chanter1944 | Network

used_songs posting in

Over on

beautifulmechanical , a music sharing and discovery community, we are inviting people to share music and musicians they discovered through dreamwidth.

Everyone is welcome to join and post. We are a community of people who get excited about music and love to share it.

narnialover7 posting in

icontalking

Any Yellowstone fans that would like to have a battle?
Come join

abyss_valkyrie,

wickedgame and I!! :)

Go H E R E to sign-up!

musesfool

Okay, crispy rice = pretty good. I tossed 1 cup of cooked rice with 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of toasted sesame oil, a sprinkling of garlic powder, and 1 diced shallot, spread it on a foil-lined sheet pan, and cooked it at 400°F for 25 minutes. I still have a bunch of rice left, so I might make fried rice tomorrow.

The salad part was less successful. I cleared some stuff out of the freezer - an old bag of frozen corn, a handful of frozen roasted chicken chunks I got in my misdelivered grocery order a few weeks ago - and then I added some toasted sesame seeds, some dry-roasted peanuts, and some arugula. The dressing was lime juice, toasted sesame oil, ground ginger, and olive oil (all scaled down for one serving) - it was ok, but I wouldn't make it again.

The stuff in the salad was mismatched and didn't go well together, which is my own fault, since I didn't really think about anything but the rice ahead of time. If I did it again, I might use shredded cabbage instead of arugula, and leave out the corn and the peanuts. I might also just dress it with olive oil and vinegar.

If I do it again, I will probably eat the crisped rice by itself, maybe with some scrambled egg like in fried rice, and some scallions. And I'd keep the toasted sesame seeds, because those are always tasty.

Here is today's poem:

An old story
by Bob Hicok

It's hard being in love
with fireflies. I have to do
all the pots and pans.
When asked to parties
they always wear the same
color dress. I work days,
they punch in at dusk.
With the radio and a beer
I sit up doing bills,
jealous of men who've fallen
for the homebody stars.
When things are bad
they shake their asses
all over town, when good
my lips glow.

*

Current Mood: disappointed
Current Music: Mets losing to the Rockies

narnialover7 posting in

dw_community_promo

Are there any Yellowstone fans that would like to have a battle?

Go H E R E to sign-up!

used_songs posting in

beautifulmechanical

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erinptah

- Feel the urge to see a drag show, haven't been to one since I moved to this city, turn to the internet
- Find a listing for a show that has performances every weekend, at a great central location that's easy to get to
- 3 tiers of tickets, with the cheapest being "if the rest of the crowd fills the seats, you're standing." Consider paying the cheap price and showing up early, but you know what, I'm in a mood to invest in my community, I pay for premium
- Get a ticket for Friday
- Customer support texts me late Thursday. There's a problem with the venue, the acts have no control over this, very sorry, they offer a free transfer to a future show -- good in multiple cities, even, they're a franchise -- and will throw in some perks for my trouble
- They also have other offers, some of which involve upsells, but no thanks, I just want to see a show
- Reschedule for Saturday, same city, this is the one I live in
- Support texts me again late Friday. Same copy-pasted stock message, the venue has a problem Saturday, they can give me another free transfer or an upsell
- Except this time it includes the name of a different drag show
- I ask what's up with that
- Awkward admission that they're a third-party support agent who works with multiple shows (not a stock answer, I can believe a human wrote this)
- I say, fine, give me a transfer to next weekend
- No Friday show scheduled next weekend, so they move me to the next Saturday
- That would've been yesterday
- Guess what text I got two days ago
- Different stock message this time, the next show is canceled because of "lower than expected ticket sales"
- Well, now I'm suspicious of the idea that "audience might go to standing-room-only" is a real concern
- Little suspicious of the whole process, tbh. Is this all a bizarre elaborate scheme to funnel buyers into giving up on the regular show and shelling out for the upsell instead?
- Well, I don't want the upsell
- Each cancellation has offered a full refund, and this time I'm seriously considering taking it
- But: I'm not going out of town any time soon, and now I'm morbidly curious to see how long this can go on for
- (how long it can drag out for, even)
- Ticket is currently for a show on the first Saturday in May
- Will that show materialize, or is the whole thing vaporware? Will they reuse one of the earlier excuses, or come up with a new one? Place your bets now

celli

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elyusion posting in

3weeks4dreamwidth

On the off chance someone here likes visual kei, my community

vkotd is currently hosting a raffle where the winner will get enough points for 6 months of a paid account :] Please stop by if you're interested.

Current Mood: excited

mxcatmoon

As I mentioned in another post, I was doing a deep dive of old DW posts. I came across this meme, that was a

thefridayfive entry two years ago. I decided to share it because I think it's interesting and different.

