#because the only one of those five who's really left at RB next year will be Christian

[havethetimeofyourstyles]

in which harry doesn’t like halloween until a certain pair of trick or treaters knock on his door.

a/n: HAPPY HARRYWEEN EVERYONE! personally don’t like halloween myself, but I hope everyone has a spooky and fun day (indoors, ofc)! here’s my first halloween piece that was meant to be a blurb, but turned out a little longer than expected, enjoy!

thank you to ira @stylesloveclub​ & cait @sweetcreatureinthedark​ for reading this over! <3

enjoy 5k words of teacher/dad!harry being cute

warnings: brief mention of death, mostly fluff

LETS TALK ABOUT PEBBLES & THE SCARECROW IN MY INBOX! pls let me know your thoughts!

pls rb to share! <3

Harry wasn’t fond of Halloween, if he’s being honest. 

The thought of people putting on scary masks, scaring little kids out of their driveway is something that was so unsettling to him. The scary movies that always release around the month of October that promoted their commercials, causing him to startle on the couch because of the jump scare was not something he looked forward to every year. Especially when those said movies would have their ad on the radio, which makes it even scarier because he could only listen. He would usually have his Bluetooth on with his own music playing, but when it’s only a five minute drive, he doesn’t bother with the Bluetooth. Either way, he doesn’t like it. 

Halloween is not fun, he would say every year. 

However, the upside to the month of October was something he looked forward to because that’s when the weather really changed. September would be sunny and hot still, but then comes around October and the sun would peek behind the clouds as the weather got colder. The leaves would fall from their branches and onto the ground, loving the sound of the crunchy leaves beneath his feet, especially building a pile and jumping into them. Not alone, of course, but with his baby girl who loved to just squeal and laugh at her dad whenever he would jump into the pile of orange leaves that he collected on their front lawn. 

Wynn, his daughter, also loved the change of fall weather just as much as he did. Harry would hype it up so much because October was the start of holiday season, and he loved being in a festive mood. So, naturally, Wynn picked up on his behavior and was just like her dad; jumping up and down when he would get excited. 

Another thing that he liked about Halloween was that he got to pass out candy to the fellow trick or treaters to all the students in the school during their Halloween bash, and to the kids in his friendly neighborhood. Every year, he would buy plenty of candy for the students—sometimes buying too much because he didn’t want anyone to be left out when they would walk up to him. But if he did have extra, he would save them for later that night for the kids in the neighborhood. 

He loved seeing the students’ reactions when he would tell them that they had a cool costume. He especially loved it when the kids would compliment his own costume. Some teachers didn’t really like to dress up on Halloween as they only wore a headband of some sorts or a festive t-shirt, but Harry liked to go all out. He’s been teaching for six years, and every year, he made sure to join in on the fun. One of his favorite costumes was when he dressed up as Peter Pan and Wynn was Tinker Bell. They always coordinated costumes, and Harry hoped that once she gets older, she would never stop wanting to match with him, but he knows that’s inevitable; he’ll just hold onto these moments for now. That was one of his favorites because Wynn just loved her costume so much that she didn’t want to take it off, so seeing her so happy in her princess dress just made his heart burst. 

But this year, he thinks he’s topped the previous years. 

As he said goodbye to Wynn, dropping her off at her class, he greeted her first grade teacher. 

“Oh! Don’t you both look absolutely adorable!” Mrs. Robin, an old lady who had been teaching for years and retiring this school year, said. 

“Thank you, Mrs. Robin. Think this year is my favorite,” Harry said, looking down at Wynn as she nodded her small head at him. Harry was dressed as Fred Flinstone and Wynn was Pebbles. He thought she was the absolute cutest, and he even did her hair the same way in the morning, but instead of a bone, he replaced it with a white bow. 

“You two always have the loveliest costumes!” Harry looked down at Wynn, raising his eyebrows at her to say thank you, and she looked at her teaching, thanking her. 

“Anyways, I gotta go get my class from their line. I’ll see you later at the bash,” he told Mrs. Robin. He bent down, meeting Wynn’s eye level. “Be good, okay?” His daughter nodded. “I’ll see you later. Make sure you say hi to me,” he reminded her. “Love you, bunches.” 

“Love you, tons,” the little girl replied, and he gave her forehead a kiss before she wrapped his arms around his shoulders, giving him a hug. They’ve always been inseparable, and Harry had separation anxiety whenever they part even if it’s just a little bit. And as much as he loves how much his daughter loves him, he hoped that she doesn’t suffer from it as well—although, he thinks it’s starting to begin. He couldn’t help it—he was an affectionate person and always loved to give her hugs and kisses, to which she would give them back. 

Harry quickly walked to his classroom, putting his belongings and the bags of candy down before walking out to pick up his class. Harry taught the third grade, and they were a smart bunch. He loved how it was in between sweet and cuteness, but also watching them grow. He thinks fourth and fifth grade was when they started to become too sassy and dramatic, so he liked being in between. 

“Hi, everyone! Happy Halloween!” He greeted, and his class cheered, some of his students telling him that he looked so cool, and Harry said thank you to them as he complimented them back. “Everyone follows me in a straight line. Don’t stop walking, don’t stray, don’t turn around, and please be sure to keep all hands and feet inside of the vehicle, got it?” They all nodded. “Alright, enjoy the ride, here we go!” He started walking as he smiled. He came up with that line when he was in his second year of teaching as he wanted his class to have fun while going into the classroom, so he acted like it was a rollercoaster, and the kids seemed to love it. 

When they got inside the classroom, the kids took their seats at their desk. Harry told them that they had to do a quick lesson before the Halloween bash, earning a groan throughout the classroom. 

“I know, I know. But it’ll be quick! And then we’ll all have fun after. Unless you all would prefer I teach the lesson after the bash and after lunch?” He asked, knowing what the answer would be. Usually on Halloween, they would have a lesson, the bash, lunch, and Harry would put on a movie as he passed out treats to fill in the rest of the day before the school day ended. Their heads shook as Harry chuckled. “I figured,” he said before he started the quick lesson on reading. 

The lesson only lasted thirty minutes, just in time to head out to the bash. All the classrooms were filing out to the courts, which was the larger area of the school that could fit all eighteen classrooms. The classrooms form a single line all around the three basketball courts, and each class would walk around in a single file line with their bags in hand as the teachers would pass out candy. Music would play and some of the staff would dress into one of those big floaty costumes to jump around in and entertain the other classes who were patiently waiting. The parents were allowed to join as well if they had the time to see their kids in cute costumes; the more the merrier. 

Harry’s class stood in their designated spot, having them line up, and he walked around to check if anyone got left behind, which no one did. The music started and classroom number one was instructed to do their lap, which were the kindergarten classes. Harry was classroom number eleven, so he got his big bowl of candy ready as the first class started to walk around. He saw some really fun costumes; one student was the sun and their friend was the moon, which he thought was so adorable. Once the class before the next was halfways, the next class was instructed to go. 

It went by fairly smoothly, although he could tell that some students were bored, which was understandable. Harry waited for Wynn’s class, in which she was in classroom number six, the last one of the first grade class. He spotted her in her bright green polka dot shirt and tortoise pants—she looked so adorable. He got his phone out when her class was close enough, taking a video of her at the same time as passing out candy. 

“Hi, Daddy!” She greeted, reaching up to hug him. 

“Oh, you’re the cutest. Hi, bubba,” he said as he hugged her back. The embrace was so sweet that he didn’t want to let go, and he didn’t until Wynn said something. 

“Uh, daddy, I gotta go now.” He snapped out of it, and saw that her class was onto the next two classes. He let go of her before kissing her cheek, saying see you later. 

The rest of the Halloween day went by smoothly. It was quite cold out, so the teachers were allowed to have the students eat inside if they wanted to. 

By the end of the day, he picked Wynn up from the front before he made sure his entire class was picked up safely. 

“Did you have fun?” Harry asked Wynn once he saw her. 

“Yeah! Look at all the candy!” She showed him her bag full of sweets. 

“Wow! Alright, let’s get home and sort through the ones you want and don’t want. Gonna have to pick fifteen,” he told her and she pouted. He hated that pout, even though it was adorable, it was a dangerous pout that had Harry almost give in, but he had to be the strong parent. “Sorry, pretty. Thems the rules. Last year I gave you ten, so I bumped it up by five.” 

“Alright…” she trailed off, and Harry chuckled. 

Before they left, he quickly caught Mrs. Robin before she walked away. “Oh, by the way, Mrs. Robin. Do you mind taking a picture of us? Realized I forgot to take one this morning.” 

“Of course, dear! Harry unlocked his phone and opened the camera up before handing it to her. She pointed the camera towards them as she snapped a few pictures of them. They were smiling brightly at the camera before Harry picked Lynn up, so they were the same height. “Here you are. Have a lovely Halloween, you two.” Mrs. Robin bid them goodbye as they both waved. Harry looked at the pictures, seeing that they were blurry and some of them had her finger in the lens. Harry brushed it off, chuckling to himself as he’ll figure out how you two will get a picture later. 

They headed to the car and on their way home to continue the fun with by getting and passing out more candy. 

The cold 5 p.m evening was relaxing and quiet as there weren’t many trick or treaters out just yet, only the little ones that needed to get their candy early in order to be back before bedtime. 

And that’s what you were doing with your three year old. You asked Penelope if she wanted to go and get candy, and just the sound of candy coming out from mommy’s mouth was music to her tiny ears, so she nodded her head. 

“Go now?” She asked, and you looked at the time as it was almost five in the evening. 

“Yeah! We can’t stay long because it’s gonna be cold and I don’t want you to get sick,” you told her. 

“No, I don’t want sick,” Penelope shook her head no. 

“Yeah, me either. I’ll bring a jacket just in case, don’t worry,” you reassured her, and she smiled. 

The jacket didn’t take long to put on. Once you felt the breeze rush through you, blowing away some of the leaves from the ground as Penelope was stomping on them, you immediately put her burnt orange teddy bear coat on over her scarecrow brown dress. You left the hood off since she was wearing a pointy black hat with a sunflower attached to it, which kept falling off everytime she jumped a little too much, might you add. So, you kept having to pick it up and put it back on her. 

You two had visited five houses so far, all houses being so lovely to Penelope as they complimented how adorable she was. Now, you were walking towards the next house when you suggested you go across the street since some of the other houses had signs already prepared saying ‘no candy!’

Penelope usually went with the flow, so she agreed as you two walked across the street and decided to just complete the entire block before walking back home before it got too cold and too late. 

“Go on, baby,” you encouraged her to knock on the black door. She ended up slapping the door with her open palm because she said knocking was hurting her hand. You waited at the bottom of the stairs for the owner of the house to open the door, and Penelope waited thirty seconds before she turned around with a pout on her face. “Don’t think they’re home yet. Lets go to the next one!” You said enthusiastically, hoping to lift her frown. She walked down the brick stairs as you reached out for her hand to hold. 

As you made it down the walkway and onto the sidewalk, you heard the door open frantically, making you turn around from the sudden noise and from a man calling out for you. 

“Wait, wait! I have candy!” The man ran down the walkway in a Fred Flinstone costume with a bucket of candy. You chuckled a bit because never did you imagine Fred himself was chasing after you. He was a very attractive man and he pulled the Flinstone costume quite well. “Sorry, I, uh, was just getting changed into my costume. I’m sorry it took so long. I didn’t realize people would be out trick or treating so early,” he said breathlessly from his rushed actions. 

You giggled. “Well, this one has to before she makes it for bedtime,” you referred to the little one who was jumping on the leaves. Harry looked down as his eyes beamed. 

“Well, look at you! Aren't you the cutest scarecrow!” Penelope looked up once she heard her costume. She smiled at the unknown man, but all she knew was that he had a bowl of candy that she would like to get her hands on. “I got lots of options here. You could choose one or two if you’d like.” Harry bent down to Penelope’s height, holding out the candy bowl to her. He had full fixed candy bars and candy packs, and you thought that must’ve been expensive. 

Penelope picked the candies she knew, which were a Hershey’s Cookies n’ Creme bar and a Twix bar. You raised them up to you, beaming proudly as you lowered her candy basket for her to put it in. 

“What do you say, baby?” 

She turned to Harry again. “Tank you!” 

“You’re welcome!” Harry responded. “Oh, uh, I’m Harry, by the way.” He shook your hand, introducing himself. He smiled, dimples popping out and you felt yourself blush. 

“I’m Y/N,” you smiled. 

“And who might this be?” He bent down again at Penelope. 

“I’m Pennie!” Your daughter introduced herself, and you smiled proudly. 

“It’s lovely to meet you both. You look amazing, Pennie! Although, your mummy doesn’t have a costume on,” he teased, looking at you as he smirked, making your heart flutter. 

“Well, mommy stayed up all night putting together and sewing her costume together, so I didn’t have time to make one for myself,” you explained. You were quite proud of Pennie’s costume. It was a brown dress with long sleeves that had different fall colored squares, but it was all one piece, so Pennie didn’t have to wear something underneath besides her leggings. 

“Wow, you made this? This looks amazing!” Harry complimented, and you humbly said thank your 

“So, uh, since your Fred Flinstone, is the rest of your family dressed up too?” You asked curiously. 

“Oh, no. Just my daughter,” he chuckled, “which by the way, you need to see her costume, one second.” Harry quickly walked into the house, calling out for his daughter. You and Pennie waited on the sidewalk. After a few seconds, Harry came out with his daughter holding his hand as you thought they were the cutest pair. 

“You two are just adorable!” You squealed as you looked at them fondly. 

“Hi, I’m Wynette, but I go by Wynn,” the six year old girl smiled as she introduced herself. 

“Hi, Wynn. I’m Y/N, and this is…Pennie, please stand up.” You found your daughter laying in the pile of leaves. Harry and Wynn laughed fondly. “Sorry about that.” You got Pennie to stand up, brushing her dress off from the dirt and mud. 

“It’s okay! Wynn and I love to jump and lay in the leaves all the time,” Harry said. “Oh! Actually, do you mind doing me a favor? I know we just met, but…” 

“Yeah, of course!” You accepted. 

“Do you mind getting a picture of us? We tried getting on earlier, but it was all blurry,” Harry chuckled, taking out his phone and opening up the camera. 

“Yeah, I got you.” You grabbed his phone as Harry and Wynn both smiled and posed. You lowered down the brightness a tad bit, and took multiple pics of them from different angles, even kicking some of the leaves to their feet to add to the fall effect. After you took plenty, you handed his phone back. “Let me know if you’d like me to take more.” 

“Wow, these are perfect!” Harry exclaimed as he looked at them. “Are you a photographer?” 

“Oh, no. I just really liked taking pictures when I was younger, so I always knew how to take good pictures on an iPhone,” you chuckled, making Harry laugh. Harry proceeded to joke that you should definitely be a photographer but only using a phone, and you teased back saying that you’ll think about it. 

Meanwhile as you two were talking, you two didn’t realize Pennie and Wynn playing in the leaves. Wynn was throwing a handful in the air as the leaves rained down onto the two of them. You smiled fondly at the two, and looked at Harry who was snapping some pictures. 

After a few moments, you called Pennie. “Alright, c’mon, baby. Let’s finish all these houses,” you reached out for her hand, but she pouted, shaking her head no. “Pennie…” 

“No, no! I don’t wanna leave!” Her eyes started tearing up as she frowned. 

“Don’t you want to get more candy?” You asked softly. She didn’t respond, rather turn towards Wynn and look at her with a pout. 

“Oh, uh, I think she wants Wynn to go with her,” Harry chimed in. “Think she got attached too easily within those ten minutes.” You let out a chuckle, knowing that he was right. 

“I’m sorry. Uh, she probably won’t leave your front lawn, but you totally don’t have to come with us, but-” 

“Nonsense! We’d love to go! Right, Wynn?” Wynn nodded her head happily as she continued playing with Pennie. “We usually trick or treat later in the evening, but we’d love to go with you now. I’ll just leave the candy out at the front.” 

“But wouldn’t the kids just take them all?” 

“Hey, that’s fine by me. As long as it’s going somewhere,” Harry shrugged. “Just give me one second to get the rest of the candy, and then we could go.” Harry walked back inside of the house. Wynn stayed with Pennie as you two watched them. You noticed Pennie wasn’t crying anymore, but she was giggling with tear stained cheeks as the older girl twirled her around. 

Two minutes later, Harry walked out of his house and locked the door before putting the candy bowl down onto the steps with a sign that said ‘take one, please!’ but he knew that no one was going to follow the sign’s instruction. After that, he turned towards you, smiling. “Shall we go?” You nodded your head as Harry gave Wynn her candy basket. 

The four of you walked on the leaf covered sidewalk; Wynn and Pennie were walking together in the front as you and Harry walked together behind them. 

“So, what do you do for a living?” You started the conversation. 

“I’m a third grade teacher. Have been for six years. What about you?” 

“I run a small business, selling jewelry and clothing. That’s all I do right now, and it’s gotten pretty big, so it’s taken care of a lot,” you smiled humbly. 

“Wow, that’s amazing. I could definitely see the talent through Pennie’s costume. I’d have to check it out sometime to support.” You smiled at that, giving him the name of your shop. 

The two of you continue walking, waiting for your children as they got candy, and getting to know one another. 

“Do you live around here?” He asked. “I mean, not in a creepy way,” he chuckled nervously. 

You giggled. “Yeah, I live about a block away. We usually walk on the opposite side, but decided to come on this side.” 

“Well, I’m glad you decided to come over here,” he said innocently, but it could be taken as flirtatious. 

“Me too,” you smiled softly. He smiled back as he thought you were the most beautiful person he’s ever seen that’s not related to him. You had soft eyes that looked at him with care, and a smile that he thought was the most gorgeous; you even had dimples on corners of mouth when you would smile, and he just thought that was the cutest thing. 

Obviously, he didn’t know that you were thinking the same thing as him. You felt somewhat intimidated by the tall, attractive, and kind man beside you. And you think his daughter is the cutest. They don’t really look alike, but she probably got her mom’s looks. Speaking of her mother… 

“So, the rest of your family didn’t want to come out with you two?” You asked curiously, still waiting for the answer if he was married or taken or not. 

“No, it’s actually just Wynn and I…” you hummed, smiling to yourself. “You’re probably wondering where Wynn’s mum is, huh?” He teased, noticing your flusteredness. 

“Oh, uh-” you stumbled. 

“It’s okay. I’m wondering if you’re taken too,” he said honestly. 

You chuckled nervously. “I’m not. Haven’t been since Penelope was born, actually.” 

“Do you mind me asking what happened?” 

“Only if you tell me what happened with Wynn’s mom,” you teased. “I mean, only if you want to.” Harry nodded, softly smiling. 

“Pennie’s dad and I got married three years before she was born. Spare the details, but we got a divorce after she was born because I found out that he had another family…and he chose them over us,” you explained. 

“Oh, wow, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s alright. I’m over it, and it was for the better because I didn’t want Pennie hearing us fight all the time and me yelling and asking where he’s been,” you breathed out a laugh. It seemed like the memory was just yesterday, but it’s been three years. 

“That must’ve been hard. Are you happier?” 

“Oh, yeah. Definitely. That’s when I launched my business because I couldn’t stay at home and do nothing, so I started to design.” 

“That’s amazing!” Harry smiled. 

“So, that’s my spooky story for today,” you chuckled, “what’s yours?”  

“Wel, uh…” 

“Don’t feel obligated to tell me because I told you my story,” you reassured, and he nodded. 

“Yeah, I know. But I want to tell you. Have a feeling we’re gonna be around each other a lot more often.” He pointed his eyes at the two girls walking in front of you. You smiled at the two holding hands. “But anyways, Wynn’s mother passed away when she was about two months old.” 

You softly gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Harry.” 

“As well as her father too.” Your eyes widened as you suddenly stopped walking for a moment. You looked at him skeptically, studying him for a moment. Harry furrowed his brows once you touched his stomach. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Are you a ghost?” You asked seriously. His words caught you off guard that you actually thought you were imagining Harry the whole time. 

“What? No, I’m not,” he laughed. He totally understood why you thought that. 

“Okay, good. Thought I was tripping. I mean it is Halloween. Anyways, you were saying?” You gave him your full attention as you two started walking again. 

“Wynn’s actual parents passed during an accident. They were on their way back from a little date night. Her father, Alex, was my best friend, and I’m her godfather. So, after they passed, I was her guardian. But when they asked me to be her godfather, they told me the responsibilities and that if anything happened to them, to change Wynn’s last name to my own because they didn’t want her to live on with her life wondering who her real family was. So, I did as they told me. I changed it. And I’ve raised her her whole life, and she’s mine, y’know?” Harry told you, and you listened and nodded. 

“Does Wynn know?” 

“Yeah, she does. I told her last year because she wondered why she didn’t look like me, and I knew that I couldn’t just lie and hide it from her. She’s a smart girl, so I knew she would understand. She cried for a little bit—had an identity crisis and felt like she couldn’t call me dad anymore, but I told her that if she wanted to or not then I would be okay with it. Thankfully, she still does.” Harry looked at his feet as he walked, kicking the leaves around. 

“You’re a great dad, Harry. I’ve known you for about thirty minutes, but I just know you are. Wynn is the sweetest, and you’re doing amazing. But thank you for telling me all that. Know I’m a bit of a stranger,” you slightly laughed. 

“Just a tad bit, but I trust you—I feel it.” You smiled at him, nudging him as you walked, to which you earned one back. 

You all walked back to Harry’s house, and by the time you got there, Pennie was reaching up towards you, telling you to pick her up. She must’ve been tired from all the walking and jumping with her new mate, so she was getting sleepy. 

“I could drive you back, if you’d like?” Harry offered. 

“No, it’s okay! Not that far of a walk. Thank you for joining us, though! Pennie and myself really appreciated it and we had fun,” you smiled. 

“We did as well. We’ll see you around?” Harry said, and you nodded, waving goodbye. 

Harry watched as you two walked away, and he really did have a great time. He felt refreshed and relieved after talking to you, and he doesn’t remember the last time he’s had a decent conversation with someone without turning it into more that same day. 

Hopefully he will see you around. 

November 1st was your favorite. You started feeling the festive mood as it was getting closer and closer to the holidays. 

You and Pennie were out for a walk, and you offered to bring the stroller, but she shook her head, wanting to freely walk in the leaves. Taking the similar route as the night prior, you were hoping to see Harry. You were really infatuated with him, and you thought you two would be great friends, and maybe even more. 

Suddenly, Pennie let go of your hand and started running towards the familiar house from last night. She tan quite fast for a toddler, and you would have to ask her if she wanted to join track when she was older. 

“Penelope, get back here!” You chased after her, but it was too late when she slapped the door. You caught up to her and carried her. “Baby, please don’t run away from me like that again.” She said a soft ‘I’m sorry’ as you carried her off the walkway.

The door opened, revealing the familiar man. “Y/N? Pennie?” 

“I’m sorry! We were going for a walk and she ran away from me and ran here,” you said breathlessly, walking towards the front door again. 

Harry chuckled. “You wanna see Wynnie again, Pen?” Pennie’s eyes brightened at the sound of her friend’s name as she nodded. “Come on in!” 

“A-Are you sure?” You asked hesitantly. 

“Absolutely! We’re just cooking breakfast right now.” 

You two walked in slowly as Harry followed behind. You out Pennie down as she stayed close to you. When Harry shut the door, Pennie tugged on his pant leg. 

“Yes, sweetheart?” He bent down, giving his attention. 

“Can I have another candy?” She asked shyly, and Harry smiled. 

“Penelope…” you said. 

“What? H-He gives the full size candy bars!” You and Harry laughed loudly. 

“We have extra, but only if mummy lets you.” Pennie looked up at you with a pouty face, and of course, you gave in. 

“Alright, alright. But you’re only eating it after dinner, and you only get three pieces,” you chuckled. The little girl started jumping up and down happily. Harry looked at the two of you and smiled fondly, loving the dynamic between you two. 

Maybe he did like Halloween after all. 

happy halloween! come into my inbox and let’s talk <3

[thorodinsson]

i finally decided to take the time & do a heavily requested gif tutorial! this will be very detailed & is how i make every single one of my gifs from start to finish! i’ll also include resources for ps downloads, actions, etc. if you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask! & if this helps you, pls rb!!

TUTORIAL UNDER THE CUT!

i’m going to break it down into sections to hopefully make it easier to understand!

1. software i use

2. hq movie/tv show/video downloads

3. screencaps

4. importing screencaps into photoshop

5. cropping

6. actions/sharpening/gaussian blur

7. image sizing

8. time delay

9. coloring

10. saving

1. software i use

photoshop - i use photoshop cc 2020 on my macbook air but any version of photoshop with video timeline/frame timeline will work for creating gifs! i pay for my photoshop but i know there are ways to get it for free. if you don’t want to/can’t pay for photoshop, here (x, x, x, x) are some links to download it without paying!

mplayer osx extended - this is the software i use for my screencaps. there are a lot of software’s out there & i think it truly comes down to preference. i’m just more familiar with mplayer & the screencaps come out really smooth in my opinion. it’s free as well & here is a link to download it! 

2. hq movie/tv show/video downloads

ok so i’ll be real, i never used t*rrents until recently & i’ve personally noticed a huge difference when it comes to quality. before using them, i was using files from MEGA & if you’re not comfortable with t*rrents, i would definitely recommend MEGA links! when it comes to downloading any videos, try to make sure they are 1080p or 2160p if available! 720p is also ok but always try to get 1080p. also i’ve found that with movies, 1080p Blu-ray versions look better but again, it’s all about preference! 

t*rrents - i only use one t*rrent site which is r*rbg. they have a huge variety of tv shows & movies from what i can tell. 

MEGA - MEGA is really nice for people that aren’t comfortable with t*rrents. the way i used to use MEGA was, i followed accounts on twitter that would upload MEGA links to tv shows. here (x, x, x, x, x, x) are some of the accounts that post a wide variety of links to MEGA downloads! i will say, the only downside to MEGA links is that they seem to take longer to download & you can cap out at a certain amount of GB each day.

folx - i use this to download stuff from r*rbg! download this before you try to download anything from r*rbg. its free to use & there are multiple sites you can download this software from but i’ll link a few right here (x, x, x this one is a link directly from the apple store but it costs $15.00). if you don’t want to download from any of those links, you can just simply look up ‘folx mac/windows download’ in google!

4k video downloader - i use this to download videos from youtube! it’s free as well & you can download it here!

3. screencaps

once you’ve downloaded a movie or tv show or whatever you want to gif, open whichever screencap software you’re using & start playing the video. for mplayer osx extended, to screencap you just go to the scene you want to gif, pause the video, & hold down shift + command + S on mac (i think it’s the same for windows i’m not sure).

4. importing screenshots into photoshop

now that you’ve got the screencaps of the scene you want to gif, it’s time to open photoshop! to upload the screencaps, in photoshop go up in the lefthand corner to file > scripts > load files into stack. once you click on that, you’ll click ‘browse’ over to the right & the files on your computer will pop up. go to wherever you saved your screenshots & select all of them! once you’re done selecting them, hit ‘open’ in the bottom right corner.

