china_shop: Two Chinese men (the Envoy and Kunlun) in historical dress sit facing each other. Blue background with a pink heart sketched in it. (Guardian - bb!Envoy/Kunlun heart)
[personal profile] china_shop posting in [community profile] sid_guardian
I wrote a treat for [community profile] idproquo and another [community profile] fan_flashworks flashfic. :-)

Title: Sunshine and Honey (4126 words) [Mature]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Ye Olde Haixing Era, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Outdoor Sex, Feeding, Finger Sucking, Oral Fixation, First Kiss (for one of them), First time (for one of them), Treat
Summary:

They were halfway to the Allied Forces’ southern boundary when the sun came out. Shen Wei pulled back his hood and looked around, conscious of the breeze on his bare face. The heavy clouds were finally breaking up.

Meanwhile, Kunlun had dropped his bag and flopped onto his back on the grassy slope. “Let’s rest here a while.”


Title: Pages for You (1762 words) [Teen and Up]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Established Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Fade to Black, Community: fan_flashworks
Summary:

Over the course of the evening, an impulse had taken root, and now Shen Wei submitted to it. He switched on his desk lamp, laid out several large sheets of paper and quietly ground some ink. If Zhao Yunlan wanted to read of their time together through the eyes of a Dixingren soldier, who better than Shen Wei to write an account—to show Zhao Yunlan exactly how much his arrival had meant to the war effort and to Shen Wei himself.

[ SECRET POST #6754 ]

Jul. 3rd, 2025 05:44 pm
case: (Default)
[personal profile] case posting in [community profile] fandomsecrets

⌈ Secret Post #6754 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.


More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 06 secrets from Secret Submission Post #965.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
muccamukk: Close up of the barb on a wire fence, covered in frost, Background of blue fading to pink. (Misc: Bi-Wire)
[personal profile] muccamukk
The whole Diddy thing. It doesn't matter how much proof there is.

Brad Pitt, who is known to have struck his wife and his children then perpetuated lawfare on them for years to the point where several of his kids no longer want contact with him, has the number one movie right now. Best opening weekend of his career. Most of the coverage doesn't even mention the violence.

On the anniversary of Tortoise Media publishing allegations of rape and sexual assault against Neil Gaiman, Netflix is dropping season two of The Sandman. Meanwhile, Gaiman is forcing one of his victims into arbitration. Not because she's libling him, but because she broke an NDA. Everything's gone very quiet, which I assume is what he wanted.

Some thoughts from smarter people:

Rebecca Solnit: Cynicism Is the Enemy of Action.

Tarana Burke: Tarana Burke doesn’t define #MeToo’s success by society’s failure.
Some people want to judge the movement on specific outcomes, so when a case is overturned, Burke said, “people are like, ‘Oh the #MeToo movement has failed.’” Instead, she said, such outcomes are proof of the difficulty of the work.

“It’s not about the failure of the movement; it’s the failure of the systems,” Burke explained. “These systems are not designed to help survivors, they’re not designed to give us justice, they’re not designed to end sexual violence.”

“When we bind ourselves to the outcomes of these cases, we are constantly up and down with our disappointment, our highs and lows,” Burke continued. “What they tell us is just how much work we need to change the laws and the policies but most importantly, to change the culture that creates the people who commit, who perpetrate acts of harm.”

[ SECRET POST #6753 ]

Jul. 2nd, 2025 06:08 pm
case: (Default)
[personal profile] case posting in [community profile] fandomsecrets

⌈ Secret Post #6753 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.


More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 13 secrets from Secret Submission Post #965.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 1 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
china_shop: The popcorn scene from Guardian. :-) (Guardian - popcorn!)
[personal profile] china_shop posting in [community profile] sid_guardian
Poll #33318 Location, location, location
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 13


What's your favourite location in the show?

View Answers

the main room at the SID
8 (66.7%)

Zhao Yunlan's flat
8 (66.7%)

Shen Wei's office
2 (16.7%)

the Dijun's palace
0 (0.0%)

the Sky Pillar in its field of ruins
3 (25.0%)

the SID lab
0 (0.0%)

the Inspectorate lab
0 (0.0%)

Shen Wei's flat
3 (25.0%)

the streets of Dragon City
1 (8.3%)

the streets of Dixing
2 (16.7%)

the Dixing bar
3 (25.0%)

the Allied Forces Head Quarters (YOHE)
0 (0.0%)

other (please specify)
2 (16.7%)

When we first see Da Qing in Ye Olde Haixing Era, how long has he been wandering around looking for Kunlun?

