“Tell me the words of the Pureborn,” prompted Xaro Xhoan Daxos. “Tell me what they said to sadden the queen of my heart.”

“They said no.” The wine tasted of pomegranates and hot summer days. “They said it with great courtesy, to be sure, but under all the lovely words, it was still no.”

“Did you flatter them?”

“Shamelessly.”

“Did you weep?”

“The blood of the dragon does not weep,” she said testily.

Xaro sighed. “You ought to have wept.” The Qartheen wept often and easily; it was considered a mark of the civilized man. “The men we bought, what did they say?”

“Mathos said nothing. Wendello praised the way I spoke. The Exquisite refused me with the rest, but he wept afterward.”

“Alas, that Qartheen should be so faithless.” Xaro was not himself of the Pureborn, but he had told her whom to bribe and how much to offer. “Weep, weep, for the treachery of men.”

Dany would sooner have wept for her gold. The bribes she’d tendered to Mathos Mallarawan, Wendello Qar Deeth, and Egon Emeros the Exquisite might have bought her a ship, or hired a score of sellswords.

~

The crown was the only offering she’d kept. The rest she sold, to gather the wealth she had wasted on the Pureborn. Xaro would have sold the crown too—the Thirteen would see that she had a much finer one, he swore—but Dany forbade it. “Viserys sold my mother’s crown, and men called him a beggar. I shall keep this one, so men will call me a queen.” And so she did, though the weight of it made her neck ache.

Yet even crowned, I am a beggar still, Dany thought. I have become the most splendid beggar in the world, but a beggar all the same. She hated it, as her brother must have. All those years of running from city to city one step ahead of the Usurper’s knives, pleading for help from archons and princes and magisters, buying our food with flattery. He must have known how they mocked him. Small wonder he turned so angry and bitter. In the end it had driven him mad. It will do the same to me if I let it. Part of her would have liked nothing more than to lead her people back to Vaes Tolorro, and make the dead city bloom. No, that is defeat. I have something Viserys never had. I have the dragons. The dragons are all the difference.

~

“The Arbor makes the best wine in the world,” Dany declared. Lord Redwyne had fought for her father against the Usurper, she remembered, one of the few to remain true to the last. Will he fight for me as well? There was no way to be certain after so many years.

~

“I mean to sail to Westeros, and drink the wine of vengeance from the skull of the Usurper.”

[...] “Will nothing turn you from this madness?”

“Nothing,” she said, wishing she was as certain as she sounded.

~

Even so, it would be years before they were large enough to take to war. And they must be trained as well, or they will lay my kingdom waste. For all her Targaryen blood, Dany had not the least idea of how to train a dragon.

ACOK Daenerys II

Dany felt shabby and barbaric as she rode past them in her lionskin robe with black Drogon on one shoulder. Her Dothraki called the Qartheen “Milk Men” for their paleness, and Khal Drogo had dreamed of the day when he might sack the great cities of the east. She glanced at her bloodriders, their dark almond-shaped eyes giving no hint of their thoughts. Is it only the plunder they see? she wondered. How savage we must seem to these Qartheen.

~

“...The Thirteen will come to do you homage, and all the great of Qarth.”

All the great of Qarth will come to see my dragons, Dany thought, yet she thanked Xaro for his kindness before she sent him on his way.

~

The Usurper will kill you, sure as sunrise, Mormont had said. Robert had slain her gallant brother Rhaegar, and one of his creatures had crossed the Dothraki sea to poison her and her unborn son. They said Robert Baratheon was strong as a bull and fearless in battle, a man who loved nothing better than war. And with him stood the great lords her brother had named the Usurper’s dogs, cold-eyed Eddard Stark with his frozen heart, and the golden Lannisters, father and son, so rich, so powerful, so treacherous.

How could she hope to overthrow such men? When Khal Drogo had lived, men trembled and made him gifts to stay his wrath. If they did not, he took their cities, wealth and wives and all. But his khalasar had been vast, while hers was meager. Her people had followed her across the red waste as she chased her comet, and would follow her across the poison water too, but they would not be enough. Even her dragons might not be enough. Viserys had believed that the realm would rise for its rightful king ... but Viserys had been a fool, and fools believe in foolish things.

Her doubts made her shiver.

~

“The high lords have always fought. Tell me who’s won and I’ll tell you what it means. Khaleesi, the Seven Kingdoms are not going to fall into your hands like so many ripe peaches. You will need a fleet, gold, armies, alliances—”

“All this I know.” She took his hands in hers and looked up into his dark suspicious eyes.

Sometimes he thinks of me as a child he must protect, and sometimes as a woman he would like to bed, but does he ever truly see me as his queen?

ACOK Daenerys I

“...Ten thousand warriors went with him. You have a hundred.”

No, Dany thought. I have four. The rest are women, old sick men and boys whose hair has never been braided.

A Game of Thrones

AGOT Daenerys X

She could feel the eyes of the khalasar on her as she entered her tent. The Dothraki were muttering and giving her strange sideways looks from the corners of their dark almond eyes. They thought her mad, Dany realized. Perhaps she was. She would know soon enough. If I look back I am lost.

AGOT Daenerys VIII

Trembling, her eyes full of sudden tears, Dany turned away from them. He fell from his horse! It was so, she had seen it, and the bloodriders, and no doubt her handmaids and the men of her khas as well. And how many more? They could not keep it secret, and Dany knew what that meant. A khal who could not ride could not rule, and Drogo had fallen from his horse.

