#because it lightens my suffering to look forward to the end of the tunnel | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

pokemonswshfics · 4 years ago

Note

Hi, I would like to say: Ignore this if you want!! Im sad these days so I can ask for a Pokémon scenario where Leon, Raihan and Piers with a "rival" fem S/o, who is a Fairy trainer and is a ball of Sunshine and Love, but suffers Bullying to the point of one day she shows up with a purple eye in the gym or they witnessed the attacks. (For some reason in the beginning they don't like s/o, very energetic, very talkative or fairy trainer on Piers case)

hi! i don't ignore any requests anon, i sincerely hope you're doing better! :( <3 here you go, i hope i got your prompt right ^^ ! 💗

Piers/Raihan/Leon × Fem! Reader (Sfw)

Piers × Fem! Reader (Sfw {mild cursing})

You stumbled beneath the tunnel of Route 9 and looked ahead. Spikemuth was getting nearer so you moved forward. You just needed a Pokemon Center, asap.

Before you had reached the tunnel you were heading to see Melony, per her invite. Instead you were met with a few..not so friendly people. You were a well known trainer in the gym challenge, always so sweet to people, and managed to accumulate a fanbase for you and your Fairy based team.

However, with the good came the bad. Your good attitude and friendliness made you an easy target to some people who just loved to pick on you. You didn't know what exactly was different today but their attack wasn't only verbal. You touched one of your hands to your darkened eye, feeling the bruise. All your Pokemon had fainted fighting theirs, attempting to protect you.

You walked with your head down, ashamed and hurt. You entered Spikemuth, slightly glad there were no people around to see you at what you considered the worst you've been in a while. The shame finally began to settle in, and you gripped the pokeballs you held in your arms. You began to tear up and you scoffed at your own tears. Your face lightened up slightly when you realized you were only a few feet away from the Pokemon center, and you hurried before you heard a voice ahead of you.

"What're you doing here?" The voice was deep, and you almost immediately recognized it. It made you stop in your tracks.

It was Piers, your rival. You hadn't taken on his gym yet but he never really took a liking to you or was kind. Your fairy type Pokemon didn't make the best impression on him when you first met in the Wild Area by attempting to give him affection because you told them he was cute. Ever since then, he always said he looked forward to battling you and beating you so scared you would drop from the Gym challenge.

"Nothing!" You replied immediately while looking down. If he saw you how you were right now, you felt as if you would never hear the end of it. He always talked about how happy he would be when you lose, why wouldn't he enjoy this? "I'm just in Spikemuth..uh..to see Marnie!"

"Marnie's literally in Stow-On-Side." He groaned. "What are you really here for?"

"Just the Pokemon Center, my uhh..My Pokemon needed help." You said softly and now took note of your scraped knees. Damn, you took more than you thought.

"You don't carry potions with you or something?" Piers stepped closer to you, causing you to step back. "You really can be stupid."

You scoffed at his comment. "I really have to go."

"Nah, come on. You're here for a reason, I'll take you into the Pokemon Center." He mimicked the direction you stepped in and finally asked, "What are you lookin' at the ground for? Somethin' there that I don't see?"

"Mm..Uh-" you stepped back right into a streetlamp.

"Look up."

"No."

"Come on brat, look up." You rolled your eyes at his nickname for you, even if you were the same age you had never heard him call you anything else.

"I don't want to-"

You stopped suddenly when you felt a finger under your chin, turning it upwards. You shut your eyes tightly and blushed without intention.

"Are you..okay? What happened?" You slowly opened your eyes to a concerned expression on Piers' face. Not a hint of a smile, or any joyous reaction to your injuries.

" 'M fine." You shakily breathed out, feeling tears pool up in your eyes again. "Ugh, Piers. Leave me alone, I really just needed the Pokemon Center."

"No. Tell me who did this. Did they physically attack your Pokemon too?" He asked and moved his hand up to your cheek where the bruise started. You flinched at his touch then swatted his hand away.

"It was just some people, they don't really like me. I never thought they'd go this far." You slumped and opened your bag to put the balls away. "I was walking through the tunnel and they found me alone, they started to pick on me. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle!"

"You have a black eye."

"That's not important!"

He took his hand away from your face and dipped it into his jacket pocket. "You gotta toughen up. Here, this should be enough to get you an icepack or two. And a meal or something." Piers held out his hand with money in it.

You immediately shook your head. "Piers, I can't take this. I'll be fine as soon as I get to-"

Piers pushed the money to your hands before he knelt down in front of you, taking something else out of his pocket again. He grabbed the leg that had been scraped and pulled your shoe slightly closer. He held a bandaid in his hand while grumbling. "You're lucky Marnie makes me carry these around."

You couldn't help but blush as he applied the bandaid, raising your leg yourself so it would be easier. "Th-Thanks." You stuttered out, Piers finally looking up at you. He didn't look how he did usually. Right now, his face was soft and sympathetic. You noticed his cheeks begin to become a light shade of pink before he grumbled again and looked away.

Piers stood up, now back in front of you. There was a tension you couldn't really identify or get rid of when he spoke again.

"Let me see your phone." He said, now you quickly scrambled to open your bag again. You took out the phone and handed it to Piers. He opened it and typed a few things, your blush finally began to fade much to your relief.

"Uh- here. Just in case you're alone or, just need help with something. Call me." He handed it back while looking down. You smiled a little while taking it back. "This doesn't mean I like you, or anything. Just that..I don't wanna see you hurt."

"Aw, Piers..you so like me." You giggled jokingly before realizing how dark his cheeks were. "Oh." Your blush began to creep up once he didn't joke back or insult anything in return.

You both stood still for a few seconds before Piers shook his head. "Go get help at the Center, then get the hell out of Spikemuth." He instructed and stepped back, trying to sound harsh.

"Y-Yeah! That's what I was gonna do, that. Get out of Spikemuth once I get help." You replied, crossing your arms over your chest then stepping away from Piers. "Uh- Thanks. Really." You continued walking past him then looked back once he answered.

"No problem, just- call me, it doesn't even have to be because you need something. Preferably, yeah but- UGH. Just. Call me." He huffed out and began to walk away immediately. You watched as he went deeper into Spikemuth, probably to his gym.

You blushed at the encounter once more before smiling again then opened the door to the Pokemon center. You gripped the phone, not even caring about the stares you got at your injuries when you walked in grinning.

***

Raihan × Fem! Reader (Sfw {very mild cursing})

"Please leave me alone. I didn't do anything to you!" You said loudly while trying to blink tears away and stumbled across a patch of grass beneath you, almost tripping.

You felt a shove from behind you, resulting in you falling either way. Your knees hit the ground and you quickly turned back to face them, trying to keep an eye on where they all were.

One of the males in the group reached down to grab a hold of your shirt and tugged your upper body, to him. "Alright pretty lady, we won't hurt you too bad..You just get on our nerves too much. Drop outta the gym challenge."

You immediately shook your head with tears beginning to fall over your cheeks from fear. "No! I worked too hard, I just wanna get to the Hammerlocke gym. Please leave me alone."

"Sure about it?"

You felt a hand get tangled in your hair to get a good grip on your head.

"Yeah! I won't back down-"

Then you felt a punch, not even realizing the fist was coming at you at first. You yelped at the pain, and felt yourself get thrown back onto the ground by the guy.

"Rethink your choice. You're too much for the challenge, what the hell is wrong with you? You think you're so perfect, no mess ups or whatever." You saw someone kick dirt in your direction, quietly thankful even more dust didn't hit you. "You're pathetic. Let's get out of here."

Your eye seemed to throb, and you watched them all walk away. Some turned back to shoot one last nasty glare.

You sighed once they were gone, and you could feel your lip quiver. Your Pokeballs were scattered everywhere near you, from when they had practically shook everything out of your bag. Quiet sobs began to escape you as you picked up items on your knees, from potions to berries now dusty.

"Is someone out here?"

You froze and immediately took your arm back from what you were about to pick up. The location you had been attacked was right next to the entrance of Hammerlocke, and you silenced your already almost completely silent sobs. You sat up, on your knees.

"I heard you..come on out! It's just me, Raihan."

Your eyes widened once he revealed who he was, and now your heartbeat quickened when you heard him coming down the small set of stairs that made up the entrance. You tried sitting out of his potential line of sight and hugged your knees to your chest.

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

"Is that.." You heard his voice closer to you and you turned the other way immediately. "Why are you out here?" He now stood a few feet away from you, looking down at you sitting on the ground.

"Just..last minute training. Wouldn't wanna, uhhh- waste your time in battle." You sighed then turned to Raihan, wiping your cheeks of quickly of any new tears or any tear stains. "I ran into some trouble, but it's fine."

Raihan took a few steps forward then knelt on one knee beside you. His face was filled with concern, a new expression you hadn't seen from Raihan unless it was for someone else. He was your rival ever since you two were kids, almost never getting along either. His calm and cool personality seemed to clash with your bubbly self, but at the moment you couldn't bring yourself to care.

"It doesn't look fine.." Raihan replied back, and took off his headband then jacket. You blushed at the sight, and grumbled at the cold weather. It only made your injuries worse, your skirt and outfit choice in general didn't do much to keep you warm.

Raihan set his jacket onto the knee he wasn't propped on, and reached to your head with his headband. Your breath hitched, Raihan was merely inches away from your face. He wrapped the headband around your head in a way where it would cover your black eye. Raihan lingered where he was close to you for a moment, now not breaking eye contact.

"What are you doing?" You finally whispered, and cursed the way you could feel your cheeks burning.

"Making sure you're not too exposed. That's..alright, right?" He asked in return and backed his face away only slightly. The top of his cheeks darkened as well, and he took his jacket back into his hands. You nodded almost right after he asked.