5. cropping

now all of your screencaps are imported!!! now it’s time to crop the screencaps. go to the crop icon over to the left.

for this gif, i want dimensions to be 540 x 350, so i go up top & type it in

great! now the gif will look like this:

6. actions/sharpening/gaussian blur

now that the gif is cropped, we’re going to sharpen it. i use actions because they are so much faster & easier. i use the action that kylos uses in her giffing tutorial & the direct link to download the action is right here! to access actions, you can either go to window > actions or go over to the play button to the right that looks like this:

when you hit that play button, you will see the actions that you have downloaded pop up! select where it says ‘select here!’ & then go down to the play button at the bottom to play the action. i circled both steps down below

the default radius in this action is 0.3 & i normally change it to 0.4 (it’ll normally pop up & ask you like shown below & just change it to 0.4!)

now the action has been played!! i add an extra step but it’s optional! what i do next is i add a layer of gaussian blur on top of the action. to do that, go to filter > blur > gaussian blur. once you select that, it’ll have a pop up that looks like the one below & you’ll just select ok or hit the enter button

once you do that, you’ll notice your gif looks soft or not sharpened so the next step is to change the percentage of the gaussian blur layer you just applied. to do this, you go to the bottom right corner & hold down option by clicking on the gaussian blur layer. there will be options that pop up & you’ll select ‘edit smart filter blending options’ like shown below (my handwriting looks like a five-year-olds ik)

another pop up will show up in the middle of the screen & you’ll be able to select which percentage you want to place on your gif. the opacity really depends on the gif but i normally do 10%-30%. for a lot of my gifs recently i’ve applied 15% which is what i did on this gif! once you change the opacity to whatever you want, hit ok!

after that you want to change the image size to the same size you cropped the gif to. to do this, you’ll go to image > image size > & change it to 540 x 350 (or whatever the size of your gif is! also make sure it’s switched to pixels instead of inches! once you’ve done that hit ‘ok’ or press enter.

once that’s done, go ahead & save the gif! to do this, go to file > export > save for web (legacy). it’ll show you the size of the gif down in the bottom left & as long as it’s under 10mb you’ll be fine!!! down below i circled my save settings as well! also its SUPER IMPORTANT THAT YOU SET LOOPING OPTIONS TO FOREVER! once you’ve done all that, save your gif by hitting the ‘save...’ button down below that’s circled. you can name your gif however you like just make sure you keep the .gif after it!

now my gif looks sharper than before: 

now for time delay & coloring!!!

7. time delay

open the gif you just saved in photoshop by going to file > open. once it’s opened, you’ll see a timeline of all the frames towards the bottom. it’ll likely say 0.07 sec with a small little downward arrow next to it. select the downward arrow & select other. change the speed from ‘0.07′ to ‘0.05′! gifs look much better & more natural at this speed. (also yes i did delete a few frames because i felt it was too long so to delete frames you just select the ones you want to delete & click the trash button down by the scroller!)

8. coloring

coloring can be so much fun but so tricky! i personally use a base psd that i made for all of my gifs & then adjust it according to the gif i’m coloring but for this gif i colored it from scratch! so for most of my gifs i only color/edit them using levels, selective color, brightness/contrast, curves, color balance, & vibrance (in that order) to access these, go to layer > new adjustment layer > & then select whichever one you want to start with. 

1. levels

2. selective color

blacks: black +2

reds: cyan -9, magenta +1, yellow -3

cyan: cyan +100

3. brightness/contrast

brightness: 5

contrast: 6

4. curves

5. vibrance

vibrance: +16

saturation: 0

then you save it just like earlier by going to file > export > save for web (legacy) & you’re all set!!!! i hope this helps anyone who is trying to get into gif making & if you have any questions, don’t be afraid to reach out!!!!

[asterekmess]

S3A - E8

I’m realizing just how damn far behind I am on working on season 3, but I don’t wanna skip any episodes of the rewatch, so let’s get to it! Double time, double time!

Content warnings for discussion of cannibalism.

Forewarning, this one is a doozy, so be prepared to Read More:

Lesgo!:

First thing’s first, Derek has experience with those awful sound thingies? Can you imagine how freaked he must’ve been seeing Chris bring those out when they were tracking Boyd and Erica?

Also, Chris Argent has been hunting Derek one way or another since he was a child. Even BEFORE Kate. Why the hell do we have a Derek & Chris broness in the later seasons? This kind of shit doesn’t just go away. I can’t believe I forgot about it.

I love how awkward sweet bby Derek is trying to run through the trees and tripping on branches everywhere. It’s honestly so much more realistic for a teenager than just the crazy cgi stuff. Also, since we know Derek is comfortable in the woods, it really gives you a hint as to how truly messed up he is from fear right now. He’s off balance in a dozen ways.

DEREK HAS BEEN WATCHING PEOPLE DIE IN FRONT OF HIM SINCE HE WAS 15. I’m gonna CRY. If I wanna hurt myself even More, you could argue that the Random Beta (RB) got shot bc he stopped to talk to Derek. So...guilty minds would assume Derek has been watching people die because of him since 15. I hate everything.

PETER comin’ in clutch. Also, hilarious that they use that arrow catching move so much.

I almost like how they tried to make Gerard look younger by just having him wear a douchey leather jacket instead of the serious grandpa one he wears in S2. He swaggers over to the body of RB, and it’s hilarious.

Okay, what is this bullshit about “Bring them back alive, we go by the code?” If you were going by the code then you wouldn’t be fucking hunting them AT ALL. They’re innocent! Why the fuck are you ‘bringing them back’ in the first place? Chris, you piece of shit. This is supposed to demonstrate that you’ve always been a stickler for the code, but all it does is emphasize how little that code actually means. “We hunt those who hunt us.” Fuck off, you hunt anything you deem ‘dangerous’ and find excuses to kill them so you can feel righteous.

Gonna casually note that RB was shot in the Throat with an arrow, but bc of makeup necessities they moved the arrow down to his chest when he’s shown on the ground. It’s funny. :)

It’s seriously so hard to hate Peter, do the writers realize that? Like, yes, he did horrible shit and I’m not denying that, but when you show him running into the hunter-filled woods to save his nephew’s life at 24 years old, then hiding with him in a cellar for two fucking days when he could probably have escaped on his own, it’s hard to see him as a heartless bastard.

I’m almost afraid to find out why Cora knows the details. Can you imagine? She would’ve been, what, 9-10? Her big brother and uncle both go missing for two days after a hunt and she had to stay at home waiting for someone to say they’d found their bodies. God, the lives of the Hales are so fucked up.

The rain is really making the mood here.

I gotta say, I’m confused about this initial Cora-Stiles interaction. He goes on about everyone who’s died or nearly died, but then Cora assumes he wants Derek to do something about the deaths, and Stiles agrees? Except that Derek currently fits the COD that all the other sacrifices have hit. Missing for about two days. Everything Stiles has said implies that he’s worried Derek is also dead. I don’t get why they go with ‘I’m worried about the missing man that I’ve been helping for the last four months because I blame him for the Alphas even coming to town”?

One thing they got on point here is just how disgusting they made Gerard. The slime and the spitting and ugh *shudders* it’s just so gross.

I’m also...I think intrigued is the right word--that they shoved this whole story into the episode without ever addressing the fact that Derek IS missing and they should go looking for him or something. It starts with Stiles asking where the hell he is, but then everything else is about this past moment. Talk about going off on a tangent. I mean, I don’t blame them, but if I shoved this much character background into one chapter people would call me out for the infodump that it is.

Which is all this episode is. Info-dumped exposition. Here’s how werewolves were made. Here’s why Derek’s cranky. Here’s why Duke’s an asshole. Here’s why the Hales are ‘special’

Again, I don’t blame them. It’s just...a lot.

Just a tiny thing: Why do they both roll up their sleeves when Scott only has to touch Gerard’s hand?

It is also very hard to believe that either Allison or Scott are remotely good people when they’re both lying to everyone about Gerard’s existence.

*finger guns, bc now i have to use the tag* I think this is the longest I’ve ever gotten before using it.

Another thing: Why does Gerard make the gross noises like he’s in pain, when we know it doesn’t hurt to get the pain taken away from him? It certainly didn’t hurt that lady in the ER.

I know this is a weird thing to notice, but I find it interesting that Paige is wearing actual makeup. Not just the ‘natural’ look, but eyeshadow that’s visibly dark. *shrug*

Is she Actually playing the cello? The notes Don’t look like they match up with her bowing and fingerings.

HA that music cut in is fucking Hilarious. Derek turns around like he’s in a teen rom-com, with that casual “I never stop smiling all the way bc I’m the coolest guy around” grin and the music just WHAM. That’s right, Derek Hale used to be a JOCK. He didn’t used to be ‘a lot like Scott.’ He was a lot like JACKSON.

So, this group of cronies Derek has. What is that about? He’s gotta have that posse just like Jackson did in S1? Unnamed people to cackle at his jokes.

Paige’s face, right there? That is the SHIT for me. That’s not hidden attraction, that’s genuinely “What the fuck is my life, why are you so lame?” and I am LIVING for it.

Derek peacocking is also hilarious. Peacocking so hard he (THE WEREWOLF) didn’t notice that she’d left the hall, is even more so.

I hate to tell you this Paige, but THAT is where I could tell you liked him. Giving in to his bullshit offer was the first step, that look on your face when he said, “Hold on” was Blatant “Holy shit, my crush wants to talk to me” but then all you idiots did was make eye contact. Paige, if you’re trying to get the ball, try looking away from those pretty eyes, okay?

Derek, you always go too far. You can see Paige lose interest when she realizes that he’s not actually into Her, he’s into showing off.

OOOF, i guess they weren’t such good friends after all, cus’ they left when Paige did.

I also feel the need to point out Derek is WEARING A CHECKERED SHIRT. *inarticulate screaming* Everyone who makes jokes about him thinking plaid is disgusting owes me five bucks bc he CLEARLY didn’t think checkers/plaid were that bad when he was in high school.

I’ll admit...the instant sorry is like...really good. If they’d had him come in and be More of a dick and then end up together, I’d be a lot more bugged. But his First real introduction to her is an apology.

THEN he goes back to being a dick. But at least this time it’s not about him, he wants to know about Her.

And I LOVE the turnaround! THIS is flirting. THIS is cute teasing. She plays his game Back at him, shows her own skill and forces him to get on her level. Then he weasels out of it, but in a Cute Way.

If there’s one thing that I’m routinely impressed by in TW it’s the scoring. They’re Really good with music to fit the moods and the vibes of the whole episode. For instance, all the transition music in this episode is Cello, bc it’s about Paige.

I hate agreeing with Gerard on Anything, but he makes a good point about the Dark Druid taking and killing someone else right alongside Deaton. Why would she take 4 people when she only needed three? She wouldn’t know that Deaton got a message out or that Scott would save Deaton. Plus the addition of the mountain ash circle is kind of weird, don’t you think?

Yah, I have no clue why your body is producing anything Either. You literally make no sense and you shouldn’t be alive. Period. Bringing you back was a lazy way to have someone who could be a sub-sub plot and hand out exposition and red herrings that are totally useless.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT GERARD? You weren’t There when Deucalion found out he could still see with his Alpha Eyes (Which makes no sense btw, he doesn’t have TWO sets of eyes???) and if you’d interacted with Deuc since then he’d have ripped you to shreds.

SERIOUSLY people, why the FUCK are we getting this information from Gerard when it makes WAY more sense for Deaton to tell them this? He was THERE for the whole thing!

I get that the point of the episode is supposed to be “Unreliable Narrators” (The whole show has an unreliable narrator.) but you had that covered with Peter’s story. You could’ve Instilled TRUST in Deaton by making a contrast and having Deaton TELL THEM THE TRUTH. Show the difference between reliable and unreliable. Gerard doesn’t need to be here!

Stiles, asking the real questions.

AND GETTING THE MOST BULLSHIT ANSWER IN THE UNIVERSE.

Could these writers GET any lazier? Put some fucking effort in and give us some information about Werewolves IN YOUR WEREWOLF TV SHOW.

What the fuck were Paige and Derek into that they knew where an abandoned distillery was when it wasn’t even in TOWN? And you’re telling me they left town every time they wanted to make out? Even worse, are you implying they had SEX in that distillery? And then trying to tell me that none of the fucking Alphas and their packs noticed the smell of Derek and his girlfriend all over the building?

...what...do people seriously not remember being teenagers? What the fuck Peter? In what fucking universe  is “one minute it’s ‘i hate you, don’t talk to me’ the next it’s frantic groping in any dark corner’ remotely accurate to real life?

Teenagers in the majority don’t DO that. I really fucking hate that all teenagers are made out to be like this. Like they’re “run by their hormones” and “everything is sex to you” STOP. Seriously, STOP. Saying shit like that completely negates the fact that Teenagers are Real fucking People. They’re not just buckets of hormones and sweat that need to be shaped into an adult. They’re fucking PEOPLE and reducing them to sex-crazed idiots is lazy and stupid.

Are you ALSO telling me that the hunters dragged RB’s DEad Body to an abandoned building, then strung the corpse up and cut it in half? AND that someone happened to go the abandoned building and found the body and called the cops, or that they MOVEd the two halves somewhere they would be found, Or that They were the ones to call and report the body?

Has teen wolf got even a Single brain cell?

ALSO, what the fuck is this timeline? Derek and Peter went missing for two days after RB was killed, but the packs don’t get together to discuss RB’s death until After Derek has run out of the building with Paige because he could smell blood from RB being hemisected. So, they waited at Least two days before talking to each other about RB’s death? And Derek apparently recovered Instantaneously from his two day nightmare and went right back to macking on his girlfriend and laughing freely the Day he was found? Or did they wait even longer? I’m so fucking confused!

Okay, you tell me that this place is their favorite makeout/groping spot, but they seriously just walk in the door and start kissing in the middle of the room? You guys didn’t bring some blankets and pillows here? You’re gonna stand there the whole time?

WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU MAKING PETER A PERVERT? He was fucking watching his nephew make out with his girlfriend through the wall??? WHat is WRONG with you?

ALSO, Cora was alive and active in Derek’s life at that point. She wasn’t That young. She could easily point out that Peter being Derek’s best friend is total bullshit if it weren’t actually true. Which means Peter is telling the TRUTH here. Hell, she doesn’t call out his heartbeat for lies the entire time, and while they imply at the end of the episode that Really Good Liars can just force their heart to be steady while lying so they don’t get caught, that isn’t a thing for the entire rest of the show. Derek trusts KATE when she says she’s not lying. So the evidence actually points toward Peter telling the TRUTH in this entire episode.

THAT is accurate to teenagers. Using the word “like” and “liking” so many times in a conversation that it doesn’t even sound like a word anymore.

Paige...dude, I’m so torn. Like I’m glad you’re being honest with Derek about your worries, but also it’s a complete dick move to just Assume that he’s gonna bail? To say to his face that you Know he’s leaving you and you’re just waiting for it? Fucking rude.

Ennis...bro...how exactly did your Beta “Accidentally” kill a hunter? How would that happen?

AGAIN WITH THE TIMELINE. If the packs only CAME to beacon hills because of Ennis issue with the hunters, why was RB running through beacon hills when he was killed?

Also, side note: Where are all of these werewolves staying? Are they territorial so they like, all claimed different hotels to take over? Or do they not mind, and THAT’S why the Hale house is so big for such a small family? Because they had a ton of guest rooms for packs that visited to get that sweet, sweet Hale Wisdom?

I firmly believe that werewolves are clothing-optional people. Talia straight shifts into a naked human form in front of over a dozen other wolves.

Also, where the hell is the Hale pack here? Some random chick comes up and gives Talia a robe, but that person is standing with Deuc’s pack. So....what?

I’m so curious about the formation the wolves make when they hear Talia coming. Everybody backs away, except Deucalion. And they do this weird focus on his face as he watches her come in. And her eye contact is JUST with him.

OH GROSS. DID DEUC HAVE A THING FOR DEREK’S MOM????

I will admit that watching things with subtitles sometimes ruins the surprise. There’s that little pause before “I’m just a deputy” like it was supposed to be shocking to the audience, but the subtitle on Amazon Prime just Pops up right away and it kind of ruins the effect.

Here we go! The one piece of concrete information on “Packs” and “pack members” that we’re given in the whole fucking show. Word for Word. “Losing a member of your pack isn’t like losing family, it’s like you lose a limb.”

That is....severe. Now imagine that your entire family IS your pack. And losing almost every one of them. Is it any wonder that Cora, Peter, and Derek are so messed up? That they’re so dark and wounded looking?

I s2g sometimes Peter literally just sounds like he’s a self-insert for the writers. He explains shit that the writer’s are showing Really Badly as if to wave away the fact that the Ennis flashback is pretty much Completely unnecessary. “You just don’t understand my artistic genius, it’s never just a single moment, it’s a confluence of events. I have to show you all these random flashbacks because you need to understand why Derek is soaked in MANPAIN all the time. Which is totally relevant to the current plot bc....bc....bc ART (and also Tyler Hoechlin was busy so we could only get one shot of him for the entire episode)”

That is just the cutest shit oh my god. Derek listens to Paige’s music while he’s in class and doing homework. THAT is love, you realize? He doesn’t just deal with her dedication to her music, he loves it.

THat little wince when he says “Are you sure about that?” Paige knows he’s gonna screw with her.

THAT IS A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP. He gives her space! She likes studying during lunch so he Leaves her Alone. I LIKE IT.

What do you mean “Laura told you about the packs being here.” Derek KNOWS they’re here because he watched RB DIE IN THE WOODS. Seriously, I”M SO CONFUSED.

FUN FACT (that I might’ve already shared) Oak wood was liked by the Celts because it was really sturdy and hardy and bore food, but it wasn’t their favorite type of wood! Rowan was the favorite, and Irish pagan practitioners used to sleep in rowan trees so they could have prophetic dreams. After that, it was Hazelwood. :P

I...do not enjoy when they bring up the Celtic Druids. *Scuttles to get my textbook bc this is my nerd shit*

“We’re in a Nemeton” This is the correct wording, actually! A “Nemeton” isn’t a thing, it’s a “sacred meeting place” as Chris calls it. Go chris! Nemeton refers to the entire grove/area around the main tree.

I can’t speak to whether they chose a ‘Large, older tree in a grove” but it does make sense bc if we’re talking about Oaks they were a symbol of food and safety (acorns were a staple to Celtic diets) so choosing an older tree would not only look more impressive, but it would probably bear more acorns for the clan.

“It would represent the center of the world” *Puts on vine voice* THat is NOt Correct! The tree at the center of the Nemeton was called a “crann bethadh” or “Tree of Life” and it was essentially a Totem that marked the center of the tribe’s territory. It was not ‘the center of the world’ it was the center of THEIR world. Their land.

“There was a belief that cutting or harming the tree would cause serious problems for the surrounding villages” Not sure if ‘villages’ is the correct term for the era, but the rest of it sounds like a close mistranslation. See, in Ireland there were raids people would do against other clans where the SOLE PURPOSE was to destroy their crann bethadh, because it was demoralizing. It’s like graffiti-ing the front of a church. But technically, it WAS severely frowned upon to harm the tree in any way.

This is mostly because in most Celtic areas, Oak trees were considered symbols of the “Father of the Sky” or the “God of Thunder.” Of course you don’t wanna piss off Thunder man.

Also, you notice how I’m saying CELTS and not DRUIDS. It’s because DRUID isn’t a cultural label, it’s a SOCIAL CLASS. It’s like saying “The Educated”

Okay, back to the--OH WAIT. Before anyone gets any ideas, the blood on the crann bethadh isn’t human. Estonian Celts smeared animal blood on the tree roots as an assurance for rain and good harvests. This is the same concept as TONS of other religions, including Christianity. (Abraham was supposed to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to God, but God stopped him and had him sacrifice a Ram instead. So, Yes. Christians used to perform animal sacrifices.)

NOW back to the show.

THe fact that gerard doesn’t know this stuff implies that Chris is the nerd of the family.

I LIKE THIS. I hate that I like it bc it’s Gerard, but I LIKE IT. Gerard gets up from his wheelchair. He doesn’t need it All the Time.

I’ve never seen another show that bothered to have a wheelchair user who wasn’t wheelchair-bound, which is stupid because it’s Very Common for people using wheelchairs to not need them all the time.

though it does beg the question of why he’s sitting in a wheelchair when he’s in his own bedroom? Was he going somewhere? Or did he know he wouldn’t have enough chairs and didn’t want Allison or Scott to sit in his chair?

The story of Lycaon, who was considered a savage ruler of Arcadia and Zeus went to his house disguised as a human (this is v common in myth) to find out if he was batshit. Lycaon and his FIFTY SONS (he also had one daughter) wanted to know if the stranger was a human or a mortal, so they fed him human flesh in stew. Zeus flipped shit and blasted the room with thunderbolts, murdering all but one of Lycaon’s sons, and then turned Lycaon into a wolf.

So...this whole ‘myth of lycaon’ is totally fucked up when it didn’t need to be? Like, they didn’t NEED to change it to make it a messed up origin story of wolves. It already was.

There’s three major versions to choose from

Lycaon was a pius man who founded the city of Lycosura on Mount Lycaeus and used a child as a sacrifice to Zeus, thinking it would please him. Zeus flips shit and turns Lycaon into a wolf. FROM THEN ON; at every sacrifice made to zeus a man was transformed into a wolf and if he managed to restrain himself from eating human flesh for 8-9 years, he would be turned human again.

The same story as the first, except Lycaon Knew Zeus was in disguise and the child he fed him was Zeus’ own son, and it was revenge for seducing his only daughter Callisto.

If you want to make it match what you’ve already said about wolves in the show, they could’ve used the last one and it would’ve demonstrated how Ingrained the concept of vendetta/revenge is for wolves.

If you wanted to focus on the Turning Human part and working with Celtic Druids to learn to become werewolves, you could’ve used the second one.

there was no reason to add in the bullshit about Prometheus except as an excuse to make Deucalion look like he picked his name to be an asshole, which he fucking didn’t.

 I’m so sorry about all the classical shit (i’m really not) but I studied it in college and I can’t just let this bullshit stand.

I’ll give them a pass on the ‘the lesser known part’ bc it’s technically plausible for the wolves to have run north to the Celts and beg for help, And the Druids (those who’s education was specifically in magic, not all of them) were known for shapeshifting (though not usually into animals. They did that to Other people, not themselves)

I cannot believe this is so long, i’m so sorry.

But WHY tho, Cora? How is an Emissary supposed to keep you connected to humanity if No ONe KNows Who They Are?? How are they supposed to do their job??

Yeah, well now Deaton is a sour bitch who has a chip on his shoulder against the Hale pack so like...fuck his advice.

I will say though! Pre-fire Deaton doesn’t give me the heebies like post-fire Deaton. He’s much more clear about the advice he’s giving, and it’s actually helpful! He still has a dumb little anecdote/parable about the scorpion and the frog (which...in most circumstances I hate. It doesn’t even match what happens) but he gives Real Advice instead of vague asshole nonsense.

“I’m an Alpha, I never walk alone.” I have an inordinate affection for this line.

Paige is clearly some kinda bad bitch if she thought nothing of going to hang out in the school in the middle of the night with Derek.

Okay, but like...why would he attack Ennis like that if he was the one who asked him to bite Paige? And why is the moment played up “A fifteen-year-old boy against a giant” Derek was literally swatted to the side while Ennis walked out of the building. this wasn’t some big showdown.

If she’d already been bitten, why was Ennis still grabbing at her??

....seriously? Peter is literally right there? And no one noticed?

Again with the “Scott is a genius now” LIsten, bro, why the fuck would Scott know a sanskrit fable? If he Did know a story like that, it would be bc Deaton taught him. In which case he would know the FROG and the scorpion. Come on, guys.

OH MY GOD GERARD DOES IT TOO. GERARD, PETER, AND DEUC all have a CHRONIC case of verbal diarrhea when they’re trying to be intimidating.

I do NOT understand this warehouse scene. It’s a GAS gerard, if you stabbed yourself with some sort of...antidote or whatever it wouldn’t save you from the GAS you’re inhaling. At the very least you would be shouting like everyone else because it HURTS going in.

why did it take so long for Talia to come? It’s implied that Peter left to get her, so why did it take so long? Even PAST peter looks fucked up at seeing that Paige is dying, it’s not like he would wait.

I’ll be real, i get weepy so i’m skipping the actual death. Just know that it hurts me. Severely.

Y’all know how much I hate this ‘innocent life’ bullshit for blue eyes. It’s very True Alpha-y in that it’s impossible to pin down the specifics. What constitutes an ‘innocent life’? What constitutes taking it? With wolf claws? With a gun? What counts and what doesn’t count? Ugh.

Eyyy, so I’m exhausted and this is so long that my computer is fritzing. There are five minutes left and nothing happens in them at all. Just Scott pointing out the heartbeat thing and threatening to kill Gerard (so he’s still fine with murder at this point in time. Good to know). Stiles telling Cora that he doesn’t think Peter was telling the truth (which she would Know if he wasn’t) and that he’s gonna ask Derek about it (which we never got to see). And Deucalion murdering his own Beta (who, tbf, tried to kill him first. Which, again, what the fuck is up with Deaton’s office that wolves are able to rip each other apart in it, but it’s still ‘hard for someone like Scott to cause me any trouble.’ I’m just so confused

Final Thoughts: This episode actually had some interesting stuff in it, which is kind of sad considering there was no PLOT, just Exposition. I look forward to tweezing the bits out that I want and dumping the rest in the garbage where it belongs. Oh, and like I said, the music was on Point.

[my-love-peterp]

Mistaken Chapter Six

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO THE TAGLIST DROP ME AN ASK

please like and rb/comment <3

Word Count: 2721 (this actually comprises chapters 7 and 8 on Ao3)

THERE ARE NO ENDGAME SPOILERS, THIS IS A DELAYED UPLOAD FROM AO3

Fic Summary: Peter Parker has been given the responsibility of bringing in a new recruit. Now, as an adult, he realizes that none of the trashy YA novels he read in high school could have prepared him for this. There was a storm on the horizon, and all they could do from the Tower is watch.

Chapter Summary: it... it is a thing. Good luck friends lol

Warnings: smut and language and that’s probably it. mentions of death and gun violence probably, it’s been a while since I wrote this

Chapter One   Chapter Two   Chapter Three   Chapter Four   Chapter Five

We sat, assessing one another and picking at our plates of food, more for something to do with our hands, as opposed to nothing at all. In those moments I could just read in his body language the fact that he had put two and two together and remembered why I looked so familiar. He had been responsible for training my sister when she failed on missions, whereas I had never had to face the wrath of the Winter Soldier and his handlers. For a year or so after we escaped, my sister and I saw his face in every passing stranger, terrified Hydra was coming back to reclaim us.

Because to Hydra, we weren’t members of a team, as they had initially led my sister and I to believe. We were their property, attack dogs trained to be set loose every once in a while. Caged, every other time. I let my fork clatter to the table before folding my fingers underneath my chin to support my head as I stared at the man across from me.

Barnes followed suit, pushing his plate away and leaning back in his chair. His ice blue eyes flashed to mine before he took a sharp breath in and out and then spoke for the first time since he’d walked through my door just under an hour ago.

“So, were you sent here to bring me in? Wanda doesn’t seem to think so but I’ve known Hydra for a few more decades than she has, so I’m warier.” Simple and to the point. Disciplined even, to any onlookers there might have been. But, as a fellow survivor of Hydra saw all his tells, the brightness of his eyes, the clenched teeth and slightly hunched shoulders. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he wasn’t fully seated either, prepared to spring up at any moment, despite his look of nonchalance.

