#danny is TRAUMATIZED your honor

[starry-bi-sky]

What's a scarier thing to say than 'I love you?' - DPXDC Stillborn Au Ficlet

Danny doesn't believe in the words "I love you".

People always say it's one of the scariest things people can say to another, because it lays them bare in front of the one they say it to, revealing their vulnerabilities and true thoughts and feelings to the world like an open wound. Telling someone you love them is the bravest thing you can do.

He thinks it's a load of bullshit. He's had two of his foster parents tell him they loved him, only to turn around and stab him in the back days, weeks, months, minutes later. Anyone can say they love you with nothing more than a sweet smile and a dagger hidden behind their spines. 'I love you' is an empty phrase, one that makes his heart beat unpleasantly in his chest and his palms sweat as he waits for the other shoe to drop.

'I love you' is a ploy. A plot. A lie. It's a coward's way out. If someone loves him, he wants them to show it, not say it. Because if 'I love you' is such a scary thing to say, it should be easier to show it in their hands, in their actions.

Wanna know what he thinks is the scariest thing in the world to say? What most people hem and haw and try and avoid? Try and deny, deny, deny?

The words, 'I hate you'.

There, that's the scariest thing in the world to say. Everybody can say 'I love you' and say they mean it, he's found that nobody wants to say 'I hate you' and say they mean it. That's a phrase everyone gets uncomfortable with, that everyone doesn't want to believe no matter how much you insist it.

Danny wonders a lot about why that is. Why everyone can love everyone, but nobody can hate anybody.

He thinks it's because hate can be personal in a way that's too similar to love. You can hate in a lot of ways, just like you can love a lot of ways. But in order to hate someone, really hate someone, in a way that's not far off and distant like distaste, but truly personal, burning and all-consuming loathing, you need to care about them in some way.

To hate someone implies an investment in their well-being in a way that mirrors love. It indicates a level of importance that person holds in your life that exceeds beyond simple indifference or disgust (an emotion easily mistaken for hatred despite its fleetingness).

To hate someone and to say you hate someone means that the thought of them fills you with a fire that carves into the marrow of your bones. That you think of them, even if it's not in a good way. To hate you need passion. To love you need passion.

To look someone in the eyes and say you hate them, and truly, really mean it, that is something that takes courage. That is something that requires you to lay your soul bare and reveal your vulnerabilities like an open wound.

But he supposes he can understand the confusion.

Hate and Love are not opposites after all, they're siamese twins.

Nobody ever wants to say they hate someone. Everyone wants to say they love somebody.

He wishes his foster parents had just said outright they had hated him, he wishes they hadn't strung him along with calorie-less love. He wishes they had just left him alone rather than sat him on the rug they were gonna pull out from under his feet. The ones who said they loved him hurt worse than the ones that never said it at all.

At least the people who said they hate him are honest about it.

What was he doing again?

He curls tighter into himself, his arms squeezing around his legs as burning magma flow spills over his shoulders and cocoons him away from the chill of the living. Danny's hair had broken out of its braid some time ago, and he'd burned off the excess lava and thrown it to the side to get it off his back, but it never takes long to grow back longer.

It's fine, it's fine. It's letting him hide.

Danny's not sure how long he sits there, stewing in his own heat and hurt, but it's long enough that he forgets why he's even there in the first place. It's long enough that the terrified fury lashing out in his core like a solar flare cools and settles, and then forgets why it was even lashing out at all.

It's long enough that he falls asleep.

Long enough that when he wakes up, it's to the feeling of a hand pushing away his hair like one pushes back a curtain in order to peer at the sunrise behind it. Fingers, sharp, clawed, brush over the bridge of his nose and his cheek in order to tuck the magma out of his face.

There's only one person capable of touching his hair -- made of magma and always burning, reflecting his own feelings, untouchable to the living -- without melting their hand right off. Danny peeks open his bleary, tear-sore eyes, and sees Vlad Masters, as Plasmius, kneeling through his lashes.

He's too exhausted to be angry at his appearance. Danny goes to say something -- to ask why he's here, why he's bothering him -- and all it comes out as is incoherent grumbling. Plasmius breathes out through his nose, a soft little sighing sound that follows with a smile shadowing over his mouth.

It's terribly fond, it's terribly foreign, and it sparks terror in Danny's heart.

(Sam compared him once to a traumatized alley cat, she wasn't that far off from it.)

"There you are." Plasmius says, voice terribly soft and just the slightest bit chiding. He brushes more of Danny's hair out of the way, thumb brushing over his brow bone, affection that he acts as if it's so easy to give. As if it’s so easy to extend to him, like he deserves it. Affection that Danny is so horribly starved for that the feeling makes him both nauseous and ravenous. "Your little friends were worried about you. When they couldn't find you, they called me."

Again goes unsaid and un-lingering, but it still pierces guilt through Danny like a shot to the head. It's not the first time this has happened, and he doubts it will ever be the last. He squeezes his eyes shut in shame, and ducks his head down into his knees like a scolded child.

Apologies come easy, like an automated message machine, even if it burns and thickens the back of his throat. Danny swallows the heat in his mouth and reaches for something even easier to say; "Go away."

Plasmius clucks his tongue, completely unaffected, and his hands move to gather the magma spilling over Danny's shoulders into his palms. "And leave you alone? I'm your archnemesis, little badger, I'm afraid that's not allowed."

Danny tries to glare at him even if his core swells with a feeling he can't name, a burning, gelling feeling like a bubble in a volcano about to burst. He tries again, and bares his fangs for good measure, "Fuck off."

His voice breaks, trembling like a little kid, and lacks any sincerity or bite.

Again, Plasmius just looks terrifyingly fond, if a bit exasperated, his eyes rolling despite the lack of visible iris. Danny watches from the corner of his eye as the man's hands begin to superheat against his hair, glowing bright and brighter until it would've been blinding to anyone who wasn't dead, before yanking.

The magma disconnects from his head painlessly, and his hair is short once more. Plasmius tosses the excess off to the side with the rest, and sizzling fills the room as the lava sinks into the ground.

Plasmius' hands finds his face again, tucking his hair behind his ears before pulling him forward. Danny lets him move him bonelessly, fingers curling around his cloak as he sinks into the embrace. It's embarrassing how routine it is, how easy it is for Vlad to tuck him under his chin like a child. It's mortifying how easy it is for Danny to cling onto it.

He's terribly warm, and Danny is always so fucking cold. He doesn't know how to keep all the heat he gives off, and so he's always shivering. Vlad's hand smoothes down the nape of his neck, over his spine, and not for the first time, Danny wishes he was living with him instead.

He hates that he wants to live with Vlad instead of the Fentons. He hates that he can't. He hates that Vlad is so kind to him when they're not fighting. He hates that Vlad is the only other dead-alive person in the world and Danny can't go to him like he wants to. He hates that he wants to even despite it. He hates that Vlad insists on killing his foster parents. He hates that Vlad wants to avenge him. He hates that Vlad cares enough to want to. He hates-- he hates--

Danny breathes in thick, shaking, and hides. "I hate you."

Vlad rumbles low, laughing, and rubs circles between his shoulder blades soothingly. "I hate you too, Daniel."

He hates that Vlad knows what he means instead.

[zeestarfishalien]

Writing a Damian and Danny are half siblings fic and oh my stars these two cannot go even 5 seconds without antagonizing one another. I try to have plot happen but they literally just CANNOT help themselves. Plot cannot advance while they are within hearing distance of one another.

Its not even about the whole "you tried to kill me when we were younger" or the "What if you're trying to usurp me as a form of revenge"

Its literally just pure sibling instinct. They hate each other your honor. They'd also probably severely traumatize and/or maim someone who tried to hurt the other one but they haven't realized that yet.

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Part 9 - left its seeds while I was sleeping

“Hello darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again. Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain still remains within the sound of silence.” -The Sound of Silence by Disturbed

Masterlist Part 8

It was the lack of air in her lungs that woke Jazz up, gasping for air and fingers desperately trying to find a beating pulse at her neck. 

With a sigh of relief, Jazz rested her palm against the beat, counting as it started to settle into a resting pace again. 

Another nightmare. 

Back in Danny’s memorial Jazz had converted from a maintenance access space, she had slept there one Christmas weekend as she learned her little brother would truly never have a peaceful afterlife. The darkness was an old friend, like a worn blanket from childhood that you would hide under because you believed the monsters wouldn’t get you then- embraced her as she was and sheltered her as she mourned her lost humanity and childhood until there were no more tears to cry. 

Nonetheless, it couldn’t shelter her from the dreams of death, the echo of Danny’s death scream ghostly wail ricocheting in her skull like the worst sort of pinball game she could ever have the misfortune of playing. 

It was no longer Danny’s death or theirs that haunted her with dogged determination, but Jason’s. 

(The same man she found herself missing more with each passing day that she didn’t wake in his arms.)

It was horrifically detailed, the nightmares, because Jazz’s imagination painted with vivid color even in sleep. The details Lady Gotham had shared with her were few and far between, considering she didn’t care for talking about her favorite bird’s murder. 

(Beaten, betrayed… waiting for his dad to reach him in time.)

(Only the darkness would ever know how much Jazz cried for a younger Jason, who only wanted his mother’s love, died for it.)

(It spoke to her own childhood, wanting her parents to love her and care for her.)

(What a pair they were.)

Jazz threw off her blankets and got dressed for the day, hair brushed back into a low ponytail and Bracelets hidden under loose sleeves and a glamor. The metal was cool against her warm skin, a comfortable weight on her forearms as she went about her morning in silence, forcing the nightmare back into a box for her never to think about. 

Danny emerged only a few minutes after Jazz began making breakfast for them, yawning and raking a scarred hand through his messy hair as he tried to wake up. Her little brother was completely healed from his traumatic experience physically, but she worried about him mentally. Though he was much happier compared to when she first dragged him bleeding and screaming to Gotham, which could also be due to the fact that he has a new Haunt and isn’t vilified by the city as Phantom. 

Even if it came at the cost of life, Danny loved being a vigilante.

The signs were there in the little things most of all.

 The pride in his voice when he introduced himself as Phantom, delivered puns and witty one-liners with his wicked sense of humor for all to see, thrived in the sense of duty he wrought in Protecting others, even complete strangers. Danny was a hero, but he didn’t need that distinction to want to help, he only wanted to not be hunted for his spooky nature. 

Jazz would shoulder that burden for him, take up another mantle if it meant giving Danny a chance to be happy with his existence. Ancients only knew how far she would go for him. 

One slash, two, three

Blood is on your hands already. 

Fourth, fifth slash

Ask the ghosts if honor matters, buried amongst the ash. 

So what if Jazz had a bond with the darkness? So what if she woke up with no air in her lungs, searching for a pulse? 

There was nothing else for her to fight for, no greater purpose she could find then to be at Danny’s side through the ups and downs. Jazz had already given up so much, both willingly and unknowingly, to take the crown, to be more than a presence on the sidelines- she was more than a Liminal, Jazz was the damn Regent. 

(She ignored the grating reminder of the title being temporary.)

It was only until Jazz watched Danny walk through the door of his school, that it dawned on her what she was feeling….

Jazz was becoming depressed. 

-——-———–

With the subtlety of Jack Fenton barreling through a wall, Jazz threw herself into work- both Vigilante and Regent- to ignore the realization and subsequent horror that she was falling into a deep depression.

And it was largely because of Danny. 

Ancients, Jazz wanted nothing more than to confront these feelings head on, much like she encouraged her little brother too, but she couldn’t even find where to begin. 

She supposed she could find someone to talk to about all this, in a professional manner, but her options were limited. 

Spectra was the only ghost with counseling experience, but Jazz would only be leaving a conversation with her worse than when she began. 

Frostbite would be of little help with something so human, considering he was an ancient ghost Yeti. 

Human. That was it. 

Jazz hadn’t considered a human psychiatrist, since most of her health needs thus far were physical and treated by the Yeti tribe, thanks to her ecto-contamination and proto-core. 

What if she found a human doctor to see? Jazz had no reason to discuss anything  ecto related, only human adjacent, so she could very well find one that suited her and her needs. 

Well, that might be a challenge in Gotham. 

The Watchtower was host to nearly every possible hero who were to attend Batman’s urgent briefing, many lingering around and questioning what the Bat could’ve had in store for so many of them to be present. 

Robin, Red Hood, and Red Robin were counted among the numbers of those present, though only Red Robin had the fully depth of what they were about to be privy to, having been one of three people to sort through the Ghost Files (as they were dubbed by the Batkids). 

Robin had demanded to be included, citing his prior experience with The Regent in Crime Alley as reason enough. 

(He would not admit that he had been petrified by the vigilante, the death aura freezing him down to his bones.)

Red Hood was there at the request of his younger brother (Tim), Oracle and Batman, though he had yet to understand why. 

“Red Robin, begin the presentation.” Batman ordered gruffly as he entered the large meeting hall, Superman and Wonder Woman at his heels, the other heroes trickling in soon after. 

Red Robin nodded, took a deep breath and started the presentation slideshow. 

Slide #1: Ghosts, Fenton Family, GIW, Anti-Ecto Acts, The Regent and the Phantom

Despite the absurdity of the first slide, no one felt like laughing. Especially when it is in a meeting with the Batman, the Dark Knight and two (?) of his children. Not to mention the existence of Deadman was well known to the Justice League. 

“Bloody Hell, Bats, took you long enough.” Constantine had no qualms about poking the man in question with a metaphorical stick, but he had fully expected this briefing to happen a week ago. 

“This briefing will be disclosing information granted to us by one of these Ghosts or Ecto-Entities as they are officially classified by the Ghost Investigation Ward or GIW. A serious breach of the Metahuman protection laws has been created and exploited by this government organization, which is responsible for drawing the Human world into the beginnings of an inter dimensional war with the Infinite Realms.” Batman spoke calmly, even if he was holding onto his demeanor by the skin of his teeth. 

(He was livid.)

(A dead child had to beg him not to send him to war.)

(A dead child was a Spirit of Protection.)

As expected, the heroes present were disgusted by the actions of the GIW, the diabolical Anti-Ecto Acts passed during Luther’s term. 

The worst reactions came during the Fenton Family portion. 

The Ghost Files had included so much info on them, Red Robin had to shorten the list of what he would include in the presentation. 

The first picture was of the members themselves, posing in front of a brick building with a neon sign of ‘Fentonworks’ glaring annoyingly from the background, casting an off shade of pale green over the subjects. 

“The Fenton Family, manufacturers of the weapons sold to the GIW for the express purpose of hunting and capturing ghosts.” Batman began, “The two adults are Madeline and Jack Fenton, ecto-biologists whose prejudiced views on Ecto-Entites seem to be the founding behind the Acts and the GIW.” 

The man in the photo was large, a sturdy frame encased in an orange hazmat suit and bearing a wide grin on his face, with an arm around his wife and children. Madeline Fenton was a slight woman, standing at a possible five foot eight and wearing a hazmat suit like her spouse. 

The children were the next to be spoken of, “The boy is Daniel Fenton, the youngest, and according to the information given, he was killed in a lab accident at fourteen years old.” 

The gasps of horror intermingled with the muttered curses before the Dark Knight silenced them, “Daniel’s older sister, Jasmine, was the primary caregiver for most of his life and after discovering her parents dissecting the town’s protector, a ghost by the name of Phantom, in the same basement lab Daniel died in, Jasmine allowed the Regent to claim their souls so the violence done to Phantom would be avenged.” 

It had been quite the shock for Red Robin and Oracle to read that, both at the evidence of cruelty and inhumane experimentation done to a sentient being (a child who died and protected the town) and the admittance that the Regent killed the humans to avenge Phantom.

It wasn’t until Hood grimly smiled and said, “Good for them.” that something clicked. 

Phantom was killed by the Fentons and avenged by the Regent of the Ghost King. 

(Jason had never been avenged, not like this dead kid.)

There was one file, a video, that Tim refused to share with anyone. 

The death of Daniel Fenton. 

…and the rebirth.

Contrary to popular belief, Danny wasn’t an idiot. He was born into a bloodline of brilliance, even if such wasn’t always used for the greater good. He had spent years fixing his parents failed inventions, doing the proper equations to figure out how something could work when in reality it had no business existing. 

(Designed to view a world unseen.)

He’d learned how to fly a jet and build one at fifteen out of sheer desperation, defeated the Ghost King in the same year…. And was almost killed fully by his parents. 

His vivisection scars had healed fully, his removed ribs having regrown, and he could transform without echoes of agony in his chest. 

(They had gotten far too close to his core.)

Point was, Danny knew there was something going on with his sister. She had been less talkative since their escape from Amity, but Jazz had been withdrawn since they took Jason to the Batcave. He had suspected that Jazz missed having someone to care for, considering that was the kind of person she’d been for as long as he could remember, but it didn’t seem quite right. There was something sadder in her eyes. 

