January Meme: Six Favourite Platonic Relationships in the MCU
Jan. 7th, 2026 06:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakMy definition of "MCU" includes the tv shows (that I've seen). With this in mind, in no particular order:
1) Agatha Harkness & "Teen" ( spoilery identity is spoilery ) , Agatha All Along: I adored this show in 2024 when it was released and I still adore it, and have rewatched it three times already. There are many reasons why, but the relationship between these two characters is most definitely one of them. It has different layers, not least because the characters are both holding back information about each other and their true reason for the show's quest for a considerable time, and yet they bond in a very real way even before the various reveals. It ends up as mentor/protegé, with a sideline of odd couple and sort of, kind of, family. And I really hope that whatever the MCU future brings, we will see these two together again.
2) Jessica Jones & Matt Murdoch, (The Defenders): speaking of combinations I hope to see again - The big crossover miniseries of the Netflix Marvel shows was flawed in several ways, but the various combinations of characters were all gold, and I loved the Mattt & Jess combo most of all. To put it as unspoilery as possible: their different ways of reaching the top of a building had me in stitches. And the serious character scenes were fantastic. That neither of them was sexually interested in the other might have been why they got along so well, given both characters have a really messy love- and sex life.
3) Tony Stark & Bruce Banner, (The Avengers): their scenes were such an unexpected delight. Very differnet personalities, and yet a meeting of the minds, so to speak, and great chemistry to boot. We hardly saw them in the same room again after Age of Ultron, which I regretted, but given the ensembles grew larger and larger, it was probably inevitable. (Also, the writing for Bruce Banner changed a lot.)
4) Yelena Belova & Alexei Shostakov, (Black Widow, Thunderbolts): I was torn between this and Yelena & Natasha, and Yelena & Kate Bishop, but Alexei wins with a combination of the relationship being showcased in two different movies and the way we see it change through said movies. Also: Alexei may have been a deadbeat (spy) dad, but he can make Yelena smile (intentionally, I mean, not just when he's being goofy) in an incredibly touching way. Again in both movies.
5) Nebula & Gamora (both of them), Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity Wars and Avengers: Endgame: pace Yelena & Natasha, but these are my favourite sisters in the MCU. They get introduced as a seemingly straightforward rendition of bad girl and good bad girl, the evil and the heroic sister - and then it gets complicated. Given their incredibly screwed up childhood and youth (Thanos trying his best to win the worst Dad competition in the MCU), it's a miracle they had non-hostile feelings for each other to begin with, and yet they do. The moment in Guardians 2 when we find out what Thanos did each time Gamora beat Nebula in a match is absolutely gut wrenching. And when we see them connect and change through sevearl movies, it is both touching and absolutely cheerworthy.
6) Mark Spector & Steven Grant, Moon Knight: that they're both played by Oscar Isaacs is the least of it. The miniseries was so clever in the way it introduced us to them which turns certain tropes on their head because ( it gets spoilery )The result is a sort of "unknown and seemingly very different brothers find each other" tale which also manages to be self exploration and offers moments of grace, support and love in the last three episodes that still make me reach for my hankerchief upon rewatch.
Not included: Peggy Carter & Dottie Underwood (Agent Carter), because the subtext is barely sub, and I definitely ship them, which makes them disqualified for a list of platonic relationships (which I want to remain platonic). But they definitely had "my best enemy" potential in that show. And fantastic chemistry.
The other days
1) Agatha Harkness & "Teen" ( spoilery identity is spoilery ) , Agatha All Along: I adored this show in 2024 when it was released and I still adore it, and have rewatched it three times already. There are many reasons why, but the relationship between these two characters is most definitely one of them. It has different layers, not least because the characters are both holding back information about each other and their true reason for the show's quest for a considerable time, and yet they bond in a very real way even before the various reveals. It ends up as mentor/protegé, with a sideline of odd couple and sort of, kind of, family. And I really hope that whatever the MCU future brings, we will see these two together again.
2) Jessica Jones & Matt Murdoch, (The Defenders): speaking of combinations I hope to see again - The big crossover miniseries of the Netflix Marvel shows was flawed in several ways, but the various combinations of characters were all gold, and I loved the Mattt & Jess combo most of all. To put it as unspoilery as possible: their different ways of reaching the top of a building had me in stitches. And the serious character scenes were fantastic. That neither of them was sexually interested in the other might have been why they got along so well, given both characters have a really messy love- and sex life.
3) Tony Stark & Bruce Banner, (The Avengers): their scenes were such an unexpected delight. Very differnet personalities, and yet a meeting of the minds, so to speak, and great chemistry to boot. We hardly saw them in the same room again after Age of Ultron, which I regretted, but given the ensembles grew larger and larger, it was probably inevitable. (Also, the writing for Bruce Banner changed a lot.)
