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fan_flashworks I posted a little fic! It will go on AO3 later, but for now you can read it there.
The round's theme is anticipation. I think there's probably half a day left to post in this round if you are suddenly keen.
Title: waiting for someone else
Fandom: Ponies (TV 2026)
Rating: Mature
Length: 1031
Content notes: n/a
Author notes: I guess this is loosely about anticipating, in that it is about waiting? Anyway, my first fan_flashworks entry! And also the only fic I have ever written for this fandom. Is it the only fic I ever will write? Unclear
Summary: Ivanna and Twila understand each other, but they both know Twila would rather be with someone else. A specific someone else.
Read it at the community!
fan_flashworks I posted a little fic! It will go on AO3 later, but for now you can read it there.The round's theme is anticipation. I think there's probably half a day left to post in this round if you are suddenly keen.
Title: waiting for someone else
Fandom: Ponies (TV 2026)
Rating: Mature
Length: 1031
Content notes: n/a
Author notes: I guess this is loosely about anticipating, in that it is about waiting? Anyway, my first fan_flashworks entry! And also the only fic I have ever written for this fandom. Is it the only fic I ever will write? Unclear
Summary: Ivanna and Twila understand each other, but they both know Twila would rather be with someone else. A specific someone else.
Read it at the community!
Stockpile, by adrestia_of_the_long_night (G)
9 March 2026 11:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
goddess47 posting in stargateficrecShow: SG-1, SGA
Rec Category: Jack O'Neill
Characters:Pairings: Jack O'Neill/Daniel Jackson
Categories: slash, post series, O'Neill and Sheppard are large and in charge
Warnings: none
Word Count: 6,741
Author on DW: none found
Author's Website: AO3 Profile
Link: Stockpile
Author's Summary:
Stockpile. Stockpiling is what occurs when a military force is left to their own devices without follow-on orders or guidance.
Atlantis Military personnel have been left alone onboard the city as they sit in the San Francisco Bay awaiting for guidance from the SGC and IOA about what their next steps will be. But when military members are left to their own devices without any of the civilians there to stop them they do as any military member would do while trapped in port. They start ordering supplies and making contingency plans.
Why This Must Be Read:
I'm a sucker for 'stealing Atlantis and going back to Pegasus' and this is right on the nose.
To be honest, this is largely an SGA story but Jack O'Neill is a primary player in this plot, and I'm glad to be able to share this fun story with you.
This is one of 12 stories in a collection titled "Stargate Downfall of Earth Various AUs" but they are all independent, so you can try just one to see if you'd like to try more.
( snippet of fic )
Rec Category: Jack O'Neill
Characters:Pairings: Jack O'Neill/Daniel Jackson
Categories: slash, post series, O'Neill and Sheppard are large and in charge
Warnings: none
Word Count: 6,741
Author on DW: none found
Author's Website: AO3 Profile
Link: Stockpile
Author's Summary:
Stockpile. Stockpiling is what occurs when a military force is left to their own devices without follow-on orders or guidance.
Atlantis Military personnel have been left alone onboard the city as they sit in the San Francisco Bay awaiting for guidance from the SGC and IOA about what their next steps will be. But when military members are left to their own devices without any of the civilians there to stop them they do as any military member would do while trapped in port. They start ordering supplies and making contingency plans.
Why This Must Be Read:
I'm a sucker for 'stealing Atlantis and going back to Pegasus' and this is right on the nose.
To be honest, this is largely an SGA story but Jack O'Neill is a primary player in this plot, and I'm glad to be able to share this fun story with you.
This is one of 12 stories in a collection titled "Stargate Downfall of Earth Various AUs" but they are all independent, so you can try just one to see if you'd like to try more.
( snippet of fic )
1. I walked up to Whole Foods tonight and dropped off my Amazon return and got an email saying the money was credited back to my account while I was on the walk home.
2. I did two store visits in Orange County today and Carla came with me and went shopping (one of the stores is right next to a Book Off) while I worked, so we could just go straight to Disneyland on the way home. We haven't been doing midweek trips as much this year, but a friend of hers is in town for work and this was the best time to meet up. (But since the Food and Wine Festival just started, there's a ton of new menu items to try, so it works out in that regard as well.)
3. Tomorrow I am just doing a store visit at the store near home and then WFH in the afternoon for meetings, so no long drives, which will be nice (especially with gas prices as they are, though I do get reimbursed for the store visits).
4. The weather was about 15 degrees cooler today than yesterday at home and around 20 degrees cooler down in OC. Much nicer than yesterday!
5. Molly has been really into the old cardboard cat house lately for some reason.
2. I did two store visits in Orange County today and Carla came with me and went shopping (one of the stores is right next to a Book Off) while I worked, so we could just go straight to Disneyland on the way home. We haven't been doing midweek trips as much this year, but a friend of hers is in town for work and this was the best time to meet up. (But since the Food and Wine Festival just started, there's a ton of new menu items to try, so it works out in that regard as well.)
3. Tomorrow I am just doing a store visit at the store near home and then WFH in the afternoon for meetings, so no long drives, which will be nice (especially with gas prices as they are, though I do get reimbursed for the store visits).
4. The weather was about 15 degrees cooler today than yesterday at home and around 20 degrees cooler down in OC. Much nicer than yesterday!
5. Molly has been really into the old cardboard cat house lately for some reason.
Finally started some seeds this past weekend! A little later than I intended, but given that last year I started them a whole 2 months sooner than I ought to have, I'll take it as a win. More seeds than I had realized need to be stratified first, so those are now chilling in the fridge and I'll get them in pots next month instead.
I'm hoping this week it'll be warm enough out that I can get some compost into the garden so it's all prepped when plants are ready to go in. We've already had crocuses and daffodils up for a few weeks, but we also had a frost this morning, so it's still a little early for most things. Unpredictable March! I've got big plans for some of the space this year, but we'll see how much I actually manage to get done. So far I'm mostly working on clearing out the cabinets so I have space for harvests later in the season. I made some tincture blends on Saturday to consolidate some jars, and used up some oils for salve yesterday. I'll have to spend a lot of time over the next couple of months drinking tea to work through my stash of dried herbs. There are worse fates!
The community garden has gotten started too, and I spent some time there today weeding and clearing out dead plants. I took an extra parsley and some stray borage home with me. I've never gotten borage to take in my garden, but I've tried putting it in a different location this time and maybe it'll settle in.
I'm hoping this week it'll be warm enough out that I can get some compost into the garden so it's all prepped when plants are ready to go in. We've already had crocuses and daffodils up for a few weeks, but we also had a frost this morning, so it's still a little early for most things. Unpredictable March! I've got big plans for some of the space this year, but we'll see how much I actually manage to get done. So far I'm mostly working on clearing out the cabinets so I have space for harvests later in the season. I made some tincture blends on Saturday to consolidate some jars, and used up some oils for salve yesterday. I'll have to spend a lot of time over the next couple of months drinking tea to work through my stash of dried herbs. There are worse fates!
