(no subject)
Jan. 7th, 2026 07:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethThe more I read people who are new to the show talking about Buffy these days
the more I understand how much class time was spent on historical context for texts
i am not enthused about being historical context
the more I understand how much class time was spent on historical context for texts
i am not enthused about being historical context
Girl Genius for Wednesday, January 07, 2026
Jan. 7th, 2026 05:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
girlgenius_main_feedThe Girl Genius comic for Wednesday, January 07, 2026 has been posted.
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Jan. 6th, 2026 09:14 pmcahnSo, we had a winter break!
We had our family Christmas on Christmas Eve, going to D's church's Christmas Eve service, making and opening presents, etc. We got to the airport at 5am Christmas day to go visit my family and were promptly informed (we had gotten no communication from Southwest beforehand) that the airport had flooded and all flights were grounded. Not totally unexpected, as there had been a lot of rain, but kind of annoying. After some back and forth during which we went home and fell back into bed, then were informed that our flight was leaving after all two hours earlier than they'd said and we were about to miss it, then rebooked for later (which at least allowed me to leave Yuletide gift comments), then finally got out that afternoon, then were able to catch an earlier connection than we were booked for. Yay! Keeping track of local news after that, I learned that the airport flooded again an hour after our rebooked flight left (and I think it didn't open back up again until the next day), so we got out just in time. It's been flooding off and on since then, when it rains again, and we were lucky enough that our flight back was not on one of the rainy days. I think no more rain for a while, now.
Anyway. Had lots of family time! ( An incomplete list: )
We had our family Christmas on Christmas Eve, going to D's church's Christmas Eve service, making and opening presents, etc. We got to the airport at 5am Christmas day to go visit my family and were promptly informed (we had gotten no communication from Southwest beforehand) that the airport had flooded and all flights were grounded. Not totally unexpected, as there had been a lot of rain, but kind of annoying. After some back and forth during which we went home and fell back into bed, then were informed that our flight was leaving after all two hours earlier than they'd said and we were about to miss it, then rebooked for later (which at least allowed me to leave Yuletide gift comments), then finally got out that afternoon, then were able to catch an earlier connection than we were booked for. Yay! Keeping track of local news after that, I learned that the airport flooded again an hour after our rebooked flight left (and I think it didn't open back up again until the next day), so we got out just in time. It's been flooding off and on since then, when it rains again, and we were lucky enough that our flight back was not on one of the rainy days. I think no more rain for a while, now.
Anyway. Had lots of family time! ( An incomplete list: )
The US has Zero Political Credibility Now
Jan. 6th, 2026 09:02 pmcanyonwalkerWith President Donald Trump's unauthorized acts of war and abduction of a sovereign country's sitting president this weekend the US has completely shot its credibility on the world stage. We have zero credibility any longer to tell (other) bad-actor countries that what they're doing is wrong, and our allies now have no ability to trust us. This should be self evident from any simple, objective statement of what the president did in attacking Venezuela this weekend, but here's an elaboration in case it's not:
First, the deplorable actions we've taken in Venezuela give political cover to our geopolitical rivals. Russian President Vladimir Putin can easily justify his nearly four-years-long invasion of Ukraine by pointing to Trump's actions and saying "Ditto!" His outward justification for attacking Ukraine has always been a flimsy claim that it's for his national security? So was Trump's attack against Venezuela and his abduction of President Maduro. But everyone knows Putin really wants Ukraine for its agricultural production and rich natural resources? Well, now he can boast about that openly, as Trump has boasted openly about taking over Venezuela's oil wealth.
The one parallel thing Putin hasn't done yet is assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Oops, did I say assassinate? I meant "Send commandos to kidnap him and bring him to Moscow for trial... and during the military operation to ``exfiltrate'' him from Kiev he's accidentally killed in a gun battle." Totally accidental, of course. But clearly something that can happen when you send armed commandos to abduct a world leader from their home country.
Trump's acts also give license to China in its decades-long sovereignty claim over Taiwan. China has withheld attack for years partly because it fears ostracization by the world community if it seizes Taiwan by force. Well, let's watch how much or how little the US is punished for this stunt. Maybe China will take it by force. Or maybe they'll just abduct/assassinate its leaders.
Then there's what happens with our erstwhile allies on the world stage. Our word is shot. We cannot be trusted to honor any treaty we sign. We are oath breakers. We are a bad actor. And as it weren't obvious enough how to connect the dots already, Trump and his surrogates have gone on a tear today about how "Greenland's next".
This is like 1938 and the Munich Agreement (Wikipedia link). We are demanding a concession... but only a small part of Czechoslovakia— I mean, a mostly uninhabited part of Denmark! Will the modern equivalents of Neville Chamberlain and Édouard Daladier appease us? I mean, theSudetenGreenland is a small price to pay to achieve Peace For Our Time! (BTW, in this analogy Donald Trump and the United States are Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. đ¤Ż)
Edited to add: I still cross-post to LiveJournal. Look what got through the Russian Federation's filters there....
First, the deplorable actions we've taken in Venezuela give political cover to our geopolitical rivals. Russian President Vladimir Putin can easily justify his nearly four-years-long invasion of Ukraine by pointing to Trump's actions and saying "Ditto!" His outward justification for attacking Ukraine has always been a flimsy claim that it's for his national security? So was Trump's attack against Venezuela and his abduction of President Maduro. But everyone knows Putin really wants Ukraine for its agricultural production and rich natural resources? Well, now he can boast about that openly, as Trump has boasted openly about taking over Venezuela's oil wealth.
