limmenel, this is ALL YOUR FAULT.

[bedlamsbard]

I now have a full-fledged plot for the Bardverse AU -- off a slightly different Bloody Sunday -- where Danny takes Val up on his offer. No, I'm serious, a FULL-FLEDGED PLOT. See, it'd be called "The Man Who Wasn't There", and it takes place maybe five years after Bloody Sunday. Danny's made Mafia, as well as legally Val's heir -- and married, to the very pragmatic Frankie West, sister to the Boston don's second-in-command, who, the Boston Mob not being as snobby as the New York Commission, isn't Italian.

I think, were I to go back and re-write Bloody Sunday, I'd dropped the IAB subplot/Lindsay and Hawkes subplot, and not introduce Lindsay. The Man Who Wasn't There (and for the life of me, I can't remember where this title is from, even though I know I'm stealing it) depends on Lindsay not joining the Crime Lab until after Bloody Sunday.

A skeleton's found somewhere in New York, thus making it the Crime Lab's jurisdiction, and it's eventually identified as being FBI Special Agent John Hudson, who vanished thirty years ago shortly after Luciano Constantine was tried and sentenced to prison. Lindsay and Angell picked up the case originally, but it's a full lab case now. Because Val Constantine's out of town, they pay a visit to his boy Danny, who naturally doesn't recognize either of them, since they weren't at the lab when he was there.

A couple days later, on Sunday, Danny's in church, and Flack comes in through the back. He and Danny talk.

It wouldn't end with Danny rejoining the Crime Lab or becoming a cop again, or even he and Flack getting back together (because Danny loves his wife, and I never thought I'd write those words), but it would end with Danny being a detective again for a little while. A mystery-solver. He and Flack and the rest of the Crime Lab (well, except maybe Mac) reconciling after what's obviously a big rupture in their relationship. You know, this time, Bardverse without the supernatural.

Comments

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Okay, seeing these words? Has seriously made my entire year. Seriously. I am so filled with glee right now that I want to explode and fly to whereever you are and, like, offer my soul to you.

Ngh. Oh, oh OH. Even if you never write it (but do, please!!!), just reading this has made me so happy.

Because ack! Danny and Flack and MAFIA and Bardverse holy crap. You are so made of awesome. AWESOME.

(i'm gonna go hyperventilate now)

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Well, I made someone happy. Seriously, it hit be like a sack of bricks yesterday and pissed me off, because it's bardverse, and I never want to touch the bardverse ever again. Only there are two scenes in here that are dying to be written -- the Lindsay and Angel confront Danny at one of the Constantine-owned bars, and the Danny and Flack talk in church during mass.

And I could do the whole darn story, too, only I really don't want to. (It has also hit me that I could, theoretically, with this as a baseline, rewrite Bloody Sunday so that it makes sense. I do not want to do this either.)

NO. I have to write an essay for a scholarship and finish the Beauty and the Beast story. No, no, no. And the SAAB stories. Bardverse is done with!

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Oh oh oh YOU CANNOT TEASE ME LIKE THIS. Not unless you're really gonna write it, because I WANT to read the scene where Lindsay confronts Danny in the bar, and I want want WANT the Danny and Flack scene. This is all that I've been thinking about tonight.

NOOOO come on, write iiiiiiiiiiiit! WRITE IT WRITE IT PLEASE! I get down on my knees and beg. (well, wait until the essay for the scholarship and the BatB fic and SAAB fics are done, of course).

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

This Danny is so awesome, seriously. He's a much better mafioso than he is a cop -- here, let me play with this for a sec.


"Danny Messer?" Lindsay said, holding up her badge. "I'm Detective Monroe. This is Detective Angell. You have a minute?"

The man at the bar turned slowly. "For the NYPD? Anytime."

Lindsay looked him over. Typical mobster was her first thought, but he wasn't, really. Silk shirt, charcoal slacks, gold-rimmed glasses, plain gold band on his left hand, chain around his neck. There was a leather jacket slung over the back of his chair. He couldn't have been more than a few years older than her.

"You carrying?" Angell said abruptly.

Danny turned his head slightly to one side. "Of course."

