#v; ~a new war~

[iron-hearts-ablaze]

Plotted starter with @dvilsdesire

Karlach often felt she was only a part of this group for her prowess on the battlefield. Because it certainly wasn't to have her insight on the likes of Devils and their ilk. How in all the Nine Hells did she manage to be stuck in a camp with an incubus? And not just any incubus; Raphael's personal pet. The very idea of this creature prowling around their tents filled her with disdain.

She didn't believe a word from his mouth - and certainly not from Raphael's. No-one should. Devils are only ever out for something to gain, not from the goodness of protecting even each other. Let alone others. Karlach could barely sleep. Not only was she used to little sleep from living in a day-less horror scape, but also due to her excessive paranoia. She needed answers... And Haarlep was going to give them up whether he wanted to or not. Karlach knew how this would go. Incubi were slippery creatures, but Haarlep was not the first she dealt with.

Once everyone else was seemingly asleep, or at least out of sight, Karlach approached Haarlep's tent, axe in hand and a bloodlust in her eyes. "You know who I am. What name I made for myself in that cesspit of shit. You know what I'm capable. So...are you going to play nice and answer my questions, or am I gonna have to show you how I got the name Demonsbane?" Karlach snarled.

[iron-hearts-ablaze]

@taleswritten

"A nice look eh?" She raised her brow with a scoff. "Now I know you're bullshitting me. I wouldn't call it nice, but it is me I suppose. Kinda has to be. But it's not the worst thing in the world. At least losing it meant there's less Zariel on me." For a moment, as if she was in a daydream, her finger rubbed over her remaining horn, her nail knocking against every etch of Infernal. "She carved it into my horns not long after I was forced in her ranks. The tattoos, too, forced on me while I was there... Least being rid of one horn is one less mark. One less fucking reminder..."

Suddenly it dawned on her how it could sound, with him also being engraved with Infernal, and she tried to change tact. "Ah, well, this is a downer so let's switch it up a bit! Uh...just to say though, you don't have to soften me up, Astarion. I get your ploy, I've been around enough incubi to know what you're trying to do. Honey me up and win me over - I'm already on your side. You don't have to make stuff up around me." It wasn't that she didn't have faith in her features, moreso she had head Astarion's sweet words with pretty much everyone in camp - she didn't really fancy being lied to, no matter how nice the lie was.

Oh, she's just as good as he is with the flirting. Being called perfection boosts his ego, making his lips curl into another fond smile directed towards her.

He quiets as he listens to her tell her story, his expression softening as she does. He doesn't know much about tieflings but he has heard that their horns are their pride. It must have hurt to have her shattered in more ways than physical.

'If it helps at all, it's a nice look. It makes you more....intimidating." He's not sure if he's actually helping here, truth be told. Comfort is not something he is used to giving to someone. "Horn or not, you're beautiful. A perfect picture of strength."

[boatswainscall]

I had a profoundly stupid idea

[iron-hearts-ablaze]

36﹕ sender  is  found  drunk  by  receiver .

𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝑵𝑶𝑵𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑩𝑨𝑳 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺 (somewhat plotted)

Karlach had been tasked to scout ahead, though she wasn't entirely sure why. They had a goblin camp to burn - why waste time? But she had been convinced, although not entirely loyal to the task. When she had scouted 'accidentally' too close to the camp, she saw it was practically empty. Frowning, she took up a high position intending to look for where the mass of filth had moved to when she spotted it - a thick plume of smoke came in the direction of the grove...

Karlach charged in the direction guided by the darkening cloud, soon accompanied by the smell of burning trees and blood... She had only been gone a half-day-

A new sound. Joyful conversation. Drumbeat. Karlach panted as she made her way to the camp - swarming with goblins. Enraged, Karlach grabbed the closest one and threw him against a thick oak tree. She barely registered the snap of his spin before she grabbed another - her flames did the work for her. Her fire was so intoxicating, it seared flesh faster than any roast. Despite being drunk, the other goblins finally began to notice her budding rampage and tried to stop her. Karlach could hear over the rush of blood in her ears and the high pitched whine of her own internal fury that they 'had a straggler'. 'A tiefling got away!'

Got away... No. No! No no NO!

"Shadowheart!" Karlach finally bellowed upon seeing familiar faces beyond the cloud of red in her vision. She shoved past any goblins making sloppy attempts to attack her and threw the charred remains of the goblin in her hand close by as she stormed up to the half-elf. "What the fuck is going on?! Why are all these bastards here, what are they fucking talking about?! Answer me!"