1. What kinds of non-music sounds do you like falling asleep to?

( Read more... )

Current Mood: okay

stonepicnicking_okapi

There Will Come Soft Rains by Sara Teasdale

(War Time)

There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white,

Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.

princessofgeeks

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mellowtigger

The hair on my forearms is strange these days. Instead of the smooth flow of soft hairs like usual, there are short bits of hair that seem to stand straight up from the arm.

I'm pretty sure I singed much of the hair while I was tending flames at the fire pit on Friday. Oops.

In other news, the weird spot on my left leg is getting lighter. I think it's healing, however slowly. I guess that hydrocortisone cream helped.

fanlore_tumblr_feed

https://fanlore-wiki.tumblr.com/post/814977210603716608

ALT

In all timelines, in all possibilities! This week’s Ship Sunday is about JayVik, the ship of Jayce Talis and Viktor in the League of Legends and Arcane fandom. Before its popularity surge due to Arcane, the pairing was usually known as Jaytor, VikJay or VikJayce. Vikjayce is now more commonly used for their League versions, while Jayvik is used for their Arcane counterparts.

The pairing has been shipped since Jayce was created to be Viktor’s foil in League in 2012. Their popularity skyrocketed after the release of Netflix’s Arcane, particularly after season 2 in 2024. Jayvik is one of the fastest growing pairings of the show and video game fandom, being the most popular ship during the first bimester of 2025 on Tumblr and, at that mark, reaching nearly 10k new fanfics since the release of season 2.

Popular tropes include trans Viktor, alternate universes/time travel, and post-canon explorations. There are also different tropes that are popular depending on if you’re reading Vikjayce or Jayvik, with some works even exploring the dynamics between both pairings at the same time (alternate universe shenanigans, anyone?).

Learn more about these star-crossed lab partners on Fanlore!

———–

We value every contribution to our shared fandom history. If you’re new to editing Fanlore or wikis in general, visit our New Visitor Portal to get started or ask us questions here!

https://fanlore-wiki.tumblr.com/post/814977210603716608

senmut

AO3 Link | Notes of Desperation (9102 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Zaknafein Do'Urden, Jarlaxle Baenre, Malice Do'Urden, Drizzt Do'Urden, Vierna Do'Urden, Original Drow Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Torture, Escape, Rebuilding, Reunions
Summary:

A winding tale of how three Do'Urdens find family in full.

2 new chapters

Chapter Three

Vierna only rarely came to the west coast wanderers, having her hands full managing the permanent village in the north. Mynera, however, would never ask lightly, and her people were well able to do the work without her.

Dhaeln would keep track of harvest and preparation tasks that needed to be done still while she was gone. That dwarf was always on top of organization, to Vierna's eternal gratitude.

The moonbridge had only just faded out when Lleona and Neerbryn caught her attention for the concealed camp they had, with the bard being the one to take her hand and bring her across the wards.

"I do appreciate you coming, though I admit I may be reaching for star dust with the tale I have for you," Lleona said. "Well, Shana and Neerbryn will tell the actual happenings, and I'm just involved because I remembered a story you told us once."

"We had an encounter in Skullport that may have impact for you," Neerbryn said, leading back to the center of the camp, where everyone was working on gear, except Starneth who looked to be actually sleeping with his familiar sleeping on top of him.

"Spell rebound," Zira commented idly. "He's out cold, but otherwise unharmed by it."

"He sleeps so rarely and poorly that I chose not to heal the effect," Ilmryn said with a grin.

"Can't really argue with that," Vierna agreed, knowing how high-strung the magic user was. That he had reason did not detract from how difficult it made him.

"So I recently too Neerbryn and another fighter down into Skullport, to trade and see if we could get any further rumors of the power situation, as it has shifted some," Shana began. "I think I may have met the drow responsible for several of the Dragon Hoard's ventures foundering of late.

"He approached us, though, and we did not have time to confirm who he works with or for, as he had a question for us. He wished to know if our people provided teachers to those who were… how did he say it, Neerbryn?"

"For ones that couldn't be practical in how they lived, or something like that," the fighter said, shaking his head. "No bats, no spiders, no sigils of any kind," he added.

"Wouldn't we have already known if one of our Lady's searchers was down there?" Vierna asked, to get a feel for this. "Or is the one he is questioning for not drow? We have seen some of Vhaeraun's take elven children to raise."

Shana shook her head. "The man called this boy his only surviving child, and his reaction to my offer for them both to come our way made me feel like he truly believes in the bond of family. Now, let me describe him for you, as Lleona thought this was very important.