Danny turned his focus back down to what he was doing, shoving the concern down to deal with later when he sees Jazz. Usually English was one of the classes he could relax in, considering he could now actually read the assigned books without worrying about ghost attacks eating into his sleep, but today Danny couldn’t focus on the teacher or the lesson. 

He’d had an idea for the ecto-comms, his own creation made from broken Fenton phones. His notebook, which was a mix of notes and half finished designs, was open to the original design of the comms. Danny had to account for Jazz’s helmet when he designed her set, but it was awkward at best to activate it when she needed to talk to him. 

Jazz needed armor to protect her vital organs even if her skin was incredibly durable. He’d seen some idiot unload a clip into Jazz’s back, not a single one had pierced her- that had been when she’d intercepted a smuggling ring from inside and had yet to summon her armor or sword. 

(The creepy head turn Jazz did to face the idiot was the stuff horror movies were made from.) 

(Danny was oddly proud.)

No, the armor was to protect against ghosts. Ecto-blasts would severely injure Jazz despite her liminalality, unlike Danny who could just go intangible or manipulate the ectoplasm in his body around the blast. 

“Did you hear about the Anti-Ecto Acts?” one of his classmates whispered from somewhere behind him, causing Danny to automatic tune his hearing into the conversation. 

“Yeah, that stuff is sick. Phantom is a pretty cool dude, even if he’s dead.” 

“He’s got puns for days, man.” 

“But still, ghosts?” 

“We got aliens, dude and you’re drawing the line at ghosts?” 

“Ugh, fine.” 

“Just read the whole article, man.” 

“It’s the daily planet.” 

“It’s Clark Kent and Lois Lane, dude, it’s worth the gag factor of metropolis.” 

Danny’s pencil snapped in uneven halves in his grip, confusing mix of emotions swirling in his chest. 

Anger-relief-cautious hope 

He’d given the Ghost Files to Batman as his last resort, believing in the hero and for his connection to Lady Gotham to sway him to give it a read through. Jazz had been adamant that if Phantom and the Ghost King was on that list, then she (as the Regent) would be too, though the two of them had argued against labeling Phantom as the Star King for the time being. Danny had grudgingly agreed to keep Phantom labeled as a Spirit of Protection, even if he went behind his sister’s back and gave Batman a list of his powers. 

(Danny still had nightmares of Dan.)

(He lost his parents, but he hadn’t lost his family.) (He had to remember that.) 

There were few things Jason would consider dear to him. 

His books, kept neat and orderly in his apartment. His vigilante alias, taken from his killer to be a force of change. His grave, as a reminder that he came back. He’d been surprised to see Joker removed from the rogue list, hopeful that it meant he was avenged the clown fucker was finally dead and gone. Dick had held him again when he finally broke down and mourned himself, relief in the fact his killer would never hurt another innocent. 

Never hurt his family again. 

Barbie had framed the autopsy report and given it to her dad, where it proudly rested on his desk as a reminder that the clown was knocked off by a blessed soul and his daughter would never be hurt by him again. 

The alley where his head remained mounted was a protected site in Crime Alley, enforced by both Red Hood and it’s people. A trophy for all of them to appreciate, because while they hadn’t been the ones to end him… they had survived to bare witness to the days free of Joker. 

Harley Quinn was free, the happiest woman in all of Gotham- no, the world! The demon who’d made her in his image so long ago was gone for good and nothing would bring him back. She was free of her ex, her origin story was finally finished. 

Jason counted the fact he was inadvertently avenged as the dearest part of what he was as equal parts man and shambling corpse. He was free of that burden. 

And he had the bone-deep instinct that he knew exactly who to show his appreciation to.

Part 10

[twoidiotwriters1]

Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I always wanted to be part of a cheering squad, I'll yearn for those uniforms my whole life -Danny Words: 2,136 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Time Machine' -by Mia Giovina

IV: Kawabummer

"I have an idea," Grover says. "It's terrible, but it might work."

"I love it already," Percy says sarcastically.

They are currently going through another side quest Iris gave them to obtain more information on the lost chalice. They're supposed to clean her staff in some magical water that of course, it's packed with monsters and super hard to access.

"You guys head for the cliffs. I'll keep watch from here," Grover pulls out his panpipes. "If you make it, great. But if the snakes start heading in your direction, I should be able to see them moving through the grass. Then I'll distract them with my pipes. I know some pretty good snake songs."

"As soon as you start playing, they'll come for you," Annabeth mentions. "Which I guess is the terrible part."

"It'll be even worse than the chickens at Hebe Jeebies," Percy agrees.

"Yeah, I don't love it. But like Annabeth said before, I can run the fastest. Maybe I can buy you some time. If you hear the pipes, know that the clock is ticking, and it would be great for you to hurry. Get Iris's staff washed. I'll meet you back at the exit."

"Wait," Ara steps into the conversation. "I'm not allowed to kill anything here because they're just minding their business, which is fair—but what do I do, then? I could look after Grover?"

"You go with Percy," Grover says promptly.

The girl frowns. "Now I feel like you're trying to get rid of me."

"I'm not! But if Percy upsets another god, you can make them a favor or something so they don't kill him—maybe use charmspeak?"

"Yeah, that could totally happen," Annabeth agrees.

"Hey!" Percy scoffs. "...Yeah, it could."

Ara snorts and pat his shoulder. "Okay, let's go anger another god!

They make their way to the cliff and look down at the pool of clear water beneath them. "You could jump in with the staff," Annabeth suggests.

"Sure. The problem is climbing back up when I'm done." Percy raises a brow. Annabeth draws out a rope from her backpack. "You think of everything," he grumbles with a scowl. "Maybe we should plan this out a little bit first. That's your thing right, planning?"

Grover starts playing the panpipes, and the girls fall to the same conclusion. Ara nods once and Annabeth steps forward.  "Time's up," she pushes Percy off the cliff. "Bon voyage!" 

The girls watch him plummet and sink with a loud splash. "We should probably get closer to the shore," Ara points out casually.

Going to quests with her brother isn't all bad, sometimes gods can be coerced into cooperating. They have settled on an agreement with Elisson, the river god, to let demigods come here and wash their sacred objects—no pun intended—every Saturday. Ara writes it down on the little notepad she carries to mention it during the next meeting. 

After Percy traumatizes another minor god, they save Grover from the noddle snakes through the honorable task of running around the field drawing rainbows. Percy does not so honorably and faceplants the grass.

"Nemo!" Ara calls out with concern.

"I'm alright!" He coughs out a bit of grass. "But we're lost..."

Ara looks around. "What now?"

The snakes close in around them. "Hey," Percy sits up and stares at the little beasts tiredly. "Can we talk about this?"

"Stay back!" Ara uses charmspeak. "Don't attack us!"

It works, but just because they agreed not to attack doesn't mean they will let them leave. Percy lifts the staff higher to try and light up a path, and all the tiny heads follow the light. Her brother moves it around a few more times to test their obedience, and Ara locks eyes with him, having a fit of giggles.

"Is this how we die?" Ara asks bemusedly. "The mighty Jackson siblings... did we have a good run, brother?"

"Absolutely not," Percy snorts. "But it checks out with our luck."

"Remember when you flashed your boxers to the city hanging from that sign in Fifth Avenue?"

"Or when you almost choked to death on those gummy sharks because I farted too loud?"

They start laughing hysterically, the kind you get when everything in your life is so damn absurd you can't even feel bad about it. "Any last words, Perseus?" Ara says between chortles.

"I'd like to tell Annabeth I love her, and I'd also like to tell the gods to..." He looks down. "Am I floating?"

Ara watches as the staff pulls Percy up, glowing even brighter. "What did you do?"

"Why are you assuming it's my fault?" Percy frowns, still holding onto the staff.

"That wasn't pulling you off the ground five minutes ago," Ara's mind runs through the possibilities. "Perhaps humiliating memories activate it?"

"It's a messenger's staff!" Percy exclaims after some thinking. "You asked if I had anything to say and I told you I wanted to tell Annabeth I love her!"

"You also wanted to tell the gods to—"

"Shut up and grab me!" The girl wraps her arms around his waist and Percy grabs the staff with both hands. "Take us to Annabeth!" The siblings get lifted higher into the air. Ara wraps her legs around his for good measure. "Farewell, my friends," Percy tells the snakes. "Be good to one another."

Ara looks at her brother. "I don't understand why people think I'm the weird sibling."

They fly up, and then they become part of the rainbow. It turns out pretty damn disgusting and makes Ara realize something: her skin constantly shines just like this under the sun, she just hadn't noticed it until now. She's freaking Edward Cullen, skin of a killer and all...

They land behind their friends. "Greetings, earthlings," Percy says. 

"I'm having such a weird time with these quests..." Ara mumbles and hops off.

"What?" Annabeth's eyes widen. "How?"

"I have a message for Annabeth Chase," Percy grins. "I love you."

He leans in for a kiss but Annabeth's face lights up with understanding and she laughs, moving away from him. "Okay, I get it. Messenger's staff. Nice work!"

"Yeah, I totally planned it."

"You totally had no idea."

"Just because you're right doesn't mean I don't resent it."

Annabeth kisses him. "I love you, too, Seaweed Brain."

Grover groans. "I'm fine. Thanks."

"Love you too, G-man," Percy smiles. "That was some fine panpiping." 

"Hmph." He wrinkles his nose. "Let's just get back to Manhattan before things get weird. I mean even weirder."

Ara glances at her palm, scowling at it. "I concur."

Out of all the things Ara wanted to experience as a regular mortal outside of camp, being a cheerleader was in the top three. She's lost interest in a lot, but the girl still dreams about wearing one of those cute flowy skirts. There are a lot of kids at the tryouts, but she stands out thanks to her height, which makes her extremely self-conscious. It's ironic, she's the mighty general of Olympus and these girls could destroy her with a sneer anyway.

"Ar—" The cheer captain squints and whispers to the girl beside her. "Arai Jackson?"

"Arae Jackson," she steps forward and waves. "That's me."

"Oh, okay," the black girl flashes her a smile. "You can start now."

Ara does her best. By that, she means, she cheats to get a spot. Ara's not Spider-Man, and with great power comes an absolutely perfect opportunity to make her childhood dreams come true. The girls in the squad let her know as soon as the tryouts are over that she's in. 

They were delighted with her performance and made sure to tell her she just had this contagious "aura", her voice infected them with the giddy belief that their team would be the winner with no room for doubt. She's just that charming.

"Are you guys ready?" A choir of voices answers excitedly and Ara steps into the living room wearing her cheerleading uniform. She twirls in front of them spreading her arms proudly. "How do I look?"

"Oh, gods!" Annabeth beams. "You're so adorable!"

"Oh, thank gods," Percy sighs in a different tone. "It's not Kelli's..."

Ara suddenly remembers the ugly encounter they'd had with an empousa at Goode's about three years ago, and then all the times after when she was still wearing her uniform. Ara stares down at the fabric with a frown. "I'd forgotten about that..."

Percy makes a face. "Not gonna lie, I was worried you'd be wearing that. Not good memories at all."

"Goode changes the design every few years," Paul scans Ara's appearance with pride. "You look very nice, darling."

Ara grins. "Thanks, Dad. I always wanted to wear one of these! The captain thinks I have a great voice."

Percy smirks knowingly. "So you cheated?"

"It's not cheating, seaweed brain, it's making use of her skills," Annabeth defends her. "Besides, cheering's a wholesome way to use charmspeak, she'll be giving the school's team really good vibes."

Ara sticks out her tongue and her brother tosses a cushion at her. Sally scolds him briefly but then she stands and gives them a weird look. "Well, since we're sharing good news tonight..." she gestures at Paul to come closer. "We have an announcement."

Ara sees their soul lights glow bright teal and her stomach twists in anticipation.

"But first, I want to be clear that this should not affect your plans, kids. I don't want it to distract you from everything you've got going on... especially getting into New Rome University, Percy."

"Mom, I—I live in distracted," Percy stammers and sits up looking worried. "It's my zip code. Whatever is wrong, I want to help."

"Oh, sweetheart," Sally blushes. "Nothing's wrong. I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Ara and Percy repeat in the same stringy voice. "Like..." Percy wavers. "You and Paul."

"Yes, me and Paul."

The people in the room are looking at him and Ara with the same uncertainty, like they're expecting the plumbing to explode and lightning to shoot directly into the TV. Ara's throat closes and she tears up.

"That is awesome," Percy smiles big and leaves his seat to hug their parents.

Sally cries tears of joy. "I'm really glad you're happy."

"Of course I'm happy!" He glances at his mom's belly. "Hold up. When?"

"The due date is March fifteenth."

"The Ides of March?"

"That's just a best guess." Sally grins. "Percy came much later than expected."

"I was stubborn," he jokes. "So this means I'll be here when the baby comes. That's awesome. I'll have a few months before..." Then, realizing Ara is deadly quiet, he looks at her, concerned etched on his face. "Birdy?"

She tries to sound enthusiastic but her voice comes out all wrong. "I'm gonna have another sibling?"

"That is the idea," Paul continues carefully. "Does not mean we'll stop caring for you, sweetheart. You're still our little girl—though not so little now, I guess..." he eyes her wistfully, they're almost the same height.

Ara bursts into tears. "You don't need me anymore!"

Percy, Sally, and Paul pull her into a group hug to try and control the broken dam that she's turned into. What everyone back in camp has been fearing finally happens, but luckily for all of them, she's miles away and with her parents, who are pretty much the only ones who could possibly know what to do in this situation.

"Don't be stupid, Ara," Percy chastises her. "They're gonna love us the same... right?"

Sally chuckles. "Of course we will! You were our first son and daughter! You're both special!"

Ara hiccups. "But that baby will be the real deal! Not adopted!"

"If that mattered, I'd always get the first cookie," Percy scoffs. "Birdy, it'll be fun! You'll get to be here for all of the baby's firsts, that's a lot more than I'll get..."

"Hey," Sally pats his head noticing his downcasted expression, "you will be here for the delivery. And you can come home from California as often as you want. But you also need to stick to your plans. They are excellent plans!"

"Yeah, of course," Percy gives her a brief smile, then he squeezes Ara's shoulders. "You'll get to tease our little sibling—you'll understand why I love doing that to you!"

"You won't be as lonely once Percy leaves, 'cause we'll be using his side of the room for the baby," Sally discloses with a smirk.

Ara had been dreading Percy's departure for that exact reason—she did not want to sleep alone at home. A little baby means she'll have someone to love and to keep her company, more importantly, that kid will need her, she would be an older sister like Silena. That gets her bawling again, but at least this time it's happy tears.

"Thank you for adopting me," Ara hugs Percy and Sally tighter against her. "I love you."

Percy pats her head. "It'll be fun." He insists.

Despite the lively feeling of the room, Ara's stomach still tightens with unease. She looks at her brother, happy and ready to fully grow into a man, and Ara knows she's supposed to walk down the same road eventually. Yet... something tugs on her spine, a deep-rooted fear that maybe, just maybe, Percy won't be the one who misses all of the baby's firsts.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[heinous-desiree]

So fuck, marry kill with PCs you can replace fuck with kiss for Celeste

I wanna see how many of them would choose to kill Hun :)

-🦤

OHHHHH BOY! HERE WE GO! Also, I assure you no birds will be harmed in the making of this~ ... Good luck in the proceedings~

Everyone

"Alright!" Jas clapped her hands, hushing the buzzing from the group with a warm smile. "We'll all get our turn, so settle down. I say we go from the order we are usually introduced to keep things from getting confusing, okay? Okay! So, starting with me...

"Hmm, oh... Oh dear... Okay, I have my answer. Marry Kim sweetie, cause of course~ I love you, darling! I'd be honored to marry you!" Jas blew a kiss to Kim with a wink, "ahem~ ...Fuck Hunter dear, heya~ You stud. And... I deeply apologize, Danny baby. I came to really like you but I cannot bed you for the life of me. You're dead~"

"...You sound very happy for someone apologizing..." Celeste mumbled with a pout.

"Ohh, sweetie, I'm being playful! Don't get too hung up I said I'd kill him. It's a game, babes! Your bestie is safe from me!" Jas pat Celeste's head with a giggle, who just pouted harder. She gestured Hunter to go.

"Oh boy. Sorry, feather boy (Danny)! You're on my hit list too. No hard feelings!" Hunter gave a toothy grin and ignored the intense stare from Celeste. "I think you'd rather die than fuck or marry me anyways. So, I'm fucking Hun-ty," Hunter gave Hun a smirk and a silly wiggle of the eyebrows, "I know we would have a great time if a bed breaking and time consuming experience... And, well, mama bird..."

Hunter kneeled down dramatically and held out his hands like he was presenting an invisible ring.

"Will you make me the happiest wolf around? By marrying me, not consummating the marriage, and then we amicably separate after a week or so?" Hunter batted his eyelashes at her with a grin, then gave a mock puppy eyed stare. "I cannot, in good conscience, sleep with my mama figure or kill her. So help me out?"