4) Yelena Belova & Alexei Shostakov, (Black Widow, Thunderbolts): I was torn between this and Yelena & Natasha, and Yelena & Kate Bishop, but Alexei wins with a combination of the relationship being showcased in two different movies and the way we see it change through said movies. Also: Alexei may have been a deadbeat (spy) dad, but he can make Yelena smile (intentionally, I mean, not just when he's being goofy) in an incredibly touching way. Again in both movies.
5) Nebula & Gamora (both of them), Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity Wars and Avengers: Endgame: pace Yelena & Natasha, but these are my favourite sisters in the MCU. They get introduced as a seemingly straightforward rendition of bad girl and good bad girl, the evil and the heroic sister - and then it gets complicated. Given their incredibly screwed up childhood and youth (Thanos trying his best to win the worst Dad competition in the MCU), it's a miracle they had non-hostile feelings for each other to begin with, and yet they do. The moment in Guardians 2 when we find out what Thanos did each time Gamora beat Nebula in a match is absolutely gut wrenching. And when we see them connect and change through sevearl movies, it is both touching and absolutely cheerworthy.
6) Mark Spector & Steven Grant, Moon Knight: that they're both played by Oscar Isaacs is the least of it. The miniseries was so clever in the way it introduced us to them which turns certain tropes on their head because ( it gets spoilery )The result is a sort of "unknown and seemingly very different brothers find each other" tale which also manages to be self exploration and offers moments of grace, support and love in the last three episodes that still make me reach for my hankerchief upon rewatch.
Not included: Peggy Carter & Dottie Underwood (Agent Carter), because the subtext is barely sub, and I definitely ship them, which makes them disqualified for a list of platonic relationships (which I want to remain platonic). But they definitely had "my best enemy" potential in that show. And fantastic chemistry.
The other days
2025 in Review: Writing!
Jan. 7th, 2026 09:02 amforestofglory2025 wasn’t my best year for writing, I was sleep deprived and not very inspired. But I did manage to write a few longer things so I thought I’d do a quick round up.
I wrote three things for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ladybusiness :
Adventures with Crossdressing Sword Girls
Domestic Labor and Community Building Rec List
Chill Chinese Reality Shows Rec List
I posted one short translation from Classical Chinese:
Magu
And I wrote an annotated bibliography for a friend:
Liao Biblography
I wrote three things for
ladybusiness :Adventures with Crossdressing Sword Girls
Domestic Labor and Community Building Rec List
Chill Chinese Reality Shows Rec List
I posted one short translation from Classical Chinese:
Magu
And I wrote an annotated bibliography for a friend:
Liao Biblography
Snowflake Challenge #4
Jan. 7th, 2026 11:51 amstardust_rifle posting in snowflake_challengeIntroduction Post * Meet The Mods Post * Challenge #1
Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.
On many of the fannish websites we use, our history is easily compileable into "pages". When we look back through those pages, sometimes we stumble upon things that we think are rather cool.
Challenge #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page
Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.
On many of the fannish websites we use, our history is easily compileable into "pages". When we look back through those pages, sometimes we stumble upon things that we think are rather cool.
Challenge #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page
Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Greenland
Jan. 7th, 2026 11:25 amaurumcalendula posting in thisfinecrewI just saw that Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) introduced an amendment to the Senate Defense Appropriations bill to prohibit the use of funds for military force or other hostilities against Greenland - I've been asking my senators to support it.
Press release: https://www.gallego.senate.gov/press-releases/gallego-introduces-amendment-to-block-military-force-against-greenland/
Text of amendment: https://www.gallego.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Gallego_Greenland-Amendment.pdf
Press release: https://www.gallego.senate.gov/press-releases/gallego-introduces-amendment-to-block-military-force-against-greenland/
Text of amendment: https://www.gallego.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Gallego_Greenland-Amendment.pdf
Fic: In the Demon's Claws
Jan. 6th, 2026 06:06 pmsenmutAO3 Link | In the Demon's Claws (2219 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Drizzt Do'Urden & Vierna Do'Urden
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Vierna Do'Urden
Additional Tags: Ensemble Cast, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, Resurrection
Summary:
Drizzt Do'Urden gazed out over the lands, thinking about everything endured. If Regis had not escaped sooner — no, it didn't bear thinking about. What he knew had let them disarm the trap, though not without personal cost for Drizzt himself. He had caused his father's death, brought about the deaths of his House from afar, and now… personally slain his sister, both by dam and sire.
His only consolation had been seeing her less a zealot, more sane in her eyes even, as the light faded, letting him cast true blame upon Lloth once more. It had been Catti-brie who supposed the entire raid had been concocted as but one thread of a web, given how near it had been to losing Wulfgar to the yochlol, how strange that they had chosen to come for Drizzt inside the dwarven stronghold rather than upon the road some night when he would be alone.
