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You
Name: Jamie
Contact Details: deadlybirdsof & mie.meimei@gmail.com
Time Zone: GMT
PB: Robert Pattinson ♥ ♥
Journal: angelhair

Character
Name: Daniel Adam Best. He goes by Danny, and will correct almost anyone who calls him otherwise.
Age:April 1st, 1984. 27 years old, looks about 24.
Occupation: Travel writer for Lonely Planet. Also a qualified paramedic, although he doesn't currently work as one.
Resident Location: Originally from Australia, as of entry into the game he is in the process of moving from Rome to London. Does still have quite the tendency to wander, elsewhere in England and throughout the world, either thanks to library portals, Lonely Planet or Dumas's needs. Will be crashing at Haven with Tori (and Madara?) until he's found them a place of their own.

calling all avenging angels (angels, angels kickass angels)

When he is out and about doing things specifically for Duma, she can - at her discretion, when she sees fit - temporarily loan powers to him. For example, omnilinguism. These powers are fleeting and are subject to being taken away from him when he has completed whatever the current task is that she wants him to do.

Not an ability really, but worth mentioning anyway since it is so deeply tied up with his connection to Duma, but magically and psychologically being the vassal of an angel like Duma has brought out all the fire and fierceness in his already strong desire for justice, making it into something of a hunger. He can't stand to see injustice be done and will put a stop to it if he thinks it is the right thing to do, very much to the detriment of common sense. It is something that has got him into trouble off the heavenly books before now, and is something he quite literally loses sleep over.


you're the most colorful thing that i've seen, you dance like no one's watching, sing til the song ends, then you sing some more and we can hardly believe it, the words that flow from your mouth.
Personality: One encounter with Danny is often enough for most people to get a good grasp at who he is at his core, because he is just so open about who he is from the get go. It helps, too, that who he is is all the bright, bold, fierce colours and very few of the pale or pastel ones, meaning that he himself is bold and confident, incredibly certain in the beliefs he chooses and unshakable in his faith, cheerful, brave almost to the point of fearlessness and unfailingly honest and straight-forward in nearly everything he chooses to do. And it all seems effortless, precisely because that side of Danny comes to him as easily as breathing. He's one of those people who has been blessed with a strong sense of self since he was young and has never looked back once. Perhaps that's why most people, after the initial shock and staring, barely notice the third degree burn scars that run up along his left arm and his left side; his warmth, his ease with other people and his sheer presence simply overshadow these deep physical scars.

In many ways, he is still the boy in his early twenties that he physically looks like. Loves a lot of things and dislikes few, being someone who isn't much interested in spending his time on anything that he doesn't enjoy or appreciate working for. He definitely has his playful side, enjoys a lot of things many twentysomethings do and does sometimes take things too far and tease a little too much. He is certainly incredibly cheeky and something of a flirt. Danny does sometimes forget that other people don't possess his level of self-belief and comfort in his own skin and are, in fact, sensitive to being teased or talking about certain topics. Still, no one can deny the boy has flair and style and he does have a very insouciant kind of attitude.

He's kind, make friends easily and is inclined to like people rather than not, but can't be accused of being nice only for the sake of it. If he doesn't like someone he will likely be polite, but otherwise steer clear of them. Besides which, insincerity is something Danny doesn't practice and has no respect for, neither is flattery or lying. He's not malicious, but he'll be direct and say what he wants to say. He does have a high opinion of himself and his own self-worth but it doesn't full out veer off into arrogance, quite frankly because he's more or less exactly right about his own view of himself.

Danny is definitely someone who gets satisfaction out of hard work, and has too much energy to ever not always being on the go. He is definitely on the obsessive compulsive side, and is very exact about things like timing. He has no patience for bigotry or thoughtlessness, and it's those kind of things that tend to push his buttons the most. In the case of the latter, this is especially true with those he is friends with or closest to, because the fact is that if he puts effort, thought and openness into a relationship, he expects the same back. At times, he is prone to jealousy and possessiveness, but he is definitely not someone who enjoys being upset or likes to hold on to his anger, and so as soon as he recognises that kind of emotion rather than nurse it he does go out of his way to make it disappear. That said, as soon as you've said sorry to Danny and meant it, all his forgiven if not forgotten, and he's not unreasonable enough to be mad at someone for something that is out of their control.

Danny is a force of nature. He's wise, experienced, practical, responsible, smart about other people's feelings and nearly always in control. He doesn't take shit, sometimes to the point of being harsh or being a dick, and isn't about to let anyone get away with anything that he thinks isn't okay, may they be close friends or strangers. Sometimes this does become something of a problem, thanks to his already mentioned hunger for justice that being connected to Duma gives him. So yes, his temper, his sharp tongue or even his fists can come out swinging when the right one of Danny's buttons has been jabbed at.