Raihan then told you to put your arms out, and put his jacket on you. In your mind, you thought of previous encounters with the Dragon Type gym leader. The constant teasing, slight coldness and everything else that made him helping you so unusual.

"I'm enjoying this!" You giggled without a second thought as you shrugged his jacket on, the sleeves too large. Just to be filled with regret right after.

I know I did not say that out loud.

He raised an eyebrow at you, a hint of a smile on his lips. "You're still so weird. Can you tell me what happened?"

The smile on your face faded and you slumped. "It's just some people, they don't really like me. Uh..they can be rude at battles, they've taken my stuff before, uh.." You trailed off and blushed again but now out of pure embarrassment. You were telling your rival, of all people, that you were being bullied. "I don't need to tell you this. Thank you for helping me but I don't need it. Or want it." You almost let a whimper out and knew your eyes were getting glossy again.

Raihan rolled his eyes before noticing the tears in yours. He softened again then looked hesitant.

And before you could tell what had happened, Raihan's arms were around you in a hug.

Your arms were above his, you could almost feel the detail of his toned muscle around your waist. The headband around your head, the jacket and the protective arms were too much for you to handle, the overwhelming hatred some people had seemed to finally get to you.

"L-Let go. Raihan, I don't want pity-"

"You can let it out okay? I'm..not here to judge you. I'd love to see you lose but not like this." The whispered reply was right next to your ear, it made you sigh.

"You won't tell anyone about this?"

"No one."

And with that, you let tears fall again, now with your head resting on his shoulder. Your arms were around his neck, holding him closer than you would ever admit. Soft softs escaped you, going directly into the fabric clothing Raihan's skin.

"Are you done? I-It's cool if not, just..wanted to ask." After a few minutes of just hugging for comfort, Raihan spoke. You both turned to the other, your faces being almost only an inch or two away.

"Um- Yeah." The reply and the space between you left you with burning and tear stained cheeks. "Thank you." You attempted to pull away, feeling Raihan hold on for a second before letting go. "Do you need your stuff? I can go buy a jacket or something.."

"What? No, keep it. I don't need it, got my gym closeby. And you think some cold weather can hurt me? I'm a dragon tamer." He scoffed playfully and smirked, breaking the sort of serious tension. "See you, however, do need the jacket. You're kinda not the strongest trainer I've seen."

You rolled your eyes, back to the reality that you didn't like Raihan.

Right?

"Alright, you don't have to like me, shorty. Lemme see your bag, I'm hungry." He reached over you and grabbed the bag while grinning. Raihan stood up, taking out a tent. His boldness made you furrow your eyebrows and you slumped back against the wall of the entrance to Hammerlocke. Raihan's clothes were comfortable, and they felt safe.

You continued to watch your rival set up the tent, the physical pain you had endured earlier already beginning to wash away. For a moment, you caught Raihan's eyes in your own and the eye contact was held for more than a few moments.

A blush appeared on both Raihan and your's cheeks before you glared at each other.

"Please start cooking! It's my tent, I'm hungry too." You requested kindly, still having patience. Raihan always complained about how you were too nice for him to be genuinely mean to.

"Once you get your own gym, you can tell me what to do. Oh, WAIT-"

You scoffed then began to bicker like usual, now with a different meaning. There was no genuine insults, and you found yourself enjoying it.

You cuddled into his sweater, feeling calm. The attack wasn't even on your mind at this point, the world to you right then and there was only you and your rival, Raihan.

***

Leon x Fem! Reader (Sfw)

"Get back here!" The yell only made you run faster, turning a corner in the streets of Wyndon. You had been interacting with fans when it was suddenly cut short by a group of people you recognized. They were at all your battles for all the wrong reasons. People with genuine hatred for you, when you had done nothing to provoke it.

"Please leave me alone! I-I won't bother you anymore! Whatever I'm doing, I'm sorry!" You yelled back to them, and now took a turn to your right between a few shops.

Your feet seemed to become heavier, the exhaustion of running so far finally caught up to you. To just your luck as well, the turn had landed you into an alley behind the Wyndon clothing store. One with only one entrance and exit, the one you had came through and the one they were using to follow you.

Once you came to a full stop, the footsteps heard behind you also slowed down. You gripped the handle of the bag that was slung across your body out of fear. You only had one Pokemon with you, one that you found and had been raising. The option of defending yourself in battle was out of the question entirely.

"You look even worse up close. Nice fit, you going to daycare or something?" Someone snickered from the group of women and men. You blushed in embarrassment, and looked away shamefully. One thing that had always been matched to you were your clothes. Bright colors for a bright personality, dark colors didn't exist in your closet.

"N-no! I just like my clothes..I think they're pretty..." You replied weakly. "I don't have anything you want, please just leave me alone."

"You got everything we could possibly want. We aren't stupid, we know how much some prissy know-it-all trainer can make. And besides, you just get on our nerves."

The grip you had on your bag tightened even more. You took steps back slowly, them following immediately. Some of their Pokeballs opened, releasing Gengars and Dusknoirs.

"Get her, idiots!" A trainer called out, and you cringed at the name towards the Pokemon. Your back was now pressed up against the wall, and you instinctively put your arms up to shield your face from whatever attack happened.

Your eyes shut, and you tried to prepare for the pain. You could hear the calls and cries of attack-ready Pokemon, when suddenly they stopped.

You felt your arms begin to heat. And everything else that was facing your attackers. Once your eyes opened, you were met with the orange backside of a creature you quickly identified as a dragon. It's tail was lit at the end.

"Charizard?" You asked and watched his tail sway. From what you could see, the attackers were now frozen in place at the sight of the dragon.

His wings extended, then flew up. The debris that was now in the air limited your eyesight.

Almost instantly, flames began to leave the now gaping mouth of the dragon. You shielded yourself again, and shrunk back, now nearly on your knees on the floor.

The cries of Dusknoir's and Gengars being injured made you flinch, even if they were about to attack it was difficult to listen to.

After a few more painfully long seconds, you couldn't take the cries anymore.

"Charizard! Stop, please!" You yelled from the ground, waving debris and dust from in front of you to see better. Flashes of light emitted from the attack, and you could hear balls opening and closing. They were being summoned back in, and you hoped it wasn't because they had fainted.

Charizard hardly listened, and if anything he only unleashed more fire hotter than what was the first attack.

You heard footsteps begin to run, and they echoed along the walls of the alley. The fire type Pokemon soon flew back down in front of you, his wings and back still all you could see. With one final roar, a few more cries of injured pokemon, and even a scream, you could see no more people.

"A-Are they gone?" You asked while rising to your feet again. Ashes floated in the air and you stepped closer to Charizard. "Wait.."

He finally turned towards you and you smiled a little. It was Champion Leon's Pokemon, one that had grown to like you when you first encountered the pair. You couldn't say the same about Leon, but that didn't change the fact you were nothing but sweet to him.

"Charizard? Where did you go? You know I'll get lost.." A familiar voice from the entrance of the alley called. "Hey! You're in here!" Now you heard the footsteps of the male running in your direction.

"Why'd you go flying off like that? What was so important-"

"Hi, Leon!" You peeked from behind the dragon's wing and grinned at him. Leon looked taken aback, flustered, and irritated all at once.

"What are you doing here? Did you try to take him or something?"

"Charizard? Never. He came to me! He saved me, I was in a..predicament." You said with your volume decreasing.

"Come on, for now, I'll put you in here." Leon sighed then raised a Pokeball to Charizard. You reached from behind him and put your palm in front of the ball.

"Wait- he doesn't wanna go in there. Come on, Lee..just because you don't like me means he won't either. He loves me." You giggled. Leon's eyebrows were furrowed and he looked away.

"I don't like you."

"I..know? That's what I just said.." You raised an eyebrow and watched as Leon's cheeks seemed to darken. He opened his mouth to speak, stammering as he tried to begin a sentence.

Charizard, even if he wasn't human, seemed to snicker. You looked between the two and could tell they were laughing about something you didn't know and couldn't figure out.

"F-Fine! I won't put him in his ball, but it's just because..I'll get lost if he's in here!" Leon crossed his arms and grumbled. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" His question threw you off, and now you stepped toward him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for being so bad at directions, Charizard wouldn't have been here long enough if you knew where to find him." You joked.

"If you need help again sometime, you can call me. I'm usually around here..uh-" Leon seemed to trip over his words. "I didn't give you my number for no reason."

"What? Aw darn, I thought you wanted to talk to me more often. You know, hang out, do friend stuff. Maybe more.." You chuckled teasingly and looked at Leon's face once more.

He looked too flustered to even reply, Leon was the darkest shade his cheeks could manage at that point.

"I-I was joking oh my- I'm so sorry-" You repeated apologies to him in fear that the blush was a signal of him being uncomfortable.

"No it's okay!" Leon replied smiling sheepishly then furrowed his eyebrows at you again. "Don't be so nice to people, that's how you ended up here, almost hurt. I don't wanna see you like this."

Now the top of your cheeks heated up and you gripped your bag again. You held back a smile and nodded. "Okay, I guess you're right."

Leon and you stood, both blushing for a few moments before he broke the silence. "Jeez, you can be so much at times. Come on, Charizard." He sighed, the dragon then going to his side.

"Thank you!" You said to Charizard and beamed.

"Ya know..I'll be here in Wyndon's center and uh, just to be sure you're out of trouble, do you wanna join me?"

You took a second to process what he asked, then smiled even wider. "Yeah! I'd love to."

Leon's face lit up a little and you two began to walk to exit the alley.

"This doesn't mean anything by the way! I'm just doing what anyone with sense would do- I don't like you!"

"Sure, Lee." You giggled, then exited the alley with your rival at your side, Charizard hovering over you.