The one parallel thing Putin hasn't done yet is assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Oops, did I say assassinate? I meant "Send commandos to kidnap him and bring him to Moscow for trial... and during the military operation to ``exfiltrate'' him from Kiev he's accidentally killed in a gun battle." Totally accidental, of course. But clearly something that can happen when you send armed commandos to abduct a world leader from their home country.
Trump's acts also give license to China in its decades-long sovereignty claim over Taiwan. China has withheld attack for years partly because it fears ostracization by the world community if it seizes Taiwan by force. Well, let's watch how much or how little the US is punished for this stunt. Maybe China will take it by force. Or maybe they'll just abduct/assassinate its leaders.
Then there's what happens with our erstwhile allies on the world stage. Our word is shot. We cannot be trusted to honor any treaty we sign. We are oath breakers. We are a bad actor. And as it weren't obvious enough how to connect the dots already, Trump and his surrogates have gone on a tear today about how "Greenland's next".
This is like 1938 and the Munich Agreement (Wikipedia link). We are demanding a concession... but only a small part of Czechoslovakia— I mean, a mostly uninhabited part of Denmark! Will the modern equivalents of Neville Chamberlain and Édouard Daladier appease us? I mean, the
Edited to add: I still cross-post to LiveJournal. Look what got through the Russian Federation's filters there....
Last Day here
Jan. 6th, 2026 11:00 pmcornerofmadnessMom and I went to the casino to lose money and I did that well. Mom won. We also hit Primanti's and I got a second rubber ducky in my duck juice cocktail so yay for that.
I am not ready for work for reasons I don't want to get into publicly and has everything to do with the changes Ohio's Republicans have made with education.
So for my second fannish 50, have bunch of fandom related end of year memes
( they're long so they're under here )
I am not ready for work for reasons I don't want to get into publicly and has everything to do with the changes Ohio's Republicans have made with education.
So for my second fannish 50, have bunch of fandom related end of year memes
( they're long so they're under here )
Fandom things
Jan. 6th, 2026 05:43 pmsholiocandyheartsex signups close tomorrow! I was going to try to do it this year, but ... I just don't think it's a good idea. I'm starting to really need a break from exchanges, so I'm going to take a couple months off (aside from the ones I already have, which will be over when Festivids wraps up at the end of January) and then show up again when H/C-ex signups open in March.Amperslash is still looking for two pinch hits! You can find the details here at the Amperslash comm.
⢠PH 3 - éé | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, éé | Guardian (TV 2018), éé | Guardian - priest
⢠PH 9 - Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn, Honor Harrington Series - David Weber, The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison
If any of those sound like you might want to write them, the exchange has already had several delays and fingers crossed it'll be able to get them filled and open on time! I know there used to be some Guardian people around here; I don't know if anyone's still actively writing in it, or might be able to advertise the PH in Guardian-centric fandom spaces?
Day 1813: "Governed by power."
Jan. 6th, 2026 04:25 pmwtfjht_feed
Today in one sentence: Trump is âdiscussing a range of optionsâ to acquire Greenland, including that âutilizing the U.S. Military is always an optionâ; Democrats plan to force a Senate vote to reassert Congressâs war powers after Trump renewed claims that the U.S. needs Greenland for national security; Trump said Venezuela will turn over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S.; on the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Trump warned House Republicans that Democrats would âfind a reason to impeach meâ if they lose the 2026 midterm elections; and the White House published an official webpage on the events of Jan. 6, that describes the Capitol attack as a âpeaceful protest,â and that Democrats and the Capitol Police â not Trump supporters â were responsible for the violence.
1/ Trump is âdiscussing a range of optionsâ to acquire Greenland, including that âutilizing the U.S. Military is always an option,â framing control of the Arctic island as a U.S. national security priority. Trump claimed that the U.S. âneeds Greenlandâ to counter Russian and Chinese activity, while Denmark and Greenland have said the territory isnât for sale and that Greenlanders will decide their own future. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller questioned Denmarkâs legal right to control the territory and refused to rule out military force, saying ânobodyâs going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.â He added: âWe live in a world [âŚ] that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.â Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, told lawmakers in a closed briefing that despite Trumpâs rhetoric, his goal is to buy Greenland from Denmark and that threats of an imminent invasion are to pressure Denmark into negotiations. (Politico / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Associated Press / New York Times / Axios / Politico / Reuters / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / CNN / Politico)
2/ Democrats plan to force a Senate vote to reassert Congressâs war powers after Trump renewed claims that the U.S. needs Greenland for national security. The effort, led by Democratic senators, would use a privileged resolution to require congressional approval before any use of force, framing the move as a check on presidential power after the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan leader NicolĂĄs Maduro. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other Republicans said an attack on Greenland is not seriously being contemplated. (Politico / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / Semafor)
3/ Trump said Venezuela will turn over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. Trump said the oil would be sold at market prices and that he would personally control the proceeds, while separately suggesting U.S. taxpayers could reimburse American oil companies for repairing and rebuilding Venezuelaâs damaged energy infrastructure. U.S. agencies havenât confirmed either arrangement, and it remains unclear how the oil transfer, reimbursement plan or broader production push would comply with sanctions law, existing contracts or international norms following the U.S. capture of NicolĂĄs Maduro, who has pleaded not guilty to federal charges. Nevertheless, Trump directed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute the transfer immediately using storage ships to deliver the oil to U.S. ports, which described the crude as âhigh qualityâ and âsanctioned.â (CNBC / The Guardian / Bloomberg / NBC News / NBC News)
4/ On the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Trump warned House Republicans that Democrats would âfind a reason to impeach meâ if they lose the 2026 midterm elections. Speaking at a House GOP retreat at the Kennedy Center, he told lawmakers they âgot to win the midterms,â framing the vote as protection against a third impeachment after he was impeached twice during his first term and acquitted both times by the Senate. Trump also mused about canceling the elections, saying he would not call to âcancel the electionâ because âthe fake news will say âhe wants the elections canceled. Heâs a dictator.ââ (NBC News / New York Times / Daily Beast / Bloomberg / Washington Post / Axios / Reuters)
5/ The White House published an official webpage on the events of Jan. 6, that describes the Capitol attack as a âpeaceful protest,â and that Democrats and the Capitol Police â not Trump supporters â were responsible for the violence. The page calls Jan. 6 defendants âpatriotsâ and âhostages,â praised Trump for issuing sweeping pardons, and claims that the 2020 election was stolen even though election officials and courts have found no evidence of widespread fraud. The page also accuses Democrats of fabricating an âinsurrectionâ narrative, and blames the Capitol Police and Mike Pence for certifying the 2020 election results. (Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Axios / Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times)
âď¸ Notables.