Being the chosen vassal of Douma, thousand-eyed angel of silence, stillness of death and vindication does mean a lot of things to him. She is, quite literally, the closest person to him, and he draws comfort, faith and strength from her presence. As well as a shared sense of kinship, he does have a huge amount of reverence and respect for her and is starkly aware that she is never-ending and eternal, while he is a flicker of fire that probably wouldn't last long enough to light one match. This has given Danny an acute sense of his own place in the world, and while in one sense it has definitely made him more humble than he was as a teenager, he still has a very good sense of self-worth. Unsurprisingly, he is very religious, and he does take great comfort in Him. But while he would consider his way of seeing and interacting with the Lord and His Angels as Christian and does still attend Church with regularity, he feels no significant loyalty to any specific Church or even denomination.

Danny views being the vassal of Duma as a calling, something that takes up a significant part of his life in a way that is far behind just a commitment of time and effort. He is incredibly devoted to to Duma, the Lord and their mission to the extent that he does not believe, and has for a while, that he would not be able to give enough of himself to a partner or a child to ever get married or have children of his own. On top of that there is the fact that he is aging incredibly slowly, which does have definite ramifications with his long-standing relationships with other people. Danny has made his peace with this and feels no resentment towards Duma or the mission in any way, and does not in any way regret essentially putting God above his romantic life, his family and any kind of normal existence.

While his adventurous spirit and love of travel would have made him someone likely to travel a fair amount anyway, it is primarily this attitude that has turned him into a nomad both literally and figuratively. He forms connections and friendships easily, but many of them are held at a natural distance by virtue of travel. He does have a handful (or slightly more than that, even) of deep, close relationships which to some people would be more than enough but to Danny, it is a very small, very precious few of individuals who he does hold on to much more tightly than he lets on. In the end, Danny is above all else an independent, brave and honourable man who will always fight for what he thinks is right and true no matter the personal consequences for himself.

Family (ALL mundane):
Mum: Rina Robinson; EMT-paramedic. Died when Danny was 13 years old.
Dad: Daniel Michael "Big Danny" Best; former firefighter & currently an Anglican priest. 61 years old. Estranged.
Siblings: Jude Robinson Best, 24 years old & Jacques "JQ" Best, 24 years old (adopted) & Mary Eve "Mary-E" Best, 18 years old (adopted)
Nan (maternal): Kelly Robinson; retired General surgeon, Sunshine Coast
Granddad (maternal): George "Rob" Robinson; Nurse at Kawana Private Hospital, Sunshine Coast
Uncle (maternal): Daniel "Danny" Robinson. Died aged 22, when Rina was 14. Was training to be a paediatrics surgeon.


'cause i came here with a load and i feel so much lighter since i met you, and honey, you should know, that i could never go on without you.
History:From the beginning, Danny Best was loved, he was wanted and he was well cared for. Rina Robinson and Big Danny Best (then Daniel, but quite effortlessly Rina christened him Danny, the 'Big' being added at the birth of their baby Danny) met in Sydney, Australia at the fire station where Big Danny worked, when Rina was getting her first aid qualification. It was one of those instant connection type of things. Awkwardness of awkwardness, at the time Rina was 17 and Big Danny was 30. Rina, being remarkably mature and self-possessed, full stop, let alone for her age, did not go down the 'sketch relationship with an older man' route. It didn't seem wise. But they did became friends, of an odd, sometimes intense sort, but when Rina was 20 years old, they started seeing each other romantically. In her last year training to be a paramedic, at age 21, Rina fell pregnant. The baby -- our Danny, their Little Danny - was unplanned, and also somewhat a source of stress, since they hadn't been together long, Big Danny had a demanding job, Rina had plans to be a paramedic and her parents -- especially her mum -- were quite disapproving. But she was Rina Robinson, and she was remarkable, and so she kept the baby, moved in with Big Danny, finished school with a good, respectable mark and took good and loving care of the baby growing inside of her.

Danny, when he was born was for the first, and probably only time in his life, a few days late and he was a healthy baby. When Danny was 3 years old, he gained a baby brother. When he was 10, he gained a baby sister and another little brother -- adopted, although they were biologically related, as they wanted another child, but for a myriad of reasons, thought it was better to adopt. Danny loved them equally, although he did initially have some trouble understanding Mary E and JQ's place in the family. But that went away, quite quickly and he would -- very cheerfully -- thump anyone who said Mary Eve or JQ weren't his real siblings, Jude included.