"Put it on the bar," she ordered.

"Perfectly legal and licensed," Danny said, reaching behind him. .38 Beretta. "I under arrest for something, Detectives?"

"License," Angell said, and he reached for his wallet with one hand, flipping that out onto the bar too. "You carrying anything else?"

There was a pause, and then Danny slid a pair of knives out of his sleeves. "Wanna strip search me, Detective?"

"No, that'll do," Angell said.


...and now I have go write B&tB.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

... I just had a little moment of absolute death. DEATH. Holy mother of HEAVEN, wow.

The idea of Danny carrying a gun and knives is possibly the sexiest thing I can imagine. Also, mafia!Danny, but you already know that.

Would Lindsay have not heard about Danny Messer before? The CSI who turned Mafia? Or would she just not remember the name?

If I beg you for more, are you gonna hit me?

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

See, it was Danny lounging against the bar in the silk shirt that got to me. *nods firmly* But the weaponry too. That was the very, very first image of this story -- Danny being told to hand his weapons over. First the gun. Then the permit. Then the knives. And he's got a .22 in an ankle holster, but he's not handing that over just yet.

I have the feeling that the CSIs Do Not Speak Of Him. And the labrats don't know the whole story, just that Danny quit abruptly. So Lindsay might have heard it early on when she started working at the lab (to replace Danny), but it's been four or five years; it's not something she'd remember. I mean, before "Heroes", how much did Lindsay really know about Aiden?

Yes?

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the description of Danny's appearance made my heart do little flip-flops, because ngh. Danny totally makes a better Mafia guy than a cop in my head.

Yeah, I can get that. Can't wait to see how the others react, though!

Don't hit me!

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

It's not that he's a bad cop, it's just that that's not what he's designed for. He'd totally make a sweet mobster. I think he might lack that particular shade of ruthlessness necessary to cut it in the Commission, but that's about it.

Don't know that part. *sigh* I'm not even sure exactly how Flack reacts, because the church scene is very clear visually in my head, but what they're talking about isn't. On that note, I think I'd probably fade it to black -- or, if I was filming, I'd pull the camera back on a bird's eye, so Danny and Flack just gradually fade into the crowd. Or, you know something.

Internet thwack!

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

I can see Danny as a mobster, easily, but after watching "Run Silent, Run Deep", and seeing him in other episodes, I don't think he's the kind of guy who can use the guns he carries just on a whim... not unless he's being threatened, at least. But I'd think Val and Carmine would help out with the Commission side of things, at least.

Well, if it's the first time Flack's seen or heard from Danny in five years or so, then I imagine it'd be a lot of awkward conversation... would Flack have known and followed Danny's Mafia career (for lack of better word) over the years? But I imagine he'd be hurt, not understanding what happened, but also sorta happy to see his friend again, even if Danny did go off and get married to a girl from Boston :D.

I'm not ashamed (okay, only a little ashamed) to admit that I printed off the little snipit you posted, and it's hanging on the wall next to my computer, so I can stare at it an grin.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. Actually, I should correct myself: the particular shade of ruthlessness needed to cut it as Mafia, anywhere. By Bloody Sunday, though, at least in the Bardverse, he's rapidly developing it. Five years later, though, he's mellowed out.

..."hurt" is one way to put it. "Completely pissed off" might be a better phrase. I have the feeling Flack would have completely divorced himself from Danny or any mention thereof, but it has been five years. He's cooled off slightly. I'm not entirely certain what his motivations behind going to see Danny are -- it's not entirely the obvious.

Hey, it was an arranged alliance marriage engineered by Val partly to piss off the Commission. (I seriously considered having Danny marry Astra Pagliuca. Seriously. I just...couldn't do it. Plus, the WTF factor would probably kill Stella.)

*facepalm*

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

I expect Danny would also have learned a lot over those five years, because he knew a lot in the first place from having lived with Val for so long, but he wouldn't have actually lived the lifestyle until after Bloody Sunday, and if he embraced it, went into it willingly, he'd probably grow to like it, or at least fit in rather well.

