Daily Check In
Jun. 30th, 2025 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
senmut| *\o/* | Word Count | Step Count | Headache? |
| Daily | 0 | 11,585 | no |
| Monthly | 25,822 | 310,738 | 10 days |
861 words avg / 500 goal | 10,358 steps avg / 8,000 goal | 1/3rd month in headache
senmut861 words avg / 500 goal | 10,358 steps avg / 8,000 goal | 1/3rd month in headache
Round 152 Dates
Jun. 30th, 2025 08:37 pmxandromedovna posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fic_rushCongratulations! You have activated the Ticky Box of Unclear Consequences! I'm sure that will become important later....Anywho, Round 152 will be next weekend, 4-6 July. Mods, please confirm your availability by claiming an anchor post or just generally flailing in my direction, and if you've ever wanted to be a Mod, please do that!
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| Hour 47 | 10pm Sun | 6pm Sun | 5pm Sun | 3pm Sun | 11pm Sun | midnight | 8am Mon | xandromedovna |
| Hour 48 | 11pm Sun | 7pm Sun | 6pm Sun | 4pm Sun | midnight | 1am Mon | 9am Mon | xandromedovna |
| Round Ends | midnight | 8pm Sun | 7pm Sun | 5pm Sun | 1am Mon | 2am Mon | 10am Mon | xandromedovna |
Skate
Jul. 1st, 2025 05:32 amredwolfJareth had banished roller skates from the castle, which was a concept that Sarah had never expected to face. While this made her home slightly less chaotic, the same couldn’t be said of Goblin City.
Someone Above had wished the skates away and they’d ended up in the junkyard. If they’d been the kind of skates Sarah had as a child, the goblins would have either ignored or eaten them, but these were an older kind. She didn’t know if this was old stock being disposed of, a wish that had fallen through time or an old cache of junk recently uncovered.
The goblins had soon discovered that adjustable roller skates could be fitted to a wide array of feet and there were now hundreds of goblins sporting wheels. They fell into two camps and were either incapable of staying erect or possessed of the skills of a professional hockey player.
Skating on cobblestones was not an experience Sarah wanted to try, but the same couldn’t be said of the goblins. It wasn’t just the issue of the streets being filled with flailing goblins and their rapidly moving, better balanced brethren, it was the sound, as the vintage skates sported metal wheels. Aside from the loud clatter, the upright skaters were quick enough to kick up sparks and several small fires had already been started.
Sarah looked over the chaos from a balcony in the castle. She was impressed at how the skilled skaters easily wove around or jumped over their less balanced counterparts. Although gracing the fallen goblins with a face full of sparks as they whizz past did seem to be a tad rude.
“How soon do you think before they tire of this?”
Jareth leaned on the balustrade, watching as a shopkeeper upended a jug of water over smoldering straw. “Hard to tell.” The shopkeeper brandished the empty jug in a threatening manner at the skaters who were making another pass of her business. “It’s always better to let them either get it out of their system or to break their toys, but I don’t know how much longer the skates will hold up under their punishment.”
Sarah bumped Jareth fondly. “They are a toy that was designed for children to play with on roads and sidewalks,” she reminded him.
Jareth huffed in amusement. “Even the most feral child couldn’t match the damage potential of an enthusiastic goblin.”
“I didn’t think I’d be so grateful for their chaotic natures,” Sarah laughed, before pointing out a bright cascade of sparks that had ended in a goblin bouncing off a wall before cursing his feet. “That may bode well for their fun coming to an end.”
Jareth motioned to a similar mishap in a nearby street. “It looks like you are correct in your assessment of their entertainment winding down. Shall we find somewhere quieter?”
Sarah wrapped her arms around Jareth and smiled. “Most definitely before they wrestle a replacement set from one of the fallen and start again.”
labyfic — drabble #216: thunder
Part of the Balance!verse
Someone Above had wished the skates away and they’d ended up in the junkyard. If they’d been the kind of skates Sarah had as a child, the goblins would have either ignored or eaten them, but these were an older kind. She didn’t know if this was old stock being disposed of, a wish that had fallen through time or an old cache of junk recently uncovered.
The goblins had soon discovered that adjustable roller skates could be fitted to a wide array of feet and there were now hundreds of goblins sporting wheels. They fell into two camps and were either incapable of staying erect or possessed of the skills of a professional hockey player.
Skating on cobblestones was not an experience Sarah wanted to try, but the same couldn’t be said of the goblins. It wasn’t just the issue of the streets being filled with flailing goblins and their rapidly moving, better balanced brethren, it was the sound, as the vintage skates sported metal wheels. Aside from the loud clatter, the upright skaters were quick enough to kick up sparks and several small fires had already been started.
Sarah looked over the chaos from a balcony in the castle. She was impressed at how the skilled skaters easily wove around or jumped over their less balanced counterparts. Although gracing the fallen goblins with a face full of sparks as they whizz past did seem to be a tad rude.
“How soon do you think before they tire of this?”
Jareth leaned on the balustrade, watching as a shopkeeper upended a jug of water over smoldering straw. “Hard to tell.” The shopkeeper brandished the empty jug in a threatening manner at the skaters who were making another pass of her business. “It’s always better to let them either get it out of their system or to break their toys, but I don’t know how much longer the skates will hold up under their punishment.”
Sarah bumped Jareth fondly. “They are a toy that was designed for children to play with on roads and sidewalks,” she reminded him.
Jareth huffed in amusement. “Even the most feral child couldn’t match the damage potential of an enthusiastic goblin.”