In many ways, Danny's upbringing wasn't all that unusual. He was looked after mostly by his mum, and when she got a job as a paramedic he spend a lot of time at the creche at the hospital where she worked. He was a friendly, outgoing ball of sunshine and had very little trouble with anything, really. He was naturally confident, naturally cheerful and just got on with the other kids. He did tend to get kind of protective of people (especially his little brother, Jude) and could play quite rough. He did latch quite heavily on to the idea of right vs. wrong and did get in trouble semi-consistently when his little kid idea of justice combined with his idea of rough play. But it wasn't too much of a big deal. Few things were really a big deal to Danny, who had a lot of energy, an active, inquisitive mind, an adventurous, fearless nature and nothing big enough to focus his attention and discipline him. While he did listen to his mum (who could very much still keep him in line), he definitely needed something that could not only hold his time and attention but also give him something to really care about. And he just didn't have that. His parents tried to solve this by enrolling him in a ton of after-school activities - boy scouts (which he actually really liked, camping and travelling to other countries sometimes :D), rock-climbing, surfing and - somewhat out the left field - piano. While at school, although he had little interest in sports, he did discover running and started competing against other schools, something that continued on into high school. With that plus friends, school and Church, it just about kept Danny occupied and he did really enjoy all of those things, but none of them were his thing to speak.

In short, Danny didn't have any kind of calling and did instead have a kind of perpetually unsatisfied, restless, want more more more feeling that wouldn't be fulfilled just yet. Of all the activities he has done, it's running and the piano that, in different ways, come the closest to replicating the feeling Danny would have got from healing and from fighting, in an a somewhat poor man's substitute sort of way. While everything else -- travelling, camping, rock-climbing, surfing, squash, swimming -- would be things that Danny continued to do with regularity, enthusiasm and enjoyment through his pre-teen, teenage years and beyond, it is only running and playing the piano that give him a quiet, strong sort of purpose and peace.

When Danny was 13, he lost his mother. Danny had always been close to his mum and, more than that, did view her in sort of a wonderful, unbeatable light, and was completely stunned by her illness, let alone her death, when it came, far too fast and too slowly, 7 months after she was diagnosed with melanoma. Without a doubt, the family was lost without her, most of all Big Danny, who really didn't know what to do without his Rina, and with four young children he kind of had no idea how to take care of. He himself was an orphan so aside from the Church and friends, he was lacking in a support system of his own in that kind of situation. During Rina's illness her parents had spend a lot of time in Sydney, as they'd already lost one child before his time and had to be by the side of the one they had left, even if they had had difficulties in the past. So of course it made sense that they would help take care of and protect their only grandchildren. As they had jobs in Queensland and Big Danny couldn't really bear to be around Sydney, where he had met, loved and lost his Rina, it was decided that he and the three children would move to Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

So when Danny was 13, that happened. It did kind of knock Danny for six, as as well as losing his mum he was also losing his home, his friends and everything he'd known. He wasn't quite sure what to do. So in the end he just decided to do whatever it was that made him and, to a lesser extent, his younger siblings, happy. No matter what it was, acceptable or appropriate way of grieving or not. So, oddly, after his mum's death he became more selfish, more outgoing, more likely to get in trouble, but also closer to his siblings, most especially his little sister, Mary E, who he had a more marked protective streak over; he could remember a time when she wasn't there, and quite honestly didn't want anyone to take her back away like they had with his mum. So they went to Sunshine Coast, and Danny settled in as a kind of necessity. It helped, in a way, being around new people and (relatively new, since he had visited his grandparents there before) places. It helped that he was a kid who made friends easily and wasn't prone to melancholy. It helped that he knew his mum would have given him hell if he'd done anything other than his absolute best to just get on with things. At his new school, Danny did spend a fair amount of time at his grandparents house after school, at the various activities he signed up for, at the houses of friends he made with relative ease and also at the hospital where his nan worked. That helped, too. So, even, did the Chuch-associated counselling/support kind of thing they went to as a family. While Danny had always been a child that went to Church, to Sunday school, and believed in the Bible, it was in the wake of his mum's death that Danny slowly came to feel close to properly close to God in a way that felt new and different. He also took a deeper interest in the good vs. bad lessons of the Bible, as well as the previously favoured superheroes.

