#It's probably TOPLINE

[burningstudenthideout]

Where do I unsubscribe from always getting songs stuck in my head?

[frenchkisstheabyss]

⛧ 𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝙱𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜 ⛧

⛧ Pairing: poly!slasher!minsung x chubby!fem!reader

⛧ Genre: slasher au/horror/fluff/angst

⛧ Summary: It's Halloween 1996, you've just broken up with your toxic ex, and there's a killer on the loose. When you go to the local video store to find your next distraction, you run into your longtime crushes who have their hearts set on looking after you. But you must be careful. Not everyone's who they appear to be.

⛧ Word Count: 2.1k

⛧ Warnings: brief discussion of murder, implied possessive ex, intro to knife play if you squint, suggestive, psycho Minsung, you probably have a killer fetish, & that's all my loves. It's otherwise quite fluffy tbh.

⛧ A/N: I'm starting this series as my love letter to 90's slasher films aaaand because I just love Minsung. I'm writing this in "tapes" instead of chapters for ✨ ambiance ✨ so I hope the vibes come across. I'm already working on part two so I'll have my knives and fingers crossed you babes enjoy this one.

💀 >>> Go to Tape 2 >>> 💀

A bell dings overhead as you step through the door of Topline Video. A crowd of middle school kids dart by, nearly knocking you over in their excitement to get home with some cheesy slasher flick they definitely shouldn’t be watching. All are in full costume, wearing the kind of plastic masks that smell sorta funny when you put them on. 

The kid dressed as a goblin turns back for a second, peeling up the murky green mask to reveal an apologetic face. “Sorry, lady!” he shouts, taking your gentle smile as a sign of forgiveness and racing to catch up to his friends. “Lady?” you whisper to yourself, the door creaking shut behind you, “Great, now I feel ancient.” 

Lucky for you there’s no time for an existential crisis as you’re swept into the frenzy of the video store. The walls are packed with what must be a thousand VHS tapes. Double sided displays line the aisles with hundreds more. Every one of them is some brand of horror movie with even the most obscure subgenre present. 

Black and orange streamers travel from one end of the ceiling to the next with tiny spiders dangling from them. Giant skeletons lurk in the corners guarding jack o lanterns with flickering eyes. Every year people eat it up but this year is particularly spooky. It sends a shiver down your spine when you recall why. 

“I heard they found another leg” a red haired girl says, casually smacking on a piece of bright pink bubblegum. Beside her a shorter girl files through tapes under a large bloody hand drawn sign reading SERIAL KILLERS.

“I thought they already found both of his legs. A guy can’t have three legs.”

The red haired girl shakes her head, smiling mischievously. “That is not true. I hooked up with him once. You could for sure consider that thing a third leg.” The girls break into a fit of giggles. Dodging their insensitivity, you squeeze yourself into the Monster Movie section. 

“Hey Drac” you sigh, staring up at the Dracula cutout looming over you, “I live in a town of idiots.” “You don’t mean everyone, do you?” a voice answers back with the worst Dracula impersonation you’ve ever heard. Suspicious that it isn’t coming from the cardboard cutout, you peek around to see a familiar face stocking the shelves. 

Your heart immediately begins to flutter, a blanket of warmth encompassing you. Han Jisung. If you flip through the dictionary you’ll find him under D for dreamy. The glow of the setting sun kisses his dark curly hair, making it almost sparkle. And those brown eyes, they’re so…no…keep it together. 

“That’s a terrible Dracula voice” you tease, arms folded across your chest. “I don’t know what you mean. Bleh, bleh, bleh” he carries on, pretending to bare his fangs. Now it’s you who’s giggling and you can’t stand how easily he gets you to.

“You are such a dork, Han.”

Returning to his normal voice he only shrugs, “But that’s why you’re so insanely in love with me isn’t it?”

His words intensify the heat moistening your palms. Fidgeting with the sleeves of your jean jacket, you wrack your brain for some witty response only for nonsense to tumble out. 

“No. What? I…uh…um…early.” 

Popping a copy of Megaverse Massacre 2 onto the shelf, Han raises an eyebrow at you, “Early?”

Your brain finally catches up to your mouth and you spit it out. “Uh, yeah, early. I heard you guys were closing early because of the…” 

“Body hacking psycho killer?” a voice cackles, gripping your shoulders from behind. You let out a blood curdling scream that draws the attention of a few nearby shoppers. Swinging around, your fist ready to dish out a debilitating gut punch, you come face to face with Lee Minho. You haven’t quite decided if he can be filed under “dreamy” or “asshole” yet.

Minho grins, never finding you cuter than when he’s getting on your nerves. “I’m sorry, babe. Didn’t hurt you did I?” he teases, straightening out your clothes with a gentleness you weren’t expecting. The sun’s doing that thing again. The sparkle. The glow. The radiant brown eyes searching yours, threatening to make you fall even deeper into them than you already have.

Han dips between the two of you, separating you before you rip Minho’s head off. “I’m sorry. Really. He was deprived of air in the womb. Being an asshole’s just a side effect.” 

Over Han’s shoulder Minho frowns, “Hey! Rude much?” Digging into his pocket, Han pulls out a lollipop. It’s sugar blown into the shape of a blood drenched kitchen knife. “Are you bribing me with a sugary murder weapon?” you ask, staring at it skeptically. Han flashes you a close lipped smile, his cheeks so fluffy it’d be a crime to deny him.

Snatching the lollipop you waste no time popping the wrapper off and tapping Minho on the head with it. “Hey! What was that for?” he winces, wiping lollipop residue from his head. “Sorry, babe” you grin, sucking on your tool of revenge, “Didn’t hurt you did I?” Han buries his face in his hand but it does nothing to hide the joy he takes in his best friend’s pain. 

This is nice. Laughing with someone. With them. It’s been a while since you felt this light around other people. The recent weight on you hasn’t been of some invisible boogeyman sneaking off with one of your limbs. No, your boogeyman was someone you knew well, or at least thought you did, and he’s haunted you every chance he can.