Well, Flack and Danny were really close before Danny just up-and-left with not even a goodbye, or whatever. And human beings are random creatures, who like to inflict self harm and destroy their emotions for no reason. So I expect he probably couldn't stay away, because he just had to know and had to see him again, even if it hurt so much.

Like you said in the fic, Astra would probably eat him alive. And Val's super awesome at pissing the Commssion off. But you said Danny actually loved his wife, right? So I guess they're good for each other after all?

... what? I AM A FANGIRL. I can't explain these things.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Right, exactly. And Constantine operates a little differently than most of the Commission families, so it's easier for Danny to adjust, coming as he is from a cop background.

Seriously, for the first few years, it's a whirlwind for Danny because Val is making him like it, damnit.

Flack and Danny were sleeping togehter before Danny left. Part of the reason he goes to talk to Danny is because of the case. On the other hand -- going into church. During mass. That's...interesting, to say the least.

Well, he loves his wife now. (I think.) Seriously, the first thing Val should have done was marry Danny off to a good Commission girl to cement Constantine's place there. Does he do so? No. He marries Danny off to a Boston mobster's sister. Not even Italian.

Of course, Val's two marriages were an utter disaster, so we know what his opinion on marriage counts for.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

How is Val making him like it? Like, appealing to that side of him that ran with Tanglewood? Showing him the benefits of the money and all that? But Danny's been in the PD like you say, and he's worked under Mac for years, so he probably has a clue about politics, which would be helpful when dealing with the commission. Although, I suppose having an inner working of the NYPD would be incredibly beneficial to a Mafia family? :D

Would it baffle Flack that Danny goes to Mass? Because it baffles me, although I assume this comes with the Italian Mafia thing?

Well, it looks like Val got lucky on this marriage. Because marrying Danny into the Mafia would have been all good and well, I suppose, but it seems like Danny would have been way too under-prepared for that, whereas marrying him into a lesser Boston family would have been like easing him into it?

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Well, one of Danny's major issues at the beginning of Bloody Sunday is that he's really starting to get hit by how many of his cases don't make it to court, and of those that do, how many don't get convictions. He's on the edge of taking the law into his own hands, and he's at the point where he's seeing how the Mob does that -- sees the help they do as well as the harm. That's what Val fixates on initially.

My assumption is the Mafia is mainly Catholic? I think? And in my head, Flack is Irish Catholic, so... Anyway, Danny is Good Mafia Boy now, more or less.

The West marriage was an alliance marriage, though. And -- man, you're making me make up Mob politics on the spot -- the Boston mob is incredibly unorganized right now. By marrying Danny to Frankie West, sister of the second in command of the current frontrunner for the lead position, Jimmy dell'Ferrare, Val's making a political statement. A very signficant political statement; he's theoretically throwing the entire power of the New York Mafia Commission behind dell'Ferrare, whether or not it actually. (And it may not be -- actually, I'd put money on the Families being split over who they'd prefer in the Boston position. Dell'Ferrare isn't one of the preferred ones, because of Harper West -- seriously, the Families are snobs.)

*considers* Actually, now you've got me wondering if Danny splits his time between Boston and New York. GEE, THANKS.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can see how Val would latch onto that, and how much it would appeal to Danny, especially after Danny's found himself on the wrong end of justice before, being accused of things he didn't do in the name of "the law".

My roommate is Italian, and she's Catholic, so it's probably a safe assumption. And Danny's "more or less" a Good Mafia Boy? How much of the "less"? :D

So Val's being super awesome and naughty and pissing off the Commission twice with one stone? He makes a statement of politics on their behalf, and marries Danny to someone outside the Commission, at the same time. WHY did they agree to let Constantine join the Commission? *laughs*

I bet Danny would like Boston. It's a nice city. Fantastic food. Smells a bit funny, but, then, so does NY.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Mmm-hmm. Plus, Mac was on a judgmental streak about Danny's Mafia connections -- having them shoved in his face is not really the best way for Danny to keep his job. And we've established that Danny'd recently started using his connections, as well -- mostly for little stuff, but when he has the opportunity to use them for something more...

He's Val's nephew and an ex-cop. I'd say a lot of the less based on those two factors alone.