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Homeland Security began deploying up to about 2,000 federal agents to the MinneapolisâSt. Paul area as part of the largest immigration enforcement operation of the Trump administration. The monthlong surge, which started Sunday, combines immigration arrests with investigations into alleged fraud tied to federally funded programs, though the scope, targets, and results of those investigations remain unspecified. (CBS News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Associated Press)
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The Trump administration said it would freeze about $10 billion in federal funding for child care, cash assistance, and social services in five Democratic-led states. The freeze affects California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, and includes more than $7 billion for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, nearly $2.4 billion for the Child Care and Development Fund, and about $870 million in social services grants. The administration hasnât provided evidence of widespread fraud outside Minnesota. (Axios / NPR / New York Times / ABC News / Wall Street Journal)
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The Corporation for Public Broadcastingâs board voted to dissolve the organization after Congress eliminated its federal funding. CPB leaders said they rejected keeping the nonprofit dormant after losing more than $500 million in annual appropriations, arguing that an unfunded shell could be vulnerable to âpolitical manipulation or misuse.â CPB said it would distribute all remaining funds and close after more than five decades of channeling federal money to PBS and NPR member stations, underwriting national programming, and subsidizing rural and small-market outlets that lacked reliable sources of support. (NBC News / Washington Post / Associated Press / New York Times)
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The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that two state abortion bans, including the nationâs first ban on abortion pills, violated the Wyoming Constitution. The 4â1 decision keeps abortion legal statewide. The justices said the laws conflicted with a 2012 constitutional amendment guaranteeing competent adults the right to make their own health care decisions, rejecting the stateâs argument that abortion is not health care. (Associated Press / Mother Jones)
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Trump told House Republicans to be âflexibleâ on a decades-old ban on most federal funding for abortion as a way to secure a health care deal and âownâ the issue ahead of the midterm elections. Trump said easing the restriction could help unlock legislation to address rising insurance and prescription drug costs, including a proposal to send health care dollars directly to consumers rather than insurers. Senate Republican leaders and anti-abortion groups, meanwhile, said the Hyde Amendment remains a red line for them and warned that abandoning it could fracture the party. Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the issue âprobably the most challenging partâ of the negotiations. (Politico / Associated Press / Axios / Politico)
âď¸ Notably Next: The 2026 midterms are in 301 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,036 days.
- Today last year: Day 1448: "A routine act."
- Four years ago today: Day 352: "A perpetual state of emergency."
- Five years ago today: Day 1448: "Death spiral."
- Six years ago today: Day 1082: Get this done.
Support todayâs essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
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Yaybahar III Nadiri [music]
Jan. 6th, 2026 07:27 pmsiderea2026 Jan 6: GĂśrkem Ĺen (Yaybahar on YT): Yaybahar III Nadiri
The description text:
Artist's website: https://www.gorkemsen.com/
The description text:
The essence of gold was rare, he conquered with his virtue, offered his gifts and fell behind the sun...I am surmising that "Nadiri" means "Of Nadir". Yaybahar is the instrument, the artist is its inventor:
Dedicated to the soul of my dear friend's father, Nadir OÄuz...
The name yaybahar (pronounced /jajba'har/) has Turkish origin. It is a composite of two words: yay means a "string" or a "coiled string" and bahar means the season "spring." According to Gorkem Sen, the name is derived from the idea of a new life or a new beginning. [1]I assume this is the third one of its kind the artist has made.
Artist's website: https://www.gorkemsen.com/
Fic: In the Demon's Claws
Jan. 6th, 2026 06:06 pmsenmutAO3 Link | In the Demon's Claws (2219 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Drizzt Do'Urden & Vierna Do'Urden
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Vierna Do'Urden
Additional Tags: Ensemble Cast, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, Resurrection
Summary:
Drizzt Do'Urden gazed out over the lands, thinking about everything endured. If Regis had not escaped sooner â no, it didn't bear thinking about. What he knew had let them disarm the trap, though not without personal cost for Drizzt himself. He had caused his father's death, brought about the deaths of his House from afar, and now⌠personally slain his sister, both by dam and sire.
His only consolation had been seeing her less a zealot, more sane in her eyes even, as the light faded, letting him cast true blame upon Lloth once more. It had been Catti-brie who supposed the entire raid had been concocted as but one thread of a web, given how near it had been to losing Wulfgar to the yochlol, how strange that they had chosen to come for Drizzt inside the dwarven stronghold rather than upon the road some night when he would be alone.
Bruenor had thundered, and Wulfgar had pledged support, with Regis managing advice based on his studying Artemis Entreri while the human consorted with drow. Aid had come from the region, and it would be a long time before Menzoberranzan could stir from its cesspool of hate and anger.
Catti and Wulfgar needed to work upon their relationship. Regis still had much recovery to make from his ordeal. Bruenor had a much expanded clan to lead to prominence.