“We must bathe him,” she said stubbornly. She must not allow herself to despair.

~

“I will not leave him,” she said stubbornly, miserably. She took his hand again. “I will not.”

~

“That one means you no good, Princess,” Mormont said. “The Dothraki say a man and his bloodriders share one life, and Qotho sees it ending. A dead man is beyond fear.”

“No one has died,” Dany said. “Ser Jorah, I may have need of your blade. Best go don your armor.” She was more frightened than she dared admit, even to herself.

AGOT Daenerys VI

Dany was near tears as they carried her back. The taste in her mouth was one she had known before: fear. For years she had lived in terror of Viserys, afraid of waking the dragon. This was even worse. It was not just for herself that she feared now, but for her baby. He must have sensed her fright, for he moved restlessly inside her. Dany stroked the swell of her belly gently, wishing she could reach him, touch him, soothe him.

AGOT Daenerys IV

His fingers dug into her arm painfully and for an instant Dany felt like a child again, quailing in the face of his rage. She reached out with her other hand and grabbed the first thing she touched, the belt she’d hoped to give him, a heavy chain of ornate bronze medallions. She swung it with all her strength.

AGOT Daenerys III

“Hit her, Mormont. Hurt her. Your king commands it. Kill these Dothraki dogs and teach her.”

The exile knight looked from Dany to her brother; she barefoot, with dirt between her toes and oil in her hair, he with his silks and steel. Dany could see the decision on his face. “He shall walk, Khaleesi,” he said.

~

“Have you forgotten who you are? Look at you. Look at you!”

Dany did not need to look. She was barefoot, with oiled hair, wearing Dothraki riding leathers and a painted vest given her as a bride gift. She looked as though she belonged here. Viserys was soiled and stained in city silks and ringmail.

~

Her supper was a simple meal of fruit and cheese and fry bread, with a jug of honeyed wine to wash it down. “Doreah, stay and eat with me,” Dany commanded when she sent her other handmaids away. The Lysene girl had hair the color of honey, and eyes like the summer sky. She lowered those eyes when they were alone. “You honor me, Khaleesi,” she said, but it was no honor, only service. Long after the moon had risen, they sat together, talking.

AGOT Daenerys II

There are no more dragons, Dany thought, staring at her brother, though she did not dare say it aloud.

~

“What should I do?” she asked Illyrio.

It was Ser Jorah Mormont who answered. “Take the reins and ride. You need not go far.”

Nervously Dany gathered the reins in her hands and slid her feet into the short stirrups. She was only a fair rider; she had spent far more time traveling by ship and wagon and palanquin than by horseback. Praying that she would not fall off and disgrace herself, she gave the filly the lightest and most timid touch with her knees.

And for the first time in hours, she forgot to be afraid. Or perhaps it was for the first time ever.

AGOT Daenerys I

Her brother held the gown up for her inspection. “This is beauty. Touch it. Go on. Caress the fabric.”

Dany touched it. The cloth was so smooth that it seemed to run through her fingers like water. She could not remember ever wearing anything so soft. It frightened her. She pulled her hand away. “Is it really mine?”

“A gift from the Magister Illyrio,” Viserys said, smiling. Her brother was in a high mood tonight. “The color will bring out the violet in your eyes. And you shall have gold as well, and jewels of all sorts. Illyrio has promised. Tonight you must look like a princess.”

A princess, Dany thought. She had forgotten what that was like. Perhaps she had never really known. “Why does he give us so much?” she asked. “What does he want from us?” For nigh on half a year, they had lived in the magister’s house, eating his food, pampered by his servants. Dany was thirteen, old enough to know that such gifts seldom come without their price, here in the free city of Pentos.

“Illyrio is no fool,” Viserys said. He was a gaunt young man with nervous hands and a feverish look in his pale lilac eyes. “The magister knows that I will not forget my friends when I come into my throne.”

Dany said nothing. Magister Illyrio was a dealer in spices, gemstones, dragonbone, and other, less savory things. He had friends in all of the Nine Free Cities, it was said, and even beyond, in Vaes Dothrak and the fabled lands beside the Jade Sea. It was also said that he’d never had a friend he wouldn’t cheerfully sell for the right price. Dany listened to the talk in the streets, and she heard these things, but she knew better than to question her brother when he wove his webs of dream. His anger was a terrible thing when roused. Viserys called it “waking the dragon.”

~

Somewhere beyond the sunset, across the narrow sea, lay a land of green hills and flowered plains and great rushing rivers, where towers of dark stone rose amidst magnificent blue-grey mountains, and armored knights rode to battle beneath the banners of their lords. The Dothraki called that land Rhaesh Andahli, the land of the Andals. In the Free Cities, they talked of Westeros and the Sunset Kingdoms. Her brother had a simpler name. “Our land,” he called it. The words were like a prayer with him. If he said them enough, the gods were sure to hear. “Ours by blood right, taken from us by treachery, but ours still, ours forever. You do not steal from the dragon, oh, no. The dragon remembers.”

And perhaps the dragon did remember, but Dany could not. She had never seen this land her brother said was theirs, this realm beyond the narrow sea. These places he talked of, Casterly Rock and the Eyrie, Highgarden and the Vale of Arryn, Dorne and the Isle of Faces, they were just words to her. Viserys had been a boy of eight when they fled King’s Landing to escape the advancing armies of the Usurper, but Daenerys had been only a quickening in their mother’s womb.