Because they thought they'd be able to keep a better eye on him this way. Yeah, like THAT worked.

Mafia politics kill my brain, but they make me happy.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Well, Mac was digging into Danny's family, too... and Mac may not understand the importance of family, but I'd think that would be really important to Danny, because they're his blood, even if he doesn't agree with everything they do.

Hm, point :D. Ah, Danny, not the model mafioso.

Mafia politics are highly entertaining. Complicated, but so awesome. And also rather stupid at times, because clearly the Mafia wasn't thinking right when they thought they could control Constantine, especially after Constantine showed for years that they weren't big fans of the Commission!

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Right, and Mac's judging Danny for his family, judging him based on something he has no control over. Worse, he's judging Danny's family -- and even if they maybe should be judged, Mac's leaping to all the wrong conclusions. And, of course, from Danny's POV Mac's going about it all wrong, Mac doesn't understand what family and blood is all about (I mean, we've all seen the fuck up that is Mac's family life).

But at least he looks cute doing it.

Yeah, because clearly, Constantine does exactly what it's told when it's the Commission telling them to do it. Uh, no. Of course, Pagliuca didn't really have a choice; Val saved his kids.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Okay, I was thinking about this last night when lying in bed trying to fall asleep (I tend to go over the entire day, so it's not like I was thinking JUST about the fic... I'm not THAT big of a freak, really! :D), and it hit me... why is Danny still called Messer, not Constantine?

Do Astra and Ace ever get married? And does Pagliuca owe Constantine some kind of dept for everything that happened in Omerta?

Danny looks cute doing anything.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

...good question. Because that would constitute a legal namechange and Danny's not ready to renounce the other half of his family yet? I mean, leaving the NYPD is one thing, but changing his name is something completely different. He is still his father's son and his brothers' brother; he's not going to renounce that. Plus it's another way for Val to tick off the Commission: it's a sign that Danny's isn't pure Italian (for that matter, Constantine is Greek-Italian, not pure Italian). And Danny's not entirely Val's lapdog; it's a way for him to tick off Val as well. It's a message on multiple fronts.

Astra and Ace? I'm pretty sure that's a no. Pagliuca's wary of Constantine now; they don't want to be tied to Constantine any more than they already are. Plus, Astra's stubborn; I think they're just having a sordid affair that was the scandal of the Commission for a while but has died down by now.

Okay, icon. I haven't used any CSI:NY icons in forevr, but that's hot.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

I love me some Danny icons.

So basically, everyone is just attempting to piss off everyone else as much as they can within limits? And all of the Constantine's are trying especially hard to piss off the Commission?

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, not exactly. Val just likes being really, really contrary and the rest of his family tends to follow his lead. He's also a manipulative bastard, so that's where some of that comes from.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

He's also a manipulative bastard

He is? Really? No, you're joking! I hadn't noticed!

*laughs* Danny's the same way, though, in canon and in Bardverse.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Well, at least we know he comes by it honestly.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

He's so good at it, too.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

He is?

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Danny is. At being contrary. Danny is totally good at being contrary. He seems to do quite a bit to be obstinate, though whether it's intentional or not, I don't know.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Okay, for some reason I thought you were talking about Danny being manipulative and I had a, "Uh, no," reaction.

Val is a manipulative bastard. Danny is a stubborn bastard.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Val is definitely manipulative, but Danny is omg incredibly stubborn. And his hybrid ethics are totally not something that Mac can accept, because he's got a thing about acting before thinking, and doing what he thinks is right, no matter what he's told.

Danny could learn to be manipulative, though, I think. He's got it in him, he's just cruel enough.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Danny is stubborn like a BRICK WALL. And I don't think Mac even understands hybrid, because he's so incredibly clearcut -- black and white, no inbetweens. I really hope canon does something with that, and I have a feeling they will. The blinders? They are Not Good.

