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yungsk8trvibes-blog · 6 years

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DEMA Theory - Twenty One Pilots.

ik some of you may be like “why is all this cryptic shit all over my feed” and stuff like that , but i think this may clear some confusion and this is my whole idea.

on 4/21/18 i went on http://dmaorg.info/ and the following message displays.

“ 404 ER_ROR

you are in violation. thEy mustn't know you were here. no one should ever find out About this. you can never tell anyone about thiS -- for The sake of the others' survIval, you muSt keep this silent. we mUst keeP silent. no one can know. no one can know. no o ne c an kn ow_

(Violation Code. 15398642_14) “

on this website we discovered that all of the capital letters spell “EAST IS UP”

we also added the following violation code shown above on the website to the following ip address showing us the actual website , where we discovered our next amount of information.

http://dmaorg.info/found/15398642_14/clancy.html

on the above website there are a bunch of images and text , which we will discuss some things we have found out based on our resources from the following website.

if you convert 15398642_14 , the violation code , with a unix time stamp converter , you get June 28th , which could possibly be a release date or something like that , maybe the day the full album gets released instead of singles.

the dates above each image are dates of the albums , or birthdays of the boys.

the date the self titled album was released is above the following picture , 009 12 Moon 29 , which converts to Dec 29 2009 , the date that self titled was released. as you can see in the above picture , this appears to be an isle of flightless birds , which is a song in the self titled album. this would be the isle of flightless birds on the tower of silence.

this picture has the date , 013 01MOON 08 , which converts to Jan 08, 2013 , the date vessel was released. in the center of the circle , the dots , look like the blurryface logo , but if you zoom in on the dots , you notice that they say letters which translate to lyrics.

ANDRE - and repeat yesterdays dance. - fairly local

LISDEN - all i feel is denial. - polarize

KEONS - choke on smoke. - heavydirtysoul

NIGO - when i got older all my fears would shrink. - stressed out

REISDRO - temperature is dropping. - doubt

SACARVER - shes a carver. - tear in my heart

NILLS - beaten down ill slip away. - goner

VETOMO - will they be alive tomorrow. - lane boy

LISTO - listed people. - ride

all of the following lyrics are lyrics from songs in the blurryface album , and , this looks like blurryfaces album cover , but , the date listed above is the date vessel was released , which is odd and strange.

a couple of other interesting things about this map , the clique flag overlaps it , and the second grouping only has 8 columns , instead on the 9 in the other groupings.

under this image it states “gEt out. the compAss lies. they don't control you. get out. the compaSs lies. They don't control you. get out. the compass lIeS. they don't control yoU.get out. the comPass lies. they don't control you.”

the capitals spell out EAST IS UP.

if you point this map to where east is indeed up , the order of the circles change to the order in the album , in addition to this, the violation code is 15398642_14. the numbers in that order are the same numbers that the blurryface's album art's songs are in the blurryface tracklist.

this picture has the date , 011 07MOON 08 , which translates to , July 8 2011 , the date regional at best was released. in the picture , it looks like a kid , also connecting it to regional at best , considering there is a kid on the regional at best album cover.

the full picture of this picture has andre weil on it, mathematitian. who founded this group of mathematicians of 9 people. in the letter two slides below , it says that there are 9 bishops , 9 quadrants , 9 blurryface songs.

this is dated 988 12Moon 01 , which translates to , december 1st 1998 , tyler josephs birthday. this seems to be some kind of identification card or badge , the title of the image when i downloaded it was “ba_dge.jpg” , which leads me to believe that this is a identification badge of clancy , one of the characters introduced during this album. regional at best baseball field is also on clancy st. the violation code is also on the badge.

this picture is dated 988 06Moon 18 , which translates to , june 18 , 1998 , which is josh duns birthday. the letter up above reads, ”The perplexities of the Dema horizon didn't occur to me until my ninth year. It was then that I began to contemplate the existential, and decide what type of impression I wanted my life to make. Naturally, to fuel my hope, I looked out upon the distance of the land that had cultivated me, only this time with new awareness of the obstruction that my youthful ignorance had allowed me to overlook. Was it there the whole time? How had I not seen something so obvious? I am reminded of the moment daily, as the realization directly collides with a unique hope for my own future. As a child, I looked upon Dema with wonder, today, I am wrought with frustration, as I spend each day squninting for a glimpse of the top of the looming wall that has kept us here. It was upon my ninth year that I learned that Dema wasn't my home. This village, after all of this time, was my trap. Before I became realized, I had deep affection for Dema. There was a wonderful structure to the city that put my cares to rest. Streets and locations were dependable, and the responsibilites of the day seemed to be accomplished with minimal effort. Once a task was taught and understood, we delighted in our ability to complete our obligations timely, and felt secure in knowing tomorrow's duties would be accomplished with the same efficiency. We all worked to represent our bishop with honnor, and knew that each inhabitant of our region had a like-minded dedication to consistency. Looms embodied the spirit of this dedication. Of Dema's nine bishops, Keos was reserved as unwavering and forthright, possessing the ability to achieve focus that was rare for most in our region. We all admired his, and felt honored to be inhabitants of his region. While we had heard legend of the ruthlessness of other bishops, Keos possessed a stoic demeanor unlike anyone I had ever met, and we were all proud to serve. - Clancy

also, in the above letter, it says “the perplexities of the dema horizon didn’t occur to me until my ninth year” twenty one pilots formed in 2009, so their ninth year is 2018. this also pushes the idea of clancy being tyler instead of josh , but being a songwriter myself , clancy may not be either of the boys , it may be a created character , but you never do know.

the fact that this was put under josh’s birthday leads me to believe that clancy = josh , also , clancy translates to red warrior , hinting to josh’s old red hair , making him the red warrior.

clancy's journal states that basically keons is the bishop/region clancy likes and all the other circles (the circles represent quadrents under the rule of bishops and also the songs on the bf album art. keons is heavydirtysoul.) are horrible and clancy wants to get the hell out of dodge but cant. he also states that the "west is blocked up"

there is a bit of writing on the website that reads “ sev_ering__tiez “ , if we remember when josh accepted an award at a award show , he said tyler was our “severing ties with dema.” later , this s was changed to a z , then back to an s , once it was changed to an s for the first time , a torn off compass on the map that was only obtainable by editing the image was fully removed and currently remains that way.

this letter was later on added to the mix on 5/9/18. it reads , “ To refer to Dema as m[y] home has never felt accurate. Dema, t[o] me, has simply been the place that I've existed, or, the 'slot' they've put me in. I've heard stories abo[u]t the ide[a] of "home," and its depiction has always seemed warm f[r]om the storyt[e]ller's de[s]cription. [T]here was a romant[i]c ownership of the p[l]ace they inhabited that I admired, but cou[l]d never relate to. Thi[s] place, my p[l]ace, however, s[e]ems devoid of the romance and wond[e]r that the old stories tell. But somewhere between the iron order and fallible [p]recis[i]on of Dema, a hum of wo[n]der exists. It's this quiet wonder that my mind tends to [g]ets lost in. This hope of discovery alone has birthed a new version of myself; A better version, I hope, that will find a way to experience what's beyond these colossal walls. “ the date at the top of this photo is 017 07MOON 07, which translates to july 7 , 2017 . the letters i put in astricts are missing in the letter , as you can see , they spell “YOU ARE STILL SLEEPING.”

this gif was added on 5/30/18 , as you can see there are letters flashing at the top , when put together these letters spell , " UNSTILLIDONTCKNOWOHISNREALINAMECDOOU? “ this is two messages put together , it translates to “ "U STILL DONT KNOW HIS REAL NAME DO U?” , and the letters in the places of the spaces spell , “ "NICO NICO" nico nico niiiii “ the date above the gif is 017 07MOON 16 , which translates to , july 16 , 2017.

the most recent updates to the website seem to corrilate with the lyrics during the tweets of the eye closing ,

polarize - You'll have to come and FIND me.

miss believer - my pretty SLEEPer.

SLOWtown - wouldnt it be great if... etc.

website was FOUND, as in /found in the url.

newest Clancy letter had "you are still sleeping" as in my pretty sleeper.

now that the gif has been uploaded to dma.org we have to SLOW it down [to read the hidden message], as in slowtown.

it was also discovered that two new twenty one pilots songs have been registered. the song titles are "nico and the niners" and "jumpsuit".

this was added on 6/29/18. the date on the image is , 017 07MOON 17 , and below the image it says , " __n_ot_myo_nly_fri_en d " which coralates with truce , adding to the eye closing tweets theory . the date is also the date @blurryface liked a tweet about the tower of dema theory.

an audio was posted to the dma website on 6/29/18 stating pure nonsense , but when pitched up you hear tyler saying “so did they obey you?” or “so did they bury you?” the name of this audio file is 20 18_514_3_8 , which translates to TR_ENC_H . this would make “ so did they bury you ? “ make alot of sense.

here is a link to the audio https://dmaorg.info/found/trench/clancy.html

on 7/1/18 these three items were added to the website , a letter from clancy dated , , which translates to july 1 , 2018 , todays date . a yellow highlight dated , 017 02MOON 12 which translates to february 12 , 2017 , which was the date of the grammy awards , and a gif of a vulture turning its head , also dated , 018 07MOON 01. when you put the highlight over the letter from clancy you get “ we are band itos “ which translates to , we are banditos.

the clancy letter reads , “ *A lifeless light surrounds us each night. Never could I imagine that something so luminous could feel so dark. It's this glow that reminds us of the dreamless existence we've been sentenced to. But what I call a sentence, others accept as normalcy. How did they so efficiently eradicate the dreams within us? When the bishops instituted Vialism as mandate, they effectively reversed the hope that many arrived with. Am I the only one who realizes that we've been lied to? Am I the only one not afraid of the notion that the nine have hijacked our trust, and extinguished the hope that once motivated our existence? We used to close our eyes and picture a better life, now this city is full of dry eyes caught in a trance of obedience, devoid of any trace of an identity. The only significant light I've seen has been in the eyes of those smeared - such a curious sight, to see bright eyes strangled by the darkness of bishop hands. As their penance fades, so dims their memory of something more. My hope of something more is all I have in this rigid tomb, and I will not let it die. “

the audio we were given reversed also says “we are banditos.”

we have all the eye images. the final one was the message man one and today was a double update. today we got kitchen sink, as the vulture blinked (nobody dreams when they blink). and we messed with the message ,man by highlighting the clancy letter to find out we needed to reverse the audio given yesterday to get "we are banditos".

this was posted 7/6/18 , and titled "_they_ca_ntseeFCE300.GIF" , it looks to me as if it is a possible music video , or maybe it is clancy using torches to escape the tower of silence , maybe it is a connection to self titled , a car , a torch , a death.