“I didn’t think I’d be so grateful for their chaotic natures,” Sarah laughed, before pointing out a bright cascade of sparks that had ended in a goblin bouncing off a wall before cursing his feet. “That may bode well for their fun coming to an end.”
Jareth motioned to a similar mishap in a nearby street. “It looks like you are correct in your assessment of their entertainment winding down. Shall we find somewhere quieter?”
Sarah wrapped her arms around Jareth and smiled. “Most definitely before they wrestle a replacement set from one of the fallen and start again.”
labyfic — drabble #216: thunderPart of the Balance!verse
For friends of lbilover
Jun. 30th, 2025 02:27 pmshireboundI attended the Celebration of Life for lbilover yesterday, and it was lovely. She passed on November 24, 2024. It was held in the library in northern New Jersey at which she worked for many years, and there were 40-50 relatives, friends, and co-workers there from all over. Folks from her beloved Deerhound community also came, as did students from local schools who met Ellen when she brought whippet Winston -- “Fastest Dog in the USA 2023” -- to meet them. Ellen’s passions were so numerous – nature photography, sighthounds, education, workers’ rights (she was a proud President of her Library Union), hiking, bird watching, training and showing dogs, and of course writing. Her sister Lisa presented a slideshow of Ellen’s life, accompanied by music from “The Fellowship of the Ring” in honor of her longtime passion for Tolkien and her many extraordinary stories and friends around the world. Several of us in the audience, as well as folks watching the service via Zoom, spoke about their love and respect for Ellen. I spoke about our tight-knit fanfiction community, as well as my delight and astonishment when meeting her gentle Deerhound Gandalf for the first time – he was so tall he looked me right in the eyes.
I brought my Rena, and there were four other doggies in attendance including Ellen’s whippets Kivrin and Clementine, who were adopted by loving families. Her Winston and Deerhound Wren had also found good homes, as had tortoises Fred and Ginger.
When the service was over, we gathered at tables or around a buffet area to talk talk talk more about Ellen and what she meant to us. I especially enjoyed my conversation with a lady who had read Bilbo’s moving poem “I Sit Beside the Fire and Think” during the service. I always get emotional reading it myself, and hearing it read this way created a wash of emotions.
I enjoyed Rena’s companionship on the way home (about an hour’s drive). :)
Ellen’s nephew said he’d send out a notice if he’s able to get the Zoom presentation online, so if he does I’ll let folks know how to access it.
Namárië, dear Ellen!
lbilover yesterday, and it was lovely. She passed on November 24, 2024. It was held in the library in northern New Jersey at which she worked for many years, and there were 40-50 relatives, friends, and co-workers there from all over. Folks from her beloved Deerhound community also came, as did students from local schools who met Ellen when she brought whippet Winston -- “Fastest Dog in the USA 2023” -- to meet them. Ellen’s passions were so numerous – nature photography, sighthounds, education, workers’ rights (she was a proud President of her Library Union), hiking, bird watching, training and showing dogs, and of course writing. Her sister Lisa presented a slideshow of Ellen’s life, accompanied by music from “The Fellowship of the Ring” in honor of her longtime passion for Tolkien and her many extraordinary stories and friends around the world. Several of us in the audience, as well as folks watching the service via Zoom, spoke about their love and respect for Ellen. I spoke about our tight-knit fanfiction community, as well as my delight and astonishment when meeting her gentle Deerhound Gandalf for the first time – he was so tall he looked me right in the eyes.I brought my Rena, and there were four other doggies in attendance including Ellen’s whippets Kivrin and Clementine, who were adopted by loving families. Her Winston and Deerhound Wren had also found good homes, as had tortoises Fred and Ginger.
When the service was over, we gathered at tables or around a buffet area to talk talk talk more about Ellen and what she meant to us. I especially enjoyed my conversation with a lady who had read Bilbo’s moving poem “I Sit Beside the Fire and Think” during the service. I always get emotional reading it myself, and hearing it read this way created a wash of emotions.
I enjoyed Rena’s companionship on the way home (about an hour’s drive). :)
Ellen’s nephew said he’d send out a notice if he’s able to get the Zoom presentation online, so if he does I’ll let folks know how to access it.
Namárië, dear Ellen!
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Pokémon Go Fest 2025
Jun. 29th, 2025 10:47 pmsoc_puppetI spent the past two days going more-or-less all out for Go Fest, and honestly I had a blast. I did a bunch of raids, got two shiny Zamazenta (one with the special background) and five shiny Zacian (no special backgrounds on any of these, alas), and am honestly pretty pleased with my shiny hoard overall. In addition to those, I got one of my longtime shiny wants: A shiny Pachirisu!
It's also been as hot and humid as a frog's armpit the past week or so, which made all that walking around... interesting. I did my best to stay hydrated and cool off as needed, and chugged more Gatorade than I initially anticipated, but I've come out the other side more-or-less fine. I did end up with more chafing than I expected, most of it in the usual places (only some of which I thought to apply preventative measures to, alas), and at least one surprise new place (my right underarm, just a little past my armpit region). I expect I'll need to keep those in mind for next year, alas. On the plus side, none of the chafing spots have blisters, which I am tentatively crediting my anti-sweat medication for.
Anyway, all that out of the way, I would like to announce that I've come up with the perfect nicknames for shiny versions of this weekend's legendaries:
Zamagenta and Zacyan.
