#getto reader

[thebestestofbees]

TELEVISION AU PART: 6

Part one, Part two, Part three, Part four, Part five, part 7,

You place your bag down and pull out your phone. with an sigh, you pulled up your contacts and called your boss. After a few rings, they picked up. You pressed the phone to your ear and leaned on your front door.

"Yo, Boss man, I'm not gonna make it into work, came down with a cold." You say, surprisingly, your boss understands and you hang up the phone. "Ya'll lucky I'm homies with my boss." You say, placing your phone on the coffee table and sighed.

"What game do you want to play? Something indoors preferably" Julie immediately lit up. "Oh! Oh! we can play-" Julie paused, something indoors? She hadn't thought about that. "We can play telephone!" Julie piped up again as you walked over to your TV stand that had shelves, you took out a game that had 'New Phone, Who Dis?' On it.

"We can play New Phone Who Dis." You waved the board/card game around. "How do you play?" Frank asked as you placed the game down.

"The rules are like cards against Humanity." You pointed to another card game on the shelf. They looked lost, very confused. "And you don't know what that is, do you." Everyone shook their head.

"Okay, so basically, the first person who judges will draw a prompt or an Inbox." You say, taking the top off the box and taking the cards that read 'Inbox' and placing them in a deck as everyone surrounded the coffee table.

"And everyone will get seven cards each." You took the cards that spelled 'reply' and shuffled them, handing out 7 for each puppet and yourself.

"Once the 'Inbox' is drawn, every player expects the player who drew it will have to pick a response card from their deck and give it to the player who drew the Inbox and pick a new response card from the remaining deck."

You placed the remaining Reply cards next to the Inbox cards. "If the person who drew the Inbox card thinks your reply is the funniest, the Inbox card goes to you, once all the reply cards are finished the games over."

"Who ever has the most Inbox cards win." You say, the puppets still looked mostly lost, but some of them had a determined look on their face. "Okay, you'll never learn with me telling you, I'll go first." You drew an Inbox card and read it out loud.

"I wasn't lying about being Gluten-free. I'll have you know that I've been on the can all morning." You read before placing it down. "Now you reply with something you have." You say, everyone took their cards and thought about their deck.

You looked to everyone in the room. Wally was sitting across from you his face scrunched up as he flipped through his cards eventually settling on one.

Eddie was sitting next to Frank, his face turning into a confused smile as he picked a card.

Barnaby on the other side of the table from Frank and Eddie sighed as if he didnt have a good card as he picked a card.

Frank picked out a card, doing double takes at the others they didn't pick. Julie sitting next to Wally and Frank looked at the card, she picked and looked at it, slightly confused.

Howdy next to Barnaby and Poppy, picked his card confidently, watching the other cards. Poppy next to Howdy and Sally, looked at her cards confused before picking a card. And Sally beside Poppy and Wally, confidently picked a card.

You picked up the cards, and shuffled them, reading them outloud. So far everyone had admitted which ones were their cards.

'Give me a sec to compose a text explaining how little I care' was Wally

'Yeah, sometimes it really be like that, huh' was Eddie, he said he "didn't have any cards that would fit the context."

'I've known you since you were in diapers. You were always saying the craziest stuff' was Barnaby saying he "couldn't decide which one to use"

'Focus on yourself babe. <3' was Howdy

'You need to sit down, take a Xanax and relax' was Julie, she said she "didn't know what a Xanax was, but the rest seemed to fit"

'Good for you...?' Was Frank, they said "it matched the confusion they were feeling"

'Really, Carol?' Was Sally who proudly said, "I don't know what Gluten free is but it sounds silly"

'Sorry my grandma says your rotten and granny knows what's up' was Poppy, saying she "didn't know what her other cards meant."

You snickered at Wally's card. Passing him the Inbox card, before composing yourself. "Now the next person to my left takes an Inbox card." You turned to your left, making Eddie take a card.

"Are Dentist supposed to ask you to take your clothes off? A little concerned right now..." Eddie read the card he picked, making you double over onto the table, laughing a little too hard.

[lifeislikeawavewhorisesupanddown]

A dream come true

Pensieri scritti di getto su un progetto letterario a cui sto lavorando da più di un anno che non è scritto di getto Sì, un sogno si è avverato. Andiamo per ordine. Riprendendo da dove vi avevo raccontato, un altro beta-reader mi ha dato i suoi preziosi consigli. Mi ha detto che devo trovare da me la sicurezza in ciò che ho scritto, non attraverso i beta-reader. Vero. Mi ha anche consigliato di…

[l0sercat]

Could you do a one shot with trickster, ghostface, and frank (separate) with a reader who’s the latest killer brought in by the entity? Please and thank you!

Killer's react to newest killer in the realm

Trickster

He will be judging you

If he likes you he will talk to you and getto know you

If he doesn't then he'll ignore you until you pique his interest

Say you do pique his interest then he'll slid next to you and spring his charm onto you

If you shrug him off etc. It will make him move curious and he'll go after you harder

He loves playing hard to get but if you don't give him a little some he'll leave and get bored

Ghostface

Walk right up to you and introduce himself

Will give you tips and tricks

Forces you to be buddies

Tons of photos are taken of you wether you want it or not

Definitely flirting half of the time

Tries to get in your pants cause he's a horny man

But if you make it clear that it will never happen he'll huff a bit but it will be it

He won't force himself on you because he rather not be torn apart

Frank

Doesn't really care that much

If your really flamboyant he might throw a glance your way

He'll only acknowledge you if you go up to him or you do something where he feels like he should engage

He'll be a little weary of you at first then may warm up to you and introduce you to the rest of the Legion

If you play your cards right

[stingywiththeirusername]

Sometimes I forget some things are canon.

[strrvnge]

Being Taken Care Of

Pairing: Stephen Strange x Reader

Summery: Stephen returns after an exhausting mission so you decide to take care of him

Warnings: MDI, +18, Oral (m receiving), sub(kinda)!Stephen, dom!reader, slight cockwarming, sammophilia(just mentioned)

With a deep inhale Stephen stepped out of the red sparkling ring finally getting home. His ribs and spine were in pure pain and he couldnt wait to getto his warm bed and have you cuddle onto him through the night.

It had been everythinghe was thinking today.

Taking off his cloak he sent it off before lumbering into the Sanctorum searching for you.

You've always waited for him when he was out for a mission, trying everything to stay up all night unable to sleep knowing he was out there in danger or that he might get hurt or worse. Just the mere thought of him not coming back was enough to keep you awake.

So ever since he joined the Avengers and went on missions he returned to you laying in the couch half asleep yet the moment he stepped into the room you ran to him wrapping yourself onto him asking a million questions, glad that he was home.

"Y/N?" He called your name but he received no answer, making him worried. There was no way you hadn't waited for him.

Deciding to go look to the living room he found you laying on the couch, peacefully sleeping with a pillow between your legs.

"Hello there" He smiled, gently pushing a few strands of hair out of your eyes.

"Stephen?", your voice muffled as you shoved your face to the pillow, your eyes too sensitive to the light. Hesitantly you blinked a couple times till Stephen's face stopped looking blurry.

"What happened?" Quickly you sat up noticing the fresh scar at his cheekbone. "Are you alright? When did you get back? Are you hurt? Oh god i fell asleep!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just slightly brushed"

"Where? Let me see" You tried to push aside his clothes to see, not believing him but beckre you could do anything he grabbed your hands to stop you.

"I'm fine. Really" He said with a chuckle

"Okay" you said and rubbed your eyes "Are you tired?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Let's go to bed, hm?"

…

You entered the room and quickly Stephen hopped on the bed.

"Let's take you off your clothes mister" you said but Stephen just sat there making you burst into laughter. "Let me help you"

You helped him out of his shirt before stepping back in shock. "Jesus Stephen what happened to you? I thought you won"

"We did Y/N. Please don"t yell" He said sighing, his head hurting already.