"He's a little tall for a deep drow male, and there was no doubt he was one, as deeply light-drinking as his skin was. He had most of his hair unbound, with just two side braids linked behind to keep the mass out of his face in the breezes. He wore well-made clothing of surface manufacture; I could not make out the armor beneath it but know it was there. Most strikingly, he carried two swords, equal length, of the style I would describe as full-length, not the short swords some fighters use in pairs."

Vierna had steadily grown more interested in the description, and Neerbryn spoke up.

"He gave his name as Zaknafein, and once Lleona asked for you, the rest of us recalled your tale of the Weapon Master."

"But if his son is like us, why have we not heard it? How is he all the way here? What became of the House, so that he could escape the Matron's grip on him?!" exploded from Vierna.

"He said the boy is third born who survived. Scrying and other magics, even divine healing, fail with him, the father said," Shana said. "I promised to have someone meet with him a month from that meeting, intending to ask for Xinval and probably Rylla to go, once Qilué had considered it, but… if you think this man is connected to you, how do you wish it to be handled?"

Vierna knew good and well her own protector was likely to want to shake her for what came out of her mouth next. "I will go. But I will lean into the Silverhands for support on this."

Mynera nodded. "Wise. Outside magic, especially of such a strong family, might be the best for detecting what was done to the boy… or if this is an elaborate ruse of some kind. I do not think it is; your family name is rarely uttered, and the connections between your enclave to the rest of us is kept quiet among the clerics, for the most part."

"Exactly," Vierna said, pleased that her reading of the situation matched that of these veterans of intrigues in the Underdark and on the surface, people who risked everything to get others to safety on a frequent basis. "Now, since I am here, fill me in on doings among the bands?"

"Oh, now she's done it. She's invited Lleona to talk at length," Jhuldrin said with amusement.

Even with Thyl in the same tavern, sitting away from her, Vierna realized she had not felt this vulnerable in a very long time. She was away from the seat of her power, in a city where evil reigned more than not, and specifically held people of her Goddess's Twin's influence. She knew that others of her faith traded here regularly. It was ridiculous to feel this way —

— and she realized it had far more to do with who she was here to meet. She had enjoyed her days of instruction under the Weapon Master, had come to an almost certainty that he had to be the one who fathered her. If he reacted poorly, it was going to wound her, soul-deep.

She waited, trying not to be impatient or show outward signs of looking for someone, annoyed by the modesty veil she had decided would give her a chance to at least speak to the man before he reacted to her features. After all, she knew good and well how much she favored the matron of the house she had been born to.

After what seemed like forever, but had likely been less than a full hour, the memory from her past walked in, wearing surface clothing and gear, hair still as thick and lush as ever, though the side braids did keep it out of his face. That was sensible, anywhere there was wind to stir it. The man noted her, took note of the others around, then sauntered to her table as if he had control of the entire world around him.

Given his combat skills, she had no doubt of that in this meeting.

"You were prompt," he said, sitting down at the table opposite her.

"How could I be anything but, when my cousins pulled me to them and told me your name." She reached up to push the veil back. "Hello, Weapon Master. I did survive, and much of that was your teaching to me."

He stared at her a long moment, then took a long breath in, letting it out slowly. "Well, seeing you makes me more convinced that everything since I made a deal to steal my son out of the House has been nothing but a death dream," he said equitably.

"No. You live. And if it is your son you seek teaching for… I am more than certain that you really are my father too," she said in a low voice, half-worried he would deny it.

"Argued with your mother over your upbringing, got removed from patron for it. The small gifts I managed… they were because I wanted to be your father in full, raising you, preparing you for the world!"

She smiled brightly, then laid her hands in the middle of the table. "I knew the Temple would kill me. I was never going to hide my heart the way it would have taken… and it would have destroyed me as I was to try.

"But I also couldn't risk involving you, not when she was so peculiar about you. My goddess showed me a way, and took me to a strong protector." She then laughed. "He will have words for me coming into this city like this, with only one to guard me."

"The half-elf?" Zaknafein asked, even as he laid his hands in hers, tightening his fingers around hers in acceptance of this meeting.

"Yes. Wizard-fighter, and hopefully able to tell why my Lady cannot perceive your son — my brother! — when She is supposed to be able to call to all goodly drow."

Zak looked over at Thyl a moment with very little movement of his head, mostly his eyes, then nodded. "Take a room here; it's the safest place for you. I'll return with Drizzt, so you can meet him, and we can talk more."

She squeezed his hands at that. "Gladly, father."

Seeing him soften to that made her heart sing, before they parted, temporarily, to arrange matters.