The community garden has gotten started too, and I spent some time there today weeding and clearing out dead plants. I took an extra parsley and some stray borage home with me. I've never gotten borage to take in my garden, but I've tried putting it in a different location this time and maybe it'll settle in.
We went down to DCA again today for dinner to meet up with a friend of Carla's who's in town for work but also spending all his downtime at Disneyland.
Since we'd just been to the park a couple days ago and also had had kind of a long day today before getting to the park, we didn't really do much other than have dinner and chat, and then walk around the park and chat, but it was a nice visit.
( Read more... )
Since we'd just been to the park a couple days ago and also had had kind of a long day today before getting to the park, we didn't really do much other than have dinner and chat, and then walk around the park and chat, but it was a nice visit.
( Read more... )
Conversion therapy mandated for trans inmates in federal prisons
9 March 2026 09:42 pmpetra posting in thisfinecrewA friend let me know about a new Bureau of Prisons guideline for treatment of inmates with gender dysphoria, which you can read in its entirety here. The short form is that they're denying trans inmates gender-affirming care despite medical consensus, and substituting conversion therapy, which has been proven to be harmful and does not in any way "cure" gender dysphoria.
( My friend's letter, posted with permission )
( My friend's letter, posted with permission )
Canada Roles Awards seeks to celebrate the games and art created by the Canadian tabletop Roleplaying Game Industry.
2026 Canada Roles Awards
AO3 Link | Divining Destiny (11814 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 5/5
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, Cross-Posted from Archive Of Our Own (AO3), Time Travel
Summary:
Eilistraee rested in the meadow, laying on Her back, listening to the night and Her sparring partner as he got his own breathing back under control. She almost wished to keep him here, to have his company where it was safer for Her to exist, but he was mortal, and deserved a chance to truly live free.
"Father manipulated time in setting you back to save the Lore Keeper," She admitted, once She was cooler and he seemed calm.
"I decided that had to have happened given His surety in the circumstances. I know it is one avenue of magic, considered among the riskiest."
"It's only a few decades, but time has to resettle… and I mean to offer you a chance to be part of that resettling, Drizzt." Eilistraee let Her fingertips touch his. "Like it or not, when She touched your life string at birth, with My Brother touching your sister's so young, it has put you closer to Destiny than many mortals can bear.
"Would you like to use that to protect other drow like you, to be there for My Chosen as a protector?"
Drizzt considered, letting the night sounds take over around them, and then turned his head to look at Her. "I would be with ones like me, to keep learning, and helping them survive in a world that fears and hates us?
"I can do this, as it will let me continue forming as who I wish to be in something closer to safety rather than wandering with only Guen."
"And possibly Szann from time to time," She said, eyes dancing with the mirth of how besotted the cath sidhe was with Her young friend. He did not pray to her; he prayed to none, so far. But She continued to hope that in time he would be willing to ask boons of Her, to further his ability to help others.
"I think I can handle having visits from a fey cat," he agreed to that, smiling brightly. "Yes, Eilistraee. Choose the point for me, and let me go be of aid to others. I have seen enough here to believe that You do truly mean nothing but aid to those like me."
Despite that most of Her fellow deities would be stung by the continued doubting and measuring against a mortal's — a child at best! — ideas of right and wrong, Eilistraee was touched by being allowed that much belief from him.
"I have those calling to Me," She said as She reluctantly stood. "But I will see to it soon, Drizzt. Enjoy the night."
"I shall."
The small group of drow that traveled at present with Qilué Veladorn were some of her most adept, fiercest priestesses and fighters. An impression of being watched ghosted over their senses for several nights, but in a world that would rather see them dead, that was not so unusual.
What was, just after the sun had cleared the horizon and they were considering rest, was the appearance of a lone drow male.
Inside their sentry line.
That he was not close enough to harm a single person was the only saving grace in their eyes, as a full alert went through all of them.
"Peace," the lone male said, using the variant of that word they had made for themselves in their language that knew it not at all. "I seek the First Sister, to offer my arms and service for a time."
"What makes you think you have the right?"
"I claim no right," he said back to the one who had spoken, one of the priestesses. "But I have skills I am willing to offer… and showed by evading your sentries. I have a willingness to learn more, as I have only learned the elven language, and I am told there is one called 'Common' I should know.
"Most of all, I wish to learn the surface as it calls to me in my heart, as the Dark Maiden calls to you."
"Is he touched by madness?" one of the fighters asked then, before the First Sister rose from her pallet, towering over all of those with her, and came forward.
"No. He is touched by our Lady Herself… and another?" As she spoke, she approached the male with no fear.
He inclined his head slightly to her. "A deal was made to remove me from the Underdark, between She and Her Twin. In divining why neither of Them could truly perceive me, She invited Her Father to look into matters.
"So I no doubt bear at least some of His touch, given my armor, pack, and weapons were gifts from Him to perform a task with."
"Truth," the first cleric said, both grudgingly and with some trepidation. Even though the First Sister regularly dealt with Eilistraee, and some human goddess, none of them knew of one who had been touched by an elven god not their Lady.
"So I know," the First Sister said, smiling as she came close enough to offer her hands in greeting. "You have given my Lady joy; welcome, cousin."
"Drizzt Do'Urden." He gave her his hands, squeezing hers without fear.
"Qilué Veladorn. I look forward to seeing your dance, and my hunters will aid you in learning the surface as it is here in the Material Plane."
"I am glad to be able to give aid for a good cause," he assured her, before walking with her into the camp to meet those present in this band.
Elkantar cheered young Rylla on from where he was sprawled on the ground. The half-human was possibly the only one of the fighters that would, someday, match their new fighter in any way. He rolled to his butt, keeping eyes on this grand melee… and the one that had become the center of it all.
Drizzt Do'Urden was an enigma. He'd spent an unknown amount of time in the Dark Maiden's realm, personally handled a quest for Corellon, been shrouded by Lolth Herself at his birth, and been raised by a priestess of Vhaeraun.
None of those deities held the fighter's heart, and Elkantar had been surprised to learn his escape from the Underdark had come before he even turned thirty-one years of age, making his skill simply impossible. That he embraced these free-for-all skill contests, or the one-on-one spars with a true smile of joy never stopped pulling Elkantar's heart strings.
Every other fighter in their band had already lost their weapons or been tripped out of the designated area. Elkantar slowly recognized that Drizzt had worked to insure Rylla was the last fighter, handling the few fighters — like Elkantar himself — that had the experience and skill needed to put her out of it.
"Too much anger," he heard Drizzt say, when the double scimitars trapped the short sword, pulling it out of Rylla's grasp. She refocused her stance a moment, then took the step back, and saluted with her dagger across her chest to surrender.
"How can I not be angry?" she retorted.
"By remembering that holding your anger at the people behind you? Still gives them power."
Those calm, quiet words held empathy and knowing alike… and were just what Rylla needed to hear, to help move one more step forward on her own path of healing.