It's also been as hot and humid as a frog's armpit the past week or so, which made all that walking around... interesting. I did my best to stay hydrated and cool off as needed, and chugged more Gatorade than I initially anticipated, but I've come out the other side more-or-less fine. I did end up with more chafing than I expected, most of it in the usual places (only some of which I thought to apply preventative measures to, alas), and at least one surprise new place (my right underarm, just a little past my armpit region). I expect I'll need to keep those in mind for next year, alas. On the plus side, none of the chafing spots have blisters, which I am tentatively crediting my anti-sweat medication for.
Anyway, all that out of the way, I would like to announce that I've come up with the perfect nicknames for shiny versions of this weekend's legendaries:
Zamagenta and Zacyan.
June Round Up (43,559 words, 17 works)
Jun. 30th, 2025 08:06 amsenmutShared Projects, by cowriter, by fandom
( Shared Projects )
Single fics, by fandom, by posting date (related fandoms may be organized by chronology)
( Single fics )
( Shared Projects )
Single fics, by fandom, by posting date (related fandoms may be organized by chronology)
( Single fics )
Forgotten Realms AU
Jun. 29th, 2025 09:22 pmsenmutDreams of Her Own (2929 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Characters: Vierna Do'Urden, Zaknafein Do'Urden, Drizzt Do'Urden, Ensemble
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, Fratricide, Murder, flashfic
Summary:
Vierna refused to let her plans unraveling for graduation be the end of her ambitions. Dinin and Drizzt were mostly out of the House, serving time on the patrols that protected the city. A House was plotting against them, and that raised tempers… as well as giving alibis. She loathed the idea of killing other drow, but there were two major obstacles to her designs for holding a House for her true god.
Briza was the first of these. Despite at least two attempts by others to kill her and Vierna suspecting at least the last plot against Malice as her handiwork, the brute still lived.
She had carefully sown suspicion of Briza in the ears of other high-ranking clerics while a Mistress of Arach-Tinilith. Whether that would bear fruit quickly enough remained to be seen.
The second was Malice herself, and by necessity she had to be allowed to live until Briza was dead. Still, it was so easy to plant rumors among their soldiers, ones that implied someone within the House was plotting to overthrow the Matron. As Briza was the likely heiress, those rumors would serve to foster ill-will between mother and daughter.
She had not counted on her wean-son throwing everything in disarray by failure on the raid in such a way as to bring Lloth's disfavor on them all. That this threatened Zaknafein now was something that could not go unaddressed.
"We will bring them," Vierna said in icy tones, still holding one of the man's swords, and Maya holding the other. "It may amuse the Matron to see you parted from them as she interviews you."
Briza's eyes flicked to her, but Zaknafein shrugged, arguing to be allowed to dress once more. Eventually, they were moving toward the matron's domain, with her already upon her throne in the chapel's anteroom. As they had walked, Vierna had taken the second sword, gesturing for Maya to have her hands free in case the male did something wrong.
"Zaknafein, Matron, as you requested," Vierna said, once her sisters had moved. How this next part would go depended on how fast the man reacted.
Malice sat back upon her throne, and Vierna made her choice, dropping the swords on the floor audibly. Malice glared at her for that, but Vierna did not see it, already drawing the circle with her forefingers, saying the word for the hated daylight above —
— and the antechamber lit up as if on a sunny cloudless day above. Maya audibly cried out in pain, and Malice's hiss was loud enough to be heard from the throne, where Vierna had centered the spell. The pop and strike of Briza's whip in her direction failed to land, as the second-born daughter of the House was in motion, maces in hand.
Nor had Zaknafein been slow to gather his blades, reacting to the treachery with fast, economic motions. The chanting of a prayer-spell ahead of him died at the end of a blade, before he began hunting the half-blinded daughters. While Vierna's eyes were streaming wetness from the glare of light, she did see her mother's headless body tumble from the throne. Leaving Briza to the more experienced killer, she dealt with Maya, a fight that lasted only long enough for Vierna to actually invade the woman's space.
Spells were no match for an experienced fighter, she thought as the youngest daughter died from a crumpled skull.
The sound of a body — heavy, large — hitting the floor gave her the signal to dispel her the daylight and listen, eyes moving from one cooling corpse to the next before focusing on the male in the center of the room.
"I'll need a moment to rid us of the bodies," she said in a cool tone, offering him the alliance she desperately needed in those words.
"Mind if I go get dressed, Matron Vierna?" he asked after a long moment.
"Please." She gave him a smile for how well he had taken it, knew the requesting word was giving him more to think on. She let him leave before she took advantage of Lloth's disfavor on them to invite the shadows to come in and clean away the traces of what had been done. She could not, yet, give herself over to the truth of her worship, but the servants of shadow-stuff were quick to do as needed and leave again.
All that remained was to prepare her lies for the House, and take firm command. She had no idea if they could beat back a House war at this point, but she was not going to admit defeat now that she had chosen to claim leadership.
How to spin the lies so that even a Goddess believed in her purpose? That thought was carefully hidden under the protective spells on her mind.
Zaknafein looked at the man his son had become and nearly cursed aloud. He needed to get back to Vierna, to see what insane plan she had for dealing with this, but Drizzt was in terrible shape.
"Sit." He'd pulled himself fully together, armor and weapons in all their proper ways. Drizzt did, all signs of shock setting in, and Zak did not have time to deal with that but he could manage the injuries. With brisk hands, he applied the salve to the burns, then had Drizzt straighten the hand out as best he could. Zak let his face show his distaste for causing further pain as he manipulated the bones the best he could into their correct places before applying the salve there too.