Drizzt's first impression of the people he was to meet was the sound of laughter and a playful argument about who was getting the door, and why it was supposed to be which one. He caught the male voice saying she needed to be careful, and the female voice saying that the man would be scary to a new person.

Drizzt made himself brace for anyone that could be scary as the laughter increased and it seemed like the man had won the point. When the door opened, he had to look up and his eyes did get a bit large. He had seen half-human elves, but none so tall, and never wearing a mage robe with a sword!

"That would be your sister's guard," Zaknafein said dryly.

"Thyl. Inthylyn Aerasumé, if being very formal, but please don't. I try not to do anything that warrants it," Thyl said as he stepped back, letting them in.

Drizzt caught the wry look on his sister's face — he had an actual sister, the one that had made Zaknafein emotional to speak of! — and wondered at it. He was fixing it in his mind that she looked more like himself, seeking the ways she favored their father, because the initial resemblance to his mother hurt.

Malice had treated him well, and even though he had realized it was a ploy, to keep him loyal to her only, Drizzt had struggled to remember she was as evil as Briza and Maya.

Or, had been, rather, given the House had died the night Father escaped.

"And I am Vierna, though I am sure Father told you that," the priestess said warmly. "Your name is Drizzt?"

"Yes. And I knew your name already! Father spoke of you in my second year of training with him, because I tried the same counter you did to a maneuver." He grinned at the memory.

"Zaknafein, though I am sure you already knew," the eldest of them said to the half-human.

"Vierna has entertained us over the years, speaking of your skill, sharing what she learned with us," Thyl told him. It made Drizzt feel even more warmth for this woman he was just meeting, to know she had carried Zak's legacy and shared it further.

They all got comfortable in the room, with Thyl sitting away from the family who chose to share the couch in the room. Vierna sat on one side, having reached for Drizzt to grasp his hand and squeeze in greeting, with Zak at the other end.

"First question, to both of you," Vierna said seriously. "If we can learn why Drizzt wasn't known to my goddess, will you be willing to come to where I live, for lessons for him? If not, something could be arranged with the local bands, but they have not yet made a permanent place to live that is safely under rock."

Zaknafein was the one to answer first. "While I would love to live with both of you, I have not yet repaid the man that made it possible for Drizzt to live free, not the way I count it. In a few years, maybe. But either way, I'd prefer he be with you… if that is his choice."

Drizzt considered, then sighed. "I am too unlike the others to safely stay here," he admitted. "I've done well enough so far, but it's like when I was in the mercenary's care; I am too different and people don't like what is different." He turned to look at his father. "You would come, in time?"

"As long as your sister's goddess doesn't decide I'm too typically drow for Her tastes to be near Her people."

Vierna shook her head. "You are the utter strangeness that is a drow who found the middle path, Father. I did check before offering. If you had not been… I would have begged the more senior cleric to assign one of her strongest to take over long enough for me to help Drizzt get his feet under him as a different kind of person from you."

"You… really?" Drizzt asked, something about abdicating whatever role she held, even for a temporary period of time, filling him with awe. They'd only just met!

"Take over?" Zak asked, catching more nuance than his son did.

"Vierna is the First Cleric of the only permanent village on the surface for good drow," Thyl said lazily. "She was one of its founders, and still leads, as much as leadership is needed, along side a few elders of the races that live there.

"That senior cleric she mentioned is in the process of carving space out of Undermountain, but it is slow going, with all the magic and regeneration spells in there."

"Did well for yourself," Zak said, proud of her.

"For my people. We needed a safe haven away from the Underdark, so I went above with others. A few of those first ones are still with me; others took up the roving life that many of ours do, both Above and Below." Vierna looked back to Drizzt. "Yes, I would. Family is very important to us; we want it to be a source of comfort and strength.

"One of the few things our people have in common with most of the ones who follow the god worshipped here."

Drizzt's face got cloudy for a moment, then he nodded. "Then yes. I want to go with you, and for Father to join us later, and maybe we will be a full family that works the way my heart feels they should."

"Then I guess I need to earn my keep and see if I can at least figure out why you are hidden… but I might need a lot of help to get it taken care of once I know," Thyl said.

"Fortunate for us that you have lots of help in your family," Vierna said sweetly, making them all smile a bit.

Zaknafein was unable to go with his children to meet the archmage that would look at what Thyl had found. He threw himself into studying the city all over again, trying to find the best paths to information, the right investments to make in the power structure, as part of readying to turn this over to someone else once his pride was satisfied he'd paid for Drizzt's freedom.