“You should trust Wanda more. No, soldat, I didn’t come to bring you in. You know,” I said, chuckling drily, “I thought this conversation was going to happen years ago but in reverse. Did no one from Hydra come looking for us? Before they went under? Or were Nadia and I just new playthings for you and yours?” I asked, ice coating my harsh tone.

Bucky flinched at my use of Russian and again at the name of my sister. So he did remember us. Somehow, that didn’t make me feel any better about his presence here.

“Our superiors were… rather distracted by certain developments and felt that you all would return to your homes. I guess their arrogance finally got the better of them in that regard. And then, with the new threat of Thor, Steve and Tony and the convergence of the Avengers on the world scale, they more than likely shoved your files deep down. Though I’d imagine your recent resurfacing has been noted by rogue Hydra factions that are still operating around the globe.”

A solid enough explanation for why no one had come for Nadia and I. Another thing I had to thank the Avengers for, I supposed. “So, what happens now? Wanda has seen all she needed to see to support me. Where will the others fall in line?”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, leaning forward so his elbows rested on the table. “Steve believes Wanda and is willing to work with you. Same goes for Natasha and Clint and the Maximoffs. Tony… well, he may get over this sooner than he did before but I wouldn’t count on it. We still haven’t figured our shit out, though I was the one who killed his parents in person. But I didn’t do it in my right mind. That’s the difference between the two of us I suppose.”

I laughed, darkly at first before it rapidly became hysterical, but I managed to keep a handle on the powers inside of me. “You really think I was in my right mind Barnes? After years of the torture and abuse I suffered at the hands of my parents to then be rescued and groomed by an evil organization when I was barely twelve? Not even close. But by the time I realized what Hydra really was, it was too late. They weren’t letting us go, not without exacting a terrible price.”

Barnes sighed and looked back at me, eyes softening almost imperceptibly. “You did come here willingly. And you show no ill intent, despite your obvious penchant for self-destructive tendencies.” I couldn’t exactly disagree. “I think you’ll find that you’ll fit right in with this merry little band of superpowered misfits. We’re all a little broken here.”

Nodding, I pushed back my chair and stood up, grabbing my plate to dump its contents into the trash can when Barnes spoke again. “You’re not on lockdown anymore. I would advise against leaving the Tower, but this is your home now. Not a prison. And we’d like for you to treat it that way. Just… maybe avoid tony for a little while.”

Yeah, easy enough when you live a few doors away from the guy. But, Barnes did have a point. He stood and moved to the door and wished me goodnight before slipping through the door without a backward glance.

I tossed and turned that night, but not due to overwhelming nightmares, which was a welcome change of pace. No, my skin itched and my brain raced, looking for something to hold on to, looking for any sort of distraction. My body begged me to take action, to do something. After days of being laid up, even just a simple jog sounded like it would hit the spot for my restless limbs.

I gave in at around two in the morning, throwing on my leggings, slick work out short and tennis shoes before pulling my hair back. Then I was out the door and down to the rec level of the Tower, which was like a carnival for enhanced people.

For the first hour, I thought I was alone as I ran a few miles, lifted so small-ish weights and completed over a hundred sit-ups, which isn’t a lot, but it wasn’t half bad for a warm up. It wasn’t until I was shadow boxing that I realized I wasn’t alone. I felt a rapturous presence behind me and to the left. So I spun quickly and jabbed at the face of the intruder, only to punch… two feet?

“Hey, don’t you know it’s rude to touch someone else’s feet without consent. Could sue you for harassing me, you know.”

Parker. Spidey, it seemed, had decided to literally hang out behind me, upside down, suspended from the ceiling. “What do you want Buggy?” I asked as if nothing had transpired between us over the past few, very eventful dates.

“Sometimes I just hang around here at night. Calms me down, plus the ceilings are high enough that I can practice some more… out of the box acrobatics without embarrassing myself and ending up on the front page of the Daily Bugle again. You know how they are.” I did actually. Their constant tirade against Spider-Man was one of the few things that actually made me laugh out loud.

But I totally understood the need for peace and quiet and to kind of get rid of the riff-raff. So I smiled brightly and asked Buggy if he could show me how exactly he managed to get that tensile strength in the material he used for his webs.

To say Peter was like a toddler around science would be an understatement. But it made us both happy. So we went, the past firmly behind us.

Peter and I spent the rest of the night in the labs. Mostly, it was just Peter demonstrating how each of his projects worked, like the changes he was making to his web formula and improvements he was making to his suit to change the way he could interface with his A.I. Karen.

Sometime later, as the sun was sluggishly rising, FRIDAY gently (for an AI) reminded Peter and me that now would be the only time to shower, eat and dress before training commenced for the day. At the reminder, Peter simply grimaced, and I returned the expression. What was waiting for me down on the common floor couldn’t possibly be good. Peter pushed down the sleeves of his sweatshirt nervously and gestured for me to follow him as he stepped into the elevator.

Down on the common floor, everyone was nursing their own cup of coffee, steam billowing into their faces. Well, everyone except Thor. He had a beer stein full of chocolate milk that he nearly chugged as he giddily bounced up and down in his seat, the godly equivalent of a toddler and golden retriever wrapped in one muscly package of happiness and positivity.

Without a word, Pietro handed Peter and I both our own coffees. Mine was an iced cold brew. Some deep, nearly dead part of me was touched that he remembered my disdain for hot, weak drinks. He winked at me as he turned back to return to his spot next to the fridge, but not before swiping another donut from the breakfast bar. Something must have happened before Peter and I arrived because Clint and Sam both glared daggers at Pietro.

“So...” I began, “we going to talk about the elephant in the room or ignite it until we hit the training rooms and punch it out?”

Steve and Wanda looked up sharply from the food in front of them, taking not so sneaky glances at the others. Tony was gripping his coffee mug so hard, if he’d been anyone else in the room, it would have shattered. Sam just looked weary and Bucky... he was leaning up against the sink, arms crossed over his chest. He almost looked disappointed.

“Punching it out seems to be the winner. If you have a problem with me or need questions answered, you know how to get them. Beyond that, I’m not leaving so don’t even try.” I began choking up out of nowhere. “I’m not letting those bastards take another home from me. You all have always been nothing but kind and I treated that kindness with deception and indifference. But I’m going to blame that on the whole, kindness being a completely new experience for me. Obviously, I mean everyone here no harm...” I petered off, not knowing what to say to get my feelings across. I looked around, lost, capturing the gazes of Pietro and Bucky, who both just nodded back at me.

Bucky pushed off of the counter and approached me, laying a hand on my shoulder. “Kaida is no more Hydra than I am. If you trust in me, be open to trusting her. We’ve all... made mistakes.”

Yeah, that’s one way to put it.

Even Thor looked uncomfortable at this point and Tony was just straight up heading for the elevator without a backward glance. Bruce trailed after him, shrugging apologetically. Seconds that felt like hours passed and finally, the elevator began to descend to the lab floors.

“Alright team, move out. We have work to do,” Steve said in his most Captain-y voice. And damn if it wasn’t kind of hot. I wasn’t the only one who thought so. I could tell just from the shift from light blue to icy gray in Bucky’s eyes that he was going to be pulling Rogers into his room later. Or sooner, depending on how tight his shirt was today

Hours and buckets of sweat later and the whole team broke for lunch. As expected, no one took me up on my offer but we still weren’t pre-incident buddies anymore. Bucky and Pietro seemed most inclined to stick by my side while Wanda was off with Vision. Peter gave me these weird agonizing glances from across the main training floor the whole time. The kid was weird. Who knows what he got up to in his own brain.

Anyways, I knew what I had to do as soon as I stepped on to the elevator, moments after everyone else left to the cafeteria area. There was a confrontation that was way overdue.

As soon as I stepped out on to the slightly grimy linoleum floor of the lab, Bruce looked up and blanched before quickly shoving his papers and laptop into a satchel and bounding for the elevator before it closed behind me.

“Good luck,” he muttered shakily. I nodded in thanks and a moment later he was gone. A quick look around told me that Tony must be in a back room somewhere, probably grabbing parts. In the background, Black Sabbath tinkled through the inlaid speaker system.

“Brucey, darling, do you want to go with blue or green for the new nanotech in Veronica?? Or maybe purple, unless that would be too on the no-.” He quickly cut himself off as he came waltzing around the corner of desks and displays to see me perched on his stool.

“Get out,” he growled, standing stock still, shoulders tense. When I didn’t move, he did, reaching for the minibar he had installed on the wall opposite me, pulling out a bottle of scotch and taking a swig.

“Well if it’s going to be that kind of party...” I drawled darkly before reaching down into my gym bag and pulling out my flask of bourbon and followed suit. Tony didn’t exactly roll out the welcome wagon after that but he did seem to relax a bit. At the very least, he didn’t summon what was left of the Iron Legion protocol to physically remove me from his presence.

“Why are you here Kaida?” Tony finally asked, ice coating his words as they pierced into me in ways I wasn’t expecting.

“Is it so odd for a former assassin to check up on her friends? I mean, it would be a shame to just throw everything away for a simple misunderstanding right? At the very least we have to work and live together. Unless you intend to kick me out?” I stared Tony down, waiting for that explosive anger that I knew he was trying to shove deep down.

“Oh Kaida, we were never friends. We fucked. But I’d fuck anything with two legs and a rack. I think you know that as well as I do. The only reason I ever gave up that life was Pepper and, well, you know exactly how that turned out.”

“Again, not my doing. I was long gone by the time someone executed the hit they had on her.”

“But you knew and you did nothing. Warned no one. You know, it’s not like I’m hard to find. A literal skyscraper that used to have my name on it not stand out to you?”

“I-,” I began, searching for any explanation for my inaction. As terrible as it was to admit, I’d simply never considered interfering with Hydras plans. I was much more concerned with keeping my sister and myself alive at the time.

“You know,” Tony said, interrupting my frantic, guilty train of thought, “some kid once told me that when you have the powers and abilities that we do and do nothing, then the bad things that happen, they happen because of you. Maybe you should chew on that for a little while Kaida. I won’t kick you out but I don’t want to see your face around my space for a long while.”

And then, like a switch flipped in my body, hot rage filled me. What did this entitled, rich snob know about being a kid my age and seeing the shit I’d seen? When he was my age he was partying every night and wrecking Bentley’s and Aston Martin’s like it was nothing, like nothing mattered to him at all.

“Maybe you should grow a pair then Stark. You’re really angry, huh? Prove it. Fight me. Kick me out. We both know I can take it. You saw the bruises when I first moved in. Couldn’t be missed with that lack of clothing when we first got acquainted. Do your worst.”

Suddenly he was in my face again, hatred and something else raged in his eyes. Maybe not hatred at me, but at the reaction, I could always weasel out of him. Had been doing for my past few weeks at the Tower.

Stark slammed his bottle down on the desk right beside me before wrapping his hand through the hair at the back of my hair hard, twisting and pulling me forward before viciously kissing and biting my neck. It was painful but not in a way that made me inclined to push him away.

“God I hate you so much,” he said and he ripped my shirt up and over my head before taking a step back.

“Wanna be useful? Turn around and bend over the desk, hands behind your back. And don’t move a muscle.”

I did as he said, breath coming out in gasps.

Oh, this was bad.

Really bad.

Or maybe really good.

TAGLIST: @peeterparkr @laurfangirl424 @private-bucky-barnes

[auburnfamilynews]

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Some football nuggets to enjoy on Labor Day

After missing a week of practice due to a COVID-19 outbreak, Auburn returned to the practice field this past week culminating in the 2nd scrimmage of fall camp. The Tigers are expected to begin UK prep this week with a scrimmage on Saturday focused on specific situations. With kickoff fast approaching, here are some thoughts on what little info has emerged from this extremely unique fall camp.

Shivers RB1?

One of the livelier subjects up for debate this off-season has been around which running back would emerge as the Tigers top rusher. Despite the loss of two time leading rusher JaTarvious Whitlow, Auburn fans are understandably excited about the potential of this 2020 backfield. Most of the discussion has been about rising sophomore DJ Williams, now healthy red shirt freshman Mark-Anthony Richards and superstar freshman Tank Bigsby. I myself have posited that Richards will be Auburn’s top back while my colleagues were split between DJ and Tank.

We might all be wrong.

While the youngsters have earned plenty of buzz, it’s one of the veteran backs who looks to be leading the pack right now. Shaun Shivers has reportedly stepped up as not only the vocal leader in Auburn’s young RB room but also possibly its on field leader with his play too. Gus Malzahn mentioned over the weekend that the explosive junior has been working exclusively with the ones and scored on a 80 yard TD pass during the 2nd scrimmage.

Over this off-season, I have consistently written off possibility of Shivers being the Tigers top back because I have never really seen him as a 15+ carry type of back in the SEC. But the south Florida native has a history of proving folks wrong and it sounds like he will likely be the first Auburn running back to touch the ball this season.

Can he lead the Tigers in rushing? I am still skeptical, again not because I don’t think Shivers is talented but more because I think those three youngsters have everything needed to be big time SEC backs. But I won’t at all mind being very wrong because as Xavier McKinney well knows, Shivers ain’t afraid to take your head off and folks that’s really fun to watch.

Offensive Line Taking Shape

Probably the number one question mark for this 2020 Auburn football team is at offensive line where the Tigers must replace four starters. It’s a position that really hasn’t been a strength for the Tigers since 2017 and a spot Auburn must have ready week one against the Kentucky Wildcats.

For much of the off-season, the expectation has been Nick Brahms and Brodarious Hamm are locks to start. That looks to be true with both having been made available to the media and reportedly been working with the first team at center and right tackle respectively. Per both Brahms and Hamm, two other names appear to have nailed down spots in the starting lineup.

Austin Troxell is finally health again and after a slow start to camp appears to be settling in at the left tackle position. On the other side of the line, Akron graduate transfer Brandon Council has impressed teammates with his leadership, quickness and versatility. He’s reportedly working at right guard next to Hamm but could play any of the 5 offensive line positions as needed.

“You can tell Brandon is an experienced guy,” Malzahn said. “That’s probably the best way to put it. He is very versatile… and I think he can play all five positions. His experience and his versatility, I think, will be very good for us this year.”

That leaves left guard still up for grabs with three contenders in Tashawn Manning, Alec Jackson and Keiondre Jones. Manning has reportedly seen the most snaps with the ones out of that group but it sounds as if that battle still rages on.

Malzahn has made it clear that it’s not just about finding a starting five but about really identifying 10 starters up front so that staff can feel comfortable with depth heading into what will be one of the more unique football seasons in recent memory. Assuming Manning starts at left guard, Jones and Jackson would likely be the next two up. Brendon Coffey has gotten some positive praise and might be the #3 OT if needed. That gives the Tigers 8 players they have some confidence in heading into the season. I suspect JUCO OT Kilian Zierer and Jalil Irvin are the final two.

If the Tigers do in fact trot out a starting five of Troxell, Manning, Brahms, Council and Hamm, I think that group has chance to be really strong in the run game. I do think though there are major question marks about this unit as pass protectors especially at offensive tackle with two new starters. Fans and coaches alike won’t really know whether this unit can get the job done until September 26th but there appears to be plenty of optimism that they will surprise some people this season.

Two Freshman DL Impress

If you are a true freshman defensive lineman wearing a single digit number you better be ready to play day 1. From the sound things, 2020 signees Jay Hardy and Zykeivous Walker are prepared to make an immediate impact for the Tigers.

Walker has mostly worked at defensive end where it wouldn’t surprise me to see him earn the #2 spot behind Big Kat Bryant. He was a huge recruiting win over Kirby Smart and has drawn comparisons previously to Marlon Davidson.

Hardy though might prove to be the more important impact player. With Coynis Miller’s dismissal, Auburn has even more depth concerns in the interior of its defensive line. Tyrone Truesdell returns as the anchor up front with Daquan Newkirk likely starting beside him but that’s it when it comes to SEC experienced defensive tackles.

Supposedly JUCO signees Dre Butler and Marquis Burks are expected to contribute early but don’t be surprised to see Hardy see action inside as well. Honestly, it sounds like the Tennessee native is working both at DT and DE making it likely he sees the field early and often for the Tigers. It doesn’t hurt that his veteran teammates compare his abilities to 7th overall pick Derrick Brown.

“I really think Jay has come along pretty good, and he reminds me of Derrick with his body type,” said senior defensive end Big Kat Bryant, who wears jersey No. 1. “I was looking at him the other day from the back, and it reminded me of Derrick. For Jay, it’s learning process right now, and everything this year is not usual or normal, so the learning curve is a little bit different for him.

“He’s got a great motor. He’s got a great attitude. He’s just got to learn everything, and he’s coming along with that.”

“I feel like he’s going to be very versatile, and there will be a lot that he can bring to the team,” Truesdell said. “He reminds me a lot of Derrick, just seeing how he plays and how certain things stand out to me and how fast he can catch on. That means a lot, because with all that’s going on, we’re going to need guys ready.”

If Hardy can even sniff Brown’s level of talent then the Tigers will be in very good shape not only this season but for the next two as well. Despite the attrition along the defensive line it’s hard to believe Coach G won’t have another top unit in the SEC on the field this fall.

4th CB Emerges

Heading into fall camp, Auburn’s coaching staff seemed confident they had 3 SEC caliber corners on the roster in Roger McCreary, Marco Domio and Nehemiah Pritchett. McCreary looks ready to take over as the Tigers top corner while Domio and Pritchett are locked in a competitive battle for the other starting spot. However, depth is so important this season given the pandemic but also at cornerback due to SEC offenses continuing to become more pass oriented. Assuming no injuries and no positive covid tests, three corners is likely all Auburn needs.

But chances are good someone will go down this season and the Tigers need to have an answer if that were to happen. Fortunately, it appears red shirt freshman Jaylin Simpson has emerged as a viable candidate at corner in recent days.

Auburn S Smoke Monday says sophomore Nehemiah Pritchett, JUCO transfer Marco Domio and redshirt freshman Jaylin Simpson have been working at the vacant CB spot across from Roger McCreary.

— Nathan King (@byNathanKing) August 20, 2020

Simpson is a former four star signee who spent most of last season working at free safety. I always thought his skillset better suited corner and it sounds like he’s impressed since moving over this fall. That’s big news for the Tigers and should give Auburn even more depth at such a critical position on defense. It’s looking more likely that Kevin Steele’s defense will reload, not rebuild in 2020.

The Best Fall Camp Quote

If this is even remotely true then maybe, just maybe, Auburn fans will get to see an explosive offense again this fall. Please CFB gods let this be true....

One of the major changes in 2020 involves the receivers. Instead of focusing on playing one or two spots, all of the receivers are required to be able to carry out all of the assignments, no matter where they are lined up on a particular play.

“It is very important because now you are not really locked into a position,” Schwartz said about the change with the receivers. “Now, you can go anywhere. You can go from boundary to the field from the slot to backfield and to the field again.

“It is important to know what everyone is doing so you can just hop in and not miss a beat. Especially with what’s going on, God forbid, we could have three receivers go down, God forbid, and they would have to step right in and be ready.”

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/9/7/21426042/fall-camp-updates-shaun-shivers-tashawn-manning-jay-hardy-zykeivous-walker-jaylin-simpson

[entergamingxp]

FIFA 21 Gives You More Control Over a Creative Attack

August 4, 2020 11:07 AM EST

FIFA 21 aims to give you more control over the pitch, particularly in the attack with new mechanics that open up a new world of possibilities.

Recently, I got to sit down with a relatively early beta build of FIFA 21 and play about a Weekend’s League worth of matches. For those of you non-FUT players, that’s about 30 games spread across Kick-Off and Volta (the only two modes available). Unfortunately, for you Volta fans (I assume there are some of you), this particular preview is focusing solely on core gameplay in FIFA 21. Though, maybe check back later if you’re interested in more details.

EA Sports shared a new video today showing off some of the changes coming this season. Give them a look below and join me after the break for a bit of breakdown over some of the most important changes I noticed. And, if you’d prefer to see me break down some of the changes in visual form, head over to our YouTube page. There’s a new video there that essentially covers everything you see below in more detail.

Before I begin, it’s important to stress everything I’ll speak to below happened in an early beta build. Things can and will change as we move toward FIFA 21’s October release. Some will remember how great manual tackling felt pre-release in FIFA 20 before it was changed when the game came out. That being said, a fair few of the new gameplay additions don’t feel like things that will go away with a patch.

Arguably the biggest change coming in FIFA 21 is the new ways to trigger creative runs. Previously, you were limited to either calling for help or sending the AI on a run. As the player with the ball at your feet, you had no control over where the AI would actually go. This can lead to situations where the runs you send players on end up being unhelpful and frustrating.

Given that I’ve only played a few dozen games, I’m hesitant to say all of that is a thing of the past, but I do think EA has made strides in making your attack much more fluid. Basically, what they’ve done is given you full, 360° control over your AI’s run.

So, if you’re holding the ball and looking for a teammate to run into a channel, you can trigger a run with RB and then flick the right stick in the direction you want. If you need someone to drop back and open up an angle for support, you can use the stick to send them back. It lets you set up a bit more tactically as you move the ball into the attacking third.

“EA described [new creative trigger runs] as a ‘game-changer.’ Early on, I tend to agree.”

But it doesn’t stop there. If you click in both sticks, you’ll lock yourself to a player. Then you can move into position as the AI controls the ball. Once you find your opening, you can call for the ball and hopefully get a shot off. Essentially, it turns the game into Be A Pro mode for a few seconds.

It’s not perfect, especially in my hands. Too often, I would send a pass to my striker and try to flick the right stick to make my midfielder attack only to end up flicking the ball in the air on accident because my flick came too late. Plus, when you lock on a player, the AI just kind of muddles about. You have to be quick and decisive with your movement or the AI will lose the ball before you can ask for it back.

That said, it’s a useful mechanic that I can see better players really using to their advantage. I’m no slouch at FIFA, but imagining someone with real skills using this new system is exciting. At the very least, it opens up the pitch and lets you have more control over the action when you’re on the attack. In their press event before the demo, EA described it as a “game-changer.” Early on, I tend to agree.

Outside of this standout feature, FIFA 21 has a few other systems that could make a big impact on how the new game feels. One of those is the new Agile Dribbling. Personally, I only do like five skill moves. I rely much more on passing and a small helping of left sticking dribbling. The aim of the new Agile Dribbling feature is to improve top players’ ball control by holding RB and using that left stick dribbling to get through 1v1s.

Admittedly, I didn’t utilize this enough in my short time with the game. I was too focused on learning how to better use the Creative Runs system. However, when I did use it, I didn’t notice a huge difference. Of course, as someone who likes to set up attacks with passes, I wouldn’t call myself the best barometer for how good Agile Dribbling feels. More creative players might be able to wrangle much more out of the system.

EA is also hyping up something they call Positioning Personality. Essentially, they’re trying to make players play more like their real-world self. Take a player like Tottenham’s Harry Kane. The English striker is one of the best in the world, but he never really fit the FIFA 20 meta. He’s too tall and lacks world-class pace.

Positioning Personality aims to make players like that more usable. Kane may not have the wheels of someone like Kylian Mbappe, but he understands how to play striker better than almost anyone. That means he’ll hold his line until the last second to stay onside and set up scoring opportunities.

This system extends across the pitch. In fact, I noticed it more on defense. The best defensive players in the world are more likely to correctly read an offense and defend it correctly. Lower skilled players will find themselves out of position more often. This isn’t a feature I’d call game-changing; however, if it lets more players be viable at the top-end of FUT, I’m all for it.

“In its early stages, I prefer FIFA 21’s gameplay to last year.”

The team talked about a few other features in their conference. Things like improved blocking, better collision detection, and improvements to heading will undoubtedly make a major difference in how the game plays. However, I just want to focus on two more things: Super Cancel and Competitor Mode.

Super Cancel is something players have wanted for a while now. Essentially, this lets you cancel any button press whenever you want. FIFA 20 players know you can cancel shots or crosses with the fake shot, but this lets you stop everything. So, if you start a spin and see your opponent reading you, just Super Cancel. It takes you out of the move and gives you a chance to counter your opponent on the fly. Again, I don’t do a ton of skill moves; however, I know players that do really wanted something like this.

Competitor Mode is a new level of difficulty that aims to have the AI replicate FIFA pros. Once you bump the difficulty up to Legendary, you can turn on Competitor Mode and test your skills. I played a handful of games on this new difficulty and mostly just noticed that the AI really likes to spam stepovers. Surprisingly, not too many dragbacks.

“Creative Runs, on its own, is going to spice up gameplay quite a bit.”

Jokes aside, Competitor Mode doesn’t feel that much harder than Legendary difficulty. The big difference, at least to me, is that the AI is much less likely to do the same thing over and over again. In FIFA 20, you can usually just funnel the AI down the wing and then clear their cross. In Competitor Mode, it felt like they actually varied their attack. Hopefully, it stays that way. Cheesing the AI is only fun for so long.

As mentioned above, the current beta build of FIFA 21 doesn’t make the game feel like a completely new game, but it does add some much-needed features. Creative Runs, on its own, is going to spice up gameplay quite a bit. However, fans looking for a true next step forward in a football simulation, are likely going to be unimpressed.

That isn’t to say the game isn’t fun. I certainly had more fun trying out FIFA 21 than I did playing FIFA 20 Rivals for the last few months. In its early stages, I prefer FIFA 21’s gameplay to last year. I just can’t help but remember how quickly FIFA 20 changed after its release.

While gameplay is the most important part of the FIFA experience, it isn’t the be-all-end-all. Players will surely want to know more about what’s coming to Career Mode, Volta, and, of course, FUT. Sadly, I can’t share that with you just yet, but keep your eyes tuned to DualShockers for further updates.

FIFA 21 launches on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 9. A next-gen version will launch on both PS5 and Xbox Series X once those consoles drop.