View Answers

thanks to the Hallows' planning, only a few hours
2 (15.4%)

a day or less
2 (15.4%)

several days
1 (7.7%)

one to two weeks
0 (0.0%)

he kept getting distracted chasing mice and birds, so more than two weeks
4 (30.8%)

Shen Wei sent news of his benefactor (short hair; strange weapon) to Ma Gui and Fu You, who did the math and sent Da Qing out to find him, so less than an hour
8 (61.5%)

other (please specify)
1 (7.7%)

Ideas to block the current bill

Jul. 2nd, 2025 11:23 am
fabrisse: (Default)
[personal profile] fabrisse posting in [community profile] thisfinecrew
There are 17 medical professionals in the current House of Representatives. 11 are Republicans. Trying to argue on most issues with the bill is difficult with such a tight deadline, but the one item most people -- including Congressional Representatives -- are reacting to negatively is the closure of Rural and Regional hospitals. This should be a negative for all of the Republicans, but the ones who understand what lack of medical provision can do should be especially ripe to listen, perhaps even be persuaded.

I live in Georgia. Rich McCormick is Georgia District 6, and I live in District 1. But he's more likely to respond to someone from the same state, especially if he has Senate or Gubernatorial ambitions in the future.

The list I found is through The Patients Action Network. If you are in a District with one of these Republican representatives, particularly if they specialize in Emergency or Family medicine, start calling and/or emailing. If you are in the same state, email them and let them know you have a long memory if they're thinking of statewide offices.

In the meantime, send support to the few Republicans in the House who have already voted against it and continue to oppose it. At the very least, let's make them miss their deadline for vacation.

[ SECRET POST #6752 ]

Jul. 1st, 2025 05:04 pm
case: (Default)
[personal profile] case posting in [community profile] fandomsecrets

⌈ Secret Post #6752 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.


More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 20 secrets from Secret Submission Post #965.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Amnesty Week

Jul. 1st, 2025 02:56 pm
liadt: (Avengers)
[personal profile] liadt posting in [community profile] unconventionalcourtship
For those that signed up, July 1-7 is amnesty week. If you missed your deadline or have completed another fic you can post it during this time. No need to ask for a day, just post!

Guardian Bonus Bingo July Prompts

Jul. 1st, 2025 09:01 am
tehfanglyfish: saturn (Default)
[personal profile] tehfanglyfish posting in [community profile] sid_guardian

Greetings Guardian Bingo Participants!


Somehow we have already made it through one month of Bonus Bingo and July is upon us. New prompts are listed below.

If you missed out on June, no worries! You can join the fest at any point. You can turn in fills for months you missed during our November grace period month.

July (I) Prompts:

Cake | Reconciliation | Emergency

As with last month, you only need to create for one of these prompts to earn a fill for this month, though you’re welcome to create more if you feel so inspired.

While the fest account is located on Tumblr, you don't have to be a Tumblr user to participate or to earn a badge at the end of the fest. (Filling one prompt per month over five months is what matters for earning the badge, not where you post your fills.)
 

Friendly Fest Reminders:

  • This is a low-stress fest. The point is to create fan works and have fun.
  • All modes of creation are accepted!
  • All ratings, all ships, rpf, Weilan derivatives, and even works based on other Priest novels are accepted. Please tag accordingly.
  • While each month will have three prompts listed, you only need to create for one prompt to earn a fill for that month. (You are, however, welcome to complete or combine all of them if you wish.)
  • Prompts are inspiration only – follow them as strictly or as loosely as you’d like
  • No min/max content requirements.
  • No works created using generative AI

About/FAQ - Contains full fest info

AO3 Collection - You may also post in other places (tumblr, Dreamwidth, etc.)

If you @ our tumblr account, we’ll happily reblog your fill.

Let us know if you have any questions. Have fun and happy creating!

Fest Prompt Master List:

June (B): Chase | Door Key | Respite

July (I): Cake | Reconciliation | Emergency


altum_videtur: (Default)
[personal profile] altum_videtur posting in [community profile] unconventionalcourtship
Yours in Black Lace (2727 words) by cuethesun

Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Psych (TV 2006)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Carlton Lassiter/Shawn Spencer
Characters: Carlton Lassiter, Shawn Spencer, Juliet O'Hara, Woodrow "Woody" Strode, McNab passes by
Additional Tags: Dirty Talk, erotic writing, Secret Admirer, Or well not so secret, Shawn hasn't got enough patience for it, Unconventional Courtship 2025, Men in Lingerie Kink, a little bit of it at least, Lassie's sorry excuse for self-esteem
Summary:

“You’ve read it? Dammit, Strode, why are you wasting my time then?” Carlton turns his eyes back to the report he’s writing. “Just give me the gist of it, tell me if it’s worth pursuing.”

“Are you sure, detective? Because—”

“Yes, I’m sure, now just—”

“Dear Detective Carlton Lassiter. I have a confession to make: you’ve turned me into a naughty, naughty boy.”

Carlton gets a letter at the station.

-----

Sorry I'm a little late! Here's my entry for the 30th.

June fanworks round-up post!

Jul. 1st, 2025 03:22 pm
china_shop: Chu Shuzhi wielding his magic blue strings. (Guardian - CSZ strings)
[personal profile] china_shop posting in [community profile] sid_guardian
This is the fanworks round-up post for June! Please link in the comments to any Guardian (or related fandoms) fanworks you created or enjoyed last month.
  • all kinds of fanworks are welcome – fic, art, vids, picspams, etc. - including those made for exchanges and events
  • new chapters of WIPs count
  • meta or discussion posts, too
  • whether or not you've already linked these in a post of their own, we still want them here!