The next big landmark in Danny's life is debatable -- was it when his dad started off on the path of becoming a priest, or was that not big enough to be considered a landmark? In which case it would have been the solidification of Danny's realisation that huh actually, most people didn't actually like both girls and boys. It was when he came to this realisation that Danny, fearless as ever, came out, and did start making a thing about it. By God, did he make a thing about it. Anyone that didn't know that little Danny Best was bisexual and would flirt/get off with anything that would stay pressed up against a wall for long enough had clearly been living under a rock. Including his father and the people at his father (and his own) Church, who... yeah, Danny's dad really wasn't a fan of this whole bisexual thing. It wasn't that he was technically awful about it, but he was distinctly not supportive, it did cause definite friction and was partly the reason Danny threw himself so readily into this whole thing of being bisexual and everything that came with it. But a lot of it was just because, God, Danny loved being himself, and this felt a little bit more like purpose, in a strange way, this was doing what felt incredibly right, fun and good. 14 was a big year for Danny in general, really, seeing as as well as identifying very openly as bisexual and the year his relationship with his father began to sharply decline, it was also the year that that he got into not just attending parties but throwing them. And fuck yeah he still threw fucking brilliant, inventive parties, quite often on the beach, in the woods, or else he would temporarily, cheerfully commandeer a friend's house for a night. It was also when he started to seriously think about the actual teachings in the Bible on his own terms, although those ideas were in its infancy, brought on by his father's ideas of homosexuality.

Despite being still very much a runner, it was around 15 or so that Danny picked up smoking. He didn't entirely know why -- as a rebellion from his dad, because it looked cool, because he was experiencing a renewed spike in missing his mum, because it helped with stress and he'd always had an oral fixation. More than anything else, because it gave him a reason to go off on his own and just take 10 minutes for himself. He started getting into trouble and fights a little more often, in the name of what was right and what was not and made very, very good and heavy use of his fake id. Over the years his faith had continued to develop, becoming increasingly intense and personal as he got older and the words of God and His place in Danny's own life seemed to become more and more relevant. He was even somewhat considering, in the way of idealistic teenagers who are restless to hurry up and make their mark on the world, going into the Church himself. Not to follow in the footsteps of his father, but instead to strike out with his own.

But that didn't happen. Instead, Danny discovered that he'd come to the attention of one of His own angels. Duma, angel of vindication and death, not Someone he'd heard of before. From the first moment she approached him, Danny thought that she was different, in some way. He went with her without a second thought, at least, to a little cafe by the sea where they had ice cream with sparklers and She outline to him, what it was that she wanted from him and what it was that she was. Danny never doubted that she was an angel and it was easy, absolutely effortless, to say yes, he would be her representative on Earth, would dispense vindication to the humans when she could not. It felt like what he'd been waiting for. She gave him her name and her sword, and infused him with some of her own fire, which gave him the powers and the connection with her She had vowed he would have. It was was the first and only time that Danny heard her speak, but far from the last time they communicated.

From there on out, Danny matured, and fell off the radar a little with his friends, parties and activities as he become wrapped up in the deeds he performed for Duma as well as his individual relationship with her. Part of her was in his head, after all, and while it was a little odd at first, before none too long it became nothing less than second nature to pass thoughts back and forth with her sometimes, to turn to her when he was need, to respond in kind to the smileys she texted to him when he was in need of comfort or had performed a job well done. Despite that his father was a priest and Danny now the vassal of a Christian angel (not that his dad was aware of this), they continued to grow apart and have increased tension. Danny was frequently disappearing to do the work of Duma and Him, sometimes coming back bloodied or bruised and always, always refusing to give any explanation for it. So his father came to think he was getting in trouble in a more bad kid kind of way, and did blame some of it on the fact that Danny's claim that he was bisexual. Danny's dad didn't really see bisexuality as an actual thing, so did class him as full out homosexual, which meant frequent comments about Danny now being 'straight' whenever he became involved with a girl, as well as his dad's worry that being homosexual would take him to Hell. Eventually, this did cumuluate in Danny refusing point blank to attend his dad's Church anymore, although he did go to other Churches around the area and even around the world, when Duma took him elsewhere.

When Danny was 17 and on a mission for Duma in Lebanon, he was caught in a fire and severely burned up his left arm and his side. While his accelerated healing meant he healed quicker than he would have done otherwise, he was still left with deep scars and the need to give some kind of explanation to his family and friends. It was the catalyst for Danny slowing down somewhat. Partly this was just because he did need to heal, felt tired and listless at times, had to take vicodin for the pain and did undergo something of a knock to his confidence thanks to the burning. While his self-assurance and self-belief came back quite quickly,the slowing down was actually permanent. While he was still very, very dedicated to Duma and to the Lord, he
became more social again, seeing his friends more and widening his social circle quite a lot, throwing parties and had some light relationships and hooks up both girls and boys. He also became involved with things like bisexual rights, volunteering at the local hospital, talking to people/kids who had issues with grief/trauma/sexuality. It was also around then that Danny decided that, to honour his mum, he would go to school to become an EMT-paramedic. Not being the type of person to go from school to more school, after he finished high school Danny went travelling across Australia with some friends, which further expanded his interest in travel. After his gap year, he did his bachelors degree in paramedic science in a university in Sydney and then, as planned, worked as a paramedic while simultaneously doing the work of Him.