Yet sometimes Dany would picture the way it had been, so often had her brother told her the stories. The midnight flight to Dragonstone, moonlight shimmering on the ship’s black sails. Her brother Rhaegar battling the Usurper in the bloody waters of the Trident and dying for the woman he loved. The sack of King’s Landing by the ones Viserys called the Usurper’s dogs, the lords Lannister and Stark. Princess Elia of Dorne pleading for mercy as Rhaegar’s heir was ripped from her breast and murdered before her eyes. The polished skulls of the last dragons staring down sightlessly from the walls of the throne room while the Kingslayer opened Father’s throat with a golden sword.

She had been born on Dragonstone nine moons after their flight, while a raging summer storm threatened to rip the island fastness apart. They said that storm was terrible. The Targaryen fleet was smashed while it lay at anchor, and huge stone blocks were ripped from the parapets and sent hurtling into the wild waters of the narrow sea. Her mother had died birthing her, and for that her brother Viserys had never forgiven her.

She did not remember Dragonstone either. They had run again, just before the Usurper’s brother set sail with his new-built fleet. By then only Dragonstone itself, the ancient seat of their House, had remained of the Seven Kingdoms that had once been theirs. It would not remain for long. [...]

They had wandered since then, from Braavos to Myr, from Myr to Tyrosh, and on to Qohor and Volantis and Lys, never staying long in any one place. Her brother would not allow it. The Usurper’s hired knives were close behind them, he insisted, though Dany had never seen one.

At first the magisters and archons and merchant princes were pleased to welcome the last Targaryens to their homes and tables, but as the years passed and the Usurper continued to sit upon the Iron Throne, doors closed and their lives grew meaner. Years past they had been forced to sell their last few treasures, and now even the coin they had gotten from Mother’s crown had gone. In the alleys and wine sinks of Pentos, they called her brother “the beggar king.” Dany did not want to know what they called her.

~

Last of all came the collar, a heavy golden torc emblazoned with ancient Valyrian glyphs.

“Now you look all a princess,” the girl said breathlessly when they were done. Dany glanced at her image in the silvered looking glass that Illyrio had so thoughtfully provided. A princess, she thought, but she remembered what the girl had said, how Khal Drogo was so rich even his slaves wore golden collars. She felt a sudden chill, and gooseflesh pimpled her bare arms.

~

Dany could smell the stench of Illyrio’s pallid flesh through his heavy perfumes.

Her brother, sprawled out on his pillows beside her, never noticed. His mind was away across the narrow sea. “We won’t need his whole khalasar,” Viserys said. His fingers toyed with the hilt of his borrowed blade, though Dany knew he had never used a sword in earnest. “Ten thousand, that would be enough, I could sweep the Seven Kingdoms with ten thousand Dothraki screamers. The realm will rise for its rightful king. Tyrell, Redwyne, Darry, Greyjoy, they have no more love for the Usurper than I do. The Dornishmen burn to avenge Elia and her children. And the smallfolk will be with us. They cry out for their king.” He looked at Illyrio anxiously. “They do, don’t they?”

“They are your people, and they love you well,” Magister Illyrio said amiably. “In holdfasts all across the realm, men lift secret toasts to your health while women sew dragon banners and hide them against the day of your return from across the water.” He gave a massive shrug. “Or so my agents tell me.”

Dany had no agents, no way of knowing what anyone was doing or thinking across the narrow sea, but she mistrusted Illyrio’s sweet words as she mistrusted everything about Illyrio. Her brother was nodding eagerly, however. “I shall kill the Usurper myself,” he promised, who had never killed anyone, “as he killed my brother Rhaegar. And Lannister too, the Kingslayer, for what he did to my father.”

“That would be most fitting,” Magister Illyrio said. Dany saw the smallest hint of a smile playing around his full lips, but her brother did not notice. Nodding, he pushed back a curtain and stared off into the night, and Dany knew he was fighting the Battle of the Trident once again.

~

Magister Illyrio’s words were honey. “Many important men will be at the feast tonight. Such men have enemies. The khal must protect his guests, yourself chief among them, Your Grace. No doubt the Usurper would pay well for your head.”

“Oh, yes,” Viserys said darkly. “He has tried, Illyrio, I promise you that. His hired knives follow us everywhere. I am the last dragon, and he will not sleep easy while I live.”

The palanquin slowed and stopped. The curtains were thrown back, and a slave offered a hand to help Daenerys out. His collar, she noted, was ordinary bronze. 

[smolbeandrabbles]

Director’s Cut 3: Danny Rayburn

* Well it’s more a focus on our Reader character, but, Danny.

“What was the inspiration behind Liliana and her family? Because they’re all so amazing 😭🙏 and how did you choose the name Devan?” 

Liv, bless you for asking the difficult questions! Now you get a look inside my crazy mind (as if you hadn’t all already with Andrew.)

So, If you thought Andrew was a long post you better grab your favourite drink and your Danny playlist and settle in!

The following specifically refers to our reader character and her family, and the events of Sway and it’s spin-offs, which I will obviously always encourage you to read! 😁 Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6  / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10

Sweet Spot  /  All I Want For Christmas / Good Woman

What was the inspiration behind Liliana and her family?