these were added 7/8/18 , the first picture is a dead body , and the last picture is a letter from clancy , written on the back of the picture of the dead body , in handwriting now , because clancy has escaped. the ketter reads , “ I've made it out.I feel weightless. I know that place had always held me down, but for the first time, I can feel the unity that I had hoped in. It's been three nights now, and my breathing has changed - it's slower, and more full. It's like the air out here is actually worth taking in.I can see it back in the distance, and I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't constantly on my mind. I wish I could turn that fear off, but maybe the further I go, the less that fear will affect me. I feel betrayed by what I assumed was home. If I ever end up back there, I won't be able to look at it the same way.They are asleep. They're so sure that they know the truth, and carry on throughout their day with the same meaningless tasks. They've forgotten to look up, and to look outward, to understand that this isn't about 'in there.'This is about 'out here.'This new world surrounds me. I used to think the walls back home were massive- these green cliffs engulf me, and place me right in the middle- Trench is quite precarious at times, and it's easy to grow weary. But it's real, and it's true, and I'd much rather endure reality than to mindlessly be obedient to a life that someone else created for me. I've obsessed about this world for so long, that it feels more like home than anything I've experienced. Somehow, in this vast openness, I feel more protected than ever.The landscape feels endless, and I've found myself walking for hours without any true evidence of getting further down. But I've seen plants and colors out here that I'm not sure I've witnessed before. There's a beauty in the strangest places,- and the curiosity of what's next continues to motivate me.I wonder who else is out here. If what i assumed inside is true, there's got to be more like me. Sometimes I'll feel a presence, only to look up and see nothing. It's just another thing that I'm afraid of that also excites me. It all just confirms all of the things that I hoped to be true for all of this time.I am out here and I am very alive. I'm sometimes scared, but always discovering something new, and I will not stop. Cover me! “

this all being said , i expect a return really soon , considering clancy is out , and , this whole entire scheme , the whole entire website is based upon clancy trying to escape the tower of dema , or , the tower of silence. another words , it is twenty one pilots trying to escape the silence , or , hiatus.

#twenty one pilots #twenty one pilots is back #dema #clancy #blurryface #vessel #self titled #celebrities #bands #new musics #conspiracy

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everyonesomething · 6 years

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Session 24c

Edith Runekill sits down in the driver's seat and turns the keys in the ignition. She's making a Good Decision.

Edith Runekill: "Nice thing about being out this late is that there's not really any other cars out on the open road."

"So you can drive really fast."

"Y'know. If you like that kinda thing."

Grim smirks

Grim: "I could get used to it."

Edith Runekill revvs the engine, and pushes down the accelerator (KIDS DONT DRINK AND DRIVE).

Grim doesn't fasten her seatbelt (KIDS ALWAYS FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT)

In this session, Grim and Edith raise hell. Buckle in, this and the next few are RP-heavy sessions.

The set-up: Grim and Edith get up to some good old-fashioned country girl fun.

The Game: It’s evening, the group’s checked in to a motel for the night, but neither Grim nor Edith feel like turning in. They find each other in the forecourt--Grim writing something in a journal and Edith emerging from a traveler’s shrine. They both agree that the motel, the car, and the whole situation feels too claustrophobic and they decide to take a walk.

Grim: "Lotta memories even all the way out here for you, huh?"

Edith Runekill accepts the cigarette gladly

Grim offers her a light and then lights her own

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. Getting out this far from New Luskan wasn't hard once I got my driver's license. And some of the kids at school lived out here, too, the district extends past city limits a ways."

Grim nods, eyeing the darkened Corn Wastes peppered with small distant buildings

Grim: "Gotta say, kinda nice bein' back out somewhere that ain't all paved 'n high rises."

Edith Runekill nods.

Edith Runekill: "I'm happier in the city, but you really learn how much you take just... having space for granted, when you're living in some shoebox-sized aparment out west."

"Air's probably healthier to breathe, too." She takes a drag on her cigarette, but because it is 1933 she does not see the irony of this.

"And, you know, you can see the stars.”

Grim grunts and nods, glancing upward as they walk

Grim: "Half familiar out here. Time we get out east, I'll know 'em again."

Edith Runekill nods again. "Seein' the stars around here's like seeing old friends again, really. When I was a kid I read every book I could about 'em, and learned all their names and what different cultures saw when they looked up in the sky; the names they gave their constellations, the figures they immortalized in the heavens."

Edith Runekill: "First real time I started thinking about history and mythology and old stories, really."

Grim smiles a little

Grim: "What're these, out here?"

Edith Runekill: "We call that one the longboat. That one's been watching over us since long before we came here; Iluskan reavers navigated by it back in the old days. But west of here, back along the Dragon Coast, it's the Longbow. And if you go further south, it's the Minotaur's Horns."

"The people who lived on the Golden Plains before the spellplague, before we came along, called it Chauntea's Plough. Even though I don't really see it."

Grim watches where she's pointing and nods, taking a drag on her cigarette before she responds

Grim: "Heard've it as the Plough, or the Moon's Rest."

"Don't barely see it out east, except dependin' on the season."

Edith Runekill: "Neverwinter's not really a place for stargazing no matter what season it is, truth be told. City lights drown out most all the stars."

Grim nods

Grim: "Always miss 'em in Thay. Different kinda lights there, though."

Edith Runekill: "Lotsa neon lights out that way, right? There's some places like that in Neverwinter, for the tourists, but mostly the light's just the natural consequence of squeezing eight million people into one city. Lotta light, lotta heat."

Grim: "Mm. Hard to describe 'til you see it. Ain't never known a place like it, for good or ill."

Edith Runekill: "I seen Thay in pictures, but that's not really the same. And I read all the old history of Thay, the rise and fall of the Zulkins, Szass Tam, and such. But that doesn't really tell you what kinda place it is now."

"Anymore than cracking open a book about Old Sespech'll tell you about Plaguewrought Land."

Grim glances across the open fields and grunts

Grim: "Folks out here seem real...rooted in history." A little pointed there, perhaps.

Edith Runekill: "Well, not much was left of Sespech but its history, after the Spellplague. And the first Homesteaders to come here when it was safe again didn't come with much more than the shirts on their backs and the history in their stories."

"Kinda has a way on pressing in on you from both ends."

Grim didn't mean that but it's okay. She takes another drag on her cigarette and huffs out smoke.

Grim: "Guess everyone's got their reason."

They muse more on the nature of city versus country life. The city’s full of constant change while the country tries to stay rooted in its old traditions.

Grim: "That's the country for you. Ain't no reason to go changin' things that ain't broke, for the most part."

"In the cities, everythin's breakin' over and over every day."

Grim takes a contemplative drag on her cigarette and shrugs

Edith Runekill: "Mn. Yeah. But..."

Edith Runekill frowns, and looks faintly agonized. "Considering how things went back home I can't help but think things here are broke afterall."

Grim: "Out where I come from, land's different but folks are farmers just the same. Old grudges on Thay still alive 'n well. Folks keep the house spirits, look to the witches, same as they have on hundreds of years."

Grim glances at Edith and nods

Grim: "Some things gotta break."

Grim then changes tracks and asks Edith what it was like growing up in this place, romance-wise.

Grim: "How was it, growin' up here, bein'...one for the ladies?"

Edith Runekill: "Well I managed to not realize it until... like... a couple weeks ago. So." She smiles ruefully. "Could be better."

Grim: "Y'never had a, uh, a real good friend out here? Or grown folks to look to or nothin'?"

Edith Runekill shakes her head. "The only place I ever saw things like that was in history. Ancient poetesses strumming lyres. Warrior queens. Things like that. It was all stuff that appealed to me, but it seemed like it was something that was gone. Something for someone else in some other time."

Edith Runekill: "Turns out actually it just meant that my only exposure to anything other than the way things were here was in history books so of course it seemed like a thing only in history."

Grim watches her quietly, taking this in

Grim: "Mm."

"Ain't no wonder you never thought on it, I guess."

Edith Runekill looks thoughtful; she's thinking this stuff over for basically the first time ever.

Edith Runekill: "Guess some of my friendships with other girls were... um. Kind of..."

"Intense?"

"But that's just how it is when you're a girl."

Grim smirks

Grim: "That so?"

"Guess I wouldn't know."

Edith Runekill smiles, embarrassed. "I'm still... thinking things through."

Edith Runekill: "Looking at a lot of things with fresh eyes. You know."

Grim nods, more serious

Grim: "I do."

"Weren't so much of that where I came from, neither. I know how it is, comin' around at first."

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. It's like... it's not just a thing that happened all of a sudden? It was always right there in plain sight but I just never seen it. And since I like boys too I thought... I thought I was just how everyone was..."

Grim nods

Grim thinks of something and laughs a little, ashing her cigarette

Grim: "Y'know, I had a boy of my own once."

"Long time back, before I figured my own head out."

"Was a real quick way to seein' what was what."

Edith Runekill: "Ha."

"Kinda a miracle my high school boyfriend didn't turn me off boys entirely. Lucky subsequent boys were an improvement, I guess."

Grim: "To each their own, I guess."

Grim then asks if Edith ever even had any fun, growing up in a place like this. Edith confesses that the town they’re in was where she and her peers would buy moonshine.

Grim thinks about this, then breaks into a slow grin

Grim: "I recall somesuch about jumpin' out've cars?"

Edith Runekill: "...oh, did I happen to mention that?"

"Turns out the grass here's real good at breaking your fall."

"With the help of a little liquid courage, anyway." She smiles in a most un-Edith-like manner.

Grim is kind of all about that smile

Grim: "They still sell this shit?"

Edith Runekill nods. "And getting ahold of it's gonna be a lot easier than it woulda been back then since I'm actually an adult now."

Edith Runekill: "I mean nobody really cares out here but it's simpler."

Grim: "Well hell, old times' sake?"

Edith Runekill: "Now that I've had jhuild I'm pretty sure I can drink literally anything."

Grim snorts

Grim: "I gotta show you up after that. Ain't never gonna hear the last, if not."

Edith Runekill: "You're on."

Slipping back into her old high school routine, Edith leads Grim to a shack/stand by the motel: 'Aldorn's Magical Supplies, Potions, & Tinctures'.

Edith Runekill: Edith knocks shave-and-a-haircut on the side of the stand and a metal shutter opens, revealing an extremely old-looking human man. He's wearing an apron over wizard's robes, and his pointed hat, while tattered, is perched at a jaunty angle. He doesn't look Iluskan, but when he speaks, his accent is pure Plaguewrought.

Nora R.: "Well, well, well, if it isn't little Edie Runekill all growed up! Heard you skipped town, Runekill."