"Goodness are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?", you asked unable to shake off your worry.

"I am a doctor and I say I'm fine. I just need some good sleep and my woman not to nag me", he explained and you made a grimace

"Hat was so patriarchal of you Stephen" you mumbled under your breath before falling to your knees to undo your belt.

"It did shut your mouth though didn't it?" You glared at him and forcefully took off his boots.

"You can't imagine how awful today was", he said bringing his hand to rub his forehead, his tone now serious.

You hated seeing him like this. In pain and exhausted. Watching him go each time was hard but having him back telling you stories about violence and death and then when he noticed how worried you looked laughing it off never got easier. And then the next days never actually being there, his mind always wandering off to the memories of the previous days. He never let you comfort him however, lying that everything was fine when deep down you knew those kind of mission were hard for anyone to deal with. Battle scars weren't always that obvious and that's what make them so hard to heal.

"Let me make you feel good" you suddenly said and he raised his gaze in question. "Just let me help you feel nice"

"I'm really sorry but I can't tonight-"

"You don't have to do anything. Just let me take care of you for once, help you relax, keep you warm for the night" a devious smile appeared on your face as you spoke "You know"

"You don't have to we can just go to sleep and-Y/N" a low groan vibrated from his chest, not much like a warning but an evidence of his exhaustion.

"I told you, you don't have to do anything. Just let me take care of you", you whispered and continued to slowly pull down his pants.

His head sunk down into the pillow and with sleepless red eyes he stared at the ceiling, too tired to lie to you, pretending he didn't need you.

Have actually thought of all the places he would fuck you the moment he would get home. You know for motivation.

Taking his semi-hard cock into your little hands, you lazily stroked it though you knew he was already hard the moment he found you with only a tank top and your panties on the couch.

His girthy cock, hard against his stomach with precum leaking down length and the reddened head aching for you to take it into your warm mouth, god.

"Can I please take it into my mouth?" Stephen looked down at you and he could literally get choked into his own words with how you pouted at him with confused big dove eyes, pleading for permission.

You little minx.

"Please do" He breathed heavily and a sly grin formed in your face, before you opened wide your mouth and approached his cock only to take in just the head.

With your tongue you flicked over around his fat tip, making Stephen twitch and clench his grip, trying to make as less noise as possible. Taking it out of your mouth you leaked a strip up his cock and with the other hand you fondled his balls, making his muscular thighs flinched and him sit up.

"God, you're doing so good for me" He praises he kept one reassuring hand at the back of your head, slowly rubbing it.

Proud for making him feel good, you dipped your head further, leaking the underside veins that ran on his length. Stephen violently grabbed the white mattress, his knuckles turning white as he suppressed his moans.

"Don't hold back" you said, noticing the deep frown on his face and once you said it he let out a low groan that if you weren't the reason you would think he was in pain.

"You're such a good boy Stephen, you deserve it so much" you whispered seductively, fluttering your long lashes to him, even though you knew he had been staring to your breast.

"Fuck" He groaned once you poped a sloppy kiss on the bulbous tip of his cock, teasing the hell out of him.

"Please" He begged his knuckles aching by how hard he was clenching the sheets. "Please just-"

"Please what?" You asked in the most innocent yet sinister way possible."I won't do it if you don't say it Stephen"

"Fuck me", he pleaded desperately as if he was dying.

"Fine. But only because you're tired" you said and taking a deep breath you quickly shaved his fat cock into your mouth. Animalistic growls followed by unholy words and promises filled the room and you could already feel your panties sticking to your skin.

Your eyes watered as you tried to find a way of breathing, feeling him deep in the back of your throat.

"Are you alright?", he managed to ask even thought he was too lost into the wamrth of your lips that was now around all of his length.

You stop for a few seconds before starting to suck him again. Drool spilled through the corners of your mouth, and his hand find his place jn the back of your head, guiding your mouth into speeding up and down movements.

"Fuck"he whispered his lips parting "This feels so good sweetheart. So good", he and you could tell by how tight his balls got that he was close.

Tears spilled down your face as you struggled to take him and Stephen could swear he would cum just by that. Your mouth felt pure heaven to his aching cock, making any othe thought simply dissappear.

Hollowing your cheeks you felt yourself gagging and his pantings getting louder.

"Please I-" He started but was unable to form a single sentence. You nodded approvingly and he slowly starting thrusting into your mouth.

Hot seed spilled into your mouth and you swallowed. With slow and steady pace you bobed your head, sucking dry his sensitive cock.

Suddenly he jerked back pushing your head away from him, too tense. You watched as his beautiful naked body laid back,his chest rising up as he panted heavily.

"You're so fucking amazing" He huffed once his breath became steady again.

"Why don't you take off your panties too?"

"I thought you were tired", you chuckled softly, though the idea of him fucking you didn't sound that bad. If there was one positive about the whole go-on-deadly-missions-save-the-world then it was certainly how rough Stephen got in bed, the once fear of never seeing you again turning into unsatisfied lust and need.

"Why you don't want to?"

"No!" You exclaimed "No I do what to but no we won't do anything. You're hurt. Also I'm sleepy"

"Alright then. What about you just gonna fulfill your promise and keep me warm for the night?", he suggested and you rolled your eyes knowing you couldnt change his mind.

"Fine you little brat." You smirked to yourself before quickly pulling down your panties in once."But no funny business during the night"

Throwing your ruined panties in the other side of the room you stood over his legs you and with your hands you lined up your bare pussy with his cock before sunk into it.

Your jaw dropped as you groaned together, your wet walls hugging him tightly. His hands hungrily roamed over your body before lustfully taking off your shirt, exposing your warm breast to the cold room.

"C'me here here" with his hands just under your tits on the side of your ribs he pulled you to lay down onto him.

He groaned slightly once your bodies touched. "Are you alright?", worried you asked, forgetting about his sore body.

"Sure, sure I can handle you. It wont be the first time" He said and you laid down.

Pulling the blanket over your naked bodies, you nuzzled your face onto his neck and he pressed a kiss on the top of your head.

"You know I'm worried sick when you're out, right?" you mumbled and with his hand on the back ofcyour head he pulled you closer.

"I know darling, I know" He muttered giving you another kiss.

"Then why-"

"I have to" He absurdly cut you off and you stied quiet "I'm sorry"

"I know you're right" you slightly sat up But what can I say? I suppose I just want to lock you into the house turn you into my little housewife" you said making him laugh.

"So you admit my exceptional cooking abilities"

"Never"you said dramatically before popping him a kiss on the nose "Let's sleep now"

.

.

.

Bonus: Stephen was unable to sleep while being inside you so in the middle of the night he eats you out till you wake up and then fucks you like he should

[rosesloveletters]

Sweet Dreams.

pairing: Heath Ledger Joker x Fem. Reader

word count: 1,992

warnings: nudity, language

summary: Reader hasn’t had a proper night’s rest in days; J tries some unconventional methods. 

notes: another re-post.

You propped yourself up on your elbows with much strain, moaning drowsily. It was about this time every night whenever you would wake, blinking blearily to clear your cloudy vision and have a look about the room. You hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in days. On any given night you averaged anywhere from five to seven hours of sleep which was hardly enough for you regardless of the fact that you kept waking up mid-dream. It was beginning to grate on your nerves. You were exhausted during the daytime and you hadn’t enough time to nap. You could neither getto sleep or stayasleep; you couldn’t tell if you were tired from the lack of sleep itself or the irritation you were feeling at the entire situation.

The man sleeping beside you cleared his throat and you turned to look over your shoulder at J who was staring at you intensely, his dark eyes sharp and attentive as though he hadn’t been sleeping at all and he probably hadn’t, “what, ah…are ya doin’ up at this hour again, sweets?”