August 4, 2020 11:07 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/08/fifa-21-gives-you-more-control-over-a-creative-attack/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fifa-21-gives-you-more-control-over-a-creative-attack

[sportsleague365]

Last week, I released my first rookie scouting profile on another high profile running back in this talented 2020 class, D’Andre Swift. This week, let’s turn our attention to another stud at the RB position, Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins. A 4-star All-American recruit coming out of high school in Texas, Dobbins was an athletic specimen, ranking 5th in EPSN300’s top RB recruits. Before landing in Columbus at the Ohio State University, Dobbins was recruited by all of the top programs in the nation. How impressive was Dobbins as a high school prospect? He was considered a 99th percentile athlete when tested at the 2016 Nike Workout for high school players. It’s no surprise he was heavily recruited out of high school. The 2016 Nike+ Football Rating Champion | @Jkdobbins22 pic.twitter.com/63nlT0kaCZ — The Opening (@TheOpening) July 8, 2016 How did his career progress at Ohio State? What do I see on film? And, how will Dobbins’ game translate to the NFL for fantasy football? Let’s dive in! Editor’s Note: For more on the 2020 rookie class, check out all of our 2020 NFL Draft content and stay tuned to the Fantasy Footballers podcast for April’s Rookie Preview show where the Ballers breakdown each position heading into the draft. COLLEGE PRODUCTION PROFILE GamesRush AttemptsRush YardsYards/AttRush TDReceptionsReceiving YardsReceiving TD20171419414037.2722135120181423010534.61026263220191430120036.721232472During his time at Ohio State, Dobbins firmly entrenched himself in the record books for the Buckeyes. He’s now second all-time in career rushing attempts and rushing yards (behind only Archie Griffin), and he’s sixth in all-time rushing TD. Dobbins also set the single season rushing record for the Buckeyes, topping Eddie George’s 1,927 rushing yards from 1995 with an impressive 2,003 rushing yards just last year. Dobbins quickly became a name to know in college football as a freshman in 2017 as he led the Buckeyes in rushing in his freshman season. In doing so, he became just the third RB in Ohio State history to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a true freshman. While the numbers did take a dip in 2018 as a sophomore, it’s extremely important to point out just how good Dobbins was in his first two collegiate seasons. Dobbins’ 2,456 rushing yards over the course of his first two seasons were the most ever by an Ohio State back, besting Archie Griffin’s previous record of 2,444 yards. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the third season for Dobbins in Columbus was…impressive. The guy exploded for 2,250 scrimmage yards and 23 total TD, 21 of which came on the ground. Take a look at how Dobbins’ numbers stack up against the other FBS running backs in the country. * Rushing Yards: T-3rd * Rushing TD: T-2nd * Rush Attempts: 5th Overall, J.K. Dobbins tore up the Big Ten in his three seasons as a Buckeye. His numbers are on par with fellow Big Ten RB, Jonathan Taylor. Dobbins’ college production profile is elite. NFL SCOUTING COMBINE MEASUREMENTS Height, WeightBench Press40-Yard DashBroad JumpVertical Jump5'9", 209 lbs.23 repsDNPDNPDNPI almost didn’t even include a table for J.K. Dobbins’ Combine measurements, mostly because they didn’t exist! Dobbins chose to weigh in, push 225 lbs. off his chest 23 times, then exited stage left. He didn’t participate in a single athletic testing measurement. For fantasy football and NFL production, the bench press literally tells us nothing about a running back’s ability to translate to the next level, so unlike other RB prospects, we can’t use his NFL Combine testing to help us evaluate the Ohio State product. Dobbins referenced an ankle injury when deciding not to participate in any of the RB on field drills or the speed and agility testing. Worth noting, his minor ankle injury occurred on Dec 28, 2019 in the College Football Playoff in a loss to Clemson. As an analyst, it was disappointing not to see Dobbins participate in Indianapolis, as he likely would have crushed the Combine. As referenced previously, Dobbins was rated as a 99th percentile athlete coming out of high school and ran a 4.45 40-yard dash and registered a 43.1 inch vertical at his Nike camp. WHAT’S ON TAPE When I evaluate a running back prospect on film, I do my best to try to evaluate the player independently of the guys around him. For example, it doesn’t help us if a player plays behind an elite offensive line and doesn’t get touched for six yards. For a running back, it’s important to evaluate footwork, vision, pass protection, pass-catching ability, agility, and quickness, among other attributes. Games viewed: Army (2017), Maryland (2018), TCU (2018), Penn State (2019), Northwestern (2019), Clemson (2019) Strengths 1. Dobbins is a powerful back, who runs with purpose to break tackles. When Dobbins is one on one with a linebacker or safety (or heaven forbid a corner), it’s advantage Dobbins the vast majority of the time. Dobbins’ contact balance is very good and right up there with the likes of Jonathan Taylor in this year’s class. He’s tough to bring down, and it shows on tape as he consistently churns out extra yards after contact because of his power. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Dobbins ranked 4th in the country in yards after contact. He certainly isn’t afraid of contact. 2. If you’re looking for a back who can hit a home run, it’s J.K. Dobbins. Speaking of our friends over at PFF, Dobbins recorded the most runs of 15+ yards in the country. He can pick up the three or four yards needed to move the chains, but he’s also got some “pop” to his game and is underrated in this category. As mentioned previously, Dobbins as a track record of being an athletic monster and his speed shows up on tape when he’s in the second level. In the clip below, Clemson’s impressive linebacker/safety Isaiah Simmons in pursuit of Dobbins and while Dobbins does have a good five or so yard head start on him, he doesn’t catch him. Why do I point this out? Simmons ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. 3. One cut is all J.K. Dobbins needs. We’ve already touched on how good Dobbins is when he’s faced with contact, but he’s not just a “bruising” back. He’s got some wiggle to his game, allowing him to change direction quickly. This shows up most on tape when Dobbins is running an outsize zone run, plants his foot in the ground and makes the linebacker look silly. He doesn’t have elite quickness, but it’s plenty good enough for the next level. Weaknesses 1. Dobbins ran through very generous holes at Ohio State. Let’s be real. Ohio State’s spread you out offense is friendly, very friendly to the running back in this system. Ohio State’s line ranked 8th in the NCAA in Line Yards, a metric created by Football Outsiders to measure how much of the rush yards were created simply by the offensive line rather than the running back. There will be much tougher sledding in the NFL with the overall level of play being elevated at the next level. 2. Patience is a virtue. As just mentioned, Dobbins ran through some generous rushing lanes at Ohio State, playing behind a really good offensive line. However, when he didn’t have a wide open lane to run through, Dobbins at times lacked the vision he needed to pick up extra yards. At times, he relies too much on his aggressive running style and isn’t patient enough for his blocks to develop. It was almost like Dobbins was too excited to get to the second level, outrunning his blockers on multiple occasions. No doubt, linebackers at the next level are more athletic and are smarter football players than those in college. J.K. will need to improve his patience and vision in the NFL in order to maximize the use of his offensive linemen in the run game. 2020 FANTASY OUTLOOK J.K. Dobbins profiles very well as a future star for fantasy football, and he could be fantasy relevant as early as 2020. He’s got the combination of an elite college production profile and a (projected) athletic profile to help him succeed in the NFL. Early NFL mock drafts have Dobbins being taken in the second round, which is enough draft capital to suggest he’ll have a shot to be a team’s starter as early as year one. He is likely to be selected after Jonathan Taylor and D’Andre Swift in the NFL Draft, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be just as fantasy relevant. At worst, Dobbins profiles as an early down back in a committee who could push for pass catching work (caught 71 balls in college). Best case scenario, Dobbins is selected to a team in round two without a proven asset in front of him on the depth chart. One example that comes to mind is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If he lands in a situation like this, he could have bell cow upside, and he would firmly be entrenched as a top 20 RB for fantasy football. The post 2020 NFL Draft Rookie Profile: J.K. Dobbins (Fantasy Football) appeared first on Fantasy Footballers Podcast. #JKDobbins #NFLDraft #RookieProfile

[junker-town]

The NFL’s top trade candidates, broken down into 4 groups

Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

It could be a busy trade market ahead of the Oct. 29 deadline and we’ve got a list of players who could be on the move.

Not all trades are the same.

Cornerback Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Rams because he was fed up with playing for the Jaguars. Emmanuel Sanders was sent to the 49ers because the Broncos knew the 32-year-old receiver was going to leave in free agency anyway. The Falcons shipped receiver Mohamed Sanu to the Patriots so they could start to dig their way out of a tricky salary cap situation.

With the trade deadline coming on Oct. 29, more deals are undoubtedly on the way.

Some teams need to get younger, others need to save money, and there are a few that just want value for players who won’t be on the team much longer.

Here are a couple dozen players who could be on a different roster when November begins:

Players headed for free agency

The trade deadline comes right around the midway point of the NFL season. For players on the final year of their contract, that leaves them less than 10 games away from becoming a free agent.

For some, it’s inevitable. Last year, Golden Tate was on the final season of his contract with the Lions and an extension looked unlikely. His 31st birthday was on the horizon and the younger duo of Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay was filling the rest of the depth chart. It made sense for Detroit to send Tate to the Eagles for a third-round pick rather than wait for him to leave in the offseason.

Here’s a list of players set to hit free agency in March, who might not be in the long-term plans of their current team:

Robby Anderson, WR, Jets

New York’s inconsistent deep threat has been tough to figure out so far in his career. Now, he’s averaging just 2.8 receptions per game in 2019. That lack of production may push the Jets to move on from Anderson. The booming market for receivers makes now a good time to do it.

Vic Beasley, DE, Falcons

In 2016, Beasley was an All-Pro with 15.5 sacks. In the 37 games since, he has 11.5 sacks. He’s set to hit free agency in the offseason, but the Falcons are mostly trying to trade Beasley because he just hasn’t been very good. Perhaps another team can convince itself that the 2016 version of Beasley can return.

Kenyan Drake, RB, Dolphins

Miami is ditching players left and right, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it decided to do the same with Drake. He’ll be a free agent in 2020, and hasn’t scored a single touchdown in 2019. He finished 2018 with 1,012 yards from scrimmage and nine total touchdowns. If the Dolphins don’t plan on re-signing him, he should be another tank casualty.

Melvin Gordon, RB, Chargers

A long holdout that began in the summer didn’t end until Gordon reported to the team in the last week of September. Prior to that, Gordon was allowed to pursue a trade, but couldn’t find a viable option. Now that he’s averaging 2.3 yards per carry, the Chargers may be more willing to play ball with a team interested in acquiring the two-time Pro Bowl running back.

Chris Harris, CB, Broncos

Harris could fit in a few different categories here, but the No. 1 reason the Broncos should part with the 30-year-old cornerback is that he’s probably leaving after the 2019 season anyway. Harris even seemed to say as much to reporters earlier this year. A lot of teams could use secondary help, and the Broncos aren’t contending for a Super Bowl this year anyway.

Yannick Ngakoue, DE, Jaguars

Joey Bosa and Ngakoue are the only two players from the 2016 draft class with more than 30 career sacks. Ngakoue held out for a contract extension in the offseason and didn’t get one. He later told reporters “[the Jaguars] had a chance to sign me for a long-term deal but it didn’t get done.” With his contract expiring in March, Jacksonville could add even more draft capital by trading the 24-year-old pass rusher for a king’s ransom.

Leonard Williams, DE, Jets

Quinnen Williams is the future of the Jets defensive line and that makes a big extension for Leonard Williams unlikely — especially when he has zero sacks through six games. The 1-5 Jets could look to get what they can get for the former top-10 draft pick.

Players who are too expensive

It’s always smart to see the big picture. Spending to acquire or keep talented players is usually a good idea, but eventually the money runs out. Even if a team isn’t near the salary cap limit, it still makes sense to cut down on expenses whenever possible.

For teams that are especially strapped for cash — or maybe just ones that are thinking about the long haul — the trade deadline can be a good way to get rid of their most cumbersome contracts.

Geno Atkins, DT, Bengals

Atkins has been to the Pro Bowl seven out of the last eight years, so the Bengals probably don’t want to see him leave Cincinnati. But the defensive tackle will also be 32 in March and he’s due to count $14.2 million, $14.8 million, and $16.05 million against the salary cap in the next three seasons. A rebuild is on the way for the Bengals and getting value for a great player while ditching his contract could be a starting point.

Le’Veon Bell, RB, Jets

New Jets general manager Joe Douglas wasn’t the one who thought a four-year, $52.5 million deal for Bell was a good idea. That was Mike Maccagnan, who was fired as GM in May. Jets coach Adam Gase reportedly didn’t like the price tag of Bell. That’s why it wouldn’t be that weird if the Jets shipped away their prized free agent after only a handful of games.

Jamison Crowder, WR, Jets

Crowder was another Maccagnan acquisition earlier in 2019 on a three-year, $28.5 million deal. That’s a lot for a receiver with a career-worst 9.3 yards per reception and still no touchdown receptions. Considering the return Emmanuel Sanders and Mohamed Sanu got on the trade market, the Jets could be better off sending Crowder’s contract somewhere else.

Devonta Freeman, RB, Falcons

Only four running backs have a higher average salary than Freeman, he’s not playing up to that price tag. Freeman’s averaging 3.5 yards per carry and hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rushing season since 2016. With salary cap hell coming soon for the Falcons, it’d be a win for the team if it could find a team willing to take a chance on Freeman.

Von Miller, LB, Broncos

Denver would be wise to burn things down and start over. It already traded Sanders, but the real swing for the fences would be dealing away Miller. He’s due to count more than $25 million against the cap next season and $22.125 million in 2021. Miller turns 31 in March and only has 2.5 sacks so far in 2019. If a team comes with a lofty offer for the Super Bowl 50 MVP, the Broncos could really kick start their rebuild.

Trumaine Johnson, CB, Jets

The third Jets player in this section is the hardest to trade. Johnson got a five-year, $72.5 million deal fr in 2018, but now he has a tenuous grasp on a starting role in New York. If the Jets can convince a team to take on Johnson’s salary, they’d likely take peanuts in return just to ditch the contract.

Josh Norman, CB, Washington

The days when Norman was considered one of the premier shutdown cornerbacks in the NFL are long gone. Now he struggles to stop anyone and is costing Washington points. He’s due to count $15.5 million against the team’s cap in 2020, but will likely be cut before he ever sees that salary. Washington would love if it could get another team to take on that problem instead.

Desmond Trufant, CB, Falcons

Another solution to the Falcons’ aforementioned upcoming salary cap disaster would be to trade Trufant. Unlike Freeman, the veteran cornerback is still playing pretty well. He’s just not playing well enough to warrant eating cap hits between $14.15 million and $16.15 million in the next three seasons. Plenty of other teams would be capable and willing to pay that price, though.

Players who are too old

It always feels awkward calling someone old when they’re only around 30, but the sports world is a weird place.

You: "I'm only 35, I have my whole life ahead of me." Sports Broadcaster: "Here comes the oldest player in the league. He's 32. A miracle."

— Troy Johnson (@_troyjohnson) December 6, 2016

For many teams — especially ones that know they have rebuilding to do — the trade deadline can be the right time to offload aging veterans and see what their young replacements can do.

Carlos Dunlap, DE, Bengals

Spoiler alert: Here’s the first of three consecutive Bengals on this list. The team’s Super Bowl window is 100 percent closed, and there are a few older players on the roster who could fetch value on the trade market. Dunlap, who turns 31 in February, is one of those players after six straight seasons with at least 7.5 sacks. He’s not going to make the Bengals a contender, but a team already set up for a playoff run could use his help.

Tyler Eifert, TE, Bengals

While he’s only 29, the 2015 Pro Bowler is about 38 in football years. Eifert missed 15 games in 2014 due to an elbow dislocation, six games in 2016 with an ankle injury, four more games in 2016 due to back injuries, 14 games due to another back surgery in 2017, and 12 games in 2018 with an ankle fracture. He’s been healthy in 2019, but not very productive. The Bengals would be fine moving on with C.J. Uzomah and Drew Sample at tight end.

A.J. Green, WR, Bengals

The last of the Bengals trio is the one they insist isn’t for sale. Green doesn’t quite have Eifert’s injury history, but he’s now missed 20 games (and counting) since the beginning of the 2016 season. Green turned 31 in July and is probably the most valuable asset on the Bengals roster. If Cincinnati decides it’s rebuild time, trading Green makes sense.

Reshad Jones, S, Dolphins

The only other player on the Dolphins roster with at least 10 seasons under his belt is Ryan Fitzpatrick. Miami is tanking and there’s not much logic in keeping around aging veterans. There aren’t many tradable players left for the Dolphins, but Jones is one. Dumping his $15.63 million and $14.55 million cap hits in the next two seasons is just a bonus.

Patrick Peterson, CB, Cardinals

Around this time last year, Peterson requested a trade out of Arizona. He has since apologized and the Cardinals have turned away callers interested in trading for the eight-time Pro Bowler. Calling him old is a stretch, considering he’s 29 and has never missed a game due to injury, but getting younger would be the only reason for the Cardinals to move on from Peterson. He’s still a great player and a relatively affordable one too.

Players who just don’t fit

Sometimes a player just doesn’t work on a certain roster. A scheme change could make someone a square peg trying to fit in a round hole, and a crowded depth chart could force a player out of town.

The Patriots didn’t really want to trade Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017, but Tom Brady wasn’t going anywhere, so eventually their hands were tied.

Here are a few players who just don’t fit into the plans of their current team and would be better off somewhere else:

O.J. Howard, TE, Buccaneers

The 2017 first-round pick looks like the odd man out of the Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich offense in Tampa Bay. After scoring 11 touchdowns in his first two seasons and recording 56.5 yards per game in 2018, Howard’s numbers have tanked in 2019. He’s only averaging 29.3 yards this season and hasn’t caught a single touchdown. The Buccaneers would benefit from sending Howard to an offense that actually uses tight ends.

Josh Rosen, QB, Dolphins

Miami gave up a second-round pick during the 2019 NFL Draft to see if Rosen could develop into its quarterback of the future. It’s hard to imagine the Dolphins still think that’s a possibility. They’re careening toward the top pick of the 2020 NFL Draft (or at very least, close to the top) and will probably take a quarterback there. While Rosen’s value is hurt by his 52.0 passer rating in 2019, there are certainly teams that wouldn’t mind seeing what they can get out of a top 10 pick who’s still just 22.

Solomon Thomas, DE, 49ers

The San Francisco defensive line is really freakin’ good and it’s not because of Thomas. The No. 3 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft is just a rotational player with DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, and Ronald Blair all outplaying him. Thomas is expendable and could have a bigger role in a defense that isn’t so stacked up front.

Trent Williams, OT, Washington

Washington doesn’t really want to trade Williams, but it doesn’t have much of a choice. The left tackle appears content to sit out for as long as it takes for the team to send him elsewhere. Washington isn’t in a rush to get a deal done, but sooner is better than later.

[gadgetsrevv]

Man City aren’t in crisis despite Norwich shock. PLUS: Bayern’s Bundesliga dominance is under threat

There’s lots to talk about in this week’s Monday Musings following a wild weekend. Gab Marcotti is here to recap the big stories around soccer.

Jump to: No crisis yet for Man City | End of Bayern’s dominance? | Fati masks Barca’s issues | Juventus get lucky | Neymar gets rude welcome | Arsenal woe continues | | Neville harsh on Man United? | Chelsea’s youth movement | Dortmund ready for Barca | Odegaard dazzling for Sociedad | Why Firmino’s so special | Conte, Inter keep winning | The sad story of #BlueGirl

Sky isn’t falling for Man City despite Norwich shock

One of the more odd decisions this past summer was Manchester City not replacing Vincent Kompany. “Replace” is perhaps too strong a word. You can’t “replace” him but you can bring in another live body to give you an alternative at centre-back and provide some competition for John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi.

– Ogden: Man City might regret inspiring Liverpool – Miller: Have Norwich shown the league how to beat City? – ESPN’s Ultimate XI: This team would win everything

Many of us pointed this out but hey, it’s Pep Guardiola, so you naturally offer the benefit of the doubt. He must know something we don’t. Maybe Fernandinho (at 34) can fill in too. Maybe Eric Garcia is ready. Maybe Kyle Walker can slide across. Maybe Aymeric Laporte is Iron Man and will never get injured. (Oops: we already know that’s not the case.)

Pep Guardiola’s side looked vulnerable in Saturday’s shock defeat at Norwich but there’s still a lot of time left for them to get their balance back.

It’s not that Otamendi and Stones are bad defenders, it’s that the way City play can leave them vulnerable, which is pretty much what happened against Norwich in their 3-2 defeat. There’s a price you pay for choosing to play a certain way and evidently, for City it’s one worth paying. The problem is this is a low-scoring sport. Scoring goals is difficult and ideally, you want to make conceding them as difficult as possible for the opposition. With those two back there and this setup, it’s that much easier for them.

Updated Luck Index: Man City continue to be unfortunate

No, the sky isn’t falling. Even in this game, Man City could have grabbed the three points with a bit more luck. Nor will they always face someone as motivated and as intense as Daniel Farke’s crew who, severely depleted by injuries, went all out with nothing to lose. But the reality is that the gap separating them from Liverpool is already at five points, and the last time that happened was back in January.

Is time running out on Bayern’s Bundesliga dynasty?

Is this the year someone in the Bundesliga topples Galactus (read: Bayern)?

Leipzig had their audition on Saturday, holding the champions to a 1-1 draw. The result keeps Julian Nagelsmann’s crew top of the league with Bayern fourth, two points back. But other than the usual drive and running you’d expect from Leipzig — and, after the break, the character that wasn’t always there last season — I’m not sure we quite saw enough to predict they’ll prevail over the marathon that is a whole season.

Thomas Muller, right, and Bayern were forced to settle for a point vs. RB Leipzig thanks to some familiar flaws that manager Niko Kovac has yet to fix.

In fact, a lot of it had to do with Bayern’s deficiencies. Having gone ahead early thanks to the age-old Thomas Mueller-Robert Lewandowski connection, they failed to capitalise on their lead despite having the upper hand for much of the first half. Joshua Kimmich in central midfield alongside Thiago Alcantara gave them a bit more control against the press, but they were sterile in the final third. Leipzig deserved their equalizer after a bad error from Lucas Hernandez (the sort that prompts you to say “He cost how much?”) and while late chances meant it could have gone either way, there wasn’t too much separating these two.

The difference? Well, you try to imagine how they can get better and you can see far bigger margins for growth at the Bayern end. Nagelsmann can conjure up some more tactical voodoo, Emil Forsberg might last 90 minutes, Kevin Kampl might be fit again and maybe they’ll get something out of Patrik Schick. But it’s slim pickings.

As for Bayern, Nico Kovac lost David Alaba to injury in the warm-up. But he still has Philippe Coutinho, who only came on with two minutes to go, and Ivan Perisic, who stayed rooted to the bench: presumably both were signed for a reason. The question, really, is how much faith you have in Kovac.

Fabulous Fati obscures Barca’s issues

Ansu Fati, already the third-youngest goal scorer in the history of La Liga, got his first start for Barcelona on Saturday against Valencia and set the Camp Nou alight inside 10 minutes. He scored with a confident, accurate finish, set up a goal for Frenkie de Jong and came close to scoring two more times. Oh yeah, in case you didn’t know, the kid doesn’t turn 17 until Halloween.

His emergence, and that of Carles Perez, means that Lionel Messi (who was in the stands) and Luis Suarez (who came on and scored twice) can come back into the team in their own time. But equally, despite the gaudy scoreline (5-2) and the excitement over Fati, there is still plenty for Ernesto Valverde to work on.

Valencia are a mess right now (thanks, Peter Lim!), having sacked Marcelino and replaced him with Albert Celades. And they still stayed in the game thanks to Kevin Gameiro, falling apart only after Jasper Cillessen‘s mistake for the third Barca goal. Suarez, looking sharp and hungry (no, not in that way), later added two to put the game out of reach.

Defensively, Barca looked far from solid, not just at the back but also in midfield; the fact that it was the first choice trio of De Jong, Arthur and Sergio Busquets doesn’t bode well.

Juventus get lucky vs. Fiorentina

There’s a ton of ancient bad blood between Fiorentina and Juventus. Throw in the enthusiasm that new owner Rocco Commisso has engendered within the Viola organization, the fact that it was Maurizio Sarri’s official post-pneumonia debut and especially the fact that the visitors lost Douglas Costa, Miralem Pjanic and Danilo through injury during the match (and the first two are especially key to the way they play) and perhaps Juve should be happy with a point.

Why? They were poor for much of the game against an opponent who treats the match as if it was the Champions League final and “Avengers: Endgame” rolled into one. Sarri later blamed the heat of a mid-afternoon kickoff, which is a bit hard to stomach since presumably Fiorentina felt just as hot. It might have been better to just take it on the chin, be grateful for the point and move on.

PSG fans will take time to welcome Neymar back

Neymar made his first appearance of the season for Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend and was greeted, predictably, with boos and insults. It’s what you expect when, after pledging your loyalty to the club, you go out of your way to force a move back to Barcelona. So what did he do? Easy, he scored a “worldie” deep in injury time to secure the three points against Strasbourg.

– Laurens: The definitive story of the Neymar saga

“I expected it, but in the end I forced them to applaud,” he said afterwards, adding that every game will now feel like an away match.

He made his bed, he can lie in it now and won’t get much sympathy. But at the very least, he deserves recognition for the professionalism he showed Saturday. Whether he’ll ever get love from the Ultras given what happened is unclear but that doesn’t mean they can’t reach some mutually beneficial relationship.

What’s obvious is that if you’re Thomas Tuchel, you’re glad he’s back.

Arsenal’s issues are self-inflicted

The statistics say Arsenal conceded 23 shots on goal in the second half against Watford on Sunday. That’s one every two minutes and it’s frankly hard to do. It’s especially tough when you go in at half-time with a two-goal lead, one which, based on what we saw in the first half, was likely more than generous. And yes, they ended up settling for a 2-2 draw.

You can focus on individuals — Matteo Guendouzi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, David Luiz — all you like and there’s another statistic floating around that says that since the start of last season no team has made more errors leading directly to opposition goals than Arsenal. But this is a team issue.

If you have error-prone players, you design tactical systems that protect them and don’t expose them. That’s just basic. And that’s on Unai Emery.

Real nearly throw it away before PSG trip

It’s a sign of Real Madrid’s current state that even after playing well, creating plenty of chances and racing to a 3-0 lead at home to Levante, they still required a last-ditch save from Thibaut Courtois to retain their three points. In the cold light of day, you’d look at this performance, note Madrid’s domination, the fact that the goals conceded were against the run of play and chalk up the 3-2 scoreline to the randomness of football. And you might even celebrate Eden Hazard‘s debut and look forward to what is next.

Instead, it’s all fraught nerves ahead of the trip to the Parc des Princes to face Paris Saint-Germain in midweek. Context matters, possibly because we’re in mid-September and we have no real idea what Zinedine Zidane has in mind.

Neville a bit harsh on Man United?

Manchester United squeezed out a victory over Leicester City, but I was struck by Gary Neville’s comments suggesting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should get at least three more transfer windows “to clean up the trash in the dressing room, because there is trash in there.”

I have a lot of time for Neville, but I was wondering to whom he’s referring given a summer of significant departures. Of the guys who are most frequently targeted as “trash” (or “weeds,” to use another of his terms), Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo haven’t played this year. Fred has been on the pitch for 24 minutes, Nemanja Matic has started one game. Who does he mean? Paul Pogba? Anthony Martial? Juan Mata?

I’m also not sure about the comparisons with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and how it took him time to produce. He reached a Europa League final after taking over in October and finished fourth the following year. Plus, he had a rather more credible résumé than Solskjaer did. By all means, give him time, but set credible targets and deadlines too.

Why Chelsea’s youth movement feels different

Chelsea’s 5-2 away win to Wolves brings their seasonal goals total to 11 and all of them scored by Academy graduates. Fikayo Tomori, Andreas Christensen, Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount all started at Molyneux and all look poised to play a big part in Chelsea’s season. With more homegrown players — Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, possibly Reece James too — set to return from injury, there could be as many as seven of them in Frank Lampard‘s XI at some point.

What sets this group apart, though, is the fact that apart from Christensen, who joined at 16, the others have all been affiliated with the club since before they were 10 years old. We often play fast and loose with the homegrown label since so many clubs (including Chelsea, of course) cherry-pick top talent from elsewhere at 16, stick them in the Academy for a year or two and then count them as “club-trained.” Technically, that’s true but with these guys, it’s different.

Dortmund look ready for Barcelona

“Bouncebackability” isn’t a real word, but it applies here. Borussia Dortmund had a whole international break to stew over the humiliating 3-1 defeat to newly promoted Union Berlin and with Kai Havertz and Bayer Leverkusen rolling into town, the potential for aftereffects was still high. Instead, we got one of the most dominating Dortmund performances in recent memory. At the attacking end, Marco Reus got his mojo back, Jadon Sancho popped up with his usual two assists and Paco Alcacer scored in his eighth consecutive game, including internationals.

Roll on, Barcelona, this Tuesday.