Edith Runekill: "Kinda did. But I'm passin' through again. And now that I'm a qualified wizard let's just say I'm burning through the 'potions' and 'tinctures' real quick these days."

Grim looks at Edith

Nora R.: The old wizard peers at Grim. "Who's your friend?"

Grim: "A friend."

Edith Runekill: "Um. Anyway." She fishes her wallet out of her purse and slides some gold notes across the counter. "I'd like to buy two... healing potions."

Nora R.: "Now, before I accept your money, since you been away for a while I feel obliged to remind you that since you're not actually a high school student anymore. You... you know you're allowed to just buy normal alcohol from a real liquor store, right?"

Grim has never seen an illicit deal this nerdy in her life

Edith Runekill: "I... well. I gotta lotta memories of this place, is all."

Nora R.: He takes the money, shrugging dramatically. "One like you in every class, I reckon. Gimme just a sec." The shutter closes with a bang.

Grim: "Never knew you had it in you, Runekill."

Nora R.: There's some clattering from inside the stand, and the shutter opens up again. The man hands Edith two large flasks that don't even slightly look like healing potions.

"Mixed you up something a little special this time, Runekill. Call it... a belated graduation present."

Edith tells Grim people have been buying moonshine from this fellow since her parents were teens. Grim wonders how the town can be considered “dry” if he’s been here as long as anyone remembers to sell his liquor but Edith shrugs her off. They each take a drink--it’s not as strong as the jhuild, but it’s not far off, either--and keep on with the evening.

Grim: "I'll attest. You got some grit, Runekill."

Grim raises her flask to Edith and takes another swig. It's surprisingly drinkable for something that takes all the skin off the inside of her mouth

Grim: "Where'd you kids go to huck rocks, anyhow?"

Edith Runekill: "Well if we go exactly there there'd probably be some kids huckin' rocks still."

Grim smirks

Grim: "Fair 'nough."

Edith Runekill: "Still! Let's think of something to do. Drinking's only step one. Step two is findin' some hell to raise."

Grim raises her flask to Edith

Grim: "You're speakin' my language."

Grim glances towards the motel

Grim: "Reckon Syd'd notice us borrowin' the car?

Edith Runekill: "Even if she does, and she won't, it's just legitimate sightseeing. I'm just showin' you 'round my old stomping grounds. Nothin' wrong with that."

Grim nods to her

Grim: "She can recall the damn thing anyway."

Edith Runekill: "I'm sure it'll be fine."

Grim heads for the car with no further debate, pausing to unhitch it from the camper

It’s the ‘30s, people would think you strange if you didn’t drink and drive.

Edith Runekill: The car zooms down the darkened, winding highway. Windmills, barns, and silos are silhouetted against the starry sky. Brightly lit billboards for roadside attractions punctuate the trip, as do seedy rest areas and motels blazing with neon light. The neon's new, even just in the last four years; Edith eyes it curiously as she drives past.

Finally, she pulls off the road and onto a clearing adjacent to a barbed wire fence. The car skids to a halt, sending up a cloud of dust. It looks really cool, but it gets in Edith's face so she just starts coughing.

"Well! Here we are."

Grim vaults out and heads after her, sizing up the fence curiously

Edith Runekill attaches the sword in its scabbard to her belt, and then pulls a gun (!!!) out of the glove compartment and puts it in a holster.

Edith Runekill hops out of the car and starts walking towards the fence.

Edith Runekill stares at one particular stretch of the fence. "Oh, they finally fixed the hole. Guess we're stuck."

Edith Runekill: "Haha just kidding."

Edith Runekill Knocks the gate open.

Grim simultaneously knocks Edith in the back of her head with the heel of her palm

Edith Runekill: "Ow!"

Grim: "Sorry, y'just reminded me."

"Now we're even."

Edith Runekill: "Wh... oh."

"Ohhhhh."

Edith Runekill laughs.

Edith Runekill: "Had that one coming."

Grim: "Hell you go listenin' to Pepper for, I just don't know."

The pair of them trespass into the area’s local junkyard/makeout point/teen loitering arena. Edith has plans to practice her non-magical target shooting at the range.

Edith Runekill: "And by 'shooting range' I mean 'a board we put bottles on'."

Grim slowly grins. A grin that takes over her entire face as she looks at Edith.

Grim: "Fuck yeah I do."

Edith Runekill: "Neat." She starts walking down one of the paths, until they finally arrive at a slightly more open area. Off to the side, there's a sign with a long list of names and numbers scratched into it. At the very bottom it says "Edith R.: 0".

"High scores," she says, ruefully.

Grim looks over the list, her eye settling last on "Edith R." She snorts.

Edith Runekill: There's a few other familiar names-- it doesn't go far enough for, say, Pa Runekill or Pastor John, but you see a "Tom" in the middle of the pack. And a "Grace" near the top.

Grim: "I bet you could flick a fly out the air with one've them magical hands you get. How come you ain't able at this?"

Edith Runekill: "Since this was back before I could mage hand a feather off a duck. I'd like to think I'd do better now. But I guess there's only one way to find out!"

Grim: "Show me what you got, Runekill."

Turns out she doesn’t have much and misses the bottle on the first shot, but does pretty well on the second. Grim takes a shot to show her how it’s done and they alternate killing bottles while she gives Edith some tips.

Grim: "Ain't shot target like this in years."

Edith Runekill: "Neither have I. Well. I guess I ain't actually shot the targets ever before now. Shot at 'em, maybe."

Grim: "Used to shoot like this with the kids, back on the circuit. Me 'n Byrd and Kray 'n the others out've Thay."

Grim finds a low wall to settle on and smoke as Edith sets back up

Edith Runekill: "Universal pastime of the bored yet well-armed." She shoots Grim a grin as she lines up another shot.

"Looks like my luck's turnin' around!"

Grim: "Ain't no luck about it, you got your eye in." Grim steps up to take her shot.

Grim almost wangs it, but catches the bottle on one side, spinning it to the ground to shatter

Edith Runekill: "I think that one's just wounded."

Grim makes a Psshh sound

Grim: "Like hell. You go count the shards, that's a dead-ass soldier."

Edith Runekill walks up to inspect the fallen warrior. She puts up a hand and casts Mending on it. She cradles it in her arms and carries it up to Grim with mock solemnity.

Edith Runekill: "It was touch and go, but... he's gonna make it. He's going home..."

Grim cracks up

Grim: "Well shit, now I ain't got the heart."

Edith Runekill laughs too, and gently sets the bottle down. "A hero..."

Grim nods and tips her hat to the bottle

Grim: "Doin' about as well as us, this far."

Edith Runekill: "Ha."

"Guess if it ever comes down to me needin' to make a shot with this little gun we're probably in trouble..."

"But every arrow in the quiver counts, y'know?"

"Every arrow in every mixed metaphor."

"Wait that wasn't even mixed was it"

Edith Runekill takes another swig of 'healing potion' rather than think about this

Grim: "Comes down to it, you can make a shot." Grim raises her flask to Edith and takes a swig. It doesn't make her flinch any more. That might be a bad sign.

"I'd bet my life on you, anyhow."

Edith Runekill: "And I'd bet my life on you. And, truth be told, probably already have a bunch of times, kinda scrapes we get into." She takes another swig. She hadn't flinched at all from the start. Which is probably a Very Bad sign.

Grim nods at this, eyeing the target bottles

Grim: "Hell, if I die by your side, I reckon it'll be about as good as I could hope for."

Edith Runekill smiles. "I'm optimistic enough to think we maybe got a shot at this. But... if not. Well. Hell of a way to go."

Grim: "Right?" Grim smirks and smacks Edith on the shoulder.

"Ain't ever trusted many, and it's been a long time since, but-" She looks at Edith and shrugs, huffing around her cigarette. "-I sure as hell trust you."

Edith Runekill smiles, and actually wipes away a tear or two (!).

Edith Runekill: "Aw, Grim..."

"That's... you got no idea what an honor that is to hear from you."

Grim snorts and raises her rifle

Grim: "Don't get used to it."

Grim asks Edith what set her on the wizard path, she seems like she’d be a good enough fighter if she’d put her mind to it. Edith says it’s not so much the fighting that she enjoys, but the knowledge and learning that goes into being an accomplished wizard that she loves. Even though she never had much of an education, Grim can admire that in Edith and appreciate the passion she has for her profession.

Grim asks if she thinks young Edith would be proud of how she turned out. Overall, she thinks her younger self would be impressed, even with as sheltered as she used to be.

They take a break from shooting to talk about Edith’s old high school in New Luskan--they drove by it on the way to the junkyard. Specifically they talk about its mascot, the Rashemi Barbarian complete with plaster and wood statue. The Rashemi, if it isn’t clear, are an ethnic minority and it’s the 30s and we’re in fantasy Nebraska so the statue looks about how you might imagine.

Grim: "What d'you reckon she'd make of that mascot?"

Edith Runekill: "Too sheltered to get why it's bad, probably."

"That stuff just fades into the background until you been away a while..."

"And then you just see it and you're like, how was I just okay seeing that every day as a kid?"

Grim glances at Edith and smiles

Grim: "Wanna go fuck it up?"

Edith Runekill: "Hm. I'm not... I'm not sure."

Edith Runekill takes another drink

Edith Runekill: "Okay, I'm sure."

Grim grins

Grim: "That's my fuckin' girl."

Edith Runekill: "We'll be doing the town a public service anyway, that thing's an embarrassment."

Grim: "No fuckin' shit." Grim hops up and heads back towards the car.

The night is going super well.

They start driving back towards the school and along the way, Grim reminds Edith about the car jumping.

Grim: "Hey Runekill."

Edith Runekill takes advantage of the fact that it's the 1930s and everyone still drives like manics to drive like a maniac.

Grim: "How fast this car goin' when you jumped out b'fore?"

Edith Runekill: "Um... slower than this. This car's got more punch to it than anything we were driving around."

"But this is about the right stretch of highway for a soft landing..."

Grim: "Y'wanna break another record?"

Edith Runekill grins the grin of somebody driving like a maniac and willing to do something extremely dangerous to get hyped up to destroy some public property.

Grim has never been seriously into Edith until this moment

Edith Runekill: "You first."

Grim stands up and crouches on the passenger side door, then hurls herself out and rolls

Grim rolls over and flops on her back, then sits up and looks to Edith in the speeding car

Edith Runekill trusts the Magic Paladin Steed Car to know when to stop and follows Grim out the car. What a good idea. What a good thing, that Edith is doing. This is good.

Edith Runekill gracefully flips out of the car and onto the pavement which was rushing by. [infernal] "SHIIIIIIIT!"

Edith Runekill: "Oof. Well."