Drizzt?
He looked back to the road for salvation from that which ate at his soul. A passing remark from one of the Harpells had reminded him of unfinished business concerning a crystal⌠and a demon that had been defeated once.
There had never been any chance of an ending that led anywhere but to the Demonweb Pits, Vierna had known. Either she would arrive in favor, and become one of Lloth's own servitors in some form â
â or she would arrive in full disfavor to be tortured.
She had learned three things as she endured the torture, and then the bartering deal with the balor.
Her father was not in the Demonweb Pits. This had been clear while she was still tortured under the servants of Lolth. He would have been an instrument in those tortures, as she had, again, fallen into that strange emotion surrounding Zaknafein, on seeing how true to himself her brother had remained.
There was the fact that Lloth had never been worth her devotion. This point â she'd had sight of it in the fall of her House â had clarified when the religious madness fell from her eyes even as her brother was lowering her body to the floor. If she had only managed to learn it earlier, and used her power to protect the two males she'd felt strong emotions over!
And, somehow, this balor intended to use her against her brother. Errtu could not keep himself from alternately salivating over his plans against Drizzt Do'Urden or raging in a froth of madness over what the impertinent drow had done to him.
She would just have to help her brother beat the demon at his own game. Vierna was looking forward to his death at Drizzt's hands.
Drizzt's concerns about the demon had proven too correct. He finished cleaning Icingdeath, his mind turning over the words spit at him by the fiend before its death. The gloating, brash taunts of what Errtu meant to do with him â after Errtu finished rending the soul of one that Drizzt cared for â had been too in line with what he knew of the balors. They were incapable of getting over a defeat that had been meted out to them.
Only? Errtu had an advantage over him. The only person's soul that could possibly be at risk to the demon was his own father. Drizzt would no more leave the soul in peril than he ever would have risked the man in life, had he but been a little wiser.
He didn't dare not follow up on this, no matter the source. Since Drizzt had left Mithral Hall, burdened by the suffering, deaths, and his own actions, he'd been seeking a purpose. He would recover the damnable crystal, and trek to a land known to hold the knowledge of the ages. Surely he could learn what was needed to save his father and destroy both threats if he but tried hard enough.
With resolve etched in every line of his body and soul, Drizzt plunged into the frozen north once more, intent on his goals.
The Crystal Shard couldn't be tricked by Drizzt. Nor could it offer him what he wanted, not in a way that ever tempted the drow. The psychic effect of merely carrying it in a quiescent state was enough to make Drizzt constantly question his own mind as he traveled. Guen, on her visits to the Material Plane, also kept a watchful eye on him.
It was a necessary evil, bait for the demon that was seeking vengeance. After the not-so-minor trouble of getting back to it, finding it, Drizzt was just as relieved to find his next destination after a stop in Longsaddle. He'd kept the artifact's presence carefully hidden, indulged Harpell curiosity as some were in residence now that he had not met before.
"If you're dead set against leaning into the alliances you've made in Silverymoon," Bella began, the brighter eye rolling with what she thought of that and the dull one fixed on him, "you need to head for Tethyr, a small kingdom down there with a cathedral being built.
"The priest of Deneir, Chosen they say, will point you to the knowledge you need to deal with this demon you need to be rid of."
"It seems I should see if Captain Deudermont will aid me in my journeys, then," Drizzt said, not keen on going so far south once again, but he was no priest nor wizard, to be able to banish the demon for good⌠and with luck, this cleric might well know how to rid the realms of the Crystal Shard.
With the right tools, Drizzt Do'Urden would be willing to wager against the evil ones, and try to reclaim his father's soul from the Abyss.
"You could become a cleric of sufficient rank in the decades you have left. Or a wizard of strength," Cadderly mused at Drizzt, even as the wizened Chosen walked beside Drizzt in the garden, aware that Pikel and Ivan both were still keeping an eye on the solitary drow.
"They say time stretches in the Abyss, and I feel that taking the time to do so would further torment the one I seek to rescue. Likewise, I will make no bargain with a Power to become a warlock."
Cadderly looked at Drizzt then, leaning on his staff as they paused. "And yet you refuse your goddess Her offer?"
Drizzt flushed, looking down, and Cadderly knew the ranger had not expected that to be known. When he looked up, it was with an expression of sadness. "She has been good to me, and I will serve Her so long as She walks the path I view as right.
"But I do not trust myself with a spark of who She is."
"Which is of course why She would most want it to be you, for that very distrust, but. You have closed that door â for now â and having a pressing need to save one you care for. The vile artifact's destruction is what you seek, but not before you are able to barter with and defeat the balor.
"A complicated task you have set yourself, but I will set people to the research of it."
"Thank you; it is all I can ask."
Vierna felt something change in her captor. He was eager, close to success of some kind? She felt weaker than she had even in the moments after Lloth forsook the House. How could she aid her brother like this?
When the demon back-handed her for daring to spit in his direction, she lolled in her bonds, feigning unconsciousness and made the choice to reach out to a different power. Never again would she submit to the divine⌠but bargain with one? That she could â and would! â manage.
~Vhaeraun son of Araushnee and Corellon, god of drow,~ she prayed, all of her singular focus on inviting the Named One to take notice of her. Even now, out of favor and having renounced her former goddess, the names burned in her mind, invoking pain.
Pain that she further used to fuel her call to the one that could make her plans work â she would not fail! Her brother, the boy she had taught and raised, needed her, and this time, she was embracing that.
Little did she know that her very need to aid a male sibling was the right spark to bring the god's attention to her.
"As long as your darkness holds," Danica coached, "the thing will be destroyed."
Drizzt looked past her to the rather unassuming man with them, very little giving away his draconic nature.