"Hun'ett?"
Drizzt nodded. "Both wizards, though the Faceless One said his name was DeVir."
Zak snorted. "So that House dies twice over this day. We'll talk later; go find your brother and invite him to get his lizard riders kitted up an into defensive posture. No time for sleep yet."
He dug out a tablet, and held it out to his son. "Put it under your tongue until it dissolves. Yes, it is bitter, but it will let you have a clear mind and no fatigue for hours."
"After Dinin?"
"Back here; I should know more by then."
"Yes, Father," Drizzt said, a tiny smile lighting his eyes for saying it.
"We may yet win freedom, son," Zaknafein said quietly, before going to find the daughter that baffled him.
The plan was reckless.
Vierna didn't care.
She went into the chapel, alone, and settled into prayer. All of who she was in truth was locked away, as she opened the fullness of her plan to whichever of Lloth's lowly servants was tasked with listening to the ill-favored House.
"The time for change is upon us, and today I have begun that change," she prayed fervently, the strength of her convictions carrying her through this. "It will be all the more sweeter to bend such skills to the needs of the House. Grant me the right to prove this, and every soul of the House daring to attack us is Yours!"
More drow deaths, but one way or another it had to happen. Either Do'Urden was doomed, or the enemy was. She did not let that leak up past the hiding spell, and when the candles lit in darkflame she thought she had the answer she needed.
"To Your glory," she finished, rising and leaving the chapel to vest herself in the full powers of the House, and prepare for the counter-attack she was envisioning.
Zaknafein frowned at the fervent expression on Vierna's face as she came out of that damnable chapel. He wiped it off his features before she saw him, but braced anyway when she swept up to him and took his hands. Her fingers tapping out the words took her a moment to understand, just because it was almost sheer lunacy to try what she was saying.
"The boy will see to the defenses inside the House," Zaknafein told her in the same manner. He was certain that, in defense of the home, Drizzt would not hesitate, but something was telling him not to have his son be an aggressor.
"Weapon Master, we face an attack from above us," Vierna said aloud over his message to her. "Your experience is needed."
"So it will be."
He melted away from her, going to give Dinin his orders, to allocate which fighters needed to listen to Drizzt… and she went to marshal the lesser clerics, those few wizard-trained fighters, and the now-former Patron to supply the rest of the battle plan. He found Drizzt still with Dinin, and two of the senior fighters there with them.
"Drizzt, interior defense. Mahali, station as you would with me in charge, and you had better listen to our Secondboy. Dinin, we're going hunting, to head this off."
"All of my riders?"
"We need to be in place before the others move, yes."
Dinin's smile was vicious sharp, while Drizzt was frowning. Zak caught his eyes, signing 'not now' while Mahali was leaving them to get the most experienced fighters into place. Drizzt stiffened, then nodded, and turned to follow her. That let Zaknafein get Dinin alone, and he met the Elderboy's eyes intently.
"Nothing like the last time, Dinin. I can keep the Secondboy in check; can you?"
He was satisfied to see the threat land solidly, and decided he'd have no treachery out of the fighter, allowing them to go and see to this task of theirs.
Somehow, against impossible odds, Hun'ett fell to the cunning preemptive attack that Vierna had dreamed up. Dinin and Rizzen were praised for their effective command, Zaknafein for cutting off the head of the attack, and Drizzt for keeping the House secure when so many of their forces had gone out.
Now, sitting precariously as the Eighth House, Vierna had to determine the best way forward. While Zaknafein was indispensable, and better at masking his hatred of Lloth, Drizzt was an explosion waiting to happen, one that could yet destroy her tenuous hold on the House. She adopted two stronger junior clerics, made arrangements to send them one after the other to Arach-Tinilith. She also surveyed the minor wizards of the House, comparing them to her memories of Nalfein, and arranged for the better of them to go to Sorcere.
Her fighters were flush with the many Hun'ett warriors that had been given the option of death or surrender. Those would have to be processed carefully, as they might yet prove treacherous.
None of that solved the problem of Drizzt, who she needed to either bend to her will — an impossible task and she'd known it when she offered that as part of her lies to the Spider Queen — or remove him before he made another mistake.
This meant taking one more risk.
After warning Zaknafein to guard the House closely, she took her wean-son, her strange little brother, with her to the caverns where she could gather components for new salves. The faerzress and her cloaking spells would have to be enough for this next endeavor… and the boy better damned well cooperate with her!
Drizzt had not been certain of anything since the raid, it felt like. Zaknafein — his father! — kept counseling him to be patient. No one was talking about the missing women of the family, or Vierna's promotion of so many junior clerics. She was taking firm charge, and yes, House Hun'ett had been destroyed, but Drizzt still felt sick when he thought of killing drow.
The House was tightened down, all defenses running high, but the feeling was somehow less oppressive than he thought it would feel. Something in the way Vierna set the orders to everyone had less … fear attached to it. It was almost as if she wanted people to choose to support her, instead of demanding loyalty and enforcing it through violence.
Still. He did not feel safe or even welcome, other than in the gymnasium. Sparring Zaknafein was the best experience, other than the quiet moments with Guenhwyvar. He felt very adrift, other than in those two experiences, day in and day out at House Do'Urden.
Accompanying his sister was hard, but he clung to the fact she had protected him from the effects of graduation, had covered up his slipping out from the orgy. Zak had said to trust her… to a point.
"Heavy thoughts, my brother?" she asked him as they stopped in the most beautiful, deadly cavern Drizzt had ever seen.