"Make me better," Rylla said, half a demand, half a plea.
"I will give you every bit of training my father gave me… though maybe with fewer unexpected naps."
Corellon considered the actions of His Daughter, and ultimately decided He was amused. He had, after all, opened the door with His own manipulation. Giving the Chosen a man who had the technique, if not the experience, to increase her people's ability to carve out a space for themselves even earlier could only be a good foil against the drow of both Lolth and Vhaeraun.
He tried to see ahead, to make out the possibilities more clearly… and found the mists of time past the point when Drizzt had originally been taken from the Underdark still opaque.
"At least none of Us should be bored for a time," He mused, going back to listen to His own followers for a time. His Lore Keeper was being a force of nature in his own way, keeping new ideas fresh alongside the ancient ways. It might prove interesting, when the drow struck out on his own, to see about a meeting for them…
Dinin had proven to have a good hand for how to keep their outpost incognito, on top of the politics of the moment, and out of strife with either Vhaeraunite faction. It helped that both of those groups wanted to end each other's influence, but were constrained by some strange religious tenet from just killing one another.
At least openly, as Dinin learned when a priest was murdered in the night market, supposedly by ruffians.
What he did not appreciate was having to be schooled by Jarlaxle's people on a third drow vector, a bunch of idiots that thought peace and living in harmony was the better way of life. He decided they could be ignored as they only came once a quarter to trade —
— until he heard that a band of six drow from the mercantile company faction had been sent running with minor injuries… and none of their weapons.
"I thought they weren't a threat," Dinin muttered.
Karolz shook his head, a much older fighter, one that had been recruited in this city long before. He hated leading, didn't have a head for it, but had accepted Dinin in that role.
"Those Dancers usually avoid a fight. But once every hand of years or so, some braggart decides to test either their Sword Mistress, or Purple Eyes. And this time, it's Purple Eyes with the caravan."
Purple Eyes. Dinin made a gesture against ill-luck, still remembering the one time he'd seen his younger brother in a true temper. He had no idea what had happened to Drizzt, only that whatever it had been had not broken the peace between Zaknafein and Vierna. Dinin knew that meant Drizzt had not been killed; he wasn't as stupid as some people thought he was, and Zak had been odd about the boy.
"Make sure none of ours pick a fight, or cross paths with the mercantiles, hmm? They're going to be more apt to rise to the bait for this."
That got a chuckle and nod… before Karolz watched Dinin secure his cloak over his armor and head out to see for himself.
Dinin found the Dancers easily enough, and decided they looked very tame. He didn't see anyone that really looked like they could give him trouble in a fight, but he also didn't see anyone with purple eyes. Maybe Karolz was wrong and one of the women wearing a sword was this so-called Sword Mistress.
He decided it had been a waste of time to come down and see, turned down a different path to begin his way back —
— and then he did see purple, a moment before he saw all of his brother. The small signs of maturity were settled in around the eyes and ears, while Drizzt stood straight with those curved swords of his still in their scabbards. Fine mithral chain glinted under the over tunic, and a metal face-guard held the mane of hair back, in the same fashion Zaknafein wore his.
"Hello, brother," Drizzt said, actually quirking a half-smile on his lips. "I never expected to see you this far from the city."
"Umm, you… Abyss, I never thought to see you again at all!" Dinin said. "I don't want a fight; I came to see if the rumor of Purple Eyes had anything to do with you, yes, but… I really am just evaluating the threats to my own situation."
Drizzt laughed. "You must be the new one watching Bregan D'Aerthe, then. I'd heard there were several new people since my last visit here." He must have read the confusion in Dinin's face, because he shrugged. "I got caught up in time magic. I've lived in the area above for a few decades now.
"Will you tell me of our sister, and the Weapon Master?"
Dinin nodded. "Trust me enough to come back to the warehouse we keep? Or should we take a meal at the Dimmed Lantern?"
"I won't go so far as to say trust," Drizzt said slyly, "but I prefer to be out of the public eye to discuss this, and I am well known at the Dimmed Lantern."
"Does everyone call you Purple Eyes?"
"Mostly," Drizzt agreed. He fell in step with Dinin, and Dinin noted his brother already knew the path. What had his experiences been that Drizzt actually seemed cognizant of power structures? Did he really want to know?
Ultimately, Dinin decided he did not.
Drizzt relaxed in the deep tub across from the one Laeral Silverhand was in. As the Silverhand that most paid attention to the treacheries in Skullport, Drizzt had come to her to talk about what he had learned this time. Their friendship went back almost to the beginning of his time above with Qilué, as the sisters were very close.
"So my elder brother manages the in-theory Lolthite faction over there. Honestly, the mercenary company he belongs to worships chaos, money, and power, I believe, from what I have seen of them in the past. Through him, I know that our House in Menzoberranzan fell within the last few years.
"But, through his own sources, he knows that my father and sister have established themselves in a a place called Rilauven."
"As best I can remember, that is a minor city somewhere under the Neverwinter," Laeral offered, lounging as nonchalantly as her friend. Dual tubs were almost as good as a large bathing pool.
"I planned to see what the Marauders could tell me of it," Drizzt said, his voice having that note of seeking adventure.
"Planning to go see for yourself? I remind you that your nature is antithetical in all ways to what you would find."
Drizzt chuckled. "I can charm a lizard or a bat to carry a note inside, if I choose to go that way. And your amulet very nicely masks me, when I choose to wear it."
Laeral looked over. "You miss your father, even your sister, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Then I will just say, 'be careful', and I will definitely reach out and knock on your skull in half a year, to be sure you are breathing. If not, the Marauders will be hired to find your body so Qi can bring you back to us."
He shook his head at her, but he had no intention of dying. He just needed to know if his sister was as aware as he was, of the threads of destiny they had unknowingly wrapped themselves in.
Vierna was not unaccustomed to bats bringing her messages. What she was unaccustomed to, was not feeling the touch of her Lord's spellwork on them, instead brushing something unknown when she tried to determine who the sender had been. She also did not see any message to take from it. When she focused fully on it, the bat fluttered just out of reach and roosted.
"If you or father would come, I am awaiting outside the gate your people use to go Above for trade."
The bat, having spoken with her brother's voice, did a small shake of itself and fluttered back out of Vierna's very surprised presence.
Needing to have time to wrap her head around that, the ability to blank her emotions, she sent her messenger spider to her father. The pirate spiders she had brought with her were thriving, especially as they killed any other spiders that dared cross the wards, protecting them from Lolthite spies.
Several minutes later, Zak strode in, an eyebrow raised. "Sometimes I worry your spiders fetching me could be omens, daughter."
She laughed, a little bit more brittle than she meant to. "Something odd, but not… bad? Maybe?
"A bat came and delivered a spoken message in Drizzt's voice, saying he was outside the trade gate to the Surface, asking if one of us would come meet with him. The magic on the bat was unlike any I have felt, and the accent was correct."