He had no intention of remaining so far from his children now that he knew he could be with them, not for long. He was back at the Dimmed Lantern on the third day after their leaving, to see Thyl, Drizzt, and another half-human that looked like Thyl but not Vierna.

"Son?"

Drizzt gave a small smile. "It's alright. My sister is helping the archmage that helped me remove a curse that affected her sister!"

"When I headed out, I didn't know that the local Aunt would immediately have a task that Vierna could help with. Honestly, I should have already asked her if she'd look at the curse," Thyl said. "And I had already intended to introduce you to the local brother," he added, turning to the other half-human.

"Boesild Aerasumé. I do prefer Bo, but don't flinch from the full name as some of my brothers do," Bo said for himself. "You are Zaknafein Do'Urden, and if I have pieced together the puzzle down here, you are not associated with the Temple or the mercantile company that gives us so much trouble down here."

Zak inclined his head. "And the introduction is because?"

Bo gave a tight smile for that bluntness. "So I can find you, or you me, just in case, as I have just learned that my brother is tied up in your family via your daughter. If things happen, communication should follow."

"Ahh. Well, that does make sense." Zak looked Drizzt over. "What of why you went? And other things?"

Drizzt sighed. "I was hidden, at birth, directly by Her," and he made the profanity with his hands, causing both the tall men to grin. "It's gone, and I am going to go to my sister's village, to learn more about the Surface and how to be me."

That had Zaknafein opening his arms, and the boy flew into them, hugging tightly, to the warm looks of both half-humans. Zak had decided that family — obviously — had strong meanings for them, so he would let them see this.

"Then we'll get you packed up, so Thyl can take you on to wherever Vierna is… and as soon as I think I have given full measure, I'll find my way to you, through the Dancers' communications."

"That… sounds great," Drizzt breathed.

It would be more time separated, but Zaknafein needed his son to be safe and well… something this place had not given him in full.

Chapter Four

"He's painfully young," Vierna confided in Thyl, once they had managed to get Drizzt to go to bed, despite being in the home of a very powerful Surface human. "And his curiosity is so brazen!"

Thyl chuckled, stroking her hair, letting the familiar sounds of his Aunt's home soothe him from everything.

"Reminds me a little of seeing my brothers at that age," he agreed. "We were encouraged to be curious, but from all I have seen of your people… it's a dangerous trait and not one easily relearned to have."

"Father said he was removed from the House before the Academy, but I cannot see an all male mercenary band having been nurturing to that either. Especially knowing that any daughter of Malice's would have scarred him in his mind," Vierna murmured. "Never mind that mass of silver on his back."

Thyl growled a little at the memory of seeing those. A shared soak in a mansion had left all of them pointedly making light conversation around Drizzt to avoid revealing their horror at the scarring, when the boy was absolutely oblivious to them.

"Aunt Laeral is curious if he was chosen for that hiding spell due to some destiny, or just the meddling spider seizing an opportunity for chaos. Aunt Syluné finds him intriguing because of all of his questions about her tinctures and potions and plants." Thyl smiled softly. "I'm looking forward to seeing him interact with our people at Spirit Sanctuary, and learn how they encourage him to find who he wants to be."

Vierna's soft smile, as Thyl claimed the work of her lifetime as one of his homes made her settle back from her worry. Drizzt was young, had yet to mature past the constant questioning… and she had concerns on how well that would be handled by her more suspicious survivors of the Underdark. However, she could and would make it possible for her brother to learn all he wanted, with the help of her lover and his kin if necessary.

Syluné rested a hand on Vierna's arm, gently stopping her forward momentum, and raising a finger to her lips. The cleric followed the elder woman's line of sight to where her brother was sprawled on the ground, laughing softly as a young fox sniffed and licked and bounced around him. A more mature fox, likely the mother, was sitting at a distance, watching, but not protesting the play.

"What in all the realms," Vierna breathed. "Those are not tame creatures!"

"No. They do not bother my coop, but that's because Aumry," her voice hitched slightly, "made a point of setting game entrails in a specific spot, a habit I've asked my grounds-keeper to maintain. They've known for years to go there for plenty of food.

"But they are not tame, and yet the kit has been playing with your brother's hair and fingers for several minutes."

Vierna nodded. She was so very glad she had been able to give insights to the curse present on the body, so that Syluné might yet find a way to have her love returned to her.

Having two people watching must have made an impression, but neither woman was sure if it was Drizzt or the foxes that had noticed it. Drizzt sat up, slowly, and the pair of foxes melted off into the twilight.

"You made a friend," Vierna said, once they had vanished, coming out fully into the garden, smiling at the radiant peace on Drizzt's face.