***

Thanks for reading! :) Requests are always open! just might take some time 💞- 🥝

#pokemon #pokemon shield #gym leaders #pokemon gym leader #pokemon swsh #pokemon fanfiction #reader inserts #piers x reader #leon x reader #fem reader #raihan x reader #oneshots

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bladekindeyewear · 6 years ago

Text

Boots Reads Homestuck Epilogue(s) Part 12 - Candy Page 18

==>

Time to see what all the fuss was about Page 18. We’re with Jane... that might not be good. Especially given Lollipop proximity.

Jane scoffing at troll genocide again. :(

Gamzee seems more woke than Jane here.

GAMZEE: sO yOu SaYiN yOu NeEd DiFfErEnT sHoEs FoR yOuR hUmAn DiCkS aNd WhAt NoT?

Pfffff

Jane narrows her eyes at the disingenuous buffoon.

I dunno, he sounds like he’s being pretty goddamn ingenuous right now.

It’s not the first time they’ve had this conversation? Are they black with each other or something??

What’s more likely is he’s attempting to get a rise from her. To get her a little hotter under the collar. To put her in a certain mood.

Oh my gosh she’s genuinely black for him, hahahahah

GAMZEE: AnD AlL I EvEr bEeN TrYiN To dO Is gEt yOu rIgHt tOo, WiTh mOrAlS AnD GoOdNeSs, AlL fIlLeD uP iNsIdE yOu As TiGhT aS yOuR tAsTy HoE bAlLoOnS aRe WiTh HuMaN mOo JuIcE.

Jesus christ that’s not the kind of metaphor i want to be hearing from canon

or anyone for that matter

JANE: No! I’d rather die than touch your disgusting clown baton ever again.

....yyyeah, context is showing she’s PROBABLY super Black into this. Still, pretty jarring to see a clear consensual “NO” right in the middle of things.

Quit calling her a dairy queen!!! D: D: D:

Oh god they named the baby Tavros.

Alright, there’s some grade A discomfort in this scene, which I’m enjoying, really. I can see why they singled out page 18. I could traumatize some people with some of these paragraphs out of context.

HOO HOO HOO, THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO THE DARK CARNIVAL!!!

Eeeeuugh

JAKE: Anyway whats up with you? Hows life with davekat going? JADE: oh its great! im really glad i just went for it JADE: all of us together... it really is the best of every world

God damnit Jade why are you obliviously torturing them????????

You could’ve been REALLY GOOD for them both if you just FUCKING LISTENED TO THEM AND RESPECTED THEM INSTEAD OF SITTING ON THEM.

JADE: theres no way me and dave could have a regular baby together because im... JAKE: Whats wrong? JADE: well lets just say that after all the sburb stuff its done some things to my body JADE: like merging with bec mostly

Oh my FUCKING GOD please don’t canonize this. This didn’t need to be spelled out so-- D:

jesus

D: D: D:

This... is actually making my stomach roil again????

not because id object to-- i mean, it’s one thing to deal with

FAN SCENARIOS

ISOLATED divergences from canon where she has to deal with that and its kind of hilarious, but can be safely ignored when it comes to her character arc as a whole

but once its CANON???????? D: D: D:

suddenly you can’t IGNORE the full import when you’re done with, like, an RP or something, of the psychological struggle she would be forced to deal with given an abnormal biological situation. Instead of thinking “Oh, that could be pretty painful to deal with! Let’s explore it temporarily for fun” it becomes “Oh, that would be painful to deal with and you have to think about her having to deal with all the complications of that whenever you hear about her LITERALLY FOREVER.” D:

andrew i know you couldnt resist because of how funny and practically-xenoprogressive it was but whyyyyyyyyy did you have to canonize that WHYYYY

Now instead of a fun joke thought it also has to be SAD FOREVER

AAAAAAAA D’:

i dont know why this would be the line thats crossed to upset me

Rose surrogate?

JADE: no jake, dave wouldnt be the father in this scenario!

Pffffff. Andrew’s just diving RIGHT into the, er, doggy fanfics here. I should... TRY to lighten up about this. Try. D:

(...wait, shit. Knowing my friend, THIS whole bit is why they alluded to this page. God damnit.)

[[ EDIT: askshenhibiki said:

Now that you read Candy 18, flash back to Meat when Roxy is talking about gender... and look at Jade's reaction looking at "where her hands rest on her lap". Yes, Meat hinted at that "mix" too.

Ah, let’s see...

ROXY: and so i got to thinking ROXY: what even is gender ROXY: amirite lol? JADE: oh yeah JADE: that makes sense i guess........

Jade looks at where her hands are folded in her lap. Bites her lip. She has her own concerns about this, her own thoughts. Reasonable thoughts, I’d say. But I’ll refrain from any further comment. I’m staying away from this subject, from now on.

...yeah, guess Dirk at least had the decency not to spring all that on us before Jade got the opportunity to do it honestly. ]]

Guh, back to Jake suffering in his sad, trapped scenario. I hope THAT gets at least resolved by the end of this. Someone save Jake from this, because it looks like he’s not really that capable of saving himself?

==>

Dammit, Jade, I’m cringing at these descriptions of your intrusion.

Oh wow, John went for the mustache. Guess we knew that from, like, his stuffed statue oldself?

Jade doesn’t pick up on the obvious subtext in the conversation, however, because she’s been willfully undermining the subtext in her own personal life for nearly a year now.

D: D: D:

Seriously, Jade, how is what YOU’RE doing any better than what you were frustrated at seeing THEM doing, avoiding the real feelings and truth of anything even if it was conspicuously on body-language display?

KARKAT: THE NEW ADMINISTRATION IS CRACKING DOWN ON CERTAIN KINDS OF INTERSPECIES ADOPTION LAWS.

It’s like Andrew wants us deprived of even a happy imagined future for Earth C on top of everything else!!! What the hell! >:(

Is this about politics? Is Andrew just venting his anger that the Orange Guy is going to get away with ruining everything forever?? Because as understandable as that is, he could at least give us some imaginary happyfutures to look forward to.

Reading on... Hm, yet another intentionally-misused fridging reference.

KARKAT: HIS RELATIONSHIP IS A FLAMING WRECK OF AN INTERSTELLAR WARSHIP HURTLING TOWARDS THE PLANET AT TERMINAL VELOCITY WITH THE ENTIRE CREW BRUTALLY SLAUGHTERED UPON REENTRY, SHOVED STRAIGHT DOWN THE CHAGRIN TUNNEL AND THEN IMMEDIATELY SHAT OUT THE OTHER SIDE, THUS FLOODING THE ENTIRE FUCKING NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN IT CLOGS UP THE LOAD GAPER.

Yep, that triangle’s fucked. Wonder if the conversation’s going to transition to the CURRENT triangle’s problems...

...yeah, John using the R word there isn’t far from the fucking truth from the looks of things.

JADE: maybe that would work for a few days, but one thing i learned from dating around a lot in my youth is that no ones going to leave a bad relationship until its THEIR idea to leave

She takes in a shaky breath and shuts her eyes. Her hair spills around her face when she leans forward to put her chin on her knees. Dave and Karkat exchange a look that is equal parts confused, miserable, and desperate.

Oh SHIT. Is JADE going to be the one to finally vocalize about the problems here???

Something else comes hurtling out of the hole in the sky, too fast for Jade to catch. It hits the ground with a clap of green lightning. The collision sends a geyser of dirt, rock, and vapor into the air. Dave flash-steps to shield Karkat. Jade doesn’t move, taking the brunt of the explosion face on, using her abilities to warp the energy around her so that she’s a mote at the center of the storm. When the dust clears, she’s the first to jump in the crater, trailing smoke behind her.

There’s a body at the center of it. The torso is bloody, tangled, and curled into a fetal position. Its shoes are missing, but otherwise the outfit is quite familiar to her: it’s a dead ringer for her old Witch of Space uniform. Jade touches the body with the toe of her shoe, and then gasps when it rolls over to reveal its face.

JADE: its... JADE: ME???

Okay what the FUCK. It sounds like there’s going to be some context for that postscript after all. Something to bridge the gap between when that 16-yo Jade falls into the singularity and when Aradia goes off with her through a wormhole

I’m going to guess up front that this happens BEFORE the postscript... this younger version of Jade fell into the black hole and came out in THIS alternate timeline, possibly rather changed by the experience. But then again, the way the sky opened up... actually, couldn’t that be just a “natural” manifestation of the black hole abilities encouraged by Calliope or done by the singularity alone, followed by later in the Postscript this Jade actually getting control of it??

And... reading on, from the sound of it, her eyes aren’t black yet, either. Sounds like that’s to come, before the postscript. Question being, is it alt!Callie black eyes, or some black-hole-powers visual manifestation? Wait, never mind, I misread; this teenage Jade-corpse has NOT opened their eyes yet, so they couldn’t possibly tell, and the stuff about them “shaking” was about the adult Jade standing over her. Never mind. Let’s see which timeframe this Jade came from.

Also STOP TRAUMATIZING ADULT JADE ON SCREEN ITS NOT OKAY IM SICK OF IT ANDREW

==>

Page 20...

Stop letting babby not!Vriska bully babby not!Tavros.

Hm... same stupid tooth poison? No, Jade didn’t get hit with a tooth... so it’s more getting hit with shards of spacetime and spiraling down a black hole. Also whatever alt!Callie did to just barely keep her alive.

Hm, so the Heart stuff falls apart if you’re too separated from the mass-whole at Light’s center? That’s certainly a hypothesis at least.

ROXY: sounds like its time for another funeral lmao

ROXY WAKE THE FUCK UP AND STOP BEING A VAGUELY ROXY-LOOKING LMAO-ZOMBIE. WHERE THE FUCK DID REAL ROXY GO.