Zak frowned, then considered a long moment. "Are you still unable — yes, you are. Of course you already tried to reach him that way." He hitched a shoulder. "I suppose I am taking a walk. Put the undead into defensive positions, just in case."
"Of course, Father. If it is… and he will come… please bring him in. I can explain it as an intelligence seeking."
That got a laugh, but Zak nodded. "If that boy knows anything of use, I will be shocked."
Zak moved out of the gate uncontested, as he was known to sometimes forage for his daughter's wild needs. In the years since arriving here, they had made a solid reputation as fair but powerful. The only true trouble they'd had was from Lolthites seeking to undo the Masked Traitor's prominence, but Vierna remained high in the favor of her Lord.
Once he cleared the perimeter of the city's awareness, he knew he was not alone, and had to look sharply… before his son melted out of a shadow.
"Hello, Father," Drizzt called, breaking into a genuine smile. Even as jaded as Zak was, everything matched… except the age. This man was too mature to his eyes, and he remained poised, ready to engage the trap so his daughter stayed safe.
"Hmm, not so certain of that."
Drizzt threw his head back and laughed, before spreading his hands wide from his body. "Blame your daughter, then, as she put me in the hands of a goddess and set me on a strange path that had time magic in it."
Zak let an eyebrow rise at those words.
"Would a fetch know you nearly killed me rather than let me go become a drow in all truth? Or that you broke my jaw to keep me from exposing both of us to the Matron? Or that I almost caused your death the very night Vierna became Matron?"
"It might… but I think I might believe you." Zak beckoned. "Your sister wishes to see you as well, peacefully. The city is not a closed one, and if you're still so strange, she'll shove it off as getting what you know of other places."
"Oh, I am strange, even to those that agree with my views on life," Drizzt said, still smiling so openly, and Zak reached out as he came close, gripping his shoulders.
"I am glad you stayed strange, and alive!"
Drizzt leaned in, resting his forehead on his father's. "Vierna saved me by doing as she did, and now I wish to repay that, with a warning and words of my life."
"Then let us go into the city, my son, and hear what you have to say."
Vierna hugged her little brother fiercely, taking in all the changes as Zak had done. He was dressed sensibly in a piwafwi of fair construction, had adamantine blades in plain scabbards, and everything had the right feel of the Underdark.
"You cannot possibly have been in the Underdark since I set you in safety!" she pointed out.
"No, but we keep such things for movement below the faerzress," Drizzt said. "As I do aid sometimes, I had everything I needed in one of our caches.
"When Dinin told me where you two had gone, I retrieved them for my journey. One that is formerly of House Vaer here aided me in swift travel," he added.
"Dinin's in Skullport, last I knew," Zak said.
"He is, and thriving," Drizzt agreed. "We have an understanding, as I have no wish to be involved heavily in drow things."
"You mentioned a warning," Zak prodded, once they were all comfortable.
Drizzt sobered up and looked at Vierna. "Do you have any idea how tangled in divine events we now are, sister? The choice you made, to save me, prodded the Twins toward aid for one another, when He was attacked. I have been given quests by Her and by others of the pantheon in my time-tossed decades."
She slowly frowned, but his words rang true against some of the dreams that had come since she settled here.
"I can see the shape of that now that you say it," she admitted. "Your thoughts?"
"Something lies ahead. Neither of my patron deities know what, but more and more, I am drawn to larger threats, sharpening all of my skills and the magic I touch as a kind of divine-touched fighter."
Vierna had to rake her eyes over him at that claim, but… she did not know all things of the surface yet.
"Both of my children using divine magic now. There's a strangeness," Zak said in a slow drawl.
That made them all laugh.
"I suppose, little brother, I am going to ask you to stay long enough to get sending stones for you and father to carry, and work out a timing for us to keep in touch," Vierna said. "So we can at least warn one another of things that come to pass."
"I am already looking forward to the spars," Drizzt said, agreeing easily. "Just tell me how to not make trouble here, and I will be a good guest.
"I've kept an open mind toward your god, even if I question some of His idiot followers' ways."
"Well, some of them are idiots, but I think that is true of all religions," Vierna agreed, pleased.
Vhaeraun smiled in His own realm. Allies, when the coming storm arrived, were not to be dismissed out of hand. And, if the siblings forged a bond across alignment, then perhaps…
… well, He knew He was still deeply fond of His own Twin. Perhaps in time, He might yet convince Her to see His way of thinking.
He would keep His defenses up, and all of His craft tuned to the danger ahead for all of the gods.
Chapters: 5/5
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, Cross-Posted from Archive Of Our Own (AO3), Time Travel
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.
Chapter 4: Drizzt's Chosen Path
Eilistraee rested in the meadow, laying on Her back, listening to the night and Her sparring partner as he got his own breathing back under control. She almost wished to keep him here, to have his company where it was safer for Her to exist, but he was mortal, and deserved a chance to truly live free.
"Father manipulated time in setting you back to save the Lore Keeper," She admitted, once She was cooler and he seemed calm.
"I decided that had to have happened given His surety in the circumstances. I know it is one avenue of magic, considered among the riskiest."
"It's only a few decades, but time has to resettle… and I mean to offer you a chance to be part of that resettling, Drizzt." Eilistraee let Her fingertips touch his. "Like it or not, when She touched your life string at birth, with My Brother touching your sister's so young, it has put you closer to Destiny than many mortals can bear.
"Would you like to use that to protect other drow like you, to be there for My Chosen as a protector?"
Drizzt considered, letting the night sounds take over around them, and then turned his head to look at Her. "I would be with ones like me, to keep learning, and helping them survive in a world that fears and hates us?
"I can do this, as it will let me continue forming as who I wish to be in something closer to safety rather than wandering with only Guen."
"And possibly Szann from time to time," She said, eyes dancing with the mirth of how besotted the cath sidhe was with Her young friend. He did not pray to her; he prayed to none, so far. But She continued to hope that in time he would be willing to ask boons of Her, to further his ability to help others.
"I think I can handle having visits from a fey cat," he agreed to that, smiling brightly. "Yes, Eilistraee. Choose the point for me, and let me go be of aid to others. I have seen enough here to believe that You do truly mean nothing but aid to those like me."
Despite that most of Her fellow deities would be stung by the continued doubting and measuring against a mortal's — a child at best! — ideas of right and wrong, Eilistraee was touched by being allowed that much belief from him.
"I have those calling to Me," She said as She reluctantly stood. "But I will see to it soon, Drizzt. Enjoy the night."
"I shall."
The small group of drow that traveled at present with Qilué Veladorn were some of her most adept, fiercest priestesses and fighters. An impression of being watched ghosted over their senses for several nights, but in a world that would rather see them dead, that was not so unusual.
What was, just after the sun had cleared the horizon and they were considering rest, was the appearance of a lone drow male.
Inside their sentry line.
That he was not close enough to harm a single person was the only saving grace in their eyes, as a full alert went through all of them.
"Peace," the lone male said, using the variant of that word they had made for themselves in their language that knew it not at all. "I seek the First Sister, to offer my arms and service for a time."