He could, yes. But I think he'd have to have either an incredibly different background or go through some big changes -- even five years after Bloody Sunday, he's still not as manipulative as he's got the potential to be. He's a hell of a lot more pragmatic, though. Actually...I'd say by the five year mark, he's not actively manipulative, but he is a little bit passively manipulative. Not doing it deliberately or as obviously as Val does, but he is doing it.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

I think Mac's going to run into that problem soon with Gerrard, because eugh, politics + Mac don't seem to equal anything good. The guy's all about doing the job, and that's it. Whereas Danny is more about justice, even if the evidence doesn't agree, and about doing the right thing, even if it's the wrong thing. And Danny totally understands that there are shades of gray, while Mac can't understand that.

Not doing it deliberately or as obviously as Val does, but he is doing it.

How can he (or anyone) be passively manipulative? Like, he doesn't realize he's doing it? He's been living around Val and his manipulations for so long that it's just how he's learned to think, not really understanding that he's doing so?

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

The politics + Mac was totally one of the things that was supposed to show up in Bloody Sunday. Also Mac starting to see shades of gray -- but a very, very limited number of shades. That story was all about pushing Mac to his breaking point, but it was at the expense of the other characters. No wonder I stopped writing it.

But Danny, even canon Danny, clearly grew up in a family that probably straddled the edge now and then -- note his comment about the Tanglewood Boys being more made than the made guys. (Obviously, I took this and ran with it, and I'm surprised canon has it. I am firmly believed they're building up to something.

...great, now I want to write the story where Danny is abruptly pulled out of the crime lab without explanation, and it turns out the OCD wanted him to go undercover. If Carmine Giovinazzo ever has to take a leave of absence, I hope canon pulls that.)

How can he (or anyone) be passively manipulative? Like, he doesn't realize he's doing it?

*considers* Yes, to an extent. Unconsciously manipulative would proably be a better phrase. I think, to an extent, he's probably at the point where he'll be actively manipulative now too, to a small degree.

Actually, you know what, I don't even know what I'm talking about. *sigh*

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Canon is definitely starting to move towards something with Danny and the Mafia, but slowly. But they've hinted way too many times, and it's just barely beneath the surface. So maybe not this season, but next season, I hope. And I think they'll touch on his whole Tanglewood past more, too, because they're awesome like that.

That story was all about pushing Mac to his breaking point, but it was at the expense of the other characters.

Ngh, it sounds like it would be fantastic to read, but a pain in the ass to write. Of course, I think it would take a hell of a lot to push Mac to his breaking point, because if 9/11 and Claire's death didn't do it, then it's going to take a whole lotta crap to manage it.

...great, now I want to write the story where Danny is abruptly pulled out of the crime lab without explanation, and it turns out the OCD wanted him to go undercover.

And holy crap, I would LOVE to read that. I read something vaguely like that in the CSI: Miami fandom, but not well-written and not really that idea, and it stuck with me, and yeah, I'd like to see that. Of course, after you write the next Bardverse fic (wink wink? omg you're going to kill me, aren't you?)

Actually, you know what, I don't even know what I'm talking about.

If this is true, then you do a damned good job of pretending like you do, because it sure seems like it from my end.

Danny as manipulative really intrigues me, because he has the ability to do it so well, especially if you're thinking about it in this imaginary five-years-post-Bloody Sunday world, where he's dealing with the NYPD again... even just with Angell and Lindsay in that little scene, he has the potential to be manipulative, because he knows something that they don't, and he can use that to his advantage.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

As long as canon plays it right, and I trust them to on the plot aspect (not so much with the love relationships thing), then I think they can pull it off. It's definitely going to take a bit more building up, though.

Ngh, it sounds like it would be fantastic to read, but a pain in the ass to write.

Seriously, you have no idea. There's a reason I stopped writing the damn thing; it was that or lose my mind. The only way I could figure out to get Mac to that place was to alienate him from the entire crime lab by putting them all in the hospital. He was working with Val Constantine, for Christ's sake, and he shot a guy in cold blood, lost his supervising position, and got demoted back down to detective (I was working off original canon, where he was a lieutenant). If I were to rewrite it now, I'd probably write it with Danny stepping over the blue line -- at the end, though, not the beginning.

You know, I think canon could pull that. I'm pretty sure I could, too -- oh my God, I'm so conceited -- but it'd be three shades of awesome, you know? Of course, I just saw "The Departed", so that'd be where that's coming from. (SEE THAT MOVIE.)