Hunter chuckled, and as he straightened up, he jerked from how close Jas and Dee's hands were to his neck. "What the fuck...?"

"Good boy, you answered well~ I have no problem with you." Dee sang, petting his chest and walking off. Hunter blinked in bafflement before staring at Jas' too sweet smile.

"Ohhh, thambi~ I raised you properly! I was worried I would have to end you after all these years of taking care of you~" Jas pinched Hunter's cheek, ignoring his more high-pitched "what the fuck?", "I would hate to have you as competition, puppy... So don't do that~ Ever~"

Hunter is dazed and a little traumatized.

"...Thank you for letting me replace fu-"

"BABY, DON'T SWEAR!"

Celeste feathers puffed out in surprise, blinking a few times before nodding.

"...Uh, replace... that word? With kiss... I'm not as bold or brave as Danny... So... Thank you." She gave a polite bow, holding her hands together anxiously.

"...I'll marry Danny... Of course. He's... my favorite. I'm sorry, Hunter, Kim... And... And Danny is a very good marriage candidate and person in general... Who shouldn't be so easily killed off by so many people-" Celeste is frowning, oh, no, she's sulking. Her friend's honor is tarnished, and she's not happy. "...hmph... I... Ah, I suppose I'd kiss Kim and... Hunter, I apologize for hypothetically choosing to kill you..."

Celeste looked truly remorseful and bowed deeply towards the biggest bird.

"Aw, honey! It's a game! None of that." Jas mumbled to the girl, rubbing her back.

"Celeste! Don't feel so bad! They make a very good kill option!" Dee joked, backtracking immediately when Celeste looked more gloomy. "Ohhh, no, no, no. Come on, birdie. They choose to kill you too! It's all in good fun! It's a game, m'kay? No one is dying. Chin up!"

Celeste still wrung her hands with a frown but looked less devastated.

"I... It's not personal, I promise. I truly am fond of you... I love this whole family... I would never ever kill you. I swear."

One more bow, and that's the end of Celeste's turn.

"Eep." Maeve hunched into himself when everyone looked to him, he blushed pink and looked right to his feet.

...

...

...

...

"Princess, you got to answer." Hunter mock whispered with a friendly wink. His warm expression still set off a bunch of panic whimpers from the cow.

"I, I, I, I-" Maeve stuttered fiercely, he didn't want to answer, he's scared, he didn't want to say the wrong thing, they're going to hate him-

Maeve pulled on his pigtails hard. Trying to block his thoughts with pain. Just... Just speak fast, and they'll move on. Yeah. Just... Just speak really fast.

"IwanttofuckHunterIhonestlythinktheyareveryattractiveandImsorrybutnotsorryIwanttomarryDannyhetreatsmeverywellandandandIknownothingwouldeverhappenbutmybrainstillfantasizebutthatleavesmetokillKimandImsosorrypleasedonthurtme."

...

"Maeve, you're an adorable cow, and I love you." Dee started slowly, "but I didn't understand a single thing you said."

Celeste tilted her head, "oh, Maeve would sleep with Hunter. She thinks Hunter is attractive. She would marry Danny cause he treats her well. That leaves her to kill Kim. Maeve does apologize about that and wishes to not be harmed."

Maeve made a distressed moo, which Dee shoved her tail into his hands to hug. It did seem to calm him down, but he was also half attempting to suffocate himself with the fur.

"I'm impressed you heard all that. Guess we are moving on! Last but not least~ My turn~"

Dee looked directly at Kim with a bashful smile.

"Dear sweet Kim~ Would you take me as your fluffy wifey? Pros of marrying me includes full time rights to pet my tail, which is luxurious, soft, and extremely therapeutic to play with. We can do makeup for each other, and I assure you, I'll bring you out the house looking drop-dead gorgeous~ Not that you need much help! I'm very very pretty, as you can see, and I will be your lovely arm candy wherever you go. I'll break the teeth of anyone who looks at you wrong-"

"Get on with it." Jas huffed, Dee glared at the much taller cat and crossed her arms.

"So yes, I would marry Kim. And then... Ah."

Dee looked at Danny, then at Hunter, then back to Danny. Her ears dropped against her head. "Uh oh."

Maeve yelped and let go of the tail that puffed out suddenly. Dee's tail immediately wrapped around herself as she hummed and hawed.

"I... Well, I mean... Maybe... No. Um." Dee turned red and shook her head multiple times at her own thoughts. She covered her face and muffled out her answer.

"Uh, what?"

"fffmnphaahraaunkaalhudah!"

Hunter crouched down besides the flustered fox, whispering in her ear and waited patiently. After a second, she whispered back into his ear.

"SHE'D FUCK HUNTER AND KILL DANNY!"

"Not so loud!" Dee cried out in a strangled tone. Choking at her own breath when she made eye contact with the birds and yanking Hunter to hide behind. "GAME OVER! BYE BYE! I SAID NOTHING!"

[n-coma]

Naruto Fan Cast: Part One

I fear the day when Netflix will attempt to create anything Naruto-related. Still, I am curious about what it would look like. So, before Hollywood lays its hands on our beloved fandom, allow me to introduce you to my personal fan cast.

Before we begin, let's agree on two points: 1. These are just subjective ideas that you might disagree with! So feel free to respond with your own suggestions; 2. In my fanon, the Naruto universe includes different races and nationalities. For example, Uchihas, Hyugas, Naras, and Sai are completely Japanese in my head. Meanwhile, characters like Tenten, Guy, Lee, and Rock Lee are Chinese. And the list goes on. In this post, I will only cover European/American actors cast for non POC characters. The POC fan cast will be posted later; it requires a bit more time and attention.

Here we go.

Naruto — Rudy Pankow

Look, he is a perfect Naruto for several reasons. He isn't overly 'Chad' nor too feminine. He has messy blond hair and exudes a chaotic energy (it radiates from him even in pictures). If you're still not entirely convinced, watch this YouTube video featuring him and his funniest moments. Those dimples! Blue eyes? I mean, hello?

Sasuke will be covered in the post with all the Asian characters.

Sakura — Piper America

Big forehead? Check. Pink hair? Yep. She has that unpredictable look in her eyes where you don't know what to expect from her.

Ino — Hunter Schafer

You might recognize her from Euphoria. She possesses this tall beauty combined with a flower-girl energy. Her red carpet look perfectly aligns with Ino's jutsu. The hair pieces are a perfect match, and have you noticed her nose? Ahhh!

Kiba — Dylan Obrien

This was the easiest fan cast ever! Just look at him! He embodies that dog energy in the best possible sense. Also, we'd hire Tyler Hoechlin for motion capture as Akamaru *winks*.

Temari — Florence Pugh

What I appreciate about Temari is her strong backbone and unapologetic character. Florence Pugh not only possesses those qualities, but she also has a broader facial structure that resembles Temari's. With her green eyes, dirty blond hair, and similar demeanor, what more could we ask for?

Gaara — Bill Skarsgård

Hear me out! We can always color his hair and do some black eyeliner as well as red tattoo, but when it comes to capturing Gaara's haunting eyes, who could do it better than Bill Skarsgård himself?Who will have such a slim, prince-like bone structure? Your honor, I rest my case.

Kakashi — Robert Pattison

We needed an actor with eyes that express this nostalgic, covered-in-ashes pain, hand in hand with melancholy and a 'not giving a fuck' vibe. Robert Pattinson or Robert Pattinson? After playing Batman, he has already learned how to portray a traumatized, tired orphan. What more do we need? I did not find his pictures with grey-colored hair, so let me include this black-and-white photoshoot.

Asuma — Hugh Jackman

Charisma, beard, and a bit of spice. Kushina — Abigail Cowen

Hollywood boasts around ten ginger actresses, and they all seem to cycle through fandoms like hand-me-down clothes. However, from among those ten, we had to choose the one who possesses a strong personality and a look that could intimidate. So, we're going with Abigail Cowen. She's already played a role with power struggles before, making her a good fit for depicting Kushina's struggle with Kurama.

Minato — Danny Griffin

Golden Retriever energy! What more can I say? He is the real-life boyfriend of Abigail Cowen (Kushina) and my personal choice for the position of the 4th Hokage.

Tsunade — Elizabeth Olsen

It was a hard choice between her, Scarlett Johansson, and Lady Gaga. But let's be fair — she has the mommy energy, she has a princes-like energy, and looks very much alike the character.

Jiraya — Anson Mount

Daddy.

Okay, I guess this is it for now.

Get ready for my next post on the Akatsuki casting, and make sure to stick around for the upcoming Asian and African fan casts! 🌟

[sp00pygal]

Never bring an alien and an astronomy nerd to a ghost fight

Prologue :

It was 9 am in Gotham time when Wonder Woman contacted the watch tower. A very weary looking Batman picked up her call with a grunt.

"What."

"Bruce, it's Diana. Clark and I teamed up to fight Lex Luthor and Circe on paradise island. We won the battle, but Luthor, he... He used red kryptonite on Clark. I was barely able to hold him back this time before he flew off, and he is no longer on the island." Wonder Woman reported, looking very concerned.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "If you can't find him, what makes you think I can?"

The Amazon princess had to hold back a scoff. "Bruce...the league already knows about your satellite network."

Batman raised an eyebrow. "I assume Green Lantern told?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. So you have his location?" Diana replied

"I already started tracking him 5 minutes before you called. I've narrowed it down to north America."

"Come on `world's greatest detective', we both know Clark better than that. Where would he go?"

"I already checked Metropolis. The results just came back, he's not in Smallville either. But he is near the west coast. According to the computer he's in..." Batman froze, and his blood turned to ice, he whispered an almost imperceptibly quiet "No, it can't be...."

Diana folded her arms. "Bruce, where is he. This is not the time to withhold information."

Batman quickly regained composure "Diana, do not Persue. Tell the rest of the league to be on standby. Contact justice league dark, have them ready to step in on my say. We have a code white."

"but that could only mean... Great Hera, Superman is in Colorado?!!!" The Amazon exclaimed, her stance becoming tense.

"Yes. Amity Park, to be precise. One of ithe most powerful heros on the planet is in a town overrun by hostiles with unknown extra dimensional powers and mind control capabilities. Nobody moves in unless I say so." Batman responded in an eerily calm tone, but Wonder woman could tell by the look in his eyes that something was bothering him.

"He's going to be alright Bruce. the kryptonite will wear off in 11 more hours, and then we will all grab a meal together and laugh." She paused. "Well, Clark and I will laugh. You will probably do that thing that almost resembles a smile with your face."

Batman sighed. "Thanks; but it's not Clark I'm worried about. We both know he's overcome this before. He'll find his way out like he always does." He paused and reluctantly admitted "it's.... My new ward. He lives there."

Diana looked puzzled. "A new Robin? Or maybe a Batgirl this time?"

"No, not.... Exactly. He's... Complicated. I can only hope he's ready to handle this. " Batman admitted, sounding hesitant.

"Bruce, if he's anything like your other children, he'll be fine. They were trained to be strong, brave warriors by the best. Just let him know to stay safe, the league will handle this. "

A message pinged on the watchtower computer and after quickly reading it, Batman sighed. "... Apparently, there's no need. He has this under control. I'll meet him for extraction in 11 hours. I'm telling everyone to stand down. Batman out."

And with that, he hung up, leaving the Amazon princess confused and curious on the other end of the line.

....

Chapter 1:

Sam Manson and Tucker Foley stared at 'Superman' with twin looks of shock. Finally, Tucker spoke. "Do you think.... He's alright in there?"

"He's done this before so he's going to be okay. I've been with him on an overshadowing trip, and we came out alright, remember?" Sam replied, sounding more like she wanted to convince herself than Tucker.

"I mean, yeah, but those were different circumstances. Who even knows what Superman is? And Danny has already been in him for -" Tucker checked his PDA " 17 minutes and 42 seconds. I'm telling you, we should get him outta there. Or at least, figure a way to get him outta the public."

Sam shook her head. "Don't you think Superman was acting freaky? His eyes were red, but on the news, they're always blue."

"And you'd know, with how bad you crush on him, even though he's old enough to be -" Tucker was abruptly cut off by Sam's withering glare.

"I do not have a crush. Aliens are passe. Sure I used to like them, but ghosts are where it's at. Like cellphones." She retorted, and quickly added "anyway, if Superman has some weird mind control thing going on like with ghost freak, it's probably safer to let Danny stay in there instead of using the Fenton ghost catcher, especially after what happened last time."

"True, but we definitely should at least get him down. He's starting to attract pigeons." Tucker pointed up at the man of steel, frozen in mid flight and true to the techno geek's observation; several birds were beginning to land on his shoulders.

Sam nodded. "I agree there. Got the Fenton ghost fisher?"

Tucker pulled out a fishing pole with luminescent fishing line attached. "By now you even have to ask?"

"You forgot the thermos last week Foley, a boyscout you are not. Now give it here, I have an idea."

Reluctantly Tucker handed the Fenton ghost fisher to Sam. "What are you gonna do? Even if you would get a sweet fishing story, I don't think that the hook is gonna do much. Superman is supposed to be invincible,same for his clothes."

"Which is why I'm trying something else. Now hush, I need to focus so I can get this right...." Sam muttered, untieing the line from the hook, then fashioning it into a makeshift lasso. "Alright, should be good, the knots are always the tricky part. How's your aim?"

"Good enough, why?" Tucker asked, before Sam quickly handed him the newly fashioned Fenton ghost lasso.

"Because mine sucks. Has ever since girl scouts. Don't. Ask. You take that to your grave." She gave Tucker a scowl to let him know she meant business.

"Okay, touchey subject, gotcha. Question. How tall is Superman?" Tucker asked, holding his thumb in front of him to measure distance while doing some mental mathematics.

"6'3. Most people think it's 6'4, but actually that's just his hair being extra curly." Sam responded without missing a breath.

"uh huh. Totally didn't have a crush." He smirked and held up a finger to stop Sam's indignant retort. "alright, accounting for local wind density, height off the ground, and the hope that this stunt doesn't get us both half killed by a pissed off Superman...." Tucker threw the lasso at the man of steel, caught his foot on the first try, and pulled the line tight so it wrapped around his ankle. "Boom! Tucker Foley sinks the shot, and the crowd goes wild!"

"Uh huh. Sure. I don't think basketball metaphors apply to lassos Tuck. Now help me pull him out of here." Sam replied dryly

"Hey! What makes you think I can't handle him myself?" Tucker said indignantly

"Because the sum total of all the muscles in your body are in your thumbs from gaming. You forget, I helped you pass PE."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Whatever dudette. All I'm sayin is he's not that heavy. It's like how Danny weighs nothing when he flies, gotta be some sort of mollecular minipulation or a psionic feild or something."

Sam took a moment to think it over. "Hey, yeah, you're right. Come to think of it, even with both of us, shouldn't he be pretty heavy? I wonder if he's catatonic. Maybe when Danny overshadowed him, Superman's body went into this state as a subconscious defense mechanism..." She caught Tucker's smirk "oh, wipe that look away, it's impossible to hang around Danny without getting a psychology lecture from his sister. She's almost as obsessed as his parents. Anyway, some of it is surprisingly helpful, once you get past the boring stuff."

Tucker nodded, wearing a poker face that didn't really hide his continued amusement very well. "If you say so. Question is, if Danny's stuck that way, how do we get him out? Jazz ever say anything about waking up someone catatonic?"

Sam frowned. "Maybe? I zoned out at that part, I think it had to do with giving the person a shock."

"Sounds simple enough. Alright Supes, wake up!" Tucker yelled, and then tried to slap him, quickly recoiling in pain on impact with the man of steel "Ow! What the- oh, right, invulnerability. Guess the news articles weren't kidding. Did it do anything?"

Sam looked at Superman and shook her head. "Nope, still outta it. Pretty sure unless you got a weird glowing green rock, anything short of a mountain collapsing on him isn't going to register. And, no, before you ask Tucker, I'm not going to have my parents buy a mountain to collapse on him so you can sell tickets."

"Aw man, you never let us have any fun. So how do we shock him then?" Tucker asked

"maybe it's like curing the hiccups? We could surprise him somehow? Hold his nose and have him drink a glass of water?" Sam shook her head "No... That won't work. Which means..." She trailed off.

"Uh oh. No. Nu uh. I know that look Samantha Manson, and it usually winds up with someone in the hospital, jail, or half dead. Not happening!" Tucker protested at the sight of an all too familiar gleam in the goth's eyes.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Got any better ideas?"

Tucker was silent for a long moment. "....Dammit. Okay, fine, but the moment this involves a hospital or cops I'm out. I'm not even kidding."

"Relax. I have a plan, and it's 100% fool proof." Sam reassured him.

"I was afraid you'd say that. What we gotta do?" Tucker asked.