Grim watches Edith wipe out and swears, launching up to her feet to race over

Edith Runekill sits up. She's got a nasty scrape where her calf scraped the pavement, and a rapidly darkening bruise on the side of her face. She gives Grim a thumb's up.

Edith Runekill: "Guess that's the first time I did it from the driver's side..."

"Didn't compensate for that..."

Grim slows as Edith gets up, then shakes her head and snorts

Grim: "Dumbass."

They both compose themselves and break into the high school for a little after hours education on proper respect for all cultures.

Edith Runekill stares up at the imposing figure of the New Luskan High Barbarian.

Grim comes to a halt by her shoulder and follows her gaze

Grim: "...what a piece've hateful fuckin' ignorant ass bullshit."

".......let's light it on fire."

Edith Runekill: "I was gonna offer a, uh, non-fire-based way to dismantle it. But... but if you want a fire, I can set a fire."

Edith Runekill looks delighted at this turn of events.

Grim: "Wipe it the fuck out, Runekill."

"If my folks died this way, this thing don't oughta get no better."

Edith Runekill does some mental math, determines that nothing else flammable is within a 20 foot radius of the Barbarian, and then Does What Comes Naturally To Her

Grim flinches a little, closing her eyes and turning away as it goes up in flames

Edith Runekill puts a steadying hand on Grim's shoulder.

Grim flinches but doesn't shake her off. She takes a deep breath and then a swig from her flask without opening her eyes

Edith Runekill: The NLHS Barbarian burns and burns and burns. It's already nothing more than a metal superstructure embedded in a nimbus of flame; everything that made it identifiable has been burned away.

Edith Runekill would never admit it in current company. But, privately, she thinks that this looks totally sick, and that fire is really cool and good.

Edith Runekill: Runekill's runes-- usually a soft blue-- are all glowing fiery red; it's the first time she's cast a spell with it. She's... pretty into it, honestly.

Grim seems rooted to the spot for a minute, not opening her eyes. She takes a deep breath and then another, and then she raises a hand to find Edith's arm silently.

Edith Runekill sheathes the sword and lays her other hand on Grim's.

Edith Runekill: "Want me to put it out now?"

Grim grunts

Edith Runekill: "Put it out in the fantastically destructive way this piece of garbage deserves, of course."

Edith Runekill takes out Runekill again and summons an Ice Storm.

The burning statue is pummeled by a column of ice, snow, and wind. The fire is put out, an the metal frame-- badly oxidized by the fire-- is crushed by the force. There's nothing left of the Barbarian but ash and rebar.

Edith Runekill: "Well. We sure showed him."

"I... I can't believe I did that, haha."

Grim inhales but doesn't open her eyes, still gripping Edith's hand for a minute

Grim: ".....he done for?"

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. It's gone."

Grim nods

Edith Runekill: "We... should probably get gone, too."

Grim: "Yeah, no shit." She finally opens her eyes and glances at the smoking ruins of the mascot, then turns about to head for the door.

Vandalism is a cool and victimless crime and this will have no lasting consequences.

The pair gets back in the car to head back to the motel, Grim cursing the town as they drive and telling Edith she’s better than the place. Edith takes the compliment, but acknowledges it took a lot of work on her part and that most people in the area are content not to change.

Grim: "Don't rightly give a shit about other folks. You came outta here, an' you made somethin' good've yourself. An' I ain't seen much good since we got here." Grim falls into a thoughtful silence for a moment, then adds. "They din't never deserve you."

Edith Runekill: "Yeah," she says, quietly, barely audible over the car's engine, "But that's a hard thing to reckon with about the place that made you."

Grim remains silent for some time, then shifts in her seat and slugs back some moonshine

Grim: "Place that made me ain't on earth no more."

"Burned down, 'long with everyone that might've been my kin."

"I don't know what a place oughta be, that makes you, but I know you're better'n this."

Edith Runekill drives silently for a while, taking this in.

Edith Runekill: "That's... an awful thing to gotta go through."

Grim doesn't answer for a while, watching the dark fields race by

Grim: "Don't remember it, mostly."

"Only know what I'm told."

Edith Runekill drives silently a while. She hears a siren off in the distance, in the direction of New Luskan, and speeds up.

Grim glances towards the mirror at the sound of the sirens, then back out at the fields and takes another swig from her flask

Edith Runekill: "It's just... this place is always gonna be the context I came from. A lot's changed about me since I left-- or even before I left, in the run-up to making that choice-- but I still got a lot of it in me, too. I talk Plaguelands. I still get a thrill outta driving like I am right now, all alone on the road. I still believe in Auril, even if... even if Pastor Jack tried to hurt me...? I still look at this landscape and think home. But it's not, it's not, it's not."

Grim: "S'where you come from. Like I come from the far out desert, no matter how far I go." She's staring off at the endless fields in the dark. "I come out've ash 'n ghosts, 'n that sticks. Don't matter where you live after. But it matters how y'choose to live, after."

Edith Runekill: "Yeah... and. And I case how I chose to live, in the end, was in the city. Even though it's somewhere where the stars don't shine, where everyone's all cramped together, where there's smog in the air."

"Or... or no. Maybe what I really chose... was this."

"Chasing Szass Tam halfway across Faerun."

"Since it seems... like the right thing to do?"

"I dunno."

Grim smiles a little

Grim: "Don't know myself, Runekill. But I know I don't regret a second, bein' out here with y'all."

Edith Runekill: "I... regret a few seconds, maybe. Like when I jumped outta that car."

"And frankly I regret thinking going out here again would be a good idea at all?"

"But... but I don't regret... I don't regret this."

"This... whole... thing..."

Grim snorts and glances at Edith

Grim: "Y'gave it your best. Don't ever go havin' regrets on that account."

"Truth be told, I wish I could go on with the. uh..." she trails off searching for a word. "The...faith you got."

"In people. In places. In history turnin' out right."

"I got no faith in folks. S'how it took me so long comin' around to all y'all."

They finish their heart-to-heart by noticing the police are behind and closing in. Being the only speeding car on the road near a scene of wanton arson has a way of making you a target.

Grim glances at the police lights in the mirror and purses her lips

Grim: "Shit, we gotta lose this heat."

"Else Syd'll be real disappointed."

Edith Runekill: [Infernal] "Shit, I thought they'd still be back in town..."

[Infernal] "Fucking shit-ass fucking pigs fuck them."

[Common] "Don't worry, I'm sure we can shake 'em."

Grim glances at Edith. She has no idea what any of those words mean, but it's weirdly hot.

Grim will never admit it

Grim: "You done this before?"

Edith Runekill: "...no. Not... not as such."

"I know some side-roads, though."

Grim: "Alright, so let's get it right first time."

Grim nods to Edith and sits forward, squinting at the stars to get a bearing on where they are

Edith Runekill makes a truly alarming hairpin turn past a billboard for fantasy Burmashave onto a rocky dirt road.

Grim hollers despite herself. Blood will out.

Edith Runekill: "This oughta loop back around to the motel... trouble is I don't know if the cops know to look this way..."

Grim shifts up to sit on the passenger side door, leaning over to sight along her rifle at the pursuing cars

Grim: "Don't go leadin' them to the others, we got this."

Grim wangs a shot off the road just ahead of the cops

Grim curses and reloads

Nora R.: The car vanishes.

Grim drops suddenly and rolls as she hits the road

Edith Runekill Blinks

Grim lunges to reach for Edith, only to freeze when Edith vanishes right in front of her

Grim watches the cop cars pass and then kind of fREAKS OUT??

Grim scrambles into the middle of the road, feeling around like she might find an invisible Edith

Edith Runekill reappears.

Edith Runekill: "Sorry. Blink cloak."

"Had to vanish in a hurry after I messed up the landing."

Grim stumbles and lands on her hands and knees, staring at Edith

Grim: "SHIT."

"You scared the HELL outta me, girl."

Edith Runekill: "I'm... kinda disappointed in the car."

Edith Runekill: "Destroying the Barbarian was the right thing to do."

"Sorry..."

"You okay?"

Grim flops down to sit in the middle of the road

Grim: " Well, shit, I guess so, since you ain't DEAD or nothin'."

Somehow the paladin car wasn’t down for the festivities, leaving them to walk back to the motel. It’s a nice night for it, anyway, and it’s easier to talk when you’re not driving and being chased by Johnny law. Despite the turn the evening took, Grim and Edith both agree they’re feeling better than they were after leaving the farm.

Grim looks across at Edith as she lights up, studying her

Grim: "Y'know, first day we met, never would've reckoned on spendin' a night this way with you."

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. Remember the next day? The museum? Me digging out the records for everything Mal and I recovered from Tethyamar?"

"Guess that's two times now I met somebody important in my life in a way where I wound up frantically trying to provenance a bunch of artifacts."

Grim laughs a little

Grim: "Y'wanna know the truth?"

"Din't know shit about what I was lookin' at. I just wanted t'see how you pair acted under pressure."

Edith Runekill laughs.

Edith Runekill: "I was real mad that you thought Mal had stolen stuff... but also I was a little mad you thought Mal had stolen stuff when, if we had stolen anything, then darn it, I woulda stolen it too."

"Felt like I wasn't getting credit."

Grim laughs at this

Grim: "Shit, Runekill. Weren't nothin' personal."

"I only get paid for the one on the sheet."

Like all drunks having a good time, they also have deep philosophical discussions.

Edith Runekill: "Ahh, women in academia never get written up for the work they do."

Grim: "Or jailed, I guess." Grim nudges Edith with a smirk.

Edith Runekill: "Well. If we keep up acts of cultural criticism like what we did tonight I might manage it."

Grim: "If I ain't behind bars yet, I reckon you got a long future on the outside." Grim toasts Edith with her flask and takes a long swig.

Edith Runekill: "Or maybe a short one, depending on how things shake out with Tam."

Edith Runekill grins and takes a swig, too.

Grim: "Fuck that rotten ol' Thayer asshole." Grim turns her head and spits into the ditch. "He died more oftener'n us so far, ain't he?"

Edith Runekill: "Plus he apparently got locked in a basement for... oh, 1400 or so and only just managed to find his way out."

*since... oh, 1400 or so

Grim nods and snorts

Grim: "Fuckin' dumbshit. We got his ass dead to rights, don't even worry 'bout it."

Edith Runekill is still drunk enough to believe this

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. He's a goner."

Grim toasts and swigs again, looping an arm around Edith's shoulders as they walk

Grim: "Like I told your pa, Runekill. You're gonna be one've them folk books get written on. That's for real."

Edith Runekill: "You said that to Pa?"

"Well, first, thanks, that's really flattering."

"But, second... y'know. Yeah. I think we are. This thing we're doing... it's the kinda thing stories are made of."