You opened your mouth, prepared to tell him how completely preposterous his question was since you obviously had no idea of an answer, when he looked at you with such ardor that it made you shiver as a warmth spread through your chest. You drew in a breath when a new feeling of emotional alertness jolted you awake and you surged forward to wrap your arms tight around him, kissing ‘I love you’s onto his lips.

J kissed back with a sureness of his own. You loved the way his bare lips felt, free of any paint that would only stand in your way from the man you loved with all your heart. You longed to be close to him like this more often. Every time you kissed him put your next breath into your lungs. You needed him in ways you could never explain to another person and you would never want to anyway. The love you shared with J was not for the world to know. What was between you and him was exactly that.

“Was it…the, uh, nightmaresagain?” J queried, “or the heat?”

You shrugged, “neither. I just can’t get my thoughts to slow down enough. It’s all just jumbled nonsense and racing ideas and pictures…usually it’s not like that at all. But lately I just can’t quiet down enough to sleep.”

J watched attentively as you got up from the bed and went into the bathroom and shut the door. He had deliberately chosen not to sleep because he knew you weren’t. It might’ve been more practical if he had slept a bit so that he would be more awake to keep watch, but he wasn’t feeling tired either. He didn’t like seeing you like this, nor did he like not knowing why you weren’t able to sleep. He had tried everything in the past few days: took all the blankets off the bed so that you only had one and weren’t too hot, turned on the fan but it had dried out the air too much and hurt your throat, made sure you hadn’t eaten anything too close to bedtime and many more ideas he’d had to try and curb your inability to sleep through the night. Nothing had completely solved the problem and he could tell by your facial expression that it was frustrating you much more than it was him.

J sat up and combed his fingers through his hair as he waited on your return. You emerged from the bathroom minutes later and made your way back over to the bed. You crawled in and pulled the sheets up to your chest, “you took the blankets away again,” you complained, “where did you hide them this time?”

J snorted, “you’ll find ‘em in the morning.”

That statement was menacing enough; you weren’t sure why he felt the need to hidethem when you could’ve just taken them off the bed yourself so you’d be a little cooler. J had his ways and if he thought it worked then you weren’t going to get in the way of his process.

“That’s nice,” you whispered as you closed your eyes and tried to will sleep to come. It never worked that way but most of the night was spent trying anyway, so why stop now?

“Here,” your eyes snapped open as you felt him propping you up and thrust a water bottle towards your face, “drink this.”

A little bit of the room temperature liquid splashed onto your shirt and you whined, “J! Watch yourself…”

The corner of his lips twitched with amusement as he held the bottle closer, “drink,” he repeated himself and this time you did as you were told. You wrapped your lips around the opening and J tilted the bottle forward, letting you have a nice, long pull, “there we go, sweets. Good girl. Down the hatch.”

You wiped your mouth and looked up at him, “thanks,” you sighed and laid back down at his side. You had kept your cuddling of him to a minimum; the room was too hot to sleep close to each other and you weren’t about to risk getting any less sleep just to be a little closer to J even though it was killing you that you weren’t in his arms.

J grunted as he screwed the cap back onto the bottle and set it on the nightstand. He didn’t know what else to do to calm you down, “let’s try somethin’ new, shall we?”

You didn’t turn up your nose at the suggestion despite not knowing the details of what it was. You were about to ask him to elaborate when he started getting out of bed. You watched him rise from the sheets, silken fabric pooling down from his bare form like a black wave. His pale skin was littered with various scars and rough-looking bumps. They stood out in stark contrast against the pale moonlight. You longed to touch each one, to kiss the length of every bit of those healed lacerations on his creamy flesh. J tugged his boxers off his hips and let them fall to the floor where he kicked them off, then promptly went to tugged the final sheet off of the mattress.

A flood of cold air hit your body as J whipped the sheet off. You pulled your knees up to your chest and shuddered, “is that necessary?”

J gave you a look that said ‘don’t ask questions’ and you immediately ceased to speak any more as you watched him come back to bed. He got in beside you, never taking his eyes off you, “get your clothes off-ah…”

“Are you serious?”

J’s expression darkened and you knew that there was no use in questioning him because he was not going to let any of this go. You sat up straight and yanked your shirt over your head. J blatantly looked down, eyeing your naked breasts before he expelled a sigh, waiting on you to hurry it up. You shimmied around and managed to get yourself the rest of the way undressed. You crossed your arms over your chest as you waited to see what would come next or if J was just doing this to mess with you because he was bored. Sometimes it was hard to tell what he was thinking, especially if it involved taking clothing off of any kind. You hesitantly met his eyes and he extended one arm out and put it around your waist.

You let him guide you closer, pressing your body up against his. Each of you laid on your sides, limbs tangled with one another’s as J held you flush against his nude body.

“Now,” he said, “we won’t get, uh, too hot.”

You smiled a little bit as you held him close. Your hands rubbed the length of his back, fingers ghosting over several large, protruding scars. The one that interested you most was one over his left hip. It was jagged and pink, thick from how deep the wound must’ve been. You never asked how he had received it only because you weren’t sure he’d tell you. He never said much about the scars on his back and you never asked, nor would you unless he offered it up. Some things were better left unsaid and you could tell that J was grateful to you for never asking such a bold question as this.

“Thank you, J,” you kissed his cheek and watched him twitch at the sensation. It had been a long while since J had been kissed so lovingly, in such a domestic setting such as this. You felt him nudge you backwards a little and you took the implication as that J was not in the mood to be loved on right now. You began to settle, letting him rub your back in slow circles as you closed your eyes once again.

It was time to quiet down. J was a no-nonsense man when it came to you getting your rest. You had no idea that he practically worried himself to death when you got off-schedule like this. As much as J knew anarchy, he knew how much people relied on their schedules. J liked anarchy because of the chaos it caused. If there were no rules then there were no schedules and without schedules and routines, people went crazy. J didn’t want that for you. He didn’t want you to experience what it felt like to have no control over your own life at all. He wanted you to be able to sleep when you needed to, eat what you wanted and go wherever you pleased. You had to have somecontrol, even if it was just the ability to have a good night’s rest. You needed that much, at least.

J continued to rub your back in silence, holding you so close that he could feel your chest rise and fall with each breath. He didn’t have any idea how long you would stay asleep this time or if you even would get into a deep sleep at all, but he would try to help as best he could. He had already tried to do as much as he could for you and it bothered him that nothing had been right as of yet. He knew in the back of his mind that you would eventually work it out within yourself, but watching you go through the process was difficult. He didn’t like seeing you frustrated or anxious or upset in any way. He got his enjoyment of seeing those emotions within others, notthe one he cared about. J got his kicks in where he needed them, but he would never laugh at your expense.

You had fallen asleep in J’s arms, pressed firmly to his chest with his heartbeat in your ear. He let out a gentle sigh of relief; you were finally,finallyout cold and J wondered how long he could keep it that way. All he knew was that he wouldn’t move a muscle for the rest of the night if it meant the difference between you getting a full night’s sleep or not. The same heavy feeling was building within him as well and he could feel sleep pulling at his eyelids, daring him to let them fall closed. He fought it for as long as he could but the end was imminent. J couldn’t keep this up forever, much like you couldn’t. Your warm body was too much of a distraction to him and he took comfort in the way you held him while you slumbered peacefully. It was all too much and soon he succumbed, letting the dark wave of sleep wash over him as he tucked his head in the crook of your neck and held you through the night.

[linkemon]

Zeke Yeager x Reader

[Reader] przedziera się między Diabłami z Paradis, próbując znaleźć jedyną osobę, na której jej naprawdę zależy...

Praca znajduje się również na Wattpadzie (pod tym samym nickiem). Beta: Dusigrosz

Dodatkowe informacje: 1. Spoilery do 4 sezonu SNK (lub do 26 tomu mangi).