"I did!" He grinned, then bounced fully up to come hug her in an exuberance of emotions. "The sunset was so beautiful! Also, Thyl said Lin needed him, and he didn't know how long until he'd be able to return to you."

"Lin is his twin, a brother born at the same time as he was," Syluné said, coming to take a seat in one of the chairs around the table kept there. The other two joined her, and she focused on Drizzt. "You have a magical artifact, Laeral said, one with a mingling of void and astral energies.

"Are you willing to have me look at it and see what I can learn? I know she was too tired after aiding you."

Drizzt considered, then slowly removed the figure from his pouch, setting it on the table but not yet relinquishing it. "Father said he banished a planar creature that looked like the statue, but so very big. It was in the spoils he'd taken off the hunters that tried to stop him from escaping the House being destroyed.

"Along with other magic components; we used most of those to trade with, but this? It felt good to me, made me… I don't know. I could calm and center if I held it, even when I saw drow being very drow."

Almost twenty years in his father's keeping, and he still felt so much discomfort at what Zaknafein found pragmatic. Drizzt was more relieved than he had wanted to admit that his father had found a different way for him to explore living free.

He made himself meet Syluné's eyes, decided that yes, he did trust her enough for this, and pushed the figure to her. Vierna took one of his hands to help him stay calm, as the arch-mage studied the magical artifact.

"One moment, while I confer with an older expert," Syluné eventually said.

A few minutes later, a wizened man with a pipe emitting blue smoke and a crooked wizard's cap teleported to the spot within the wards used by the extensive family, striding over with a swiftness that belied his elderly appearance.

"You found the legendary Guenhwyvar?! By the stars, what a lucky man you must be," the wizard exclaimed, looking directly at Drizzt.

"My father found the figure, saer, and gave it to me for keeping," Drizzt said politely, even as his chest felt tight. A legendary thing? Surely they would take it from him now.

"You heard the name? Can you repeat it?" Syluné asked, as she slid the statuette back to him, making Drizzt's eyes widen, betraying his worst thoughts of them.

"I believe so."

"Guenhwyvar," the wizard said slowly. "You'll want to move to the clearing there; legend said she was nearly twice the size of a material plane panther."

Vierna watched her brother do just that, while the wizard took the vacated seat.

"Cleric Vierna, I take it? Good to meet you."

"You must be Elminster; I've heard stories," she told him, but her eyes never left her brother.

Drizzt was centering himself, and decided to sit on the ground, uncertain what size a normal panther would be. He left both hands on the figure, intently pushing his thoughts of being friends even as he said the unfamiliar name.

"Guenhwyvar, please come here," Drizzt said, unaware of how that courtesy word only elevated him further in the eyes of the two humans. A black mist formed from the warm statuette, and then… then there was the most magnificent cat, not a fleck of color in her fur but the deepest, truest black, and intelligent golden eyes that stared intently, weighing Drizzt to his bare soul.

"The figure remains, she did come… this is indeed Anders Beltgarden's masterwork, accidental as she was," Elminster murmured.

Drizzt heard none of the discussion at the table, his eyes fixed on the cat's for several heartbeats. Then, rising up only to his knees, he reached one hand out to her, transfixed by the hope he felt beating at him from the cat's own spirit.

"We are both of us free, here above, and can be friends, if you wish it," Drizzt said softly.

That brought Guenhwyvar close, sniffing the hand, before offering her full head for petting. She moved all the way into his space, and he devoted himself to finding all the itchy spots, to stroking that sleek fur, silently promising her that he was going to make sure she never regretted trusting him.

"I think they are both content?" Vierna said, awestruck by the massive predator and her slender brother bonding at a level that looked almost divine.

"I think that touch of wild in your brother may be opening them to a lifelong bond," Syluné said, catching whispers of a Weave around the pair. What was this boy that one goddess had thought to use him as a catspaw, and now he was invoking ranger gifts without any patron of his own?

Jarlaxle sighed loudly, feet up on the edge of Zaknafein's desk, but it was all for show. He'd known, ever since Drizzt had been in his keeping, that he would not have Zak's swords and skills forever.

"You'll keep the sending stone?"

"Of course. Will do my damnedest to make friends with a wizard that can get me places swiftly even," Zak told him.

"But your son — and your daughter! — are elsewhere, and you have more than repaid my investment."

"I still say you were still on the minus side in my ledger," Zak drawled, before they both started laughing.

"Alright, alright… but you're staying with me while I am here for this visit." Jarlaxle's one visible eye glinted, and he watched Zak's features take on that lustful danger he so loved.