Speak of the devil…

A bell dings, drawing your attention to the door where a man in a demon mask scans the room for someone. You recognize him immediately. Those boots. Those pants. That flannel shirt you always found totally hideous on him. Your heart sinks, the lollipop in your hand tumbling to the floor.

You see Minho and Han’s hearts sink too. It’s as if they sense that any joy you’d been feeling just went down the drain that instant. Minho whispers something into Han’s ear. You can’t make out what, only the calculated tone of his voice. “Hey!” Han says, perking up again, “We’re having a movie night tonight. You should come.”

As the man in the demon mask spots you, your eyes dart back and forth between the men. “A movie night? Sure that would be…I’d like that.”

Han takes you by the hand, “Wicked. Come on, you can pick a movie from the back.” He leads you towards the backroom just as the man advances towards you. Peeking over your shoulder you spot Minho blocking his way. A quick left turn stops you from seeing what happens next, filling your vision instead with tattered old movie posters.

Passing a few of Han’s coworkers, you wave politely and they smile in return. The back room’s like a dustier, quieter version of the sales floor. The walls are still lined with tapes, only there’s no way these have been watched any time in the past decade. Through the dust you see the spine of a tape titled Camp Counselor Sleepover Murder Party 4.

“That one” you decide, stopping dead in your tracks.

Han stops too, squinting to spot what caught your eye, “A woman of taste I see.” 

Pulling it from the shelf, he blows the dust away and hands it to you. “Only the finest for you.”

You feel that lightness again. It's easy to feel it when he smiles at you like this. Such an unexpected but welcomed sense of safety. “Han, thanks for…” you start but the surprise sensation of his lips pressed to yours makes anything you were about to say feel insignificant.

With one hand still holding yours, his other hand comes to rest on your lower back. Your lips are somehow softer than he’d imagined. Even in the absence of the lingering strawberry flavored lollipop, he knows they’d taste just as sweet. Minho’s gonna kill him when he finds out that he kissed you first but nothing could be more worth it.

“Thank me by not worrying about your ex,” he says, “He won’t bother you anymore. I promise.” 

You want to tell him how much he doesn’t understand. That your ex doesn’t give up that easily. But you decide not to ruin the moment, even if letting yourself believe him feels delusional. “Jisung, we need you up front!” one of his coworkers shouts back. He hesitates, unsure if he should leave you or not.

You kiss him first this time, turning him loose, “Go. I’ll be fine back here. Camp Counselor Sleepover Murder Party 1-3 have gotta be rotting around here somewhere right?” One last kiss and he’s rushing back up front, clueless as to how he’s supposed to focus on anything else now.

Turning back to the shelf you realize how big of a challenge you’re in for. Maybe there’s a feather duster somewhere? Or a respirator mask?

“Give it here. That has to be wrong.” Minho approaches the kitchen counter where you sit, playfully swinging your feet. He reaches for the magazine in your hand but you clutch it tightly to your chest, refusing to fork it over.

“Live with it, Minho. You are Suspicious Boyfriend.” 

“Suspicious boyfriend” Han sings, retrieving a bag of freshly popped popcorn from the microwave, “I think it has a ring to it.”

Hopping down from the counter, you skip your way over to Han extending the magazine and the pen in your hand out to him. “Your turn, Hannie.” You see the skepticism all over his face but don’t give up. All torture must be equal after all.

“I’ll take that” Minho smiles, stealing the popcorn for himself.

“Sure. Why not?” Han surrenders, grabbing the magazine and the pen. You and Minho watch on, far more amused than you should be, as Han skims the pages checking off answers to silly personality questions. Pick a country to travel to. Pick a favorite food. Upstairs or downstairs?

After a minute or two he finishes and slides the magazine back over to you. You can barely contain yourself as you assess his results. Leaning across the counter, you share them with Minho who immediately begins to laugh. 

“What’s so funny? What did I get?” Han asks looking so genuinely concerned that you almost feel bad for telling Minho first. Minho empties the popcorn into a bright orange Halloween bowl, shoveling some into his mouth. “Comic Relief Best Friend” he mumbles. Han frowns, coming to see for himself. You hold the results page up for him. 

Which Horror Character Are You?

You point to his score beneath the headline “Comic Relief Best Friend”.

“Oh, okay. So I’m funny and I die before him. Perfect.”

“Aww, come on. Don’t be like that” you say, poking at his chin, “It’s not like I got the best result either. I’m the Final Girl.” 

“What’s so bad about that?” Minho asks, his words muffled by food, “It means you make it to the sequel.” 

“No, it means that I’m boring. Badass but boring. I wanna be the killer. They have more fun.” 

Han shakes his head, a sympathetic hand resting on your shoulder, “I hate to break it to you but you’re not really killer material.” Minho takes your hand like a doctor prepared to give you some bad news, “Yeah, you just…you don’t have it in you, kid.” 

“Don’t have it in me? I do so!” you protest, your tantrum not doing much to make you less adorable. Minho moves toward the knife rack behind him, carefully selecting the biggest, sleekest one he can find. “Okay, so kill me.” 

There’s a long, tense silence.

“Come on. It’s not that hard. Just…” Minho mimes stabbing himself in the chest, his tongue stuck out sideways. “Give it!” you shout, running to take the knife away. Minho catches you by the wrist, slipping the knife into your hand and raising the tip of the blade an inch away from his throat.

“Do it” he dares, his hand tightening around yours, “Prove us wrong.”

There’s an unnerving excitement in his eyes as he awaits your decision. An excitement that doesn’t seem to want you to back away. No, it wants you to come closer. He wants you to come closer.

“Hannie,” you plead, “Can you talk some sense into him please?” Han joins the two of you, saying nothing at first, simply observing. The way that they watch you is intensely sexual and some part of you, one you hadn’t known existed until now, seems to take pleasure in it. 

Han laughs, bringing his arms around your waist, “Oh but sweetie, we’ve played your game. Don’t you wanna play ours now?”

[redistrictgirl]

As of September 8th, 2024, Kamala Harris is slightly favored (64% chance) in the race for the presidency.

So first, let's talk about that topline.

Some other forecasts have become noticeably more bullish for former President Trump, and that's because they're looking at the polling margins decline and declaring that the convention bump is still declining. But that's not the important part of the picture. Here, my polling "bins" come in handy. Let's look at the week-by-week average of national polling:

Week of August 11th: 47.7 Harris, 45.8 Trump

Week of August 18th (week of DNC): 47.9 Harris, 43.8 Trump

Week of August 25th: 47.9 Harris, 45.0 Trump

Week of September 1st: 49.0 Harris, 46.4 Trump

Notice anything? Vice President Harris held steady through the DNC- the convention bump merely took the form of a dip in polling for Mr. Trump. My personal theory as to why that is rests in the tone of the convention - the organizers clearly attempted a big-tent strategy to reach out to disaffected Republicans. But that makes undecided voters, not new voters for Democrats. And now both candidates are snatching up undecided voters - we are officially in full gear.

Now, let's break down the closest states:

Arizona (51% chance of being won by Harris) - This state had the biggest swing this week thanks to continued gains for Mr. Trump. The fundamentals of this state are still strong for Ms. Harris, however.

Georgia (62% chance of being won by Trump) - Another Romney-Trump-Biden state, the Vice President is keeping this state close, but it may not be enough given that the Deep South isn't known for its abundance of persuadable voters. Fundamentals and polling line up well here.

North Carolina (64% chance of being won by Trump) - The polls have this state being neck-and-neck, but again, the model expects Mr. Trump to have an easier time picking up undecided voters here.

Pennsylvania (67% chance of being won by Harris) - This state has the closest polling average in our dataset, but the model seems to believe we're more likely to be looking at a polling miss like 2022's instead of 2020's.

Wisconsin (69% chance of being won by Harris) - If there's any state the polls could fumble, I personally think it's this one. I just can't buy this whiter, more rural Rust Belt state voting to the left of Michigan. But even just looking at fundamentals, Ms. Harris is still a very, very slim favorite in the Badger State.

Now for some other notable swings:

Nevada (77% chance of being won by Harris) - Another massive swing in the Southwest, but this time it's bad for the former President. The model is now pretty confident that he's locked out of around 48.5% of the state's voters, which... you know... gives a narrow path for victory. He better hope that Ms. Harris doesn't gain any further here.

Texas (96% chance of being won by Trump) - Texas has leaped back off the board for a similar reason to Nevada - all indicators suggest that Mr. Trump is approaching 50% of the vote in this state. It would probably take a genuine polling miss in the Vice President's favor to make the state winnable.

So where does this leave each candidate? The Rust Belt continues to get more important for Ms. Harris, and Mr. Trump still needs Georgia and North Carolina to come through for him. So on a macro level, outside of the Southwest getting weird, things have actually been fairly unsurprising, which you'd expect from a short week. Let's see if there's a shakeup after the debate and in the coming months.

[dogfancier]

Dux-Nassovia, wirehaired fox terrier, 1st Prize Novice in Frankfurt, 1897. At 6 months old, she had recently survived distemper. Probably as a result, she had a dip in the topline and a weakened rear.

[simonisferal]

dance with me — scara x gn! reader

"you said let me dance with you, but i got two left feet, no rhythm, or groove" — topline addicts

very one-sided pining, drunk reader, semi drunk scaramouche, unexpected i love you/kisse, bsf to complicated, mentions of sleeping together (he ends up in your bed), somewhat angst

he still has no idea how you managed to bring him to a party.

he stayed seated during everything, even the 'entertaining' games. he only swirled the red plastic cup in his hand, filled with beer. he watched you dance with your friends. you were somehow happy in this loud place with a big smile.

he takes a sip from the cup, feeling the same as ever. he's probably the only one sober.

scaramouche ignores any girl or guy who has the audacity to approach him. his eyes are only on you the whole time. it wasn't a glare or anything negative like the looks he gives everyone else. it was a soft and wanted stare. he wanted you and your affection.

he needed a whole lot of alcohol to continue thinking that way. especially when you're looking at him like that. like you want him there. like you actually care more about him than you let on. maybe he was delusional for even giving the thought time and you just liked him as a friend.

friends.

that's not a word he liked to associate you with. but it's a word that objectively fits you better than anything he thinks of. he might've been planning to confess but decided against it.

he stood up from the stool he sat on, going to get more drinks for himself and the small group his simple sitting apparently attracted followed. he got more beer, from a closed can rather than the spiked punch. he leaned onto the table full of drinks and food like pizza and chip bags.

his eyes fell back onto you. god. you were like a parasite in his thoughts. he couldn't function without the thought of wondering if you're thinking of him. was he crazy? scaramouche thought so. it's not normal for a friend to think this way.

he might've been staring for too long because you noticed him. the way your drunken eyes managed to linger on his and the big genuine smile you gave him made the butterflies in his stomach flutter.

you walk towards from, knocking down the drink in his hands and holding them. you try to drag him along but he stands still. "hey scara, come and dance with me!" he could smell the alcohol linger on your body. he saw your grin and shook his head. he gave you a small smile.

he knows you want him on the floor. whether it's to spend time with him or just for the sillies, he can't help but feel inclined to.

"let me dance with you then." you hold his hand with a huge smile. he honestly can't dance for shit but it's not like he'd let you know. you were intoxicated beyond repair and so was everyone else, no one would even remember his terrible moves, right?

scaramouche sighed, "fine." before he let you drag him, he chugged few tequila sjots from the table. he wipes his mouth before following you into the crowd of people. you hand grips his as you maneuver around people to dance comfortably. your hands were soft and gentle and he could only look at you, mesmerized.

you pulled him closer to you once you found a blank space on the floor. your eyes looked into his and he felt like you knew everything about him. you were different, you knew him. you felt him, you saw him.

"i love you."

maybe it was the alcohol. maybe it was the intimacy of the situation. maybe he meant to say it. he didn't see your eyes falter or look away from him. he wasn't sure if you liked him—loved him back. his panic grew as you didn't speak.

his eyes only widened when he felt your lips against his. he wasn't sure if you actually would remember but he didn't care. he held you closer, wrapping his arms around your neck and pressing his hot body against yours. you were drunk, and he was almost over the edge. anything that happens past this is completely out of you guys' control and scaramouche didn't mind that.

his brain doesn't remember the rest. he doesn't remember if you said those three words back. he doesn't remember if you two continued to dance. he doesn't remember if there was even a second kiss.

he definitely didn't remember going home with you or apparently leaving his clothes around your apartment and slipping into your bed. he didn't remember that when he woke up.

his head hurt and it didn't help that his pillow was the softest thing. it didn't help that he felt a hand slimmer down to his waist as if it were holding him. and it most definitely didn't help that the hand was yours or that he was laying on your chest.

scaramouche left. you were drunk, he was drunk, it wasn't right.

he managed to walk his way home, holding his head as it pulsed in agony. the missed calls from his mother didn't do anything to reduce the pain and neither did the loud and heavy traffic.

he opened his own apartment door after climbing a flight of stairs (the elevator was out of order) and laid his stuff down before lying on his own bed.

his neck felt bruised and he looked in the mirror. he had kiss marks everywhere, what exactly happened? he looks away from the mirror, turning on his side and covering his face in embarassment.

he hates you.

he absolutely hates you. you're just a nuisance to him. he will never tell you he loves you again. he will never show any sort of affection to you, ever again. he swears on it.

even if you call or text or meet up, he won't look at your sweet eyes, or your rosy lips, or anything!

he groans loudly. you make him feel so weird and good about himself. he's not used to that and he doesn't think he ever will be.

all the drinks he drank to make sure he didn't remember anything is now biting him in the ass. scaramouche wanted to remember. really badly.

but it's okay. if you don't remember, it's like it never happened. that's exactly what he wants, no memories of his first kiss or perhaps first.

...he shouldn't have danced with you, right.?

[littlemessyjessi]

I feel, deep in my bones, that one could summon fae!Felix by repeating that bit he does in Topline thrice over in a mirror: BOM DIGI DIGI BOM BOM BOM BOM and maybe it works faster if you try to 'go deep' with it... or maybe this is just stuck in my head in an audio stim kind of way and I live in the land of delulu

A Guide to Summoning Your Faelix: AKA Faerie Felix / the most sweetest thing in the world.

FAE FELIX?

Ok!

SO let's do this!

First, we'll need to set the mood. Obviously, we're gonna need blue. It is his favorite color. Even though poor baby was recently heartbroken because the color analyst told him that blue doesn't work for him. Even though OBVIOUSLY that is incorrect! He is gorgeous in blue. Precious baby. How dare they? Unacceptable.

So, I just feel like it's absolutely NECESSARY that we include blue for the baby chick. Fuck them color swatches.

NEXT! Brownies as an offering. Non negotiable. Here is his recipe. Enjoy. They are fantastic.

Third.... we must call on the spirit of Bang Chan for he can always find his Lixie. Plus, he's our resident source of Lixie information. If he doesn't know, he'll figure it out for us. Bang Chan for President.

Now, it's time to get down to business. This is very serious. Set the lights. Turn on the music. Look in the mirror and say it.

Put all the bass you got in your voice and ..... POOF!

Congratulations! You have completed your very first summoning.

Now, let's discuss care for your Fae Felix.

First and foremost, he is going to require lots of love and affection. If you do not feel as if you can provide adequate love and affection for your Faelix then please reconsider.

If your Faelix does not receive adequate time, care and affection then he will cry. And subsequently, I will come to beat your ass.

BECAUSE HOW DARE YOU! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! DON"T YOU DARE MAKE THIS BABY SUNSHINE CHICKEN CRY! THIS MEANS WAR!

And! I'm telling Minho! And he'll help me whoop ass. So be prepared and think about that when moving forward with your Faelix.

Minho is watching...

Always watching.

Perhaps, a Hyunjinnie would be more suitable for you or perhaps a Minho. They still require love and affection but they do understand that everyone needs alone time.

Though, if you do choose to summon Minho... god help you.

If you have an aversion to copious amounts of physical displays of love and affection, PLEASE AND I AM BEGGING YOU... do NOT summon yourself a Changbinnie. He WILL be giving you his love and you WILL like it.

Fair warning.

But back to Faelix.

Now, please remember that your Faelix can handle some spice but not exceedingly so.

Be mindful of his dietary needs.

If not he'll scream.

On that note, you are going to need to stock up on rice cakes. Trust me. And probably fried chicken. Just do it.

It is also important to note that your Faelix is also sensitive to scary things so he's not likely to be a horror movie buddy for you. If you really, really, REALLY want him to... he'll do it to make you happy. However, he will basically turn your room into a nest at night and cover you with cuddles all night long... because he's scared to death. Poor Lixie. You will have a much better experience if you pick a comedy or action. He'll still cuddle you (if you want it) but it won't be out of fear. And nobody wants a scared Lix. He deserves to be happy.

Also, on this note of Fae Felix. Just so you know, you're not supposed to give fairies your name. No matter how much they beg.

However, Felix is literally the one that you could tell anything and he wouldn't use it against you. You're secret is safe with him. As is your soul.

Now, in summary : It's all important but here are your TOP 3 to remember!

Number One: Please provide adequate love, affection and care for your Faelix.

Number Two: Please mind his dietary needs and plan accordingly. Give him whatever he wants. Or else he is going to become insane.

Number Three: The Final and Most Important Rule of All

Remember that Minho is watching... always watching.

He sees all.

He knows all.

I know, You know, We know, Lee Know

Thank you for coming to my presentation and have a nice day.

Please help yourself to a treat on your way out. We're serving brownies. Obviously.

..............

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this crazy tangent of mine and thank you so much for sending it in!

Love, K

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[murkystarlight]

I did a analysis on Jesse. Or.. I'm trying to. But there are... a lot of variables. But. While I was working on that, I found some differences in the Jesse's designs. And... I just wanted to write this down to start working on analyzing Jesse some more. So... analyzing clothes! Yay

I thought it was fun. And... entertaining. (But in case you can't read it all, I have a summary prepared at the very bottom)

Enjoy!

So- the Jesse's all look like the same height(except yellow clip Jesse. I'll tell you all why, later). And something fun I found out is that, while all the m!jesses jaws don't move, the f!jesses jaws do move. And it's different for every other character apperantly?(I'm not sure though. Don't have the time to go through an entire episode to make sure of this fact. Sorry.)

Okay. So if you look at these photos

You can see the difference of their jaw(chin? Is it chin?)s.

And now

The actual clothing analysis

Yeah- so... we know they have different shirt designs. Red suspenders(? I think that's the name) Jesse has a... button. You can also see more of his skin around the neck. Green suspenders doesn't seem to have buttons, but has a design that... looks like it would have buttons on that middle part. Yellow suspenders has two stripes on each arms, the color connecting around the neck. All male Jesse's have long sleeves.

Yellow clip has a red sleeve shirt with the color connecting only around the neck. Red clip has the turquoise color down to her.... I think somewhere around her chest. And blue(navy?) clip has a yellow stripe shirt. All female Jesse's have short sleeves.

They also have different eye colors.

Green for the red suspenders and yellow clip. Dark brown(?) for green suspenders and red clip. And black for yellow suspenders and blue clip.

And the color of their overalls are all different.

Now. This is the more... uhmm... not easily seen part(I think)

Let's start with yellow clip Jesse.

Her jeans are rolled up higher than the rest. (The folds are small though) You can see her skin at the bottom. We can't see her socks.(or maybe those are her socks? It looks a bit darker than her skin tone... I'm still debating on that) And her shoes seem to have a... higher topline(?) than all the other Jesse's shoes. And guess what. If you look closely, she has a darker color at the bottom of her shoes. (That one extra brown line)

I think. It is so that she looks taller. (Insoles? I think they're called?) To look the same height as the rest. (Considering that mcsm has a 'behind the scenes' and in the Netflix version, they literally.. y'know. Petra comes up and asks us to choose. Then she does a quick explanation. Stuff like that. Maybe.... just maybe- this "actor" of Jesse was shorter than the rest.) (Just having some fun during this long boring writing.)(I'm sorry if you're getting bored of this. We still have lots more to read! 😃)

Next we have red clip Jesse!

So.. this one has the jeans rolled up just above her ankles. And the fold is small. Can't see her skin, has black socks on. Also!! Red clip Jesse and blue clip Jesse has the same color highlights in their hair as their hair clips! (Well... at least to me. But if it is. That's pretty cool. Right?)

Alr. Speaking of which...

Next is blue clip Jesse!

Her jeans are rolled up higher than red clip Jesse. But lower than yellow clip Jesse(like.. you can barely see the difference in that photo but.. it is. ..probably). So-you can see her skin. And she either has black socks on with black shoes. Or they're like... boots.

Now. Time for the male Jesse's.

Starting off with red suspenders

He is the only one with the jeans all the way down to his ankles. And yet! He has the biggest folds. Either that's part of the design in his clothes, or the suspenders are too long/big for him.

Green suspenders

Uh.. actually... his jeans are done the same way as red clip Jesse's. Even the socks are black.

And finally, yellow suspenders!

He has the same jean roll-ups as blue clip. But he doesn't have any socks visible to us. Nor does it look like he has high a topline.

I know. Not much for the male Jesse's. But it's true! I worked hard to find out about these small details. And there isn't much to say about them. Unless I try and go look for the exact names and designs for their shirts. So.. I'm sorry for that.

But thank you for reading it this far! It probably would've been a waste of your time but- I have a summary prepared. In case you don't want to read the long paragraphs, or had trouble understanding what I meant.

Summary

What the different genders have in common to eachother

F!jesse

Has moving jaw/chin.

Short sleeves.

M!jesse

Does not have moving jaw/chin.

Long sleeves

Yellow clip Jesse

Jeans are rolled up higher than everyone else.

Small folds

Either wearing socks, or it's her skin. (The color is a bit.. confusing)

The shoe has a high topline.

Cross the fourth one. It's not a high topline. She has high soles.(outsoles? Insoles?)(aka. She's probably a shorter "actor" than all the other Jesse's)

Can see her skin

Red clip Jesse

Her hair is highlighted in red

Jeans are rolled up just above the ankles.

Small folds

We can see that she has black socks on

Top line of the shoe is low

Blue clip Jesse

Her hair highlights are done in blue

Jeans are rolled up higher than red clip Jesse. But lower than yellow clip Jesse.

Small folds

Either the shoes have a high top line(maybe boots?) or she is wearing black socks

Can see her skin

Red suspenders Jesse

Jeans go down to his ankles.

The only one with big folds actually. (But he still has his jeans reaching his ankles. Which could be seen as... a design of his clothes. Or his jeans are too big for him)

Low shoe top line

Can't see his socks

Green suspenders Jesse

Jeans rolled down just before ankles(like red clip Jesse)

Small folds

Black socks

Low shoe top line

Yellow suspenders Jesse

Jeans are rolled up above ankles. But higher than green suspenders. Lower than yellow clip Jesse(like blue clip Jesse)

Small folds

Can't see his socks

Skin visible

And that! Is all. Thank you

(Well- that was dramatic..)

[angstea]

crawl into bed (just bundle up and cry)

Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood

Ship: 15Andy

Series: Auctober 2024

<- Previous | Masterlist | Next ->

i like it when you hold me tight

<- Previous | Masterlist

Summary: Andy despises being ill with a passion

AN: Title is from Dance With Me by Topline Addicts

Written for Auctober Day 26: Fidgeting

This is probably the one that follows the prompt the least. It's there! But it's not a major focus. Sorry!

TW: Vomiting

Read on AO3

To say Andy's morning didn't start off well was an understatement. A violent coughing fit jarred him awake, the sound ripping from his lungs. He reached across the bed to grab a pillow from what he unofficially thought of as the Doctor's side of the bed. He hugged it tightly to his chest, just to hold onto something while waiting for it to subside. After a few painfully long seconds, it died down.

He lay there, catching his breath. Where was the Doctor? He had some vague blurry memories of the night before, of the Doctor supporting him while he wobbled unsteadily on his feet and of them stroking his hair while he lay with his head on their lap (although now that he thought about it, that all sounded more like a pleasant dream than reality).