"Just take Danny/Superman and meet me outside the mattress factory in 20. I have to go get ready. Oh, and keep the birds away from him. And no selling photos to strangers." Sam told her friend with a smile as she slipped into a nearby alley,headed for the old factory.

"Sam, that makes no sense." Tucker called after her and was met with silence as she had quickly dissapeared into the shadows. "ugh, hate when she does that, right big guy?" He looked nervously up at Superman. "Whatever, what would you know? Alright, can't keep you all frozen forever, Danny is probably getting freaked out in there... Weird psychology mumbo jumbo or not, I still think it wasn't a good idea to go in alone. We talked about this man, we're a team. Sam and I don't have powers, but we can still kick ass! Just... For real, Don't keep us sidelined anymore, okay dude? Especially Sam. You both are my best friends, and I don't want to see you getting hurt." As ever, Superman remained unmoving and catatonic, showing no sign he or Danny had heard a word Tucker said as he dragged Superman's body alongside him like a balloon on a glowing string. Tucker sighed. "I hear you my dude. Good talk."

....

End of chapter 1

@impyssadobsessions so, I took your suggestion and decided to write the Superman/DP possession crossover! It turned out that once I got started, there was a lot of content I wanted to include, so this is part 1/? Instead of just a oneshot, but for my general sanity I'm going to try to keep it short! Hope everyone enjoys!

[thebaillieroyals]

Book 3, Chapter 35: “Plans”

Windenburg Palace-“Yellow” Room

Hello everyone, I’m Jenna Cassanova, and today I have the pleasure of being her with the newly engaged Royal couple!

Jenna:So ladies!! Of course a big congratulations is in order!

Leah and Danni: thank you!

Jenna: I also want to just mention how absolutely stunning your engagement portraits were! Was there a meaning to the place they were taken?

Leah: yeah actually; so they were taken at the French Chateau in Merryport, and it’s where both my parents had had their portraits done and where we had our first alone date when Danni and I were, what? *looking at Danni* I think we were 13 *laughs*

Jenna: what a beautiful sentiment! I love that, I know loosing your parents young was difficult Leah, but I love that you’ve kept them a live and in your relationship through these small gestures!

Jenna: Sooo! We asked some of our viewers on Twitter if they had some questions for the two of you and we have some! The first one is Children? I know taboo to ask, but they’re curious about wither or not you’d have kids?

Danni: No of course! I mean we’re in no rush! And a part of that is we want to travel and establish ourselves

Dannielle: but we’re not naive either, we know that while Cedoria is quite progressive well run into prejudice if we adopt, or go through surrogate or any agency. We’re the first gay couple to marry in the Royal Family, status may help but we know there maybe some bunny roads there. But yes! Leah and I definitely want to be parents!

Jenna:our next question may be tougher to answer here: this is the second time the two of you have been engaged correct?

Dannielle: uh- uh yeah. *awkward laugh*

Jenna: our viewer is curious what the reason behind your split was?

Dannielle: Um-well. I guess *stuttering* it’s complicated?

Leah: *looks at danni* it’s okay- I got this a lot happened and we weren’t exactly on the same page on how we wanted to go about things. We thought maybe we weren’t ready, and agreed to take a small break to think about it really. And then- the jubilee happened… and

Dannielle: yeah; it’s been hard since, it was traumatic for more reasons than I’m willing to admit right now, and I shut down after that.

Leah: after it happened I think we realized our problems were really trivial, we both did a lot of growing in that time.

Jenna: I can’t imagine what went through your minds, especially you Princess. As a citizen of the country seeing that, I just. I’m sorry. Let’s move on to a happier topic! Bridal Party!?

Leah: yes, most of it has been chosen, we don’t have the traditional bridal party of course, both of our maid of honors have been chosen, and we’ll be asking the rest of our brides maids soon!

Jenna: Do you have a plan for your honeymoon?

Dannielle: not 100% there are a lot of places we want to see, and I think we’re talking about just traveling for a while, taking an extended honeymoon before we both enter our graduate programs!

Jenna: brilliant ladies! Thank you again so much for letting me come here today to talk with you both, it’s been a pleasure! This has been Jenna Casanova with the CBC.

[goldenchan-fx2thepeacock]

Don’t Go Running Off Into Danger, Even If I Do pt 2

So, I have no clue what a publishing schedule is. So here, have more of this dumb fic at 11 pm. FUCK SLEEP! SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!

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Chapter 2

Danny and Jazz managed to finish just in time to put everything away before their parents got home. He’d actually managed to have a ghost free night. But the peace wasn’t going to last. And this wasn’t about ghosts. He got slammed into his locker.  “Hey look, it’s Fenturd. What’s with the dumb picture of Phantom? You’ll never be on his level,” Dash said and laughter broke out. Danny groaned. At least they didn’t know he was trans. He’d be beaten twice as much if they knew. The locker door closed and locked.  “Seriously Dash? I have to get to class!” He yelled through the metal.  “Whatever Fentina. No one cares! Oh hey, it’s fresh meat!” Dash went away from Danny’s locker. Danny had found out a way to make it so he could open his locker from the inside without it being outerwardly compromised. He jumped out. It was those kids from last night.  “Leave them alone Dash. They haven’t even been here for a day yet. The rules are that newbies get a probation period,” Danny crossed his arms.  “I don’t know Fentoenail. Would you like to take their beating?” Dash mocked him. Danny sighed. He’d have to do this.  “Any day,” 

Danny regretted everything. Dash had hit him twice as hard as normal and his locker trick wasn’t working. Everything hurt. He was going to miss Lancer’s class. At least his ghost sense wasn’t going off or something. Lancer wouldn’t miss him. Suddenly, his locker opened and he tumbled out. He yelped. “Are you okay?” The girl twin said.  “No worse than what I’m used to,” Danny brushed himself off.  “You didn’t have to do that,” The boy twin told Danny. “Yeah, I kinda did. The probation period is sacred. Dash knows that,” “Probation period?” The boy said. “A rule we made up last year. If Dash really wants to break it, I take the beating instead. Fenton gets to take the beating so the new kids don’t have to,”  “That’s not fair. You should report him,” “Nah, he threw like four perfect throws last night and is exempt from punishment,”  “Football?” The boy gave Danny a knowing look.  “Danielle- I mean Daniel Fenton to the main office,” The loud speaker said. “Oh come on! At least it was probably just a misread,” Danny was fuming. The beating plus being deadnamed was getting on his nerves. “We have to head there too,” The girl said. Danny shrugged and let them follow him.

Lancer called them all in at once. “Sup Lancer. Can I help you?” Danny leaned against the wall. “Mr Fenton. You and I both know that you need to show me more respect. W-what happened to you?” Lancer looked up from his papers. “Just a certain football star. Nothing I can’t handle. He broke the probation period,��� “That’s a rule between students. I have no need to enforce it,” Lancer sighed. “I have no clue why you of all people were chosen for this, but you are too be Mr and Ms Pines guide around the school,” “Jazz not good enough for you? Had to pick the ‘slacker’ Fenton?” “Daniel, mind your tone. Jazz is our top student,”  “We all know I’m destined to fail in life. Can I get their timetables?” “Yes of course. Listen Danny, both you and I know you’re capable of better grades. I don’t understand why you don’t try,” Danny wasn’t in the mood for Lancer’s pep talks.  “I’ve got more important things to worry about,” Danny grabbed the papers and stalked off with the Pines Twins on his heels.  “Why didn’t he do anything about Dash?��� the boy asked. “He has no reason to. Not like I’m about to ask,” Danny handed them their timetables. He’d seen that the girl was named Mabel and the boy Mason. “We’ll start with your classes Mason,”  “I prefer Dipper,” “I’m not calling you by a dumb nickname. Let’s go,” Danny growled.

Just as he was about to lead Mason to his first class, a royal pain in his ass showed up. “Daniel! I require your assistance, little badger,” “It’s bound to be another plan to get in my mom’s pants. Go away,”  “Now, don’t be like that. I’m the mayor after all. You should be honored,” “Plasmius, shut your goddamn mouth. I. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck,” Danny said so that only Vlad could hear.  “Well, something’s got you in a tizzy. I’ll ask later. I should tell you though, it’s about Danielle,” “What did you do to Dani?” Fury. Wait, he had to get the kids to class.  “Nothing. It wasn’t me. You should ask your ghost hunter girlfriend,” Vlad grinned. Fucking Valerie.  “Come on kids. You’ve got to get to class,” Danny ignored Plasmius. Valerie was going to die. 

At lunch, he purposefully turned into Phantom and waited for Valerie on top of the school. She took no time at all. “What. Did. You. Do. To. Dani,” He glared at her.  “I didn’t do anything to her! You’re going down ghost!” “Am I really?” Danny was pissed. She wasn’t getting any mercy today. He teleported behind her.  “What the... HOW?” “Where is she?!” He growled. “What do you care? She’s always off on her own,”  “Does it look like I care Valerie?!”  “How did you know?!” “I know more than you seem to think. Tell me where Dani is. NOW!” He froze her feet. She looked terrified.  “What’s wrong with you!? Why do you care so much about her? Ghosts don’t have feelings,” Danny lost it at that point. The laughter was dark. Hollow. Horrible. Val’s terror was visible.  “Don’t have feelings? DON’T HAVE FEELINGS? FUCK YOU! I’M SO TIRED OF ALL THIS!” “Phantom, calm down,” Val was terrified. Danny wasn’t done. The rings were threatening to come down and expose him to her.  “So you admit this is real? Would you like to know how it feels to die Val? How it feels to live on the line between life and death? Wait, I can’t do that! You don’t have a deactivated portal in your basement that I can make you turn on while your inside. I don’t have a stupid jumpsuit with your dad’s face on it so I can take off the that sticker. You don’t have parents that threaten to rip you apart molecule by molecule for just exsisting! You don’t have to see a future where you become evil because you cheated on one test and your family all died! Can you even begin to comprehend what I go through? Ever been cloned? And forced to do something incredibly painful so that one clone can get fixed and watch another get lied too? And that’s just the brunt of it Valerie. Keep telling me how I don’t feel. How I’m nothing!” Danny screamed at ice engulfed their feet. Val’s eyes went wide.  “D-Danny?” She said quietly. “Congratulations! You aren’t as niave as the rest of Amity Park! How does it feel?” He’d snapped. “Calm down! I’ll tell you where Dani is!” She shrieked. That hollow laugh came back. But instead of an angry rant afterwards, he just sunk to his knees and screamed. It wasn’t a wail. It was a scream of pain. Of being done with the world.  “I can’t do this anymore,” He sobbed and the rings went down. All that was left now was a beaten, broken Danny Fenton.  “You should change back. I’ll take you to Dani,” Danny nodded and followed her.  “Sorry I broke down. I’m just sick of people telling me that I can’t feel. That all ghosts can’t feel. You don’t even bother talking to us, ya know?” “Ghosts lie,” “And so do people! I’ve talked to the ghosts. Listened to them. Heard their stories. I protect people, but I protect them too!” “How do you know those aren’t just acts?” “Cause they make sense. I’d have the same response if it was me. If my parents burned down the place I was in because I got caught being gay,” “I’m confused,” “Ember. I told her I wouldn’t tell anyone. But you need to know that they all have reasons for being the way they are. Skulker’s family was hunted, so now he hunts to prove his strength,” “Maybe we should talk to you more,”  “Maybe you should. No one asks to die,” “But your parents say that ghosts don’t remember their lives. They’re the leading experts,”  “That’s like putting a ten year old in a room of babies. They’re the expert by default in that situation, but an adult would be the expert the moment they walked in,” “Why don’t we know about that,” “Dying is traumatizing. Even half dying is traumatizing. It’s taboo to mention it unless you’re told. No one explains it until they’re ready. And talking about a life before that is almost wrong,” “How did you learn?” “Skulker told me during the Christmas Truce. Ember told me one day when she just wanted to be left alone, but I did too. I guess things end up working out in weird ways,” “The Christmas Truce?” “On Christmas Eve and Christmas, ghosts have a truce. No one is allowed to fight anyone that day. The Ghost Writer broke the truce and Walker got to haul him off in just means,” “We really know nothing about ghosts, do we?” “No, you don’t. They even have a party. I got invited last year. Skulker let me make the star! It took me weeks to get it right,” Danny smiled at the memory. He’d made a scale model of a blue giant that went through it’s life stages.  “So there’s a whole society?” “A government. Systems. Main rules. Taboos. Just cause we’re ghosts, doesn’t mean we don’t have a system,” “I’m sorry,” “What?” Danny nearly froze. “I’m sorry that I made so many assumptions. I never should’ve chased you or any ghost like that,” “Keep them out of Amity Park and send them back to the Zone. Most ghosts forget that living is dangerous, so they just rampage. I keep trying to talk sense into them, but they’re pretty stubborn,”  “What about the dog?” “Dog? You mean Cujo? I was trying to stop him from trashing Axiom. He was trying to get a toy. I’m sorry that recked your life Val,” “My life? Wrecked? When compared to you, my life is a dream. It’s not like I died,” “I guess you’ve got a point,”

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Thanks for reading. I just like fics where Val finds out, and this one seemed like an okay place to stick it. Dani is fine. I’ll fill you in on that next chapter, but I should get some sleep.

[cjsmalley]

Emma Returns From her Holiday:

Emma arrived back in the Realms three months after being taken to Themyscira.

(Three months that saw Dean in intensive therapy. He had been tampered with magically, a Veela-like ability having been used.)

Emma bounced through the portal; she looked healthy, more…natural.

“We healed her unnatural growth spurts,” Diana said, clapping her apprentice on the shoulder, “she will age as a human would until she is in her prime. Then she shall age like my Amazons.”

 “Thank you,” Dean said sincerely, having feared burying his daughter due to her accelerated growth.

“Whoever built these Amazons did a very poor job of it,” Diana continued heatedly, before smiling, “but we were able to help young Emma here. My own mother extends a standing offer that she may visit as she wishes.”

“Thank you,” Dean repeated.

“It is an honor, to help the granddaughter of the Ghost King,” Diana waved his thanks away.

“Dad, Dad, Dad,” Emma bounced up to her father (and he didn’t flinch), “It was so cool! They taught me so much! I’m a good Amazon now!”

“You were always good, sweetheart,” Dean refuted quickly, “just confused. No one blames you.”

Emma jerked away from her father and instead turned to her grandparents and bowed deeply.

“Your Majesties,” she began, “I am so sorry for my actions and words. I—”

“Are a child,” Danny said firmly, “a traumatized child told two completely opposite worldviews.”

“Our granddaughter,” Sam added, before smiling, “we have no use for formalities amongst family. It’s okay, Emma.”

Emma gaped at their acceptance but stood, suddenly feeling very awkward.

Sam laughed lightly, grabbing her arm and walking her off, “C’mon, Emma. We’ll get you settled.”

Dean turned to Diana, to Wonder Woman, and bowed, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Your Highness.”

“We will always help our sisters,” she replied seriously, “no matter where they come from. Emma is an Amazon through and through. Though I would like words with whoever raised her. If you find those Amazons again, call me in.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Wished Away 5

Damian's First Cold:

The first time Damian got sick was an ordeal.

His parents fretted and worried, hovering, helping clear his little nose with a suction bulb.

It was just a cold, all the medical professionals agreed, but little coughs broke hearts.

The yetis refused to cure him, citing his immune system needing to develop, and his pediatricians could only treat the symptoms.

They shushed and they cooed; they walked and rocked him. They sang and cried with him.

Then Sam got sick as well.

She refused to stay down in bed.

Then Danielle got the cold as well. She at least had the sense to suffer in bed. But her powers went on the fritz. Which was when they discovered her own ice powers.

Danny and Tucker were near run off their feet and the Fentons and Mansons had to step in.

“I’m fine,” Sam protested from her bed, as everyone had relocated to the Mansons’ Mansion.

“No, honey, you’re not,” Jeremy replied, patting her back through a coughing fit.

“But Dani and Dami—”

“Are well in hand, Samantha,” Pamela arrived with soup, “they have their father, uncle, and both sets of grandparents. It’s okay to rest.”

Sam sagged back slightly, “Frostbite—”

“Is monitoring Danielle,” Pamela informed her simply, handing over the soup, “Doctor Peterson is on-call for Damian. Clockwork is handling the Realms for Daniel.”

“Fine,” she accepted the soup with some grace, “I want updates though; and I will get up if Danny goes down with this cold.”

“Understandable.

Thankfully, Danny never did get the cold and everyone was well enough a few days later.

The last holdout was Tucker, who isolated in his house so as not to infect anyone again.

[five-rivers]

Ectober 1: Fog

AKA Familiar Part 3.

Find this and the first two entries to this series here.

.

Beyond the tiny off-color spot in the center of his right eye, the whole ‘kidnapped and forced to be part of a weird magic ritual’ thing hadn’t altered Danny’s appearance.  Good.  That was something he always worried about.  He let out a long, soft sigh that fogged the mirror in front of him before leaning back.  