"And Icingdeath will guard me from the flames," he reminded himself.
"Yes, a superb frostbrand," Vaeros said, having inspected the magic on the blade to be certain.
"The breach of magic has made it possible for the balor to come to a simple summoning," Drizzt recited. "I will offer the artifact, and then we will be 'attacked', at which point the crystal will burn while I hold darkness â and evade the enraged demon while protecting my father."
"Presuming that the captive is brought, and that it is your father," Danica agreed. "Should be simple for the drow that decimated Menzoberranzan's might."
Drizzt stared at her, then saw the twitch of her lips, and gave into the laughter at that outrageous elaboration of his part in the war of Mithral Hall.
"We will do this, Ranger, on our shared love of the Wilds," Vaeros said, once the laughter had worn off, with the effect of living Drizzt lighter in spirit.
"So we shall."
It was not Zaknafein.
That small fact half-broke Drizzt's willpower at first. He wanted to angrily decry that he didn't care about Vierna.
His heart knew that for a lie.
She looked mangled in the grasp of the demon, and trickles of blood had formed where the clawed hand pierced flesh.
She was conscious, and her eyes locked on his.
Distantly, he could remember the plan even as the sealed case with Crenshinibon hung from an outstretched hand, the demon gloating within the summoning circle.
His mind toured over early, harsh lessons. He recalled the gentle touches that had been rare and treasured. He remembered that someone had to have told Zaknafein of his speed and skill with both hands. He recalled the look of sanity in her eyes, at the end of her life, blood spilling from a wound he'd made in her.
Something in her eyes told him she trusted him, and that she was ready for whatever came next.
"Let her go, and you can have what you want."
"You think I am unaware of the treachery lurking in your soul, drow?" Errtu demanded, hand closing more â
â and Vierna uttered a quick phrase in formal drow, one that called upon Vhaeraun, god of the male drow. The next moment, she was small, transformed into a bat that eluded the demon's grasp, fluttering valiantly into the hood of the cloak Drizzt wore.
He prayed that was enough to protect her, as he gave himself over to the Hunter, Icingdeath more than eager to drink the blood of this balor once more. Errtu had no chance to evade, or even dispel the darkness, as Drizzt furiously fought for his life, the crystal's end, and for the daughter of his father.
Vierna awakened at the feeling of healing being pushed into her, the kind that traced fire in her veins, counter to her very nature but helping abate the last tortures' marks upon her.
She found herself looking into the purple eyes that had entranced her since his birth.
"We're in a small cave. I didn't want to impose on my allies," he told her softly. "You turned back to drow after the fight ended."
"I did not ask for it to be a permanent change," Vierna said, but she reached for his hand on her shoulder. "You can heal?"
"If my patron agrees, yes," he said, taking her hand and shifting so he could sit more comfortably and hold it. "Vhaeraun?"
"I promised Him I would become a potent cleric for Him, if He let me aid my troublesome little brother against the balor."
Her smile on those words provoked one from him.
"I thought it was my â our father."
"And yet, you still pushed through with the plan you had made." She squeezed his hand. "We will have peace, Drizzt. I swear it on my continued life."
He contemplated her words a long moment, then laid down on the bedroll, sliding an arm under her neck, tucking close to give her the warmth he had.
"Good. There's been enough strife for us both, I think."
She closed her eyes, shifting a little to be comfortable, and decided that he was still strange to her.
But she had become something different and wanted to embrace the strangeness with him.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Drizzt Do'Urden & Vierna Do'Urden
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Vierna Do'Urden
Additional Tags: Ensemble Cast, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, Resurrection
Summary:
Things in the Hall went slightly different, but still Drizzt chooses the road, and learns of one more quest.
In the Demon's Claws
Drizzt Do'Urden gazed out over the lands, thinking about everything endured. If Regis had not escaped sooner â no, it didn't bear thinking about. What he knew had let them disarm the trap, though not without personal cost for Drizzt himself. He had caused his father's death, brought about the deaths of his House from afar, and now⌠personally slain his sister, both by dam and sire.
His only consolation had been seeing her less a zealot, more sane in her eyes even, as the light faded, letting him cast true blame upon Lloth once more. It had been Catti-brie who supposed the entire raid had been concocted as but one thread of a web, given how near it had been to losing Wulfgar to the yochlol, how strange that they had chosen to come for Drizzt inside the dwarven stronghold rather than upon the road some night when he would be alone.
Bruenor had thundered, and Wulfgar had pledged support, with Regis managing advice based on his studying Artemis Entreri while the human consorted with drow. Aid had come from the region, and it would be a long time before Menzoberranzan could stir from its cesspool of hate and anger.
Catti and Wulfgar needed to work upon their relationship. Regis still had much recovery to make from his ordeal. Bruenor had a much expanded clan to lead to prominence.
Drizzt?
He looked back to the road for salvation from that which ate at his soul. A passing remark from one of the Harpells had reminded him of unfinished business concerning a crystal⌠and a demon that had been defeated once.
There had never been any chance of an ending that led anywhere but to the Demonweb Pits, Vierna had known. Either she would arrive in favor, and become one of Lloth's own servitors in some form â
â or she would arrive in full disfavor to be tortured.
She had learned three things as she endured the torture, and then the bartering deal with the balor.
Her father was not in the Demonweb Pits. This had been clear while she was still tortured under the servants of Lolth. He would have been an instrument in those tortures, as she had, again, fallen into that strange emotion surrounding Zaknafein, on seeing how true to himself her brother had remained.
There was the fact that Lloth had never been worth her devotion. This point â she'd had sight of it in the fall of her House â had clarified when the religious madness fell from her eyes even as her brother was lowering her body to the floor. If she had only managed to learn it earlier, and used her power to protect the two males she'd felt strong emotions over!