"Yes." He did not see a purpose in lying to her, was ready to escape by any means necessary.
"Good." She stayed upon her riding lizard, and drew out a few items from her pockets. The precious jewels, exquisitely placed in meticulously crafted pendants and rings had once been seen on Malice from time to time. Drizzt was curious, despite his wariness, especially as Vierna drew out a black shallow bowl that reeked of magic even with the faerzress all around him.
"May I know what you are doing?"
She looked at him, giving a true smile for the question. "Helping you to run away before you upset my ability to keep the House and other necessities," she answered. With what she needed, she gestured for him to dismount and take those items, only climbing down once he had. "I cannot cast the spell that is needed, but I have asked for the help I need.
"I merely need to make the offering, and a gate will open."
"But… where? I have nothing."
"Once you set that over there on the flat stone, get the two travel bags off your mount," she instructed. "As to where, I have been promised that the gate will open in a place where you will find aid swiftly.
"I do not want you suffering any more than I want you to upset what I must do with the House, to try and make things better for us," she explained. "Some day, when you are older and wiser, I will tell you more — if we both live long enough to see it happen."
Drizzt frowned, but did all she told him to, trying not to worry too much. "What about the Weapon Master? You need him, and he may not like me vanishing."
"I will handle him. He will know you live," Vierna promised. She came to him before she attended to setting up the sacrifice of the material objects, putting both hands in his thick hair and pulling so that she could place a kiss on his forehead. "I had other plans, at graduation, but could not make them happen.
"Instead, my strange wean-son and brother, know that I am trying to change many of the things that hurt you so about our lives." She stepped back, searching his face, and he decided to risk everything by actually hugging her.
"I will never understand, but … that is a good thing in my eyes," he told her. "I will hope to hear from you, some day."
She nodded, and went to begin the ritual that would send him far from her, far from drow life as he had known it.
It had been a very, very long time since Vhaeraun had cooperated with His Sister, yet this prime opportunity had been too much to pass up. Summoning Her was as simple as standing in Her mostly abandoned demesnes within the Demonweb Pits. The fierce warrior that was His Twin arrived with swords bared… and not at a point He had expected Her to arrive at.
"Peace, My Twin. I have a drow I need to remove from My priestess's life. I can only perceive him through her eyes… but given how strongly he reacts in the negative to all aspects of drow life, I believe he was meant for You."
"Brother, if this is some form of a trap you are baiting, I will do everything I can to send you slinking into the shadows."
He smiled; even wary, She did not threaten Him with death or unmaking. "I am finally in a position to break Her hold on Menzoberrazan. A House on the ruling council," he began, "is my hope."
Her eyes widened, and He felt Her reinforce the non-detection spells woven around Them to protect the words They shared. Where He broke Lolth's power, She often found a way to follow. Which suited Him, as she took away those drow without the necessary traits for the future He envisioned.
"What do You wish?"
"Temporary passage, via gate, to the demesnes You keep there." He could not help but sneer a little at mentioning Her other home, but it did drive the point home.
"As a gate must transfer to a plane not the one it is cast upon," She reasoned. "Once delivered to Me, that is the end of it?"
"Unless it comes to outright war?" He invited, wondering if Their Mother would fight harder for this city than others.
She considered. "Against Her, You may count on Me."
He smiled, then made a flourishing wave at Her before stepping through the shadow plane, to await the call from His priestess. He knew She would not linger there.
A drow male appeared in the eternal night of a goddess's domain. A priestess and Matron Mother returned home looking grimly satisfied at yet another family member mysteriously vanishing. A father felt a message tapped along his arm that his son would live free now.
The future was wide open for all of them, as plots and plans continued to evolve about the destiny of House Do'Urden.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Characters: Vierna Do'Urden, Zaknafein Do'Urden, Drizzt Do'Urden, Ensemble
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, Fratricide, Murder, flashfic
Summary:
Thwarted in escaping with the two males she cares for at Graduation, Vierna sets her goals differently.
Only, Drizzt sets things in motion the wrong way.
Dreams of Her Own
Vierna refused to let her plans unraveling for graduation be the end of her ambitions. Dinin and Drizzt were mostly out of the House, serving time on the patrols that protected the city. A House was plotting against them, and that raised tempers… as well as giving alibis. She loathed the idea of killing other drow, but there were two major obstacles to her designs for holding a House for her true god.
Briza was the first of these. Despite at least two attempts by others to kill her and Vierna suspecting at least the last plot against Malice as her handiwork, the brute still lived.
She had carefully sown suspicion of Briza in the ears of other high-ranking clerics while a Mistress of Arach-Tinilith. Whether that would bear fruit quickly enough remained to be seen.
The second was Malice herself, and by necessity she had to be allowed to live until Briza was dead. Still, it was so easy to plant rumors among their soldiers, ones that implied someone within the House was plotting to overthrow the Matron. As Briza was the likely heiress, those rumors would serve to foster ill-will between mother and daughter.
She had not counted on her wean-son throwing everything in disarray by failure on the raid in such a way as to bring Lloth's disfavor on them all. That this threatened Zaknafein now was something that could not go unaddressed.
"We will bring them," Vierna said in icy tones, still holding one of the man's swords, and Maya holding the other. "It may amuse the Matron to see you parted from them as she interviews you."
Briza's eyes flicked to her, but Zaknafein shrugged, arguing to be allowed to dress once more. Eventually, they were moving toward the matron's domain, with her already upon her throne in the chapel's anteroom. As they had walked, Vierna had taken the second sword, gesturing for Maya to have her hands free in case the male did something wrong.