Bruenor had thundered, and Wulfgar had pledged support, with Regis managing advice based on his studying Artemis Entreri while the human consorted with drow. Aid had come from the region, and it would be a long time before Menzoberranzan could stir from its cesspool of hate and anger.
Catti and Wulfgar needed to work upon their relationship. Regis still had much recovery to make from his ordeal. Bruenor had a much expanded clan to lead to prominence.
Drizzt?
He looked back to the road for salvation from that which ate at his soul. A passing remark from one of the Harpells had reminded him of unfinished business concerning a crystal… and a demon that had been defeated once.
There had never been any chance of an ending that led anywhere but to the Demonweb Pits, Vierna had known. Either she would arrive in favor, and become one of Lloth's own servitors in some form —
— or she would arrive in full disfavor to be tortured.
She had learned three things as she endured the torture, and then the bartering deal with the balor.
Her father was not in the Demonweb Pits. This had been clear while she was still tortured under the servants of Lolth. He would have been an instrument in those tortures, as she had, again, fallen into that strange emotion surrounding Zaknafein, on seeing how true to himself her brother had remained.
There was the fact that Lloth had never been worth her devotion. This point — she'd had sight of it in the fall of her House — had clarified when the religious madness fell from her eyes even as her brother was lowering her body to the floor. If she had only managed to learn it earlier, and used her power to protect the two males she'd felt strong emotions over!
And, somehow, this balor intended to use her against her brother. Errtu could not keep himself from alternately salivating over his plans against Drizzt Do'Urden or raging in a froth of madness over what the impertinent drow had done to him.
She would just have to help her brother beat the demon at his own game. Vierna was looking forward to his death at Drizzt's hands.
Drizzt's concerns about the demon had proven too correct. He finished cleaning Icingdeath, his mind turning over the words spit at him by the fiend before its death. The gloating, brash taunts of what Errtu meant to do with him — after Errtu finished rending the soul of one that Drizzt cared for — had been too in line with what he knew of the balors. They were incapable of getting over a defeat that had been meted out to them.
Only? Errtu had an advantage over him. The only person's soul that could possibly be at risk to the demon was his own father. Drizzt would no more leave the soul in peril than he ever would have risked the man in life, had he but been a little wiser.
He didn't dare not follow up on this, no matter the source. Since Drizzt had left Mithral Hall, burdened by the suffering, deaths, and his own actions, he'd been seeking a purpose. He would recover the damnable crystal, and trek to a land known to hold the knowledge of the ages. Surely he could learn what was needed to save his father and destroy both threats if he but tried hard enough.
With resolve etched in every line of his body and soul, Drizzt plunged into the frozen north once more, intent on his goals.
The Crystal Shard couldn't be tricked by Drizzt. Nor could it offer him what he wanted, not in a way that ever tempted the drow. The psychic effect of merely carrying it in a quiescent state was enough to make Drizzt constantly question his own mind as he traveled. Guen, on her visits to the Material Plane, also kept a watchful eye on him.
It was a necessary evil, bait for the demon that was seeking vengeance. After the not-so-minor trouble of getting back to it, finding it, Drizzt was just as relieved to find his next destination after a stop in Longsaddle. He'd kept the artifact's presence carefully hidden, indulged Harpell curiosity as some were in residence now that he had not met before.
"If you're dead set against leaning into the alliances you've made in Silverymoon," Bella began, the brighter eye rolling with what she thought of that and the dull one fixed on him, "you need to head for Tethyr, a small kingdom down there with a cathedral being built.
"The priest of Deneir, Chosen they say, will point you to the knowledge you need to deal with this demon you need to be rid of."
"It seems I should see if Captain Deudermont will aid me in my journeys, then," Drizzt said, not keen on going so far south once again, but he was no priest nor wizard, to be able to banish the demon for good… and with luck, this cleric might well know how to rid the realms of the Crystal Shard.
With the right tools, Drizzt Do'Urden would be willing to wager against the evil ones, and try to reclaim his father's soul from the Abyss.
"You could become a cleric of sufficient rank in the decades you have left. Or a wizard of strength," Cadderly mused at Drizzt, even as the wizened Chosen walked beside Drizzt in the garden, aware that Pikel and Ivan both were still keeping an eye on the solitary drow.
"They say time stretches in the Abyss, and I feel that taking the time to do so would further torment the one I seek to rescue. Likewise, I will make no bargain with a Power to become a warlock."
Cadderly looked at Drizzt then, leaning on his staff as they paused. "And yet you refuse your goddess Her offer?"
Drizzt flushed, looking down, and Cadderly knew the ranger had not expected that to be known. When he looked up, it was with an expression of sadness. "She has been good to me, and I will serve Her so long as She walks the path I view as right.
"But I do not trust myself with a spark of who She is."