And, somehow, this balor intended to use her against her brother. Errtu could not keep himself from alternately salivating over his plans against Drizzt Do'Urden or raging in a froth of madness over what the impertinent drow had done to him.
She would just have to help her brother beat the demon at his own game. Vierna was looking forward to his death at Drizzt's hands.
Drizzt's concerns about the demon had proven too correct. He finished cleaning Icingdeath, his mind turning over the words spit at him by the fiend before its death. The gloating, brash taunts of what Errtu meant to do with him â after Errtu finished rending the soul of one that Drizzt cared for â had been too in line with what he knew of the balors. They were incapable of getting over a defeat that had been meted out to them.
Only? Errtu had an advantage over him. The only person's soul that could possibly be at risk to the demon was his own father. Drizzt would no more leave the soul in peril than he ever would have risked the man in life, had he but been a little wiser.
He didn't dare not follow up on this, no matter the source. Since Drizzt had left Mithral Hall, burdened by the suffering, deaths, and his own actions, he'd been seeking a purpose. He would recover the damnable crystal, and trek to a land known to hold the knowledge of the ages. Surely he could learn what was needed to save his father and destroy both threats if he but tried hard enough.
With resolve etched in every line of his body and soul, Drizzt plunged into the frozen north once more, intent on his goals.
The Crystal Shard couldn't be tricked by Drizzt. Nor could it offer him what he wanted, not in a way that ever tempted the drow. The psychic effect of merely carrying it in a quiescent state was enough to make Drizzt constantly question his own mind as he traveled. Guen, on her visits to the Material Plane, also kept a watchful eye on him.
It was a necessary evil, bait for the demon that was seeking vengeance. After the not-so-minor trouble of getting back to it, finding it, Drizzt was just as relieved to find his next destination after a stop in Longsaddle. He'd kept the artifact's presence carefully hidden, indulged Harpell curiosity as some were in residence now that he had not met before.
"If you're dead set against leaning into the alliances you've made in Silverymoon," Bella began, the brighter eye rolling with what she thought of that and the dull one fixed on him, "you need to head for Tethyr, a small kingdom down there with a cathedral being built.
"The priest of Deneir, Chosen they say, will point you to the knowledge you need to deal with this demon you need to be rid of."
"It seems I should see if Captain Deudermont will aid me in my journeys, then," Drizzt said, not keen on going so far south once again, but he was no priest nor wizard, to be able to banish the demon for good⌠and with luck, this cleric might well know how to rid the realms of the Crystal Shard.
With the right tools, Drizzt Do'Urden would be willing to wager against the evil ones, and try to reclaim his father's soul from the Abyss.
"You could become a cleric of sufficient rank in the decades you have left. Or a wizard of strength," Cadderly mused at Drizzt, even as the wizened Chosen walked beside Drizzt in the garden, aware that Pikel and Ivan both were still keeping an eye on the solitary drow.
"They say time stretches in the Abyss, and I feel that taking the time to do so would further torment the one I seek to rescue. Likewise, I will make no bargain with a Power to become a warlock."
Cadderly looked at Drizzt then, leaning on his staff as they paused. "And yet you refuse your goddess Her offer?"
Drizzt flushed, looking down, and Cadderly knew the ranger had not expected that to be known. When he looked up, it was with an expression of sadness. "She has been good to me, and I will serve Her so long as She walks the path I view as right.
"But I do not trust myself with a spark of who She is."
"Which is of course why She would most want it to be you, for that very distrust, but. You have closed that door â for now â and having a pressing need to save one you care for. The vile artifact's destruction is what you seek, but not before you are able to barter with and defeat the balor.
"A complicated task you have set yourself, but I will set people to the research of it."
"Thank you; it is all I can ask."
Vierna felt something change in her captor. He was eager, close to success of some kind? She felt weaker than she had even in the moments after Lloth forsook the House. How could she aid her brother like this?
When the demon back-handed her for daring to spit in his direction, she lolled in her bonds, feigning unconsciousness and made the choice to reach out to a different power. Never again would she submit to the divine⌠but bargain with one? That she could â and would! â manage.
~Vhaeraun son of Araushnee and Corellon, god of drow,~ she prayed, all of her singular focus on inviting the Named One to take notice of her. Even now, out of favor and having renounced her former goddess, the names burned in her mind, invoking pain.
Pain that she further used to fuel her call to the one that could make her plans work â she would not fail! Her brother, the boy she had taught and raised, needed her, and this time, she was embracing that.
Little did she know that her very need to aid a male sibling was the right spark to bring the god's attention to her.
"As long as your darkness holds," Danica coached, "the thing will be destroyed."
Drizzt looked past her to the rather unassuming man with them, very little giving away his draconic nature.
"And Icingdeath will guard me from the flames," he reminded himself.
"Yes, a superb frostbrand," Vaeros said, having inspected the magic on the blade to be certain.
"The breach of magic has made it possible for the balor to come to a simple summoning," Drizzt recited. "I will offer the artifact, and then we will be 'attacked', at which point the crystal will burn while I hold darkness â and evade the enraged demon while protecting my father."
"Presuming that the captive is brought, and that it is your father," Danica agreed. "Should be simple for the drow that decimated Menzoberranzan's might."
Drizzt stared at her, then saw the twitch of her lips, and gave into the laughter at that outrageous elaboration of his part in the war of Mithral Hall.
"We will do this, Ranger, on our shared love of the Wilds," Vaeros said, once the laughter had worn off, with the effect of living Drizzt lighter in spirit.
"So we shall."
It was not Zaknafein.
That small fact half-broke Drizzt's willpower at first. He wanted to angrily decry that he didn't care about Vierna.