Before we go into too much detail I want you to imagine 1st January, 2019. And then a girl who had recently purchased Camila Cabello’s first album - late, after being super impressed by her performance opening for Taylor Swift - and watched the first episode of Bloodline AND Dirty Dancing 2 (the trade off for having your mum watch Rogue One with you) in one single day. Anyone who hasn’t listened to Camila’s album, this is essentially Danny’s dance playlist, I don’t make the rules

I had ideas for Danny before I even started to watch. Mostly because when you’re first immersed in the world of Ben Mendelsohn and trawl through blogs, you can’t help but notice Danny. Annnd found out a lot about the show, which caused me to have a BUNCH of misconceptions and create a story in my head that was just... not even remotely close to what Bloodline is.

So here’s the deal, I occasionally like thinking about some of Ben’s characters gender bent, and how that would make them different/similar and affect their stories. I did this with Andrew and Gerry before I did it with Danny (because can we just think about Animal Kingdom if they were female?). And then armed with my assumptions, I came up with a story for Bloodline. “Linzi, why are you telling me this-!?” I hear you cry, but don’t leave the post just yet! Just keep in mind that Jack Ervin was (female) Danny’s restaurant accountant and also will they / won’t they love affair, that uhm. Well they didn’t, because Danny dies.  For all intents and purposes a lot of Jack’s plot points became Lily’s (including bringing back the restaurant). Also I had a great character with a great name that I didn’t want to waste. Jack became Liliana’s dad - and therefore we got: Jack and Liliana Ervin. 

Back to Dirty Dancing 2 - set in Havana, complete with its ‘will they/won’t they’ love story (of different social classes!) and of course, Latin American dancing. To say I borrowed a lot of ideas from this is probably an understatement - but Danny is a Miami boy, and Miami has Little Havana. Quickly it all kinda fell together.  But in this case, Danny is the out of his element American and Liliana (given that her parents are both from Latin American backgrounds) is the dancer. Added to that in DD2 the girls parents are both dancers, I was happy to keep an element of that for our girl too. Jack remained Jack Ervin, with his name actually being Juan Ervin (American Father, Argentinian Mother) but changing his name to Jack to fit in with his Miami high-society persona. Maria (American Mother, Puerto Rican Father) basically has a super cliche Hispanic name, I know (well both of them do but Juan is the equiv. to Jack so that’s how we ended up there) but it worked for me. Liliana’s name... I don’t even know where I got it from - sometimes names just come to me, sometimes I spend hours finding a good one on all these naming sites! 😅 Lily just came to me, I certainly wanted something that could be shortened Liliana->Lily but also something that went with Danny’s name. Liliana Rayburn is a great name. (I know the irony of that, you don’t need to tell me twice!) I need a ship name for them.

Let’s take a little look at their character for a second though: Jack and Maria are meant to be parallel to Robert and Sally. But also the complete opposite. Jack is described as a ruthless businessman who doesn’t care to much about his reputation in business. He’ll just get the job done no matter what the cost. The catch being of course that really Jack is a lovely guy, he cares very much about his family (+ extended family!) and is a well respected member of Miami society. Ruthless yes - but Maria and Lily mean more than the world to him - and eventually Danny too. “No man is good enough for your daughter until one is. And he is.” and also “He would have given you the world, and I would have let him.” Just sayin’ he’s a good father and a good man.  Maria is mentioned a little less than Jack is but I think that’s because I basically want to compare Jack/Danny to Robert/Danny. I also think that Jack has more to do with the overall story; he’s the one with the well known construction company that everyone recognises Liliana’s last name from, the reason that everyone is all over Danny with the “You can’t get involved with Jack Ervin’s daughter!!” spiel. Maria is the quieter character, but spends a lot of time showering Danny with love when she is around. Lily’s parents were all about giving Danny family that loved him unconditionally. A real family. She’s... probably a little more on the ‘stereotypical’ side of Hispanic parents, but there’s a reason for that-! One of my very best friends is Peruvian, and every time I visit him it’s like visiting my second family. Like from the very first time I met them his parents were SO kind, like above and beyond... and so adorable... oh my gosh, I love them so much and they are 100% inspiration for Jack and Maria. Maria is basically his mum. 😁 But more than anything I wanted Jack and Maria that wanted nothing more for their daughter than for her to find someone who loves her. No matter who he is or his background or anything like that. Which was important to me, especially having been through a relationship myself where my family didn’t really approve of him because he wasn’t from the same social class. I’m certainly not about that.

As your tags put it - Jack and Maria are the biggest Danny/Liliana shippers! 😁 (With Javi and Jason a close second! And I won’t leave out Evie and Amanda either!)