The police and Danny and Sam’s respective parents had believed the ‘overshadowed and kidnapped’ explanation as well, thank goodness, so they hadn’t gotten in trouble.  Which… maybe shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was, considering that it had been true, if edited for length and certain damning content (e.g. all the parts with Danny being a ghost and the aforementioned magic ritual).  Tucker’s eyewitness account had helped.  

Vivian hadn’t made a repeat appearance so far, which was also good.  At least, Sam hadn’t called him about her.  Danny rubbed his right eye.  Something told him she wouldn’t have to call him to know she was in trouble.  

Good.  

Overall, the time since Danny had flown them back through the portal had been pleasant, or nearly so.  He felt happy and oddly secure.  Was it just knowing that Sam was alright?  She was a major target of his ghostly Obsession.  Maybe they could get Tucker in on this as well?  They’d taken the book with them, and Danny wouldn’t mind getting stabbed again.  

His core vibrated happily in his chest, making his heart and bones shiver.  

Yes, that would be nice…

There was a sharp rap on the door.  “Danny?” called his mom.  “Are you sure you’re alright?  You’ve been in there a while, and something like being kidnapped by a ghost…” She trailed off, a touch of anxiety in her voice.  “That can be traumatic.”

Oh, no.  He’d made Mom worry.  Happy feeling gone.  

“I’m fine,” he said, turning on the faucet to make it seem like he’d just started washing up.  “Really!”  He shut the water off and dried his hands quickly before opening the door.  “Just, you, know, a bit tired, that’s all.”  He smiled, broad and genuine.  

Maddie smiled back, although her brow was pinched. She had pushed her hood back, and her hair was frizzy with static.  “You were missing for almost a whole day, Danny.  You’ll have to forgive me for worrying.”

“I know.  I’m sorry, Mom.”

She sighed and ruffled Danny’s hair.  “At least, next time you think a friend is being possessed, if there ever is a next time, come to me and your father. Okay?  Making sure ghosts don’t hurt people is our job.  So is keeping you safe.”

The irony.  If only Danny got paid, he could say the same thing.  Alas, it was not to be.  

He nodded and smiled.  No promises.  “I think I’m going to go up to bed, now, if that’s okay?”

“Alright,” said Maddie.  “Do you still want to go to school tomorrow?  Everyone would understand if you didn’t.”

“Yeah.  I just- It wasn’t that big of a deal.  I want things to go back to normal.”

.

“Wow,” said Tucker, pointing at Danny.  “That is not normal.”

“What’s not normal?” asked Danny, looking down at himself.  Had he spilled something on his shirt without noticing?  It had happened before.  But, no. Everything looked just like it had when he put it on this morning.  

“You’re wearing black,” said Tucker.

Danny looked up and raised an eyebrow.  “Yeah.  So?”

“All black.”

“Okay, captain obvious.”  He turned to his locker and started putting in his combination. The hallway was just a little bit too crowded for him to feel comfortable phasing through the door to fish for his books.  

“You never wear all black.”

“That’s not true.  We all wore black at that Saints’ Fire concert just a couple of months ago.”

“Yeah, but that was for a concert.  Danny, you’re even wearing the boots Sam got you!”

“I know what I’m wearing, Tucker.  It’s just clothes.  Do we need our textbook for English today?  Or can I just bring Mockingbird?  I can’t remember the schedule.”

“Just Mockingbird.  Did something happen while you and Sam were in the Zone?”

“Yeah,” said Danny, honestly.  “A couple of things.  Got complicated.  That ghost is apparently Sam’s ancestor.  And also a witch.  Witches and magic are a thing, I guess.”

“You sure?  Could just be ghost powers,” said Tucker, momentarily distracted.  

“Pretty sure it’s magic,” said Danny.  

“Danny!  Tuck!”

The two boys turned to face Sam, who jogged up to them and then doubled over, hands on her knees.  

“Are you okay?” asked Danny, worried.  

“I wasn’t able to sleep,” said Sam.  “Too much energy.  You?”

“I slept normally.  Had to fight the Box Ghost at three, but,” he shrugged, “that’s normal.”

Sam straightened.  “We need to—” She stopped, blinking.  “You’re wearing black.”

“Yeah.”  Danny shrugged.

“Why?”

“You said I should?”

Tucker made a sound like a dying pterodactyl.  “Something happened!” he said, excitedly.  “They’re embracing their feelings.  I’m so honored to witness.”  Tucker proceeded to squeal.  

“Dude,” said Danny, “what is wrong with you?”  Then he glanced at Sam.

Sam looked like she had swallowed a lemon.  

Danny deflated.  “Are you okay?” he asked, leaning forward, concerned.  “I mean, other than not having slept.”

“We really need to talk.”

“Aw, come on, Sam, you can’t end your romance before it even begins,” said Tucker in a singsong voice.

The warning bell went off.  

“Lunch, I guess?” asked Danny.  

“Sure.”

.

They sat down in their usual spot behind the school, where no other students went because it was both out of the way and lacked anything resembling a comfortable place to sit.  Sam, Tucker, and Danny, however, had adapted.  

“So,” said Tucker, rubbing his hands together with glee.  “You have to tell me the details.  All the details.  What happened?  Are you guys dating now?  How did you get de-liquified?  That really freaked me out, by the way.”

Sam put her hands over her face and groaned. “No, we’re not dating.  Ugh.  How do I even explain what’s going on?”

Danny jumped in.  “Sam’s witch ancestor did something weird to my powers and wouldn’t let us go until we did a ritual that, uh, sort of bound me to Sam as a familiar spirit.  Also, she wants Sam to be her apprentice.  So, we have that to look forward to.”  He fished his sandwich out of his bag.  

“Wow,” said Tucker.  “I have no idea how to respond to that.”

“That was a lot more concise than I expected,” said Sam.  

“It hits all the important points, though. Except for the de-liquification.  If I’m being honest, I’m not entirely sure how that happened.”

“Right,” said Sam.  “Anyway, we have to figure out how to undo it.”

Danny choked on his sandwich.  “What?  Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why?’” demanded Sam, clearly aggrieved.  

Danny furrowed his brow.  “I know we didn’t do it under the—”

“Word of advice, man, whatever you did do, don’t phrase it as ‘do it.’  Unless this ritual thing involved—"

“Tucker?” said Sam, blushing furiously.

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

“Got it.  Sorry.  I blame hormones.”

Danny had no idea what Tucker was talking about but decided not to ask.  Instead, he let out a quick puff of air.  “I know we didn’t want or ask for this, but it does seem to come with some benefits. Did you try out any of the spells in the books we took with us last night?”

“No, because the last one made me stick a needle in your eye!”

There was a fundamental misunderstanding happening here.  A disconnect. Danny tilted his head.  In moments like these, Spectra’s voice seemed to echo in his head.  He ignored it.

“I didn’t mind,” said Danny.  “I’ve been hurt worse.  Besides, they don’t all need you to stick a needle in my eye.  I read them, too, you know.”

“Do you not care about how you can’t lie to me?”

“No?  You already know all my big secrets, anyway.”  Danny didn’t know why Sam was so upset about this, but it was starting to make him anxious. His fingers had made deep impressions in his sandwich.  

“Wait,” said Tucker, “it does what?”

“Yeah!” said Sam, running an agitated hand through her hair.  “That’s not all, either.  Apparently, he has to follow all my commands, too, like I’m some kind of discount Freakshow!”

“This isn’t like Freakshow!” protested Danny.  “I didn’t have any choice about that!”

“You didn’t have any choice about this either,” said Sam, making a sweeping motion with her hands so violently that she rocked back on her heels.  “We were basically hostages.  You can’t tell me that you’re actually okay with this.”

“I am okay with it,” said Danny, taken aback by Sam’s vehemence.  “I like knowing that you’re safe, and, if you have powers, too, you can, you know, be safer. Also, it would be cool if there was someone else who had them, I guess.”  His sandwich was well and truly squished at this point.  “I was actually…  Earlier, I was thinking that it might be a good thing to see if Tucker can get in on this, too.”

“You’re joking,” said Sam, flatly.

“Dude, I think we’ve all seen that I do not handle power well.”

“No,” said Danny, shaking his head.  “I like this.  And I trust you.  Both of you.” His face twisted up.  “Maybe back when we started out, and you were talking about freeing zoo animals and wrecking Hummer dealerships I might have been a little apprehensive, but, even back then, I know you wouldn’t have made me do anything I didn’t want to do.  You guys let me overshadow you to practice.  This isn’t really any different.  Right?”

“Don’t look at me, man,” said Tucker, raising his hands.  “You two are the ones on the inside.”

Sam stared at Danny for a moment longer before pinching the bridge of her nose.  “We need to undo this,” she said, firmly.  

The edges of Danny’s eyes started to hurt, and he blinked them rapidly.  “Okay,” he said.  “If you want to.”  It did affect Sam, too, after all.  If she didn’t feel like she had consented, then undoing it really should have been a no-brainer.  

Danny really didn’t want to undo it.  He liked this.  He liked the way it made him feel.

“After school,” said Sam.  

“Okay,” whispered Danny, looking down at his destroyed sandwich.  “I guess I should get rid of this, huh?”

And then he ran.  

.

It would be wrong to say that Sam didn’t feel guilty.  She did. She felt hugely, incredibly guilty. Like she’d kicked a puppy.  

Thing was, she didn’t exactly have a choice.  Danny obviously wasn’t thinking clearly.  The ritual must have done something to his head beyond screwing with his free will.  

How could anyone be happy when they were forced into obedience?  

If they let this go on, Danny would eventually resent her more than she resented her parents.  After all, her parents didn’t have mind-control abilities.  

“Hey,” said Tucker, breaking the silence that had lain over them since they started the walk to Sam’s house.  “Not to be a downer, but what do we do if that ghost—”

“Vivian,” supplied Sam.  

“Vivian, right.  What do we do if she comes back and she wants you to do magic stuff?  Or she gets mad that you cut your connection? We didn’t do a super great job of fighting her last time.”

Danny shrugged, exhaustion evident in the curve of his spine.  “We do what we always do.  It won’t be the first time it takes us two tries to fight someone.”

“Strategies?” prompted Tucker.  

“I don’t know.  Maybe we can find some kind of weakness in those books… Though, she probably wouldn’t have let us take them if we could get her weakness from them. If all else fails, I guess we could chuck a bucket of water at her.”

“I hate to say it, but I doubt the Wizard of Oz is a good source for how to deal with witches,” said Tucker.  

“Well, considering all the other ways of ‘dealing with witches’ are literal torture, that’s all I’ve got.”  Danny’s words were clipped.  

Yeah.  He was mad.

“We could try some charms and stuff,” suggested Sam.

“Before or after we cut our bond?” asked Danny, no inflection in his tone.  “Because that might make the difference.”

“Danny, I’m just not comfortable having you as my slave.  Which is what this comes down to.”

“I know,” said Danny.  He still didn’t sound happy.  

They reached Sam’s house, and they all crowded into Sam’s room for the most intense study session ever.  Not counting Tucker’s post-Ember deprogramming.  

Sam started with the original book, the one the ritual had come from in the first place.  Reading it again made her so mad.  Mad enough that, at first, she didn’t notice her rapidly increasing heartrate. Not until she was pressing her hand against her chest and struggling for breath.  

“What,” she gasped, “was that?”

Danny shook his head, eyes wide and worried even as he kept his fingers wrapped securely around Sam’s wrist.  “I don’t know.  Whatever happened, though, your pulse is going back down.  What were you looking at?”

“Just the ritual from before…  I wanted to see if there were loopholes we could use,” said Sam, trying to get her breathing back under control.  

Tucker plucked the book from where it had fallen near Sam’s knee and scanned the page.  He winced.  “Hey, it says here that your side of the deal is giving Danny your heart.”

“Yeah?” said Sam.  

“Your heart, which just went crazy when you started trying to figure out a way to back out of the deal?”

Sam felt Danny’s hand contract around her wrist. “Oh,” he said.  “But I didn’t want that to happen.”  He sounded lost, hurt, and more than a little offended.

“I know, man,” said Tucker, soothingly, “but you don’t want the contract to be broken, either, right?”

“No,” admitted Danny.  “I’m sorry, I like it.”

“Yeah.  So,” said Tucker, “I guess it isn’t as one-sided as you thought, Sam.”  He made a face.  “What was your ‘promise,’ anyway?”

“To be friends,” said Danny.  “We thought that would cause the least amount of issues, in case there were penalties.”  He shrugged.

“Yeah, okay,” said Tucker.  “That makes sense.”

It did.  

This was bad.  

This was the worst-case scenario.  Sam bit down on her lip.  Danny was- It was like he was in a fog, as far as this thing went.  That’s the only way she could describe it.  There was no way he was seeing the situation clearly.  It didn’t matter if it was because of the familiar contract or Danny’s ghostly nature.

If Tucker was right and Sam had a heart attack every time she tried to do something about it…

Yeah.  That wasn’t good.  

“Maybe we should look at something else for today,” suggested Danny, far too cheerfully.  “Like, we should see if you can do some of these spells and how it affects us.  It seems like I’ve been feeding you energy somehow, right?”  He began paging through one of the books.  “That’s probably why you were awake all last night.  That’s going to be useful, I bet, and oh!  This one sounds cool.  We could make fog everywhere.  Just think about it, Sam.  We could be so spooky at night!”  He brought out the puppy dog eyes.  

“Ugh,” said Sam.  “Fine.”  She stabbed a finger at Tucker.  “You keep searching for a way out.”

The corners of Danny’s lips twitched downward at that, but sprang back up when Sam turned her attention to the spell he had picked out. Weakly, Sam smiled back.  

This was going to be hard.  

[imalifegen89]

A Legacy Left Behind - Chapter - 5 - The Gemmond Incident

Part 5 - Final

Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain - Colorado

As promised, Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell had shown up with SG-1, which had included himself, Teal'c, Vala Mal Doran, and Dr. Daniel Jackson. Sam Carter had not been available since she had been called away to the Daedalus for an urgent matter. Dr. Rodney McKay and Dr. Radek Zelenka had both shown up in her place to specifically study the two downed crafts and find a solution to free the trapped Gemmondians. SG-3, SG-8, and SG-9 had accompanied the Colonel in order to disperse around the city and help with the clean-up and whatever other tasks the citizens were in need of help with. Dr. Sandy Van Denson and Dr. Ian Carmichael along with three other medical staff had also shown up, bringing along the promised medical assistance for the traumatized Gemmondians.

Sheppard and the team had been upgraded to local celebrity levels and almost all of the people there in the city had wanted to catch a glimpse of the Tau'ri who had managed to successfully wipe out the Wraith. The locals had insisted on the feast they had somehow managed to prepare despite everything and made the SG-11 the guests of honor. The team had stayed for a few minutes, enjoyed a few local cuisines, and taken their leave in quiet relief when Mitchell and the other teams had finally shown up to take over.

..........

"Fucking hell! Hearing about all this crap in the briefing and looking at nasty photos is one thing. But this, man - this is something else." Danny's voice was equal parts awe, fear, and incredulity.

"So, this telepathic attack basically had a domino effect on these creatures. Powerful as they are when they are mentally connected to each other, it can also be a major weakness. Too bad only the ATA gene carriers have this ability," Adam Noshimuri sounded wistful. He was fascinated by the footage they were all now going through of the day's operation.

SEALs always went on ops with recording apparatus as a part of their standard kit. SG-11 had permission to keep this particular Special-Operator-trait for their operations, in keeping with the Navy standards, and it came in handy. They could always study the ops footage later to get more information and also it could be used to educate other teams whenever they went through something like this. Only a few of the team had body cams that day since they had been going to a party. But they had managed to team up to maximize the coverage and now they had mostly complete footage of the entire operation.

They had all gone for their post-Gate-Hop medical checkups once they had returned to the mountain. As promised, Colonel Mitchell had retrieved the rest of the SG-11 from the village near the jungle and they had returned to the mountain about 20 minutes later. They all had reunited in the infirmary during their medical checkups. Sheppard, Lorne, and Danny had garnered extra attention - the first two because of their dealings with the Wraith and Danny for getting partially stunned. But they had all been cleared without needing to spend the day in the infirmary once the doctors had been satisfied. They had all had early dinners in the mess hall and the two pilots had retired to the quarters since they had both been still suffering from headaches. The rest of the team had gathered in one of the smaller recreational rooms to go through the footage and get their AARs (After Action Reports) done for the debriefing the next day. They had already gone through the cam feeds from Steve, Bates, and Vega and now knew what each team had faced. They had exchanged praises, criticisms, and good-natured ribbing while watching different areas of footage with fascination. Now they were all at the part from the cam Lorne had been wearing.