(wink wink? omg you're going to kill me, aren't you?)

Let me think about it. I won't promise anything till June.

I don't even know what Lindsay and Angell walked out of that scene knowing, but I'm damn sure it was whatever Danny wanted them to know. *nods firmly*

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

They've hinted at so much, though, that they don't need much building up... we have Tanglewood and Run Silent, Run Deep, plus Minhas, and various other hints in episodes, and that's enough to give the viewers some hint about what's gotta be coming soon.

You know, I think canon could pull that. I'm pretty sure I could, too -- oh my God, I'm so conceited -- but it'd be three shades of awesome, you know? Of course, I just saw "The Departed", so that'd be where that's coming from. (SEE THAT MOVIE.)

I want to see it. I keep meaning to, but gah, SCHOOL which hates me. Maybe I'll make a Blockbuster run this week, after this stupid term paper is turned in on Wednesday (after which I am all but DONE DONE DONE for the semester). And ngh, yes, three shades of awesome, seriously.

Can I beg for more random snipits in between now and June? Because otherwise I might go mad and have to print off the entire Bardverse to read over and over again until then.

Well, just the first impression that they have of Danny, relaxed and totally knowing exactly who they are, though they have no clue who he is and what he's capable of, so he's got an advantage there. And I imagine his appearance is more than enough to stump them, because Lindsay notices it and realizes that he's a typical mobster, only, y'know, not. He definitely seems set up to be in control, even though he'll let them think that they're the ones in control.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

I think if they want to pull it, they're going to have to bring in the Mafia a little more than they have so far. Just a little bit. A little, teeny-tiny bit. Then they'll be perfectly set.

It's the Irish Mob in Boston! It's undercover cops and rats on two sides of the blue line! I went through it going, "Oh my God, it's the Mob, wow, my Val is really civilized."

...beg away. I need to see if I can get into the mood to play around in the sandbox some more -- it's definitely a different mood than what I have been writing, and I haven't written serious Bardverse for, like, two years, a year and a half now. And I won't promise anything.

God, if I was writing the Bardverse now, start from finish, I'd do it completely differently.

Oh yeah. Danny is so totally playing Lindsay and Angell, but then again, they're the easy ones -- they're the strangers. It's harder to play his friends. I'm thinking a fun scene where Flack makes the decision to bring him in, and the reactions thereof.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Well, they've hinted that Danny's father was Mafia, or connected, on the website, and Danny mentioned his mother in a recent episode, so I think they could bring Danny's family into it as the connection, unless they just want to throw a Mafia-related case out there.

It's about the Boston Mob? Huh, I didn't know that. I just knew it was a great movie, but I didn't get to see it when it came out. I'm excited, though, I'll try to rent it for next weekend.

Really? You're giving me carte blanche to beg for Bardverse? Without the threat of DEATH hanging over my head (or, at least, the internet equivilant of excommunication)? Wow.

I think everyone says that about their work... there are fics and novels that I wish I had the time and energy and desire to go back and re-write, because I've changed so much over the years, and my view on my writing has changed with that.

I'm thinking a fun scene where Flack makes the decision to bring him in, and the reactions thereof.

So, if I'm allowed to beg, and you're bored at any point in the future, I think this is one of the scenes that I'd like to beg for. Because man, I can totally see Lindsay and Angell realizing that they'd been played, and not being happy with it, and Danny trying and failing to do the same with his co-workers, whether he wants to or not.

Okay, that might not have made sense. It's almost 3 AM, and I'm reading really dense stuff about papal bulls and the Black Death. Bleh.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Eh, I think they could build it up a little more before dropping it on us. Right now it's more circumstantial than anything; let us see something more concrete, something incontrovertible. Seriously, I think a great way to do it would be for the OCD to pull Danny out mysteriously, and build an arc around that. I don't even know if the NYPD has an Organized Crime Division/Department, although I'd assume so.

Yes! It's about the Irish mob in Boston, and it's got gangasters and violence and traitors and cops going undercover. It's really, really good.

You can beg all you want, that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get anything.

*sigh* I've jossed my own work, seriously, I have the internal consistency of a mutant duck. And I'd build up more of an arc than exists already, that sort of thing, you know?