"Might not get any work done," Zak rumbled, standing from his chair. That was the only invitation needed for more private activities.

Thyl himself came for Zaknafein, and made certain to teleport them when it was full night in Spirit Sanctuary. Vierna came to key the wards to allow her father inside.

"Drizzt is away with a teacher, but will return soon," Vierna told him, showing off the village on a tour that let everyone get a glimpse of the legend that had trained her and 'their ranger', as Drizzt was affectionately called. "He found a calling, and spends most of the warm months away from here now."

"I'd swear it's only been two years since I gave him to your care," Zak said gruffly.

"So it has been, but he's always in good hands when he leaves us," Vierna assured. "Drizzt is thriving in his chosen path, has this place as home, and a need to explore that we cannot — will not — hamper."

"If he's not with the ranger that is trusted to know this place exists," Thyl interjected, "he's with my aunt, who is also a ranger. Or her husband, another one."

"Hmph." Zak sighed, then shook his head. "So, tell me all about what I need to know, to make a place for myself here, and what my dancer has been up to on this path he's chosen."

"Gladly, father."

Rafi leaned against the rock, Zak not far from him, both of them watching as the siblings sparred with smiles on their faces.

"I thought life was pretty perfect to find Vierna, with all of her skills and drive, so that we could make a place safe for us out of the Underdark," Rafi murmured. "But then she brought her little brother here, and he's sparked so many smiles and laughter, helping even our most vulnerable ones move forward with hope just by being who he is.

"And we owe both of them existing to you, Zaknafein. You're damned amazing, to have survived so long, but you also are the reason they are as they are."

Zaknafein looked over at the other man, one he was settling into a true friendship with. "I might take credit for her… I tried to influence her as much as I could. But that faerie-souled boy is something else altogether," he said with a half-smile.

Rafi had to laugh; Drizzt was still strange, even here, but the strangeness made him more a part of them all, instead of less.

"I suppose that's fair. House Do'Urden lives… in three unusual drow that shredded the webs around them."

Zak's eyes gleamed, considering that a fine revenge on Malice for her unwillingness to change, even a little. "A fitting fate."

jazzfish

I want to be reading What We Are Seeking (Cameron Reed's new book). It is extremely brain-intensive, though. After a week of gaming and not-sleeping-super-well on a hotel pillow, I am just not there.

Midway, aka Not O'Hare, is a perfectly decent little airport. I seem to be the only person I know without at least one O'Hare horror story, but then it's been over a decade since I've gone through there. Regardless, Midway's probably nicer. Also it seems that all airport wifi now has "watch a thirty-second ad before we let you connect," which both irritates me and makes me a little sad. And the glory of the world is less than it once was.

My iPad's charging port is dead yet again. The Enter key on my keyboard is failing to register sometimes. Bah, technology.

I'm in Midway for another couple of hours and then I fly to Minneapolis for a week. And on Friday I have an interview for a "document analyst" position, which sounds like "tech writer with extra steps." The interview is in-person, which I wasn't expecting; I'm just glad it's coming at a halfway convenient time. Sometime this week I shall have to go out and acquire Interview Clothes. This is less annoying than it might be since I don't actually own much in the way of Interview Clothes, at least not that fit.

I'm trying not to think too much about the interview. Not til I'm someplace where I can relax a bit more, anyway. It's with the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council, so it's an In to Local Government which is where I'd like to be. Per the job description it's got some GIS-esque stuff going on; and by my back-of-envelope calculations it pays enough to live on and save a bit. It would be nice, I think. It would certainly be nice to have one of my two Big Immediate Problems solved.

My fingers have been vaguely itchy for the viola the last several days. This is... it's new. I'm enjoying it. I left my violin at Steph's last time so I'll have some outlet / ability to practise, at least, and I've got a flashcard app so I can see how many tunes I can actually remember.

I wish I'd realised sooner how... how good musicking is for me? How it's something that can actually call to me? Something like that. I'm honestly a bit startled that anything does, let alone music. I'd just sort of assumed that Feeling Drawn To A Thing was yet another thing about me that doesn't work like everyone else.

And I don't know how I could have possibly gotten here, not just from where I was but from any plausible diversion from that. If my folks had let me take bass instead of cello, like I wanted to, I'd probably wind up playing bass guitar, which would be pretty cool but not really the same. If one of my early cello teachers had offered something outside of Standard Classical Repertoire... I might have gone somewhere with that? I really don't know. Water under the bridge, regardless. I wish I'd gotten to "here" sooner; I'm pretty happy with where I've gotten to.