"Yeah, that's the thing. These guys are rare enough as it is. When the Wraith find out about this, they’re going to start hunting them. The gene carriers are a real threat to Wraith. All they have to do is ask the Goa'uld to take care of the gene carriers while they deal with the non-gene carriers. We’re going to have to try and keep this stuff under wraps as long as we can," said Vega, after they had all finished watching the feed.

"Keep what under wraps?" asked Sheppard at the end of a huge yawn. He was leaning against the door of the rec room and was wearing a black t-shirt, loose sweats, and a pair of slippers. He still looked half asleep and Steve wondered what had made the man wake up and come looking for them.

"Ah, sleeping beauty, come take a seat. We were just talking about your horror show," said Danny, with his usual lack of tact.

They were using the TV screen in the room to watch the feeds and a few laptops and PDAs were scattered on the stool in front of them. Steve, Adam, and Kono were sitting on the long couch, Danny, Bates, and Vega had claimed sofas and Cadman was settled between Higgins' stretched-out legs on the floor. Sheppard pushed off from the door frame and walked into the room eyeing the seating arrangement. Then he huffed and went to settle on Steve's lap, who let out a quiet laugh and moved to accommodate the burden. John wriggled and shifted until he was sitting comfortably, resting sideways on Steve's chest with his head on Steve's shoulder, and let his long legs dangle off the armrest of their side of the couch. Steve wrapped his arms around the sleep-warmed body on his lap and closed his eyes. Then John looked at Danny expectantly. Danny keyed a few commands on the laptop closest to him and started the feed from Lorne's cam for John to have a look.

Steve felt him tensing up the moment John saw himself on the screen. It occurred to Steve then, that this was the first time John had seen himself going through the 'online experience.' The other time he had been alone and when he was discovered, he was already back to normal. Steve rubbed his back, offering silent comfort.

"Wow! That's... um... disturbing. My eyes - they look creepy - I look creepy..." said John. He was thoroughly disturbed at witnessing his physical transformation.

"I don't know brah, I was once involved in a raid at a meth factory. I've seen creepier-looking dudes running around, believe me," said Kono matter-of-factly from the middle of the sofa.

"And I know for a fact that you are a complete lunatic. One, because I've seen you fly and have had the misfortune to fly with you several times. Two, you are dating the other lunatic you are sitting on. So this little drama is nothing. I wasn't even that surprised," said Danny, his hand slicing away at the space in front of him, emphasizing his point. John and Steve both sent identical glares at Danny who just upped the wattage of his shit-eating grin.

John could clearly see the easy acceptance from his team of his rather weird ability, and That made it much easier for him to accept the fact himself. (He did remember how Lorne had looked during the change. Okay - he had looked like he was high on something - but not a full-on-mutant like John, though.)

"So the point we were discussing was, to keep this bit of intel from falling into the claws of the Wraith because that would lead to those fuckers declaring open-season on gene-carriers," said Bates, with a grimace. The others nodded in response.

"Dr. Carson is working on artificial gene therapy. He says his serum would have a 75% chance at activating junk DNA in a non-gene carrier to become ATA positive. I actually helped him to find some information he needed from the Alteran archives back in Antarctica. The way things are going, we are going to need him to deliver soon, so that we'll have enough people to deal with these assholes," said John thoughtfully, his mind drifting back to discussions he had with the Scottish doctor during his visits to the Defense Outpost in Antarctica.

"Yeah, and let's not forget the Snake-Heads. At least we have some sort of warning system against the Wraith. But the Goa'uld - do we even have a way of identifying them in advance?” The question was from Steve. he still had his eyes closed, enjoying the proximity to John.

"There are some medical scans that can spot them. Other than that, the Jaffa and some of the previous hosts, like Vala and Carter can sense them. Of course, the Tok'ra would know. But that's about it I think," said Cadman, remembering the facts from Daniel Jackson's lectures.

"Yeah, they've been quiet enough on earth for what, closer to two months now? But busy stirring trouble in other worlds? Whatever they are planning, we are not going to like it much when it happens. I really can do without these times of suspense, you know?" said Vega.

"I know it's tempting fate, but I do agree. By the way, did you guys hear? The word is, that the big boss is going to show up tomorrow. Probably for our briefing. He usually shows up when things are really going to get sent up the creek without paddles," informed Cadman conspiratorially.

"What big boss?" asked Sheppard at the same time Steve asked, "Where do you even hear this stuff from anyway, hah?"

"Oh, I've got my sources, Mr. Major, Mr. Lieutenant Commander," said Cadman, grinning from ear to ear.

"Awesome. Better get our paperwork and shit together then, yeah?" suggested Bates and grabbed the PDA closest to him.

Sheppard slid off the comfortable lap he was sitting on and settled on the floor between the Commander’s legs, then grabbed two PDAs - one for himself and one for Steve. They all then got busy with their respective reports on the day's events.

..........

Early next morning, Sheppard was sitting inside the Jumper helping the Air Force Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter to extract the data pertaining to their jaunt in Gemmond. He was transferring the flight records, blueprints of the Darts and Wraith Dart Carrier, all details about hull compositions, weapons, and other data, the scans and the footage the Jumper had managed to capture to Carter's PDA. When the data transfer finished, Samantha Carter went away, letting Sheppard know that they'd be called in for the debrief later on.

He knew that Kono and Steve had also prepared a comprehensible version from all the cam feeds they had on themselves during the mission as well. They had all submitted their detailed AARs to the SGC server already and were now waiting to be called to the briefing room for a Q&A session with the General and whoever else was present.

The summons came via Sergeant Harriman who came to fetch the SG-11 team leaders, Sheppard and McGarrett, into the main Briefing Room just after breakfast.

Briefing Room, SGC, Cheyenne Mountain - Colorado

Entering the Briefing Room, Sheppard experienced a feeling of déjà vu, since the atmosphere held the same intensity as his first briefing at the same place, several weeks ago.

This time there were more participants. Even in his BDUs, the bald Major General had an imposing presence. Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was sitting to his right and Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell was to his left. Next to O'Neill were Dr. Daniel Jackson and Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter with Teal'c sitting beside Mitchell. Dr. Rodney McKay was also present, busily typing on the laptop in front of him while munching on what looked like a blueberry muffin. Dr. Zelenka was sitting next to him trying hard to look like he had absolutely no association with McKay. SG-11 leaders had the seats on the opposite side of the big conference table, facing everyone, completing the assembly. There were two projector screens, on opposite sides, so no one had to twist their necks to see the feeds or any other data that was projected onto the screens. They also had their own PDAs or laptops with them, so they had ready access to anything they needed at any moment.

"General, you wanted to meet the trouble magnets. Well, here they are. The team leaders of SG-11." General O'Neill made an unorthodox introduction as they both entered the room and gathered in front of the conference table.

"You shouldn't complain much O'Neill, when you were the one who was bugging me for a group of special operators in your ranks. Now you've got some, and if they’re bringing extra workload for you, well, you've got no one else to blame," said General Hammond pleasantly.

"You know, it was more like Marshall's wish, come to think of it," O'Neill informed General Hammond. Colonel Marshall Sumner who was at the Earth Alpha site on an inspection, was not there to defend himself.

General Hammond shook his head in amusement, already much used to General O'Neill's eccentric ways, and turned to address SG-11." Anyway, gentlemen, it's a pleasure to finally meet you two. I have seen your personal files and the files of everyone in your team, of course, but I always like to meet trouble magnets in person, whenever I can manage. Please sit and make yourselves comfortable. We’re going to be here for a while," he informed the Major and the Lt. Commander.

"Major Sheppard, if you can please give a brief report of what took place in Gemmond?" he looked to Sheppard once they were seated.

Sheppard recounted the mission as ordered. He started from the point where they had to force the connection to Gemmond via the Jumper's DHD and detailed their entry to the hot zone. Then he briefly described the recon they conducted and the subsequent entry to the Wraith Carrier. Then he recounted the rescue operations and the entanglement with Wraith. He then summarized blowing up the ship, how they split up to accompany the Gemmondians and how the rest of them returned to the gate to report back to SGC, followed by the handover to Lt. Colonel Mitchell who showed up to take over the clean up. Once he finished, General Hammond turned to Mitchell.

"Lt. Colonel Mitchell, will you tell us what happened next?"

"Yes Sir. I went to Gemmond with SG-1, SG-3, SG-8, and SG-9. SG-3 was sent with the medical staff to the city to provide medical help and SG-8 went with them to help with the clean-up. I dropped off the Doctors McKay and Zelenka at the Dart crash sites along with Teal'c and SG-9 and took the Jumper to orbit to run a scan in near space. There were no other Wraith Spaceships in the vicinity. Then I returned to the city and stayed there to coordinate with the city council. I also spoke to some of those travelers who were taking refuge in Gemmond. They were from Holdus, Aegis, some even from Charos. They all had similar stories about this 'Culling', as they called it. It seems that this started about two weeks ago and there seem to be few other worlds targeted as well. So far they've been avoiding the technologically advanced planets though," continued Mitchell. "Then I took a trip to the village near the jungle where the rescued Gemmondians gathered with a couple of medical staff. They were all okay and being taken care of by the Nasyans. We spent the whole day in the city and the clean-up was rather quick, seeing as SG-11 got there pretty quickly and the Wraith didn't have much time for a larger attack. Then I collected the Doctors from where they were camping near crash sites and returned to the mountain for the debrief."

The General then turned his attention towards the two scientists;

"So Dr. McKay, Dr. Zelenka - any luck extracting the people stuck in those Darts?" he asked.

"Hmm, we've scanned those two Wraith Darts and found a way to connect with their interfaces. Basically, we’ve gone over the controls that dematerialize people, store their information, and then rematerialize them again when commanded to. It's a very complex process and requires a lot of power. Now, the Dart I scanned has five life signs and Radek's one has eight life signs. But according to the power readings we've got, those darts don't have enough power to rematerialize people on their own. But we can hook up a Naquadah generator into each of them and give a bit of extra oomph to restart the controls and activate the beam. Sort of like jump-starting a car battery." Rodney looked quite proud at having managed a properly dumbed-down report for the academically challenged.

"Ano, Rodney, we discussed this. There is a chance that those generators might not be the best way to restart those controls. You mustn't forget the biological components in those Darts - they are not like normal batteries that we can jump-start." Dr. Radek Zelenka pushed his spectacles further up his nose and reminded Rodney.

"I know, but if we regulate the levels and write a subroutine to abort if it gets over the power levels we need, it'd be fine." Rodney turned to face the Czech scientist and gestured with his muffin.

"A subroutine that we need to translate to match the coding on the interface. Yes, yes! It might work. But then we need..." Zelenka had already started typing something fast and McKay was leaning over to watch his screen.

"Ah, wait, there," he interrupted and the Czech said something unintelligible in his own language, still typing away. Now Rodney had abandoned his muffin and was also busy on his PDA while talking to Zelenka about code.

The two scientists had forgotten about the rest of the assembly and were completely immersed in their planning, typing, and conversing in increasingly complex scientific jargon. General Hammond let it continue for a while and then decided to interrupt when the scientists showed no signs of returning to the briefing. Out of all of them, only Carter seemed to be able to follow the dialog between them with an amused look on her face.

"As riveting as it is to be listening to you two gentlemen, can you please tell us whether this venture is possible or not? We really don't need to know the exact process," Hammond asked them both with great patience.

"Yes, General. We can do this. Maybe by tomorrow evening, we should be done. We will need a Naquadah generator though," said McKay, without looking up or without stopping his typing.

"Jack, can you accommodate that?" asked the Major General.

"Yeah, I'm sure we have one or two of those lying around here, somewhere," General Jack O'Neil replied, looking pointedly at Sergeant Harriman who confirmed with a firm nod.

"Well, then," started General Hammond, but was interrupted by Dr. Zelenka. "Can we be excused? We need to clean this up and get a proper program before we need to return to the planet."

"Yes, please. You may both take your leaves, doctors." A rather relieved General excused the pair without further delay. They both got up with their PDAs and left the room, bickering about the code and power levels.

"Commander, I was informed you have the footage of the entire operation?" he then inquired of McGarrett, who confirmed. "Now, Jack, I think this is something we should get all our Gate teams to start practicing. There is always one team or another who runs into something unexpected whenever they conduct Gate operations." He turned to the General.

"Yeah, I agree. But there is a concern, you know? What with the IOA and all their crap about respecting the privacy of the natives and such. SG-11 has a bit of leeway on this because they are a joint ops team and we had agreed to keep up their SEAL standards. So all their Gate missions go under Special-Operations per that agreement with the Navy. I think it's about time we took a long hard look at those pesky civilian regulations, especially since it's starting to look like trouble's brewing," said Jack O'Neill, for once looking completely serious.

"Hmm, I have a meeting with the IOA in a few days. I'll speak to the President as well before I meet with them. The chances are that we are going to have to raise the threat levels and will have to change some protocols accordingly, very soon," replied the General. He was already thinking about reaching out to the other races with advanced technologies and capabilities the earth had connections with; about this latest threat and ways to defend against it.

He then turned to Samantha Carter. "Carter, I'd like to review that footage now please."

Lt. Colonel Carter projected the video onto the screens on either side while Harriman dimmed the lights in the conference room. For the next 90 minutes or so, the entire conference room was quiet except for the sounds coming from the footage of the mission.

General O'Neill took it upon himself to break the thick silence that had descended in the Briefing Room at the end of the mission footage. "You know, I remember I sent SG-6 last year to Gemmond for the harvest celebrations. They brought back cake - really nice cake - and even nicer wine," he said wistfully, and then turned to where Sergeant Harriman was seated. "Walter, remind me next year when the time comes around, yeah?"

"Of course, General," the Sergeant replied with an equally serious air.

"That was an excellent bit of soldiering. My compliments to your team. Well done." General Hammond said. He was extremely impressed with the way the team handled the situation. He had harbored some concerns about how well they could mesh a SEAL team with an SGC team and this incident proved that it could be done quite seamlessly. He could see that each and every member brought a unique and impressive skill set to the team.

"Jack, I need a copy of this footage and all other data collected in a summarized report so I can present this to the president and the IOA. I might call an extra-planetary meeting to discuss this too. So be ready. And keep me posted if you get news from other planets on any encounters like this," He informed O'Neill. "So far, is there anything on the surveillance on those satellites and the Goa'uld activity?" he inquired.

"Nothing, but I believe this explains why they are waiting for the Wraith to stock up on supplies before starting whatever they are planning on. I have a feeling this might include an armada or two of alien fleets by the way things are going," said Jack O'Neill thoughtfully.

"The work on Prometheus is nearly completed. She will undergo her space trials in the next month, bringing our fleet to six. We shall see if we can persuade our allies to contribute as well. This information might just be what we need to apply that persuasion," General Hammond reflected. "All right people, thank you for your time. I will be in touch." He stood up, bringing the briefing to an end.

With that, everyone stood up as General George Hammond took his leave.

..........

It had been two days since the meeting with Major General George Hammond and SG-11 had just returned from a training session at the Alpha site, off-world. They had completed the medical checkups, cleaned themselves up, and were seated around a long table enjoying their dinner in the mess hall when Steve's phone started ringing.

The call came from a landline bearing a Hawaiian prefix. "Is this Mr. Steven McGarrett?" The voice was female. Steve winced at the 'Mr.' involuntarily, not used to being addressed as such.

"Yes, that's me. Who is this?" he asked.

"Sir, my name is Diana Curtis and I'm calling from Honolulu General Hospital. You’re listed as the next of kin for Captain John McGarrett. He was admitted to the hospital yesterday when he suffered a heart attack. Sir, his condition is stable for now. But we'd like you to be here and visit him if it is at all possible?” The professional no-nonsense voice delivered the news in such a calm manner, it took Steve a few seconds to register what the woman was saying and the seriousness of the situation.

"WHAT?" he barked into the phone, when he had recovered from the shock. The team sitting around him all stopped what they were doing and stared at Steve.

"Mr. McGarrett, please calm down. Your father's condition is stable for the moment. He was brought to the hospital on time. Are you able to make it here safely as soon as possible? Is there anyone who could bring you here?" The hospital admin on the line tried to placate the very agitated SEAL.

"Uh? Yes, yes. I'm not in Hawaii at the moment. But yes, I'll be there as soon as I can. Thank you for calling and letting me know," Steve collected himself enough to reply. His mind was still reeling at the shocking news he had just received. He had called his old man only two days ago and he had sounded fine on the phone - even happier at the fact that Steve was stationed somewhere in the mainland and could call home more or less on a regular basis.

"You’re welcome sir," the voice said crisply and disconnected the call. Steve stared at the phone in his hand dumbly, his mind refusing to cooperate and start being useful for the moment.

"Steve, what was that all about?" The touch on his arm and the concerned face of John - which was quite close to his - brought him back from the stupor he had got lost in. Steve stared at him for a moment and then found the words to reply.

"That was the Honolulu General. My dad, he's in the hospital, he had a heart attack," Steve said in a dull tone, still not able to believe that it was real. He felt John's grip tighten around his arm at the revelation.