"Zaknafein, Matron, as you requested," Vierna said, once her sisters had moved. How this next part would go depended on how fast the man reacted.
Malice sat back upon her throne, and Vierna made her choice, dropping the swords on the floor audibly. Malice glared at her for that, but Vierna did not see it, already drawing the circle with her forefingers, saying the word for the hated daylight above —
— and the antechamber lit up as if on a sunny cloudless day above. Maya audibly cried out in pain, and Malice's hiss was loud enough to be heard from the throne, where Vierna had centered the spell. The pop and strike of Briza's whip in her direction failed to land, as the second-born daughter of the House was in motion, maces in hand.
Nor had Zaknafein been slow to gather his blades, reacting to the treachery with fast, economic motions. The chanting of a prayer-spell ahead of him died at the end of a blade, before he began hunting the half-blinded daughters. While Vierna's eyes were streaming wetness from the glare of light, she did see her mother's headless body tumble from the throne. Leaving Briza to the more experienced killer, she dealt with Maya, a fight that lasted only long enough for Vierna to actually invade the woman's space.
Spells were no match for an experienced fighter, she thought as the youngest daughter died from a crumpled skull.
The sound of a body — heavy, large — hitting the floor gave her the signal to dispel her the daylight and listen, eyes moving from one cooling corpse to the next before focusing on the male in the center of the room.
"I'll need a moment to rid us of the bodies," she said in a cool tone, offering him the alliance she desperately needed in those words.
"Mind if I go get dressed, Matron Vierna?" he asked after a long moment.
"Please." She gave him a smile for how well he had taken it, knew the requesting word was giving him more to think on. She let him leave before she took advantage of Lloth's disfavor on them to invite the shadows to come in and clean away the traces of what had been done. She could not, yet, give herself over to the truth of her worship, but the servants of shadow-stuff were quick to do as needed and leave again.
All that remained was to prepare her lies for the House, and take firm command. She had no idea if they could beat back a House war at this point, but she was not going to admit defeat now that she had chosen to claim leadership.
How to spin the lies so that even a Goddess believed in her purpose? That thought was carefully hidden under the protective spells on her mind.
Zaknafein looked at the man his son had become and nearly cursed aloud. He needed to get back to Vierna, to see what insane plan she had for dealing with this, but Drizzt was in terrible shape.
"Sit." He'd pulled himself fully together, armor and weapons in all their proper ways. Drizzt did, all signs of shock setting in, and Zak did not have time to deal with that but he could manage the injuries. With brisk hands, he applied the salve to the burns, then had Drizzt straighten the hand out as best he could. Zak let his face show his distaste for causing further pain as he manipulated the bones the best he could into their correct places before applying the salve there too.
"Hun'ett?"
Drizzt nodded. "Both wizards, though the Faceless One said his name was DeVir."
Zak snorted. "So that House dies twice over this day. We'll talk later; go find your brother and invite him to get his lizard riders kitted up an into defensive posture. No time for sleep yet."
He dug out a tablet, and held it out to his son. "Put it under your tongue until it dissolves. Yes, it is bitter, but it will let you have a clear mind and no fatigue for hours."
"After Dinin?"
"Back here; I should know more by then."
"Yes, Father," Drizzt said, a tiny smile lighting his eyes for saying it.
"We may yet win freedom, son," Zaknafein said quietly, before going to find the daughter that baffled him.
The plan was reckless.
Vierna didn't care.
She went into the chapel, alone, and settled into prayer. All of who she was in truth was locked away, as she opened the fullness of her plan to whichever of Lloth's lowly servants was tasked with listening to the ill-favored House.
"The time for change is upon us, and today I have begun that change," she prayed fervently, the strength of her convictions carrying her through this. "It will be all the more sweeter to bend such skills to the needs of the House. Grant me the right to prove this, and every soul of the House daring to attack us is Yours!"
More drow deaths, but one way or another it had to happen. Either Do'Urden was doomed, or the enemy was. She did not let that leak up past the hiding spell, and when the candles lit in darkflame she thought she had the answer she needed.
"To Your glory," she finished, rising and leaving the chapel to vest herself in the full powers of the House, and prepare for the counter-attack she was envisioning.
Zaknafein frowned at the fervent expression on Vierna's face as she came out of that damnable chapel. He wiped it off his features before she saw him, but braced anyway when she swept up to him and took his hands. Her fingers tapping out the words took her a moment to understand, just because it was almost sheer lunacy to try what she was saying.
"The boy will see to the defenses inside the House," Zaknafein told her in the same manner. He was certain that, in defense of the home, Drizzt would not hesitate, but something was telling him not to have his son be an aggressor.
"Weapon Master, we face an attack from above us," Vierna said aloud over his message to her. "Your experience is needed."
"So it will be."
He melted away from her, going to give Dinin his orders, to allocate which fighters needed to listen to Drizzt… and she went to marshal the lesser clerics, those few wizard-trained fighters, and the now-former Patron to supply the rest of the battle plan. He found Drizzt still with Dinin, and two of the senior fighters there with them.
"Drizzt, interior defense. Mahali, station as you would with me in charge, and you had better listen to our Secondboy. Dinin, we're going hunting, to head this off."
"All of my riders?"
"We need to be in place before the others move, yes."
Dinin's smile was vicious sharp, while Drizzt was frowning. Zak caught his eyes, signing 'not now' while Mahali was leaving them to get the most experienced fighters into place. Drizzt stiffened, then nodded, and turned to follow her. That let Zaknafein get Dinin alone, and he met the Elderboy's eyes intently.