His heart knew that for a lie.
She looked mangled in the grasp of the demon, and trickles of blood had formed where the clawed hand pierced flesh.
She was conscious, and her eyes locked on his.
Distantly, he could remember the plan even as the sealed case with Crenshinibon hung from an outstretched hand, the demon gloating within the summoning circle.
His mind toured over early, harsh lessons. He recalled the gentle touches that had been rare and treasured. He remembered that someone had to have told Zaknafein of his speed and skill with both hands. He recalled the look of sanity in her eyes, at the end of her life, blood spilling from a wound he'd made in her.
Something in her eyes told him she trusted him, and that she was ready for whatever came next.
"Let her go, and you can have what you want."
"You think I am unaware of the treachery lurking in your soul, drow?" Errtu demanded, hand closing more â
â and Vierna uttered a quick phrase in formal drow, one that called upon Vhaeraun, god of the male drow. The next moment, she was small, transformed into a bat that eluded the demon's grasp, fluttering valiantly into the hood of the cloak Drizzt wore.
He prayed that was enough to protect her, as he gave himself over to the Hunter, Icingdeath more than eager to drink the blood of this balor once more. Errtu had no chance to evade, or even dispel the darkness, as Drizzt furiously fought for his life, the crystal's end, and for the daughter of his father.
Vierna awakened at the feeling of healing being pushed into her, the kind that traced fire in her veins, counter to her very nature but helping abate the last tortures' marks upon her.
She found herself looking into the purple eyes that had entranced her since his birth.
"We're in a small cave. I didn't want to impose on my allies," he told her softly. "You turned back to drow after the fight ended."
"I did not ask for it to be a permanent change," Vierna said, but she reached for his hand on her shoulder. "You can heal?"
"If my patron agrees, yes," he said, taking her hand and shifting so he could sit more comfortably and hold it. "Vhaeraun?"
"I promised Him I would become a potent cleric for Him, if He let me aid my troublesome little brother against the balor."
Her smile on those words provoked one from him.
"I thought it was my â our father."
"And yet, you still pushed through with the plan you had made." She squeezed his hand. "We will have peace, Drizzt. I swear it on my continued life."
He contemplated her words a long moment, then laid down on the bedroll, sliding an arm under her neck, tucking close to give her the warmth he had.
"Good. There's been enough strife for us both, I think."
She closed her eyes, shifting a little to be comfortable, and decided that he was still strange to her.
But she had become something different and wanted to embrace the strangeness with him.
Terraria: Quatrain: A Prize to be Won
Jan. 6th, 2026 06:30 pminfinitum_noctem posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fan_flashworksTitle: A Prize to be Won
Fandom: Terraria
Rating: G
Length: 36 words
Summary: The player completes fishing quests for the Angler.
( Read more... )
Fandom: Terraria
Rating: G
Length: 36 words
Summary: The player completes fishing quests for the Angler.
( Read more... )
Another corner of Bewdley
Jan. 6th, 2026 10:30 pmloganberrybunnyPublic
Today was a pretty unexciting one, with just a little more snow but nothing of any real consequence. I had beans on toast for lunch, which isn't unexciting in itself – I like beans on toast – but it's hardly the most thrilling of meals! Nearing the end of my 365 now. Yes, there'll still be photos in future, just not every day. These houses were built to this design before the River Severn flood barriers were installed, so that the garage would get flooded if the river broke its banks but the living areas would not.
Today was a pretty unexciting one, with just a little more snow but nothing of any real consequence. I had beans on toast for lunch, which isn't unexciting in itself – I like beans on toast – but it's hardly the most thrilling of meals! Nearing the end of my 365 now. Yes, there'll still be photos in future, just not every day. These houses were built to this design before the River Severn flood barriers were installed, so that the garage would get flooded if the river broke its banks but the living areas would not.
CHECK IN: DAY 6
Jan. 6th, 2026 10:12 pmigenlode posting in writethisfanficI have just been doing an enormous mountain of washing-up (about five days' worth; a the hazard of bachelor living!) and vaguely thinking about possibly typing something... How is progress feeling for other people?
Question of the day: what do you do next when you have just finished a fic?
Question of the day: what do you do next when you have just finished a fic?
Books read, December
Jan. 7th, 2026 09:55 amcyphomandraDecember was either gaming or Yuletiding. I did not read the Wells in December but I hadn't included them earlier, so here they are.
Libby Lawrence is good at pretending, Jodi McAlister
Looking for Alibrandi, Melina Marchetta
Behind Frenemy Lines, Zen Cho
Compulsory, Martha Wells (short story)
All Systems Red, Martha Wells
Artificial Condition, Martha Wells
Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy, Martha Wells (short story)
Rogue protocol, Martha Wells
Exit strategy, Martha Wells
Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory, Martha Wells (short story)
Network effect, Martha Wells
Fugitive telemetry, Martha Wells
System collapse, Martha Wells
Libby Lawrence is Good at Pretending, Jodi McAlister. Uni theatre YA/new adult romance; Libby sleeps with the overly charming director just before he disappears (but just after he embezzles the groupâs money); she doesnât want to tell her best friend, who has her own issues, or any of the other theatre kids, as although sheâs always previously been on the outside with bit parts, the replacement directorâs cast her as the lead in Much Ado About Nothing. Messy but fun; the best friend part feels underdeveloped but the theatre stuff is good.
Looking for Alibrandi, Melina Marchetta. I kept feeling that I should have read this before, because itâs such an Australian classic. Josephine Alibrandi, Italian-Australian, is in her final year as a scholarship student at an exclusive Catholic high school; she fights with her mother (who has raised her on her own, despite her familyâs disapproval of her single motherhood), goes out with boys, explores her family history and finally meets her father; itâs vivid, believable, and excellently characterised (Josie is prickly and stubborn and appealing, and her growth throughout the novel is great). Also has lots of Sydney in it.