"Which is of course why She would most want it to be you, for that very distrust, but. You have closed that door — for now — and having a pressing need to save one you care for. The vile artifact's destruction is what you seek, but not before you are able to barter with and defeat the balor.
"A complicated task you have set yourself, but I will set people to the research of it."
"Thank you; it is all I can ask."
Vierna felt something change in her captor. He was eager, close to success of some kind? She felt weaker than she had even in the moments after Lloth forsook the House. How could she aid her brother like this?
When the demon back-handed her for daring to spit in his direction, she lolled in her bonds, feigning unconsciousness and made the choice to reach out to a different power. Never again would she submit to the divine… but bargain with one? That she could — and would! — manage.
~Vhaeraun son of Araushnee and Corellon, god of drow,~ she prayed, all of her singular focus on inviting the Named One to take notice of her. Even now, out of favor and having renounced her former goddess, the names burned in her mind, invoking pain.
Pain that she further used to fuel her call to the one that could make her plans work — she would not fail! Her brother, the boy she had taught and raised, needed her, and this time, she was embracing that.
Little did she know that her very need to aid a male sibling was the right spark to bring the god's attention to her.
"As long as your darkness holds," Danica coached, "the thing will be destroyed."
Drizzt looked past her to the rather unassuming man with them, very little giving away his draconic nature.
"And Icingdeath will guard me from the flames," he reminded himself.
"Yes, a superb frostbrand," Vaeros said, having inspected the magic on the blade to be certain.
"The breach of magic has made it possible for the balor to come to a simple summoning," Drizzt recited. "I will offer the artifact, and then we will be 'attacked', at which point the crystal will burn while I hold darkness — and evade the enraged demon while protecting my father."
"Presuming that the captive is brought, and that it is your father," Danica agreed. "Should be simple for the drow that decimated Menzoberranzan's might."
Drizzt stared at her, then saw the twitch of her lips, and gave into the laughter at that outrageous elaboration of his part in the war of Mithral Hall.
"We will do this, Ranger, on our shared love of the Wilds," Vaeros said, once the laughter had worn off, with the effect of living Drizzt lighter in spirit.
"So we shall."
It was not Zaknafein.
That small fact half-broke Drizzt's willpower at first. He wanted to angrily decry that he didn't care about Vierna.
His heart knew that for a lie.
She looked mangled in the grasp of the demon, and trickles of blood had formed where the clawed hand pierced flesh.
She was conscious, and her eyes locked on his.
Distantly, he could remember the plan even as the sealed case with Crenshinibon hung from an outstretched hand, the demon gloating within the summoning circle.
His mind toured over early, harsh lessons. He recalled the gentle touches that had been rare and treasured. He remembered that someone had to have told Zaknafein of his speed and skill with both hands. He recalled the look of sanity in her eyes, at the end of her life, blood spilling from a wound he'd made in her.
Something in her eyes told him she trusted him, and that she was ready for whatever came next.
"Let her go, and you can have what you want."
"You think I am unaware of the treachery lurking in your soul, drow?" Errtu demanded, hand closing more —
— and Vierna uttered a quick phrase in formal drow, one that called upon Vhaeraun, god of the male drow. The next moment, she was small, transformed into a bat that eluded the demon's grasp, fluttering valiantly into the hood of the cloak Drizzt wore.
He prayed that was enough to protect her, as he gave himself over to the Hunter, Icingdeath more than eager to drink the blood of this balor once more. Errtu had no chance to evade, or even dispel the darkness, as Drizzt furiously fought for his life, the crystal's end, and for the daughter of his father.
Vierna awakened at the feeling of healing being pushed into her, the kind that traced fire in her veins, counter to her very nature but helping abate the last tortures' marks upon her.
She found herself looking into the purple eyes that had entranced her since his birth.
"We're in a small cave. I didn't want to impose on my allies," he told her softly. "You turned back to drow after the fight ended."
"I did not ask for it to be a permanent change," Vierna said, but she reached for his hand on her shoulder. "You can heal?"
"If my patron agrees, yes," he said, taking her hand and shifting so he could sit more comfortably and hold it. "Vhaeraun?"
"I promised Him I would become a potent cleric for Him, if He let me aid my troublesome little brother against the balor."
Her smile on those words provoked one from him.
"I thought it was my — our father."
"And yet, you still pushed through with the plan you had made." She squeezed his hand. "We will have peace, Drizzt. I swear it on my continued life."
He contemplated her words a long moment, then laid down on the bedroll, sliding an arm under her neck, tucking close to give her the warmth he had.
"Good. There's been enough strife for us both, I think."
She closed her eyes, shifting a little to be comfortable, and decided that he was still strange to her.