Edith Runekill looks up at the stars again as they trudge down the dirt access road. "Not sure what they'll say about this part of the story, granted."

Grim snorts

Grim: "They don't never tell this part."

"Probly just as well."

Edith Runekill: "On the bright side, if they do tell that part everyone will remember what a bullshit mascot in a bullshit town that was."

Grim: "If nobody remember that shit, I ain't ever about to complain."

Edith Runekill: "Anyway. Every story could use a lighter interlude."

"Something to give everyone a break even when things are getting rough."

Grim nods at this

Edith Runekill: "So. We've done wonders for pacing, is what I'm getting at here."

"The car vanishing even left room for this lovely walk together and a long talk under the stars."

Stares at the camera like I’m in The Office.

Edith makes a mental note to ask Syd what the deal was with the car: as far as she’s concerned, they didn’t do anything immoral by destroying the statue and losing the cops. Grim admits she never really saw eye to eye with paladins--Syd included--but trusts her heart’s in the right place.

Edith Runekill: "Yeah... she... she seems different from most other paladins I known. Or... or heard about." She casts her eyes downwards, remembering the story Mal told.

Grim: "...more I find folks workin' off their religions, less it seems regular people can stand up to the gods."

"Ain't one of us one thing or another. Not like the gods. Even Ilmater."

Edith Runekill: "Faith's... important to me. It's... a community, a cultural tradition. History that ties us to our ancestors even when they were far away, even when they were leading totally different lives. It's still a thread connecting us to the North, y'know? It's... it's important. Even after everything that's happened these past few days it's important. But... I mean..."

"That can't be the only tool you use to figure out what the right thing to do is, right?"

Grim nods slowly

Edith Runekill: "When your only tool's a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. When your only tool's Auril, every problem looks like it should be set on fire."

"Wait. Well. You know what I mean."

Grim glances at Edith and nods.

Grim: "Findin' Ilmater's the first time in my life I ever had anythin' to work for. But I ain't ever measured up. Don't know that anyone does. Maybe it's part've the deal, that we gotta keep on tryin', or maybe this world just ain't made for mortals the way it's made for gods."

"Either way, I found somethin' to live for. An' for me, that matters. Even if it don't to Ilmater, in the grand ol' scheme."

The triumphant pair returns to the motel to find Syd and Pepper still awake and outside.

Grim spots the silhouettes of Pepper and Syd in the badminton court and raises her empty flask to them in greeting as they approach.

Edith Runekill looks super thrilled to be back, even though she's limping slightly, bruised all over half her face, and she has a bleeding gash on one leg still.

Grim is a little less thrilled, she actually quite liked being out in the middle of absolutely nowhere

Pepper has her racquet down at her side and has been having a somewhat animated conversation with Sydney. She catches sight of Grim's flask glinting under the street lamp and seems to wince.

Sydney Gaydos follows Pepper's eyes to see a certain pair returning and oh, the usually cheerful dragonborn glowers at seeing them. "It seems they finally decided to show up, " she comments to Pepper.

Pepper raises the racket a precise 45 degrees before lowering it like a drawbridge.

Grim expects approximately zero pushback from these two, and looks at Edith as they arrive back in the forecourt

Hm.

Grim: "What's the story, Runekill, you headin' right on up to bed?"

Edith Runekill: "Well. Should probably eat something first to soak up all this.... healing potion. And... and drink some water. But yeah, I'm pretty... pretty exhausted, by this point."

"Good exercise, though."

"We oughta go for more walks."

Grim smirks and claps her shoulder, then nods to the all night eatery

Grim: "Get you a burger?"

Edith Runekill: "Auril, yes."

Pepper , in a sing-song voice in Elvish at NO ONE IN PARTICULAR sings "[Elvish] You fu-ucked u-up." It's just what she sang at the Pastor back at Edith's house. Weird.

Pepper scratches at her head with the racket and admires the gutters on the motel.

Edith Runekill: {t Pepper: wait what}

Sydney Gaydos waits til they get nice and close before stepping to the side and stopping them. "You both have some serious explaining to do, " she grunts, staring down at both of them.

Edith Runekill: {t Pepper: im so drunk}

Grim steers Edith towards the eatery, still kind of relying on leaning on her to stay upright and walk in a straight line

Grim stops as they almost collide with Syd

Grim sizes up Syd, mildly perplexed

Grim: "Some problem, Scales?"

Pepper gives Grim the most pitiful of looks. So this is how her parents felt oh-so-many times.

Edith Runekill: {t Pepper: oh shit}

{t Pepper: peppper}

Sydney Gaydos: "You can say that, " she starts off slow. "Taking Gaydos' holy paladin mount on a joyride to the country without her permission then FIRING on police vehicles?!"

Pepper: {T Edith: whyyyyyyy}

Edith Runekill: {t Pepper: im so druink rigt now. did you know that.}

Grim looks right back. She's never experienced parental disapproval, this means nothing to her

Edith Runekill has learned not one day ago that parents are bullshit and is feeling punchy

Oh.

Edith Runekill: "We destroyed a... a hated symbol of the racist, backwards attitudes of Plaguewrought Land, and then took certain actions to evade the enforcers of that violent cultural hegemony who objected to our political message."

Grim nods in affirmation of Edith

Pepper squints at Edith, then looks to Grim for help deciphering that mess.

Edith Runekill: {t Pepper: we lit that awful high school amscot statue on fire and good riddance it was so tacky and made the whole town look bad and just driving by it made me feel grossed out but everyone heres just used to it so Drastic Measures Were Takaen}

Pepper rubs her temple with her free hand.

Pepper: "Okay," she says in response to nothing in particular.

Edith Runekill: "It's not our fault the cops chose to leverage their monopoly on state violence to repress our important act of cultural criticism!"

Grim has no idea what Edith just said, but she nods anyway

Sydney Gaydos regards both of them carefully. "And you thought by shooting at them, which could possibly of caused harm to them, was right? For your own actions? Did you even consider thinking far ahead? Or acting on impulse as you usually do?" Sydney turns to look straight at Grim.

Grim: "Din't nobody shoot at 'em, I went for takin' out a tire." Grim eyeballs Syd right back, getting a little annoyed just by merit of being stared at.

Sydney Gaydos: "Knowing your skill and powers, Grim, " she finally says it, "you could have easily blew out a front end of a car. Did you not think that could cause harm? A tire going out, cars crashing, and so on?"

Edith Runekill: "Sounds like the car's aligned itself with the hegemonic power structure of Plaguewrought Land's cultural mores."

Grim: "Did that shit happen?"

Oh boy.

Sydney Gaydos FUMES. "The car is directly tied to Gaydos' own moral code! She would have also been against firing at law enforcement." Back to Grim. "Knowing you, you would have not stopped firing until you achieved your desired results."

Grim lets go of Edith and straightens up, staring back at Syd

Grim: "An' just what're those, you reckon, Gaydos?"

Edith Runekill is becoming increasingly drunk as the effects of finishing the flask all at once begin to hit her; she sways visibly as Grim lets go of her.

Grim catches hold of Edith again, better safe than sorry

Sydney Gaydos: "Achieving whatever you selfishly want. Like previously with your firing at the Lich's car or even more recently that drug bender of yours with Malkas. Do you think these actions through? Think of the consequences?"

Grim 's jaw sets

Edith Runekill: "You'd've needed a time machine to know how shooting the car woulda turned out!"

Grim: "You got a problem with me suddenly?"

Edith Runekill: "That's unfair to pin on Grim and you know it."

Pepper slides up between Sydney and Grim, facing Sydney. "Hey, c'mon."

Grim attempts to shoulder Pepper aside, still looking at Sydney

Edith Runekill: "Anyay, just 'cause somebody has a badge doesn't mean they're doing the right thing! Cops here are as bad as everyone else who's made it their business keeping things they way they are, from Pastor Jack on down!!!!"

Grim: "You sayin' I'm responsible for that shit? For Secomber?"

Edith Runekill begins singing drunkenly, remembering political meetings from Undergrad: "Arise, ye workers from your slumber! Arise, ye prisoners of want!"

Pepper stays put in front of Sydney. "Edith, please."

Sydney Gaydos doesn't try to move past Pepper, but does elect to ignore and talk over her. Also Edith too. "Did you think shooting anything, especially the car of the Lich, would result in a good outcome?!"

Edith Runekill: "Immobilizing the Lich woulda been a real good outcome and at the time it seemed like it played out that way!"

"He had to push his car out instead of flying away!"

"You're being real unfair, Syd."

Pepper: "He had that one coming. If he dug around in her head half as bad as he did mine, she should've shot it twice."

Pull up, gang, pull up.

Grim glowers at Sydney, fist clenched and physically trembling with restraint

Pepper flicks her eyes back at Grim then up at Sydney again.

Grim: "You be real clear, now, Gaydos."

Edith Runekill: "Y-yeah..."

Grim: "You sayin' I'm responsible for Secomber?"

Sydney Gaydos: "I'm not saying you are, " ohhh she dropped her speaking quirk, "but do you truly consider yourself not responsible at all? I don't."

Edith Runekill punches Sydney

Pepper looks at Edith. She doesn't need to dodge because there's an awful lot of Sydney and not much of Edith.

Grim is too surprised by what just happened to do anything except look at Edith like 0_0

Sydney Gaydos that makes her head snap a little, but it doesn't hurt. She turns to eye Edith. "Not an action I expected of you."

Pepper: "You had that one coming, too," she mumbles.

Grim is still 0_0

Edith Runekill: "Well I didn't expect you to have such a shocking lack of empathy for how it went down when we faced off against Tam and what finding out about Secomber was like!!! So THERE!!!"

Edith Runekill is DrunkMad now

Pepper just pats Edith's head with mage hand. settle down

Pepper pokes Sydney in the chest. "You said you were gonna talk to them about the car, you didn't have to really. Bring up all that other stuff."

Edith Runekill attempts to swat Pepper's mage hand away with a mage hand of her own, but she's a.) too drunk and angry to navigate this complex 3D spatial relationship and b.) mage hand doesn't work like that

Grim is kind of stunned by this entire interaction, tbh. She looks from Edith to Sydney and back, at a loss.

Sydney Gaydos: "Actions have consequences. Big ones, and small ones. " she looks between the group. "It is long past high time that gets learned." However she takes a step back, more somber now. "Capridi is in her room, it is obvious you need healing." Sydney would offer but you know, lol.

Pepper runs her fingers through her hair.

Grim stares through Sydney, then shakes her head and speaks blandly.

Edith Runekill: "Like, okay, whatever, yell at us about using the car without permission, or about the cops or whatever, and I'll argue. But-- but that-- but what you said..."

Grim: "Go fuck yourself, Gaydos."