Odegaard continues to dazzle

Martin Odegaard made his international debut for Norway at 15 years of age and moved to Real Madrid six months later. Too much, too soon? It felt that way to many, given he failed to establish himself at youth level and later spent two years on loan. But players develop at different speeds, and having rocketed to the international stage, he was due a breather.

This year, he’s on loan at Real Sociedad, where he’s already scored twice and, on Saturday night against Atletico Madrid, was arguably man of the match. He doesn’t even turn 21 until December, but it feels as if this could be the year it all comes together for him. Watch this space.

Meanwhile, for Atletico, the 2-0 defeat reinforces what we already know: losing four or five starters in a summer is tricky to metabolize and there will be days like this when Diego Simeone’s tinkering leads nowhere.

Why Roberto Firmino is so unique

My former colleague Matthew Syed, writing in The Times, made the point that Roberto Firmino appears to have 360-degree vision, a bit like those owls, whose heads seem to swivel all the way around. It’s not hard to see why, given his performance in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Newcastle.

Some see him as a prototype of a modern center-forward, the “false nine” who is more creator than finisher. That certainly fits with Firmino’s strengths though another, equally formidable strength is the intensity and intelligence of his pressing game. But I’m not sure he’s a prototype of anything.

Most of Europe’s top teams — from Barcelona to Manchester City, from Tottenham to Real Madrid, from Bayern to Juventus — still have a genuine centerforward rather than a “false nine” (to use another hipsterish term). In other words, Firmino is not a trend as much as he has a nearly unique, extremely rare skill set, which comes as a result of his past as an attacking midfielder.

Conte keeping expectations down at Inter

Antonio Conte is playing that age-old game straight out of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” — “when you are weak, appear strong and when you are strong, appear weak.” Following Inter’s third win on the bounce (one-nil against Udinese) he said, “We know the game. They build us up now to knock us down later. For us to win the title, other clubs would have to have disastrous seasons.”

– Schoenfeld: Romelu Lukaku talks about his Inter mission

It’s pretty transparent what he’s doing. And yes, Inter aren’t title favorites but he has the strike force he says he wanted (Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez, Alexis Sanchez), he has two of the best young midfielders in the league (Stefano Sensi and Nicolo Barella) and arguably the best center-back corps. There’s no reason to hide. Own the responsibility.

What needs to happen beyond #BlueGirl

The harrowing tale of Sahar Khodayari, the 29-year-old Iranian woman who set herself on fire (and later died from severe burns) after being sentenced to six months in prison for disguising herself as a man to attend a football match between her team, Esteghlal, and the UAE’s Al-Ain last March, shocked the world.

Like many such stories, it’s more complicated than it appears. There is no written law barring women from entering Iranian stadiums, so she was sentenced for not fully adhering to Islamic hijab laws and covering her head. But equally, since the Islamic revolution 40 years ago, women have been unofficially banned from watching men’s games with very few exceptions, like last November’s Asian Champions League final.

It shouldn’t take the tragic death of a vulnerable person for the world to take notice. The hashtag #BlueGirl is great to raise awareness but it can’t end there, particularly since there has been so much outrage and support for change, even in Iran.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has pushed Iran on this matter before and the stock answer has been that the “infrastructure” was not yet in place to allow women in on a regular basis. (What infrastructure? Women’s toilets? Surely they have port-a-potties in Iran…) That argument is nonsense as evidenced by the fact that women have been allowed in before. FIFA’s statutes are very clear when it comes to equality and access. They have the power to withhold development money and suspend the Iranian FA.

It’s time to take action and, given the support such action would have within Iran — from much of the population and virtually the entire football world — it feels like a no-brainer.

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[havethetimeofyourstyles]

Chapter Five. Missed You

the scene is set in 1956, a young man moved to Hollywood to follow his dreams of becoming an actor. But with little money and a struggle to keep his apartment, he is approached by a man who offers him a job at Sweetland.

a/n: hopefully this will mend your hearts from the last chapter! this chapter is dedicated to my best friend ira @stylesloveclub who is quite literally my real life Frances, ily :’)

SERIES MASTERLIST | JOIN THE TAGLIST chapter word count: 9.2k

warnings: biphobia, y/n going tf off, and fluff

LETS TALK ABOUT CN! let me know your thoughts!

pls rb to share! <3

It’s been a while since you ever felt happy again. 

You missed the way you would laugh with your friends freely, or the way you feel yourself blush, making the corners of your lips turn up into a smile. But ever since that day, something inside of you switched. 

Ever since that day, you weren’t the same person anymore. You held so much pain and anger inside of your heart that there couldn’t have possibly been anyone to switch that back to your normal, besides one person of course. 

But the pain and anger wasn’t just from that one day; it was the built up emotions you kept inside of you for years causing you to lash out, and that day was the last straw. 

A week after that horrid day, you were able to get out of bed as you left your ruffled warm sheets and tear damped pillowcases. Frances and Alice had told the staff you weren’t feeling well that entire week, and luckily they understood and were able to find a replacement for your class. 

You didn’t get out of your room until everyone in the house had left in the morning, which was about eight a.m, and you were locked away in your room before they were able to see you as they arrived home. You really didn’t want to see anyone; the presence of any other breathing soul was out of your favor during that week as you just wanted to wallow your way through the days. 

You figured, after that week, that you needed to get back to work. It wasn’t like you to be so in your feelings and to practically stay in bed for an entire week, but the pain was so very different from anything else you’ve ever felt. You missed him dearly, that’s a given. And if you couldn’t be with him, then you were fine with just being friends. His presence around you is what you really wanted; you just needed him to be around, but you couldn’t get into contact with him--it was like he fell on the face of the earth. 

On your first day back, you had a morning class as did Frances, so she wanted to pick you up and get coffee before you both headed to work. Alice had a class later that day, so it was just the two of you. But you enjoyed spending time with them individually. 

“Hey, doll! Hop in,” Frances smiled, tapping the leather seat beside her, and you got into her lavender Chevrolet convertible. 

“Thanks for picking me up,” you said softly, looking at her. She smiled, turning your head to look at you, and finding such a heartbroken woman who desperately needed some sleep from the heartache and exhaustion. 

“Anything for you,” she said back, grabbing your hand as she drove. 

Frances had picked you up an hour earlier than when classes began, wanting to just talk and listen to you, and if you didn’t want to do either, she just wanted to keep you company, wanting to be there for you.

The car was parked on the curb in front of the coffeehouse, which was around the corner from the studio. As you walked in, you were met with the aroma of fresh brewed coffee; the scent filled your senses as you felt as if you were in a cabin in front of the fire on a cold day. It was definitely not a cold day as you wore black shorts that stopped mid thigh and a cropped black t-shirt; Frances was wearing the same, but she wore white shorts and a baby purple cropped tee, and you loved how much she loved the color lavender. 

“Go find us a table,” she said, insisting on paying for the coffee. The coffeehouse wasn’t that packed—a few people working as they wrote or read the newspaper. 

You found a seat next to the window on the side of the shop, and waited for your hot drink as you watched the sun proceed to get brighter and brighter as the minutes went by, and you were too distracted to notice Frances sitting in front of you, drinking her coffee, and you assumed she might’ve been sitting in front of you for a while. 

“Thank you for the coffee,” you said, picking the hot drink up and blowing on it for it to cool down. 

“Of course.” 

It was completely silent between you two as you both drank your coffees and enjoyed the comfortable silence. It was times like these where you appreciated Frances. Without a doubt you love your little group, but when the three of you are together, it can be very chaotic—fun but chaotic to the point where you’re a bit overwhelmed. But with Frances, you were able to be comfortable in just sitting across from one another without saying a word. She knew how to have fun agreeably, but she knew how to be that friend that let you take your time or to simply just keep you company when you’re feeling lonely. 

After a while, you looked at her, and she was already looking at you, but her eyes perked up and she had a bright smile on her face. 

“Thank you again, doll-”

“You need to stop thanking me,” she giggled, causing the corners of your mouth to turn up slightly. 

“I mean it though. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done—Alice too. You always call me to see if I’m fine, and you picked me up, like that’s so sweet of you,” you said, tears welling up in your eyes. She reached her hand across the table to hold yours. 

“Of course, I’m gonna be here for you. We’re best friends—have been for years now. And you’ve been through a lot. It’s time we hold some of the weight for you,” she said with a small nod. Her words caused the tears in your eyes to fall, like they triggered them to flow as they pleased because you’ve been wanting to hear those words for a long while now. 

“You’re the best. I’m so thankful for you,” you said as you tried to contain your sobs. Frances got up from her seat and walked over to your side as you scored to the seat next to you so she could sit on the seat you were in prior. 

She hugged you into her chest as you quietly sobbed into her neck while she soothed your back to comfort you. To outsiders, they were probably thinking how early it is for a breakdown, and you agreed, it was too early. However, you were in a bubble with your greatest friend as she was combing through your hair, comforting you through your greatest pain, and the outside world meant nothing at the moment. 

It was 10 minutes before class started when you and Frances entered the studio the week after locking yourself up; Susan greeted you with a big smile as Frances said she’ll see you after class and walked down the opposite hallway. 

“Welcome back, lady,” she had said with bright eyes. You softly smiled at her, immediately regretted agreeing to any social interaction--not that Susan wasn’t the sweetest person you’ve met, but you were still broken and sad. 

“Hi, Susan,” you said to her as a pained smile on your face as you walked by her desk. But before you walked any further down the hall to your class, you backed up slightly to stand next to the reception desk. Her brows raised, waiting for you to speak. “Uh, did I happen to get any calls while I was away? Did someone call for me?” You asked warily, not knowing what answer you wanted to hear. 

“Nope. No calls were made for you. It was a pretty slow week,” she replied back, her usual smile on her face. Your heart sank a little, hoping a certain someone would have called you. 

“Tell me about it,” you had muttered under your breath. “Thank you though,” you spoke directly to her before you walked away. 

And it was like that for the longest time; you asking Susan if you had gotten any calls after each class and her saying no. You figured she had caught on a bit from your constant asking, but it was a bit upsetting to hear that no every single time. You just wanted a single call from him; to ask him if he was okay, where he’s been, and to simply just hear his voice. 

The voice that had brought you immediate comfort and ease from your crazy and busy life. The sound that was music to your ears when he laughed or talked to you in his deep sultry voice. And you just wanted him to tell you that he was okay. You could practically hear his voice in your head as if it were the only sound you memorized. The way he said ‘sweet girl’ was like the line in a song that you would  repeat over and over again because it just gave you ultimate chills. 

You heard so crisp and so clearly; he would say ‘sweet girl, I’m doing okay. Don’t worry about me.’ But you couldn’t help but worry about him. 

You missed your honey dearly. 

And you continued missing him. 

Up until now, you hadn’t stopped thinking about him. Six months later, there was just something about him that never left your mind and especially your heart. The hole in your chest was enough to explain to yourself how you felt, and it wasn’t normal to feel this way. 

“Hey! I know you’re in your feelings at the moment, but would you please sing along with us?” Alice asked from the seat next to you as you heard Frances mutter a ‘please’ from the backseat. 

You three were on your way to San Diego for a little trip girls trip. Although it was January and the weather would most likely be cold, you three were still on break as the studio hadn’t resumed classes just yet because of the holiday. But they would be back on next week, so you three wanted to have a mini getaway for a little bit before you have to go back to reality. 

“Okay, okay,” you playfully rolled your eyes at them as they saw your little gesture through your sunglasses. 

The three of you sang along to Elvis as you drove to San Diego. It was still quite sunny despite the month being January, but the air was crisp and cool. Cold enough so you could wear a sweater and some pants since California cold is cold to Californians. 

The drive was about a four hour drive from Beverly Hills, and you three stayed at a hotel walking distance from La Jolla beach. The trip was only three days because what’s really there to do besides go to the beach everyday, especially when it was cold out. 

“Okay, dolls, are we ready to go?” Alice asked you and Frances as you all settled into the hotel. You two nodded excitedly, grabbing your towels and blankets before heading out of the hotel and to the beach. 

You all figured out that the water was way too cold for a swim, but the sun was bright still as you three sat on your towels, all facing each other. You had bought some fruit for a little market that was on the way to the beach. 

“Think we picked a good spot--so many cute people around,” Frances said. You looked around to observe some of the men and women that were relaxing on the sand or in their swimsuits. You nodded in agreement as you took a bite out of your watermelon slice. 

“Ooh! I think that lady is looking at you doll,” Alice said excitedly. You looked at her and she pointed her head to the direction of the woman, and you turned your head slowly to find a beautiful woman in her swimsuit, smiling and waving at you. Politely, you smiled back at her. 

“Are you going to go talk to her?” Frances asked, and you shrugged. 

You knew that they were just trying to help the heartache in your chest that has been mending for the last six months. But if you still felt the same amount of pain as you did six months ago, you weren’t quite ready to move on yet. 

“Think you need that, doll. How are you gonna move on if the only people you really socialize with are us two?” Alice said, and she had a point. It was difficult to move past everything because you’ve locked yourself away and only limited yourself to some social interaction with people you already know. “It’ll be a nice change. And if you don’t want to talk to her, then come back here and you could talk to us! At least you tried,” Alice reassured you, and Frances nodded alongside her. 

You smiled softly at the both of them, and slowly nodded. You at least wanted to try, and being somewhere that’s four hours away from your home was a nice start. Handing your fruit to Frances, not wanting your fruit to get a sand flavor, and you got up. Your girls cheered you on, yelling out ‘that’s the spirit!’ and ‘so proud of you, doll’ as you slowly walked over to the woman who was sitting in her beach chair.

“Hi,” you nervously said to the woman. 

“Hey, cutie. Was just looking at you,” she complimented with a smirk, looking up at you. 

“Uh, yeah. My friends told me,” you said, turning around to point to them. But you also turned around just to see their reassuring smiles because you were actually quite nervous. And when you saw them beaming, giving you a thumbs up, you turned back around. 

“Well, would you like to sit?” She offered, and you said a soft ‘okay’ before sitting down on the towel in front of her, practically at her feet. “I’m Catherine, by the way,” she said, sticking her hand out. She looked a bit older than you--probably in her late twenties. She had beautiful blonde hair that was put in a high ponytail as she wore a cream colored two piece swimsuit. 

“Nice to meet you,” you said, shaking her hand as you told her your name. 

“Such a beautiful name for you,” she winked at you, flirting with you slightly. 

For the next thirty minutes, you and Catherine got to know one another, and you thought she was nice; she was very friendly, often stealing some innocent touches to your shoulder or your arm as she laughed about god knows what you said. 

Suddenly, someone walked under the umbrella and Catherine handed the other woman a towel before she sat down on the beach chair next to Catherine’s. They smiled at each other, and you looked between them; a silence fell through you as they talked. 

“The water felt great,” the woman said, and Catherine smiled, roaming her hand on the woman’s arm as she did to you. 

“Oh, by the way. This is Milly, my girlfriend,” Catherine introduced. Your eyes widened, feeling shocked as she didn’t mention that she had a girlfriend when she was flirting with you and touching your arm. 

“Hi, uhm, I should get back to my friends then,” you stood up from your crouch position, dusting your bottom off from the sand that had gotten on the towel. 

“Wait, we actually want you to stay,” Milly said before you had a chance to walk away. “Catherine and I are together, but we were curious about exploring with another partner, and we both saw you sit with your friends, and thought you were absolutely gorgeous,” she explained. 

You blushed, a bit flustered from what she said. You’ve never explored with two partners before, and you were curious as to how that’ll go down. But in total honesty, you weren’t feeling it. 

“That’s nice of you, thank you for choosing me, I guess?” You chuckled, cursing at yourself for how dumb that sounded. “But to be honest, I’m a bit heartbroken at the moment, so I’m not in the mood,” you said honestly. 

“Oh no, how could some girl break your heart?” Catherine said, assuming that it was a girl that got you sad. 

“I-It wasn’t a girl, actually. It was a guy,” you corrected. Catherine and Milly looked at each other confusingly, and soon after Milly scoffed. 

“Wait, so you don’t like girls?” Milly asked, needing some sort of confirmation. 

“I do! I like men and women. I’m bisexual,” you said, crossing your arms in defense, feeling like this was all going to end badly. 

“You like both...” Catherine said shockingly and you nodded as you took deep breaths. You tried keeping yourself together, not wanting to make a scene at the beach as everyone was minding their own business, as you looked at them with a stern look. 

“So you just couldn’t choose,” Milly said. You gave her a scowl look, furrowing your brows as the two laughed slightly. 

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” you said, rolling your eyes. You turned around, not wanting to be around the presence of people who put you down for your sexuality. So, you walked through the sand back to your friends as they were about fifteen feet away from the two. As you walked you heard them call out to you. 

“We know being gay isn’t appreciated here, but you being greedy and liking both? Are you okay, sweetie?” They called out, followed by laughter. 

Alice and Frances looked at each other confusingly, wondering what the hell happened back there before you grabbed your fruit bowl from Frances hands and marched back over to them, squishing the watermelon cubes with your hands so the juices of the fruit spilled out, and the fruit itself turned into mush. They didn’t see you coming as they were still laughing and making jokes about your sexuality.

And before you knew what you were doing, you dumped the entire bowl onto Catherine’s head, watching the fruit spill down her hair and onto her body as she gasped loudly. Milly gasped as well, shocked that you did such a thing. 

“Next time you want to make fun of someone’s sexuality, think again. Don’t fuck with us, I mean it,” you warned as your voice was tough and strong; the complete opposite as what it was when you were talking to her. You walked away to your friends as you saw both of their jaws dropped with an amused look as they were still confused but totally backed you up on what you did, even if they haven’t gotten a clue why you did what you did. 

Once you got back to them, you picked up your purse and said, “Let’s go.” The both of them nodded, excited to hear what just happened as you all gathered your stuff as you heard curse from Catherine and Milly calling you a greedy and spoiled bitch. As you walked, you turned around, blowing them a kiss for shits and giggles.

“Oh my god! What the fuck just happened?!” Frances asked as she laughed. 

You three stopped in front of the hotel as they both followed your lead, sitting on the curb, both on your sides. As you took deep breaths, you had so much adrenaline from the events that had just happened, but not even a minute later, you started laughing hysterically, which Alice and Frances found amusing so they joined you. 

“Oh god…” you said once you calmed down. “That was such a rush--I’ve never done that before,” you told them, chuckling. 

“Well, you never do things without reason, so it must’ve been a great reason,” Alice said, leaning her elbows on her knees. 

You then proceeded to tell them what happened from the moment you walked over to Catherine to the moment you felt so uncomfortable as they practically bullied you because of your sexuality. 

“Yeah, she deserved that shit,” Frances said from next to you. 

“Definitely. Can people just get over themselves and mind their own damn business?” Alice scoffed, rolling her eyes as she scoffed, saying that she would have done a lot more than throwing fruit on her if she were you. 

“I’m so over people saying shit,” you said tiredly, wanting people to accept you as who you are, but in this day and age, it’s difficult to. 

“Don’t worry about them, doll. You’ve got us,” Frances said, giving you a hug and Alice joins in as well, and you tell them that you love them. You put your arms around your two best friends, thinking that this is the most fun you’ve had in a very long time. And even though it caused a scene where you had to ruin someone’s hair and their swimsuit as they said nasty things to you, you had your dolls by your side, reminding yourself that no matter where you are in life mentally and physically, you’ll always have them. 

And you appreciated that so much. 

After an eventful day to start the trip, you decided you needed a drink. So, you three found yourself at a bar in Downtown as you chatted among them in a booth as you ate peanuts and drank one too many ‘gin and sins’ that made you buzzed and fuzzed. 

But that didn’t stop you from ordering more for the three of you nor did that stop you from accepting cocktails from Alice because she kept ordering as well. And the only responsible one between the three of you was Frances, which isn’t old news. Sometimes she liked to get down and dirty, but she didn’t like to have too much alcohol in her system, which you totally respect. 

But ‘gin and sins’ were your favorite, and when you said you needed a drink, you needed a drink. 

“Alright, think that’s enough for the both of you,” Frances said, limiting you and Alice. 

“Noo,” you whined. “One more? Please?” You reach across the table, making grabby hands at Frances. Alice nodded next to you. She was more tipsy than drunk, and you on the other hand, were drunk. 

“You said that in the last four rounds! I’m cutting you off,” Frances said sternly, and your eyes widened. 

“Damn, okay,” you said, slowly sitting up. 

“We should go,” Alice suggested. 

“No, you know what we should do? We should dance!” You suggested an even better choice, getting up from your seat as you danced in front of your table, Frances and Alice got out of the booth as well. You were shaking and swiveling your hips in a sexy manner, or you’re trying to be, and you’re not aware of the people coming into the bar and the people sitting peacefully in their seats as some watched you with an amusing smile or a confused expression. But you didn’t give a fuck as you kept dancing. 

“Alright, dancing queen. Let’s go back to the hotel,” Alice said as you huffed and stopped dancing while you pouted. 

As you three were walking out, Alice and Frances on both of your sides, helping you walk, five people came in all at once, causing you all to move to the side and wait for them to clear the door. You watched them walk in, and suddenly your eyes widened and you were complete shock. 

Alice and Frances slightly rugged at you since you weren’t walking at all, but you told them to wait. 

“What’s wrong?” Frances asked, and you let both of your arms go from their hold. They followed your line of vision and looked at each other in confusion. 

“Doll?” Alice called out to you. 

“Harry…” 

“C’mon-” Frances said as she tried to interlace your arm with hers, but you interrupted her. 

“No!” You took your arm  away from her. “Harry is right there,” you pointed towards the bar, and their head turned. Tears were welling up in your eyes as you felt so overwhelmed from seeing him again for the first time in six months. 

Before you knew what your drunk self was doing, you started walking towards the bar, and your friends quickly followed behind as they tried to reach for your arms, but you pulled them away before they could even grasp it. Once you got to the bar, you leaned your left arm against it as you faced him. 

“Harry,” you simply said. The man turned towards you, looking at you confusingly, but you were still convinced that it was Harry right in front of you. “Listen…” you said, trailing your words off as you weren’t prepared whatsoever to have him in front of you. 

After a whole six months of figuring what you would say to him if you were to meet him again; going through the words in your head and falling asleep to the thought of talking to him again, you stood there with your mouth slightly open but no words fell through your lips. A sad expression was present on your face as your mending heart was pounding through your chest, begging him to heal you fully. 

He looked at you, wondering if you were going to say anything and possibly wondering why a random girl would go up to him and call him Harry. And it’s the fact that he wasn’t saying anything either is what hurt you too. But you decided to speak up because if you didn’t now, then you would regret it later. 

“Harry…I missed you,” you said, voice slightly cracking just as your heart was as well. “Six months without you was hell, and I never want to go through that again. But if you don’t want to see me anymore, then that’s fine,” you told him, voice coming out in a sad tone as you didn’t want to go through your days without having him in your life. 

“Doll, we should go,” Frances said as she and Alice lightly grabbed your arm and tugged you backwards. “I’m sorry,” you heard her tell him. 

“Wait,” you said, and you reached up to the man and kissed his cheek softly. You didn’t care if it was Harry or not, but you’ve had pent up emotions for so long that you just needed to let them out. And even if it was Harry, you weren’t going to leave him without kissing him, although you’d rather it be his lips than his cheek as you longed to feel his lips against yours again. 

You despised that your last kiss with him happened under those events that night. That it led to something so heartbreaking and painful that you didn’t know when you would feel his touch again. You didn’t get the chance to anticipate the next time you’d be in his arms again. That the last time you heard the words ‘sweet girl’ from his mouth was when he was trying to comfort you from the pain you were both about to endure. And it’s like a broken record in your head, playing over and over again, and you don’t want to fix the broken record because then your favorite sound would disappear into the midst of nothingness. 

Alice and Frances pulled you away from him as they guided you towards the exit and back to the hotel. Not surprising, but you cried the entire way to the room until your friends put you under the covers and wiped your makeup off as you told them how much you missed Harry and you just wanted to talk to him; that seeing him at the bar, even if it wasn’t him, had made the sadness in your chest come back because of how much you missed him. 

They simply didn’t know what to tell you but feel sad for you knowing how much pain you were in. They hated seeing you so upset to the point where you didn’t act like yourself anymore. But they will always remain by your side as they kept telling you that you were going to be okay. 

You woke up in a small state of panic as you weren’t aware of your surroundings and the feeling of the bed not being your own. With a slight headache and the taste of the alcohol on your tongue the night prior, there were continuous knocks on the door that made you roll your eyes and groan as it interrupted your state of deep slumber. 

Lazily, you got up and looked at the bed next to you to find it empty as Alice and Frances didn’t seem like they were in the room either. You assumed they probably went out to get some food and bring it back as they talked about, and you also assumed that they had forgotten the room key, which is why they were banging on the door at ten in the morning. 

“Okay, I’m coming, jeez!” You yelled out as you rubbed your eyes and lightly yawned, walking towards the door. You unlocked the door, opening it as you looked down because of the light and said, “Why must you knock on the door so loud?” Once your eyes adjusted from the brightness of the outside, it widened as the figure in front of you was not who you were expecting. 

You blinked a couple of times, not sure if you were dreaming or drunk as your jaw dropped, not expecting to see Harry in front of you. 

“Hi,” he simply said. It was a simple greeting and you wished he said a full on sentence just so you could hear his voice again, but something in you freaked out, causing you to slam the door in his face. 

“Oh my god…” you said to yourself as you paced the carpeted hotel room. You tugged on your hair, taking deep breaths as you muttered to yourself about how he can’t really be outside of your room right now and you were just hallucinating that he was here. But when you heard the knock again, you were taken back to reality as you jolted your head towards the door and realized that you completely shut the door in his face. “Fuck,” you muttered as you quickly walked towards the door, opening it once again and meeting his eyes. 

Harry gave you a small smile as he took in your presence again. It was a long six months of missing you and wishing you were in his arms again. He longed to see your pretty face and beautiful smile again, and being in front of you felt a bit overwhelming for him that his heart pounded and his eyes glossed. He truly couldn’t believe he was standing in front of you, and even in your wakened state, he still found you the most beautiful person ever. 

“Harry,” you said as if you were calling out to him, believing but not believing he was in your vision. 

“Uh, hi,” he said again hesitantly. He was definitely nervous, and you were too. 

“W-What…what are you doing here?” You asked, crossing your arms and subtly trying to fix your messy bed hair. But he looked great as usual; he wore a red and yellow striped t-shirt with some grey trousers, and pale yellow loafers. Harry was the type of person who could make anything look good, and you were absolutely jealous of him for that. He didn’t look all that different from when you last saw him; his hair was still the same, but he had a slight stubble on his jaw. 

“I came here to see you.” 

“How did you know I was here?” You leaned against the door, still debating in your head if you should invite him in or not. 

“Frances and Alice. They told me to come to your room last night,” he said, chuckling slightly. 

“Last night…” you said, not thinking anything of it. “Oh, last night!” You repeated, realizing that last night was the night you apparently saw him, and it seemed like you did. “Oh my god,” you said as you buried your face into your hands, groaning in embarrassment. “That really was you, huh?” You asked, not taking your hands away from your face, but separating your fingers as your eyes peeked out. 

“Yeah, it was me at the bar,” he said, giggling as he remembered the events that happened last night. 

“See, I knew it was you! I had the smallest doubt that it wasn’t but convinced myself that it was,” you shook your head, chuckling. “Wait, that means you heard everything, and I really kissed you,” you said as you gasped softly. Harry blushed in response as he smiled lightly at you. “How did you know I was there?” 