Liliana Oh my gosh. My love for her can’t be overstated. I say it every time, but I’ll say it again. When I started her and Danny’s journey on that dancefloor in January 2019 I never would have dreamed I’d be still here now nearing fic number 200. I wasn’t even sure if anyone would have been interested in them enough for me to ever write more than just Sway 1. But, when you’re asked to write a second part then you know it’s got traction and you end up with 10, of course!  Inspiration for Liliana? Good question. A little like I said for Elaiyna with Andrew, I needed a S/O that fit with Danny and his story. I say at the start of part 10 that really it’s her story. And it is, Danny takes her from one night stands with men she meets on the dancefloor to mother of 2 kids in a loving relationship where it’s clear that she will never love anyone else. And it’s his character/personality, being as in character as possible, that leads her there. Liliana never runs out of chances, she forgives Danny for everything he does because she loves him so much. Because she can’t bear to think of life without him, nor what his life would be like if she left. Liliana is... a strong woman who doesn’t know how strong she is. She loves unconditionally and she doesn’t care that Danny is not on top of his game - he’s struggled his whole life, but he does not have to struggle with her. She’s meant to be the easiest thing about his life - home, a safe place, strength and stability.  Danny is her adventure - with all his secrets, and his past, and how much he suffers she’s presented with a problem that she can’t solve, she can’t save,but loves him anyway. Lily will never give up.  The contrast between the two worlds they are in when they meet, and then the one they build together as they grow which takes that contrast and just makes it work. Like they just work - sure I made it that way, but I tried to make it realistic. Love has no barriers, right? It shouldn’t. To quote my characters again: “There’s one fairytale here, and it’s yours.”

I wouldn’t give her a pushover title - sure she never runs out of chances for him (perhaps its arguable that she could walk away but it never occurred to me that that was her personality.) but like, screw his family. She won’t ever forgive them for what they’ve done to him, she won’t ever trust them.  So why does she forgive John? Because that’s her character. That’s what Danny made her. John and Danny’s relationship always fascinated me in the show and it just strikes me that Danny and John were close, even with all that happened. Danny would want Lily to forgive him - and maybe Lily only forgives him FOR Danny, but it’s in her character. She’s tired of all this conflict and all she wants is for John to confirm he did it so she knows for sure.  Liliana has elements of me in her, perhaps a little more than most of my other OCs, elements of my feelings towards characters in the show as I continued to watch, elements of other OC’s of mine (and physically too. Her Psalm tattoo I directly lifted from someone else. Hey, it be that way sometimes!) and elements of all these pieces that inspired me to write her in the first place. 

I mean I don’t know if that really explains it clearly. Because there’s not really one clear inspiration for them - but from a range of different sources and elements. I hope that it even helps explain it a little though! 😅

How did you chose the name Devan?

Oh my gosh, okay. Liv why did you have to ask this question!  So, oh god this is so stupid.  Basically, although I knew that they would have a son, because our characters didn’t know that they were going to have a son, I wanted to give the baby a unisex name. Because I ALSO knew I was going to follow Bloodline canon it was also important to me that Danny be the one to chose the name.  Added to that, like Nolan, I knew that Danny and Lily’s baby was going to keep that Rayburn last name.  Devan Rayburn and Devan Ervin both sound pretty great to me..!

Obviously, it should be Devin. And the only reason I think I chose Devan was because a) I actually thought that was how you spelled it... (I mean I guess so, there’s no other logical reason I can’t have called him Devin... unless I looked at Devin Ervin and thought... ‘that’s basically the same’ and so changed the spelling but it was definitely always written Devan in plans etc) and b) a singer called Devin Dawson.  When I was on my year long internship in the USA I was able to listen to country music radio - specifically the station a family friend worked on. And they were obsessed with a song called “All On Me” by Devin Dawson. (actually it’s a good one for this series, but that’s beside the point!) So I heard his name all the time, and I’m 99% sure that I got it from him. (Also fast forward and I’ve actually now seen the guy in concert and was like “Oh yeah I named a character after you.” so yeah it’s probably Devin Dawson’s fault. )  At the end of part 8 I left a note that says “Devan isn’t easily explainable but I hope you like it.” and honestly, if there’s a bigger story I can’t remember it. I know that ‘Evan’ was another character in my genderbent story but I don’t think I just added the ‘D’ to that... Maybe that was an element of it though?  

Also I’m a sucker for ‘weird’ names or weirdly spelled names - a lot of my OCs fall victim to this - sorry girls! 😅 So it’s unsurprising that he ended up Devan, not Devin. Also I’d pronounce it “Dev-an” with a soft ‘a’ sound... 

Interestingly it took me a little longer to decide on his middle name being Daniel. I guess I’m not sure how good “Devan Daniel Rayburn” sounds... But then I wasn’t about to resist it, and it seems like the kind of decision that Liliana would make.  

I hope that answered your questions Liv! 🙏💜💙 You’re always welcome to ask for further clarification! 😁

---

Thank you as always for being interested in my work! Just gonna remind you all that you can ask for a Fanfic directors cut ! I would love to answer any questions! 🥰😘 

I mean it, I’d beg. Don’t make me get that Danny gif.  

[aion-rsa]

Why The Truth About Britney Spears Is So Elusive

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Britney Spears is one of the most-covered and least-known celebrities of the modern era. She is a millennial icon whose songs were the soundtrack of a generation. A choreographed contradiction from her earliest burst onto pop stardom, the singer became a blank canvass for anyone carrying a paint brush. The FX docuseries The New York Times Presents “Framing Britney Spears” is an attempt to find the artist’s place in the gallery. It is also searching for Britney’s whereabouts in general. Spears was placed into a conservatorship when she was 26 years old. That was 13 years ago this month, and she has been petitioning the court to have that changed.

Britney’s conservatorship, overseen by her father Jamie Spears, has been profitable. With a net worth of over $60 million, maybe too profitable to ever get resolved. It could be a form of life imprisonment and wannabe jailers appear to come out of the woodwork regularly in Britney’s career. Spears also currently has a restraining order against Sam Lutfi, one of her former managers.