"Nothing like the last time, Dinin. I can keep the Secondboy in check; can you?"
He was satisfied to see the threat land solidly, and decided he'd have no treachery out of the fighter, allowing them to go and see to this task of theirs.
Somehow, against impossible odds, Hun'ett fell to the cunning preemptive attack that Vierna had dreamed up. Dinin and Rizzen were praised for their effective command, Zaknafein for cutting off the head of the attack, and Drizzt for keeping the House secure when so many of their forces had gone out.
Now, sitting precariously as the Eighth House, Vierna had to determine the best way forward. While Zaknafein was indispensable, and better at masking his hatred of Lloth, Drizzt was an explosion waiting to happen, one that could yet destroy her tenuous hold on the House. She adopted two stronger junior clerics, made arrangements to send them one after the other to Arach-Tinilith. She also surveyed the minor wizards of the House, comparing them to her memories of Nalfein, and arranged for the better of them to go to Sorcere.
Her fighters were flush with the many Hun'ett warriors that had been given the option of death or surrender. Those would have to be processed carefully, as they might yet prove treacherous.
None of that solved the problem of Drizzt, who she needed to either bend to her will — an impossible task and she'd known it when she offered that as part of her lies to the Spider Queen — or remove him before he made another mistake.
This meant taking one more risk.
After warning Zaknafein to guard the House closely, she took her wean-son, her strange little brother, with her to the caverns where she could gather components for new salves. The faerzress and her cloaking spells would have to be enough for this next endeavor… and the boy better damned well cooperate with her!
Drizzt had not been certain of anything since the raid, it felt like. Zaknafein — his father! — kept counseling him to be patient. No one was talking about the missing women of the family, or Vierna's promotion of so many junior clerics. She was taking firm charge, and yes, House Hun'ett had been destroyed, but Drizzt still felt sick when he thought of killing drow.
The House was tightened down, all defenses running high, but the feeling was somehow less oppressive than he thought it would feel. Something in the way Vierna set the orders to everyone had less … fear attached to it. It was almost as if she wanted people to choose to support her, instead of demanding loyalty and enforcing it through violence.
Still. He did not feel safe or even welcome, other than in the gymnasium. Sparring Zaknafein was the best experience, other than the quiet moments with Guenhwyvar. He felt very adrift, other than in those two experiences, day in and day out at House Do'Urden.
Accompanying his sister was hard, but he clung to the fact she had protected him from the effects of graduation, had covered up his slipping out from the orgy. Zak had said to trust her… to a point.
"Heavy thoughts, my brother?" she asked him as they stopped in the most beautiful, deadly cavern Drizzt had ever seen.
"Yes." He did not see a purpose in lying to her, was ready to escape by any means necessary.
"Good." She stayed upon her riding lizard, and drew out a few items from her pockets. The precious jewels, exquisitely placed in meticulously crafted pendants and rings had once been seen on Malice from time to time. Drizzt was curious, despite his wariness, especially as Vierna drew out a black shallow bowl that reeked of magic even with the faerzress all around him.
"May I know what you are doing?"
She looked at him, giving a true smile for the question. "Helping you to run away before you upset my ability to keep the House and other necessities," she answered. With what she needed, she gestured for him to dismount and take those items, only climbing down once he had. "I cannot cast the spell that is needed, but I have asked for the help I need.
"I merely need to make the offering, and a gate will open."
"But… where? I have nothing."
"Once you set that over there on the flat stone, get the two travel bags off your mount," she instructed. "As to where, I have been promised that the gate will open in a place where you will find aid swiftly.
"I do not want you suffering any more than I want you to upset what I must do with the House, to try and make things better for us," she explained. "Some day, when you are older and wiser, I will tell you more — if we both live long enough to see it happen."
Drizzt frowned, but did all she told him to, trying not to worry too much. "What about the Weapon Master? You need him, and he may not like me vanishing."
"I will handle him. He will know you live," Vierna promised. She came to him before she attended to setting up the sacrifice of the material objects, putting both hands in his thick hair and pulling so that she could place a kiss on his forehead. "I had other plans, at graduation, but could not make them happen.
"Instead, my strange wean-son and brother, know that I am trying to change many of the things that hurt you so about our lives." She stepped back, searching his face, and he decided to risk everything by actually hugging her.
"I will never understand, but … that is a good thing in my eyes," he told her. "I will hope to hear from you, some day."
She nodded, and went to begin the ritual that would send him far from her, far from drow life as he had known it.
It had been a very, very long time since Vhaeraun had cooperated with His Sister, yet this prime opportunity had been too much to pass up. Summoning Her was as simple as standing in Her mostly abandoned demesnes within the Demonweb Pits. The fierce warrior that was His Twin arrived with swords bared… and not at a point He had expected Her to arrive at.
"Peace, My Twin. I have a drow I need to remove from My priestess's life. I can only perceive him through her eyes… but given how strongly he reacts in the negative to all aspects of drow life, I believe he was meant for You."
"Brother, if this is some form of a trap you are baiting, I will do everything I can to send you slinking into the shadows."
He smiled; even wary, She did not threaten Him with death or unmaking. "I am finally in a position to break Her hold on Menzoberrazan. A House on the ruling council," he began, "is my hope."
Her eyes widened, and He felt Her reinforce the non-detection spells woven around Them to protect the words They shared. Where He broke Lolth's power, She often found a way to follow. Which suited Him, as she took away those drow without the necessary traits for the future He envisioned.