"What makes you think you have the right?"
"I claim no right," he said back to the one who had spoken, one of the priestesses. "But I have skills I am willing to offer… and showed by evading your sentries. I have a willingness to learn more, as I have only learned the elven language, and I am told there is one called 'Common' I should know.
"Most of all, I wish to learn the surface as it calls to me in my heart, as the Dark Maiden calls to you."
"Is he touched by madness?" one of the fighters asked then, before the First Sister rose from her pallet, towering over all of those with her, and came forward.
"No. He is touched by our Lady Herself… and another?" As she spoke, she approached the male with no fear.
He inclined his head slightly to her. "A deal was made to remove me from the Underdark, between She and Her Twin. In divining why neither of Them could truly perceive me, She invited Her Father to look into matters.
"So I no doubt bear at least some of His touch, given my armor, pack, and weapons were gifts from Him to perform a task with."
"Truth," the first cleric said, both grudgingly and with some trepidation. Even though the First Sister regularly dealt with Eilistraee, and some human goddess, none of them knew of one who had been touched by an elven god not their Lady.
"So I know," the First Sister said, smiling as she came close enough to offer her hands in greeting. "You have given my Lady joy; welcome, cousin."
"Drizzt Do'Urden." He gave her his hands, squeezing hers without fear.
"Qilué Veladorn. I look forward to seeing your dance, and my hunters will aid you in learning the surface as it is here in the Material Plane."
"I am glad to be able to give aid for a good cause," he assured her, before walking with her into the camp to meet those present in this band.
Elkantar cheered young Rylla on from where he was sprawled on the ground. The half-human was possibly the only one of the fighters that would, someday, match their new fighter in any way. He rolled to his butt, keeping eyes on this grand melee… and the one that had become the center of it all.
Drizzt Do'Urden was an enigma. He'd spent an unknown amount of time in the Dark Maiden's realm, personally handled a quest for Corellon, been shrouded by Lolth Herself at his birth, and been raised by a priestess of Vhaeraun.
None of those deities held the fighter's heart, and Elkantar had been surprised to learn his escape from the Underdark had come before he even turned thirty-one years of age, making his skill simply impossible. That he embraced these free-for-all skill contests, or the one-on-one spars with a true smile of joy never stopped pulling Elkantar's heart strings.
Every other fighter in their band had already lost their weapons or been tripped out of the designated area. Elkantar slowly recognized that Drizzt had worked to insure Rylla was the last fighter, handling the few fighters — like Elkantar himself — that had the experience and skill needed to put her out of it.
"Too much anger," he heard Drizzt say, when the double scimitars trapped the short sword, pulling it out of Rylla's grasp. She refocused her stance a moment, then took the step back, and saluted with her dagger across her chest to surrender.
"How can I not be angry?" she retorted.
"By remembering that holding your anger at the people behind you? Still gives them power."
Those calm, quiet words held empathy and knowing alike… and were just what Rylla needed to hear, to help move one more step forward on her own path of healing.
"Make me better," Rylla said, half a demand, half a plea.
"I will give you every bit of training my father gave me… though maybe with fewer unexpected naps."
Corellon considered the actions of His Daughter, and ultimately decided He was amused. He had, after all, opened the door with His own manipulation. Giving the Chosen a man who had the technique, if not the experience, to increase her people's ability to carve out a space for themselves even earlier could only be a good foil against the drow of both Lolth and Vhaeraun.
He tried to see ahead, to make out the possibilities more clearly… and found the mists of time past the point when Drizzt had originally been taken from the Underdark still opaque.
"At least none of Us should be bored for a time," He mused, going back to listen to His own followers for a time. His Lore Keeper was being a force of nature in his own way, keeping new ideas fresh alongside the ancient ways. It might prove interesting, when the drow struck out on his own, to see about a meeting for them…
Chapter 5: Family Reunion
Dinin had proven to have a good hand for how to keep their outpost incognito, on top of the politics of the moment, and out of strife with either Vhaeraunite faction. It helped that both of those groups wanted to end each other's influence, but were constrained by some strange religious tenet from just killing one another.
At least openly, as Dinin learned when a priest was murdered in the night market, supposedly by ruffians.
What he did not appreciate was having to be schooled by Jarlaxle's people on a third drow vector, a bunch of idiots that thought peace and living in harmony was the better way of life. He decided they could be ignored as they only came once a quarter to trade —
— until he heard that a band of six drow from the mercantile company faction had been sent running with minor injuries… and none of their weapons.
"I thought they weren't a threat," Dinin muttered.
Karolz shook his head, a much older fighter, one that had been recruited in this city long before. He hated leading, didn't have a head for it, but had accepted Dinin in that role.
"Those Dancers usually avoid a fight. But once every hand of years or so, some braggart decides to test either their Sword Mistress, or Purple Eyes. And this time, it's Purple Eyes with the caravan."
Purple Eyes. Dinin made a gesture against ill-luck, still remembering the one time he'd seen his younger brother in a true temper. He had no idea what had happened to Drizzt, only that whatever it had been had not broken the peace between Zaknafein and Vierna. Dinin knew that meant Drizzt had not been killed; he wasn't as stupid as some people thought he was, and Zak had been odd about the boy.
"Make sure none of ours pick a fight, or cross paths with the mercantiles, hmm? They're going to be more apt to rise to the bait for this."
That got a chuckle and nod… before Karolz watched Dinin secure his cloak over his armor and head out to see for himself.
Dinin found the Dancers easily enough, and decided they looked very tame. He didn't see anyone that really looked like they could give him trouble in a fight, but he also didn't see anyone with purple eyes. Maybe Karolz was wrong and one of the women wearing a sword was this so-called Sword Mistress.
He decided it had been a waste of time to come down and see, turned down a different path to begin his way back —
— and then he did see purple, a moment before he saw all of his brother. The small signs of maturity were settled in around the eyes and ears, while Drizzt stood straight with those curved swords of his still in their scabbards. Fine mithral chain glinted under the over tunic, and a metal face-guard held the mane of hair back, in the same fashion Zaknafein wore his.
"Hello, brother," Drizzt said, actually quirking a half-smile on his lips. "I never expected to see you this far from the city."
"Umm, you… Abyss, I never thought to see you again at all!" Dinin said. "I don't want a fight; I came to see if the rumor of Purple Eyes had anything to do with you, yes, but… I really am just evaluating the threats to my own situation."
Drizzt laughed. "You must be the new one watching Bregan D'Aerthe, then. I'd heard there were several new people since my last visit here." He must have read the confusion in Dinin's face, because he shrugged. "I got caught up in time magic. I've lived in the area above for a few decades now.
"Will you tell me of our sister, and the Weapon Master?"
Dinin nodded. "Trust me enough to come back to the warehouse we keep? Or should we take a meal at the Dimmed Lantern?"
"I won't go so far as to say trust," Drizzt said slyly, "but I prefer to be out of the public eye to discuss this, and I am well known at the Dimmed Lantern."