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Residents of Little Italy celebrate V-J Day, August 14, 1945.

Photo: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images/Fine Art America

[dyingroses]

Star Wars + text posts and stuff

[zephyrine-gale]

wardance pookies

[pennumbra]

[iron-hearts-ablaze]

The tiefling couldn't help a grin, glancing away slightly as she felt her face heat up more than usual. Though the smile slipped ever so slightly. A wonderful daughter? Gods... If Tavrayn knew what she had done. If her parents knew the things she had to do after they died. They certainly wouldn't be proud. But as usual, Karlach brushed these feelings aside and buried them for another day.

"Glad Dad's not around to hear that, he'd be insufferable with how boastful he'd be."

Karlach glanced back over despite the flush in her face still being felt - though it was difficult to see such a blush on already red skin. She was aware of that. "Ah man, that sucks. Sorry about that." Karlach never knew much about her grandparents on either side, so couldn't really relate to his plight unfortunately.

"Anyway...enough about the past. What about the future, the immediate one at least. Any plans to join us all the way to Baldurs Gate?"

"It does, doesn't it?" he said, a corner of his mouth turning up. "I c'n imagine why they'd want a fresh start after... all that." He gave another nod, shifting a bit so he could be more comfortable, reclining a bit back into his previous position. "They sound like wonderful people. Wonderful 's the daughter they raised."

At the question, he bobbed his head back and forth, one side to the other, his hair flopping back and forth as he moved. His father's parents had long been dead by the time of his birth, his own father orphaned at a young age. But his mother's...

"I dunno," he said with a shrug. It was probably the most diplomatic answer. "Mum said they never accepted my Da, and she's not... all that welcome at her old enclave... and something tells me they're not keen on leaving like she did.

[iron-hearts-ablaze]

i'm the one you should blame. (from Wyll)

It Was My Fault Prompts || Accepting

Karlach softly shook her head, a tender smile on her lips. "No, Wyll. I know you're the type to hold the worlds problems on your shoulders, but I don't blame you. If you look at the bigger picture, I should be blaming Mizora. Bigger than that - blame Zariel. Which I do."

The tiefling wished she could clap a hand on his back to reassure him, but she could not without the risk of scorching his skin down to the bones. So instead, she held up a fist, with a determined expression on her face. "So chin up, pal! We've got work to do."

[fatedroses]

I offer Zenos pen sketches, except this was his goofy ass ARR phase: also known as his early military career stuck doing grunt work and traffic control in the capital.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lisa Needham at Public Notice:

Reading the complaint in Donald Trump’s lawsuit against pollster Ann Selzer over her 2024 poll that found Kamala Harris leading Trump in Iowa, it’s hard not to give in to thoughts of how comically obscene it is. The suit stretches the interpretation of the relevant law — Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Act — well past the breaking point. It leans heavily on “facts” that are nothing but Trump quoting Trump about being mad. It spends a good deal of time citing hard-right outlets like Breitbart as if they are neutral. It’s hard not to laugh at how absurd it is. But then you remember that ABC just gave Trump a total of $16 million rather than fight the paper-thin defamation lawsuit he brought against them. And that even after ABC knuckled under, Trump still has lawsuits against CBS, Simon & Schuster, and CNN. And then you also remember that Trump has stated he’s going to use all his might — and that of the government — to bury media he doesn’t like. All of this makes trying to rationally assess whether the lawsuit will succeed nearly impossible.

Trump can afford to go scorched earth whether his claims have any merit or not. He has bottomless wealth, particularly regarding legal fees, as he’s made his donors cover at least $100 million of them so far. He’s utterly unconcerned about whether something is true, and he seems to have a never-ending stream of lawyers willing to step up even though several have ended up facing sanctions, criminal charges, or both. Put simply, he has no incentive to back down, ever. All that being said, the lawsuit against Selzer is still straight-up trash, even if it’s trash that somehow manages to succeed because of the unique blend of horrible characteristics exclusive to Trump.

The nonsense is the point

Trump is alleging that Selzer, her Selzer & Company polling company, the Des Moines Register (the paper that published the poll), and the Register’s parent company — media behemoth Gannett — broke Iowa’s consumer fraud statute. To demonstrate this, Trump would have to prove actual fraud — as in that Selzer, the paper, and the publisher knew or should have known that the poll was fraudulent and that they intended people would rely on that fraud. But Trump doesn’t argue anything like that. What he does instead are include random quotes slamming Harris from places like Breitbart and a list of other times Selzer got poll predictions wrong.