And where the fuck is Calliope anyway, she’s just being left in the dust and nobody’s even talked to her from the looks of it.

Hm, cut apart by political differences, this group...?

ROXY: woah ok karkat i get ur all fired up about politics and stuff but lay off gamz ok

ROXY WHO REPLACED YOUR FUCKING BRAIN WITH A BLOCK OF CHEESE

ROXY YOU’RE MY FAVORITE CHARACTER PLEASE GIVE US AN EXPLANATION FOR WHY YOU’RE ACTING NOTHING LIKE THE COOL SMART PERSON WE READ ABOUT.

JADE: dave what the FUCK did you say to him downstairs?

Oh my god you asshole don’t blame DAVE for this >:(

ROXY: this time next week well corpse party like its the end of the world!

I don’t want to think this has anything to do with Aradia, but we DID see her in that postscript bit... And, I mean, what the hell could she even do?? It’s not like this Roxy is just Aradia in really convincing cosplay or something.

==>

She leads John and Jake into the building and down the center of the nave, humming happily to herself the entire time. An equally effusive Calliope trails behind her, carrying a bouquet of purple flowers.

Well there’s Callie. What is WITH these hypnotized motherfuckers. I need a revelation on these shenanigans STAT.

What is with people being bathed in light here?

each time we witness death, we fall in love in with the important people in oUr lives all over again.

Calliope is gazing at Roxy with glassy eyes. She sniffs as she plucks the last petal from her rose. A breeze washes through the cathedral from the crack in the door at the end of the room, brushing the petal off-course and causing it to get stuck in Roxy’s over-sprayed hair. Calliope reaches out with a visibly shaking hand to remove the plant offal, but she does not draw back. Instead, she lets her hand graze down the side of Roxy’s face and cup her cheek. Roxy puts her own hand over Callie’s and holds it.

Uhhh.... huh.

So.

If Roxy was just lying to herself, then............ WHY??????

John tilts his head and squints at the image in front of him. Hmm.

Is John realizing he’s in some sort of fanfic drawn by another character, hence all the people in serene lightbeams at tender but unjustified moments?

Everyone whips their heads around to see, of all people, Aradia hovering in the foyer

Pff

(...I hope Aradia didn’t come here, like, from the postscript. Where the “action” she talked about might have just been this corpse party. Because that would be pretty fucking lame.)

KARKAT: MAYBE FUCKING NEPETA IS ABOUT TO POUNCE FROM BEHIND THAT GROTESQUE STATUE OF THE HUMAN SUFFERER T-POSING OVER THERE.

Pfffffffffff

The description of Human Jesus we all had in our hearts, but were too afraid to voice.

Alright, now we see the body we took our eyes off of. Is it going to get back up, or did it escape earlier?

since nobody was willing to dislodge the huge, otherworldly shard from her chest

My damn god, people.

...alright finally, everyone’s talking.

JANE: Agreed. I’ve always felt that Kanaya has done an exemplary job of providing a model for compassionate, empathetic behavior, which others of her kind would do well to follow.

JANE STOP BEING A XENOPHOBIC BASTARD

CALLIOPE: please. roxy gathered yoU all here for a reason. CALLIOPE: at least listen Until the end. CALLIOPE: after that yoU can argUe all you want.

...Huh. Huuuuhh. What the fuck is all this for. Are you saying ROXY caused this? Or...?

Okay I like this reinforcement she’s making in her speech about how different changes can influence how all of this unfolds, gives me hope that maybe these two cliffhangers aren’t all we’re going to be left with and we’ll be able to at least think of an IMPLIED future different from them if we wanted to like we thought about the seemingly-infinite-possibility original ending of Homestuck that I’d rather have been stuck with than this oh god breathe boots

okay there’s the labor going into good distraction

alright corpse get back up

JADE: i am not jade.

Right, so like the black eyes in the postscript suggested this is more just a... vessel for alt!Calliope now? To give HER a future beyond the one she sacrificed for that black hole business? And between alt!Callie’s became-the-black-hole nature and Jade’s Spacey Green Sun connection that’s been singularified, she has access to cool Black Hole powers? And is gonna do cool shit with them in implied future adventures we won’t see while Aradia gleefully watches the carnage? Huh.

The congregation watches her go, but no one moves to help her, or even looks in her direction. In her wake, she leaves a primal, echoing wail.

Oh my god why wouldn’t they have just a brief discussion or something IT’S NOT THAT BAD D:

JADE: and while i cannot say the same thing for the rest of you, JADE: i, at least, am exactly where i am meant to be.

Well fuck. So she just disconfirmed this timeline as... something. Relevant, possible, I dunno.

JADE: and i have entered this body to protect your world.

Okay that’s good. So thanks to alt!Calliope these side timelines where things unfolded differently MAY be preserved. Pretty fitting given alt!Callie’s origins.

.......unless there’s some other stupid interspecies civil war threat that she’s going to be fighting too, here, when the political situation falls apart. Dammit.

==>

Terezi talk Terezi talk

-- JOHN EGBERT sent TEREZI PYROPE the photo “ghostrain.jpg” --

TEREZI: WH4T TH3 4CTU4L FUCK JOHN: it started a few days ago. the sky above the capital of the troll kingdom just cracked open and ghosts began raining down everywhere.

Oh my GOD. So alt!Callie kind of “saved” all the doomed ghosts that got swallowed up in the black hole by redirecting them all to THIS UNIVERSE and timeline???????

That’s pretty interesting! Heck my stomach’s even calming down!

they can’t even be judges! TEREZI: G4SP

Yeah that’s pretty terrible!

...yep, the resistance WOULD put him in charge. I had a feeling it may have ended up in that direction in Candy since it wasn’t in Meat.

--oh FUCK YOU Jade for splitting up what he had with Karkat before they could sort it out!!! You did the OPPOSITE OF HELP and neither of them are going to end up happy thanks to you! D:<

PFFF wow, John’s so concerned about babby not!Tavros’s living situation that he’s considering legit kidnapping. That means things must be pretty fucking bad.

--okay Calliope’s still out and about with Roxy instead of being cooped up in her room like in the other timeline, that’s good.

Pff, trying to redeem Ghost Eridan in front of Ghost Feferi. Yep, that’s Gamzee.

GAMZEE: fIrSt, A LiTtLe RiGhTeOuS sPlAsH oF tHe NaNnA nEcTaR tO cLeAnSe ThAt DaNkNeSs FrOm YoUr SoUlS...

Gamzee takes out a baby bottle and flicks it, covering them both with little drops of milk, as clergy does with holy water. He then takes a swig from the bottle himself before returning it to his codpiece.

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

I don’t want to believe that what’s in that bottle is what he’s making it sound like it is, but OF COURSE it is. Why would it be anything else. I bet there’s not even any Lifey hypnosis going on, it’s just the literal stuff.

The crowd falls silent as they raise their heads to watch a drone ship pass by overhead.

Jegus fuck stop going whole hog condesce janey

ROXY: lmao you worry too much ROXY: janeys got her head on straight shell show you yet

ROXY. WHERE DID YOUR BRAIN GO. I MISS IT. YOUR BRAIN WAS THE BEST FUCKING PART OF YOU.

Touching photo.

Alright lemme post split. I haven’t gotten as far as the last post plowed through since I’ve been typing so much... ah well.

#Homestuck #Homestuck Epilogue #Upd8 #Homestuck Liveblog #bladekindeyewear #BlastYoBoots

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sofreddie · 6 years ago

Text

Tainted Love 2: The Aftermath

Summary: Dean, Sam, and Y/N deal with the consequences of their actions.

Characters: Dean, Sam, Reader, Cas

Warnings: Mentions of Non-con/Attempted Rape, Angst, Fluff (little itty-bitty bit)

Word Count: 1,626

A/N: I received a commissioned request from @mrs-meghan-winchester to continue this story. There will be a third, and final, part.

PART 1

MASTERLIST

It had been two weeks since Cas had arrived in the Bunker and dealt with the ordeal of Dean, Sam, and Y/N. Two weeks of Dean dealing with the fallout of his actions while being a demon. Two weeks of Sam trying to help his brother and swallow his own guilt of nearly raping their close friend. Two weeks of Y/N avoiding the brothers as much as possible, offering little more than mono-syllables and false smiles when communication was inevitable.

Y/N would overhear their voices reverberating throughout the halls, arguments and attempts at soothing one another. Dean was spiraling into a hole of guilt, grief, and self-hatred over all he had done. Sam consistently reminding him that he wasn’t himself, he was a demon. Dean would scoff and drink, usually until he lost consciousness. Sam too delved into the self-loathing, Dean again trying to tell him it wasn’t his fault, but his own. HE cast the spell. HE knocked Sam out. HE tied Y/N up and...the thoughts of what he’d done churning his stomach, making him nearly vomit from the overwhelming emotions of it all.

In the end, the only thing they seemed to agree on is that they had failed her. Y/N was their friend, someone they both loved immensely. She wasn’t a Hunter. She provided friendship, warmth, a sense of normality and domesticity that was foreign but welcome. Even though they agreed that they couldn’t share their love and yearning with her for fear of destroying her, they felt as though they had done so anyway. She couldn’t look at them, wouldn’t talk to them. They had destroyed her in the worst ways possible and it only gnawed at them further, increasing their guilt and shame.

“Y/N.” Cas appeared in her room, taking a seat beside her on her bed. He periodically checked in on all of them, somehow becoming a neutral counsel to which they all vented. He noticed a packed duffle sitting at her feet. “Are you leaving?”

“I don’t know what else to do, Cas.” She looked up to him with barely contained tears in her eyes. “They keep blaming themselves and fighting. I want to tell them it’s not their fault. I want to tell them I’m fine. But I feel like my being here is only making it worse for them.” Her tears began to fall then and Cas hugged her, letting her cry into his shoulder.