According to “Framing Britney Spears,” court documents call the singer a “high-functioning conservatee.” Britney’s fans point out their favorite star released four albums, went on three world tours, performed a sold-out five-year residency in Las Vegas, was paid $15 million to be a judge on The X Factor, and put her name on a billion-dollar perfume line. Yet, she has been deemed incapable of taking care of her finances or life, and even when she can drive.The case is being proceeded over by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny.

For a pop queen in exile, Spears hasn’t been invisible. She’s been spotted at Starbucks with her boyfriend, Sam Asghari. She’s posted clips of her dancing, working out, painting, and giving impromptu fashion shows on Instagram during the coronavirus lockdown. Her posts, of course, only fuel the fire of conspiracy theorists, regardless of their apparent mood or meaning. Spears’ song titles like “Work Bitch,” “I’m a Slave 4 U,” and “”Out from Under,” could also be read as messages concerning her career. 

Spears commands loyalty, and her fans love her. This is poignantly evident in Chris Crocker’s viral 2007 YouTube plea to “Leave Britney Alone.” The #FreeBritney movement rose up spontaneously after the conservatorship. The fan-produced podcast “Britney’s Gram” has dedicated itself to getting information to the public. Miley Cyrus shouted “Free Britney” during a performance. Paris Hilton and Rose McGowan have shown support. Britney’s mother Lynne Spears has been known to “like” comments with the #FreeBritney hashtag. 

Samantha Stark, the director of The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears, freelanced as a choreographer while making the two-step into video journalism. Writing at The New York Times for the past 8 years, she also produced and directed episodes of The Weekly. Stark spoke with Den of Geek about the difficulties of reporting on Spears’ conservatorship, and the future of journalism in a changing media climate.

Den of Geek: What drew you to Britney, of all the cases?

Samantha Stark: We started filming this before a lot of these court filings about the conservatorship started happening. The original concept was to look back at media coverage of her through this 2020-then-lens, post-MeToo and post when things like talking about mental health are more mainstream. There’s not as much stigma. Looking back at the media coverage of her from the early 2000s feels so shocking now. That was the original concept. Then while we were filming, these court filings started pouring in.

Could you have picked two better names for this case than Wallet and Judge Penny?

Right? There are a lot of similar names that run throughout it. You have Jamie Spears and Lynn Spears and Jamie Lynn Spears. You have a lot of Kevins, just like a ton of Kevins running throughout. There are a lot of Sams also in Britney’s story. There are a lot of re-occurring names. But yeah, Andrew Wallet.

What’s the first misconception “Framing Britney Spears” will clarify for the casual Britney Spears fan?

A huge misperception of her, that I had going into the project, is a lot of people think that the creation of her image and the music that she does and the way her shows are and the outfits she wears are other people’s decisions. But what I learned over and over again was how much of a say in her early career, including “Baby One More Time” at the very beginning, she had in her image and the way she was presented. How involved she was creatively in every show she did and every music video she made, particularly at the beginning of her career. I think a lot of people think she’s this puppet that was sexualized as a teenager and didn’t know it. And I think, from talking to the people who worked with her then, that that was her. She had a really big say in that.

From my unscientific survey, asking everyone I came into contact with “what’s the first thing they think of when they think of Britney Spears”: A lot of people say, “Oh, that time she shaved her head,” or “the picture where she shaved her head.” One of the reasons it’s called “Framing Britney Spears” is there seems to be these very few still-image frames in our collective subconscious, that burned into us when we remember her.

We went into it wanting to figure out how we could learn what was behind the frame, outside of the frame. I think a lot of people don’t realize all the different factors that were leading up to that point. A lot of people don’t realize that she was going through a custody battle then and how important her role as a mother was to her, or is to her still. There’s a lot of pulling back the curtain we could do.

Danny Ramos, the photographer we interviewed, was one of the only people doing video during the big paparazzi explosion. We wanted to talk to him and use his video, so you could see what was happening outside of the frame. He describes the time with the umbrella, that’s another big photo that people remember, like the head shaving. What people don’t realize is how upset she was that day because she was trying to see her kids and wasn’t able to. And how much he pushed her buttons before that happened, some deep buttons. So that’s outside of the frame. 

Another one is the central mystery of our film. I think a lot of people don’t know that Britney Spears is still in a court-sanctioned conservatorship and that, for most of the 12 years, her father was the one in charge of her personal, medical, and economic decisions. He controls what happens with her money. The central mystery of our piece is something that Joe Coscarelli, one of our reporters, says in the film: “She’s living the life of a busy pop star, and yet we’re told she’s at risk constantly.” How is someone who can live the life of a busy pop star also be so at risk that she can’t make basic decisions for herself like medical-care decisions, where she lives, contracts, what to do with her money?

Britney’s lawyer, Adam Streisand, mentions a health report he wasn’t allowed to see, and was told by the judge it was justified withholding. I’ve seen a lot of reported diagnoses on the internet. Do you have any idea what that report said specifically?

Absolutely not. I think that’s important. Part of the difficulty with reporting on conservatorships, Britney’s and also any conservatorship, is that a lot of it has to do with medical records. Also, they do have court investigators that go out and interview the people involved. They have different kinds of people who submit reports about the person, and they’re protected under HIPAA and also allow the person some privacy.