"Does everyone call you Purple Eyes?"
"Mostly," Drizzt agreed. He fell in step with Dinin, and Dinin noted his brother already knew the path. What had his experiences been that Drizzt actually seemed cognizant of power structures? Did he really want to know?
Ultimately, Dinin decided he did not.
Drizzt relaxed in the deep tub across from the one Laeral Silverhand was in. As the Silverhand that most paid attention to the treacheries in Skullport, Drizzt had come to her to talk about what he had learned this time. Their friendship went back almost to the beginning of his time above with Qilué, as the sisters were very close.
"So my elder brother manages the in-theory Lolthite faction over there. Honestly, the mercenary company he belongs to worships chaos, money, and power, I believe, from what I have seen of them in the past. Through him, I know that our House in Menzoberranzan fell within the last few years.
"But, through his own sources, he knows that my father and sister have established themselves in a a place called Rilauven."
"As best I can remember, that is a minor city somewhere under the Neverwinter," Laeral offered, lounging as nonchalantly as her friend. Dual tubs were almost as good as a large bathing pool.
"I planned to see what the Marauders could tell me of it," Drizzt said, his voice having that note of seeking adventure.
"Planning to go see for yourself? I remind you that your nature is antithetical in all ways to what you would find."
Drizzt chuckled. "I can charm a lizard or a bat to carry a note inside, if I choose to go that way. And your amulet very nicely masks me, when I choose to wear it."
Laeral looked over. "You miss your father, even your sister, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Then I will just say, 'be careful', and I will definitely reach out and knock on your skull in half a year, to be sure you are breathing. If not, the Marauders will be hired to find your body so Qi can bring you back to us."
He shook his head at her, but he had no intention of dying. He just needed to know if his sister was as aware as he was, of the threads of destiny they had unknowingly wrapped themselves in.
Vierna was not unaccustomed to bats bringing her messages. What she was unaccustomed to, was not feeling the touch of her Lord's spellwork on them, instead brushing something unknown when she tried to determine who the sender had been. She also did not see any message to take from it. When she focused fully on it, the bat fluttered just out of reach and roosted.
"If you or father would come, I am awaiting outside the gate your people use to go Above for trade."
The bat, having spoken with her brother's voice, did a small shake of itself and fluttered back out of Vierna's very surprised presence.
Needing to have time to wrap her head around that, the ability to blank her emotions, she sent her messenger spider to her father. The pirate spiders she had brought with her were thriving, especially as they killed any other spiders that dared cross the wards, protecting them from Lolthite spies.
Several minutes later, Zak strode in, an eyebrow raised. "Sometimes I worry your spiders fetching me could be omens, daughter."
She laughed, a little bit more brittle than she meant to. "Something odd, but not… bad? Maybe?
"A bat came and delivered a spoken message in Drizzt's voice, saying he was outside the trade gate to the Surface, asking if one of us would come meet with him. The magic on the bat was unlike any I have felt, and the accent was correct."
Zak frowned, then considered a long moment. "Are you still unable — yes, you are. Of course you already tried to reach him that way." He hitched a shoulder. "I suppose I am taking a walk. Put the undead into defensive positions, just in case."
"Of course, Father. If it is… and he will come… please bring him in. I can explain it as an intelligence seeking."
That got a laugh, but Zak nodded. "If that boy knows anything of use, I will be shocked."
Zak moved out of the gate uncontested, as he was known to sometimes forage for his daughter's wild needs. In the years since arriving here, they had made a solid reputation as fair but powerful. The only true trouble they'd had was from Lolthites seeking to undo the Masked Traitor's prominence, but Vierna remained high in the favor of her Lord.
Once he cleared the perimeter of the city's awareness, he knew he was not alone, and had to look sharply… before his son melted out of a shadow.
"Hello, Father," Drizzt called, breaking into a genuine smile. Even as jaded as Zak was, everything matched… except the age. This man was too mature to his eyes, and he remained poised, ready to engage the trap so his daughter stayed safe.
"Hmm, not so certain of that."
Drizzt threw his head back and laughed, before spreading his hands wide from his body. "Blame your daughter, then, as she put me in the hands of a goddess and set me on a strange path that had time magic in it."
Zak let an eyebrow rise at those words.
"Would a fetch know you nearly killed me rather than let me go become a drow in all truth? Or that you broke my jaw to keep me from exposing both of us to the Matron? Or that I almost caused your death the very night Vierna became Matron?"
"It might… but I think I might believe you." Zak beckoned. "Your sister wishes to see you as well, peacefully. The city is not a closed one, and if you're still so strange, she'll shove it off as getting what you know of other places."
"Oh, I am strange, even to those that agree with my views on life," Drizzt said, still smiling so openly, and Zak reached out as he came close, gripping his shoulders.
"I am glad you stayed strange, and alive!"
Drizzt leaned in, resting his forehead on his father's. "Vierna saved me by doing as she did, and now I wish to repay that, with a warning and words of my life."
"Then let us go into the city, my son, and hear what you have to say."
Vierna hugged her little brother fiercely, taking in all the changes as Zak had done. He was dressed sensibly in a piwafwi of fair construction, had adamantine blades in plain scabbards, and everything had the right feel of the Underdark.
"You cannot possibly have been in the Underdark since I set you in safety!" she pointed out.
"No, but we keep such things for movement below the faerzress," Drizzt said. "As I do aid sometimes, I had everything I needed in one of our caches.
"When Dinin told me where you two had gone, I retrieved them for my journey. One that is formerly of House Vaer here aided me in swift travel," he added.
"Dinin's in Skullport, last I knew," Zak said.
"He is, and thriving," Drizzt agreed. "We have an understanding, as I have no wish to be involved heavily in drow things."
"You mentioned a warning," Zak prodded, once they were all comfortable.
Drizzt sobered up and looked at Vierna. "Do you have any idea how tangled in divine events we now are, sister? The choice you made, to save me, prodded the Twins toward aid for one another, when He was attacked. I have been given quests by Her and by others of the pantheon in my time-tossed decades."
She slowly frowned, but his words rang true against some of the dreams that had come since she settled here.
"I can see the shape of that now that you say it," she admitted. "Your thoughts?"
"Something lies ahead. Neither of my patron deities know what, but more and more, I am drawn to larger threats, sharpening all of my skills and the magic I touch as a kind of divine-touched fighter."
Vierna had to rake her eyes over him at that claim, but… she did not know all things of the surface yet.
"Both of my children using divine magic now. There's a strangeness," Zak said in a slow drawl.
That made them all laugh.
"I suppose, little brother, I am going to ask you to stay long enough to get sending stones for you and father to carry, and work out a timing for us to keep in touch," Vierna said. "So we can at least warn one another of things that come to pass."
"I am already looking forward to the spars," Drizzt said, agreeing easily. "Just tell me how to not make trouble here, and I will be a good guest.
"I've kept an open mind toward your god, even if I question some of His idiot followers' ways."