“I didn’t. I was there with some friends and I didn’t see you until you came up to me. Was completely surprised to be honest. And then Alice came up to me, after Frances dragged you away, to tell me to come up to your room today. So here I am,” he explained, which makes much more sense on why they disappeared in the morning and why Harry’s standing at your door. 

“Here you are,” you said softly. It briefly went silent between you two; so many unspoken words between you as you two wanted to blurt so many things out, but you really wanted to sit down and have a real and mature conversation with him. “So, uh, do you want to hang out today? Figured we have a lot to talk about.” 

“I’d love to. I’m free the whole day, so we can do anything,” he said, and you nodded. 

“Do you want to go down to the beach? I can just get ready quickly and we can hang out over there?” You asked nervously, even though he already said yes to hanging out with you. 

“Yeah, okay. That sounds great. I’ll, uh, wait for you out here?” He said, backing up slightly from the door frame so he’s completely standing outside. 

“Okay, cool,” you said, immediately slapping yourself mentally once those words came out of your mouth. Harry seemed to find that amusing as he laughed a bit as he saw you beating yourself up over what you had said. 

“Cool,” he said back, in a way to make you feel better about saying it, and your face had gone flustered as you slowly closed the door. 

“I’ll be quick.” 

“I’ll be right here.” 

You nodded your head as you closed the door, closing your eyes as you took the deepest breath that you were holding ever since you saw him. 

“Really? Cool?” You said to yourself, rolling your eyes as you groaned before you quickly got ready. 

You were ready in 15 minutes as you wore a plain white knitted sweater and some leggings, considering it was a bit breezy outside, and you and Harry walked to the beach. Luckily, the beach was only about a five minute walk, and the walk was filled with silence as nothing came out of both of your mouths. 

It was a nice day out considering the month still being winter, as the sun was out and slightly shining with the clouds present. You and Harry found a spot on the beach where there weren't that many people around to interrupt you both from your conversation. 

Laying the towel down, Harry helped you as he held the other end to straighten it out, and you two sat next to each other. There was a bit of space between you two, and it definitely felt weird that you didn’t close the gap to sit closer to him, but in all honesty, you didn’t know if that was crossing the line. Plus, you didn’t know where you two stood either. 

Your heart was pounding as you kept your hands in your lap from showing him how shakily nervous you were to be finally sitting next to him. And Harry was no better; he wasn’t saying anything because of the fact that he was also anxious as well. He was nervous that he would say the wrong thing to you, and he didn’t know if you were angry with him for disappearing for a whole six months. 

After ten minutes of looking out into the ocean as the sun lightly hit your skins, you finally spoke. 

“So…” you started, not finishing nor knowing what to say. Harry turned towards you, thankful that you were the one to start talking. “How are you, Harry?” You asked, and he somewhat cringed at the sound of his name as he missed the way ‘honey’ fell through your sweet lips. 

“I’m, uh, I’m doing okay. How are you?” He answered, and you just shrugged your shoulders as you sighed. “Are you doing okay?” 

“Y’know, I thought I was—doing okay. I mean, I was better than I was six months ago, but seeing you…” you said, looking him in the eye as memories of him leaving and running off came back to you. But you knew it wasn’t his fault; he did what he had and was told to do. “It just reminded me how much I missed you so much. And how much the last six months for me were hell because you weren’t around and I didn’t have contact with you,” you purse your lips, and Harry frowned, feeling guilty for not even calling you back. 

“I’m sorry-”

“No, no. Don’t be. I understand,” you interrupted, but he shook his head in disagreement. 

“Listen, not calling you was entirely my fault—I could’ve just…” he trailed off, not knowing how to word his thought properly. 

“Harry, what happened during those months? I called and called, I stayed in front of your apartment complex and waited for you for hours, but you never showed up,” you said, not meaning to make him feel bad, but you were telling the truth. Harry frowned even more, looking down onto his lap. 

Taking a deep breath, he looked up at you again as he spoke, “Okay. I’m going to tell you everything, just listen to what I have to say first before you decide if you want to be angry with me, alright?” 

You nodded, not saying anything as you waited to hear what he had to say. But you knew you weren’t going to get angry with him, you simply just wanted to hear what the hell happened to him and why he went M.I.A for six months. 

“After that night,” he started, not explaining any further of what that night was because you already knew, and it was hard to look and talk about what happened that day. “A few days later, I got a call from Shareen. She told me to come to the studio for a chat, and I thought it was going to be about the role. That maybe your father had a change of heart and decided to cast me, but I was wrong.” 

Your brows furrowed, already furious that Harry going missing could have possibly involved Richard and you despised him even more for that, but you continued listening. 

“I went to Shareen’s office, but she directed me to your father’s, and he said he wanted to talk to me. Was practically nervous at this point.” 

“Harry, what did he say?” You asked as you grew impatient. 

“Told me that if I stayed away from you, then he wouldn’t ruin the career that hadn’t even started. He said that he’s not going to cast me for the movie I auditioned for, but maybe the next one,” Harry said sadly, remembering how down he felt when he left his office and the studio. He was so close to having the career he wanted; so close to having his dream come true, but they were crushed right in front of him in the matter of seconds. 

“What the actual fuck…” you said in a calm manner as you were trying not to lash out in public and in front of Harry. 

“Hey, I’m so sorry. That’s the reason why I didn’t call because he told me to stay away, and it was hard to and I should’ve gone against his wishes, but it’s my career, y’know? I couldn’t risk not having my dream come true, and I hope you understand why I didn’t come to see you anymore. But know that it was a difficult decision to make because I was close to risking everything for you until Daren slapped some sense into me,” he explained quickly, not wanting you to be mad at him, but he would be if he were you. 

“No, no. I’m not mad at you,” you said as your hand touched his face, cupping his cheek. Harry immediately got chills from the contact, and he missed your touch dearly. “I understand why you did what you had to do. You made a sacrifice for yourself, so I would never be mad at you for that. If you were to give up everything for me, then I would be mad,” you said softly, looking at the man that has had your heart for the last months. 

“So, you’re not mad?” He asked, needing reassurance. 

“No, of course not, honey. I’m glad you had to do what was best for you,” you told him honestly. “Yeah, it hurt not being able to talk to you or see you, and practically not know where you were, but look at us now. We’re right in front of each other and that’s all that matters.” 

It was really all that mattered to you. You were never one to hold onto your anger and you were very forgiving in the sense, but being mad or upset at Harry didn’t exist because he did everything with good reason. 

Harry blushed at the sound of his pet name coming from your lips. Missing that name was an understatement; he longed to hear it again, and throughout those months, he had no idea when he would hear it, but now it was the sound of relief and reunion. 

“I’ve missed you calling me that,” he said, face being flustered. You moved to lay on your stomach, and he copied your actions as you two lay, facing each other. 

The sun was getting a bit brighter, so Harry pulled out his sunglasses, putting them on and you gave him a smile. You were already wearing white heart sunglasses, but you took your pair off and reached forward to take his sunglasses off, and put them on you. They were a pair of red lensed sunglasses that were heart shaped as well, and you adored them. Harry chuckled as you put your sunglasses on him. 

“These are like the glasses I would wear. Did you take them from me?” You teased, and Harry giggled, adjusting your white heart sunglasses on his face. 

“I bought them because they reminded me of you,” he said honestly, and you blushed, smiling at him softly. Your heart instantly swooned once he said those words, and all you wanted to do was kiss him. “They look better on you anyways,” he complimented. 

“Those look really good on you too,” you said back. You missed the back and forth, complimenting or banter with him. It was fun and light, and made you want more with him. It was something you thought about daily when you were away from him, and having it back made you feel so overwhelmed with happiness and joy. 

“So, what’s been going on with you?” He asked after the glances that you two made each other made him flustered. 

“Guess it’s my turn to tell my part, huh?” You chuckled, 

“Only if you want to. I’m here to listen if you’d like,” he said. You smiled, happy he never changed his mannerism. He’s always been a gentleman to you and everyone, and that’s one of the things you loved about him. 

“I wanna tell you,” you stated, and Harry nodded, waiting for you patiently to speak. “I wasn’t really doing okay, to be honest. I was a mess, and I haven’t really been myself since that day. Watching you leave was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and not knowing when I would see you again comes right next to it. After about two months, I finally talked to my father. That ended messy because he had all these plans for me with my ex, Chris, about business and marriage and I never wanted them. Then it got to the point where I was crying in front of him because you weren’t in my life anymore. And I’ve never cried in front of him before, so it was quite the surprise for him,” you ended with a chuckle, and Harry nodded his head throughout you speaking, listening to you intently and taking your words in. 

“Did things get better?” Harry asked, curiously, wondering if her father changed his attitude. 

“No. He said some shit about if I can’t tolerate him or proceed with his plans, then I should move out. So, I did just that.” Harry’s eyes widened, shocked but relieved because you were somewhat free. 

“You did?” 

“Yeah, I’ve been living with Frances for about four months now, but I might move out soon just to get out of her hair, so we can have her own space. But I’m better now than I was for my entire 23 years of life when I was in that house,” you said in almost a relief. You’ve practically been miserable in that household; filled with toxicity and loveless people. 

Jane had been sad to see you go, but she still encouraged you. She was the hardest one to say goodbye to, but she understood why you wanted to leave. There had been many tears as she watched you pack your suitcase into your car, and she sent you off with telling you to find the boy that “captured your heart.” 

“I’m proud of you for doing that. I know you didn’t tell me much about your family and how you grew up, but from what it seemed like, you weren’t happy there. So I’m glad you have your freedom now,” he said honestly with a smile, not wanting you to seem offended. And you weren’t because he was completely right. 

For a moment, you two shared glances and basked in the sun as you both laid under it. There was no action of moving closer than how you were now, but the thought of doing so made you both nervous. 

“Are you still working at Sweetland?” You asked suddenly but curiously, breaking the silence between you two as the outside world of the ocean and birds filled the words. 

“No, I’m not, actually. I quit about two months ago, but I still visit every week because I’ve grown quite attached to everyone there,” he said with a breathy laugh. 

“Why did you quit, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

“I kind of wanted a different job, and I wanted to do something I was good at. Not sure if sex is the answer to that,” he smirked, and your eyes widened. 

“Oh, you’re definitely good at sex-” you paused as your cheeks had gone flustered because of what you said. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that out loud, and that was definitely crossing-”

Harry interrupted your rambling by stroking your cheek with his thumb. The action had caught you by surprise, but it definitely shut your mouth up. His stare was so passionate and intense that you felt like you were being put under his spell. His spell of comfort and familiarity. The spell of love. But you had been under that spell since you met him, and there was no way he was going to reverse it. 

The thought of wanting to kiss him had never left your mind; you just wanted to pull him in for a kiss to relieve your need as the touch of his lips make you feel alive every time he kissed you. 

“I’ve missed you,” he said in a hushed voice for only you to hear. Despite the crowd being relatively loud as the time goes by and more people visit the beach, you felt like you were the only two to ever exist at the moment. There was no one around to pop the bubble you two created. 

“I’ve missed you so much more,” you whispered back, looking up and down from his lips and eyes. 

He was doing the same, although his gaze held a little longer onto your lips as he noticed your lips being like strawberry lipstick from the many lollipops you’ve probably eaten. But nonetheless, his favorite lips are yours. 

“I’m sorry for being so M.I.A,” he said once more. 

“Stop being sorry. You’re here now,” you grabbed his hand that was resting against the towel as your face cuddled more into his hand. 

“I was actually out of state. That’s why I wasn’t around.” Your brows raised, and he continued, “Went to go visit my mum in New York.” 

“Really?” He nodded. 

“Yeah. Hadn’t seen her in about a year, so I decided to save up a ton and go see her. Then I stayed for about two months, which was when I quit my job. I actually got back last week, and some guys at the shop wanted to make a trip down here, and then I saw you.”

“Yeah…” you said softly. 

“When I saw you last night at the bar, I really couldn’t believe it. And then when you came up to me, my heart was beating so fast, but time stopped. You were talking to me all drunk, debating with yourself if it was really me or not, and then you fuckin’ kissed me, and I felt over the moon but I was still in shock,” he chuckled remembering how he felt the night prior. 

“Knew in my heart that it was you, so I couldn’t resist myself from going up to you,” you told him honestly. Harry blushed, always loving your words and how honest you were. 

He moved his position back to a sitting upright as his legs were bent and his arms resting on his knees. He motioned you to sit between his legs and you happily obliged, immediately moving to sit in between them as your back rested on his chest. This was the closest you’ve ever been with him in six months, and you were taking it all in as he wrapped his arms around shoulders, and you placed your arms on top of his. 

The feeling of his body so close to yours had made you feel nostalgic. The moments where you two would lie in bed after sex or when he would put his arm around you as you walked the streets; those were the moments you missed the most because you felt so connected to him physically and emotionally. You longed for his warmth when you would go home to an empty bed and a bad day. You craved for his touch when you would lie awake at night as you stared at the ceiling, wondering what he was doing. 

But this moment was worth all the pain and heartache that you had to go through the past months. It was the only thing you were looking forward to when you were to be reunited with him again, and you almost forgot the feeling of his arms around you when you were stuck in your own world as you missed the security of his warmth. 

And you were happy. 

After another hour or two of relaxing on the beach in each other’s arms, you two decided to call it a day. You held Harry’s hand all the way back to your hotel room, and the separation was something you weren’t looking forward to. 

“Alright, I’ll see you soon, okay?” He said as he pulled you into a hug. Your head rested on his chest, hearing his beating heart pound through his chest as you wrapped your arms tightly around him—maybe too tightly. “Woah, woah. Might break me if you hug me any tighter,” he said jokingly. You embarrassingly loosened your arms, but you were still pressed up against him. You looked up at him, chin against his chest instead of the side of your face. 

You gave him a small smile, but there was a hint of sadness, he could tell. And he knew exactly why there was a tinge of sadness. 

“Hey, sweet girl,” he said softly, and your heart immediately started beating quite fast, but it swooned. The pet name that you hadn’t heard in so long was finally back, and throughout the whole day on the beach, you were wondering when or if he would call you that again. And when you finally heard it, the words were soft and slick like butter like you wanted to indulge into the sweetness of his words. 

Your eyes welled up with tears, “I’ve been wanting to hear you say that again for so long.” 

“Then I should’ve said it earlier, but I didn’t know if I was crossing the line.” 

“You’re never crossing the line with me,” 

Harry smiled, showing his dimples that you’ve missed, and he placed his hands on the side of your face before kissing your forehead softly, lingering his lips a little longer than he should have, but you didn’t mind whatsoever. 

He let go, raking his hands down both of your arms before holding your hand with his. “I should get going.” 

“Okay,” you responded as you nodded your head. He let go of one hand as he tried to walk away, but the hand that was still holding his, pulled him back. Harry studied your face as a frown was present. 

“Listen to me, okay? When I say I’ll see you soon, I don’t mean six months anymore. I mean in the next couple of days, but right now we have to get back to our friends, alright?” He said, looking you intently in the eyes. You sighed and nodded, believing that it won’t be months on end until you see him again. “Never gonna go that long without seeing you again. Hurts too much,” he pulled you in for one last hug, kissing the top of your head. “I’ll see you soon—I mean it,” he said once he let go. 

“Okay. I’ll see you soon, honey,” you let go of his hands as he slowly walked away. From a distance, he blew you a big kiss, and you caught his air kiss as you made a fist and brought it to your heart. “I’ll be waiting for the real thing!” You called out and you saw him smile widely. 

“Oh, I’ll definitely be there to give it to you! Soon, my sweet girl!” He yelled out back to you before blowing you multiple more kisses. 

At this point, you couldn’t stop beaming as you watched him walk away from your line of vision. The last time you watched him leave had ended in heartbreak, followed by heartache. But this time, you smiled as you watched him leave, knowing that you would be able to see him very soon and not wonder when you would. 

And you couldn’t wait to see his bright eyes and beautiful smile again, and of course, give a kiss to his pink lips. 

come chat with me in my inbox! 

CHAPTER SIX WILL BE POSTED SOON!

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[fantasyfootballfiction-blog]

Are you or a loved one living with a Fantasy Football Disorder?

If so, you may be entitled to my consolation.

Last Sunday, while switching back and forth between Fantasy Apps on my phone, scanning a sports bar’s wall of TVs for Red Zone action, and simultaneously receiving merciless trash talk from my opponents, I felt all the signs and symptoms of a condition that affects millions of fantasy football owners.

You, too, may have experienced these before:

Increased heart rate. Rapid breathing. Sweating. Irritability. Racing Thoughts. Loss of appetite. Confusion.

If you have felt any of all of the above symptoms, then you may be living with Fanxiety.

First off, do not be ashamed; Fanxiety is a condition found in 1 out of 3 owners who play fantasy football. If you suspect that you or an opponent are affected, there are certain telltale signs; have you or a loved one displayed these common behaviors recently?

- Slamming, throwing, or submerging a smartphone following a bad play - Yelling utter nonsense at the TV like “F**k you, Chris Collinsworth!!” - Making desperate trade offers and resorting to begging with your league to accept them - Realizing you forgot to set your lineup before the London game and smashing your alarm clock - Picking up O.J. Simpson off waivers because you can’t sustain another injury - Grabbing your friend, looking him in the eye, and shrieking “Why do we put ourselves through this????”

If these sound all too familiar, chances are that you could use some help, and I’m here to give it. I may not be a doctor, but having lived with Fanxiety for the past five years, I can offer my own advice for self-therapy.

The first thing to remember is that you’re not alone. Look at your league. I can guarantee that almost every team has dealt with season-long injuries. This past weekend fantasy owners everywhere sighed in frustration as Dalvin Cook and Chris Carson both went down to the IR. Our beloved Packers receiving back Ty Montgomery left in the first quarter of Thursday night’s game with broken ribs. These lineup setbacks can only add to fanxiety, but before you throw eggs at your opponent’s house for trading you Ty Montgomery last week, realize that first of all, it’s not his fault, it’s not your fault, and that most of us are part of the struggle. Plus, on the bright side, this makes it more likely that your competitors will be facing you with equally handicapped lineups.

The competition now becomes who is making better strategic moves to replace the injured. The next thing to consider when battling this disorder is that you can always turn things around. Have a look at the depth charts for the teams losing their 1st and 2nd tier RB and WRs. Chances are you’ve probably never heard of half the players that are being started at this point. Who the hell is J.D. McKissic? How should I know. What I do know is that he came out of nowhere and put on a show on Sunday night, so he’s worth stashing until the next Seattle RB starter joins the injury report. Latavius Murray is another waiver wire stud that many owners submitted claims for this past week. I’m still not sold on him replacing Dalvin Cook in a production sense. I’m looking to Jerrick McKinnon to share a good load of these carries. The free agent I’m most enthused about is Will Fuller V. He returned to the Texans receiving squad this past week and scored two touchdowns in his season debut. I fully expect him (no pun intended) to heat up along with the rest of the offense in Houston as we approach week 5.

Speaking of heating up, another positive thought to note is that the progression of the season is working very well in some of our favors. What I mean is that the some of the teams and subsequent players you may have sworn off are beginning to warm up, and your team may do the same. If you started the season on a bad note, then here’s my next affirmation, it’s always darkest before the dawn. Just ask the 2-2 Houston Texans, or the inspiring 3-1 Buffalo Bills, who no one expected to be leading the AFC East at this stage in the current season. While we’re talking long shots, how about them Eagles? As a former Philadelphian and an owner of Carson Wentz in multiple leagues, I have to say I love seeing the Birds soar to the top of the NFC East.

Here’s one more consolation for someone who suffers from unrelenting fantasy stress; it’s only week 5. I would say ‘it’s only fantasy football’, but if you’re actually reading this blog, chances are that you care about it way too much like I do. Being unreasonably obsessed with winning your leagues is nothing to be ashamed of, nor is coming in last place — well, as long as your league’s punishment for finishing last isn’t getting a Nickleback tattoo.

Ah, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling more at ease already. More hopeful. Less Fanxious. As we enter the first week of BYEs (well, if we’re not including the whole Hurricane-forced-BYE situation in week 1), stay optimistic, make good starts and never let fanxiety negatively impact your fantasy decisions.

Week 4 Awards

Despite my lack of wins in week 4, I’m still singing the praises of a few key players. Check out my hot-fire mixtape for fantasy performances in Week 4

1. Everybody Hurts (Cause Everybody’s Hurt) by The NFL

2. Ready or Not, Here I Come by Mitchell Trubisky

3. It Was a Good Day by Andy Dalton

4. Can I Kick It? (Yes You Can) by Greg Zuerlin

5. U Remind Me of a Cam That I Once Knew by Cam Newton

6. Born To Run by Le’Veon Bell

7. Another One Bites the Dust by Chris Carson and Dalvin Cook

BONUS TRACK

We Are Never Ever Ever, Getting Back Together by Me featuring Amari Cooper

Five Terrible Recommendations for Week 5

1. Kick yourself for not picking up Jared Goff when I told you to. And if you’re not in a two-QB league like mine where the owners fight like the Hunger Games over a solid waiver QB, try to pick him up. He’s thrown for 547 and 5 touchdowns over the past two weeks, and I like those numbers. The Rams are one of those teams that keeps getting warmer.

2. Make a (fair) trade for Will Fuller V. If he stays healthy and DeShaun Watson continues to shine, look for him to take on a decent size workload and project consistent points week to week.

3. Stash J.D. McKissic and hope that the Seahawks will see the level of potential that radiated from his breakout performance on Sunday night. Even with Chris Carson sidelined, I’m hesitant to start him, and that’s for two reasons. One, C.J. Prosise is set to return, and he’s at the bottom of a depth chart that includes Thomas Rawls and veteran Eddie Lacy. Two, even if he is the best choice for a lead back or even an RB2, we’re talking about the same team that blew a Super Bowl lead by throwing the ball when it could have easily been rushed into the endzone. Wise running back decisions are not really a strongpoint in Seattle.

4. Bench Amari Cooper. The obvious reason is that Derek Carr is hurt, but even if that were not so, I’ve moved on from expecting anything more than a low-end flex performance from this disappointing receiver.

5. Don’t get your hopes up about Cam Newton. It was nice to see a flash of the old Cam, but my gut is telling me to expect less of it in the future. I’ve talked a lot about players and teams warming up; though he lit a few flames last week, I believe this one is going to cool down.

[resilientreader]

1-98 for asks like we did a million years ago, I dare you

i knew the MOMENT i saw the notif in my inbox that it was gonna be YOU pulling this shit and i crossed my fingers when actually clicking, HOPING i wouldnt have to answer all 98, maybe you’ll be tame this time, but no! this is what you’re doing to me. and ykno what, Fine. u dare me and i Will do it. i hope u rb the asks post so i can do it to u too, tho

1. coffee mugs

2. chocolate bars

3. bubblegum

4. that smart student who always read instead of actually paying attention

5. soda from glass cups is the best

6. its hard to just Decide between all these styles so ill say which one applies to mine most, which i Gotta say has to b preppy even if i want like goth or grunge to b mixed in

7. headphones

8. good omens, fmab, castlevania, uhhhh. those are just the ones ive watched so far this summer

9. my grandparents’ home. which is kinda weird but i have a lot of summer memories there

10. i sucked at like Everything in p.e., there Was no best

11. leftovers

12. i cant choose a favorite playlist?? /some/ of them, tho, are soar my ethereal heart, neither here nor there, mountainside storms, and sync of my heartbeat. so like any of my more recent ones

13. lanyard

14. i had to google a list for this bc honestly i always eat just chocolates but i like starburst

15. fahrenheit 451 was a rly fun read. ray bradbury’s writing gave me inspo for metaphors and writing and such and it was rly nice

16. sprawled across one of those comfy armchairs where i can swing my legs over one arm n lay my head on the other one

17. my black converse

18. cool temperature and rain without storms, or a cloudy day that lets me take a nice walk

19. on my side if i can but on my back otherwise

20. on my laptop, in google docs, to be more specific

21. winnie the pooh

22. idk?? i try not to look to just one person for a source of “this is how i should be”, so i guess,,,, a mix of family members and then a couple like more famous ppl??? which would basically consist of one of my aunts, my dad, and jenna marbles, to keep my Brain Process for role model stuff simplified

23. i dunno if any of the habits i have are strange?? i bounce my right leg and my right hand kinda. like. shakes when im nervous. i cant rly think of anything else i do tho i Know i probably have other habits

24. amethyst or pyrite

25. ur really just assuming my memory is good enough for this but if i had to say, it’d be any popular song from 2009 specifically

26. hide in my room with a fan and ac

27. read with a blanket wrapped around me or smth

28. atlas: six by sleeping at last, flaws by bastille, atlas: five by sleeping at last, she by dodie, and neptune by sleeping at last. there are probably more/better ones but those are the first ones i found

29. listen. be open with me. talk with me. not to sound like that person, but sharing ur life secrets is a rly big ice breaker for me because it helps let me know i can trust u. but also idk im a really awkward person and can accidentally distance myself from ppl so when ppl notice theres smth up w me or even do the bare minimum of doing Their part to maintain a friendship, that’s always rad as shit when idk how to communicate what i need

30. my room, my high school’s auditorium, the local barnes and noble

31. black boots, black jeans, any button-up shirt that’ll match that combination OR a really cool sweatshirt

32. im a bad bitch, you cant kill me. road work ahead? uh, i sure hope it does. it is wednesday, my dudes! welcome to chili’s. i love you, bitch, and i ain’t ever gonna stop loving you, bitch.

33. probably “omg” or “oh my god”

34. sc johnson. a family company.

35. i dont even have one but on a good night like 10-11

36. the troll face memes

37. suitcases feel much more organized

38. lemonade

39. lemon cake

40. ummmmm....one time a tech/theatre kid left a paint can sitting out in the open accidentally and a person took a shit in it or smth then knocked over the can, spilled a bunch of paint, and tried to clean it up w a broom and proceeded to like snap the broom in half. then they ran away to leave the kids to clean it up the next day. i wasnt actually there for that but ive heard the story firsthand enough times to Know

41. my dad

42. jacket pockets

43. hoodie is what i wear, tho everything else is Very Good

44. lavender

45. fantasy, my dudes

46. this set of pjs i got for xmas w a soft tshirt and matching baggy flannel pants

47. colby jack

48. uhhh a banana?? i could probably give a better answer if i was more

49. i dont rly live by a quote or saying, i just Go for it

50. my sister has probably done smth before to like Break me

51. everything ever but mostly myself

52. arial

53. uhhh...kinda worn? my nails aren’t doin so good and i have a couple scratches and stuff that Still havent healed after a few weeks

54. get a move on

55. the ugly duckling

56. tradition is kinda vague but i like that it became tradition for me and my siblings to go to my grandparents’ home every summer

57. i think im still overcoming like everything ive been faced with ever

58. writing? listening, helping, giving advice. idk tbh like talents who?