Britney has signaled recently through her court filings that she doesn’t want her records to be sealed, that she wants people to be able to see them. But that’s particularly with her estate, which is different from the medical records. Who knows if she would want people to see that report also? But her conservators and lawyers in the past have decided it’s against her best interest. That’s something else interesting about conservatorships, is that other people decide what is in the person’s best interest. As Britney is performing in Vegas, other people are deciding for her what’s in her best interest all the time.

Since we don’t know anything about that report, we don’t know if Britney has a mental health diagnosis. She could not, there could be nothing actually in that realm. A lot of people like to speculate what kind of mental illness she might have, but we don’t know if she even has one. I think that’s important to remember.

Britney’s request for an outside independent party taking conservatorship seems like the most rational solution to the situation. Why is this so difficult?

That is the question. It seems as if Britney requests, “I don’t want my father in charge of being a conservator of the estate. I want this trust, Bessemer Trust, instead.” Yet her father is still in charge. That is legal. The judge made that decision. We don’t know why. A lot of questions about the conservatorship system, as a whole, have been brought up during this process. When someone is under a conservatorship, they are under a conservatorship because it’s considered that they cannot act in their own best interest. Conservatorships are mostly given to the elderly with Alzheimer’s, because a lot of people try to take advantage of people with Alzheimer’s and get them to sign over their money or their wills. And this was put in place to protect those people, which is really necessary.

It’s confusing because Britney is not. It’s a very unique situation, they always say, but we don’t know why.Jamie’s argument is that he has been doing a good job on this for the past 12 years. Her estate has grown, and that if he gets taken off and a whole new company takes over, it can harm her. Bessemer Trust does this professionally. They manage people with gigantic estates’ money all the time. So, the merits of that argument are questionable. But the judge decided that way. She’d left the door open. She didn’t decide he’s definitely staying on. She didn’t do an emergency suspension. That’s what they were asking for. They could still file to remove him.

These legal processes take a really long time, and as they’re happening, everybody’s getting paid. Britney’s estate pays the lawyers on both sides. She pays for her own lawyers, and then she pays for the lawyers arguing against her own lawyers, as well as the conservators’. That is oftentimes what happens with the conservatorship system. That’s also a place where people point to as something that could be a systemic issue in conservatorship systems: are these lawyers always acting in her best interest while also getting paid as long as the conservatorship is in place?

Is Britney a hostage, or is this a self-imposed exile?

I have no idea. We don’t know. Another really hard part of reporting this is there’s such a strong circle around Britney, seemingly controlling who she interacts with, because of the conservatorship, that we can’t talk to her. And she has not said anything publicly on her social media. Through her court documents, she said she appreciates the long “informed support” of her fans and that she “doesn’t want this battle hidden away like a family secret.”

Those were quotes from her court documents written by her lawyer, Sam Ingham, who legally is responsible for speaking for her since she’s not legally necessarily supposed to speak for herself. She could. So, that’s a mystery. Why isn’t she saying anything? Is it because there are people around her stopping her, or is it because she doesn’t want to say anything? Maybe Britney doesn’t want to talk to anyone about this. We have no idea. It makes it very frustrating to report on.

Just because you report on something doesn’t mean you agree with it. Do you think Spears speaks in code on her Instagram posts?

I don’t know. I have looked at every post since 2015 and some before that. It’s really fascinating to look at. Something about her Instagram that I love was this period of time where she was posting a lot of herself with her kids. It was just so beautiful to see her as a mom, because I know from talking to people close to her, that’s the number-one thing she’s ever wanted, to be a mom and to be seen as a mom. So those are really moving to me. Whether or not she’s speaking in code with other things, it’s so hard to tell because they’re always so surprising what she puts up there.

It seems she’s been doing it consistently, even in her songs throughout her career.

Yeah. It is interesting to listen to some of her songs now that we’ve seen all this come out in court. Even the song “Overprotected.” Listening to that now, wow. It has such a different meaning knowing that she does not want her father to be “protecting” her. A lot of her music videos and music has this bondage theme. Britney is often seen in chains or in cages. Also, a lot of themes of people taking from her, like “Gimme More.”

I think people haven’t taken that seriously, but when you look at it and you think of these as art and expression, even if she doesn’t have a song-writing credit on the songs a lot. Felicia [Culotta], her assistant and friend, who’s been with her for most of her career, said she would go into the studio and talk to the people who were writing the songs about what was happening in her life. And they would often write songs based off of what she was saying, which I guess is standard in the industry. I didn’t know. But we can draw our own conclusions to why there is such a big theme, yeah, of bondage and of people taking stuff from her.

Britney was a trendsetter musically. She explored dubstep, and she really is the face of the millennials. Do you think the #FreeBritney movement will also become a millennial icon?

Well, one of the things I find so compelling about the #FreeBritney movement is talking to Kim Kaiman, who was the marketing director at Jive Records. She was the person who met Britney when she first came in at 15, and decided how to market her, what her image was going to be. She very much expressed that she wanted it to be based off of who Britney actually was as a person. She describes her as “your friend that you kind of idolize a bit and look up to, but is the same as you, has the same hopes and dreams as you have.” And the 12, 13-year-old preteen age was who they were marketing her towards, I think she really connected with that.

Kim says she captured so well the dichotomy of what a teenage girl is. Teenage girls want to be grown women, but they’re also kids. It’s this wanting to be sexy and in control feeling that she captured that really spoke to these young people. Almost everyone in #FreeBritney who I talked to was in their late 20s or early 30s. So they were that age then. They were those kids that she was being sold to. I feel like the idea that she’s your friend really carried over, because they’re like, “This is my friend that they’re doing this to. I have to go stop it,” from what they said to me.