If you're linking to fanworks you didn't create yourself, please clearly mark these "REC", so there's no confusion about authorship/creatorship.

(And please still do link your fanworks, meta, etc. separately, in their own post, at any time!)

So ... what Guardian and related fandoms works did you create or enjoy in June?

Daily Check In

Jun. 30th, 2025 08:47 pm
senmut: Rebecca Horne in a hat with a smirk (Highlander: Rebecca)
[personal profile] 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

[ SECRET POST #6751 ]

Jun. 30th, 2025 06:32 pm
case: (Default)
[personal profile] case posting in [community profile] fandomsecrets

⌈ Secret Post #6751 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.


More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 27 secrets from Secret Submission Post #965.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Rebuilding journal search again

Jun. 30th, 2025 03:18 pm
alierak: (Default)
[personal profile] alierak posting in [site community profile] dw_maintenance
We're having to rebuild the search server again (previously, previously). It will take a few days to reindex all the content.

Meanwhile search services should be running, but probably returning no results or incomplete results for most queries.
amedia: Bust of Professor Shen - handsome man in a suit with glasses, smiling happily, standing beside a chalkboard with the caption SOOOO much fun! (Guardian: SW 2 fun)
[personal profile] amedia posting in [community profile] sid_guardian
DC-Slash is an online convention coming up at the end of July. We still have ONE DAY for people to make panel suggestions (https://www.dcslash.org/dc-slash-con/programming) and I for one would LOVE to see MOAR Asian Drama-related suggestions!!!

Read more... )
brokenhighways: (Zude)
[personal profile] brokenhighways posting in [community profile] unconventionalcourtship
Title: Trapped In Yesterday
Author: [personal profile] brokenhighways
Fandom: Hit The Floor
Pairing/Characters: Jude/Zero
Rating: R
Length: 12,000 words
Summary: Jude Kinkade is the CEO of a fledgling sportswear brand, and he's ready to throw his Hail Mary pass and do whatever it takes to save his company. Enter Zero, a washed-up former player who's more known for falling out of clubs than his three championship wins. Desperate for some publicity, his head of PR, Jelena, convinces Jude to hire Zero as the face of the brand, but is this a comeback story in the making, or a reckless gamble that will destroy both their reputations for good?

Notes: Based on the summary for 'In the Heat of the Spotlight- Kate Hewitt'


Link: Here @ AO3

My latest Guardian fanworks

Jun. 30th, 2025 06:26 am
facethestrange: (guardian: weilan: taxi heart)
[personal profile] facethestrange posting in [community profile] sid_guardian
Two novelverse fics and Zhubai art. :)

Let It Out (2475 words) by facethestrange
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: rough sex turns unexpectedly tender and/or emotional, Biting, Blood Drinking, Crying, Being praised for crying during sex, Praise Kink, Endearments, Anal Sex, Multiple Orgasms, First Time, slightly different take on their canon first time, First Time Bottoming, Canonical Life Force Drain, Porn with Feelings
Summary:
"Oh heavens, Xiao Wei, you look so beautiful right now."

The words slip out before he can stop them, and he's already mentally scolding himself for saying the least helpful thing when he registers Shen Wei's reaction—eyes wide, lips parted, suddenly so entirely unguarded that Zhao Yunlan forgets how to breathe.

Gods Gone Wild (731 words) by facethestrange
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Kunlun/Zhao Yunlan, Kunlun/Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Zhao Yunlan, Kunlun (Guardian)
Additional Tags: Self-cest, Hand Jobs, Naked/Clothed Sex, use of powers during sex, Dream Sex, Voyeurism, Shen Wei is not there but he is watching, this may read like dubcon at the beginning but it turns into very enthusiastic consent very fast, Zhao Yunlan Being Zhao Yunlan
Summary:
Maybe he shouldn't always believe himself, but this opens up so many tantalizing possibilities that he can't help quipping, "If this is a dream, can I just magic away your clothes?"

It's as hot as it is frustrating that Kunlun is wrapped in layers of perfectly arranged fabric while casually doing this to Zhao Yunlan.

"I didn't say it was your dream."

Can't Get Enough of You by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, Chinese Actor RPF
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bai Yu/Zhu Yilong
Characters: Bai Yu (Actor), Zhu Yilong
Additional Tags: shoulder kiss, Undressing, despite the tags this is not even a little bit explicit, Tenderness, Guardian Bingo, Fanart, Drawing
Series: Part 7 of Zhubai ~canon~ but with more kissing
Summary:
The door is locked, that's the important part. (The key card ends up on the floor.)
senmut: Guinan propping face on hand (Star Trek: Guinan)
[personal profile] senmut
Shared Projects, by cowriter, by fandom
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 pm
senmut: Zaknafein and Drizzt battling each other (Forgotten Realms: Zak and Drizzt)
[personal profile] senmut
Dreams 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:

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.

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June 2023

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