When he was about 23 years old, Danny's life changed irrevocably once more when he was called to a party to treat a 20 year old male who was worryingly passed out in someone else's bathtub. The boy was Tori Petraitis and was, of course, fine (he was always fine). Danny could tell there was something off with the boy, and that was even before Tori started stalking him for reasons he wouldn't fully explain for a while yet. Still, he and Duma were agreed that he didn't pose a threat so, being someone was almost abnormally laidback and kind of amused by such strangeness, Danny let Tori stalk him and did, you know, try to make a friend of him in the more normal way. Before too long Danny was being quasi-stalked by Tori's close friend and travelling companion, Madara Ievins, too, mostly as a byproduct of Madara tending to go wherever Tori went. Danny more than a shine to both of them, and before too long they'd moved from stalking on to stalking and friendship and, as they came to be knowingly aware of some of their magical connections, that friendship became even closer. It was a close enough friendship that, when Tori and Madara decided it was time to pick up shop and move on, Danny went with them. Of course, it wasn't all because of a sense of friendship, kinship and a little bit of protective responsibility, even then, but was also to do with the fact that Danny, by this point, was no longer ageing. It hadn't become noticeable yet, but it was only a matter of time before it started to become an issue.

While initially Danny got a job as a paramedic, it soon became clear that it wasn't a profession that fit easily with the nomadic lifestyle Madara and Tori had. That was fine, as Danny was thinking about staying in the first place they stopped at, New Zealand, but of course it didn't turn out like that. Instead, attachment to Tori and Madara, a desire to travel more widely on his own terms and not just on Duma's and the prospect of travel writing as a career changed that. While at first Danny was a freelance writer, talent, luck, charisma and no shortage of things to write about meant that within 6 months he was writing for Lonely Planet. So for the next 3 years they travelled, together for the most part, and became a strange kind of family, their collective money fluctuating sharply from worrying to much more than comfortable due to the commission-based nature of all their jobs. Danny did continue to do the work of Duma and of Him, sometimes in the places where they were, sometimes after being transported across land and sea by her. While Tori and Madara know much, much more about his relationship with Duma he still keeps things private from them, such as Duma's true name.

Right now, he is in the process of moving from Rome to London. This latest move was provoked in part by Tori, who missed his plane to the USA and got stuck in London. While initially Tori was working to get enough money to come back to Rome, that changed when Danny and Madara (and Madara's bitchcat) got kicked out of their apartment. So, they figured, why not move to London? Tori was already there, Madara's sister was there, none of them had ever lived there before and it was about time for a change. So as soon as Danny and Madara (with some help from Tori) got money together for tickets, that's what they did. Danny is thinking that they can, hopefully, do as Tori has and crash in Haven for a few weeks until they've found a place of their own.

Any plot you're thinking of: Hmm. He's new in England and absurdly social/friendly by nature, so straight up getting to know and making friends with people he likes -- especially bamf people & younger people & mundanes, but really he can get on with a large variety of people.That whole someone who isn't really into the magical aspect of London too much thing. Some kind of interaction with angels in game would be interesting, especially since I'm not sure what level of mutual awareness there would be between them. Even some one-sided awareness on the angels side about Danny being Duma's boy would be cool. Some interaction with demons would be really cool too, especially if any of them want to try and ruin him or run circles around him. Try being the operative word. He'd probably also be kind of drawn to anyone who was overtly religious, although not necessarily in a positive way. Doing Duma's bidding~ and exploring his angelic connection to Duma, with the possibility of the Dumaangel-fire inside of him gaining more awareness and being a more constant presence in his head. Mutually stalking Tori Petraitis and Madara Ievins, when she makes her appearance. He'll also be crashing in Haven for a few until he can find a place of their own, so getting to know Havenites for the time being. He will also be be being kind of a total flirt, as well as that person will be encouraging at least some other people to have fun/drink/dance, sorry that is just how he is ): Also, I apologise in advance for his total lack of shame )))))):

Writing Sample: Log! As, obviously, Danny Best (:


i don't get caught up, i always have the upper hand, i'm a born winner, even when i'm in love i never gave it all to one man.