But she had become something different and wanted to embrace the strangeness with him.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Drizzt Do'Urden & Vierna Do'Urden
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Vierna Do'Urden
Additional Tags: Ensemble Cast, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, Resurrection
Summary:
Things in the Hall went slightly different, but still Drizzt chooses the road, and learns of one more quest.
In the Demon's Claws
Drizzt Do'Urden gazed out over the lands, thinking about everything endured. If Regis had not escaped sooner — no, it didn't bear thinking about. What he knew had let them disarm the trap, though not without personal cost for Drizzt himself. He had caused his father's death, brought about the deaths of his House from afar, and now… personally slain his sister, both by dam and sire.
His only consolation had been seeing her less a zealot, more sane in her eyes even, as the light faded, letting him cast true blame upon Lloth once more. It had been Catti-brie who supposed the entire raid had been concocted as but one thread of a web, given how near it had been to losing Wulfgar to the yochlol, how strange that they had chosen to come for Drizzt inside the dwarven stronghold rather than upon the road some night when he would be alone.
Bruenor had thundered, and Wulfgar had pledged support, with Regis managing advice based on his studying Artemis Entreri while the human consorted with drow. Aid had come from the region, and it would be a long time before Menzoberranzan could stir from its cesspool of hate and anger.
Catti and Wulfgar needed to work upon their relationship. Regis still had much recovery to make from his ordeal. Bruenor had a much expanded clan to lead to prominence.
Drizzt?
He looked back to the road for salvation from that which ate at his soul. A passing remark from one of the Harpells had reminded him of unfinished business concerning a crystal… and a demon that had been defeated once.
There had never been any chance of an ending that led anywhere but to the Demonweb Pits, Vierna had known. Either she would arrive in favor, and become one of Lloth's own servitors in some form —
— or she would arrive in full disfavor to be tortured.
She had learned three things as she endured the torture, and then the bartering deal with the balor.
Her father was not in the Demonweb Pits. This had been clear while she was still tortured under the servants of Lolth. He would have been an instrument in those tortures, as she had, again, fallen into that strange emotion surrounding Zaknafein, on seeing how true to himself her brother had remained.
There was the fact that Lloth had never been worth her devotion. This point — she'd had sight of it in the fall of her House — had clarified when the religious madness fell from her eyes even as her brother was lowering her body to the floor. If she had only managed to learn it earlier, and used her power to protect the two males she'd felt strong emotions over!
And, somehow, this balor intended to use her against her brother. Errtu could not keep himself from alternately salivating over his plans against Drizzt Do'Urden or raging in a froth of madness over what the impertinent drow had done to him.
She would just have to help her brother beat the demon at his own game. Vierna was looking forward to his death at Drizzt's hands.
Drizzt's concerns about the demon had proven too correct. He finished cleaning Icingdeath, his mind turning over the words spit at him by the fiend before its death. The gloating, brash taunts of what Errtu meant to do with him — after Errtu finished rending the soul of one that Drizzt cared for — had been too in line with what he knew of the balors. They were incapable of getting over a defeat that had been meted out to them.
Only? Errtu had an advantage over him. The only person's soul that could possibly be at risk to the demon was his own father. Drizzt would no more leave the soul in peril than he ever would have risked the man in life, had he but been a little wiser.
He didn't dare not follow up on this, no matter the source. Since Drizzt had left Mithral Hall, burdened by the suffering, deaths, and his own actions, he'd been seeking a purpose. He would recover the damnable crystal, and trek to a land known to hold the knowledge of the ages. Surely he could learn what was needed to save his father and destroy both threats if he but tried hard enough.
With resolve etched in every line of his body and soul, Drizzt plunged into the frozen north once more, intent on his goals.
The Crystal Shard couldn't be tricked by Drizzt. Nor could it offer him what he wanted, not in a way that ever tempted the drow. The psychic effect of merely carrying it in a quiescent state was enough to make Drizzt constantly question his own mind as he traveled. Guen, on her visits to the Material Plane, also kept a watchful eye on him.
It was a necessary evil, bait for the demon that was seeking vengeance. After the not-so-minor trouble of getting back to it, finding it, Drizzt was just as relieved to find his next destination after a stop in Longsaddle. He'd kept the artifact's presence carefully hidden, indulged Harpell curiosity as some were in residence now that he had not met before.
"If you're dead set against leaning into the alliances you've made in Silverymoon," Bella began, the brighter eye rolling with what she thought of that and the dull one fixed on him, "you need to head for Tethyr, a small kingdom down there with a cathedral being built.
"The priest of Deneir, Chosen they say, will point you to the knowledge you need to deal with this demon you need to be rid of."
"It seems I should see if Captain Deudermont will aid me in my journeys, then," Drizzt said, not keen on going so far south once again, but he was no priest nor wizard, to be able to banish the demon for good… and with luck, this cleric might well know how to rid the realms of the Crystal Shard.
With the right tools, Drizzt Do'Urden would be willing to wager against the evil ones, and try to reclaim his father's soul from the Abyss.
"You could become a cleric of sufficient rank in the decades you have left. Or a wizard of strength," Cadderly mused at Drizzt, even as the wizened Chosen walked beside Drizzt in the garden, aware that Pikel and Ivan both were still keeping an eye on the solitary drow.
"They say time stretches in the Abyss, and I feel that taking the time to do so would further torment the one I seek to rescue. Likewise, I will make no bargain with a Power to become a warlock."
Cadderly looked at Drizzt then, leaning on his staff as they paused. "And yet you refuse your goddess Her offer?"
Drizzt flushed, looking down, and Cadderly knew the ranger had not expected that to be known. When he looked up, it was with an expression of sadness. "She has been good to me, and I will serve Her so long as She walks the path I view as right.
"But I do not trust myself with a spark of who She is."
"Which is of course why She would most want it to be you, for that very distrust, but. You have closed that door — for now — and having a pressing need to save one you care for. The vile artifact's destruction is what you seek, but not before you are able to barter with and defeat the balor.
"A complicated task you have set yourself, but I will set people to the research of it."
"Thank you; it is all I can ask."
Vierna felt something change in her captor. He was eager, close to success of some kind? She felt weaker than she had even in the moments after Lloth forsook the House. How could she aid her brother like this?
When the demon back-handed her for daring to spit in his direction, she lolled in her bonds, feigning unconsciousness and made the choice to reach out to a different power. Never again would she submit to the divine… but bargain with one? That she could — and would! — manage.
~Vhaeraun son of Araushnee and Corellon, god of drow,~ she prayed, all of her singular focus on inviting the Named One to take notice of her. Even now, out of favor and having renounced her former goddess, the names burned in her mind, invoking pain.
Pain that she further used to fuel her call to the one that could make her plans work — she would not fail! Her brother, the boy she had taught and raised, needed her, and this time, she was embracing that.
Little did she know that her very need to aid a male sibling was the right spark to bring the god's attention to her.
"As long as your darkness holds," Danica coached, "the thing will be destroyed."
Drizzt looked past her to the rather unassuming man with them, very little giving away his draconic nature.
"And Icingdeath will guard me from the flames," he reminded himself.
"Yes, a superb frostbrand," Vaeros said, having inspected the magic on the blade to be certain.
"The breach of magic has made it possible for the balor to come to a simple summoning," Drizzt recited. "I will offer the artifact, and then we will be 'attacked', at which point the crystal will burn while I hold darkness — and evade the enraged demon while protecting my father."
"Presuming that the captive is brought, and that it is your father," Danica agreed. "Should be simple for the drow that decimated Menzoberranzan's might."
Drizzt stared at her, then saw the twitch of her lips, and gave into the laughter at that outrageous elaboration of his part in the war of Mithral Hall.
"We will do this, Ranger, on our shared love of the Wilds," Vaeros said, once the laughter had worn off, with the effect of living Drizzt lighter in spirit.
"So we shall."
It was not Zaknafein.
That small fact half-broke Drizzt's willpower at first. He wanted to angrily decry that he didn't care about Vierna.
His heart knew that for a lie.
She looked mangled in the grasp of the demon, and trickles of blood had formed where the clawed hand pierced flesh.
She was conscious, and her eyes locked on his.
Distantly, he could remember the plan even as the sealed case with Crenshinibon hung from an outstretched hand, the demon gloating within the summoning circle.
His mind toured over early, harsh lessons. He recalled the gentle touches that had been rare and treasured. He remembered that someone had to have told Zaknafein of his speed and skill with both hands. He recalled the look of sanity in her eyes, at the end of her life, blood spilling from a wound he'd made in her.
Something in her eyes told him she trusted him, and that she was ready for whatever came next.
"Let her go, and you can have what you want."
"You think I am unaware of the treachery lurking in your soul, drow?" Errtu demanded, hand closing more —
— and Vierna uttered a quick phrase in formal drow, one that called upon Vhaeraun, god of the male drow. The next moment, she was small, transformed into a bat that eluded the demon's grasp, fluttering valiantly into the hood of the cloak Drizzt wore.
He prayed that was enough to protect her, as he gave himself over to the Hunter, Icingdeath more than eager to drink the blood of this balor once more. Errtu had no chance to evade, or even dispel the darkness, as Drizzt furiously fought for his life, the crystal's end, and for the daughter of his father.
Vierna awakened at the feeling of healing being pushed into her, the kind that traced fire in her veins, counter to her very nature but helping abate the last tortures' marks upon her.
She found herself looking into the purple eyes that had entranced her since his birth.
"We're in a small cave. I didn't want to impose on my allies," he told her softly. "You turned back to drow after the fight ended."
"I did not ask for it to be a permanent change," Vierna said, but she reached for his hand on her shoulder. "You can heal?"
"If my patron agrees, yes," he said, taking her hand and shifting so he could sit more comfortably and hold it. "Vhaeraun?"
"I promised Him I would become a potent cleric for Him, if He let me aid my troublesome little brother against the balor."
Her smile on those words provoked one from him.
"I thought it was my — our father."
"And yet, you still pushed through with the plan you had made." She squeezed his hand. "We will have peace, Drizzt. I swear it on my continued life."
He contemplated her words a long moment, then laid down on the bedroll, sliding an arm under her neck, tucking close to give her the warmth he had.
"Good. There's been enough strife for us both, I think."
She closed her eyes, shifting a little to be comfortable, and decided that he was still strange to her.
But she had become something different and wanted to embrace the strangeness with him.
Nature diary
Jan. 6th, 2026 09:17 pmsignoftea posting in common_natureIt started snowing yesterday, and now there's about 5 cm of snow, an amount that is very rare here. I went for a walk to see the beach, because it looks so cool when it's covered in snow. To my surprise, there was even ice on the water! A fragile crust of little floes had formed and seemed to slow down the movement of the waves as they licked the snow away from the breakwater bit by bit.
At first, I didn't hear any bird calls. I did see a few sanderlings darting around, some big birds (probably black-backed gulls) hovering over the sea, and a huge swarm of smaller birds, but they were all far away. I was about to leave when suddenly an impressive formation of geese appeared in the sky. My birding app identified them as barnacle geese. Then the app recorded some more calls, including one from a dunling, a bird I had never seen or heard before.
The snow and the greyish sky skewed my perspective in interesting ways, so that it looked like there were mountains growing out of the sea near the horizon, or like there was a huge wave rolling towards the beach. It felt surreal and a little eerie.
At first, I didn't hear any bird calls. I did see a few sanderlings darting around, some big birds (probably black-backed gulls) hovering over the sea, and a huge swarm of smaller birds, but they were all far away. I was about to leave when suddenly an impressive formation of geese appeared in the sky. My birding app identified them as barnacle geese. Then the app recorded some more calls, including one from a dunling, a bird I had never seen or heard before.
The snow and the greyish sky skewed my perspective in interesting ways, so that it looked like there were mountains growing out of the sea near the horizon, or like there was a huge wave rolling towards the beach. It felt surreal and a little eerie.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers
Jan. 6th, 2026 10:57 amrachelmanija
Once upon a time, the moon Panga was industrial and capitalist and miserable. Then robots suddenly and inexplicably gained self-awareness. They chose to stop working, leave human habitation, and go into the wilderness. The humans not only didn't try to stop them, but this event somehow precipitated a huge political change. Half of Panga was left to the wilderness, and humans developed a kinder, ecologically friendly, sustainable way of life. But the robots were never seen again.
That's all backstory. When the book opens, Sibling Dex, a nonbinary monk, is dissatisfied with their life for reasons unclear to themself. They leave the monastery to become a traveling tea monk, which is a sort of counselor: you tell the monk your troubles, and the monk listens and fixes you a cup of tea. Dex's first day on the job is hilariously disastrous, but they get better and better, until they're very good at it... but still inexplicably dissatisfied. So they venture out into the wilderness, where they meet a robot, Mosscap - the first human-robot meeting in hundreds of years.
I had previously failed to get very far into The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this novella. It's cozy in a good way, with plenty of atmosphere, a world that isn't quite perfect but is definitely one I'd like to live in, and some interesting philosophical exploration. My favorite part was actually Dex's life as a tea monk before they meet Mosscap - it's very relatable if you've ever been a counselor or therapist, from the horrible first day to the pleasure of familiar clients later on. I would absolutely go to a tea monk.
I would have liked Mosscap to be a bit more flawed - it's very lovable and has a lot of interesting things to say, but is pretty much always right. Mosscap is surprised and delighted by humanity, but I'm not sure Dex ever shakes up its worldview in a way it finds true but uncomfortable, which Mosscap repeatedly does to Dex. Maybe in the second novella, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy.
And while I'm on things which are implausibly neat/perfect, this is a puzzling backstory:
1) Robots gain self-awareness and leave.
2) ????
3)
Maybe we'll learn more about the ???? later.
But overall, I did quite like the novella. The parts where Dex is a tea monk, with the interactions with their clients and their life in their caravan, are very successfully cozy - an instant comfort read. And I liked the robot society and the religious orders, as well as a lot of the Mosscap/Dex relationship. I'll definitely read the sequel.
just putting this out there
Jan. 6th, 2026 10:04 ammuccamukk(Which is def not me procrastinating on homework on the second day of a new term.)
If you use a rich text editor to post to DW so that it does all the coding for you, and you don't have to worry about it, it has the potential to make your posts very difficult to read without clicking through to see the journal in your style. A lot of the rich text editors override the page layouts and styles selected by the user (ie, in this case, me, who is not very tech savvy, so apologies if the terminology is wrong, please correct me in comments!).
To show you what it looks like... ( please click through, rather than expanding the cut tag )
It could also be an issue if you force your font to a particular typeface or size, which overrides people who set their journal style with a typeface/size that they need for accessibility reasons (e.g. low vision or dyslexia).
I'm not trying to call anyone out! (The styles are made up examples.) I don't want to discourage using rich text editors, which make posting so easy for people. I just think that everyone is maybe not aware that this is how their posts look on people's reading page.
I've never used a rich text editor, so I have no idea how to tell it just to post text without modifying the colour/size/typeface, but maybe someone in comments can let me know?
There's probably also a way to make my browser strip out people's customisations, though times I've tried that it's ended up with some pretty odd results, so I gave up on it.
If you use a rich text editor to post to DW so that it does all the coding for you, and you don't have to worry about it, it has the potential to make your posts very difficult to read without clicking through to see the journal in your style. A lot of the rich text editors override the page layouts and styles selected by the user (ie, in this case, me, who is not very tech savvy, so apologies if the terminology is wrong, please correct me in comments!).
To show you what it looks like... ( please click through, rather than expanding the cut tag )
It could also be an issue if you force your font to a particular typeface or size, which overrides people who set their journal style with a typeface/size that they need for accessibility reasons (e.g. low vision or dyslexia).
I'm not trying to call anyone out! (The styles are made up examples.) I don't want to discourage using rich text editors, which make posting so easy for people. I just think that everyone is maybe not aware that this is how their posts look on people's reading page.
I've never used a rich text editor, so I have no idea how to tell it just to post text without modifying the colour/size/typeface, but maybe someone in comments can let me know?
There's probably also a way to make my browser strip out people's customisations, though times I've tried that it's ended up with some pretty odd results, so I gave up on it.
(no subject)
Jan. 5th, 2026 10:06 pmanghraineJ and I recently re-watched "The Return of the Archons" (after concluding it was the peak Christmas episode for various silly reasons), and there's this small and wonderfully in-character scene when the away party has found sanctuary with a local ally during the Red Hour. They're able to hide in this private room with some bunks, allowing for all but one of the entire party to sleep in the meanwhile. We don't actually see the decision get made. We just cut to the crew members all in the beds and Kirk having taken off his coat to wrap himself in a blanket, protectively keeping watch over his resting crew members. We just get a few quiet moments of this interspliced with the insanity of the Red Hour outside, which he observes with quiet disgust between pacing quietly around the little room, adding some folded clothes to cushion McCoy's head, making sure the young ones are sleeping in their bunks, and checking on Spock (who is lying on his back and either meditating or simply awake the whole time, not needing the sleep but—given how easy the nonverbal communication between them is in this episode—likely aware that trying to convince Kirk to take the bed is not, let's say, a logical use of his time).
It's very cute, honestly, and the episode is so beautifully made that it has an incredibly warm, pleasant quality on a purely visual level. It's the kind of thing that I think gets the kind of kneejerk "oh he's such a father to his men" despite TOS Kirk's very consistent aversion from anything smacking of fatherhood (very obviously for gender role reasons, not reactionary nuclear-family-meets-gender-essentialism retcons from 20 years later reasons). But I definitely ended up thinking "I can't believe I've seen multiple posts straining to frame Janeway as some kind of maternal figure as captain when she doesn't have a parental bone in her body—she's not Team Mom she's Team Captain—and meanwhile Kirk has 100x more fretful mama energy as captain to the point that his long-suffering maternal authority becomes the actual premise of an actual later episode."
In conclusion:
captain, are we there yettttttttt
It's very cute, honestly, and the episode is so beautifully made that it has an incredibly warm, pleasant quality on a purely visual level. It's the kind of thing that I think gets the kind of kneejerk "oh he's such a father to his men" despite TOS Kirk's very consistent aversion from anything smacking of fatherhood (very obviously for gender role reasons, not reactionary nuclear-family-meets-gender-essentialism retcons from 20 years later reasons). But I definitely ended up thinking "I can't believe I've seen multiple posts straining to frame Janeway as some kind of maternal figure as captain when she doesn't have a parental bone in her body—she's not Team Mom she's Team Captain—and meanwhile Kirk has 100x more fretful mama energy as captain to the point that his long-suffering maternal authority becomes the actual premise of an actual later episode."
In conclusion:
captain, are we there yettttttttt
New Game of Thrones Site!
Jan. 6th, 2026 05:28 amintothisshadowI’ve moved all the GoT and HotD screencaps to a domain of its own: Seven Kingdoms. Wanted a dedicated site!