“You should talk to them, tell them.” He made her eyes meet his then as he wiped away her tears. “They need to hear it from you.”

“Everytime I look at them, I just see shame and guilt in their eyes! They can’t even look at me without...without…”

“Y/N, they love you.”

“No. I know they care about me, or did. But they don’t love me, Cas.”

“I assure you that they do. They both do, very much. Go talk to them and if you still feel like leaving, I’ll make sure you get wherever you need to go safely.”

Y/N closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She knew she needed to talk to them. She couldn’t just disappear without a word. She owed them more than that. She loved them more than that. She nodded, giving Cas a smile before standing to head to her door. She heard the rustle of feathers and turned to see Cas gone before she opened her door, intent on finding the brothers and sorting this all out.

“Dean, we can’t keep doing this to ourselves! Your gonna drink yourself to an early grave, and I’m not much better here.” Sam pleaded, exhausted from going over this again and again.

“Would serve me right.” Dean grumbled, finishing his second glass of whiskey thus far.

“Don’t say that, Dean. It wasn’t you-”

“It was me, Sam!” Dean roared, standing from the library table, his eyes launching fierce glares at his younger brother. “I was a demon, yes. But it was still all me. I did this! To you! To HER!” He pointed towards the bedrooms before catching a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye. He and Sam stared wide-eyed at Y/N, standing across the library from where they were seated, looking timid. Dean’s heart fell at the sight of her and he quickly looked away, refilling his glass.

“Can we talk?” She finally spoke, grateful her voice was strong and clear. “Please?” She walked up to where they were sitting, a few feet of distance between them. Both brothers glanced at her, then to each other, before dropping their gazes to look at nothing in particular.

“Look,” Y/N pulled out a chair and sat, her posture tall and confident as she let her eyes wander between the two of them, “I know this situation sucks.” Dean scoffed, finishing off his whiskey with a hiss and bite of his lip before refilling it once more. “But we can’t just keep going on, fighting or suffering in silence!”

Sam chanced a look at her then, seeing Dean was still intently focusing on his glass. He let out a long sigh before he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “You’re right.”

“And Dean...you can’t do this to yourself. You can’t keep drinking and beating yourself up. It wasn’t you. Not really.”

“You actually believe that?” Dean responded quietly, disgusted with himself.

“You would never hurt me or try to take advantage of me Dean. Neither of you would. I KNOW that.”

“Except,” Dean offered, finally meeting her eyes, “We did. Or rather, I did. Because Sam was under a spell. He wasn’t in control of himself. And we all remember who cast that spell on him, right?” His voice steadily rose with his anger as he continued. “And we all know who stripped you and tied you down and…” He curled his lips in disgust and anger once more. “You should hate me. You both should hate me.” He added, barely a whisper.

“I don’t hate you Dean!” Y/N protested, Sam quickly agreeing. Dean shook his head, trying to fend of her words. “I can’t hate you because...because I love you Dean, both of you.”

The brothers gawked at her in surprise and shock. Sam’s mouth opened and shut several times, nothing more than squeaks and breaths falling from his lips as he struggled to speak.

“How can you say that? After what happened...how can you say that?!” Dean couldn’t believe what he was hearing. For so long, he had wanted to hear her say those words to him. Yet now he felt, more than ever, that he didn’t deserve it.

“You were right, you know...about me. You saw my thoughts Dean. You know it’s true, even if I was scared to admit it. Because I felt like wanting you both - loving you both - was selfish. And I felt like if I had you both, that it would make me a cheap whore or something.” She mumbled the last bit as she looked down at her lap in shame. “I just don’t want this to come between us. I don’t want there to be this stigma between all of us. I want us to get past this, together.” She paused, watching them as they took in her words. Sam’s eyes never left her and Dean refused to look at her. “I forgive you. I forgive both of you.”

“I don’t deserve your forgiveness.” Dean stood to leave and Y/N jumped from her chair, placing her hands on his chest.

“Too bad, cause you got it anyway.” She tried to smile and Dean still refused to look at her. “Dean.” She softly whispered his name placing a hand on his cheek and gently guiding him to look at her. He was fighting back tears as he finally met her eyes. “I forgive you.” She whispered, just for him.

Dean gave in then, letting the tears fall as he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her neck. “Y/N I’m so sorry!” He cried out through his tears, his body shaking from finally releasing all he felt. “I’m so, so sorry!” She ran her hands through his hair, holding him close to her as he openly wept, no longer able to hold it all in. Sam rounded the table and approached them. Dean reached out to him, hugging his brother close. “Sam, I-”

“I know, Dean.” Sam held his brother tighter. “I know.” Sam reach out an arm, bringing Y/N into the hug as well.

“Well, glad we got that sorted.” Y/N smiled, trying to lighten the mood. Dean and Sam both laughed, despite themselves, grateful that there seemed to be a light at the end of this very dark tunnel.

“What made you finally come talk to us?” Sam asked as Dean wiped his face with his sleeves.

“Uh...well...Cas came and talked to me. I was gonna leave…” Both brothers heads shot in her direction, pain reflected in their eyes once more, “I thought that I was the problem, that my being here made things harder for you.”

“No, Sweetheart. Not at all. You’re...you’re everything to us...to me.” Dean’s eyes softened as he looked over her features.

“We love you, Y/N” Sam added, reaching out to hold her hand.

“And one day, when you’re ready - a-and if you want to - we’ll prove it to you.” Dean added, taking her other hand in his and kissing her knuckles. Y/N blushed from their words and gestures. If they loved her, truly loved her, she would give them the chance to show it.

PART 3 (FINAL PART)

TAGS: Please let me know if you would like to be added/removed:

Forevers:

@oneshoeshort

@winchesterprincessbride

@iamcmims

@roxyspearing

@godof-thunderthighs-ofbetrayal

@reigningqueenofwords

@mogaruke

@ellen-reincarnated1967

@speakinvain

@shotgunintheimpala

@atc74

@sterekloveaffairs

@winsister91

@mrs-meghan-winchester

@chook007

@maui137

@growningupgeek

@goldenolaf25

@esoltis280

@hobby27

@sis-tafics

@arryn-nyxx

@x-waywardaf-x

@starry-chaos

@shann-the-artist-moon

@sandlee44

@lucywinchester2000

@emoryhemsworth

Dean Winchester:

@spn-dean-and-sam-winchester

@ruprecht0420

@troubletrumble

@angelsandwinchesters

@oreosatmidnight

@allethalove

@yourvoiceislikearose

#sofreddie #tainted love #dean winchester #sam winchester #reader-insert #castiel #spn #spn fanfic #spn fanfiction #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fanfic #angst #fluff

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finalvlog-a · 7 years ago

Note

😘 if i don't get a thesis for this imma be disappointed.

@gcdsaved // [ CLOSED ]

IT’S INTERNATIONAL KISSING DAY! SEND 😘 TO KISS MY MUSE.*under a read more because again i did 1500 words :\

Alex had escaped.He’d escaped John’s bunker. It hadn’t been easy but he’d done it. Alex had slowly gained some of John’s trust. Started to ‘accept’his sins and faked his resignation to ‘fate’. He wasn’t much of a liar, but hehad been tired from the torture so it was easy to pretend his exhaustion was acceptance.After weeks spent in the bunker he could easily sell that much. Once or twice John had even taken him out and shown himthe compound, shown him his ranch, told him what he could haveif he only said yes. Not that he everdid. Alex would make a show of considering it, of crumbling a little bit moreeach day, but he never said yes. Evenif he sometimes wanted to just tomake the pain stop. His patience paid off and one day the peggies had been laxin transferring him from his cell. Alex didn’t hesitate. He killed them, pure anger overtaking him. Anger at how they allowed his sufferingto go unchecked. Then he grabbed a weapon and began running. Not only did heescape the bunker but he managed to avoid getting captured again.

He avoidedJohn Seed for nearly two weeks. In that time he’d mostly recovered from the injuriessustained but he definitely needed a doctor. But he couldn’t leave Hope County, not yet. There werecultists all over the place and Alexdidn’t think he could get out on a main road without being seen. He wanted togo find help for his friends more than he wanted medical aid for himself, butit was too risky. The wounds were bad, but so long as he changed the bandages andkept them clean he could handle the pain. Which is exactly what he did; he enduredthe pain while he found cultists –– found people on the edge of Joseph’s influence who could be convinced to abandon themadness that is Eden’s Gate. He’d been working on a way to get them out. It hadtaken him a little over a week and a half by the time everything was ready togo. During that time he’d found out about Sara, heard from some locals that she’ddied on ‘the path’. Alex was heartbroken, in denial for a good few days beforehe saw her body for himself. That meant it was just him and Hannah left. He wouldn’tabandon her to Jacob, he’d stay. He had to help her. It was something he had to do.

So when the time came, he wouldn’t be joining the groupof twenty or so former cultists that were ready to leave Hope County throughthe tunnel. Alex had to stay behind and find Hannah –– get herout of here. He’d been standing outside the tunnel, watching the cars drivethrough when it blew and he went flying from the blast. He’d been knocked outfor a few moments, maybe longer but when he came to on the side of the road he knew they’d been found out. Alex stumbledto his feet, squinting through the smoke and his double vision. There, a waysoff from the tunnel was one of the younger women that’d been with them. She’sstanding beside people wearing the sign of Eden’s Gate on their clothing, andthey’re armed with rifles. Alex turnsand sprints for the tree line –– towards the wilderness. His hearing is gone,ringing from the blast and so he doesn’t hear the shouting, nor see thempointing in his direction. He takes off, still fast on his feet despite hisdazed and confused state.