[...]

Bullying the press into submission

So what happens now? Regrettably, the answer isn’t necessarily the same for all the defendants here. Gannett has already removed lawsuit from the Iowa state courts to the federal courts. There’s nothing particularly odd about that as such — cases can be shifted to federal court when the parties are in different jurisdictions and the damages claimed exceed $75,000. However, this also puts any loss Gannett would suffer in federal district court in Iowa as getting appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, where only one of the 11 current judges was nominated by a Democrat, and then on up to the exceedingly Trump-friendly US Supreme Court. To be fair, it isn’t clear that Iowa state courts would handle this case well either, and it may be that Gannett thinks that the federal courts, which deal with media lawsuits more often, are a better bet. But the one thing that is clear is that Gannett is also only looking out for Gannett. The notice of removal filed by the company is only on their behalf. The other defendants get dragged along, but Gannett is not, at least as of yet, providing a defense on behalf of Selzer, her company, or the Register. The party with the shallowest pockets and the least ability to withstand the juggernaut of endless Trump litigation is Selzer, which makes it hard for her to be the face of taking a hard line against Trump’s war on the media.

Donald Trump’s frivolous lawsuit against Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register is a gross attack on the freedom of the press.

[iron-hearts-ablaze]

Karlach couldn't help but to cock an eyebrow at his statement. Of course she welcomed the promise of help against Gortash but she was still silently surprised. A selfless notion from someone who seemed to be primarily focused on himself, as a typical wizard would...perhaps she had the wrong view of him. There was a beating heart under all that ice after all. Perhaps her heat was melting it away...a use for it after all.

"I appreciate it. If you ever need me to have your back, consider it had. I can tell you're going through some serious shit aside the brain worms-" She gestured to where she had recently bandaged. "-and I feel there's even more to the story again. But I won't pry if you don't want to say - not anymore at least."

She made to stand up, but with such a low roof and her tall stature, she was still bent over a little. "I can't offer a shoulder to cry on, but I have ears to listen, if you ever did need to get anything off your chest, pal. No games this time. I'd like to think we're friends at this point...let's act like it, yeah?"

Karlach gestured down to him one last time as she stepped toward the tent flap. "Anything I can grab for ya before I head out? Give you some privacy and what not."

"Gortash…" The name was familiar. As an archmage, he often heard the names of nobles, even those in distant cities along the Sword Coast. Regardless, it was good to know this name; now he knew exactly who to look out for.

"He'll regret hurting you, that I can promise."

It was easier, directing his anger, pain, and hate towards a mortal being—someone he could actually encounter and burn to a pile of ash. He cast a bleary-eyed glance at Karlach. Her kindness radiated from her like her heat, and he knew in a heartbeat that he would do anything for her. Even if it would be his dying act, getting some justice for at least one person who deserved it was worth it.

Again, her kindness was astounding. The corner of his mouth tugged into a soft, small smile. She cared—she genuinely cared for him—and it was mind-boggling. He was a shell of the person he used to be, pathetic and sad, barely able to cast medium-level spells, and yet she cared.

"No nerves touched, at least none I didn't wish to have touched. You needn't apologize, Karlach. You've been rather kind to me. A kindness I didn't deserve, but thank you."

[jsbashirmd]

@lietwice sent:

[ CARRY ]  for one muse to find the other injured and carry them to safety. ( I don't mind which way around it is! could be an away mission of some kind, or post-war cardassia either during relief and rescue efforts or a fight of some kind has broken out or something like that. or an attack on the station, that could also work. or anything else you can think of! )

Julian doesn't often pick up his husband. He's capable, certainly, but it doesn't really seem to surprise and delight him the way being picked up surprises and delights Julian. So it's only at times like this, few as they thankfully are, that Julian shows off his strength in quite this way. Garak is half-buried under the collapse, barely conscious and certainly concussed, but he's low priority to everyone else on the scene.

"Hey. Hey, love. You're okay. I'm right here." He's already removing the rubble, but he's trying to be careful about it. Strategic. "I'm not going anywhere until you're out and okay." And he's not. He wouldn't leave for anything. It takes almost twenty minutes to get Garak free, but Julian still doesn't give him much warning before picking him up and getting them both quickly back from the unstable area. Then he just continues, carrying him all the way to one of the medical tents. "Can you talk to me, darling?" he asks when he's finally set him down again.

[darth-kote]

[adam-trademark]

Room Tour 2022

(August 3, 2022)