Well.

Grim steps around Sydney to head on into the diner. She's over this confrontation.

Edith Runekill thinks that maybe getting healed actually is a good idea but she's too mad to admit it. She puts a hand on Grim's shoulder and follows her towards the diner.

Sydney Gaydos: "Edith, " she says as she passes by, "your car privileges are restricted until I decide otherwise. It is the same for Grim but I don't think it effects her as much."

Pepper starts muttering in Elvish. It could be a prayer. It could be cussing. The only two Elvish speakers are too far away and drunk to tell.

Grim finds a booth and doesn't even order food. That's how fucked up this is.

Edith Runekill looks over her shoulder, looking more annoyed at Syndey than she has in her entire life. "Good luck navigating our awful Plaguewrought highway system without me."

Pepper just gives Edith a weird look she figures she won't remember in the morning.

Edith Runekill Will Remember This

Edith Runekill: "Without me driving, I mean."

"I'll be there."

"Well, anyway."

"I'm going into the diner now."

Edith Runekill does so.

Grim glances up at Edith as she enters, hands flat on the table in front of her. She honestly doesn't know where she us right now, but Edith's here so it's probably okay.

Edith Runekill puts her hands on Grim's. "You're okay. It's okay. Nothing she said was right."

Edith Runekill: "Right as in factual or right as in moral."

Grim takes a breath and focuses on Edith, then exhales. She holds onto Edith's hands for dear life.

Grim: "...the fuck did I do, Runekill?"

Edith Runekill: "You didn't do anything, Grim. You made a tough call in probably the scariest fight of all our lives with Tam getting in our heads. And if you hadn't he would've just flown away right then and there."

Edith Runekill: "If Szass Tam thought, well, my car got busted, time to ravage a city known for its auto industry and hurt lots of people to fix it... that's an awful thing Tam did. It's him."

Grim shudders and grips Edith's fingers, then lowers her head to rest on the table

Grim: "...I'm too fuckin' drunk for this."

"What the fuck."

Edith Runekill: "Let's... let's order those burgers. And drink lots of water." She's ALSO too drunk for this but she's trying Very Hard to keep it together for Grim.

Grim grunts assent. After a moment she releases Edith's hands and folds her arms over her head without moving from the table

Edith Runekill orders food from a waitress who, thank Auril, does NOT recognize Edith. The waitress regards Edith and Grim with the mix of pity and impatience she reserves for the soon-to-be-hungover.

Grim takes a long breath and lets it out, cradling her head on the table for a few minutes before she pulls herself together enough to sit up and find her cigarette.

Grim fumbles a cigarette into her mouth and lights it, then slides the packet over to Edith. Her hands are trembling.

Edith Runekill lights a cigarette, too. For some mysterious reason she isn't keen to go to the car and get her own cigarettes back. Wonder why.

Grim rests her chin in her hand, fingers covering her mouth as she smokes.

Edith Runekill smokes too, watching Grim in silence.

Grim is a billion miles away, and it doesn't look like a good place to be

This is fine. Getting back to outside.

Sydney Gaydos doesn't say anything after that, and turns her head to face forward, starting into the darkness ahead.

Pepper: "Uuuuuugh Plaguewrought Land sucks!" she says to the open sky.

Sydney Gaydos: "That it does, Pepper, " Sydney comments quietly, still staring ahead. "Are you going to go join them inside?"

Pepper: "Huh? Oh." She looks back and forth. "I dunno. Not. Right now?"

Pepper: "Syd," she's quiet and sounds almost pleading. "What the hell?"

Sydney Gaydos takes a long breath in, and lets it out slowly before speaking. "Not my most tactical way of confronting things." She tilts her head towards Pepper. "Was it?"

Pepper: "Not the--oh my god, Syd," she buries her face in her hands. "That shit was like a month ago, it couldn't have waited one more night?" She sighs. "You know that was. Gods I don't even have a word for what happened just now." She ponders to the night sky.

Sydney Gaydos: "A miscalculation, " Sydney offered helpfully, ignoring the rest of that. She sighs again. "Go inside Pepper. Make sure Edith and Grim get healed. I'll be sleeping outside in the camper, the car, or wherever is convenient."

Pepper gives a supportive pat to Sydney's arm.

Pepper: "I'm not a fan of kicking someone while they're down, but that goes for you, too, okay? If you need to talk or. Not talk. Or whatever."

Sydney Gaydos 's body sags at the pat and Pepper's words. "I... thank you. Your offer means more to me than you will ever know..." she hesitates, but places a hand on her shoulder. "For now, I think the best place is inside for you is with the others. They... need the support, it seems."

Pepper: "Yeah. Okay." She pats Syd's hand, then heads off to the diner.

Plaguewrought Land sucks.

#summary #previously on #neverwinter 1933

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pokefanbri · 4 years

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1st I have to say this b4 I repeat the post from fb. This is a place where I can speak my mind freely without judgement, speak my peace even. Which is exactly what im gonna do so prepare for a read. So think what u want idc, but the last thing I wanna do is tick some1 I know off cause on some level there's a mutual appreciation & respect regardless of my impression. And anyone that reads this isn't obligated to understand my opinion & I dont expect u to. With my brain its my thought process to let information out of my head so I can put things aside, observe & absorb more lol. Writing is another tool or coping mechanism for my anxieties & other psych ailments, treatment for my mental health depends on it & other hobbies in other words, especially during shutdown, something to focus on. Heck even youtube is recommended by my doctor if it keeps me happy lol. But because ill be working again, I may not have time to do alot of things I like sadly..idk i just wouldnt want to be burnt out & focus on more important things. I have a high respect for anyone working around people during this time & it must worrisome for u too, means I have to keep on my toes as well soon..its a scary world out there for an introvert but I was killin it in NY too. It was just a slow steady process with all the limitations & moving my life up there wasn't easy to begin with but I pulled through & did it all...only for it to be taken away.

So, I'm an Irish, German, Canadian,British Mut from tucson. Maternal & paternal immidiate families lineage mixed made me, including my NY blood from my bio dad. The rest is all over Europe but u get the idea. Tucson may be where i was born & my 1st home without a father & raised not knowing (were mardi gras babies btw 😒)

But NY is & will forever be my 2nd home i dont care what any1 says, I felt I belonged there. Its the other half of me quite literally.Theres a memory that's really been bugging me. Last day b4 i left it, a bald eagle flew across my path in the sky no joke going NE & I was departing back to the SW. I chose the eagle years ago cause I identify with it. including the background symbolism in different phases of my life that included them lol, but to actually see one was just amazing.

They symbolize strength+freedom in general despite it standing for the country from sea to shining sea lol. Also Braviary was always in my pokemon team besides pikachu since its gen came out lol. I've always been strong, whether some believe it to be true or not is their problem, only I know the things I've gone through. Point is different ends of the spectrum its always been with me throughout in some way & im glad i got to share it with someone that gave me the freedom I needed.

But yea I experienced what its like to be there & got to know that part of me even if I didn't find him & maybe didnt care...I feel I was meant to be there. I was in touch with my roots, lower Temps & above sea level rather than high temps & below sea level 🤣 I loved everything about my time up there. It'll always be a part of me, & I hope to see it again. But I digress.

But in regards to the relationship itself, emphasizing on what i said b4. Just as it i got "settled" in it was gone & I had no clue what was happening without my knowledge, the whole plan to bring me back, all of it, the whole chain of events that unfolded the way it did starting with leaving a marriage in the 1st place to be with him i mean come on lol. Chasing a dream that didn't play out the way we had hoped. I took leap of faith & I ended up starting over twice in 1 year with no benefit of the doubt. I still have my ny health insurance for the rest of the yr, I have to add it to my list to apply again in az. Ive been wearing the wrong prescription glasses for 6 months under quarantine & they're just now getting to stage 4 of opening lol. Just understand how frustrating that actually is for someone like me & u totally get it 😅 U want to take care of business but sometimes you're limited & gotta work around it. had all that covered there & then was told I settled, wrong thing to say & its no wonder I didn't blow up in his face right there & then 😒. But I have retraint & can control myself. Though it was out of my hands the new relationship didn't have to go sour, been just as long if not more, could've actually thrived given the proper balance with room to grow. Idk, Sometimes I honestly don't think anyone believed in me. I mean I have no debt, no record, no kids, im a clean slate type of girl lol. Yes I did end up feeling unappreciated, underestimated, a bit neglected, insecure about my body, ashamed for being myself, & I shouldn't have to feel that way at all & if that happens there obviously something off. I just didnt know what it is he wanted & needed, i wanted to help & be a good partner to this dude but why is it bad to ask the same in return? I shouldn't have to drastically change myself to fit someones standard i know, but...i needed the old him back, I missed the old us & wanted to get back to that.. Was always so closed off & probably ended up in his own head who knows, maybe there was guilt for some of the things he did & didnt want to hurt me anymore, spare my feelings any more than it did b4 it was too late.idk whatever the excuse i still don't know what triggered it all to fail so easily & i don't think i ever will. But ending up with the conclusion that I was the problem, its narcissistic to even believe that & i won't accept it. Not when he can't confront his own issuse & put blame onto himself too.. it was a low blow & literally felt like my heart was pierced at the sound of it. If im to blame its the other way around as well. My point of view wasn't acknowledged so this is my take & experiences of happened so plz dont hate me for speaking my truth.

But yea I can tell when somethings not right & feel strong empathy for others emotions. I knew something was different, there were signs everywhere since the mistrust started & during the last half of that time with him I questioned everything but sat in my own headspace as well as he did just thinking about it. If anything we failed eachother, the blame is on us both but idk what else i could've done to get through to him. That's the stubbornness, he wouldn't budge. Despite how things went down..Leaves me to think, what was the point of having me there in the 1st place, to not follow through with our shared hopes & dreams but instead spiral into such resentment for me that the interest faded. But at the at the same time...even if it ended early for him, I didn't give up & I fought to keep us okay which it was for the most part. Hindsight is 20/20, it definitely wasn't negative all the time. In fact things were great between us & acted like goofballs together, that right there is a friend despite if the stronger feelings weren't mutual. Nobody with hate in their heart acts like that, he was good, the best, cheered me up when I was down, shared interests & did things for eachother. But that alone makes me question what was truth & what was fiction sometimes ever since the trust between us started to fade. Am I in the right to feel what im feeling right now? Im angry & upset yes very, but the kindness he had throughout..he did care in his own way...which makes things so much harder.