Ann C--, a violinist who shared a teacher with me for several years in Fayetteville, pinged me last month to let me know that our teacher had died. I'd been vaguely intending to reach out to Dr Boyce and let her know that I'd picked up viola, but never got around to it. Every so often I try to look up Ms West née Wiley, the bassist/cellist that Dr Boyce handed me off to once I'd gotten past her level of expertise on cello, and I never manage to find anything on her. Tegen, my pre-plague viola teacher, has gotten married, moved down south, and started cranking out babies, Jesus aphorisms, and MLM crap, which is disappointing but not surprising. Musicians: just as human as everyone else. (Ann, incidentally, is also Jesusy, but she appears to at least be the kind of Jesusy that's appalled by the current mask-off Republican party.)

No real resolution to this, which seems fitting for something written in a liminal space. I think I shall go and try to find some tea, and sit and think and zone out for awhile.

My centre is collapsing,
my right is in retreat.
Impossible to manoeuvre.
Situation excellent.
I am attacking.

--Marshal Ferdinand Foch, First Battle of the Marne

creepy_shetan posting in

comment_fic

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Hey there! Hope your weekend is going well! It's that time in the week when we give Lonely Prompts special care and attention. ^_^ If this is your first time at

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How to link:
[a href="http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/449155.html?thread=70682755#t70682755">MCU, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, She's wearing daisy dukes and one of his button-down shirts.[/a]
(change the brackets to "<" and ">" respectively)
or:
http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/139897.html?thread=30155641#t30155641
Burn Notice, Sam/Michael/Fi, "It's always been you. And it's always gonna be you."

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stonepicnicking_okapi

A is for Agatha Chrstie.
B is for Belladonna.

Here's a fun anecdote from A is for Arsenic: The poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Markup.

In 1977, a Frenchman added eyedrop solution (atropine, the dominant toxic compound in belladonna) to a bottle of wine and gave it to his uncle intending to kill a friend of his uncle's. The intended victim didn't drink the wine, but the uncle and aunt did, much later. Uncle died, aunt in coma. No foul play suspected until a carpenter and the uncle's son-in-law stop by the house to put uncle's body in the coffin and drank some wine (like you do) and ended up going to hospital.

Here's where it gets eye-rolling...police found a copy of Agatha Christie's Thirteen Problems where Miss Marple solves a case of eyedrop solution as poison...and the relevant sections were underlined.

Hey, kids, make sure you tidy up your research when you're trying to top somebody...hmmm?

rewindedcassette posting in

everythingisfemslashex

Sign-ups are closed! We have 4 unmatchables, so check your e-mail if your AO3 username starts with B, C, R or V. Please reply in the next 24 hours, or I'll have to delete your sign-up.

Assignments should be out tomorrow. :)

mxcatmoon

Title: Time and Tide
Fandom: Miami Vice
Author: Cat Moon
Rating: PG-13
Words: 1571
Characters: Sonny, Rico (implied S/R)
Summary: Two ex-partners meet by chance in an airport. The water under the bridge is running swiftly, and the rapids threaten to drown them as the past won’t let them go. The road not chosen is the hardest one for Sonny to face.
Warnings: as posted to AO3: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with No Happy Ending, Future Fic, Denial of Feelings, Depression, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Tissue Warning. And Major Character Death.
Notes: There were some hints in the show that Sonny might have been considering leaving the police force to try to make his marriage to Caitlin work. This is that what-if. It's not a happy fic. Look, I'm normally a happy-ending junkie, but sometimes I just gotta get things out. Heed the tissue warning (as well as the others). This one *hurts*.

( Time and Tide )

Current Mood: crushed

malymin

to make just old games ignore scaling: right click on the exe > properties > compatibility > adjust high dpi settings

check "override high dpi scaling behavior" and select application from the drop down

it will run pixel perfect, be warned this makes the game tiny on high resolutions

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Clarisse McClellan's Daughter

Network

Music for and from Dreamwidth

Yellowstone Battle!!

i have to do all the pots and pans

Yellowstone Battle!!

It's Three Weeks For Dreamwidth!

Cannot figure out if I'm being scammed by this drag show

K-Pop multivoice podfics

Recc Songs for Points

Sound Meme

Poet's Corner: There Will Come Soft Rains by Sara Teasdale

Greece 2026

fritzy forearms

Ship Sunday: JayVik

Chapters 3 & 4 of Notes of Desperation

liminal

Lonely Prompts Sunday, Week 17 [DW Edition]

3Weeks4Dreamwidth: B is for Belladonna

Unmatchables

MV fic: Time and Tide (angst-heavy)

Note to self for running Windows 98, XP games at pixel perfect resolutions

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