"Well, some of them are idiots, but I think that is true of all religions," Vierna agreed, pleased.
Vhaeraun smiled in His own realm. Allies, when the coming storm arrived, were not to be dismissed out of hand. And, if the siblings forged a bond across alignment, then perhaps…
… well, He knew He was still deeply fond of His own Twin. Perhaps in time, He might yet convince Her to see His way of thinking.
He would keep His defenses up, and all of His craft tuned to the danger ahead for all of the gods.
I have been made the unexpected recipient of an unbirthday scarf. It is patterned as if with fossil leaves and irresistibly striped.
Poll #34345 Sang Zan's cave, naming the Hallows, and Zhu Jiu's revenue stream
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10
Who else has found their way into Sang Zan's pillar cave in the last hundred years (assuming another entrance)?
View Answers
Da Qing (he doesn't remember)
5 (50.0%)
a family of hibernating bears (they had very strange dreams)
7 (70.0%)
Wu Xie, Zhang Qiling, and Pang Zi
6 (60.0%)
Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, and Puddleglum
2 (20.0%)
Gollum
4 (40.0%)
other
1 (10.0%)
When Ma Gui and Fu You created the Hallows, why did they call them "sacred"/"the Hallows"?
View Answers
hubris
2 (20.0%)
psyops
2 (20.0%)
the inventions turned out a whole lot more powerful than expected, and they named them as a warning
7 (70.0%)
the Hallows announced how they wanted to be addressed, singularly and collectively
4 (40.0%)
other
0 (0.0%)
How does Zhu Jiu pay off the fight club manager/afford his visits to the hair stylist?
View Answers
Dixing currency/gold
4 (40.0%)
busking
0 (0.0%)
part-time job in the service industry (he’s always late, but no one dares dock his pay)
1 (10.0%)
he mugs ordinary people
5 (50.0%)
he mugs muggers (not on principle; it just cuts out the middle man)
6 (60.0%)
he has a Givealittle and/or Patreon
1 (10.0%)
other (please specify in comments)
1 (10.0%)
Guardian the drama is
View Answers
glorious, oh my heart!
6 (60.0%)
the gift that keeps on giving
8 (80.0%)
shut up, it’s perfect!
6 (60.0%)
the fandom is also made of sparkles *blows kisses to everyone*
6 (60.0%)
LOLLIPOPS FOR ALL!!
6 (60.0%)
I had a day all planned Saturday--Farmer's Market in the morning, some studio work, tackle taxes. At 2:30 pm, I needed to stop and head down to Club Mud to help set up our studio sale.
And then it turned sunny.
And actually, gorgeous. By the time I got back from Farmer's Market, it was sunny and 60°. An opportunity we couldn't pass up.
So indoor activities were cancelled in favor of pulling all the pots out of the shed, setting up trestle tables in the carport, and sorting, counting, and packing the van for Saturday Market. Denise recorded inventory while I organized stock, and, with a short break for lunch, we had the entire van packed and ready for Market, with four weeks to go.
And then it turned sunny.
And actually, gorgeous. By the time I got back from Farmer's Market, it was sunny and 60°. An opportunity we couldn't pass up.
So indoor activities were cancelled in favor of pulling all the pots out of the shed, setting up trestle tables in the carport, and sorting, counting, and packing the van for Saturday Market. Denise recorded inventory while I organized stock, and, with a short break for lunch, we had the entire van packed and ready for Market, with four weeks to go.Finished Strange Houses and then went to the internet to find out what I just read. Internet was mostly reddit, whose black-out spoiler redactions do not appear when highlighted. But a lot of people had the same suspicions as I about the architect jumping at once to 'murderous child killer cult' while other people noted that that's just the way Japanese horror rolls. Which, fair enough. And also noted that what's important is once again the things not said, sigh. But the general impression was that everyone but the narrator and the architect are lying and what's actually happening is a conspiracy, yes, but not the one we think. Although people did seem to think the weird cult thing was true, which to me is, ok, if you say so. Do not think I'll be reading more of his work.
I know better than to go for a blood draw on a Monday especially a Monday when I've just lost an hour of sleep, but it's going to rain all week and then snow. So out I went at 10 new time and came in to a posted 45 minute wait. But I waited, and then waited some more when they called my name because they said the room available was too narrow for me. Told them I could walk without the rollator but they were all No no just wait. And when they called me again I went without my walker just to show them. But the nurse got my vein first try, no having to use the other arm as in December, which is either her being more skilled than the other or my veins being pumped up from my water drinking. Whichever, I am grateful.
Could have done without the two large guys who barged into the elevator before I could get off it as I was leaving. Men, said Jessica. And am now headachy and am going out to dinner with bro and s-i-l tonight, but again, nobody made me get my draw this morning.
I know better than to go for a blood draw on a Monday especially a Monday when I've just lost an hour of sleep, but it's going to rain all week and then snow. So out I went at 10 new time and came in to a posted 45 minute wait. But I waited, and then waited some more when they called my name because they said the room available was too narrow for me. Told them I could walk without the rollator but they were all No no just wait. And when they called me again I went without my walker just to show them. But the nurse got my vein first try, no having to use the other arm as in December, which is either her being more skilled than the other or my veins being pumped up from my water drinking. Whichever, I am grateful.
Could have done without the two large guys who barged into the elevator before I could get off it as I was leaving. Men, said Jessica. And am now headachy and am going out to dinner with bro and s-i-l tonight, but again, nobody made me get my draw this morning.
Greetings!
I'm trying something new this year: my general likes and DNWs for challenges and exchanges are in a master letter post here. What follows are prompts and notes on my specific requests for this exchange.
Crossover Fandom
Alexis Castle & Cassie Fraiser; Alexis Castle & Cassie Lang; Alexis Castle & Dairine Callahan; Cassie Fraiser & Cassie Lang, Kim Possible & Kamala Khan (Castle, Kim Possible, MCU, SG-1, Young Wizards)
All these fall under the general umbrella of "girls' night out" prompts - plain and simply, I'm intrigued by the potential mischief, adventures, or straight-up bonding that might happen if any of these duos were thrown together. Feel free to massage timelines to allow for these characters to be of similar age as they correspond or collaborate.
In particular, where Alexis is concerned, feel free to overlook the late-series efforts to turn her into a career PI; that seems to me inconsistent with the Alexis we've seen in high school and college, who's evidenced notable musical gifts and inherited her dad's literary skills, and I like the earlier Alexis much better. (That said, I'd also be fascinated to see Alexis as either a wizard-in-training or a player in the MCU....)
Kate Beckett & Elisa Maza (Castle, Gargoyles)
This one strikes me as an utterly natural match - two seasoned NYC police detectives, each with a highly unconventional sidekick. (While the primary documents should feature these two, I will totally not turn down input from Castle, Xanatos, Owen, or any other of the appropriate players - or their keepers' commentary on what happens when they get into each other's hair.)