Tripadoodle if some way you're listening, I hope u know now where im coming from. For your own benefit & quest to be a better man like you always wanted...actually try. Head my advice. Making yourself better shouldn't be put on a womans shoulders to do for u without her getting lifted in return...its alot of weight to handle for 1 person to carry lol. Get off your ass & build on yourself, learn from everything that happened & become better for yourself & the sake of others, Because it starts with u. Go to church if possible or watch them, it really does help. Even from across the country I still want u to do just as good & help u as a friend. You promised we could remain friends & im holding my end of the bargain whether u like it or not lol it was your idea during the ride here. All I wanted in the end was to not lose u in my life completely...but i should be patient i know.. Theres more space, im not contacting u directly & respecting that, eventually ill stfu lol but I feel I need this rn. I should hate u,but I cant hate u, I do still care, u had that affect on me so much that I can't really listen to others when they say ur a douchbag lol, u were still my rock the whole time even if u didn't feel the same after a while & u did help me alot as well. I see the good in people & u are good, with well balanced snarkiness & humorous sass to boot. light a fire under ur own ass & ull be okay lol. Never stopped believing in u. Ive seen what you can do, you're very smart & know your sh*t, u will go far lol. And as a friend I'd lend u my strength if I could but the most I can do is pray for things like safety/protection, healing, forgiveness, guidance, etc. Leave it to God if u feel compelled to. Give zanabell a hug for me.

God i talk way too much 😅 No im not doing any of this for attention, I want my voice to be heard as well as a possible learning experience if it had that effect on anyone. The things we learn build character & help us understand a little more about ourselves. Probably shouldn't share cuz its nobody's business, yea ive thought of that too.. But its a blog lol, Tumblr allowed it to be that space, opinions and rants are allowed & encouraged. Nothing wrong with that 🤷‍♀️ so who gives a crap.

These are pictures of the NY sunrise & AZ sunset. Clouds always get me cuz of the shapes, used to to take pics of them all the time. once saw mario holding a hammer when I was a kid 😂 3rd & 4th pic is a split rainbow, never seen that b4...either someone found the gold or its deciding whether or not to connect. Probably was connected but I missed it lol. But then I looked behind me after the split 1 disappeared & a double rainbow was forming. Nature can be scary but also beautiful

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invisiblenotbroken · 7 years

Text

A Ghost Story For Halloween

“If we are really witches why cant we just fly.” Clement was not happy about what her mother had assured her would be an adventure. Clement did not see adventure in state after state rolling past her window in corn, plain, and flat long blue skies. To punish her mother she had created a game of seeing how many states she could go without speaking to her. This was the first time she had said anything since Idaho.

Her mother looked at her from under her sunglasses, “She speaks. Even my tarot couldn’t have predicted it.”She waited for Clement to speak again. Her knuckles turning pale on the wheel “I only know how to do so many things but the second you learn the flying thing please teach me.”

Clement found a particularly fascinated piece of skin on her thumb. She swooped on it like an owl gnawing until dots of blood could be seen. “I still don’t think we should have had to move.” Her mother’s body became stiff with every bit of her energy focused away from Clement and on the road. “It was only a little thing and no one got hurt.” She remembered Tom’s face when he had stood back up. “Well not really hurt.”

“It’s a new start, for both of us.” Her mother squeezed her knee. A smile started thin and uncertain dying quickly at Clement’s expression. “We only have another state and a half for you to be silent in, make the most of it.”

Clement glared at her. “I told you to stay out of my head.”

“Then don’t think so loud.” Her mother turned on the radio full blast and as usual her mother’s favorite song just happened to be playing. “What are the chances?” Her mother’s voice carried out the window and over the fields. There was nothing left to do but read the book her aunt had left for her, The Grimoire for the Young and Respectable Lady Witch.

The house was perfect. Miles away from anyone and haunted her mother had promised. All sorts of ghosts all sorts of ages. Surely she would find some friends for the Summer, someone who might have been even more angry about being here than she was. Her mother gave her newspaper clippings of all the unsavory incidents that the house had been a stage for. They were dead Clement felt dead inside, they already had things in common.

“Can I have a pet?”

“You don’t need to ask me.”

“Not a familiar but a pet. A regular cat who hunts mice and stuff.”

“Bastet hunts mice.” Bastet stretched and exited the car looking over the house with quiet feline approval.

“You know what I mean.” Bastet stepped on Clement’s foot staring directly into her eyes while she slowly licked her paws clean. Her mother shrugged

“Maybe a frog?” Her mother smiled picking up Bastet and walking into the house.

“That’s not funny.”

“You’re right, it’s hilarious. Last one in has to make dinner. Boil boil toil and trouble.”

“We don't even have a cauldron anymore.”

“True, never enough space for it. We should get one here. Just for appearances sake.”

“Your such a nerd.”

“A nerd who loves you.” Her mom wrapped her arms around Clement who let herself enjoy it for exactly five seconds.

Clement’s bedroom was at the top of the north stairs over her mother’s room and under her mother’s workroom. No matter where they had lived the workroom was a place Clement had a standing invitation to come and learn the parts of witchcraft that bored her the most. She never came. She preferred her own try and see approach. To be fair this is why they had to move away for a while, after the biology class mishap.

Clement had only meant to reanimate her own frog. She had no idea how all of them got up from their trays and began hopping. Her teacher knew it was her, who else could it possibly be? Poor Tom had fainted dead away turning green and pale. He got a bump on the head from the table. But what could anyone do? To say Clement was weird and strange was one thing but to be able to reanimate a class full of dead frogs, that would be saying she was a witch, and there hadn’t been real witches for hundreds of years. Instead the principal and a very nervous counselor recommended homeschool or a long trip at least for the rest of the school year.

She didn’t mind, not really. High School had been amusing but she hadn’t made any real friends. Her Mother said she was ridiculous Clement was always invited to slumber parties. It just showed how grown ups, even witch grown ups, never know the right questions to ask.

Every slumber party girls who wouldn’t speak to her for anything would suddenly sidle up to her at lunch. They stopped asking if her thermos contained potions. They wanted her for the Oujai board and for games to find out who liked them. Idiots. They had no idea about magic. Real magic. But Clement did and she found ways to amuse herself at the parties. She told the most popular girl in school that she couldn’t see anyone in her future. She made sure she looked at Chelsea with big sorry eyes. A little wet just to sell it. The way Chelsea went on about it you would just know that alone was her least favorite thing. But then again that was Clement’s point. Chelsea’s mother even made an ill advised phone call to her own mother. It ended with a threat about turning her and her pea brained daughter into a toads. She had never liked her mother so much as in that moment.

Now here she was in a haunted house with an entire horizon between her and the next house, completely alone. She grabbed a book on herbology from her mother’s book box and headed out to explore, her head down to avoid seeing her mom’s smile. She would be entirely too pleased about her magical studies.

Hours later inside a room made by an obliging willow Clement sat making faces out of leaves, animating dead bumble bees who made slow confused circles before falling back to the ground, and occasionally reading under half closed eyes. It was going to be a very long few months.

Chpt.2 The Meeting

It took a week before she was ready to play. It was only a few days before she stopped with make up and another day for her mother to stop looking like she might say something about it. The herb book had disappeared in the forest and made its’ way back to her mother’s room. She swore it wasn’t her. It was the best use of Clements’ time and amusement to search the house for possible fairies but the ghosts answered first.

It started out simple and not too scary but that wasn’t the intention. Certain things were tried to see what would frighten Clement the most. Small things, finger nail scratches and light knocks on the door. Almost a hello. Her shoes would appear on the other side of her room and then later would venture to the ice box and once in a fit of what Clement could only call imagination they were hanging by their laces outside her bedroom window on a straggled oak branch. Clement was biding her time. The full moon was coming and she had a few questions. That and she hadn’t spoken to anyone but her mom for a few days.

She waited past midnight. The sky was black except where it was a riot of stars, only the moon was missing. The circle was made of salt cornered with five different stones and five candles. Clement held the sixth with hematite swirling silver in her palm. She was many things but an idiot she was not. Or, she was not dumb enough to make an incautious mistake that her mother could point to.

The candles flickered and the leaves dented in a circle around her.

“Can we stop with the dramatics?” The words were out of Clement’s mouth before she realized they were her mother’s. “I wouldn’t be out here if I didn’t know what you are. I just want to know who.” The wind sighed. “I could do research but there’s no WiFi here and the library is a really long walk.”

“Can I come in?” The words were in Clement’s ear and no where else. Clement held the hematite hard. Her foot knocked the salt back. Her hair was half up half down and her sleeves reached the outer edges of the circle. She looked angry in a way that reminded Clement very much of herself. “I’m Emma.”

“Like the book?”

“Don’t mention that book. I just wanted her to get crushed by a carriage.”

“Is that what happened to you?”

“We had a motor car. Don’t you know that’s very rude.”

“Sorry. You wanted my attention. You have it.”

“Did you like the trick with your shoes?”

“It made me come out here.”

“You have hematite.”

“How did you know?”

“My mother never would have let me do this without it. They couldn’t be that different, your mother and mine.”

“Does that mean we’re not so different?”

“You are alive.”

“Sorry.” Clement had no idea why she was sorry but all of the sudden she really was. Her pulse embarrassed her. “I’m here. You don’t want to talk about how you died. What do you want?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to it’s just really personal and I don’t know you. I’ve been alone here a long time.”

“You dont have to worry we’re not here for long. Just until the frog thing blows over.”

“Frog?”

“I reanimated a bunch of frogs in my science class.” The leaves rustled in what could almost be a laugh. The circle grew warm and empty the salt was back in line with the stones.

“You can stay.” The candles burned so much more brightly and Clement sat down suddenly very aware of her heartbeat. She had had encounters with ghosts before but this was very different.

Chpt.

“Did you meet Emma?” Clement’s scarf, candles, and stones tumbled to the floor.

“Were you spying?”

“Spying has such negative connotations. I think of it more like there is no TV and an impromptu seance was much more interesting than my tea. How is she? Did she do the shoe thing?”

“I brought hematite.”

“I would expect so but also not necessary. She’s not harmful just…”

“Disappointed.”

“I hadn’t thought of it before but yes. I think she was. You’re both about the same age. She should be some company for you. Unless you would like to get a pet frog.”

“That was unkind.”

“I am your mother unkind is the bargain we make for me being your mother while you’re a teenager.” Clement leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder.

“Did Grandma take you here?”

“Of course. She wanted me to meet her. I think she was hoping she would tell me how she died.”

“It wasn’t be carriage.”

“I wouldn’t expect so they had a car.”

“God. That’s what she said.” Clement started to walk away.

“Goodnight Poppet. You know I was kidding before about the unkind thing.”

“No you weren’t”

“No, but do you forgive me?”

“Always.” Clement could feel her mother sinking into a chair stirring her tea with her newest cat slinking under her wrist.