A shiver ran through him and he pulled the blankets further round himself. He dragged himself off the bed, the blanket staying wrapped around his shoulders as he stood shakily. Too hot. Too cold. The sudden shift to upright made the heavy ache in his head intensify. It was all he could do not to collapse to the floor.

He walked slowly out of his bedroom, one foot in front of the other so he didn't fall. He was dizzy and uncoordinated but it was fine. It's not like he had to navigate any stairs in his flat.

As soon as he was through his bedroom door, he heard sound coming from the kitchen. He slumped against the wall for support, not fully trusting himself to stay standing. He'd be alright. He was fine.

"Doctor?" he called out, the words scraping along the back of his throat and coming out coarse and rough.

The Doctor was out in the hallway instantly, concern written across their features. They gently took Andy by the arm.

"Andy, are you alright?" they asked, flitting about nervously.

"Yeah, fine." he quickly reassured them he was fine as he twisted away from their grasp, though that statement was rather immediately undercut when his uncoordinated feet overbalanced and his entire tall frame crumpled to the ground. The Doctor immediately dropped to the floor next to him.

"No, you're not fine honey. You're going back to bed."

And before Andy could protest, they had scooped him up into their arms. All he could do was wrap his arms around them out of surprise. He wasn't sure if his face was burning because he was potentially ill or if it was because the Doctor's face was so close to his.

He was unceremoniously deposited on his bed once more, much to his annoyance.

"Doc, what are you doing?"

"Making sure you get some rest."

"But-!" he was interrupted by a harsh series of coughs. The Doctor gave him a stern look.

When he could breathe clearly again, Andy huffed unhappily, hugging the blankets tighter to himself as another tremor wracked his body.

"Okay...maybe I don't feel great..."

"That's what I thought, babes." The Doctor responded gently. The back of their hand rested gently against his forehead. Their hands were always cold but they felt positively freezing now. He leaned into the soothing cold.

"Yeah, you're definitely staying home." there was a hint of a laugh in their voice. "I'm gonna make you something to eat and you're gonna stay right here."

A small childish part of Andy wanted to keep arguing, pout at the Doctor and claim to be perfectly alright, actually. He didn't like sitting in one place, doing nothing and being a useless lump all day. Instead, he reluctantly flopped back onto the pillows and felt a warm glow in his chest when the Doctor smiled.

-

The Doctor deposited a tray with a bowl of soup on Andy's lap as they settled onto the bed by his side. He hesitantly picked up the spoon, glancing over at the Doctor.

"Is something wrong?" they asked, already in problem solving mode once more. He wanted to find the hovering annoying but really it was...surprisingly endearing.

He wasn't used to being cared for this intently when he was ill. Ever since he was a kid, he remembered coughing and crying in his bed as quietly as possible to not disturb anyone, shuffling into the kitchen to satisfy his nauseating hunger only to find everything out of his reach or too complicated to prepare for his muddled brain. Hunger and illness seemed to go hand in hand in his life.

"No. 'M fine." he choked out. He hoped the Doctor put the wobble and crack in his voice down to the illness rather than emotion. He brought the spoonful of soup up to his lips with a shaking hand. It tasted like warmth and care and love.

The Doctor shuffled even closer, wrapping an arm around Andy's shoulders and gently covering Andy's hand with their free one. Andy's confused expression did not prompt an explanation.

Andy went back to eating his soup. The Doctor's hand moved with his, merely steadying it as not to spill anything.

Oh.

He didn't even necessarily need the help, it's not like he was majorly struggling. But the Doctor was going out of their way to do something to make his life just a little easier. And without making him feel utterly humiliated. They could have just as easily snatched the spoon from his hand and spoon fed him like he was an infant. But it was like they knew he'd respond poorly without him having to say so.

He wasn't sure if he liked feeling seen like that.

-

Andy was not having a good time to say the least. Every bone in his body was burning cold, all the muscles in his body involuntarily tensing as he shook. The Doctor held him tight, fingers combing through his hair just like the night before, although this time Andy was shivering feverishly and holding back tears rather than giving them an exhausted groan before immediately flaking out.

He sniffed, tears covering his vision. He was not about to cry in front of the Doctor. He already felt far too exposed and vulnerable just from the fact he felt sick and gross. He had never fared well with being ill but usually he was alone when he hit the point of frustrated tears, too overwhelmed with it all to do anything else.

"I've got you, Andy. You'll be alright." the Doctor whispered in his ear before pressing a gentle kiss to his temple. Maybe it should have been a comforting gesture. It probably was.

A new wave of feelings crashed into him. He couldn't breathe, he was drowning in it. He gripped at the soft fabric of the Doctor's t-shirt, pulling it through his hand, tugging and running it through his fingers. They responded by holding him tighter. Despite his best efforts, the dam broke.

The tears began to fall, his breaths hitched and stuttered uncomfortably as he burrowed himself into the Doctor's embrace. He was exhausted and just wanted to hang onto the comfort as long as it would last (because of course it would be over soon, surely the Doctor had better things to do, somewhere else they'd rather be. Something would come up and they'd flee out the door leaving Andy by himself, just like always).

The Doctor barely acknowledged Andy's tears, just quietly increased their efforts to soothe him. They were talking to him and Andy couldn't really parse a single word, his foggy aching head refusing to, but their voice still filled his mind and helped a little.

He coughed and gasped, trying to catch his breath but failing miserably. His ribs ached, nausea swirled in his stomach and creeped up his chest and throat.

And suddenly he was gagging and heaving, folded over the side of the bed and narrowly managing to vomit into the small bin stashed away nearby rather than on the carpet or his bedsheets. It felt like something inside him was violently shoving and pushing, trying to escape. Each cough and breath was painful.

He spat out the last of his stomach contents and took as deep a breath as he could manage, the acidic taste of bile clogging his throat. He suddenly became aware of the Doctor's hands, holding him steady so he didn't fall off the bed and rubbing gentle circles into his back.