Biegłam przed siebie. Miałam wrażenie, jakbym mijała obce ulice. Getto w ciągu kilku minut zamieniło się w ruinę. Szary, gęsty dym szczypał w oczy. Ogień szalał tym mocniej, im bliżej głównego placu byłam. Kamienice drżały w posadach. Osłoniłam głowę, gdy kamienny blok upadł zaraz obok. Osoba przede mną nie miała tyle szczęścia, co ja. Krew zmieszała się z szarym pyłem i kamiennymi odłamkami. Tak blisko. Nabrałam powietrza, czując szloch wzbierający gdzieś w środku. Dopóki mijałam trupy, wszystko wydawało się odrealnione. Teraz jednak myśl, że to ja mogłam tu leżeć, stała się namacalna.

Słyszałam kiedyś od Zeke'a, że żołnierz nigdy nie jest w pełni przyzwyczajony do śmierci. Nieważne, którą z kolei bitwę toczy. Zawsze może przyjść moment załamania. Trzeba się więc mieć na baczności. Kiedy to opowiadał, nie zwróciłam szczególnej uwagi na jego słowa. W końcu panował pokój, a plan inwazji na Paradis nie dotyczył mnie bezpośrednio.

Ciało pod gruzami lekko się poruszyło. Wzdrygnęłam się. Ze strachem uświadomiłam sobie prawdę. Chciałam wrócić na mój bezpieczny posterunek. Z dala od walk. Mimo wszystko pragnęłam zawrócić i przetrwać. Jak najgorszy tchórz.

Spojrzałam w stronę tytanów w samym środku piekła. Podniosłam broń, która nie wiadomo kiedy wypadła mi z rąk. Drżącymi dłońmi ścisnęłam ją najmocniej jak potrafiłam. Zmusiłam się do postawienia kroku.

Kątem oka zauważyłam ciemną sylwetkę na dachu. Postać oddała strzał. Nie trafiła. W odpowiedzi pociągnęłam za spust. Nie zaczekałam, by sprawdzić, czy pocisk dotarł tam, gdzie powinien. Skręciłam w prawo. Minęłam targowisko. Poprzewracane stragany spowolniły mnie na moment. Kaleki, na wpół żywy Erdianin wyciągnął rękę w opasce w moją stronę. Rzęził coś w kółko, plując krwią. Pewnie chciał, żebym mu pomogła. Złapał mnie za nogę.

— Puść mnie — wymamrotałam.

Ledwo słyszałam swój głos we wszechobecnym dudnieniu. Jego brzmienie zdawało się obce. Krzyki i jęki dokoła doprowadzały mnie do szału.

— Puszczaj mnie, do cholery!

Jak w obłędzie szarpnęłam kończyną. Trafiłam w głowę. Mężczyzna wrzasnął, rozluźniając uścisk.

W mojej głowie panowała tylko jedna myśl — znaleźć Tytana Zwierzęcego. Jeszcze chwilę temu górował nad miastem. Miotał kamieniami, dziesiątkując diabły z Paradis. Wydawało się, że dzięki niemu wygrają wojnę. Uzurpator radził sobie coraz gorzej, otoczony przez Mareńczyków. Potem jednak, na morzu, pojawił się Kolosalny. Gorące powietrze dotarło nawet do mnie, choć wybrzeże znajdowało się tak daleko. Z zaskoczenia skorzystał Ackermann. Mordercze ostrze i zawrotna szybkość. To przed nim ostrzegało nas dowództwo.

Kiedy Jaeger opowiadał, jak silny jest przeciwnik, zbyłam go. W końcu nikt nie miał prawa się z nim równać. Nie w moich oczach. Człowiek, którego kochałam, był nadzieją ludzkości. Miał plany, marzenia i wizję. Doceniono go. Został dowódcą. Prowadził nas ku zwycięstwu. A teraz to wszystko rozpadało się na moich oczach. Przegrywaliśmy.

Wpatrywałam się w ogromne, włochate cielsko. Leżało bezwładnie. W karku ziała dziura. Bomba zrobiła swoje, a Levi dokończył dzieła. Dorwał słaby punkt. Ciemnoczerwona krew pokrywała całą szyję tytana. Dojrzałam też ludzką rękę, leżącą kilkadziesiąt metrów dalej. Biały, poplamiony rękaw. Rozpoznałam go bez trudu po mankiecie. Sama przyszyłam mu niepasujący, kolorowy guzik.

Nie było łez ani smutku. Tylko niedowierzanie i wściekłość, przesłaniająca wszystko. Na ślepo przebrnęłam z powrotem przez ulice. Jak w obłędzie kroczyłam najbardziej uczęszczaną ścieżką. Krycie się po kątach nie miało już sensu. Wrzeszczałam, zła na mieszkańców Paradis, bo odebrali mi wszystko, co ważne. Dom, batalion, przyjaciół i Zeke'a. Usłyszało mnie dwóch zwiadowców. Byłam szybsza. Tym razem przystanęłam i przyglądałam się, jak umierają. Miałam nadzieję, że sprawi mi to przyjemność. Myliłam się. W środku czułam tylko nieugaszony, szalejący gniew.

Z dziwnej spirali szaleństwa wyrwał mnie dopiero widok Gabi i Falco. Przez moment wydawało mi się, że to tylko złudzenie. Nie powinni tu być. Zawzięcie się kłócili. Obok nich leżał martwy wróg, przyczepiony do dziwnej linki. Podążyłam za nią wzrokiem. Przyczepiono ją do sterowca. Diabły chciały na nim uciec. Z powrotem tam, skąd przybyły. Odlatywali na tle ciemnego, bezgwiezdnego nieba. Zdążyli zmienić całe moje życie w ciągu kilku chwil, a teraz mieli czelność stąd znikać.

Miasto legło w gruzach. To już nie był ten sam widok, który oglądałam z Jaegerem. Natarczywe dudnienie zamiast łagodnego szumu fal. Krzyki dogorywających ludzi zamiast krzyku mew. Zapach dymu zamiast nikotyny z palonego przez niego papierosa. Czerwona krew zamiast niebieskiego, spokojnego oceanu. Śmierć zamiast miłości.

Braun złapała za spust mechanizmu. Niewiele myśląc, przywarłam do jej pleców. To samo zrobił Grice. Pomknęliśmy w górę na tym przeklętym sprzęcie. Moje nogi swobodnie wisiały w powietrzu. Z trudem podciągnęłam się, łapiąc uchwyt. Widok zniszczeń z tej wysokości wydawał się jeszcze bardziej makabryczny niż przedtem. Wzięłam głęboki wdech. Zimne powietrze smakowało zupełnie inaczej niż to na dole.

Wpadłam do małego pomieszczenia, wypuszczając serię z karabinu. Przez moment stali nieruchomo. Atak z zaskoczenia. W takim sam sposób zginął Zeke. A teraz ja odpłacałam się Erdianom pięknym za nadobne. Śmiałam się histerycznie z tej ironii. Nie wiedziałam, ile osób zraniłam, ale nie miało to znaczenia. Wszystko trwało krótką chwilę. Nie spodziewałam się innego obrotu spraw. W końcu mieli przewagę liczebną.

Ktoś mnie unieruchomił. Zarobił dwa kopniaki. Tylko tyle dałam radę zrobić po tym, jak odebrano mi karabin. Splunęłam mu w twarz, czując, jak oddaje cios. Wkrótce dołączyli do niego inni. Straciłam kilka zębów. Ból brzucha stał się niczym w porównaniu do tego pulsującego w czaszce. Wyrywałam się, ale na nic.

Gabi też walczyła. Gryzła, wrzeszczała i uderzała na oślep jeszcze długo po tym, jak ją związano. Falco zrezygnowany klęczał spokojnie. Zawsze wiedziałam, że dziewczyna lepiej nadawała się na posiadaczkę Opancerzonego. Miała w sobie odwagę, o jakiej chłopak mógł tylko pomarzyć.

— Diabły z Paradis! — krzyczałam.