"What do You wish?"
"Temporary passage, via gate, to the demesnes You keep there." He could not help but sneer a little at mentioning Her other home, but it did drive the point home.
"As a gate must transfer to a plane not the one it is cast upon," She reasoned. "Once delivered to Me, that is the end of it?"
"Unless it comes to outright war?" He invited, wondering if Their Mother would fight harder for this city than others.
She considered. "Against Her, You may count on Me."
He smiled, then made a flourishing wave at Her before stepping through the shadow plane, to await the call from His priestess. He knew She would not linger there.
A drow male appeared in the eternal night of a goddess's domain. A priestess and Matron Mother returned home looking grimly satisfied at yet another family member mysteriously vanishing. A father felt a message tapped along his arm that his son would live free now.
The future was wide open for all of them, as plots and plans continued to evolve about the destiny of House Do'Urden.
Various Links 6/23 - 6/29
Jun. 29th, 2025 12:35 pmsenmutMarlene Dietrich in a daring dress - Photo set
Julie Newmar - Photo
Watson birthday Prompt Fest - AO3 event
X-Men Unconventional Ships - Prompt Fest
Lucanis Dellamorte - Art
Emmrich Volkarin & others hugging - Art
Amazing Barista - bullet point captures
"Plasma" Gun made at home - Video
Spicy Kitten and Big Dog - Video
Julie Newmar - Photo
Watson birthday Prompt Fest - AO3 event
X-Men Unconventional Ships - Prompt Fest
Lucanis Dellamorte - Art
Emmrich Volkarin & others hugging - Art
Amazing Barista - bullet point captures
"Plasma" Gun made at home - Video
Spicy Kitten and Big Dog - Video
Allbingo and Crowdfunding
Jun. 29th, 2025 04:16 amysabetwordsmith posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_community_promoallbingo provides a space for creative people to share their work, using bingo cards for inspiration. crowdfunding is a community for creators, patrons, and fans of cyberfunded creativity.Further details below ...
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Fandom Fifty: #18
Jun. 27th, 2025 08:24 pmsenmut1992, drawing ever closer to adulthood, pushing my boundaries with friends and lovers... Let's look at the cinema of that year? 24 films, and that was leaving several I saw completely off. Hmm. Okay, time to be choosy. Ten highlights.
~ Kuffs - Christian Slater was allowed to go ham with this one, and it was just fun. If you like Fourth Wall breaks, check it out.
~ My Cousin Vinny - MARISA TOMEI. +swoons+ Yeah, no, that's what I've got. It's a fun movie, some beloved actors but HOT DAMN.
~ Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest - 2nd, I think of the three Mathis/Slater flicks. They both rocked their roles, but come on. Tim Curry was given license to OOZE through his villainy.
~ Sister Act - Witness in hiding, musical numbers, nuns being awesome? CHECK. I loved it. Sequel too.
~ A League of Their Own - Geena Davis. Lori Petty. Lots o' ladies being badass at what they do. HELL to the YEAH. Sweet, funny, sad by turns.
~ Rapid Fire - Brandon Lee got me to watch it. Powers Boothe made it worthwhile. I swear Brandon worked screen chemistry with every costar he ever had...
~ School Ties - anyone who doesn't think Brendan Fraser can ACT in addition to being hunky adorable and athletic? PLEASE GO WATCH THIS. Warning for all the antisemitism. It's the point of the movie, to shove it in your face and try to make you open your eyes.
~ Bram Stoker's Dracula - I don't care how unfaithful to the book it was, I actually enjoyed the tragic love story/reincarnation angle. And the movie is PRETTY.
~ Aladdin - Robin Williams. Period. That is the sole reason I enjoy this film so much, sorry, shallow.
~ The Muppet Christmas Carol - Did not quite bump the George C Scott one out of favorite position, but I still loved the hell out of it. Caine did well by the Muppets.
~ Kuffs - Christian Slater was allowed to go ham with this one, and it was just fun. If you like Fourth Wall breaks, check it out.
~ My Cousin Vinny - MARISA TOMEI. +swoons+ Yeah, no, that's what I've got. It's a fun movie, some beloved actors but HOT DAMN.
~ Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest - 2nd, I think of the three Mathis/Slater flicks. They both rocked their roles, but come on. Tim Curry was given license to OOZE through his villainy.
~ Sister Act - Witness in hiding, musical numbers, nuns being awesome? CHECK. I loved it. Sequel too.
~ A League of Their Own - Geena Davis. Lori Petty. Lots o' ladies being badass at what they do. HELL to the YEAH. Sweet, funny, sad by turns.
~ Rapid Fire - Brandon Lee got me to watch it. Powers Boothe made it worthwhile. I swear Brandon worked screen chemistry with every costar he ever had...
~ School Ties - anyone who doesn't think Brendan Fraser can ACT in addition to being hunky adorable and athletic? PLEASE GO WATCH THIS. Warning for all the antisemitism. It's the point of the movie, to shove it in your face and try to make you open your eyes.
~ Bram Stoker's Dracula - I don't care how unfaithful to the book it was, I actually enjoyed the tragic love story/reincarnation angle. And the movie is PRETTY.
~ Aladdin - Robin Williams. Period. That is the sole reason I enjoy this film so much, sorry, shallow.
~ The Muppet Christmas Carol - Did not quite bump the George C Scott one out of favorite position, but I still loved the hell out of it. Caine did well by the Muppets.
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