59. "jesus christ, my dude”

60. a fantasy/comedy, or at least if its gonna be fantasy with death and stuff, it should be dope as fuck

61. "isn’t vulnerability the opposite of being in control?” from a webcomic called aerial magic. super simple but the entire scene leading up to it,,,,,so good

62. umm fuck! i dont kno whether favs r usually ones that i relate to or ones that i wanna b like but??? keith from voltron, jirou from bnha, chromedome and/or rewind from transformers/mtmte, sypha from castlevania, and jayfeather from warriors

63. planetary (go!) by mcr, the seed by aurora, hayloft by mother mother, the cup/halloween blues from relient k, choke by i dont know how but they found me

64. coolmath was THE shit

65. yes! two on my leg from a surgery i had to get to realign my femur, bc i snapped the bone in half

66. lavender, snowdrops, hibiscus

67. i dont really have any, mostly bc i have a hard time attaching like. That sorta meaning to just random objects, but i do still have a small teddy bear stashed safely away in my room from when i was a little babee

68. pickle-flavored pringles. disgusting. would not recommend

69. lions’ roars can be heard up to 5 miles away from the original source

70. right handed

71. horizontal stripes, i guess? there’s not much wrong with them but i just Never wear them

72. math

73. i dont usually eat /weird/ flavor combos, even tho ill eat basically anything, but i like ketchup in mac and cheese sometimes. or fries in shakes. chicken and waffles. stuff like that

74. 11

75. idek honestly, my memory is too bad

76. hashbrowns

77. i dont kno a Lot of plants off the top of my head other than the Basic ones but literally any flower in a windowsill is like bone apple teeth in my mind

78. sushi from a grocery store. publix taught me that grocery stores can, in fact, be trusted when needed

79. my school id photo

80. earth tones

81. fireflies

82. pc

83. writing

84. talk radio is nostalgic but podcasts are always more entertaining to actually listen to

84. polly pocket

85. mythology with a dash of fairytales

86. cupcakes, because of my dog’s name

87. abandonment

88. to grow unbreakable attachments with everyone i care very deeply about and grow into an old age with them, or something

89. i feel like answering this question totally honestly would hurt ppl’s feelings, but also i literally could think of like 4 people to put down for this and i’m bad at deciding, esp w smth like this, so. not to b vague but These People kno who they are

90. becoming a part of a certain website with a bad crowd and managing to pick out the good apples in such a rotten batch

91. boxes

92. lamps /and/ fairy lights

93. i dont rly have any but my parents call me hannah banana. that’s ab it, tho

94. fall/winter? it kinda is inconsistent because fall has bad weather in florida but winter is when like everything has Gone Wrong in life these past few years, but then fall has such a GOOD aesthetic and my birthday is in winter, so they’re pretty even rn

95. uhhh??? thats such a weird thing, to try and assign a “favorite” app, but the only thing i could think to say would be spotify just bc i use it so much on my phone, even if the app itself isnt the greatest

96. i havent set one, actually, bc im lazy and havent found anything that’d fit

97. 2 and a half

98. the part where fish were learning that they could walk on land

[partydesire3-blog]

Grading the Eagles’ 2019 draft picks

The 2019 NFL Draft is over and now it’s time for everyone’s favorite activity: NFL Draft Grades! You may believe that draft grades are completely meaningless and arbitrary at this point, but you’re wrong. This is about grading the process, not just the results.

As a reminder, here’s this year’s Eagles draft class:

1st - No. 22 - Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State

2nd - No. 53 - Miles Sanders, RB, Penn State

2nd - No. 57 - JJ Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford

4th - No. 138 - Shareef Miller, DE, Penn State

5th - No. 167 - Clayton Thorson, QB, Northwestern

I believe in accounting for transactions made with draft picks when judging a class. So, I also factor these deals into the equation:

The Eagles traded their 2019 third-round (No. 88) for Golden Tate. Tate walked in free agency, which will potentially allow Philly to recoup a fourth-round compensatory pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Eagles traded their 2019 sixth-round compensatory pick (No. 208) for DeSean Jackson and the Buccaneers’ 2020 seventh-round pick.

The Eagles traded the 2019 seventh-round pick (No. 222) they acquired from the Broncos in the Allen Barbre trade to the Bears in September 2018 to acquire Deiondre’ Hall.

The Eagles traded their 2019 seventh-round pick (No. 239) to the Patriots to move up 27 spots in the 2018 NFL Draft and draft Jordan Mailata.

The Eagles traded the 2019 seventh-round pick (No. 246) they acquired from the Patriots to the Colts for defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway.

But enough about trades, let’s get back to this year’s actual selections.

ANDRE DILLARD

This is the pick that will ultimately make or break Philadelphia’s 2019 draft class.

The Eagles called Dillard a top 10 player on their board and they clearly wanted him as they traded up from No. 25 to No. 22 to select him. It’s not hard to see why the Eagles valued Dillard so much. He boasts elite athleticism and realistically has potential to be a very good starting left tackle for the next decade once Jason Peters retires. It’ll be pretty awesome if the Eagles can just plug Dillard in once Peters is gone and not have to worry about that spot again for a long time.

Dillard’s development will be aided by the fact he doesn’t necessarily have to play right away. While he bides his time as a backup, he should greatly benefit from learning from both Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and Peters himself.

Dillard also provides short-term value. He can be the team’s swing tackle if they’re able to find a suitable Halapoulivaati Vaitai trade. If Big V isn’t traded, he’s a really good fourth tackle to have behind Peters, Lane Johnson, and Dillard. It doesn’t hurt to be so deep at such a critical position, especially with Peters prone to injury and Johnson being one failed PEDs test away from a 32-game suspension.

Protecting Carson Wentz is one of the most important things the Eagles need to do. Drafting Dillard allows the team to better keep No. 11 safe in the long-term.

MILES SANDERS

Eagles fans have been calling for the team to draft a worthwhile running back for years now and they finally obliged with the Sanders selection.

It’s not hard to see how Sanders fits into the offense. He’ll immediately have a role in the team’s running back rotation. Due to his 4.49 speed and ability to make defenders miss, Sanders has the potential to be the lightning to Jordan Howard’s thunder in 2019.

Some have suggested that Sanders might immediately overtake Howard’s role as the 1A in Philly’s rotation. While that’d be nice to see since Howard is a free agent after this year and might not be long for Philly, I don’t agree. Sanders was a liability at times in pass protection in college:

Duce Staley will do his best to work with the 21-year-old Sanders and develop his game. Still, I see Sanders as a rotational player as a rookie before potentially taking over as “the guy” in the rotation in 2020.

Sanders’ potential is intriguing; I’m looking forward to watching him this season. But the Eagles really need him to hit his ceiling for the value of this pick to be worth it. You don’t spend a second-round pick on a running back for him to be merely “solid.”

JJ ARCEGA-WHITESIDE

The value of this pick seems right; it doesn’t feel like the Eagles reached for JJAW here. The question is: was it the best value to be had at this spot? Would the Eagles have been better served to trade down from No. 57 after making their pick at No. 53? There were still a lot of preferable options on the board, including some talented safety prospects.

But alas, JJAW was the selection. Watching him more, it’s hard not to like what you see on film. He’s downright dominant at the catch point. Throw the ball up to him and he’s going to get it (of course, we need to see Wentz more willing to make those trust throws). JJAW doesn’t exactly have the reptuation of a burner but he did reportedly run in the 4.4’s and he’s able to create separation with his route-running.

So, I don’t doubt the talent here. I kind of just question the fit. How much does JJAW contribute this year when Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, and Nelson Agholor are all ahead of him on the depth chart? And how much are the Eagles using a fourth receiver when they’re saying they want to run more 12 personnel with both Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert on the field?

Of course, the JJAW pick isn’t just about this year. He could be a potential Jeffery replacement considering Alshon could be released to save over $10M next year. That’s not to suggest the Eagles should or need to cut Jeffery. I’m just saying the option is there if JJAW proves to be good.

One thing that bothers me about the JJAW pick is that he’s another player who doesn’t really makes things happen with the ball in his hands. His agility testing was bad; he’s not a YAC guy. It was frustrating to watch Eagles skill players fail to make defenders miss in 2018. It’d be nice if they had some guys who were a little more dynamic in that regard.

One of the most intriguing things about the JJAW pick is how the Eagles now have some really big and physical pass catchers. JJAW is 6-2, 225 and plays ever bigger than his size. Then there are these guys:

Alshon Jeffery — 6-3, 218 Zach Ertz — 6-5, 250 Dallas Goedet — 6-4, 260 Mack Hollins — 6-4, 221

The Eagles should be absolutely feasting in the red zone.

SHAREEF MILLER

It’s cool to see the Eagles draft a guy from Philly. But can he actually play?

Not yet. The Eagles didn’t draft Miller to be an immediate difference maker. He’s definitely going to behind Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, and Vinny Curry on the depth chart. Miller would also be behind Chris Long if he returns, though it currently seems like Long won’t be back.

Miller will be competing for playing time with guys like Josh Sweat, Daeshon Hall, and Joe Ostman. The Penn State alumnus might be more of a developmental player for Philly early in his career before becoming a regular member of the pass rush rotation.

It’s always a good thing to invest in pass rushers. Miller’s probably going to take some time before being a meaningful contributor, though.

CLAYTON THORSON

I won’t beat around the bush: I’m not a huge fan of this pick.

I get the “need” for another quarterback with Nate Sudfeld set to be a free agent after this season. But, uh, did they Eagles have to use a fifth-round pick to replace Sudfeld next year? I mean, they got Sudfeld himself off the scrap heap back in 2017.

When I watch Thorson, I do see some Nick Foles in him. He even has the “he just wins!” argument built in given his 36-17 record as a starter, with three bowl game victories.

It’s highly questionable how much those wins really matter, though. And how much of the winning was really attributable to Thorson when he was posting some pretty bad stats? Thorson had the worst adjusted net yards per passing attempt out of 22 quarterback prospects in this year’s class. SB Nation’s Bill Connelly compares Thorson to Daniel Jones ... except without the good games mixed in.

NFL.com’s scouting report for Thorson indicates he has a “chance” to become an average level backup. That’s just not very exciting. Neither is the fact he has an injury history due to a torn ACL in 2018.

Maybe Thorson defies expectation and ends up being better than I’m giving him credit for. The Eagles clearly see something they like in him. But I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be seeing that makes me feel so great about this pick.

(I might consider changing my stance if his name was Thorson Clayton instead.)

OVERALL

This is the second year in a row where the Eagles only ended up making five picks. Per BGN alumnus Jimmy Kempski, that’s tied for the fewest selections in the past two years. That’s both 1) not ideal and 2) weird for a team that has an owner who just said the Eagles believing in drafting in volume because there’s so much luck involved with the draft.

My genuine feeling is that I’m not thrilled by this draft class. I don’t feel like the Eagles hit a home run by any means. At the same time, I don’t feel like the Eagles royally scewed everything up. The Dillard pick was so important that the importance of the rest of the class kind of pales in comparsion.

I’m totally fine with the Eagles investing in the offense as much as they did. That’s the more important side of the ball in today’s NFL. Look no further than the top four offenses all playing in this year’s Conference Championship games.

If the Eagles are going to get back to the Super Bowl, it’s going to be because Carson Wentz leads them there. Philadelphia drafted one player who will be able to protect him from getting hit and two other players who can serve as weapons for him. They even drafted a potential backup for Wentz should he get hurt again.

So, the Eagles’ philosophy seems sound to me. I do have some questions about their execution, though, as I touched on with my individual thoughts of each pick. I’ll give the Eagles a B grade.

Here’s how Eagles fans here at Bleeding Green Nation graded the Eagles’ 2019 draft class. Looks like we’re on the same page:

See below for more grades from around the web.

Philly did the right thing in trading up with the Ravens to take Washington State left tackle Andre Dillard with the 22nd pick—Dillard is an NFL-ready pass-protector, and he’ll learn the run game quickly. And with their two second-round picks, the Eagles took players ready to contribute right away in Penn State running back Miles Sanders and Stanford receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, who will be especially helpful as a contested-catch receiver. But with just five picks, general manager Howie Roseman and his staff did nothing to address obvious needs in the secondary, and that’s a problem in a very deep class that had first- and second-round talent dropping to the third day.

Michael Kist gave his explanation for this grade on the latest episode of Bleeding Green Nation’s podcast. [You can click here to listen.]

The Eagles will go as far as Carson Wentz can take them. To keep him healthy, the Eagles moved up in the first round to secure left tackle Andre Dillard. It’s a shrewd move, but he’ll sit for at least a season behind Jason Peters. It was clear that Philadelphia had to come out with a running back. After skipping on Josh Jacobs in the first round, the Eagles used the No. 53 pick on Miles Sanders of Penn State. He’s a quick back who will make people miss. He’s not much for contact, but he’ll get a nice share of carries for Philadelphia. Wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside gives Wentz a nice jump-ball target. It’s curious that they didn’t address cornerback.

Jeffrey Lurie said at the 2019 owners meetings that the Eagles want to be a “volume” drafting team. Making 10 picks in two years is the exact opposite of that. The Eagles have a need to find as much young, cheap talent as they can get in preparation of a Carson Wentz contract extension, which is going to be huge rock in the salary cap jar. Those young players are found in the draft, and they’re cheap on their rookie contracts for four years. While the Eagles have acquired a number of veterans with their draft picks, and some of them (not Golden Tate) panning out in the short-term, this trend of making a low number picks has to stop in 2020.

Philadelphia had to fill its needs in this draft with just seven total picks. That’s tough. It actually ended up trading out and finished with just five picks. GM Howie Roseman has had a nice offseason by efficiently filling holes with deals for Malik Jackson, Vinny Curry, DeSean Jackson and Jordan Howard. In other words, the Eagles haven’t overspent. That’s important as they get ready to give Carson Wentz a massive contract.

I thought safety might be a target in Round 1 with Malcolm Jenkins entering his age-32 season. The secondary was depleted by injuries in an up-and-down 2018 season. But I also thought offensive tackle made a ton of sense based on where the Eagles were picking (No. 25) and how the board might fall. Stalwart left tackle Jason Peters is 37, and they needed to decide whether Lane Johnson is being an elite right tackle or a good left tackle.

That’s why I wasn’t surprised to see the Eagles make sure to get their guy by trading up three spots and grabbing Andre Dillard at No. 22. He’s a true left tackle and the best pass protector in the class. He’s the heir apparent to Peters. But the trade was also costly for a team with limited capital, as Philly also had to give up fourth- and sixth-round picks. It needed to have a solid Day 2, which included an extra second-round pick from the Ravens as part of the trade to get Lamar Jackson last year.

That’s what the Eagles did. I’m a big fan of both of these second-round picks. Running back Miles Sanders (No. 53) and wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside (No. 57) both made the list of my favorite prospects by position. Sanders, Saquon Barkley’s backup for two years, has limited tread on his tires and can help in the passing game. Arcega-Whiteside could put Nelson Agholor’s future in question -- he’s a red zone threat with solid separation skills. Defensive end Shareef Miller (No. 138), who had 15 tackles for loss last season, fits coordinator Jim Schwartz’s attacking style. And Clayton Thorson (No. 167) can be a decent No. 2 or 3 quarterback behind Wentz.

So, yes, I like what Roseman & Co. did this weekend, but it’s tough to say it’s stellar with just five picks. I do expect Philly to be a playoff team again in 2019.

Kapadia: In some ways, this draft unfolded for the Eagles in surprising fashion. They ended up making just five picks and adding only one defensive player. This comes weeks after Jeffrey Lurie went on record saying that the organization believed in volume drafting — specifically when thinking about how to build around a potentially expensive Carson Wentz. But offensive tackle Andre Dillard slipping to the 20s changed the Eagles’ plan. They saw a high-upside player at a premium position and decided to be aggressive. Overall, the Eagles may get immediate contributions from just one rookie — running back Miles Sanders. JJ Arcega-Whiteside could eventually replace Alshon Jeffery, but if the wide receivers ahead of him are healthy, the rookie figures to be a role player in 2019. The additions on offense in the draft, combined with the moves to get DeSean Jackson and Jordan Howard earlier this offseason, leave Doug Pederson and Wentz with plenty to work with — there’s no excuse for this to not be a top five offense in 2019. This was not the most exciting draft, and I would have liked to see the Eagles end up with more picks, but I specifically like what they did in the first three rounds.

Wulf: If you’ll allow me to take a Rhys Hoskins home run trot, just think about how much better this draft class could look if the Eagles had never surrendered a third-round pick for a certain slot receiver without having a plan for utilizing said slot receiver. Process-wise, the decision to move up to select a player the Eagles considered the draft’s best left tackle was absolutely the right thing to do. Staying patient on Day 2 also made sense, considering their situation, and I’m fond of the Sanders pick. Though the Eagles lack pick volume, they did have three picks in the first two rounds, which is where the vast majority of impact players are selected. The offense is the more important side of the ball and the Eagles have done their work to help that unit both in the short and long term. The defense, especially the defensive line, leaves a little to be desired, but the Eagles still have time to make more patchwork moves there and at linebacker. If you had told Howie Roseman before the draft that the Eagles would only make five picks and that none of their first three picks would have been a defensive lineman, I’m sure he would have been surprised. But securing a potential franchise left tackle probably makes up for it. Given how they entered draft weekend, I’d grade the process as a B+, but I have to ding them once more for Golden Tate.

Second-round RB Miles Sanders could be a rookie of the year dark horse for a team that struggled to fill the position in 2018. First-round LT Andre Dillard and the other second rounder, WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, look like shrewd investments who may not have to start for another year.

Howie Roseman kicked off the Eagles’ draft with a bang, sending Baltimore fourth- and sixth-rounders to leapfrog the tackle-needy Texans for Dillard, easily the top pass protector in the draft. He is 37-year-old Jason Peters’ heir apparent at one of football’s most-valuable positions. Neck and neck with Josh Jacobs for this year’s top running back prospect, Sanders brings true feature back potential to Philly with a far more versatile game than two-down thumper Jordan Howard. I was not as impressed with Arcega-Whiteside’s tape as other observers, but he remains an intriguing size-speed-ball skills specimen after leading the nation in contested-catch conversion rate last year. Thorson threw way too many picks at Northwestern as a game-manager quarterback. Miller adds depth to a front-four rotation where the Eagles emphasize depth in waves. This class isn’t blowing anyone away with only five draftees, but its grade improves when you include pick-swap acquisitions WR DeSean Jackson and DT Hassan Ridgeway.

Day 1:

Easily one of PFF’s favorite pass protectors in this year’s class, former Washington State offensive tackle Andre Dillard had the highest pass-blocking grade of any starting tackle in the country at 91.9 this past season. He earned 90.0-plus pass-blocking grades in each of his past three seasons with the Cougars, as well. Philly hit a home run with this pick at No. 22.

“If he went top-10, I wouldn’t have batted an eye. And this is foresight that you love to see from your GM.” – Pro Football Focus’ Lead Draft Analyst Mike Renner

Day 2:

A former five-star recruit, Penn State’s Miles Sanders sat behind the only running back in the country that could have forced him to sit as long as he did in Saquon Barkley. Sanders is a premier talent with great balance, elusiveness and improving pass-catching ability. Positional value (justly) forced Sanders down to No. 82 on PFF’s board, but as far as running backs go, he’s still one of the best in the class.

Former Stanford wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside, a PFF favorite and first-round talent on the final board, is a steal for Philly at pick No. 57. He’s fantastic in contested-catch situations and in the red zone. He will also surprise many at the next level with his ability to separate on intermediate and deep routes.

Day 3:

Penn State edge defender Shareef Miller brings admirable size (6-foot-4, 254 pounds) and athleticism to the table, but the Penn State alumnus still has a long way to go before he’s a finished product in the NFL. He earned just a 72.8 overall grade and a 71.4 pass-rush grade in 2018.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie made it sound like the Eagles were going stock the cupboard with draft picks this weekend, but for the second straight year, the draft ends, and the Eagles have only five picks. But three of those players — Dillard, Sanders and Arcega-Whiteside — could project as future starters, while Miller could be a solid rotational piece. The Thorson pick can still raise some eyebrows, but it appears to be foresight. The Eagles also flipped a seventh-round pick to the Colts for a young defensive tackle in Hassan Ridgeway.

Getting Andre Dillard at 1.22 was highway robbery. I was stunned he fell -- I think he was the offensive linemen in this class, and a top-6 overall talent. They continued to build up on offense with second-round RB Miles Sanders and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. Arcega-Whiteside provides a sturdy red-zone target for Caron Wentz even if he never develops much beyond that, while Sanders has starter upside. Philly rounded out their shining class with an upside edge rusher in Shareef Miller and a ho-hum career-backup-to-be Clayton Thorson.

Every pick made sense for the Eagles, especially when you look a few years down the road. Andre Dillard is a project for Jeff Stoutland, one of football’s highest-regarded offensive line coaches. The hope is the Washington State product can step in at left tackle next year when 37-year-old future Hall-of-Famer Jason Peters likely retires. Dillard was not asked to execute NFL-style run-blocks much at WSU, and his progress there is crucial because Philadelphia’s offense is predicated on having a schematically diverse ground game. Injuries in the backfield prevented that last year, which is why, even after trading a conditional sixth-round pick for Bears zone-running ace Jordan Howard, the Eagles spent a second-rounder on Miles Sanders, a smooth three-down back who, unlike Howard, has the lateral agility to create his own space. Sanders will contribute right away and probably earn the top role in 2020. At wideout, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside offers the detailed mechanics and steady possession traits to consistently capitalize on opportunities created by Doug Pederson’s two-and three-receiver route combinations. His presence makes it easier to trade Nelson Agholor this year or let him walk next year. Also helping for next year is Shareef Miller, who adds options at defensive end, where veterans Chris Long and/or Vinny Curry might depart. (It’s possible Long could even be gone before this season.)

Jason Peters has had a great NFL career, but he’s 37 years old and his contract is due to expire after next season. Dillard and Lane Johnson will form a great tandem whenever Peters moves on, and giving up a late fourth- and sixth-rounder to trade up for Dillard was more than acceptable to get an elite pass protector. The Eagles decided not to pick Alabama RB Josh Jacobs in the first round, but they got the second-best back in the draft in the second round. Sanders will be an impact back who could see his role grow quickly with Jordan Howard due to become a free agent after the 2019 season. Arcega-Whiteside will be a red-zone stud and general safety valve for Carson Wentz. Miller will offer a strong pass rush for the Eagles despite falling to the end of the fourth round. The Thorson pick made plenty of sense with Wentz coming off injury and Nick Foles gone.

...

GRADE RECAP:

A = 1 A- = 2 B+ = 1 B = 5 B- = 2 C+ = 1 C = 1

Overall average grade: B

Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2019/4/28/18521315/nfl-draft-grades-2019-grading-philadelphia-eagles-picks-andre-dillard-miles-sanders-clayton-thorson

[flauntpage]

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23

Turns out a healthy Nick Foles is better than an injured Carson Wentz.

Shocking, I know.

That should really be the extent of the “Foles vs. Wentz” argument that will stink up social media and sports radio this week. One guy is healthy, one guy is not. THEREFORE – at this current moment in time, I’m gonna roll with the healthy Super Bowl MVP. It seems pretty straightforward to me, but unfortunately we’re just gonna have to deal with the frothy nothing-burger quarrels for the next seven days.

I’ll tell ya what; that was the first Eagles game I enjoyed watching this year, at least for three quarters. They moved the ball up and down the field, they played aggressive and nasty defense, and I swear I saw glimpses of the 2017 squad out there.

This, of course, begs the question –

Where was this Eagles team against the Buccaneers, Titans, Vikings, Panthers, Cowboys, Saints, and Cowboys?

Surely the quarterback change was not the sole catalyst for the win, right? Nick Foles did play the first two games this season, and he wasn’t exactly Joe Montana against the Falcons or Bucs. The banged-up defense was lights out for 3+ quarters last night as guys like Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc made big plays. Did they miraculously transform into legitimate NFL starters overnight?

Gut feeling: the Eagles still believed in themselves while the Rams believed they were going to trash a 6-7 team in a rebound game coming off a bad loss. It’s the same underdog mentality that got the Birds a Super Bowl ring last year. “No one likes us, we don’t care” was the rallying cry then, but this year it’s more, “No one thinks we have a prayer, and we probably don’t, but we’re gonna at least go down swinging.” Maybe we can get that on a T-shirt.

I’ve been totally unenthusiastic about this team and actually mostly ambivalent over the past three or four weeks, so I won’t flip flop here and tell you how excited I am going forward. That would be the Skip Bayless thing to do, to just hop back on the bandwagon. I’m still skeptical that a banged-up Eagles team does much of anything in the playoffs, but at least they’ve given themselves a chance at 9-7 and a postseason return after slogging through a mostly miserable title defense in 2018.

1) Nick “The Franchise” Foles

He gets the ball out quicker than Carson does. That’s the big difference. Nick glides through his progressions and takes what the defense gives him. He’ll stand in the pocket and take a hit while Carson is more inclined to extend a play and try to make something happen in that fashion.

It’s not to say that Nick is better than Carson, because I don’t think he is. I think they are both pretty damn good when they’re on their game. Statistically, Foles finished 24 for 31 for 270 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. last night and the Eagles’ offense was a meager 4-13 on third down. Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams and Jake Elliott did the scoring.

The difference between healthy Foles and injured Carson is that healthy Foles was able to stay ahead of the chains with smart and simple plays on first and second down. He had first down conversions on 2nd and 10 and 2nd and 7 on first half scoring drives. He hit Golden Tate for 11 yards on a 2nd and 10 in the third quarter. There were only nine passing third down conversions last night, but Nick made them count and really did a nice job averting the dreaded three and out.

The only two horrendous passes I saw were the interception at the goal line and a risky screen that he probably should have thrown into the ground, but he was otherwise solid.

I wrote a story last week called “Throwing the Football Down the Field” and went through Carson’s last three game charts to find that he was 2-8 in completed passes of 20 or more yards against the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys.

Last night, Nick was 3-5 in this category, all of which came down the right side of the field and took advantage of Alshon Jeffery’s ability to grab the ball in traffic:

That really was important, those deep shots. Carson was barely throwing those, and I wonder if the back injury was affecting his ability to step into those throws, or if the torque of the motion made those shots outside the hashmarks painful to even execute.

At the end of the day, Nick has one touchdown and two interceptions in three games this season. I don’t think he “won the game” for the Eagles last night, as some people are saying this morning, but he was steady last night, he kept the offense on the field, he got different receivers involved, and he picked and chose his spots really well.

2) Play calling

With Nick in the game, I was obviously very interested in how Doug decided to use him. Simplified game plan? Different sets?

Here’s what I wrote down for called plays:

Shotgun – run: 21

Shotgun – pass: 30

Under center – run: 6

Under center – pass: 2

I have it as a 32 to 27 pass/run split. The box score has it as a 33/28 split, so I must have missed one in there. Maybe I was on the toilet. Also, I’d have to go back and watch the entire film to see how many RPOs Doug called, since it’s nearly impossible to watch every blocking scheme in real time. Let’s just pretend this is a Quinnipiac poll with a +3 or -3 margin of error in called runs and called passes.

Either way, that’s a really nice balance, about 54% passing and 46% running. If you want to take away the final three run plays on the clock-killing final drive, you still get a 57% to 43% mix, which is a lot better than what Doug usually winds up with.

A couple of other play notes here:

QB scrambles: 2

Draw plays: 1

running back screens: 3

wide receiver screens: 3

They had two screen looks to Alshon and still tried a few RB screens even with Corey Clement not available. Doug ran 17 straight shotgun plays before trying to go under center, and Jason Peters false started on that first attempt. They finished with about 86% of their plays coming out of the shotgun and 14% coming from under center, which is not dissimilar from what they did with Carson this year.

3) Big boy blocking

Truthfully, I hated the play call on the Adams touchdown run. You’re gonna run behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert?