Miałam nadzieję, że w końcu przyłożą mi na tyle mocno, bym straciła przytomność. Niestety nic takiego nie nastąpiło. Zacisnęłam więc zęby, próbując zrozumieć, co się dzieje wokół mnie.

Wyglądało na to, że nie mają zamiaru zabijać dzieci. Coś podobnego powiedział dowódca. Na tyle, na ile dobrze usłyszałam. Wciąż mocno szumiało mi w głowie. Zaśmiałam się wniebogłosy. Zarobiłabym kolejny cios, gdyby ktoś nie powstrzymał żołnierza. Przed nimi stali przecież kandydaci mareńskiej armii do przejęcia tytanów. A oni w swojej niewiedzy chcieli się nad nimi litować.

Ja jednak byłam dorosłym wrogiem. Mnie współczucie nie obejmowało, więc bez skrupułów wycelowano w moją skroń. Zimna lufa mile chłodziła rozpalone czoło. Spojrzałam w stronę wciąż otwartych drzwi. Udało mi się dostrzec skrawek nieba. Każdy widok przed śmiercią był lepszy niż twarze Erdian.

— Idę do ciebie, Zeke — szepnęłam, gdy wystrzelili.

[jsbold]

A questa ci tengo particolarmente, come ad ogni altro Loose Thought. È qualcosa che ho buttato giù di getto. Riguarda la morte, le battaglie della vita... la perdita di persone a noi care e la perdita di noi stessi. Se siete interessati mi trovate su Spreaker, Youtube e Soundcloud.

Stay curious readers.                                                                                            Stay bold writers.                                                                                            Stay tuned. 

Sempre vostra, J. S. Bold

[lifeislikeawavewhorisesupanddown]

Next step?

Pensieri scritti di getto su un progetto letterario a cui sto lavorando da più di un anno che non è per niente scritto di getto Quasi un mese fa ho mandato il mio manoscritto ai beta-reader e in parte sono rimasta delusa perché solo due persone mi hanno fatto sapere qualcosa a riguardo: uno l’ha già letto e se fosse per lui dovrei pubblicarlo seduta stante, l’altro mi ha detto che è migliorato…

[rldraws]

Book Review: Batter of Wits by Karla Sorensen

Book Review: Batter of Wits by Karla Sorensen

Somehow, I keep picking up random books in a series, generally not the first one. Maybe I need to pay more attention? Maybe it doesn’t matter! It really didn’t in this case, so let’s getto it, shall we?

First, a bit about my experience as a romance reader. I’ve had trouble finding romance novels that I actually like. Some that I’ve found bore me to fricking tears or the writing is just plain…

[iguessweallcrazyithinktho]

Nah whites have been getting fanfictions wrote about them for the end of time. Y'all been pushing us POC aside and ignoring our demands to stop adding white women qualities to your fanfictions because we all aren't white for one and for two the x reader tag is for EVERYONE. Y'all wanna call us black people nigger with a hard r and latinas getto just because we want to be included.

But now that we're speaking up about it it hurts y'all and y'all act like it's hard to not write a fic that describes a white girl.. it's not hard, I do it every day because I want everyone to enjoy my fic. Not just one group of people

you getting so mad that white people don’t always write POC OCs in their fanfics is really amusing. imagine it the other way; how terrible of a person would i be if i threw a fit that a POC didn’t have white OCs?

I’m so sorry but u sound sooo fucking dumb and it’s the fact that u wasted ur time coming into my inbox typing this when I don’t give a fuck on what you have to say when I know that ur probably a white person trying to give ur unnecessary opinion where it’s not needed😂✋🏽

Anybody else wanna try me??

[greenpaladinofnature-blog]

If i get someone instred in it I may make a Rebellion/Hitoshura blog

full details under cut but there are a few users I want to aviod...mostly for my own personal helth.

So me and Angelic got to talking last night about the DMC timeline and how it actually omitted the novels and was a cut page because the DMC timelien was supose to be up to intrepretation just like the ages of voltron characters and this was done to aviod discorse on rather or not the books were legit since the novels that take place after he parts ways with Lady in the end of 3 and before he meets trish in begining of 1 around the time after Lucias death in 2. (lucia being hintead art as another one of his first demon hunting partners the other his canon feancee’ Beryl but shit goes down part of the plotline and they break up its a plot thing SO NO SPOILERS you really want to read the novel if your a BIG DMC fan. it will give you a better insite into Dantes mindset around women.)

well the “offical guyde book” was the smae deal with the timeline it was a headcanon that got published when it should not have because canon was open to individual influince (being rather or not you read the novels.

artists do this to aviod having to go into information they consider to be irrelivant and or self explanitory just liek its self explanitory that all the paladins were Students at the Garrison (under their real names at one point in time) so ergo however you see the garrison should be refelcted in how old you see the paladins. this has not happened for the very reason there was not a DMC timeline ever supose to be published.

I did some digging it turns out the misprint of the Dropped page in the DMC Trade Paperback was only printed in about 500 copies and most are listed as “destoryed” meaingn with a rateing of 2 or lower “missing pages, water damage, ripped covers and basicly a very poor quality not even useful as a reader but more as parts to repair other copies. soem were even traded in and destoryed by publisher, But GET THIS again here “Indago books” was said to have copies of this book but the book was missing the holografic centerfold the offical one had that was YOU GUESSD IT a nodd to the novel in the fact it had a full color image of Dante and his original two partners! Lucia and Beyrl in the background.

so thanks to soem fake distribtuors there are a list of 800 FALSE copies on the market.

We wager that Tay who is a advid Anti Danshura (Dante/Hitoshura) along with one of her friends more than liekly has a fake but it should benoted the fake is MISSING the holografic centerfold that is present in all the originals.so voltron fandom; Fam dont worry you arent teh only peeps to fall for that shit. Trolls been using fakes to herass amd poke peple in other fandoms for years.

In fact I even saw the nutral ending loop endind bad ending in nocturne and yep I can confrim Naoki’s (the original name for the protagonist of nocturne) computer does get a total of 5 e-mails but only 3 are of importance One indicated the School he attending is a Combined Highschool Univrsity (not entirely uncommon japan since you have to take a test before getting into hicgschool) one is a e-birthday card form Chikai along with a “still not a date” type invite (halarious and I wish they translated these in the english version) that confirm that the protagonist is 20 years old and thelast one recived CONFIRMS the nutral ending is a TIME LOOP and he was dropped off before hte meeting to visit his “sick teacher”

Now another confirmation form teh creators Piunpoint dantes age at this time to be 25. this means its canon that HItoshura is only 5 years younger than Dante UNLESS you go with teh SMT alt True Demon ending where Hitoshura runs off with Raidou and Has never meet Dante.

In this timeline for nocturne it’s 100% possible for Hitoshura to not only be older than Dante by literaly hundreds of years, its possibel for him to be a force behind rebellions power and That got me thinking that would be an awsome muse to do but the DMC community is another brand of toxic in most instances so only if I get a dante instred will I try that boat.

clearly I would prefer Tay’s influince free because I have seen peopel liek her and relitivly have no desire to even roleplay around them they are very toxic in nature and constantly degrigating people around them to minipluate their “favs” its destructive abusive (in the miniplitive since) and assinine.

I have enough shit form this dusty person (who im not suprised they know, still have no fucking clue why dutsty is so hellbent on makeing me look liek shit thou bitch allredy reeks of entitlement of the kind that I get triggered by and do my best to aviod STAY IN YOUR FUCKIN LANE WHORE not liek im intentionaly gogint o send you requests anytime soon or at all for that matter let me have my fuckign corner and stay in yours.) I do not need her firends startign shit with me too. (and yes im wawre its been a while since you poked a contact of mine and I know who you shat on me to so thanks for beign an asshole to Lance mun. you do not want to know how I found out you were behind that crap but dusty with all due respect leave my firends alone and FUCK YOU!

bottom lien tay and her retard group (that really just need to make their gettoh asses private since they are rather agressivly exclusive anyway) If I get a dante or sparda that is game (and willign to accept that theespellweaveris indeed a posychotic troll still talking shit about me behind my back and needs to be ignored in that regard) I may make a Rebellion/Hitoshura Side blog... thou I honestly doubt I will find them on tumblr anymore given again “agressivly exclusive” nature of the “popluar BITCH” (I shoudnt even have to have deal with dusty because the misgendering was form an anonmious using friend of Evans who DID APOLIGZE for it to spite beter judgement telling them it wouldnt matter for shit and it didn’t because dusty was being an entitleasit WHORE again of the likes that use their trans status to hurt other people. in case they were wondering THAT IS WHY PEOPEL QUESTION RATHER YOUR REALLY TRANS)

So clerification Dantes timelien literaly has NOTHING to do with HItosrua’s age ratio to him since its canon in the verse where Dante is the one he meets that they are only 5 years apart. the other timeline being one where he sncounters Raidou instead and inherits time traveling powers thrugh his “Bound By Fate” relationship with the Devil Summoner.

Dusty DID recive their apoligy form the person who did misgender them and Evan agreeed with their friend that Dusty was not goign to accept it in for of continueing to attack her with their trans status whocxh is exactly what happened and I have had really really negitive esperinces with people like dusty who use their trans status to attack others before and would favor avioding users like DUSTY who use their trans status as a means to intimidate or hertass other users. gender nutral promouns used for dusty in light ofher raseing hell with Lovceismysword who contridicted the first gender dusty was refered to by evans friend since dusty themself said they were the oppsite gender. this act confirms that dusty was indeed using their trans status to intimidate and herass users.

Dusty if you are really trans you need to stop this shit where you use the fact your trans to attack people; that is why your prefrence is not being belived (also your mini bio did apprintly say at the time you prefer Male pronouns you cant not stick a correction in your rules to “test people” because your just insulting people who do not want to roleplay with you at that point because you create DRAMA and bitch about the very drama you created.

and I just know you guys are goign to see this bitch whine fuss and complaign so FUCK YOU anyway because you are more willign to listen to a kown CYBERBULLY than their victim so tryign to talk since into your lot is useless. just stay in your fuckign lanes and Tay you getto ass needs to stop pretendin to be a ex roleplay partner of mine. (ya we notice the icon change to Shiro and the claim  you made with it too. congrats you exposed your own ass because that “fact” was a HC between me and Vaguely relitive to one of our ploted verses.)

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Andrew Offutt, The Broken Sword, Walt Simonson, Siege of Malta, Lovecraft Lunch Bags

Authors (The Silver Key): Andrew J. Offutt was a complex, deeply flawed man. A resident of rural Kentucky, Offutt was a husband and a father who supported his family with a successful insurance business, a job which he did not love and ultimately abandoned to make the bold leap into full-time writing. He was at one time a promising science fiction writer. He also subjected his children to emotional neglect, held baseless grudges against various personages, lacked a full emotional maturity and cohesive personality, and held a life-long obsession with pornography.

New Release (DMR Books): Next week will see the release of the 20th title from DMR Books. After publishing numerous excellent authors past and present, for the first time I’ll get to release a collection of my own writings! Necromancy in Nilztiria contains thirteen stories of adventure and wonder with a touch of gallows humor. A few of the tales have appeared before in other publications, but most will see print here for the first time (including “A Twisted Branch of Yggdrasil,” which was supposed to be included in the ill-fated Flashing Swords #6).

Fiction (Dark Herald): It was written in 1954, you can tell it was written in 1954 because it couldn’t be written today. This is a work of high tragedy that is strongly influenced by the Norse sagas.  If you like Game Thrones but would prefer that it be written by a non-sadist that can actually fit a story that should only take two hundred pages, into two hundred pages.  This is the book for you.

  RPG (Kairos): A speculative element is what sets the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror apart from literary fiction. There’s no element more speculative than magic, and it’s become a common term of art to speak of an SFF universe’s “magic system”. By reader request, here is my philosophy of magic in genre fiction–with advice on how to handle magic in your secondary world.

    Lovecraft (Tentaculii): So, kiddies, it’s back to school on Tuesday 1st September. Here are a few suggestions for last-minute rush-orders for school stuff, to arrive Monday. All available now on eBay… The H.P. Lovecraft shoulder bag for all your stuff, robust in black and blood red…

History (Compagnia san Michele blog): A common misconception is that the siege of Malta of 1565 was a one-on-one battle between an army of Hospitaller Knights against an all-Turkish invasion force. The opposing forces, in reality, were composed of troops hailing from a number of locations. In this write-up we will look at some foreign forces assisting the Order of St John in the defence of Malta. According to contemporary sources such as the diary of Francisco Balbi di Correggio, who served as a harquebusier during the siege, and from later historiography such as the work of Giacomo Bosio, the total defending force comprised of approximately the following:

Art & Philosophy (Chrislans Down): Over at Amatopia, Alexander Hellene discusses nihilism, primarily in art. It’s a good post, worth reading. There’s one segment of it that I want to discuss, though, because I think that it somewhat misses the bigger picture. There are two ways in which this misses the bigger picture.

Fiction (Amatopia): The Fall of Hyperion may as well be titled Hyperion: Part Two, as it picks up right where the first book in Dan Simmons’s Hyperion Cantos abruptly ends. Yet The Fall of Hyperion doesn’t merely pick up the story, it runs with it into wild, exciting directions before delivering a deeply satisfying conclusion that actually resolves mysteries while creating a few new ones to propel the narrative into the final two books of the series.

Pulp Science Fiction (Pulp.Net): Ray Cummings (1887-1957) is one of the “founding fathers” of pulp science fiction who unfortunately never got out of the “pulp getto.” During his career he wrote some 750 works, most for the pulps, and mostly science fiction. I was surprised to learn he had written quite a bit outside of sf. His most well-known work is Girl in the Golden Atom. This was his first original professional sale as the short story “Girl in the Golden Atom” in All-Story Weekly in 1919.

Science Fiction (Porpor Books): ‘Cestus Dei’ (283 pp) was published by Tor Books in June 1983. The cover art is by Kevin Eugene Johnson. This novel first was published, in greatly shortened form, as a hardback book titled ‘The Strayed Sheep of Charun’, issued by Doubleday / The Science Fiction Book Club in 1977. ‘Charon’ was John Maddox Roberts’s (b. 1947) first published novel. Roberts went on to be a prolific sci-fi and fantasy author during the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, writing novels for the Dragonlance and Conan franchises, as well as for his own ‘SPQR’, ‘Stormlands’, ‘Cingulum’, and ‘Island Worlds’ properties.

History (Western Fictioneers): Happy National Rum Day! This Sunday (August 16) is National Rum Day. I felt inspired to write an article about my personal favorite form of alcohol – along with some other libations your character would have been exposed to in the Old West. The first North American distillery began making rum in present-day Staten Island, New York (or New Amsterdam) in 1664. The earliest spirits distilled in the colonies were rum, gin, and brandies.

Comic Books (Diversions of the Groovy Kind): Walt Simonson’s birthday was this past Wednesday. If you ever wondered how much Ol’ Groove loves the handiwork of Walter Simonson, just check out any of the 66 (this will make 67) posts he’s featured in here on DotGK! There’s a reason the Marvel Bullpen nick-named him “Wondrous”! Here’s a huge pile of spectacular Simonson masterworks for you to ooh and ah over–then go check out all those other posts to give it all some context–and yourself added joy! Happy 74th, Mr. Simonson! Groove City loves you tons!

Edgar Rice Burroughs (DMR Books): The two defining works of ERB’s career, A Princess of Mars (1912) followed shortly after by Tarzan of the Apes, hit the pulp readership of All-Story Magazine like a bombshell. Nobody had ever read anything quite like those novels. Movies and hardcovers soon followed. For the mass market impact, the movies were more important. However, the hardcovers allowed young, aspiring writers who never had a chance to read the original pulp appearances–authors like Robert E. Howard, C.L. Moore and Fritz Leiber–to devour the early Burroughs classics.

  Alt History (According to Quinn): One of the causes for the decline and fall of the (Western) Roman Empire is the revival of the old enemy Persia under the vigorous Sassanid dynasty. This gave Rome a major military threat to the east at the same time the Germanic tribes were growing larger and more organized and the weaknesses of the Roman imperial system (namely how the armies could make emperors in the provinces) were becoming apparent.

Pulp & Comic Books (Mens Pulp Mags): Lately, I’ve been on a Mike Shayne kick. My reading and watching involving that famed Miami-based Private investigator has led to a series of posts on this blog, starting one about the first appearance of a Mike Shayne story in a men’s adventure magazine, “The Naked Frame” in BLUEBOOK, February 1953. I blame my Shayne trip on my new friend Bill “Mad Pulp Bastard” Cunnigham and my old friend, novelist, editor and retromedia maven Paul Bishop.

RPG (Monsters and Manuals): Dickheads bring sexual content into a gaming session. This is one of the fairly large number of things that traditional conservatives and woke types can merrily agree on: don’t bring up the issue of sex unless you are really sure it’s appropriate. And never bring up the issue of rape at all, because: why are you doing that other than to either be deliberately edgy, or be a creep?

Dickheads hog the limelight. If you feel like you are talking too much, you probably are. If you don’t, you still probably are.

Fiction (Chrislans Down): Over on Twitter, Benjamin Kit Sun Cheah wrote a very interesting thread on Wuxia (Chinese heroes) and the meaning of this genre. He kindly gave me permission to quote it in full here since that’s much easier to read than a Twitter thread if you’re not used to Twitter.

Fiction (Paperback Warrior): Using a combination of the names Ian Fleming (James Bond) and Alistair MacLean (Where Eagles Dare), author Marvin Albert (1924-1996) conceived the pseudonym of Ian MacAlister in the early 1970s. The prolific author of crime-fiction, tie-in novels, and westerns authored many books under his own name as well as the names of Al Conroy and Nick Quarry. Conveniently, at the height of the 1970s high-adventure market, Albert used the MacAlister pseudonym to write four genre novels.

Paranormal and Fiction (Tellers of Weird Tales): Six months ago, before the world fell apart, I wrote about the evolution of the flying saucer from nineteenth-century airship to twentieth-century flying disk. Now I write again. It seems to me that the conceit of the nineteenth century was both progressive and romantic. The conceit was that Science, this new and exciting force, could be and would be used to solve previously intractable human problems. Airships were a symbol of this kind of thinking, the belief being that airships, because of their great power, would render war impossible to wage.

Crime Fiction (Pulp Serenade): I initially reviewed Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg’s By Hook or By Crook, and 30 More of the Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year (2010, Tyrus Books) when it was new, and when we could count on new anthologies from its editors every year to highlight a fine array of stories from writers new and old, our favorite writers of today and tomorrow. How I miss those times. Cancer robbed readers of both of them, Greenberg first, in 2011, and Gorman in 2016.

Manga (Karavansara): Hiroaki Samura’s dark fantasy Blade of the Immortal was the last manga that I bought regularly before I decided it was too expensive a hobby, and I did not like the local fandom anyway. The fact that the Italian publisher of the series went belly up halfway through the comic’s run was also part of my decision to let it go, and with it let go of the whole hobby for a decade or two.

RPG (Skulls in the Stars): Operation Seventh Seal (1985), by Evan Robinson. Let’s look at an adventure from another TSR roleplaying game, Top Secret! Top Secret was introduced in 1980 as a contemporary espionage roleplaying game, designed by Merle M. Rasmussen and published by TSR. Looking back on playing Top Secret as a teen, I’m struck at how strange it is: it is effectively “spy D&D,” with a group of 4ish spies accomplishing missions. But can you imagine anything less practical than doing espionage as a *group*?

Sensor Sweep: Andrew Offutt, The Broken Sword, Walt Simonson, Siege of Malta, Lovecraft Lunch Bags published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[douglasacogan]

Split Second Circuit panel grants feds request for mandamus to preclude a jury nullification instruction in child porn case involving 15-year mandatory minimum

A helpful reader made sure I did not miss this How Appealing post flagging the fascinating split Second Circuit panel ruling yesterday in US v. Manzano, No. 18-3430 (2d Cir. Dec. 18, 2019) (available here).  The start of the majority opinion sets forth the basics:

Respondent Yehudi Manzano stands charged with production of child pornography, an offense punishable by a mandatory minimum term of fifteen years’ imprisonment, and transportation of child pornography, which is punishable by a mandatory minimum term of five years’ imprisonment.  Shortly before trial, he filed motions requesting permission to argue for jury nullification — in essence, that the jury should render a verdict not in accordance with the law — and to present evidence regarding the sentencing consequences of a conviction in this case.  On the eve of trial, the district court (Underhill, Chief Judge) granted Manzano’s request to argue jury nullification, but reserved decision on the admissibility of evidence regarding the sentencing consequences of a conviction.

The government now seeks a writ of mandamus directing the district court to (1) preclude defense counsel from arguing jury nullification, and (2) exclude any evidence of sentencing consequences at trial.  Applying settled law in this circuit, we hold that the government has a clear and indisputable right to a writ directing the district court to deny defense counsel’s motion for leave to argue jury nullification, and that the other conditions for mandamus relief are satisfied.  We further hold that, at this time, the government does not possess a clear and indisputable right to a writ directing the district court to exclude any evidence of sentencing consequences.

Here is the start of Judge Barrington Parker's partial dissent:

We are fortunate that the prosecutors in this Circuit nearly always bring a high degree of professionalism, good judgment, and common sense to bear in the exercise of their responsibilities.  This case presents the unusual circumstance where a conscientious jurist is confronted with a charging decision that, in his considered judgment, reflects an abuse of prosecutorial power.  Charging decisions are, of course, by and large the exclusive province of prosecutors. 

There is a straightforward solution that could avoid the problems raised by the petition and discussed in this dissent.  The petition should be held in abeyance and the case remanded to the District Court, at which time the prosecutors could revisit their charging decision. If they chose not to do so, they could provide information as to why they believed their decision was appropriate. If this approach did not resolve the problem, this Court could then revisit the petition.

Faced with the Government’s charging decision, Judge Underhill could, I suppose, have acquiesced in whatever the prosecutors wanted.  But he is not a piece of Steuben glass. Instead, witnessing what he perceived to be abuse, he pushed back.  I believe that most conscientious jurists would have done the same.  I have no difficulty concluding that Judge Underhill was right to do so.  “[F]ederal courts have authority under their supervisory powers to oversee the administration of criminal justice within federal courts.”  United States v. Johnson, 221 F.3d 83, 96 (2d Cir. 2000) (quoting Daye v. Attorney Gen., 712 F.2d 1566, 1571 (2d Cir. 1983)).  They should use these powers “to see that the waters of justice are not polluted” and “to protect the integrity of the federal courts.” United States v. Payner, 447 U.S. 727, 744 (1980); accord United States v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., 863 F.3d 125, 135 (2d Cir. 2017).  Their supervisory powers are not restricted to the protection of explicit constitutional rights.  McNabb v. United States, 318 U.S. 332, 341 (1943).  The powers exist “in order to maintain respect for law” and to “promote confidence in the administration of justice.”  Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 484 (1928) (Brandeis, J., dissenting); accord Donnelly v. DeChristoforo, 416 U.S. 637, 642 (1974); United States v. Getto, 729 F.3d 221, 229 (2d Cir. 2013).  The supervisory powers should be sparingly exercised.  HSBC, 863 F.3d at 136.  Judges are not, of course, free to disregard the limitations of the law they are charged with enforcing under the guise of exercising supervisory powers or at other times.  Payner, 447 U.S. at 737.  But since Payner, we have recognized that within their supervisory powers, courts should “not hesitate to scrutinize the Government’s conduct to ensure that it comports with the highest standards of fairness.” Johnson, 221 F.3d at 96 (quoting United States v. Lawlor, 168 F.3d 633, 637 (2d Cir. 1999)). This requirement applies with particular force in contexts such as charging and sentencing, especially those involving mandatory minimum sentences, where the Government plays an “often decisive role.” Id.

Whether Judge Underhill went too far is debatable.  But because this case does not come close to meeting the exacting standards for mandamus, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s grant of a writ directing the District Court to allow no arguments for jury nullification.  I concur to the extent that the majority denies a writ directing the District Court to exclude at trial evidence of sentencing consequences.

This local article about the ruling reports that the defendant's lawyer is going to seek en banc review. I am not optimistic the full Second Circuit will take up this matter or resolve it different, but I would like to see these issues get a lot more attention particularly in light of recent Sixth Amendment jurisprudence.  Notably, in the recent Haymond case, Justice Gorsuch spoke broadly about the Framers' vision of the jury right and explained: "Just as the right to vote sought to preserve the people's authority over their government's executive and legislative functions, the right to a jury trial sought to preserve the people's authority over its judicial functions." But how can the people have authority over the judicial function if they are not fully informed of their rights and authority as jurors and not made aware of the possible consequences of their decisions?

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8247011 https://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2019/12/split-second-circuit-panel-grants-feds-request-for-mandamus-to-preclude-a-jury-nullification-instruc.html via http://www.rssmix.com/

[applesickness]

Ho finito di leggere It all'1:46 minuti di qualche giorno fa e sono ancora in totale book hangover. Come quando ti ubriachi tantissimo e il giorno dopo sei in balia dei postumi. Ovvero: quel sentimento a doppio taglio per cui da una parte sei felice perché hai appena finito un libro bellissimo e dall'altra ti struggi perché ora trovarne un altro all'altezza sarà difficilissimo e chissà se e quando succederà. Voglio dire: io adoro i libri horror, ma solo se sono scritti con questa classe qui. Quindi ecco. Non riesco ancora a smaltire la sbornia. Ho impiegato un tempo per me lunghissimo a leggerlo: diciotto giorni. E posso ammettere con estrema tranquillità che non so davvero da dove cominciare. Avrei avuto voglia di mettermi a scrivere a getto ma ho pensato che sarebbe stato meglio fermarsi un attimo e aspettare. Volevo che si depositasse nella mia mente il tempo di sedimentarsi un po'. Questo perché "It" non è solo un libro, ma è un'incredibile esperienza. Tanto che per più di una volta mi sono ritrovata a chiedermi che diavolo di trip si fosse preso King per scrivere certe cose (facendosi due calcoli: il libro è uscito nel 1986, il tempo del boom delle droghe allucinogene era bello che finito. Perció Steve, ti prego, dimmi chi è il tuo spacciatore!). (L'intera storia su www.facebook.com/scrittidituna) #book #books #bookish #bookaholic #booklover #bookaddict #bookmaniac #reader #bibliophile #bookworm #readings #bookadvice #bookshelf #It #StephenKing #review #tunabooks #tunalovesbooks #scrittidituna

[thebestestofbees]

TELEVISION AU: PART 5

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In the morning, you reluctantly woke up to the sound of your phone going off. Can't it wait a few more minutes? You thought, hugging your plush and turning in bed. "Neighbor? You're small brick thing is ringing. I think you should take it." Your eyes snapped open.

Droopy eyes and a dopy smile stared back at you. You didn't scream as the memories of last night came to you. "Right...kay-kay, let me wake up first." You said, letting Wally out of your death grip as you sat up in bed, stretching.

A loud pop came from your back. Wally stared at you, his eyes getting slightly wider at the pop. "What was that, Neighbor?" Wally asked, mildly concerned. "My joints popping." You say simply, getting out of bed and turning off your alarm.

Wally followed you around your room as you grabbed a pair of clothes, a speaker, your phone and left the room.

Wally followed you as you walked to the bathroom to which you promptly stopped him. "Nah ah, wait till I get out in like an hour." You say, pressing your hand to his head, keeping Wally out of the bathroom as you stepped into the bathroom.

Wally tilted his head, but stood outside of the bathroom even when you closed and locked the door.

Everyone woke up one by one, first it was Julie and she woke up Frank and Eddie. Then, Howdy woke up, then Poppy, then Sally, and Barnaby was the last to wake up. Everyone was confused onto why Wally was just standing infront of a closed door that was previously opened, and they asked him.

"Neighbor's in there." Wally pointed to the door to which music was blasting from. "Neighbor? Is that their name?" Julie asked, Wally shook his head. "It must be a place holder name. None of us really know their name." Frank informed, and Julie came up with a bright Idea.

"What if we search and see if their name's in any books they own?!" Julie said, racing to the bookshelf of journal's you kept.

"I suppose we could, that would increase our chances of knowing their name without any repercussions." Frank said, not opposing the idea as they walked to the bookshelf. Julie picked a childs book and opened the cover.

'This book belongs to

Đ/N '

"Dang, the name was crossed out." Quite heavily if Julie might add. Frank shrugged and took a note book off the shelf. Opening it before closing it again. "No name." Frank shrugged, placing the book back.

"Maybe, Home knows their name." Wally said, but a clatter later, Wally took back his statement. "Home doesn't know either." Wally said a few moments after.

"Maybe they have mail, with their name on it?" Eddie suggested, it didn't seem too bad, but it sounded like quite a feat searching through mail just to find a name.

"Or maybe we can just, ask??" Sally suggested, shrugging. "Although searching their house for their name sounds adventurous, that gun of theirs seems very powerful." Sally says, remembering last night. "Oh yeah, that sounds much easier!" Julie immediately went up to the door Wally was infront of and knocked on the door. "Hey! Neighbor! We have something to ask you!" Julie yelled over the music.

You stopped your dancing to take a glance at the closed door, you could bearly hear Julie over the music. "Huh?!" You, in turn, yelled over the music, grabbing your towel from the hook on the door.

You wrapped the towel around your body and opened the door. "what'd you say?" You ask, looking down at Julie, just realizing how small she is.

"What's your name?" You blinked, a slight anxious knot forming in your stomach. "It's...Y/n." You said before closing the door. Locking it again.

That shouldn't sour your mood, but you couldn't help but stop dancing with the music as you continued with your routine.

Once you put on your clothes you seemed to forget about the thing that ruined your mood because of your favorite songs cheering you up.

You walked out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed. You almost ran into Wally, but you stopped yourself, quickly.

"Hey, Wally. Did you really wait till I got out of the shower?" You asked, giving Wally a slightly unnerved look. Wally didn't answer, hugging your leg as he looked up at you.

"Okay, sure." You say as you check your phone, disconnecting it from your Bluetooth speaker. You removed Wally from your leg and took your keys from the key rack mounted to your wall.

"Oh hey, Y/n!" Julie quickly walked up to you. "Good morning, Julie." You greeted, nodding to her. "Could we play a game? I mean we're all up now so we could all play hopscotch or red light, green light or-" Julie was cut off by you. "I gotta go to work." You say. "After my shifts over maybe we can play a board game, but until then."

You grabbed the remote to your living room TV, and clicked it on. "You guys and watch something on the TV." You suggest, shrugging as you placed the remote down on the coffee table in your living room.

"You use these buttons to move around and this one to confirm the app you wanna go to." You do a short tutorial on what to do and pick your bag up, placing it on your shoulder. "Now I gotta go so I'll see you in a few hours." You said as you grabbed the door handle to the front door and pull it. It doesn't move.

"The hell?"

"I don't think Home wants you to leave." Wally says, his permanent smile seeming wider as he spoke. "Are you serious? Come on." You say as you try to open your front door again. It is not budging.