Richard Castle & Jessica Fletcher (Castle, Murder She Wrote)
Fanon has long suggested that Jessica is Castle's aunt (even if the blood tie, as I once had Jessica remark, is a trifle complicated). That just about has to set up a long and entertaining correspondence...or perhaps we can get a look at what they have to say about each others' novels in the privacy of their own personal journals. [insert mischievous chuckle here]
Castle
Martha & Alexis; Beckett & Alexis; Beckett & Gates
One may correctly deduce from these and the crossover prompts above that I'm a particular fan of the Alexis Castle character - it's rare in my experience of prime time TV to find a teen character who's as intelligent, sensible, and relatively well-adjusted as she was. I also quite liked Martha, who also avoided falling into caricature; she came across as both realistically theatrical and theatrically realistic. And while I strongly disliked the plot twists that led to the 12th Precinct's change of leadership, Kate Beckett and Captain Gates were also generally well-written and ably portrayed.
For all three of these prompts, I'm hoping for more about the characters' offscreen lives - Martha's acting career, Alexis' academic and social interests, Beckett and Gates learning from one another off the clock. The less said about Pi, Hayley, and any or all of the absurd season-arc plots, the better; what made Castle a brilliant series was the character chemistry. Feel free to speculate on Alexis' eventual for-real career choice (I refuse to believe that the whole Castle-as-private-eye thing was more than a temporary aberration), to give Martha a late-stage career boost with a really good gig, or to lay some groundwork for the evolution to "Senator Beckett" down the line.
DCU
Clark Kent & Bruce Wayne
A note here: I am a modern Bat-fan chiefly by way of the Timmverse animated canon and a Superman fan chiefly via film/TV (notably Smallville, Lois & Clark, the Reeve movies, and the new Corenswet film), and am only just now wading back into the shallow end of DC's print universe(s) after a decades-long hiatus. Thus, my Batman is very much NOT the grimdark and not-always-quite-sane version we got from Frank Miller and his four-color successors (indeed, I grew up on Adam West reruns).
So my preference here, not least because the tag set specifically pegs them as Clark and Bruce, is for just that - a dialogue in which these two are both professionals with double lives, committed to being the best they can be at their jobs both in and out of Spandex, yet occasionally challenged by problems only another superhero can appreciate - most likely on both sides of the cape at once. (Alternately, a peek into both their private journals might be similarly entertaining in terms of things they don't say out loud to one another.)
Kim Possible
Kim & Dr. Betty Director; Kim & Yori; Ron & Yori; Ron/Yori; Shego & Ann Possible
Kim Possible was the show that propelled me into fanfic in a serious way, both as reader and writer, and I remain a fan of the series to this day. As to these particular prompts: I'm interested in how the working relationship developed between Kim & the other "Dr. D", and I've always thought Yori could have become a much more interesting character if she'd been further developed. As to Shego and MrsDrP...that's another duo I wish the show had developed further. (I wrote a couple of stories, very early on, which maneuvered them into being betas for each other's M-to-E-rated slashfic. I would not object at all to seeing that premise taken further than I got with it - but that's totally optional; I mention it purely to illustrate the potential for both comedy and a deeply weird but fascinating relationship dynamic.)
MCU
Clint Barton & Kate Bishop
Kamala Khan & Cassie Lang; Kamala Khan & Kate Bishop
Maria Hill & Kamala Khan; Maria Hill & Kate Bishop; Pepper Potts & Kamala Khan
Pretty much all of these prompts involve various of the prospective "Young Avengers" lineup; what I'm chiefly hoping for here is the process by which all these folks get to know one another - whereas the first few MCU movies put the original team together in response to a specific crisis, Kate's and Kamala's generation is building itself in a space between crises so as to be ready for the next one, and that's going to make team-building look seriously and/or humorously) different. Also, this set of characters is - let's say "geographically diverse" (a good reason to conduct major parts of conversations via "mail" for narrative purposes). And although Pepper is the odd woman out in this cluster, she's also - in the wake of having lost Tony by this time - both someone whom Kamala might look as a means of connecting with the "old guard" and who is now in a real way a bridging figure between the old team and the new.
Continuity note: I am up to date with respect to the MCU feature films, but way behind on the various Disney+ series; in particular, I have so far skipped Secret Invasion but am aware of what happened it. For our purposes, let's rule that the Maria Hill in SI was a Life Model Decoy or similar, and that the real Maria is in fact still alive and active in the relatively current MCU.
Nancy Drew (Keene)
Carson & Eloise; Carson & Nancy; Eloise & Nancy
This set of requests arises out of pure curiosity. The thing is, while Aunt Eloise becomes a fairly regular guest character over the course of the yellow-spine books, I don't recall ever being given even the most minimal description of the elder Drews' family life or background beyond their status as siblings. (I am not sure at this late date if Carson and Eloise ever even turned up in person at the same place at the same time.) And though Nancy and her father are portrayed as having a close relationship, they seem to spend very little time together, at least onstage - he's almost never along, for instance, whenever Nancy is traveling.
So: let's fix this - maybe by way of correspondence between Nancy and her aunt about family history, maybe through diaries wherein unspoken feelings are expressed, maybe by father and aunt reminiscing via post (or sharing reactions to various of Nancy's adventures). I did a bit of speculating about some of this in one of my own fics; feel free to riff on that material - or not - as you find useful.
Stargate SG-1
Cassie Fraiser & Samantha Carter; Cassie Fraiser & Vala; Samantha Carter & Vala
I was charmed in the best sense by Cassie in the character's first appearance, and I'd very much like to see how one or both of Sam and Vala would have connected with her (mentor & student, mischievous co-conspirators, girl geniuses doing !Science!, ???). And we didn't get nearly enough onscreen development of Sam's and Vala's working relationship. (Cassie is featured in two prior stories of mine, for Unsent Letters and Crossworks respectively; feel free either to incorporate elements of that material or to go somewhere else entirely.)
Tomorrowland (2015)
Athena & Casey; Athena & Frank; Casey & Frank
I'm particularly fond of this movie - to my mind, it has the best qualities of the old-school Disney live-action features from the '70s and '80s, is remarkably inventive on its own nickel, and features first-rate performances from all three of its leads. It's those performances and those characters that I'd like to see explored in this request, along with your ideas about what happened next (a subject on which the film leaves a lot of room for speculation). Note that while all these prompts are two-sided, I'm not at all opposed to seeing material from all three characters in your story - and that this set of prompts is "&" rather than "/". (I have seen some excellent romantic fics in this fandom, but for present purposes I'd prefer to keep things more focused on other aspects of these characters' relationships.)
* D&D has licensed it's Forgotten Realms world setting (the setting with Baldur's Gate in it) for a romantasy book by C L Polk coming out in June.
That looks interesting. I haven't read any C L Polk.
That looks interesting. I haven't read any C L Polk.
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The corebook and 19 supplements for Tab Creation's tabletop fantasy roleplaying game Age of Ambition.
Bundle of Holding: Age of Ambition