Carefully, like they were handling something priceless and fragile, they pulled him back up to rest against them. A plastic water bottle was held up to his lips and he drank it gratefully, washing away the taste of vomit and shame. A few drops of water spilled on his t-shirt as the bottle was drawn away. Cold.

"Sorry." he rasped unsteadily, tear stained face hiding itself in the Doctor's shoulder once more.

"Don't apologise. I'm gonna help for as long as you need me."

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Update to the update…

We had one big snow & Mandana decided to blow her coat already 🙄

Our decompression walk yesterday at the living history museum was great! Mandana has been doing physical therapy for about a month now and it’s really starting to show! For a long time she has been wanting to cut our walks down to 45 minutes and even then her back is usually sore afterwards. This time we were there for an hour and she was still having fun running around and exploring. I think she might have been able to go another hour if I didn’t stop her because it was getting dark. She also wasn’t sore afterwards and she’s been carrying herself a lot better too. I knew she had a weak topline we were trying to strengthen, but until the rehab vet got her hands on her I didn’t realize she had a thigh discrepancy and weak core that was making that so difficult.

We had our follow-up appointment at the Animal Rehabilitation Center today and the vet was very pleased with the results. Besides core exercises and general fitness, I’ve been working her right side extra hard. Our first appointment, there was a two centimeter difference between her thighs and this time it was only one centimeter! The vet and I theorize it’s because she has been heeling on my left side for four years which evolved into her default for which way she likes to turn and shift her weight during activities so she’s not getting equal movement on both sides of her body. She has a “switch” command that I use when passing people but I don’t usually have her walk long distances on my right because neither of us are very fluent with that position so it’s inconvenient. Now I know how important it is to make sure she’s using her whole body properly and not just whatever is easiest for her!

Speaking of improvements on our walk, the Fludrocortisone has been AMAZING. Like combined with the Midodrine it’s truly life altering. Low blood pressure, nocturia and muscle wasting wasn’t as big of an issue until after the Cardiologist took me off Fludrocortisone in 2022 but after just being on a low dose of it for one day I was able to walk a long distance without too much fatigue and even jog to the car without searing pain in my chest, neck and head! I haven’t jogged since…checking my notes…2022 😒

It technically shouldn’t have worked that fast or been that influential if it was just a blood pressure issue so my Rheumatologist was really interested in the effects. I thought maybe because it’s a steroid it helped with the autoimmune disease but the Rheumatologist said it doesn’t really work on inflammation in the way we use other steroids to get out of a flare so it’s way more likely that I have some sort of hormone deficiency. She doesn’t speak English well so it was hard to understand but it sounds like she was suggesting adrenal insufficiency. Which again, is not surprising at all because that was my theory many years ago and is actually what led to my POTS & EDS diagnosis (which are all very comorbid with each other) I’m not super enthusiastic about chasing that diagnosis right now though. Unless things have changed a lot since then, it’s hard to get a doctor to take you seriously enough to explore it and the test is generally unreliable and I would probably have to go off all of my treatments to do it. But for now Fludrocortisone is working and my Rheumatologist suggests I might have to adjust the dose periodically to accommodate different seasons, flares, etc.

Puppy update…you don’t get one…yet 😈

[pawsitivevibe]

No luck in the breed ring again today. But he looked good. I think this is the best groom I've done.

I think this is our last dog show of the year. Hopefully we can come back next year and actually get some points.

Part of me says "at what point do we give up?" But another part says "follow his breeder's advice, that he'll only get better as he matures." It's disheartening going on 2 seasons with no points. Other people I know have easily championed their puppies. But I know he's a nice dog. I've read the breed standard! But I'm still very new to this. And I'm going against the grain not getting a pro handler for him. I picked one of the hardest breeds for my first show dog. He's probably the hardest colour to show. And judges keep thinking he's still a puppy, so clearly he has some maturing to do. But he has a good front! Nice topline! Good muscle in the rear! Pretty shoulders! A big blocky head with good muzzle width. Perfect tail set. The judges are seeing something wrong with him, but it might be something he grows out of, or something we learn to compensate for. Ahhh I wish you got critiques here like you do in a lot of European shows. I want to know what's wrong with my dog? People keep saying he has "a good front" and "good substance." I've been told by people in the breed after losing in the ring that basically the judge was wrong not to recognize Arthur's good bone and substance over the incorrect dainty dogs. But it's not like his "type" doesn't win in the ring, because I would say that the #1 ECS in the country and this year's national BOB are both the same "type" as Arthur.

[bloomingstay]

favorite kpop group tag~ thank you @binniesbang!

who is your favorite kpop group?

stray kids, if that was any surprise

which member sparked your interest first?

hyunjin! i've almost always been pulled in by the dancer (lee know i know but) specifically the style of dance hyunjin excels in. the isolation is so satisfying and cool. for some reason choreo always gets a song stuck in my head??

But also!! I had heard they produced their own music and that really got me interested in kpop again

who was your first bias?

chris bang 🤍 went from zero to ult within no more than two days tbh…

what makes them your current bias?

oh god. um. i'll put this in the least embarrassing way possible. (this is a kpop tumblr blog I should probably get over it)

it was a particularly bad year. i stumbled upon their silly videos (thank you stay for the edits<3) and they made me laugh. then i started seeing clips of chans room and him interacting with the boys and just like... he's so wonderful. he's generous and kind and loving and thoughtful. just a shy lil guy who also happens to be a flirt and a fucking dork and it's cute man idk shut upp

who is your bias wrecker?

i was certain i'd never have one, i truly adore each of those boys so so much.

i was however proven wrong after a very sweet, silly compilation of binnie being ridiculous. followed by a face cam of his sclass performance in the supreme jersey?? and the curls?? he has such amazing stage presence and he's a great dancer. but he kept going from his cute sweet binnie expressions looking like he was just so into it and having fun, to the "dark rapper" eyes and commanding stage presence. and like, wow. 🖤 i am a sucker for that kind of duality.

which members are you currently obsessing over that aren't your bias/wrecker?

in another reality han is my wrecker. that boy is the epitome of what i used to look for in guys: babygirl. lol. well, and insanely talented and funny and everything. I adore him

after befriending a couple seungmin stans, i started looking for pics and clips to send them and found myself so incredibly impressed with him and touched by some of the things he's said and done. plus he’s a funny little shit.

hwang hyunjin is such a sweet boy. since we got producer jinnie on the last album i have been looking back and just so impressed with his growth 🤍

when did you first discover the group?