"What? When? How?" Questions bombarded him incredulously. Steve took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to bring his turbulent mind into some semblance of control and deal with the situation.

"I don't know, but I need to go there now," he said decisively, standing up.

"Hey, Steve, hey, they didn't say it's bad, did they? Just don't go by yourself." John was also standing with him and he realized John was holding him by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. He grabbed onto John automatically, his presence so close to him, helping Steve to ground himself. He concentrated on what John was saying to him and could hear the regret in his voice at not being able to go with Steve. They were the team leaders of SG-11 and one had to be at the mountain if the other was going to be unavailable.

"Don't worry man, I'll go with him," Danny was also standing up and looking worried. He also looked determined to follow the SEAL home no matter what Steve had to say about it.

"I need to go pack a bag, and yeah, Danny, you can come with," said Steve, starting to mentally list the things he needed to do in order to get moving.

"I'll help," Kono volunteered.

"Let me talk to Walter and contact Peterson AFB - there might be a transport or something going that way. It'd be quicker," Sheppard suggested, and was already moving towards the elevator to go to level 27. "I'll come back and see you in your quarters," he threw back over his shoulder as he entered the elevator.

"Shit, I need to apply for leave," said Steve, watching John disappear into the lift.

"Don't stress Commander, we'll take care of it." Bates patted him on the back and Cadman nodded along. "We will apply on behalf of you two. This is an emergency. So it'll be fine," said Vega. Then she and Bates both took off towards the HR offices to handle the paperwork for their Commander's emergency leave.

"Thanks, guys," Steve shouted after them. And then he hurried towards his own quarters with the rest of his team tagging along. He already had a duffel packed for emergencies and only needed to add a few more things. He tried calling his dad’s friend but the call went to voicemail. He figured that he could try contacting them once he reached the hospital. He wouldn't even think about calling his sister until he had the chance to see his father and knew more about his condition.

..........

Within 20 minutes, Steve and Danny were both waiting by the exit at Cheyenne mountain for the vehicle that had been signed off for them to be delivered to Peterson AFB. Walter had made the arrangements. There was an army cargo plane making a training run to Hickam and he had managed to arrange transport for the two SEALs with it. They'd make their own way back after the visit to the hospital.

"Steve, listen, it's gonna be alright. You hear me? It'll be fine! Your dad's a tough guy, he'll be fine." Sheppard was holding his face in his hands and Steve found himself nodding along to the assurances pouring out of his boyfriend. Then John kissed him softly on the lips and Steve sighed, leaning into the comfort. He rested his forehead on John's and wished with all his heart to wake up and realize that this was all just a bad dream.

"And don't forget to call, yeah?" John implored as he straightened and very reluctantly let go of Steve.

"Sure John, I'll call," He promised as the SUV came to a stop in front of them. He and Danny both got in and seated themselves. He then gave a short wave to John who was still standing there by the exit watching them leave. Steve hoped what John had told him would be true, that his dad would be able to make it through. He was not ready to lose his only remaining parent. ‘God please, not again! Not so soon...' His mind was repeating the mantra as Steve let out a weary sigh and closed his eyes.

[andsheneverstopstalking]

Family

I have been back home in Puerto Rico for the last week. So far it has been eye-opening, healing and educational. This is everything I intended on finding on this trip. Focusing on the environment around me and not standing in my way. I am honoring this trip for myself. I am taking the time to learn about where I come from, understand my family more, and through all of this enrichment, be able to heal.

My traumatic past is in a way catching up to me. Over the last year I have been working on reconnecting with my family, especially my cousins. My Tio Danny is an extended part of the family but he is still family. Spending time with those types of family members makes you realize that blood isn't the only thing. Sometimes in this life we are given the opportunity to pick our family and we should always take it and make the right choices.

My cousins grew up an hour from me in Tampa and I did not know about them until I visited last time and an Aunt mentioned one of her brothers who moved to Tampa years ago. I met one of those cousins in Puerto Rico. Our connection was real and another cousin is brought into my life. Over the last year I have seen and reconnected with over 10 cousins. I am blessed to have this opportunity even at the age of 27.

The last time I was here was a rough time and I was not okay with it. in addition to making up for the last time, I found myself in a wok situation where I could just live out of a suitcase for a while. I struggled most of my life having a relationship with my family on the island. Family in general because I was raised away from the island. I am staying with my grandmother, and in a way regretting not doing this in the past.

Life is too short for regrets and grudges. If there is anything I have learned from my family and this trip so far, is that -- shit happens, life goes on, you life your own life and it is okay to forgive and move forward.

I have been telling this to myself for a long time but I didn't really believe it until now. This past year has been eye opening and I cannot wait to learn more. Until then, I will work remotely, go to the beach daily and continue living my best life in Puerto Rico.

[blissfulalchemist]

"Why are you hiding behind me? What did you do?" + your choice!

Brace yourself Kate for some Second Gen Brains and Disaster!

“Danny! Hand me the tape,” I say dramatically, my hand outstretched to my brother. It remains empty as I turn to face him, his arms crossed and a frown on his face, “Danny I need the tape.”

“You know you don’t have to be so dramatic about it,” he rolls his eyes, “You didn’t even say please. Mom and Dad say you should always use your manners.”

I scoff, “Danny, hand me the tape, please,” grumbling I place my hand out again, Danny smiling placing the roll of duct tape in my hands. I turn to face the sink, stepping on the step stool, my brother coughing behind me, “Right,” I flash him an exaggerated smile, “Thank you oh wonderful brother of mine.”

“Again,” he says trying to hide the smile that’s come to his face, “no need to be dramatic.”

I wave him off, tearing off a piece that I think will be long enough to wrap around the handle of the hose leaning over the sink. The tape wraps around the handle nearly three times and I pull the hose up aiming for the drain, flipping the water on. It sprays out the hose and I smile putting it back in its place. Part three is complete, now to work on part five as all of this has to be set up a specific way to keep-.

“What are you two up too?” Danny and I both jump at the deep sound of Dad’s voice, seeing him stand in the doorway of the kitchen dressed in his “lazy” outfit as mom calls it. Its a loose pair of pants with a dark blue shirt, he could go to a casual interview as mom says therefore its not lazy like her fuzzy pajama bottoms. He takes a sip from the mug he’s brought with him, “Liz,” he asks again, “what are you two up too?”

“Uhm,” I should just tell him the truth or well part of it really, what he doesn’t know won’t kill him, “Well Danny and I didn’t like the prank that Uncle John pulled on Wessy last week so we’re gonna get him back when he comes to pick up Boomer Jr..” 

Danny nods along with me as our father’s eyes land on him, he’s always been the worse liar between the two of us, “Yeah. He’s gonna get covered in water.”

Dad cocks an eyebrow looking between the two of us, “How so Danny?”

He specified which means it’s up to Danny to sell this, how I wish he wasn’t so much like Mom sometimes. “Well you know in the movies people turn on the sink and then the water comes from the hose,” Dad nods along slowly, “Well that’s what we did.”

I give Dad a smirk as he looks me over, no doubt trying to see if there’s more to this plan, there is but he’s not going to find out about it. “It’s going to be just water?” Danny and I glance over quickly, nodding. He studies us a little more before giving a small nod, “Just make sure to warn your mother if she comes back early.”

Danny and I nod, “Yes sir,” we assure him in unison.

The two of us leave to find something to do while we wait for Dad to go back upstairs to finish up whatever work he gave himself. Danny settles on the paper and crayons, passing a note to me, You sure we should be doing this?. I nod, this wasn’t going to get anyone hurt. It was just meant for some fun….and no I still wasn’t alright with the prank Uncle John did to Wessy. I look up from the book I picked up blindly, watching as Dad makes his way up the stairs slowly to the office. “Keep out of trouble you two,” he calls out, “I’ll know about it pretty quickly.”

I listen to the creaks of the house settle into the office, making sure there’s no chance of them coming back. I pat Danny on the arm, “Let’s go!” We rush quietly to the pantry pulling out the bucket filled with clear glue, Danny pulling out the bag of rainbow feathers. “So we need to get the feather bag set up first, then the glue bucket, and then make sure-.”

“Liz,” Danny interrupts, “Don’t you think this is a little much for just a small water prank?”

I narrow my eyes slightly, “Hey I already compromised on the flour for you. Besides, it’ll teach Uncle John a lesson.”

Danny shakes his head, “More like traumatized,” he lets out a slow breath, “Come on let’s get this set up before they get here.”

“Trust me, it's going to be just fine.”

The bucket proved the hardest to get right as two small children with a weighted bucket doesn’t make for an easy time. Us being on the shorter side didn’t help much either, but we eventually got it into place, locking up Boomer Jr. in the laundry room as to not tip Dad off to the whole scheme, or worse Wessy’s poor pupper getting the glue. “Shhhh, it’s only for a little bit and I promise I will get you a nice steak and bone,” I assure the small dog, with his too big paws.

I grab Danny’s hand pulling him behind the couch, pulling out the old baby camera monitor. “How long do you think it’ll be?”

“Well John is never late, and he said four o’clock,” I glance up to the digital one by the front door, “And it’s five minutes until then.” 

“And you’re sure he’s not going to get hurt?”

“Positive,” we scooch closer together waiting for the sound of John’s car pulling up our driveway. Four o’clock on the dot and Danny and I hear the engine shut off, smiles coming to our faces, eyes transfixed on the screen in front of us. We giggle as we hear the splashing outside, John having been tripped into the small pool of water. 

“Doesn’t Raf make them keep this place clean,” we heard John say, the two of us looking to the other confused, I thought he was supposed to be alone.

Wessy’s muffled laughter comes through the walls, “He does, so it’s probably for the prank you pulled last week.”

“Liz, Wes isn’t supposed to be here,” Danny whispers to me, “What if he gets the prank and not John? What do we do?” 

“Uhm,” I wrack my brain for ways to spin this, hope to distract Wessy, “Just trust me okay.”

The door handle turns, “I’m sure Liz can’t wait to get that video on the internet for all to see,” John says the door opening slowly, Danny and I holding our breaths. The door swings open the bucket falling as it should right on top of John, “Wes!” We cover our mouths holding back the laughter watching as John wipes away some of the clear glue. Our laughter stops as Wes steps through the door, some of the glue falling onto him, for the time being it seems he doesn’t notice. 

Danny looks at me eyes wide, “Must have watered down some dish soap,” I watch as Wessy makes his way to the sink, I grab Danny’s arm.

“Run,” I whisper, the two of us making for a silent break for the stairs, hearing the water turn on and Wessy’s yelp of surprise. I glance down to the screen running face first into Dad who’s waiting at the top of the stairs, “Dad!”

“I heard John fall down outside,” he has a smile on his face as he makes the trip back down the stairs, Danny and I in tow, “Let’s go see if he’s okay.” My stomach turns as I hear the crash of two bodies hitting the floor, both of them must have hit the oil. We make it to the bottom of the stairs and I can hear John’s voice grumble something that doesn’t sound like it’s meant to be funny. Danny looks over to me wide eyed, a quick nod and we’re both hiding behind Dad moving with him. He turns between us confused, “Why are you hiding behind me?” 

“No reason,” I spurt out on instinct, ducking hearing as Wessy falls back to the ground, spotting the first few feathers fall into the living room.

Dad’s eyes spot them, fixating on me quickly, “What did you do?” I look to the ground holding the tablet close to me, “Liz-,” he starts when the music begins to blast. “Yakety Sax” fills the house, as the two grown men in the kitchen groan, Dad making his way quickly to the kitchen. Danny and I are on his heels, peeking out from behind his safety. 

My eyes go wide seeing the feathers strewn across the kitchen, John covered in most of them. There’s a trail of glue on the ground from where John walked, the bucket having fallen at some point to the ground. Wessy and John lie next to each other, Wes now sporting a wet shirt while Uncle John has come to resemble a wet rainbow chicken. We may have put too much oil on the ground than was needed. I look to the tablet in my hands still, hitting the rewind button. Seeing the prank play out in full is an experience, watching the two of them falling and slipping from the oil, John managing to fall into the pile of feathers and then proceeding to roll around in them trying to get him and Wessy upright again, well, I can’t help but hold back the laughter, passing it over to Danny. 

His covered mouth is no longer in horror but one of suppressing his laughter, Dad turning to face us. He takes the tablet from us playing back the last few minutes, his face gradually turning from anger to amusement as he watches my masterpiece. He starts to laugh Wessy finding a way to move about the kitchen to get the music to stop. 

“I’m glad you find this amusing Rafael,” John growls sitting up, “Wes and I are far from amused.” 

I see the smirk on Wessy’s face behind Uncle John’s back, “They’re just kids John,” Dad defends, saving three copies of the video including the one from outside, “Just having a little fun. Defending their uncle’s honor.” 

I beam seeing the wink Dad gives us, “Surely there will be some sort of punishment,” John argues, finally managing to stand again, “This feels a bit extreme for revenge of a simple water prank.”

“Don’t worry they will both be responsible for the clean up,” Danny and I shrink back, “while I think of something a little more fitting to make sure they never do this again.” I give a small shrug to Danny, we both knew it was going to be me getting the worst of it since I was the mastermind. Though based on the smile on Dad’s face I doubt he’ll give us some sort of punishment or lecture at all. 

“You got some spare clothes?” Wessy asks, his hand finally feeling the glue in his hair shaking his head, “Maybe borrow your shower too?”

“Of course,” Dad says, holding his hand out, “Let me show you.” Once Wessy and uncle John are in the safety of the living room does dad turn back to Danny and I, “You two know where the supplies are, so get to work.” We nod, stepping carefully to the sink grabbing the bucket under it. 

Danny works in silence scrubbing the floor where the glue fell, while I hum “It’s a Hard Knock Life” as I try to get the oil cleaned first. The first shower stops and the scratching at the laundry door starts, “Oh,” I stand opening the door, “I’m sorry Boomer Jr. I didn’t mean to keep you in there.” He’s getting too big for me to carry properly, but I don’t want him slipping on anything, I already had one accidental victim. “Your dads are upstairs,” I tell him pointing to the stairs, “So go get ‘em!” 

The dog bounds up the stairs, Wessy calling out to him first as he picks him up in his arms I’m sure. It’s Wessy that comes down the stairs first, Boomer Jr. in his arms, “You know next time, mind giving me a bit of warning?”

“We didn’t think you’d be here Uncle Wes,” Danny says softly.

“Yeah we didn’t mean for you to get involved with it,” I say apologetically, “Sorry we got glue in your hair and your jacket Wessy, and that you kept slipping on the oil.”

“Yeah,” Danny says, his head hanging, “Sorry you got hurt Uncle Wes.” 

Wessy’s pupper licks his face, “Don’t worry about it. It was funny to watch John in that situation.” He takes in Danny’s face, “Hey buddy,” Wessy moves kneeling in front of Danny, “I’m okay. No need to be upset about it.”

“We still hurt you though and we didn’t mean too,” I go to Danny, putting an arm around him.

Wessy tilts his chin up to look him in the eye, “Look at me Danny,” my heart falls seeing my brother’s eyes misting over, “I’m okay. No harm, no foul. I know you didn’t mean too. It was an accident and accidents happen.” 

It doesn’t seem to make him feel better as I hug him closer to me, “Hey, Danny,” I start picking my words carefully, “What if Wessy promises that he gets to play one prank on us so then it's even. Does that sound fair?” Danny gives a small shrug, biting his lower lip before nodding, “Do you promise to get us back Wessy? Make it even?”

Wessy gives a small smile, holding out a pinky towards us, “Pinky promise,” I roll my eyes, only old people use pinky promises anymore, but I lace my smaller finger around his Danny following suit. “There it’s settled then. Now give me and Boomer Jr. a hug,” he pulls us closer to him, all of us getting pupper kisses, Danny laughing again. 

Uncle John makes his way down the stairs, “I’ll be waiting by the car Wes,” he calls out as I notice the clothes he’s wearing.

I pull away from Wessy, “Did you guys use the clothes in the dresser in the guest bedroom?” My heart starts to race as I wait for Wes to nod, eyes going wide when he does, “Uncle John wait!” I run to the front door, already hearing him scream.

“Liz what’s wrong?” Wes asks, easily beating me to the door, “What did you do?”

“I saw it in a movie,” I wince hearing the bark of our neighbor’s dog, “I didn’t know if it was going to work but well after this fiasco,” I gesture to the kitchen, “I forgot about part six.” 

“Part six,” Wes questions, opening the door, John’s voice louder as he tries to look for higher ground, the golden retriever jumping biting at him.

“I uh, saw some kids in an old movie soak a man’s underwear in meat,” I give a small laugh with a sheepish smile.

“Wes! Help me!” 

I hold my hands up, “In my defense I didn’t think it was going to actually work.”

Wes shakes his head, sighing, putting his dog on the ground to distract the neighbor dog, “What are we ever going to do with you Liz?” Wes let out a laugh hearing Uncle John call out to him once more, “I’m coming. Calm down. It’s just a dog.”

[daresplaining]

So, in one of your posts you mentioned that you could write a lot about the different contexts in which Danny introduces himself as Danny vs. the Iron Fist. Is there any chance we could ever read those thoughts. Thank you so much for running such an amazing blog; I love it.

    I want to preface this with a general statement and apology:

    This blog has slowed down a bit in the last… year? Ish? Possibly longer? And this is because life has gotten much more hectic for a variety of reasons. My wonderful co-blogger has been busy enough that she doesn’t really have time to blog anymore, and my life has been fairly chaotic as well. There are messages in the inbox that have been there for a really long time (this one included), and I want to assure you that they will be answered, and that this blog does, in fact, still welcome questions! Thank you all so much for your patience, hello to any new followers, keep on Daredevilling, wash your hands… and now, let’s talk about our boy Danny!

    (Context: The post being referenced is this one.)

    MCU Danny’s overall story arc orbited around concepts of identity. The entire first season of Iron Fist is an identity quest– Danny returns to Earth, has his identity as Danny Rand stripped away and fights to reclaim it, has his identity as the Iron Fist challenged and fights to defend that, and then is faced with the question of how to balance both of those identities– his adherence to the honor and duties of being the Iron Fist, but informed by his sensibilities and past life as Danny Rand. At the end of the season, he makes the wise choice to return to K’un-Lun to continue his training, to focus more on his role as an Immortal Weapon, only to discover that… something horrible has happened to his home. The truth of what actually happened to K’un-Lun was a mystery that was never answered, and remains for me one of these shows’ most frustrating cliffhangers. But regardless, this discovery is a bomb dropped in the middle of his identity quest. He believes his home was invaded, and it’s notable that his traumatic nightmares of his parents’ deaths are replaced by nightmares of K’un-Lun’s destruction. He feels he cannot fully claim the title of Iron Fist anymore because he has failed in his duties. He has failed his family, his home, the people he was supposed to protect. But he also clings to that identity more tightly than ever as he commits every moment of his life to righting that wrong, to fixing this unforgivable mistake. He is angry and grieving when we see him in The Defenders, his identity a painful, mixed-up thing, and this fact has to be taken into account as we look at the ways Danny introduces himself in that show.

    Overall, my feeling is that I’m thinking a lot more about this than the writers were, but hey, it’s still fun to examine. Let’s take a look…   

[ID: A screenshot of Danny Rand and Colleen Wing in a dark, green-tinged tunnel, kneeling next to an injured man (Shaft, a member of the Chaste).]

Danny (subtitle): “My name is Danny. I’m hunting members of the Hand.”

    This, his first introduction in the show, is a telling one. He is here in a professional capacity as the Iron Fist, doing strictly Iron Fist business (hunting the Hand), fully embodying that identity, yet he doesn’t introduce himself as such. Instead, he’s just “Danny”. (Note: not “Danny Rand”. Danny’s association with the name Rand is another complicated topic that I’ll get back to later.) This is in spite of the fact that he has reason to assume, given that Shaft knows about the Hand, that he would know about the Iron Fist legacy as well.  

    This can be taken a few different ways. It’s possible that he’s using Danny as just as shorthand; it’s more personal, and he may want to put Shaft at ease by using his civilian name. Or, at this early stage, having now suffered yet another failure of being unable to protect Shaft, it could be reflective of the fact that he doesn’t feel worthy of the title. He is shocked when Shaft recognizes him as the Iron Fist– maybe because he didn’t think Shaft would be so informed, maybe because he is embarrassed and ashamed to be addressed as such.   

[ID: Screenshot of Danny standing in Colleen’s dojo, arms folded, looking intensely sincere. He is speaking to Luke Cage (off-screen).]

Danny: “I’m the Immortal Iron Fist.”

    And here we have the exact opposite. The above scene with Shaft is very intimate, personal, emotional. Danny is avoiding his Iron Fist identity, downplaying himself. Everything is very quiet and desperate and genuine. 

    Here, though… Danny is wearing a mask. He is introducing himself in a succinct, summarizing way; projecting an image, providing information. His personal feelings about his identity are completely absent from this scene, because no way in hell is he going to reveal that vulnerable side of himself to someone he barely knows and doesn’t trust (yet). He is also reacting to Luke’s behavior, which up until this point has been dismissive at best, violent at worst. Luke is a sore spot here: a person who Danny initially thought was working with the Hand, and who he struggled to beat in a fight. If Danny was ashamed before, he is extra humiliated now, standing in front of Luke and being scoffed at (“Oh, this is a joke. Come on”). 

    And so he presents himself as the powerful, in-control Iron Fist he doesn’t actually believe himself to be (“I can answer myself” etc.), throws down a Clif-Notes version of his backstory so Luke can understand who he is, what he was doing when they first met, and why he is a trustworthy ally/asset, and introduces himself with the most formal, intimidating version of his title. Danny is recovering from a bruised ego, and wants the unpleasantness out of the way so that he can continue with his mission– and if Luke is capable of helping, then he wants to make that connection with as little angst and fuss as possible. He needs Luke to know that he is the Iron Fist, even if he doesn’t feel like he actually is. 

[ID: Screenshot of Danny strolling into the lobby of Midland Circle, wearing a business suit.]

Receptionist: “Name, please.”

Danny: “Daniel Rand, of Rand Enterprises.”

    Having seen one mask, we now get to see the other– this one much more fabricated, though he pulls it off with STYLE. (That swagger! I love this scene.) This is Business Danny at his Business Danny-est: Daniel Rand of Rand Enterprises, wearing a tie and everything. Danny is not a businessperson, as he himself says. He has never been a businessperson. He has never wanted to be a businessperson. And, as he also readily admits, he is not a very good businessperson. But it’s a mask he tried on in IF Season One for identity quest purposes– to tether himself to the Rand name, his civilian identity, which was his sole remaining connection to Earth and which the Meachums were trying to rip away from him– and it’s a mask he now dons again, this time as a weapon against the Hand. His introduction here is just as much of a necessary facade as his introduction to Luke was in the previous example, but this one lacks the emotional baggage. 

[ID: The same scene as previous; Danny is smirking coldly at the Midland Circle receptionist.]

Receptionist: “Are they expecting you?”

Danny: “[Chuckles softly] Not like this.”

Okay, sorry, I always say this when discussing this scene, but… DANG. Get ‘em. 

[ID: Screenshot of Danny standing in a white-walled Midland Circle conference room, hands folded in front of him, his back to an open door. A whole bunch of people in suits are sitting at a long conference table in front of him, watching him speak.”

Danny: “My name is Danny Rand.”

    The charade continues (though note the switch from “Daniel” to “Danny”. He is being just as formal and fake here, but he’s never really been a “Daniel” and it’s possible he says it without thinking). I talked about this moment in detail in the original post, regarding Danny’s strategy and the challenges he faces as his plan starts to go awry, so I won’t repeat myself here, but I will point out that Danny keeps this mask on for as long as he can, even after revealing that he knows they are the Hand, even after Alexandra shows up and starts behaving condescendingly toward him. He embodies the Danny Rand of Rand Enterprises identity for as long as possible, so that they don’t see him as a physical threat until he wants them to, and so that when the moment arrives, it can be as impactful as it needs to be. He wants them off their guard, unsettled, frightened.

[ID: A close-up of Danny from the shoulders up, same scene as above. He is resolute.]

Danny: “I am the Immortal Iron Fist, weapon of K’un-Lun.”

    I think this is genuine. Yes, it’s a shock-and-awe tactic to tell the Hand who they’re really dealing with, but I also think that in this moment, Danny rediscovers some of his confidence. He believes that, after all of his shame and failures, he has found a plan that will work. He has finally tracked down the Hand, he has breached their defenses in a way they were not expecting, and he believes that he can now destroy them. And then he gets emotional. This is about honor and vengeance, and they need to know who it’s coming from and what they are paying for. “I am the Immortal Iron Fist, weapon of K’un-Lun”– he is retaking his ownership as defender of his city, because he needs to, because he believes he finally can. He has conviction in his identity as the Iron Fist for the first time since the last few episodes of his solo show. And man, it hurts so much to find out that he is wrong. 

[ID: Screenshot of Danny, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Matt Murdock (in civvies with a grey scarf tied over his face), standing in a tight circle in a dimly-lit room (a restaurant). Danny is talking to Jessica.]

Danny: “Hey, I’m, uh… I’m Danny.”

Jessica: “Jessica.”

    Here is our final scene of Danny introductions: the team dinner, in which he introduces himself to Jessica, and tries to do the same to Matt (who is being grumpy and incognito and therefore is unreceptive to introductions). This one doesn’t have the emotional complexity of the previous examples– Danny is super cheerful and endearing here, delighted to meet these other superheroes and to have found more allies, and he introduces himself with a healthy, informal “Danny”. The beginning of the team-up is the start of the breakdown of his character arc, but it’s a very cute scene regardless– a glimpse of the happy, well-adjusted (or at least adequately repressed) Danny that we had not seen in the MCU at this point since the beginning of IF Season One.  

[ID: The same scene. The four of them are standing around a plate-laden table. Matt is leaning intently toward Danny with his hands on his hips, listening to him speak.]

Danny: “Sworn protector of K’un-Lun.”

    Part of Danny’s relaxed-ness comes from his belief, again, that with these new allies, his revenge quest is achievable. He is also clearly relieved to have help. He introduces himself as just “Danny” initially– using the most informal and least baggage-laden version of his identity, forming a personal connection with them– and then introduces himself as the Immortal Iron Fist, “sworn protector of K’un-Lun” later, when he starts explaining his role in the fight against the Hand. He is very relaxed about referring to himself in this way here, partly because– again– his sense of self and security has been bolstered, he is feeling good and hopeful, and also, it’s just necessary context that he knows he needs to provide. Specifically, he refers to himself as such to Matt, because he has gathered at this point that Matt has Chaste connections, and therefore assumes that he knows about the Iron Fist legacy. Little does he suspect that overly-emotional Matt failed out of Chaste School before learning any of the important backstory, and is therefore clueless. 

[ID: Screenshot of Misty Knight looking over Luke’s shoulder at something that clearly upsets her.]

Danny (off-screen): “You got a chair?”

    Please indulge me for just a second: Am I bitter that we didn’t see Danny properly introduce himself to Misty? Am I bitter that their relationship was almost entirely neglected in these shows? Yes, just a little. 

    Anyway…

    Overall, Danny’s emotional arc in this show suffered for the sake of the team-up, and I feel like there is not as much significance in these introductions– these shorthands for Danny’s identity struggles– as there should have been/would have been if this were his show. That said, I do think they are important, and I loved digging into this. Danny’s journey is one of my favorites out of all of the Netflix Marvel protagonists, and I love taking it apart and examining it. 

    Again, I’m sorry this post was so long delayed, and thank you for the question!

[penguinssupersecretsafehouse]

Fox’s Batman spinoff Gotham is coming to an end after five seasons. After introducing the origins of Batman’s most noteworthy villains, young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) is finally wearing the batsuit. The finale promises to take us 10 years into Gotham’s future to see what has become of all these famous characters.

After the last Gotham panel for the Television Critics Association, we spoke with Robin Lord Taylor, who plays the show’s Oswald Cobblepot. Taylor had promised that the flash-forward sees him in a fat suit as The Penguin. Gotham airs Thursdays at 8pm ET/PT on Fox.

Is there any chance of redemption for Oswald?

Robin Lord Taylor: “Oswald is a story of ultimate corruption and what it does to a person. We see someone who, even though he had been through a traumatic childhood with intense bullying as he was growing up, he was able to still retain a piece of humanity, a piece of empathy inside there. As we go along, that slowly dies, and dies because that’s what Gotham does to him.

His redemption will be in small moments where he chooses to respect life and he chooses to have an alliance with someone, like Ed Nygma, to trust them. Those are redemptive moments for a person who is on the ultimate track towards complete corruption.”

You’ve done the Penguin walk. Does the fat suit change that even more?

Robin Lord Taylor: “It just emphasizes it. I didn’t mean to sound too flippant about it. I felt very lucky again to have, as we go into the future, to have a physicality that represented those 10 years leading up to that moment. I talk about corruption and being unhealthy and someone slowly dying and punishing themselves, that’s what we get to illustrate in the final episode. Just to be able to inhabit an altered body and let those 10 years manifest itself physically was a really amazing gift for an actor.”

What was it like having Paul Reubens as your dad?

Robin Lord Taylor: “Oh, just a dream come true. I’m exactly that generation who watched Pee-Wee’s Playhouse when it was on Saturday mornings. When I was a kid, it was Michael Jackson and it was Pee-Wee Herman. I had also, as I grew older, learned who Paul Reubens was and how he created that character and also this other stuff that he’s done over his career with the Groundlings and what not. And then he’s playing my dad and to have him be the only correlation between the film universe and what we were doing on our show, to have it be related to The Penguin was just such an honor. He also played The Penguin’s father in Batman Returns.”

Did you fanboy around him?

Robin Lord Taylor: “Absolutely and then we became such close friends. I actually met him before he was cast to play my father. I became friends with Carol Kane who played my mother. First of all, I have the best TV parents you could possibly imagine, Carol Kane and Paul Reubens, forget about it. Carol and I live in the same neighborhood in New York so she invited me to breakfast one morning. She was like, ‘Oh, my friend Paul will be there,’ whoever Paul is. I walk in, it’s Paul Reubens. She of course didn’t even think that that would be startling or a big deal to me and she’s amazing.

Anyway, we met and we connected and he told me, and I knew of course, he reminded me, ‘You know, I played Penguin’s father. Who knows, maybe this could be a spinoff.’ We took a picture of a family photo. I hadn’t even sent it to Danny and he texted me, ‘Paul Reubens is going to play your father.’ It was meant to be and somehow we all knew. We knew at that diner in New York City. Then he’s been nothing but a dear friend, just lovely in person.”

How have you changed over five seasons?

Robin Lord Taylor: “It’s funny. I think we are so intrinsically connected to these characters. In certain ways, my connection to Oswald, the thing that we do share is going from a place of he’s insane, a place of just such strong ambition but very little confidence to having those two kind of meet up. I feel more confident. I can say that I feel proud of what we’ve done and what I’ve done. Just to be able to own that and say this was my stamp on this iconic character and no one can ever take that away from me, I feel so excited for what’s next because I’ve never had that feeling before in my career.”

What do you want to do next?

Robin Lord Taylor: “I just want to be better. I want to do something different than Gotham. I feel like going forward, any other sci-fi, comic book thing could never hold a candle to this character so going forward, I’d like to find something that’s a little bit more rooted in reality, whatever that means, if that’s theater, if that’s TV.”

Do people look at you now for villains?

Robin Lord Taylor: “It’s all types. Yes, typecasting is a reality, but at the same time, I recognize if the character is directly too close to anything that happened on Gotham, then it’s a hard no for me.”

‘Gotham’ stars Cory Michael Smith and Robin Lord Taylor during the 2019 Fox Winter TCA panel (Photo by Frank Micelotta / FOX / PictureGroup)

Is your hair and look part of changing your appearance post-Gotham?

Robin Lord Taylor: “This is just me going back to myself. I complained about it over the years with the hair dying and wearing the fake nose and being in extra makeup, it wears on you especially when you’re not able to be yourself when you’re not shooting. I would have to keep dying the hair over the hiatus. It got frustrating, but then at the same time, when it’s over, I have a physical reset as well as emotional one.”

Do people recognize you?

Robin Lord Taylor: “Not nearly as much. It’s fantastic. Flight attendants and TSA people, people who have to look at your face and engage with you, that’s usually when it happens.”

Were you afraid starting out that this could be it for you?

Robin Lord Taylor: “Absolutely. I was terrified. At the same time, it’s all relative. I think about right now having been through the polar vortex in New York City a couple weeks ago, it was about six degrees. Then the next couple days, it warmed up to maybe 25 and you’d go outside and you’re like, ‘I could take my clothes off and walk around, it’s so warm out.’ At the time, I was terrified but I was also coming off of 14 years of, again, how am I going to make my rent? Am I going to have to go back to graduate school? How do I explain this to my parents that it didn’t work out? It’s all these terrifying questions that working actors face every single day. So even if I knew, even if this hadn’t worked out, at least I had a job.”

When you go back home, do they see you as a successful actor?

Robin Lord Taylor: “My mom and dad, my parents, it was very important to them to make sure that we didn’t live our lives with regret. So they always very much believed in us, but yeah, there’s a little bit of my mom is very smooth and she’s cool, but I can hear that little tinge of relief every time she talks about, ‘The show is wrapping up but he’s in a good place.’ I can just hear those years of all that fear. She’s relieved which is good. That’s the best gift I could give them.”