When they were that age, she was sold as this perfect, all-American girl. Kevin Wu, who’s one of the #FreeBritney organizers, says this in the film. He was saying finding out that she wasn’t perfect, that time where she was super vulnerable to people, and she was having public issues. I hate saying meltdown because I really don’t know what it was. But the vulnerability that she showed there really, really speaks to this group, and also, I would say, that age bracket in general.

I keep quoting people, but Felicia, it’s not in the film, said “Britney was judged and criticized for who she was. Even when she came out as a teenager, she was judged and criticized for being too sexy. A lot of people who are kind of these outsiders or people who were bullied or LGBTQ people, they were judged and criticized for who they were when they were younger, and so there’s this connection. They can relate to each other.” She said, “Britney relates to them as well.”

There’s kind of this counterculture fandom that the #FreeBritney people are like the people who were bullied when they were younger. And it is kind of millennial. We want to be more open talking about mental health. We don’t want bullying. We want diversity. I do think that it really speaks to that.

You worked extensively with the #FreeBritney movement players. In the review, I wrote you treated them like stringers. How do you rate them as journalists?

I would not say that we treated them like stringers because we did all our own reporting ourselves. We have our own journalists. Liz Day, who’s featured in the piece. Everything that they were finding out and bringing up we independently investigated and verified, absolutely. But I will say, I think they became their own investigators for themselves. There weren’t people doing investigations into it when they first started in 2019. And so, they definitely became their own investigators trying to dig up court documents. But we definitely did that ourselves.

But part of the story is that they became these investigators, so we do feature that in the story. It’s fascinating. Some lawyers are involved with #FreeBritney, and they know how to find the publicly available court documents. They would take them and put them online and highlight them. And as soon as a new court document would come out, like if Sam Ingham, Britney’s court-appointed attorney, would file something new, they would know immediately and post it online and dissect it. But we did that ourselves too.

It’s so much easier for us to do it because we have a full infrastructure set up for it. These people were spending so much time. The reason they started doing the investigating is because there wasn’t any media covering it, and they really wanted that. They wanted people to look into this. And so, they started doing it themselves, and it got a lot of attention. Then the media did look into it.

We had an investigation into her conservatorship in 2016, so we were one of the only people to be looking at it in that way. It was by the reporter who’s in the film, Joe Coscarelli. They did this “Is Britney Spears Ready to Stand on Her Own” questioning: is she ready to not be in this conservatorship? A lot of people are interested in it because of what they started digging up.

I see it similar to the hijacking of right-wing hashtags by the K-pop stans or what’s happening right now with the GameStop stock. The community is bringing the attention and journalism is keeping up with it.

The fact also that the age of a lot of these people means they’re so adept at internet culture and social media culture. They are using social media in a sophisticated way to get people to pay attention to them, for sure.

Do you think Britney had any idea how creepy the Star Search Q&A with Ed McMahon was, or was she just blindsided by the stupidity of it?

I think you can look at her face and be the judge of that. She was 10, but she handled it very well. I think it boded for the future of men asking inappropriate things to her. She just kind of like, “It depends. Boys are mean. It depends.” She kind of shook it off quite well as a ten-year-old.

And you see her in our piece later, when there are men asking her inappropriate questions, she sidesteps it in a really good way, in a really way that’s interesting to watch.

The shocking one was her being told about a mother saying that she wanted to shoot her because she was a bad influence.

The wife of a governor, by the way. That’s the kind of thing that you look at and you wonder would it happen now? I think we’ve come some way of not trying to shame people for their sexuality, but who knows?

There’ve always been persistent dark rumors about Britney, along with other celebrities who reach a certain tier. Why do you think people are so eager to demonize them?

Well, I wonder if that is still true today. I feel like it was very true during this height of the tabloid era, like 2004 to 2009. We’re not as eager to enjoy celebrities’ crashing and burning. If they’re going to rise, they have to fall, that kind of narrative. I feel like our culture is not as into that now. I think we’re less mean-spirited. And I don’t know. That’s what I was trying to figure out this entire time making this piece. Like, why? Why Britney? Why are we, as a culture, consuming all of this?

The reason that there was paparazzi around her all the time is because it sold. We consume that. It sold the magazines better than any other light “storylines.” I don’t know why. I mean, just my opinion, maybe the idea of what could be beautiful in society and perfect in society was so narrow that people were resentful of that. The majority of the US Weekly readers were women, so the majority of people buying those photographs were women. Is it because this ideal was so narrow back then that people became jealous and resentful of her? Now, I think the standard of beauty has opened up much wider, but that’s just my guess.

One of the experts says she’s never seen anyone successfully terminate a conservatorship. If Britney does succeed, will that upset the guardianship designation in the future?

Only time will tell. Who knows? I mean, if there are issues within the system that need to come to light, I think it would help them come to light.

Just because we’re Den of Geek and you’re from The New York Times, I have to ask, are you at all related to Tony Stark?

You know, I get that question a lot, and the true answer is we don’t know.

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The New York Times Presents “Framing Britney Spears” debuts Feb. 5 on FX and FX on Hulu.

The post Why The Truth About Britney Spears Is So Elusive appeared first on Den of Geek.

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