Behind Frenemy Lines, Zen Cho. Kriya Rajasekar associates Charles Goh with the worst moments in her legal career - flubbing an interview, losing cases etc - and is appalled to discover sheâs going to have to share an office with him when her boss/mentor takes her with him to a new legal firm. Charles, meanwhile, is appalled to discover heâs been anyoneâs nemesis, and is increasingly concerned at how Kriyaâs mentor is treating her. I enjoy Choâs het romcoms (this is in the same continuity as The Friend Zone Experiment) but I donât love them. This does have some great moments and I particularly like Charles, who determinedly dresses up in cosplay for his best friendâs lesbian sports-anime themed wedding (she and her wife bonded over their love for the fictitious Duke of Badminton series, which made me snort in amusement as someone who very briefly read fanfic for Prince of Tennis) and then takes the Tube to the venue.
I read all of the extant Murderbot books and shorts in a wild binge. I like them but do not feel fannish at all about them, although I can see why other people do. I like Murderbot and the voice is fantastic, but I find the humans rather interchangeable and I donât like ART, who becomes increasingly prominent as the books go on. I will probably re-read these again at some stage and see if that changes.
Libby Lawrence is good at pretending, Jodi McAlister
Looking for Alibrandi, Melina Marchetta
Behind Frenemy Lines, Zen Cho
Compulsory, Martha Wells (short story)
All Systems Red, Martha Wells
Artificial Condition, Martha Wells
Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy, Martha Wells (short story)
Rogue protocol, Martha Wells
Exit strategy, Martha Wells
Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory, Martha Wells (short story)
Network effect, Martha Wells
Fugitive telemetry, Martha Wells
System collapse, Martha Wells
Libby Lawrence is Good at Pretending, Jodi McAlister. Uni theatre YA/new adult romance; Libby sleeps with the overly charming director just before he disappears (but just after he embezzles the groupâs money); she doesnât want to tell her best friend, who has her own issues, or any of the other theatre kids, as although sheâs always previously been on the outside with bit parts, the replacement directorâs cast her as the lead in Much Ado About Nothing. Messy but fun; the best friend part feels underdeveloped but the theatre stuff is good.
Looking for Alibrandi, Melina Marchetta. I kept feeling that I should have read this before, because itâs such an Australian classic. Josephine Alibrandi, Italian-Australian, is in her final year as a scholarship student at an exclusive Catholic high school; she fights with her mother (who has raised her on her own, despite her familyâs disapproval of her single motherhood), goes out with boys, explores her family history and finally meets her father; itâs vivid, believable, and excellently characterised (Josie is prickly and stubborn and appealing, and her growth throughout the novel is great). Also has lots of Sydney in it.
Behind Frenemy Lines, Zen Cho. Kriya Rajasekar associates Charles Goh with the worst moments in her legal career - flubbing an interview, losing cases etc - and is appalled to discover sheâs going to have to share an office with him when her boss/mentor takes her with him to a new legal firm. Charles, meanwhile, is appalled to discover heâs been anyoneâs nemesis, and is increasingly concerned at how Kriyaâs mentor is treating her. I enjoy Choâs het romcoms (this is in the same continuity as The Friend Zone Experiment) but I donât love them. This does have some great moments and I particularly like Charles, who determinedly dresses up in cosplay for his best friendâs lesbian sports-anime themed wedding (she and her wife bonded over their love for the fictitious Duke of Badminton series, which made me snort in amusement as someone who very briefly read fanfic for Prince of Tennis) and then takes the Tube to the venue.
I read all of the extant Murderbot books and shorts in a wild binge. I like them but do not feel fannish at all about them, although I can see why other people do. I like Murderbot and the voice is fantastic, but I find the humans rather interchangeable and I donât like ART, who becomes increasingly prominent as the books go on. I will probably re-read these again at some stage and see if that changes.
Nature diary
Jan. 6th, 2026 09:17 pmsignoftea posting in common_natureIt started snowing yesterday, and now there's about 5 cm of snow, an amount that is very rare here. I went for a walk to see the beach, because it looks so cool when it's covered in snow. To my surprise, there was even ice on the water! A fragile crust of little floes had formed and seemed to slow down the movement of the waves as they licked the snow away from the breakwater bit by bit.
At first, I didn't hear any bird calls. I did see a few sanderlings darting around, some big birds (probably black-backed gulls) hovering over the sea, and a huge swarm of smaller birds, but they were all far away. I was about to leave when suddenly an impressive formation of geese appeared in the sky. My birding app identified them as barnacle geese. Then the app recorded some more calls, including one from a dunling, a bird I had never seen or heard before.
The snow and the greyish sky skewed my perspective in interesting ways, so that it looked like there were mountains growing out of the sea near the horizon, or like there was a huge wave rolling towards the beach. It felt surreal and a little eerie.
At first, I didn't hear any bird calls. I did see a few sanderlings darting around, some big birds (probably black-backed gulls) hovering over the sea, and a huge swarm of smaller birds, but they were all far away. I was about to leave when suddenly an impressive formation of geese appeared in the sky. My birding app identified them as barnacle geese. Then the app recorded some more calls, including one from a dunling, a bird I had never seen or heard before.
The snow and the greyish sky skewed my perspective in interesting ways, so that it looked like there were mountains growing out of the sea near the horizon, or like there was a huge wave rolling towards the beach. It felt surreal and a little eerie.
Just one thing: 6 January 2026
Jan. 6th, 2026 02:00 pmjazzyjj posting in awesomeersIt's challenge time!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!
Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!
Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