It ended up being the best bit of blocking either guy has shown all year:

Goedert gets the first block and Ertz follows him through the hole to reach the second level. Adams squirts right through while Marcus Peters shows absolutely no interest in making a tackle at all.

Great blocking, exhibit B:

Do not let Russ see Jason Peters opening up a gaping hole, a hole that your grandmother could walk through.

Goedert is in there again, go figure.

One more play, featuring…. guess who? –

The offensive line was excellent last night. This wasn’t a game where the running backs were gashing the Rams for huge chunks of yards, but the red zone blocking was just elite, well-executed stuff.

4) Guys stepping up

Big games from all of these dudes:

Wendell Smallwood: 10 carries, 48 yards, 2 touchdowns

Avonte Maddox: started at outside corner, had a 2nd quarter interception, two pass break-ups and quality coverage on the game’s final play

Cre’Von LeBlanc: he was “flying around” out there

Rasul Douglas: putting big hits on people

D.J. Alexander: big fumble recovery on special teams

Raise your hand if you had those five guys making contributions to the win.

.

.

.

Yep, me neither.

Both lines were fantastic on the evening. Jeffery had his best game of the year. Zach Ertz still had seven targets despite the “reduced” role and Tate had some chunky yardage pickups, too.

5) Blitz me

Jim Schwartz called a really nice game. He pressured Jared Goff, who predictably folded like a soft California guy.

On the final play, Schwartz brought both linebackers and left his five defensive backs in man-to-man deep coverage:

I look at that play again and see Nate Gerry turn around to say something to Malcolm Jenkins. I wonder if that was a miscommunication or just a good sell job, because Gerry comes on a delayed blitz and I think that forces Goff to get rid of the ball a little bit earlier than he wanted to. Either way, I thought it was a pretty gutsy call to send six guys instead of just dropping 7 or 8 into coverage.

Well done, Jim Schwartz.

6) Officiating

After last week’s debacle, I’ve decided to make this a recurring entry in the column. This will continue through the rest of the season and into next year.

We had a rare “grasping the helmet opening” call on the second Eagles drive that moved the sticks on third down. Marcus Peters didn’t think it was a penalty, but replay shows he had a hand inside Smallwood’s dome. Good pickup by the ref there, leading to a key conversion.

I didn’t think the Aaron Donald hit on Foles was a roughing the QB penalty. He did get him high, sure, but he didn’t strike him in the head and he didn’t exactly follow through or bring him to the ground. Looked like he got him across the shoulder.

I thought the Eagles also got a generous spot on the third down conversion just before halftime, the 3rd and 2 to Dallas Goedert that resulted in a touchdown. Eagles fans would be complaining if the other team got this spot:

Thankfully the two key review plays were correct. That was the fake punt catch that was overturned and the Rasul Douglas goal line tackle that ultimately didn’t mean too much. I’m just happy we didn’t get a huge outrageous controversy this time around, so praise the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven for that.

7) The peripherals

Here we go:

won time of possession battle, 32 to 28 minutes

+2 turnover margin

4-13 on third down (30.7%)

0-1 on fourth down

allowed LA to go 4-12 on third down (33%)

lost 0 yards on 0 sacks

3-5 success rate in red zone

six penalties for 49 yards

That’s much more like the 2017 Eagles. They won the TOP on the strength of that +2 turnover margin. The defense really did a nice job of limiting third down conversions after allowing Dallas to go 10-19 for 52% last week. Zero sacks against that Rams line is excellent, and six penalties for 49 yards is more than manageable.

Good stuff all around.

8) Doug’s best call?

I liked 3rd and 4 draw play with Sproles on the first drive. LA wasn’t expecting that.

I also agreed with the decision to kick the field goal at about the four minute mark in the third quarter. Take the points, keep the momentum on the road, and make it a two-score game.

I honestly also did not have a problem with the 53-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter. That’s aggressive Doug. That’s the Doug we want, right? If Elliott hits that kick, the game is over. Shrug.

9) Doug’s worst call?

I didn’t have any issue with him going for it on 4th down near midfield in the first half, but the play call was what? Josh Adams out of the shotgun? The 3rd down play got you into 4th and short, and that’s what you come up with? And you do it with a guy who had left the game earlier with a head injury?

That was a weird one. Doug is good for at least one of those per game.

The only other play that kind of bothered me was the decision to run Sproles on 3rd and 8 in the fourth quarter. He almost converted, but that offensive series felt a little passive to me with about eight minutes on the clock and a 14-point lead. This game didn’t have to come down to the final play, but the Eagles half-bottled it on both sides of the field.

10) Awful announcing

How ’bout that Fresh Prince clip to start off the broadcast? Everybody hated it, but whatever, at least it wasn’t a shot of a cheesesteak or the Liberty Bell.

And how ’bout Cris Collinsworth doing his Sunday night slide in from the left side instead of the right?

#CollinsworthSlide Audible!

pic.twitter.com/zKl0ALKo8v

— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 17, 2018

“Now here’s a guy…”

That threw me for a loop. Collinsworth always slides in from the right. Cheeky stuff right there.

Couple of other random notes from the broadcast:

Norristown native Tommy Lasorda looks pretty good for age 91

I prefer Terry McAuley to Dean Blandino and Mike Perreira.

I cringed when Collinsworth said, “All that’s missing now is the Rocky music.“

Al Michaels still seems somewhat bored to me. I think he’s ready to retire.

That’s it. Happy Monday.

The post A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[dmartin-blog]

Week 15 NFL odds, picks, how to watch, stream: Colts win thriller over Cowboys, Patriots over Steelers

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I’ll be honest guys, I almost didn’t get my picks done this week and that’s because I decided that watching 71 straight replays of the “Miami Miracle” would be a better use of my time than finishing my Week 15 picks.

If you put the word “miracle” next to a football play, there’s a 100 percent chance that I’ll be watching it on a loop, non-stop, for at least three straight days. I didn’t leave my house for a month after the “Minneapolis Miracle.”

With the play in Miami, you have to watch it at least 10 times just to fully appreciate the poor tackling effort that Rob Gronkowski made at the end of Kenyan Drake’s run. You know what, let’s watch it one more time, because you can never watch it too many times.

That will never get old. Patriots fans are going to be forced to watch replays of that and the helmet catch for the rest of eternity, which is enough to make you feel good inside.

You know what else makes you feel good inside? Watching football, and we’ll be getting plenty of it this week. As a matter of fact, Week 15 is the only week of the entire NFL season where we get treated to four days of football (Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday). I’m not good at math, but I think that means more than half our week is going to involve football, which means I need to hurry up and get to these picks, because we don’t have any time to waste.

Actually, before we get to the fun stuff, here’s your weekly reminder to check out the picks from all our other CBS Sports NFL writers, which you can do by clicking here. Also, if you’re looking for a new podcast to listen to — and who isn’t — you can click here and subscribe to the Pick Six Podcast. I team up with Will Brinson, Ryan Wilson and Sean Wagner-McGough every week for an NFL recap show that you can download each and every Monday morning during the season. It’s basically music for your ears, except no one actually sings.

Alright, I think I’ve delayed long enough, so let’s get to these picks.

Stream Thursday’s game and all of Sunday’s games on fuboTV, try it for free, and stream the CBS games on CBS All Access.

NFL Week 15 Picks

L.A. Chargers (10-3) at Kansas City (11-2)

8:20 p.m. ET, Thursday (Fox/NFL Network)

Guys, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that this is the final Thursday night game of the season. That’s bad news because I’m not sure what I’m going to do with my Thursdays from here on out. Actually, you know what, I do have 17 Hallmark Christmas movies currently on my DVR and they’re not going to watch themselves. Now I just need to figure out if I want to watch “The Gingerbread Romance” or “Christmas Incorporated” first.

Now, I also said I have some good news and the good news is that the NFL is ending “Thursday Night Football” with a bang by giving us the Chargers and the Chiefs. There are only two teams in the NFL that have scored at least 20 points in every game this season and those two teams are playing in this game, which means there’s a 99 percent chance that we’re going to get a crazy shootout.

The one thing that makes this game difficult to predict is that both teams are dealing with some big injuries. On the Chiefs’ end, Tyreek Hill (wrist, heel) and Spencer Ware (shoulder, hamstring) are both battling injuries. On the Chargers’ end, they probably won’t have their two running backs this week: Melvin Gordon is still dealing with a knee injury and Austin Ekeler can’t really move his head right now.

#Chargers RB Austin Ekeler said his injured neck is very stiff and he can’t move his head a whole lot today. He’s officially day-to-day but he appears to have plenty of recovery to do quickly if he’s going to be available Thursday vs. KC.

— Jeff Miller (@JeffMillerLAT) December 10, 2018

Now, I’m not a doctor, but if you can’t move your head three days before you’re supposed to play in a football game, that probably means you’re not going to play in that football game.

Although the Chargers are going to be hurting at running back, the one thing they will have is all of their wide receivers, which is all Philip Rivers needs to win. In the first meeting between these two teams, Rivers threw for 424 yards and he might double that going up against a Chiefs passing defense that ranks dead last in the NFL this year.

As much as I like Rivers, there are a lot of reasons to pick the Chiefs in this game: They have the best record in the AFC, they’ve won nine straight against the Chargers, and home teams are 11-2 on “Thursday Night Football” this year. However, I’m not going to pick the Chiefs.

Back in August, I picked the Chargers to win the AFC West and I’m going to stand by my pick, because if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.

Did I steal that quote from my niece’s tumblr page? Yes. Is it the most overused quote ever on the internet? Probably.

“You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.”

— Miranda Lambert (@mirandalambert) February 15, 2012

Am I still picking the Chargers? Definitely.

The pick: Chargers 34-31 over Chiefs

The result: Chargers 29, Chiefs 28

What NFL picks can you make with confidence in Week 15? And which Super Bowl contender goes down hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which NFL teams are winning more than 50 percent of simulations, all from the model that has beaten 98 percent of experts over the past two years.

Dallas (8-5) at Indianapolis (7-6)

1 p.m. ET (Fox)

If the Cowboys make the playoffs this year, they should probably send a thank you note to Jon Gruden, and that’s because he’s basically single-handedly responsible for the the Cowboys success this year. Gruden hasn’t been able to turn the Raiders into a contender, but he turned the Cowboys into one when he decided to trade Amari Cooper from Oakland to Dallas. That deal took place on Oct. 22, and since then, the Cowboys have been unstoppable.

Cooper started his first game for the Cowboys in Week 9, and in the time period since then, he leads the NFL in both receiving yards (642) and receiving touchdowns (six). Oh, and the Cowboys are 5-1 in the six games that he’s played in. If Gruden hadn’t decided to implode his roster and sabotage his own team, none of this would have happened and the Cowboys wouldn’t have Cooper, so maybe they should send him a fruit basket and a gift card to Chili’s on top of that thank-you note. However, they definitely shouldn’t send him any cookie dough, because apparently, that stuff is bad for you.

I don’t want to say the CDC is overreacting, but I’ve been eating cookie dough every day for the past three weeks and I feel fine. As for this pick, I’m taking the Colts, and if I end up missing it, I’m blaming the cookie dough that the CDC said I wasn’t supposed to eat.

The pick: Colts 27-24 over Cowboys

Note: The Cowboys will clinch the NFC East with a win on Sunday, and although I’m not picking them, I am giving you a heads up so you can avoid all Cowboys fans for at least 24 hours after the clinching. As everyone knows, there’s nothing Cowboys fans like to talk about more than how amazing the Cowboys are. If you have a lot of friends who happen to be Cowboys fans, you might want to turn off your phone and quit all social media.

New England (9-4) at Pittsburgh (7-5-1)

4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Patriots are coming into this game after losing on a miracle play in Week 14, and yet somehow, I’m fully convinced that the Steelers actually had the crazier loss on Sunday. For one, they lost to the Raiders, which is basically the NFL equivalent of hitting rock-bottom. The Raiders don’t even have a general manager. I mean, it doesn’t get any more demoralizing than losing to a team and then watching that team fire their general manager the next day.

I didn’t think it was possible for a first-place team to be in total disarray this late into the season, but the Steelers have proven me wrong. The most baffling part of the Raiders game is that Mike Tomlin kept his starting quarterback on the bench even though he was healthy enough to play. After Ben Roethlisberger left the game in the first half with a rib injury, he was ready to return in the third quarter, but Tomlin wouldn’t play him because he didn’t want to ruin the “rhythm and the flow of the game.” That would be like not pulling the chord on your parachute because you don’t want to ruin the rhythm and flow of your free fall. PULL THE CHORD OR YOUR SEASON IS OVER MIKE. Not pulling the chord would end in disaster and it’s starting to feel like that’s where the Steelers season is headed.

if Roethlisberger plays against the Patriots — and he likely will — he’s going to be dealing with a rib injury. If James Conner plays, he’ll be dealing with an ankle injury. The Steelers can’t beat the Patriots when they’re healthy, so I have no idea how they’re going to do it when they’re banged up.

I’ve been writing this picks column since 2013 and in that time, the Steelers have never beaten the Patriots. Including the playoffs, these two teams have met a total of five times over the past five years and the Patriots have won every game. Watching the Steelers choke against the Patriots has basically become an annual tradition and I don’t see that ending this year.

On the other hand, Roethlisberger did win a game on a miracle play once, so maybe the Patriots should be concerned.

The pick: Patriots 30-23 over Steelers

Seahawks special: Seattle (8-5) at San Francisco (3-10)

4:05 p.m. ET (Fox)

The fact that this section is back for another week can only mean one thing: My record picking Seahawks games this year is still perfect. This section will only exist as long as my record stays perfect, and right now, it’s sitting at 13-0. Last week, I said the Seahawks would win by double digits in a beatdown of the Vikings and that’s basically what happened on Monday night.

At this point, I’ve decided that if my streak continues, I’m going to start celebrating each new win. If I improve to 14-0 this week, I’m going to buy a Marshawn Lynch elf on the shelf, which sounds weird, but I don’t care. At $19.99, this thing is a steal.

I will say that I think the marketing team for the Marshawn elf blew it. I mean, how is this thing not called “Lynch on a bench?” You get all the fun of an Elf on the Shelf, except on a bench. Someone at NFL Shop needs to make that name change happen.

As for this week’s game, the Seahawks can clinch a playoff berth if they win, which means there’s a 100 percent chance I’m going to pick the Seahawks in this game, and I won’t be surprised if things gets ugly. For one, I’m pretty sure everyone in Seattle’s locker room is still slightly bitter about the fact that Richard Sherman called the Seahawks a “middle of the road team.”

If the Seahawks are a middle of the road team, then I’m not sure what that makes the 49ers. Not only did they lose to the Seahawks 43-16 back in Week 13, but they’ve also lost nine straight games to the Seahawks dating back to the beginning of the 2014 season.

This definitely has all the makings of a trap game, but with Sherman’s quote and the 49ers upsetting the Broncos on Sunday, I don’t think the Seahawks will be overlooking anyone.

The pick: Seahawks 31-20 over 49ers

NFL Week 15 picks: All the rest

Texans 27-20 over Jets

Browns 19-16 over Broncos

Falcons 20-13 over Cardinals

Bengals 30-27 over Raiders

Bills 23-16 over Lions

Bears 20-17 over Packers

Vikings 30-17 over Dolphins

Titans 23-20 over Giants

Jaguars 19-13 over Redskins

Ravens 24-16 over Buccaneers

Rams 34-23 over Eagles

Saints 31-24 over Panthers

Last Week

Best pick: Last week, I predicted the Falcons would score 20 points and lose to the Packers, and then the Falcons went out and scored 20 points and lost to the Packers. Of course, the reason I picked the Falcons to lose had nothing to do with the Falcons and everything to do with the Packers. When it comes to making picks, I only have one rule and that rule is that there’s a 100 percent chance I’m going to pick a team to win if they just fired their coach. However, I now feel bad for picking the Packers and taking advantage of Mike McCarthy getting fired, because apparently, he’s a classy guy.

Even though the Packers kicked him to the curb, McCarthy still took a out a full-page ad over the weekend to thank the team and fans for their support. That’s basically the complete opposite of the scorched earth tour that Hue Jackson went on after he got fired. You know, the one where he blamed everyone but himself for the Browns’ failures. Jackson also added insult to injury by taking a job just weeks later with one of the Browns’ biggest rivals.

To put this in layman’s terms, McCarthy’s firing would be the equivalent of a guy getting dumped and then sending his ex-girlfriend a thank you note for a wonderful relationship while Jackson’s firing would be the equivalent of a guy getting dumped and then setting his ex-girlfriend’s house on fire in the same week where he also started dating her slightly less attractive sister.

I think the lesson to be learned here is don’t date your ex-girlfriend’s sister.

Worst pick: Last week, I spent roughly three paragraphs talking about how the freezing cold weather in Chicago would have no effect on a team from California and let me just say that I’ve never been more wrong about anything in my entire life. Not only did I pick the Rams to beat the Bears, but I said they would score 26 points in the win. I’m not sure if you watched the game, but the Rams definitely didn’t beat the Bears and they didn’t come anywhere close to scoring 26 points.

I have no idea why I said the Rams could handle cold weather. As someone who lived in California for six years, I know for a fact that the only thing people in California hate more than non-organic food is cold weather. If it’s not beach weather, then there’s no reason to go outside, but it’s always beach weather, which is why everyone in California is always happy.

I mean, I can’t even type on a computer when the temperature drops below 35 degrees, so I’m not sure why I thought Jared Goff would be able to throw a football. Lesson learned, which means if the Rams play any playoff games this year in a cold-weather city or a city that doesn’t serve organic food, then I’ll definitely be picking against them.

Finally, if you guys have ever wondered which teams I’m actually good at picking, this is the part where I tell you, but I don’t need to tell you, because you already know. Through 14 weeks, I only have a perfect record picking one team: The Seahawks (13-0). Also, I’m 11-2 picking the Rams and 10-3 picking the 49ers, Chargers and Browns (9-3-1).

As for the rest of the NFL, I’m somewhere between 6-7 and 9-4 picking the 27 teams not listed above.

Picks record

Straight up in Week 14: 10-6SU overall: 132-74-2Against the spread in Week 14: 9-7ATS overall: 98-105-5Exact score predictions: 2

You can find John Breech on Facebook or Twitter and if he’s not doing one of those things, he’s probably re-enacting the Miami Miracle with his cats.

ift.tt/2FY3zVO

Posted by smashdownsportsnews on 2018-12-16 13:51:15

Tagged: , Featured , Football , News

The post Week 15 NFL odds, picks, how to watch, stream: Colts win thriller over Cowboys, Patriots over Steelers appeared first on Good Info.

[junker-town]

5 entirely-too-early NFL Coach of the Year candidates

Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Some new names have jumped to the top of the league’s coaching ranks through four weeks.

Giants head coach Pat Shurmur was on the hot seat coming into the 2019 season. His first year in New York was a bust, and his second looked equally pessimistic after general manager Dave Gettleman either traded or allowed former Pro Bowl players like Odell Beckham Jr., Olivier Vernon, and Landon Collins to leave last spring. His counter-punch to those blows was to make the most-derided pick of the draft.

The Giants appeared doomed to a depressing fate. Their head coach would be the ritualistic offering the franchise hoped would break the chain. But after four weeks, New York is playing .500 football and possess one of the league’s most electric young quarterbacks in rookie Daniel Jones. If the club can keep this up, Shurmur could go from receiving his termination notice at the end of the season to receiving votes for the NFL’s coach of the year.

That’s a long way away, and putting any coach on a pedestal with 13 weeks left in the season is no safe bet. But in a season that’s seen a handful of early MVP candidates rise above the fray and Shaquil Barrett stand atop the defensive player of the year mountain, one quarter of the year is time enough for some snap judgments. And if four weeks is enough time to turn up the heat on some of the league’s biggest disappointments, it’s a good time to dole out some praise as well.

Given September’s surprises, who are some unexpected names who’ve overachieved to start 2019? These are the sideline generals who may merit coach of the year consideration if they can keep this pace — some of whom have escaped a spot on a preseason hot seat to give themselves a little more job stability as temperatures drop.

Pat Shurmur, Giants

Shurmur began the season with the league’s second-best odds to be fired. An 0-2 start made bookmakers look smart. Then he made the move that helped eschew Ben McAdoo out of New York by benching Eli Manning, and everything got better.

Unlike McAdoo, Shurmur had a viable plan B thanks to Jones’ better-than-expected start to his rookie campaign. 2019’s sixth overall pick has kept up the pace that made him the preseason’s most impressive passer, scoring five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) in his first two starts and, more importantly, rallying the Giants from an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat the Buccaneers in Week 3.

Shurmur and Jones exceeded expectations in September, and they did so without Golden Tate (serving a four-game PED suspension) and, for seven quarters of Jones’ starts, Saquon Barkley (ankle injury). Jones’ composure in the pocket was a big part of that, but New York’s offensive line has overachieved to give him and his tailbacks a little more room to operate.

giants run blocking has quietly been really good this season. even on still shots you can see the holes they're opening up pic.twitter.com/d5RqEt8Zli

— charles (ronald) mcdonald (@FourVerts) September 30, 2019

Shurmur’s relied on a steady diet of run-pass options to ease his young quarterback into the pro game, and it’s worked. The question now is whether the Giants can sustain this, and how dangerous they can be one Tate and Barkley are back in the lineup at full strength. They’re going to need all the firepower they can get to bolster a defense that ranks 26th in the league in yards allowed per play, even after facing a rudderless Washington team in Week 4.

Bruce Arians, Buccaneers

The Buccaneers leapt at the former two-time NFL Coach of the Year’s decision to reconsider retirement. Arians leapt at the opportunity to work with Jameis Winston, whom he’d mentored when the Tampa quarterback was a teenage quarterback trying to find his way. The Bucs’ new coach effectively opened up the playbook and told the fifth-year passer to go big, and it’s paid off.

Winston was the star of Tampa’s 55-point explosion against the Rams, throwing four touchdown passes to engineer one of the season’s biggest upsets to date. He’s currently in the midst of his best statistical season even after a horrendous start (one touchdown, three interceptions in an opening day loss to the 49ers); his 8.4 yards per pass are sixth-best in the league and significantly more than former MVPs Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady.

Imbuing Winston with any kind of consistent goodness would be enough to cement Arians’ reputation as a quarterback’s best friend. There’s been more to like in Tampa, too. Ronald Jones has shown signs of life at tailback after a wretched rookie campaign, and Chris Godwin has stepped up to be a true running mate alongside Mike Evans at wideout.

The Bucs have also shown growth on defense thanks the the serendipitous union of defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and sudden destroyer of worlds Shaquil Barrett. While Barrett and his nine sacks in four games are the headliner, no team has been stingier against the run through four weeks; Tampa’s 2.9 yards per carry allowed is the lowest number in the league.

The NFC South is still wide open due to QB injuries (Drew Brees, Cam Newton) and disappointing starts (Atlanta). Tampa has shown off the talent to compete for a playoff spot this fall. If it gets there, it could be Arians’ biggest success story so far.

Doug Marrone, Jaguars

The fact the Jaguars are tied for first place in a sloppy, sometimes illogical AFC South race is no surprise. The way they got there is.

Nick Foles’ debut season in Florida lasted all of eight passes before a broken collarbone pushed him to injured reserve. That threw sixth-round rookie Gardner Minshew into the fire, but instead of folding like low-grade construction paper, the Jaguars have gotten stronger as the season’s worn on.

The Jaguars hung tough in losses to the Chiefs and Texans to start the year, then rallied for wins over the Titans and Broncos to improve to 2-2 and show Minshew can be more than just a last resort behind center. The first-year QB has avoided rookie mistakes through the air (seven touchdowns, just one interception) and his 106.9 passer rating is sixth-best in the league.

He’s not the only player to outperform expectations under Marrone in 2019. Leonard Fournette has gone from a plodding disappointment (3.3 yards per carry in 2018) to the NFL’s third-leading rusher through four games. Calais Campbell turned 33 this season and remains a complete wrecking ball.

Calais Campbell did this to the Titans on 4th down pic.twitter.com/kxkgsZL7gI

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 20, 2019

While nine different players have at least half a sack, the rest of the Jags’ once-dominant defense has underwhelmed. Unlocking Minshew and Fournette’s potentials has been enough to overcome those lapses so far, but Marrone’s postseason hopes could rely on his ability to make Jacksonville the quarterback-smothering monster it was en route to the AFC title game in 2017.

Still, things have been better than expected for the embattled Marrone, who turned a handful of negatives into a motivating positive force for the Jaguars.

From NFL Now: The #Jaguars have won twice since CB Jalen Ramsey's trade request and RB Leonard Fournette credited coach Doug Marrone for how they responded. Here (https://t.co/WlCrAxqkgt) and pic.twitter.com/Bu881xAPSY

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 2, 2019

If he can just figure out an elegant solution to his Jalen Ramsey trade situation, everything will be coming up Doug.

Sean McDermott, Bills

Buffalo’s quest to go 4-0 was derailed by the Patriots, but the Bills still have a clear path to the playoffs in a top-heavy AFC. McDermott has coached up a smothering defense that held Tom Brady to one of the worst performances of his career and currently ranks second in the league in yards allowed.

McDermott has turned young players like Tre’Davious White and Tremaine Edmunds into blossoming stars, and rookie Ed Oliver — tied for third among all defensive tackles with seven QB hits so far — could be next. Developing another rising athlete would make the third-year head coach one of the game’s most valuable influences. Josh Allen has alternated good performances with bad ones to kick off his sophomore season in the NFL. If he can find any kind of stability behind center, he can turn the Bills into a true threat in the AFC.

Buffalo has a very forgiving schedule coming up, with six games remaining against teams that have one win or fewer after four weeks. While catching New England may be a tough task, it’s not hard to see how the Bills would earn their second postseason invite in three years. Pushing one of the league’s most downtrodden franchises to the playoffs, especially with a quarterback advanced stats absolutely hate, is prime coach of the year resume material.

Kyle Shanahan, 49ers

Shanahan’s 49ers are the last undefeated team in the NFC; after three weeks they had just one fewer win than they did in all of 2018. That 3-0 record came at the expense of Arians’ Buccaneers (not bad) and the Bengals and Steelers, who have one win between them (and it was because Pittsburgh played Cincinnati in Week 4). Even so, San Francisco has overcome injury concerns on both sides of the ball to float to the top of its division and demonstrate Shanahan’s seaworthiness.

He’s helped Jimmy Garoppolo maintain his place among the upper tier of conference quarterbacks despite a receiving corps of relative unknowns after tight end George Kittle. Garoppolo only has a 5:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio, but half those picks caromed right off his receivers’ hands. Turn those into completions and he’s staring down a 109.2 passer rating — a theoretical sixth-best in the league (just ahead of Minshew). As is, he’s been the driving force in the NFL’s third-best scoring offense, all without Jerick McKinnon or Tevin Coleman in the backfield. That duo has combined for just six carries to begin the season due to injury.

The Niners’ defense has been similarly impressive while allowing only 18 points per game. DeForest Buckner has been on an early Pro Bowl pace, bringing seven pressures, per SIS, from the middle of the line. That’s helped create the havoc that’s allowed pass rushers like Dee Ford and Arik Armstead (four sacks, seven QB hits between them) to clean up along the edges. That group should get even better as rookie Nick Bosa, the third overall pick, works his way back to full strength after dealing with injury through the preseason.

Like every other coach on this list, Shanahan has plenty to prove. He’s off to a better start than anyone else in his conference, though. That’s a pretty good start.