#Halloween #Ghost Story

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apsbicepstraining · 7 years

Text

Super Bowl LI prediction: Patriots’ brawny justification to tip scales against Falcons

Paolo Bandini: New Englands stout defense will move the difference in a mouth-watering matchup between the two best quarterbacks in the league this season

Success is supposed to be fleeting in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons are a case study in how its meant to be in a league whose arrangement is designed to promote parity. After starting 14 -2 and contacting their first Super Bowl in 1998, they failed to even get back into the postseason for another four years. The precise same concept happened when they are proceeded 13 -3 and reached the NFC title play in 2012.

And now, all of a sudden, they are back in the big-hearted dance.

The New England Patriots, of course, do stuffs differently. This will be their seventh Super Bowl look since hiring Bill Belichick as manager coach in 2000. No other crew has played in more than three over the same span.

Does that mean they will win on Sunday? Not inevitably: we have witnessed Belichick lose on the current stage before. Admittedly, only against the New York Giants, but six recreations perhaps isnt a large enough sample size to deduce that no other antagonist could upset them.

So, tells try and end this one down through the matchups instead. But first, a quick updated information on our Pick The Playoffs contest, where three readers have called all 10 recreations correctly so far.

Can mmmbop8 6 , nbcnfl or ShadowWarrior make it a clean sweep? Or will they descend at the final hurdle? Ill post the full suffers in the comments segment shortly, but if youre within a point of the cause, do include a tally prediction for Sundays game – this will be used as a tie-breaker, if required, to resolve our winner.

For now, I can announce that castigers is our overall champ for the combined regular season and postseason tournaments, having built a two-point pas over the rest of the field with merely the one activity left to play. Do assemble me in praising them on an impressive 72 redres picks out of a possible 112 thus far( and makes not forget that two of those recreations ended in ties ).

Falcons offense v Patriots defense

Atlanta conducted the NFL in tallying during the course of its regular season, with Ryan averaging a foolish 9.3 yards per overtaking attempt and generally performing at a degree above anything he had produced in his( already solid) profession. Meanwhile , no squad ��ve been given” fewer points than the Patriots.

Its worth noting that the Falcons have not just been running up the scores against bad crews. According to Football Outsiderss advanced DVOA metrics, they faced the second-most efficient group of defenses of any team in the NFL this season. Atlanta gave 38 qualities on Arizona, 29 on Kansas City, 23 on Denver and then 36 on Seattle last month in the playoffs.

The Patriots have just faced a unit all season with anything close to this offensive capability. They did curtail the Steelers to a combined 33 stages in two fits, but Pittsburgh were missing Ben Roethlisberger in week seven, and misplaced LeVeon Bell early in the AFC championship game.

What obligates the Falcons so dangerous is the wander of weapons at Ryans dumping. Julio Jones is an extraordinary knack quite possibly the best wide receiver in the conference but if “its just” a question of impeding him in check then I would have no doubt backing the Patriots to do so, particularly after checking how they contained Antonio Brown use constant double-teams.

Repeating that programme against Atlanta, however, appears to have been riskier. The Falcons do not have a standout No2 option in the welcome recreation, but what they do have is a whole shed of reliable pass catchers and playmakers, from Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel at receiver to Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman coming out of the backfield. Assign two champions to Jones, and will you still have enough left open?

Julio Jones, perhaps the NFLs good broad receiver, will give New Englands defense a potent challenge. Picture: USA Today Sports/ Reuters/ USA Today Sports

The obvious alternative would be to let Malcolm Butler track Jones everywhere. He is one of few actors in the NFL who might be capable of harbouring his own in such a struggle. But we have not often read Belichick making this strict apply of his No1 corner.

More likely, I suspect, is that the Patriots will inundate the field with defensive backs, leaving as few as six followers in the box and challenging Atlanta to stay patient and lope the pellet. The Falcons are quite capable of doing so, but would they stay patient enough in that scenario?

And there is at least a potential that such an approach could play right into Atlantas mitts. They have employed the play-action more frequently,( on 27.6% of Ryans passing plays, according to ProFootballFocus) and more effectively, than any other team in the league. Fix the lead early on with got a couple of scoring drives, and suddenly it gets that little bit harder for advocates to fight the sham.

Otherwise, the one big concern I have for Atlanta on this surface of the pellet revolves around the fitness of middle Alex Mack, who disabled his ankle during the NFC championship game. The single most important participate on an offensive path that has helped staggeringly from being able to start the same five actors in every tournament, he has practised this week and is expected to start on Sunday, but will he be at 100%?

That ankle is sure to be tested by an encounter with New Englands 350 lb defensive tackle, Alan Branch. If it fails, Atlanta might be in big trouble.

Patriots offense v Falcons defense

As brilliant as Ryan has been this season and I have already drawn my lawsuit for why I think he should prevail the MVP there is at least an polemic to be made that Brady, after returning from his postponement, was even better. How do you combat a guy who accomplishes more than 67% of his delivers, and who has a moronic 132.8 quarterback rating on third down?

The obvious answer is to hit him before he gets the chance to jettison. Obvious, but incredibly difficult to achieve. Brady took a mere 19 sackings in 14 starts( playoffs included) this season and has exceeded against the offensive for years.

Almost every team that has toppled New England in a playoff game in the past decade has been able to generate consistent pres without communicating extra souls after him. In belief, Atlanta have the personnel to do the same. Vic Beasley passed the league with 15.5 sacks in the regular season, whilst Dwight Freeney remains a highly effective situational line rusher as well.

In practice, though, I have some skepticisms. Beasley is yet to record a sack in the playoffs, and you could make a lawsuit that his regular season figures in that department overstate his effectiveness. His 56 total quarterback pushes simply graded 18 th in the NFL, and he is likely to waste a considerable part of Sundays game rowing up opposite New Englands right tackle, Marcus Cannon a boy who has not allowed a sacking since week one.

Whether Atlantas offensive can fluster Tom Brady will prove crucial to the Falcons probabilities. Photograph: Charlie Riedel/ AP

Brady should be content to get the ball out soon, extremely. The Falcons missed 136 tackles this season, according to ProFootballFocus, and allowed opposing ball-carriers to gain an average rate of 2.89 yards after initial contact. Those were, respectively, the second-worst and worst such numbers of any crew in the league.

A reasonable conclusion for Belichick and his coaching personnel would be that it obligates more sense were concentrated in plays that get the ball into receivers hands close to the line of scrimmage rather than taking shots downfield. Nobody executing the simple-minded slant-flats elapsing abstractions better than Brady, who, like Ryan, has a property of different targets to is targeted at.

Chris Hogan has been the starring of New Englands playoff show in so far, and his width cam be an asset against a justification that prizes speed over strength. Belichick might be allured to soften Atlanta up early, using heavy shapings with a heavy dosage of LeGarrette Blount and Martellus Bennett. But if not then, hey, Julian Edelman, Dion Lewis and James White all has been able to do impair, more.

Special teams

The Falcons might have a slight edge up the third phase, though I dont think its a huge one. Kicker Matt Bryant has put together best available season of his career at 41 years old, the coverage divisions have been solid and Eric Weems ranked sixth in the tournament with an 11.4 ground punt render norm. The Falcons own punter, Matt Bosher, should be find fresh-legged, made hes simply had to boot the projectile 44 durations all season.

New Englands Ryan Allen is solid, as are the coverage gangs. There have been a few render misfortunes over such courses of the season, but Dion Lewis led a kickoff return back 98 grounds for a score against the Houston Texans in the divisional round. The only faint cherry-red marking is attached to kicker Stephen Gostkowski whose often high standards have declined reasonably, with three extra places and four field goals missed over such courses of the season.

Pick

What prepares this such a mesmerizing matchup relates to the fact that, on the surface, you can find so much about these crews that look similar. Brady and Ryan have been the two good quarterbacks in the league in 2016 -1 7, both have benefited from strong pass safety and each has a immense arsenal of varied weapons at their dumping. I expect this to be a high-scoring play.

In the end, though, I do repute the Patriots will have an edge on justification. I dont envisage either squad is going to have a great deal of exultation rushing the passer unless Mack genuinely does struggle for Atlanta but I do expect Belichick to do a better task of scheming to slow Ryan down, take away the deep ball and test the Falcons willingness to play patiently and chip away.

Perhaps they will rise to that challenge. But Im more inclined to trust the team Ive construed do it before.

Prediction: Patriots 34 -2 8 Falcons

The post Super Bowl LI prediction: Patriots’ brawny justification to tip scales against Falcons appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

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apsbicepstraining · 7 years

Text

Super Bowl LI prediction: Patriots’ brawny justification to tip scales against Falcons

Paolo Bandini: New Englands stout defense will move the difference in a mouth-watering matchup between the two best quarterbacks in the league this season

And now, all of a sudden, they are back in the big-hearted dance.

Falcons offense v Patriots defense

Julio Jones, perhaps the NFLs good broad receiver, will give New Englands defense a potent challenge. Picture: USA Today Sports/ Reuters/ USA Today Sports

That ankle is sure to be tested by an encounter with New Englands 350 lb defensive tackle, Alan Branch. If it fails, Atlanta might be in big trouble.

Patriots offense v Falcons defense

Whether Atlantas offensive can fluster Tom Brady will prove crucial to the Falcons probabilities. Photograph: Charlie Riedel/ AP

Special teams

Pick

Perhaps they will rise to that challenge. But Im more inclined to trust the team Ive construed do it before.

Prediction: Patriots 34 -2 8 Falcons

The post Super Bowl LI prediction: Patriots’ brawny justification to tip scales against Falcons appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

from WordPress http://ift.tt/2fJgU4D via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes

apsbicepstraining · 7 years

Text

Super Bowl LI prediction: Patriots’ brawny justification to tip scales against Falcons

Paolo Bandini: New Englands stout defense will move the difference in a mouth-watering matchup between the two best quarterbacks in the league this season

And now, all of a sudden, they are back in the big-hearted dance.

Falcons offense v Patriots defense

Julio Jones, perhaps the NFLs good broad receiver, will give New Englands defense a potent challenge. Picture: USA Today Sports/ Reuters/ USA Today Sports

That ankle is sure to be tested by an encounter with New Englands 350 lb defensive tackle, Alan Branch. If it fails, Atlanta might be in big trouble.

Patriots offense v Falcons defense

Whether Atlantas offensive can fluster Tom Brady will prove crucial to the Falcons probabilities. Photograph: Charlie Riedel/ AP

Special teams

Pick

Perhaps they will rise to that challenge. But Im more inclined to trust the team Ive construed do it before.

Prediction: Patriots 34 -2 8 Falcons

The post Super Bowl LI prediction: Patriots’ brawny justification to tip scales against Falcons appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

from WordPress http://ift.tt/2fJgU4D via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes