He Xuan had been ready to leave the desert well before Shi Qingxuan had finished her little investigation. It wasn’t the sun, or the sand, though both were unpleasant, but Crimson Rain’s stupid voice on the private communication array: « Oh, sorry, are we walking in on something? If I knew there was a dress code I would have gotten done up. » And if it wasn’t that, it was the tinkling of jewelry in Shi Qingxuan’s hair as she moved, or the meaningless asides that were disorienting in…

One night only — this is the only way they meet, with her bruises on his body, with his old name at the back of her throat, choked. He's broken away from what he used to be, but what he is now, there's no name for — just a warm shape in the dark.

The Brides have their hooks in Jonathan, less pleasurably than before. Written for Elise, prompt "naked".

"Assume success," says Bruce unencouragingly. "Describe how it's achieved."

I've made a lot of promises in my life. Even kept a few of them, though I don't make a habit of it. What's the harm in telling someone what they want to hear?

The possibility that keeps him up at night is that Meng Yao came into his service an honest man, and over time changed into what he sees before him now. That, as his ambitions rose and his world grew grander, he reshaped himself and discovered the things he was capable of, all the while looking like his familiar self, but transforming under his skin into something Nie Mingjue could hardly recognize.

It's 2006, but just barely. Overall, 2005 was a relatively shit year, but this one is looking even worse. It's also looking like Dean's last.

Hayley and Uncle Pat catch up. Happy holidays.

Jack performs field surgery on a vampire.

Tommy Judd goes to war.