Alex doesn’t stop running, not until he can hear thecrunch of dirt and leaves beneath his feet. Oh good, he can hear again. Reddrips off of his eyebrow and into his vision. He’s bleeding. Great. He reaches into one pocket,pulling out a bandana that’s folded up. He presses it to his forehead,staunching the blood flow as best he can while he keeps walking. The pace isslower, but he can’t afford to stop. His walkie-talkie crackles, and John’svoice is confident through it, the static doing little to diminish his charisma. “Were youthere Alex? Did you see the consequencesof your actions? It’s not too late little brother. You can still atone.” There’sa pause, the line still open as John sighs dramatically, “I wish I could say the same for your friend, Hannah? Was it? She didn’tmake it through her trial I heard. Do you feel responsiblefor her death too Alex? Tell me, do your failures haunt you?” Another exhale but this one is almost in relief, “We can lighten that burden little brother, you know what you need todo.” Then the line clicks silent and Alex is alone with only his thoughtsfor company. He’d stopped walking when John mentioned Hannah and he wonders if he’slying. John Seed was manipulative, but he hadn’t ever outright lied to Alex. His hands start shakingand he wishes he’d died at thetunnel. THE TUNNEL. He thinks about everyone who’s dead there. They ––

They’d been betrayed, they’d been murdered. Alex keeps trekking through the fields and hills, stoppingat the top of one to squint at the road below when he sees a roadblock leading into Fall’s End. What thehell? John Seed’s voice is echoing over speakers, and when he sneaks closeenough to get a better view he can also hear Joseph’s voice on a radio insideof the garage he’s hiding behind. There’s talk of a seal being broken. Of a reaping.There’s also a lot of peggies patrolling the area, all armed, and with a lot of vehicles scattered.

What the fuckwas going on? Alex doubles back in the direction he’d come from and then takesa longer route back towards the tunnel. If there were survivors he had to tryand help them –– had to see the damage for himself. When hegets back night is falling and the valley has gone dark. From the trees he can seesome peggies milling about in front of the tunnel’s entrance. Their trucks are parked with the headlights on, illuminating them as they work. They’re stringingup bundles of bliss flowers over the blown tunnel along with a flag that has the cross ofEden’s Gate on it. Alex turns and leaves, walking without any set direction.There’s peggies everywhere andnowhere is safe. The wound along his forehead had finally scabbed over, but itneeded stitches or super glue if it was going to stay closed. His ribs feel bruised and his bandages are filthy.Some of them are blooming with crimson as well. He’s in bad shape and he’s alone.

Despite the darkness he’d seen the damage at the tunnel. No one had survived. Over twentypeople, dead. People who trusted him.People, like Sara and Hannah. Alex stumbles his way through Holland Valley,walking until he’s passing a familiar sign. Multiple signs –– the three of themspelling out a word that haunted him. Alex keeps walking up the dirt path and once hereaches the entrance to the ranch he’s stopped by a few peggies shouting at himto stay where he’s at, not to move a muscle. He does as he’s told. They approach, guns raised butAlex is too tired to care. He stares ahead at the log cabin as they frisk him,checking him over. When they ask who he is and why he’s there he answers, “Alex.”

All it takes is his name and they’re radioing John.Which seems silly when the house is rightthere and the lights are on. “Brother, the man you spoke of is here.” Alexcan hear the peggie talk, but his walkie-talkie is turned down so low thatwhatever John says is muffled, sounds far away. Within minutes John is on thefront steps of the ranch and beckoning them forward. They shove Alex in thesmall of his back with the muzzle of their rifle and he goes willingly, closingthe space between them. He stops at the bottom of the steps, standing on the flagstone pavers. John smiles at him, at the shape he’s in.

“Little brother,I knew you’d come home, willingly. Wasthere something you wanted to say?”

Alex hadn’t known he would come here, but he had nowhere else to go. MaybeJohn knows him better than he knew himself. He flinches when one of the peggieskicks the back of his knees, sending him to the ground. Alex catches himselfwith one outstretched hand, breathing out a whimper from how much the motion pulledon aching ribs. John kneels down in front of him, hands cupping the side of hisface and forcing him to look up. His eyebrows lift slightly, the smile stillthere, he’s waiting.

“Yes.”Alex glares at him, but the malice is nowhere near the inferno it used to be.It’s merely an ember. John’s smile widens and he leans in, kisses Alex on theforehead. The peggies behind are standing vigilant, but they seem to relax alittle. Alex’s shoulders slump, and when John lets go of him, standing with aspin he gestures for them to gather Alex up. “Take him back to the bunker, we’ll start in the morning.” Thepeggies lift him to his feet, one on other side of him. John is halfway inside theranch when he stops to turn and adds, “Wekept your room ready for your return.”

#gcdsaved #✉ leave a message … answered #✪ SAVE FILE … memories #// here's ur thesis.#u challenge me.

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soph95x · 4 years ago

Text

3 Saviors 1 ME

No where to go, No one to turn to, No one who understood who I am. Alone I was unable to communicate and scared of what was to lie ahead. No one who understood the real Sophie the capabilities, the strengths, the Bright side that lay beneath the darkness. There on my own and in my hands my whole life ahead and not a single person had met me before. Being Completely Alone and afraid of everything and everyone with a shelf of worries and not a single skill to cope sent terror to my bones. I thought I was going to suffer but fear not as I met whom now I call my hero and Role Model the most amazing Ward Nurse/CPN who saved my life and has helped along with One amazing psychologist and a facilitator whom I thought would not give me the impact she has. These three amazing people are my saviors in many different ways. Words Cant describe how much these mean to me but tears shed together has proven that the professional bond between my hero and I is untouchable and holds a special place within me.

Blink of an eye and suddenly I come crashing down in a place of uncertainty, unknown territory I have never been before. Thoughts running through my head with no sense of reality and the effects this was having. Lost and isolated in crisis with people trying to unlock me to help but not exceeding. A breath of fresh air turned that key and was let into the world of me. My Hero was there at last. Full of energy with a smile on her face entered my life and released the true me hidden inside. Layers of darkness lay before her but not being phased and with true patience slowly they came apart. The faith, time, energy and personality of this incredible professional shined and it became apparent that she wasn’t going anywhere. Every shift we talked and talked and in her weird but wonderful way got me engaged. Everything going on in my case we spoke about. She guided me for every meeting and soon realized me and groups of people doesn’t mix and what does a hero do best solves the problem then problem after problem and trust me there was a lot. A professional bond started but this was just the beginning…

A professional bond is not just the interaction and the outcomes whilst that professional is involved it’s the way the bond is formed and how the bond creates a person and changes after the professional has left. In my case my hero became my CPN and strangely her last day of ward nurse was my last day on the ward. The ward was where the bond started. No one could get me to talk but my hero did, no one could see the real me but my hero did, no one seemed to realize my insecurities but my hero did. My hero became my role model. Bubbly, confident, full of swag and a voice that carries is what I admire and not holding back on conversation with a straightforward attitude is the person I knew deep down could be me but was I right?

As quick as a flash of lightening is how quick I can blip in and out of a crisis and this is how quick my hero helped. Every new issue She was quick of the mark to resolve it. My hero became my role model because of all the time and effort she put in to making me better. A role model is someone who we look up to be like and my hero is just that. She goes out of her way to help people, she see’s what lies beneath them. One day I want to be just like her. When my role model told me she was leaving her job as CPN I was in tears the same tears I was when she told me she had a new job on the ward. It was the same conversation she said you would still see me but in a different role. This was difficult but what made it more difficult was of how much my hero was apart of my Journey. My hero is my role model and I don’t think anything will change that.

I made the decision to not continue with my hero in her new job role for many different reasons. This decision was so difficult for me and even now I still think back and wonder the main reason. My hero was apart of my life in two different job roles and I am so lucky to have had that experience and this last year of not being involved with her made me see the journey and how far it as came. I know this means so much to her because recently we seen each other by Skype coincidentally and the tears that came from her and me were real and the bond is still so tight. I am lucky and blessed to have met this professional and she will hold a special place in my heart FOREVER!

Throughout out my journey I came across many professionals but no one as special as my hero and no one as amazing as the next two people. My psychologist met me in the very first days of me being admitted to the ward. She was an angel that came at the right time to save me and give me the opportunity to be involved in life saving therapy DBT. My Psychologist really give me hope for the future and her spirit carries and rubs of on people at least it did with me. An Angel rescues people and that just what this incredible psychologist did. She believed in me from the start, she give me hope, there was light at the end of the tunnel with an angel guiding me and in her own words. “I was the person in the boat and she was the owes helping me and guiding me to the other side.” That’s exactly what happened. Truth I was against all therapy I actually remember saying give it 6 weeks and I won’t go. My angel got me ready and she was a miracle because I loved DBT in fact I still do. I lived and breathed DBT. It was like a healthy addiction; I could not bare missing a session in fact I missed like 3 sessions in the whole year. I wanted to learn the ins and out and every little detail. My psychologist did just that. 1.5 years on from graduating DBT I still swear by it and love it. I recently started studying the background of DBT and reading around how it was formed and who it was formed by its so interesting and my angel got me to that place. I recently seen my angel in person and that moment was so special because I know without her the work my hero done would not have had the impact it has. My angel is so special in a different way and will always be remember. Last year I was given the opportunity to teach at a local university and share my story and teach some of DBT with my angel and it was so special I could see how much DBT means to her and it means a lot to me to. I hope to do another post just on DBT in the near future as I can talk all day about it.