Yes, but I don't really have any idea what goes down in that scene besides the team walking into the conference room and seeing Danny sitting there with Flack. And Mac being really, really pissed off. And Angell and Lindsay somehing along the same lines.

Papal bulls?

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling that the writers of CSI: NY aren't going to go for the idea of pulling Danny out as an undercover agent... it's not something they've done yet in fifteen seasons of shows all combined, and it seems like something that's out of their comfort zone... I mean, instead of doing something awesome with Grissom when the actor took a hiatus, they decided that he would be "teaching". Boring! But your idea would totally be kickass.

Okay, okay, I'm DEFINITELY going to rent it this coming weekend. It's a four-day weekend because of Easter, and it's the last weekend before our final exams start, so I'll totally do it.

I'll beg until I'm dead, in the vain hope of getting something more. I'm like a crack addict.

It's a sign of improvement, though, that you've moved beyond what you wrote in 2005-or-so and have realized that you're capable of doing something different, better, whatever.

I'd think Mac would have his moment of shock, and kinda-horror, and "oh, you have GOT to be kidding me", which would all pass very quickly into the whole "really really pissed off" thing. And Stella would probably Not Be Pleased, either, given her hatred of the Mafia. Actually, come to think of it, Stella is just as black-and-white as Mac is, sometimes.

Yeah. Ugh. I have a term paper due this Wednesday. The topic is "How did popular beliefs among Christians (especially regarding Jews and possibly Muslims) affect views of the Plague in different areas of Europe?". Well, okay, it's a lot more complicated than that, but I'm trying to find copies of the Papal Bulls that were sent out about how Thou Shalt Not Burn The Jews On The Stake Please and all that.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

*sigh* I know. They could so totally do it, though, and I bet they could pull it off really damn well. Man, if I have to write this...

...oh, shit.

You get days off for Easter? You suck. My next day off is Memorial Day, and that's the week before school gets out. I have a straight shot from here to the end of the year.

I'm still not guaranteeing anything. It's just...a lot of writing. And I've moved away from that, I want to work on my originals, get back to my basis in writing in the first place. *sigh*

Of course, this is five years later, Flack is bitter and a lot more independent than he is in canon. He's made some spectacular collars, and he'll pull anything he wants, even if that's bringing a mobster ex-cop into an open investigation. And at this point in time, he really doesn't have much respect for Mac.

What are papal bulls?

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Man, if I have to write this...

...oh, shit.

Oh shit? *blink*

You know, they'll probably never do it. They don't invest enough into their characters, and this is way too much of a deviation from their normal episode structure. They could do it fantastically, but they most likely never will.

Yeah, we get Good Friday and Great Monday the following Monday off. We also have our last day of class on April 11. Ah, yes, Canadian school system, I love thee. Exams are spread out over THREE WEEKS, which means lots of sleeping in, and then I'm done for good before May hits. Good times.

Yeah, it's definitely a lot of writing, I know that. I've been poking at my own novel-length for a few weeks (and it's not going anywhere, arg plot hates me... I have scribbles ALL OVER my bathroom mirror with a special pen that I bought, because I tend to start writing this fic when I'm brushing my teeth... yeah, I'm a freak).

Is Flack's bitterness in part (even if he won't admit it) because he lost Danny, someone he was close to (and maybe loved just a bit, though I don't know about that?), and that sorta forced him to harden himself? Also, I bet he'd get a bit of sadistic glee out of dragging Danny into an uncomfortable spot like that, Just Because He Can.

Papal bulls are... well, they're the official letters that the pope sends out, and they're kinda like LAW. Really famous ones are like the Friday the 13th one in 1307 that ordered all of the Knights Templar to be executed (I think I'm writing a short paper on this one due next week), and this one about the Plague of 1348. Wikipedia is God (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_Bull).

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Well, I want to write it, but I don't want to write it. The only way I was able to do novel-lengths was to sit myself down every evening and force myself to pound out two thousand words. And that was freshman year; I don't have the mental capacity to do it now. Not until after the AP tests, at least.

*dramatic sigh* It makes me very sad. I can totally see how they'd set it up, and how to play it. One big mob ep, during the beginning the season, Mac takes down someone powerful in the Mafia. End of either the same ep or the next one, Danny gets a phone call; beginning of the next one, Lindsay asks where he is and Mac announces he's taking a leave of absence. Span of several eps in between, then something goes down and Flack meets Danny for drinks or something, Danny looking badly, badly shaken. There's a slow build up of mob stuff -- Mac getting threatened, etc. We don't yet know that Danny's an undercover cop. Near the end of one of the mob buildups, we see Danny doing Something Sleazy and get very suspicious. This time, Flack goes to see Danny in some bar, and Danny yells at him, tells him off -- tells him he hasn't been on a "leave of absence" because Mac fired him. He's back with his own people now. Then he and Flack get into a fistfight and get pulled apart by Danny's mob friends. (Except for the fistfight, this role could also be played by Lindsay.) I'm thinking a two-parter finale, with a set-up of a big mob murder that the crime lab picks up -- while interrogating suspects, they find out Danny's on the inside. And it goes down bad. Very end of the finale ep, when Danny's either in a hospital bed or leaning against a wall with blood on his hands and on his shirt, holding a gun and shaking as police officers swarm around them, we find out that Danny's been undercover this whole time, and that he's connected.

*cough* That's not how I'd play it in a story; that is how I'd play it if I was doing a plot arc over a season of show.

GOD. My school district schedule sucks; I know some schools on the west side have a mid-winter break and a Easter break, but do we? NO.

Like, the closest thing I'm coming to a novel-length right now is the SAAB story, and I think it's only going to be novella-length (oh please God, says she). I don't want to put something else on my plate.

Mmm, yeah. I'd also have to figure out exactly what went down in this Bloody Sunday, too. And then I'd assume there's been a lot of stuff building up between him and Mac, too, as well as with the rest of the crime lab -- hey, look at the distance between them now.

Oh, okay, I know what you mean. I was just thinking, what, cows?

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

You put a lot more effort into your fics than I do, it seems. During NaNoWriMo, I put out 5k a night, but totally not with fics, because there's no deadline. Which is probably one of the problems that I have, and why I'll never finish this novel-length, but whatever. You are FAR more dedicated than me.

And yeah, HOLY CRAP you should totally write that, because there's no way the writers will ever realize that genius. Though, man, it totally is genius. Ngh. And I think it's a totally plausible concept, except the writers wouldn't want to lose Danny for that long, and they'd have to tie other characters in more deeply to the thing, and wtf, they have no imagination outside of their case load, because there's never any of these arcs, you know? Every so often, there are plots that span two or three eps, but never an entire season... CSI is a week-by-week show, unlike a lot of other shows out there that rely on plots from the premiere to be answered in the finale. And I don't think Lindsay could do the scene with Flack, because they've really established her as the love interest, though I guess she could be there at the time, and cry or something (because that's all she's good for... okay, I'm bitter, sorry). But then, of course, there would have to be a DAMNED good reason for Danny to agree to do all of that, because he left Tanglewood behind and I don't think he'd go back willingly.

Our school is sorta crappy for breaks, overall... we have two three-day weekends in October (a school-related day, and the Canadian Thanksgiving), and then nothing until the two weeks over Christmas, and then a week in February, four day weekend for Easter, and that's it. But the lack of break means we're out so much earlier.

How do you define novella? Like, that's 20-50k for me, while novel is anything over 50, for the most part, although that's technically not right in the publishing world, I don't think.

Don't stress over it. I'm sorry if my pestering is being annoying, because you definitely should be focusing on school and All That Fun Stuff right now.

It doesn't look like Bloody Sunday would have to change overly much, although you'd have to give Danny another reason to blow up over Mac, if you weren't going to introduce Lindsay in there, and I guess Aiden wouldn't die, then?

It might as well be about cows, because gah, I cannot read Latin. Not that I want to, but this stuff makes my head hurt. Cows are more interesting.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Just NOT cruel enough, rather.

[(Anonymous)]

Danny as a mafioso... oh, I'd like to see this. :)

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. *firm*