The next saviour in my life and the most important to date is whom I am referring to as a facilitator as that’s the role in which we met. However, she is currently still working with me and is very important and is in a different capacity. This facilitator is my recovery and way forward fairy as all she currently does is wave this magic wand of wisdom, wise, knowledge and inspiration. When I met this fairy she was full of joy, laughter and a no nonsense attitude something I really liked. In a group setting she seemed to know each of our personalities and strengths and weaknesses. We had some laughs and there is one she never lets me forget. We were doing a homework task feedback and I made a comment about there being no Rivers in Newcastle. I still laught because we have a famous river in the title of my home city the River Tyne and to this day I am not aloud to forget it. In the early days maybe after 2 month of being in DBT which lasts a year I was always asked not to answer a question because she knew I had the answer and she always asked me those questions a lot more difficult. She really got the best out of me in those group sessions and on my last DBT session she came even though she wasn’t facilitating this and that was a special moment graduating from DBT with her there could not be more special. Recently my fairy is back involved and is a massive part of my team now in fact one of the most important people to date. Fairy she is called because a fairy waves magic and she has done just that. She been in contact me every week without fail and lets me rant and rant. She saved my life a few times and always reminds me of those important to me especially of her colleague my hero. She knows how special the bond between my hero, and I is. We are currently working on something that is going to change my life drastically but I wont be blogging about that yet however what I can say this is so big and because she believes I can do and the opportunities I have through this is incredible. The bond we have is different to the rest but a lot freer and more relaxed in terms of pressure as she makes sure I have limited of that. A fairy is changing my life for the best, but you will have to wait and see how that happens…

“Our bus only goes forward” Came from the words of my hero and my motto for life.

Thank you for reading my first Mental Health Journey blog post on here and stay tuned for more. But always remember you can meet incredible professionals and create lasting bonds in services I am living proof of that.

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thisdaynews · 5 years ago

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The question for Democrats: Why do you suck?

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/the-question-for-democrats-why-do-you-suck/

The question for Democrats: Why do you suck?

It’s possible, of course, that the candidates will refuse to accept the premise. After all, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll last month showed 85 percent of Democrats actually are very or somewhat satisfied with the candidate field.

Make no mistake, however, this imaginary debate questioner is not really a figment of imagination. More like a composite of real people in the Washington political class who generate skeptical static in phone calls and emails and lunches with other operatives and with journalists who write stories like this one.

The suckage factor is the unmistakable context of tonight’s Democratic debate in Atlanta. All the candidates, to one degree or another, are laboring with a hovering perception among Democratic influentials that, for one reason or another, their candidacies are suffering from fundamental infirmities.

That perception is what has tempted latecomers to barge in—Michael Bloomberg and Deval Patrick, neither of whom will be on the stage—and has even aroused speculation about the intentions of former nominees John Kerry and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Former president Barack Obama, who often says he disdains “cable chatter,” weighed in the other day with a warning to candidates to not confuse “left-leaning twitter feeds” with the views of most voters, who “don’t want to see crazy stuff.”

The 2020 Democrats can comfort themselves with the knowledge that every nominee in both parties for at least the last 40 years has experienced some period of hazing, in which the professional political class was consumed with discussion about their perceived electoral defects. (Of course, for half of those people the doubts were arguably proven correct in the end.)

For now, each of the debaters at the MSNBC/Washington Post debate all face variations of the same increasingly urgent challenge—tell us why you don’t suck, or admit that you do but explain why it doesn’t matter as much as many people assume. Thanks to my colleagues Marc Caputo, Chris Cadelago, Holly Otterbein, Elena Schneider, and Alex Thompson for their help in framing how the candidates are defining success tonight.

Elizabeth Warren: End the Medicare for All obsession

Thompson notes a paradox. In Warren’s stump, Medicare for All usually comes up peripherally or not at all. The subjects that clearly animate her most are bringing corporate power to heel, tilting the tax code to help working people and making the very wealthy pay more, and programs like canceling student debt and universal health care. And yet: Medicare for All, and Warren’s staccato explanations of her own position, have dominated the narrative for a punishing stretch of her campaign. Other candidates pressed her hard at last month’s Ohio debate on how she would pay for it. And among the professional class there is widespread concern that an impressive but unseasoned presidential candidate allowed herself to be boxed into a corner—with a position so toxic it could be fatal in the general election.

Warren’s task Thursday is to convince two distinct sets of people that she’s solved the problem. For average Democratic voters, Warren can point to a recent burst of detail about how she would stitch together various savings and new revenue streams from companies and high-earners to pay for her plan with “not one penny in middle-class tax increases,” as she put it in a Medium post. The plan is complex but the message is simple: I got this.

For those in the Democratic professional class, who worry about the general election, Warren can talk about another plan, laying out her priorities once winning office (Medicare for All isn’t in the top three) and how there would be a transition plan of several years before the elimination of private insurance plan. The message: This is all foggy and speculative enough that voters will realize they don’t need to freak out over details that will probably never happen or conclude that I’m a dangerous radical.

Success for Warren at this debate would be to parry questions with such detail that everyone—opponents, reporters, Obama—cries “Uncle” and moves on.

Pete Buttigieg: Time to get serious, young man

The South Bend mayor is well-aware that he arrives with a target on his back unlike any previous debates. That’s due to this past weekend’s Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll, showing him atop the field in the Iowa caucuses.

This will have Buttigieg likely being the target of criticism in ways he has not at previous debates. On those occasions, he has scored points for sounding articulate and sensible beyond his years—something he no doubt learned he can pull off in kindergarten—but he also tended to move in and out of the conversation, never the central figure across the length of the evening. Many in that dreaded professional class still are not convinced that a 37-year-old small-city mayor can be taken seriously for the presidency. In fairness, probably many average voters will be watching through the same prism.

Buttigieg also must look for opportunities to address and begin reversing his notably low support from African-Americans.

Schneider notes that it is likely he will emphasize his plans on health care and college affordability, two areas where he has the clearest differences with Warren and Bernie Sanders and where his positions are much more attuned with Obama’s plea that the “average American doesn’t think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it.”

Joe Biden: C’mon, man, I’m not that bad

The former vice president turns 77 today. It is unlikely he will celebrate with a bravura debate performance.

After four previous debates of sentence fragments, baffling or cringe-worthy non sequiturs or anachronistic lines (such as in the third debate when he said parents should “have the record player on at night” to teach kids new words), there surely are few Americans who plan to vote for him because they think he is a superb debater. It is more reasonable to assume that anyone who doesn’t want Biden because they think he is inarticulate on stage has already switched his or her allegiance to another candidate.

If it’s not likely Biden will dazzle in Atlanta he could still benefit from a strong and steady outing. One result would be to cause the political-media class—which often speaks about his candidacy as though it were terminally ill, in large part because he is not currently poised to win Iowa or New Hampshire—to look through the other end of the telescope. Even with a year of publicity questioning, among other topics, whether he makes women uncomfortable by being too familiar, whether he is showing his age, whether his family’s business dealings are a problem, he remains atop most national polls. He needs the focus to remain on that if he does indeed underperform in Iowa and New Hampshire in early February.

“Joe knows he doesn’t have to be the best on stage. He needs to be good enough,” a fundraiser and friend who has discussed debate strategy with Biden told Caputo. “The reality is the media makes a lot more of these debates than voters do. And it’s not like they’re real debates about policy. These are TV shows.”

Bernie Sanders: Show some heart

In one sense, appraising the Vermont senator’s debate performances is easy. A good one is little different than a bad—none vary much in message or tone—and people either like them or they don’t.

As POLITICO’s Holly Otterbein noted recently, Sanders’s recent cardiac arrest actually seemed to give his campaign a boost.

Still, there aren’t many people in the chattering class who chatter seriously about the prospect of Sanders being the nominee—despite his durable coterie of support and how close he came to beating Hillary Clinton for the nomination in 2016. He must walk a balance, distinguishing himself from Warren without shredding their non-aggression pact and potentially angering her backers. He must stand out enough that he can’t be ignored in the media coverage.

A winning night in Atlanta might offer something slightly different—more humor, more personal insight, an anecdote about a tunnel filled with light? Anything: Surprise us—that suggests Sanders can present himself in ways that widen his support beyond his loyal base and he has prospects not just to influence the race but win it.

The rest: There is still (a little) time

The balance of candidates may be residing in the second tier, but even that is a somewhat impressive feat. The Democratic National Committee’s tightening eligibility criteria has already shooed numerous other candidates off the stage.

At a minimum, these people should enjoy their remaining time in the spotlight. At best, there may be some openings to add to the top tier or kick someone else out of it.

That’s what Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is hoping to do, with a repeat of a widely praised debate outing last month. She hopes to demonstrate that she may have less novelty than Buttigieg but more credibility, having won previously in an important Midwestern state, and therefore is the natural beneficiary for people who think Warren and Sanders are too liberal and that Biden is unimpressive.

There is not yet much evidence that 2020 is the year for Sens. Cory Booker or Kamala Harris. It’s not that they necessarily suck—they just so far have not mattered. Both arrived in the race with strong reputations as ascendant politicians, but neither has exceeded (or arguably even matched) expectations of the political-media class. Both have had some eye-catching moments in previous debates that they failed to turn into forward momentum in polls. Both need performances that remind people why they have those reputations in the first place. This could cause lightening finally to strike, or at least keep them in contention as vice presidential prospects.

If our imaginary consultant got to decide, it’s likely that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, or hedge fund billionaire and impeachment advocate Tom Steyer wouldn’t be on the stage. These people don’t interest him at all.

Fortunately, consultants and reporters don’t really get to decide. All three candidates in their own ways have enlivened previous debates, have some committed supporters—lots of them in Yang’s case—and have another opportunity to steer the debate in unconventional directions that it wouldn’t go if their voices were unheard.

#Democrats #Foreign #Politics #question

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flauntpage · 7 years ago

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Only in Philadelphia: Ten Takeaways from Eagles 43, Rams 35

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Only in Philadelphia would a brilliant, come-from-behind, playoff-clinching win be met with utter despondency and despair.

Alas, here we are, with Nick Foles leading the Eagles into the playoffs as NFC East champions, because the superstar starting quarterback (reportedly) tore his ACL on the same drive in which he also set the franchise record for most passing touchdowns in a single season.

I regret using the term “Pyrrhic” in my Week 1 story and should have saved it for this game instead, because the term really can’t be defined any better. The cost of the win makes it feel like a wash. It seems pointless to talk about nine other takeaways when Carson Wentz suffers a serious injury, but we’re just gonna have to suck it up and move on with our lives.

So where’s your head this morning? Are you a believer? Can a backup quarterback take this team to the Super Bowl?

Or is the season lost? Do the Birds fold and flame out down the stretch? Do you become a grumpy loser who can’t be arsed to change your underwear or take a shower?

Listen, this team can take care of these other NFC donkeys at home in January. Nobody should be scared about hosting the Saints, Vikings, or Rams in Philly. Tom Brady in the Super Bowl is another story, but stranger things have happened. If Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer can lift the Lombardi Trophy, then anybody can. It’s time to roll out of bed and seize the day. Carpe Diem.

1) The injury

It happened on a scramble at the tail-end of a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.

Wentz was running to his right when he dove for the end zone:

#Eagles QB Carson Wentz suffers a brutal knee injury against the #Rams. Sources say he could be done for the year. http://pic.twitter.com/yeAz5fbQms

— NYSportsCast (@NYSportCast) December 11, 2017

The play was negated because of a holding call on Lane Johnson. Wentz, showing discomfort, stayed in the game and handed the ball off twice before throwing incomplete to Alshon Jeffery. On a 4th and goal, he remained on the field and Doug Pederson decided to go for it:

.@cj_wentz with his 33rd TD pass of the season, a new #Eagles single-season record.#FlyEaglesFly http://pic.twitter.com/ExSIZ1giWe

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 10, 2017

And that was his last action, throwing a touchdown pass on one leg while remaining stationary in the pocket.

Some people blamed Pederson for the injury, saying that the Eagles should have run the ball at the goal line. I get that, and I don’t disagree with the idea for strategical purposes. They should have run the ball more overall, not just in the red zone. They didn’t show enough offensive balance in general.

But I’m always wary of trying to pin everything on someone specific. Injuries can happen anywhere, anytime. The kicker got concussed trying to make a tackle a few weeks back, remember that? Here, your franchise quarterback is just trying to make a play in an important game. He also has to try to protect himself as well. It’s a two-way street. This game was as big as they get and Wentz was trying to put the team on his back.

2) Receiver by committee

Consoling Carson in the tunnel was Zach Ertz, inactive for the game after failing to recover from a concussion suffered last Sunday.

Brent Celek and Trey Burton had big games in his absence, scoring three of the Eagles’ four offensive touchdowns.

Burton was particularly solid, catching five balls for 71 yards and 2 scores. He only had 15 catches coming into this game and hadn’t gone above 60 yards receiving more than once in his entire career. He’s a free agent at the season’s end and will want to put this on his resume:

Celek caught the opening touchdown and garnered a key pass interference call in the red zone that kept the Birds’ first scoring drive alive.

And I’d be remiss if I failed to mention Torrey Smith, who had his first 100-yard game in more than two years. He caught a season-high six passes yesterday.

3) Left guard rotation, but not by choice

One of the more important parts of the game that fell by the wayside was the departure of left guard Stefen Wisniewski, who left in the second quarter with an ankle injury.

That put Chance Warmack on the line alongside fellow backup Halipoulivaati Vaitai. Warmack was later pulled for Isaac Seumalo.

Warmack is a backup for a reason, yeah? He’s had some moments this season, but it was obvious that Wisniewski was the better player when the Eagles finally gave up on the LG rotation a while back.

On a play like this, I think Wisniewski does a better job:

It’s a delayed handoff where Lane Johnson doesn’t get a great chip on the end, but Warmack fails to move his guy at all and the play is blown up at the line. Corey Clement had a bit of room to run there after breaking the first tackle.

If Foles is gonna be the guy moving forward, hope that Wisniewski is healthy, because you don’t want your backup QB playing behind the backup LG and backup LT.

4) Whiffing

I wrote about the quality of the Eagles’ tackling two weeks ago and now I feel like an asshole, because they did a really poor job yesterday, especially the secondary.

It was 21-7 and the Eagles were cruising when Malcolm Jenkins and a few others whiffed on Cooper Kupp, allowing a huge gain up the sideline that eventually led to a touchdown:

Cooper Kupp is a pro bowler Cooper Kupp is a pro bowler Cooper Kupp is a pro bowler Cooper Kupp is a pro bowler #PHIvsLA http://pic.twitter.com/MX3E5zj6zS

— 6'7-Eleven Inches (@LeBandz_James) December 10, 2017

It seemed like the defense was out of sorts all day long, and I swear Jalen Mills didn’t want any part of this play:

Eagles have had no answer for Todd Gurley, 100 yards and 2 TDs on 11 carries. Rams go ahead 35-31 http://pic.twitter.com/MoGuYVFfdh

— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) December 11, 2017

Unwilling to tackle?

I can think of one guy who might be able to help in this department:

Eagles need me on Defense to bring that gangsta shit back

— Asante Samuel (@pick_six22) December 10, 2017

In all seriousness, the defense really came around in the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble and then holding on after the Eagles retook the lead. When it seemed like the Rams had adjusted and figured it out in the second half, Jim Schwartz’s unit stepped up the energy and intensity and made some key plays down the stretch to help a banged up offense get the job done.

5) Don’t roll that Blount

I have nothing against LeGarrette Blount. He’s been solid when called upon this year.

That said, Jay Ajayi had the hot hand and should have had more carries in the first three quarters yesterday.

He finished with 15 rushes for 78 yards while Blount had 7 for 12, but five of Ajayi’s runs took place on the final clock-killing drive of the game. He didn’t have enough looks in the second and third quarter after opening with runs of 7, 9, and 19 on the Birds’ first three touchdown drives.

I don’t know how much is on Pederson and how much is on Duce Staley, who controls the running back rotation, but you gotta feed the beast when he’s hungry. If you see glimpses in the ground game, build on that, lighten the load for Carson Wentz, and chew up the clock while keeping your defense off the field. Seems simple enough.

6) Hey ref, you’re blowing the game

The Eagles benefited twice last night from brutal calls against the Rams.

The first was unsportsmanlike conduct on Trumaine Johnson for mouthing off to Alshon Jeffery after breaking up a 3rd and 9 pass attempt. That was on the third quarter drive where the Eagles ultimately scored to retake the lead.

Later, the Rams were called for “leverage” on a Jake Elliott field goal attempt, a call that had everybody on the broadcast utterly confused. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman thought the refs had identified the wrong player. Mike Pereira or whoever they asked in New York City also had no clue what the call was about.

The Eagles ended up blowing their fresh set of downs and had to kick the field goal again (the first was good), so, luckily for the Rams, that bogus call ended up being a non-factor.

But just write this down and save it somewhere if anyone ever tells you that the refs are in the tank for the other team, because they definitely weren’t in this game. Eagles fans would be flipping shit if both of those calls went against their squad.

7) A big blocker

Just a wrinkle here, something we’ve haven’t seen before, which is Isaac Seumalo playing as a fullback.

They lined him up in an offset I-formation and ran play-action on this one:

Kind of a busted play from the beginning because Brent Celek flinches and tips off the defense. Wentz makes a great play with his feet to convert the 3rd and 1.

The Eagles don’t carry a fullback on the roster, so a lineman will be in there on rare occasions when decide to use one. Beau Allen has played the role in the past.

8) Doug’s worst call?

Let’s start with the gadget screen on the first play of the game. It was way too slow to develop, but then Doug got the Rams with a similar play on the next drive, which tells me he saw something on tape about throwing that delayed screen and using Los Angeles’ aggression against them.

Doug’s biggest issue was obviously not giving Ajayi enough snaps when it mattered last night. He was gashing LA early and looked up for it, so you stick with him. Instead, we got another 60/40 split that was skewed by the final series.

I also disagreed with the decision to go for it on 4th and goal at the end of the third quarter, even with a presumably healthy Wentz on the field (I had no clue how badly he was injured at the time.) If Jeffery drops that ball, it’s a crushing loss of momentum and you’re down by four points instead of one. It was incredibly risky, and while it worked, a failure there might have cooked the Birds for good.

9) Doug’s best call?

Of course it was the decision to go on 4th and 1 during the third drive.

Also, it was clear as day that he should challenge right before halftime on this horrendous spot:

You sure he got that first down? http://pic.twitter.com/rJ7IatpTcx

— Sporting News (@sportingnews) December 10, 2017

10) Los Angeles

Can we talk about how Los Angeles is a soulless, plastic town?

Yeah, it’s always 83 degrees and sunny and Malibu probably has a slight edge on Wildwood, but I’ve been out there four times and something just feels “off” about LA. The people are generally cool and relaxed and not as high strung and frazzled as East Coast types, but maybe it’s the lack of character? Philly has history and meaning and things you can walk to and from, while Los Angeles is just a sprawling metropolis of highways and Starbucks and wannabe actors. For the second time this year, there were more Eagle fans in an LA stadium than home fans. I also need somebody to explain the obsession with In N’ Out Burger.

Finally, shout out to Jeffrey Lurie for having Bradley Cooper in his suite. Would you rather be in a box with Cooper or Chris Christie?

Only in Philadelphia: Ten Takeaways from Eagles 43, Rams 35 published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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