(Upon editing I realize I read this as ‘how’ but oh well)

okokok so

i was a kpop fan 2014-2017 and went all in. kcon and concerts the whole thing

but then i was just on my usual 6 hour yt shorts binge as i tried to fall asleep and saw skz reacting to the "your eyes" mv, specifically felix's part, obviously. i watched it like 12 times just cry laughing at han screaming, hyunjin trying to escape, channie hiding behind his hands and squealing. it was just so funny to see a group kind of clowning their own shit? i thought they were hilarious.

then i saw julien (solomita) had reacted to 'topline' and i was soooo into it. immediately went to watch some mvs and decided cool i'll be a totally normal casual fan of this group’s music….. :)

THEN a lovely lady i'd followed on my 10 year old tumblr account posted about skz. i messaged her that I’d finally decided to check them out and she was kind enough to answer questions and entertain my onslaught of messages as I screamed about how much I love these boys. and she still does everyday so. thank you hana 🌸

have you ever been to one of their concerts?

not yet~

what are some of your favorite songs by them?

THIS SECTION TOOK ME WAY TOO LONG. disclaimer: I absolutely could not include non ot8 this would’ve been 30 songs (I’m probably going to cheat)

Hall of fame. bitch ever since that live stage (which was the first time I’d heard it) I’ve listened to the sclass album 3 times a week no joke, goddamn it’s so good. so just know, i pulled almost every song from that album off this list when i made cuts

levanter. a hard pill to swallow mid relationship struggles and holds a lot of meaning for me.

secret secret. i can't get over how professional this song sounds and how it was just a few years in?

leave. where i got my username~ like I said, relationship stuff. You have not yet really bloomed When the new season comes I hope the warmth will make you bloom Into a flower that never dies

sclass. *bling bling* HIPHOPSTEP. such a fucking chaotic mess of a jam.

megaverse. the breakdown? MEGAPHONE. Han, bitch? We make the rules nobody can hold me yeaaahhh. Your body shakes - STRAY KIDS EVERYWHERE ALL AROUND THE WORLD. Sorry, flawless.

gods menu. ate, bitch. chan was something the fuck else

domino. neeed I say more

social path is bomb

grow up. read lyrics for the first time just now ow

eternity. told u I’d cheat.

love poem. big cheat my list worth it

I am going to be so mad when I realize I missed a song I listen to 7 times a day but been doin this for 2 hours so I’m calling it. Also forgive me I’m still working through the discography (backwards) and haven’t listened to the full first couple albums.

the adhd is allowing no further focus or thought so i will be tagging the same friends as my last tag post no pressure <3

@channieblossoms @skzms @roseykat @thefantasyden @seungsungracha @astraysis @channieswife

Thank you again @binniesbang for tagging me~!

[dhaaruni]

Im feeling about as hopeful for this race as i was for the 2022 midterms (not very) and im obviously doing everything in my power - donating, phone banking - to be pleasantly surprised again but im looking at SO many conflicting pieces of data that this year im genuinely unsure of what's going on. I'm not even talking about ~the polls~ or 538 (which unlike some people i do think is a very good aggregator no matter how you feel about nate silver) I mean just the electorate. It feels like the center IS hedging towards trump slightly while minority men are also flocking towards him? And IDK if she can gain more w women than lose men. Am i even on the right track here??

I really think the election will be decided by less than 100k votes across multiple states, that's all I feel lol.

I don't normally crosstab dive because they're never as accurate as the toplines but I agree that they're probably directionally correct (i.e. Trump is going to do better than ever with men of color), which isn't ideal, so it's really a matter if the results end up balanced in a way that tips Harris the W.

[amber-tortoiseshell]

we always joked about how massive our gal’s baby daddy must've been, but we've never come to a consensus on what color he could've been to throw these colors out of a (assumed classic?) tabby mom. I was curious if you had any insight? just as a thought experiment if you'd like to, no pressure if not! :>

we took mom (Abbey) and two of her four kittens (Emmie, Zoe) home, so I only have one picture of the newborn potatoes and another of a kitten sibling.

Abbey: (I never realized until now just how few pictures I had of any of them that are like. just standing and from the side.)

tabby (black/brown/white) with thick black down the spine and topline of her tail, thick striping, good sized chunk of white in the neck and chest. short, slick agouti fur

Emmie:

grey and white, solid colors/no striping. very thick, short-medium fur. also dense as a bowling ball lmao.

Zoe:

black and white, solid colors. short fur, black could look brown in certain lighting and might(???) have been a very light striping on the wrists between super dark brown and black, but hard to tell due to health. she had super bad allergies and repeatedly gnawed her fur off of her legs and belly despite having monthly vet visits and many expensive increasingly niche/novel foods for years - she was otherwise healthy, figured the mangey look needed an explanation ;-;

Siblings:

one solid blueish(?) grey (male) and one grey striped medium-length fur (female) iirc

eternal thanks for any info you'd care to give, otherwise enjoy the cat pics :p

Hello! Yes thank you, I love these kind of exercises 😸

So! You're right about Abbey, she's a black classic tabby with white. (I think i'd call this level of white bicolor, but honestly that's pretty irrelevant.)

Emmie is blue with white, Zoe (seems like this is the day of Zoes) is black with white. (If you hadn't mentioned her fur issues, i'd maybe guess smoke, but in this case it's probably just the effect of the thinner coat.) The faint striping and the brown shades are pretty normal for black cats.

Siblings: solid blue and black or blue tabby. Did both of them have white too?

So what can we say about the parents? They both carry solid and dilution. (Blue is diluted black.) Tabby patterns are unknown. White spotting is undeterminable, with this level homozygotes and heterozygotes are equally possible. The father can have any white spotting from no white to the highest van you've ever seen, or even full white. The female kits are black-based, so the father was black too.

Mother: Aa C_ Dd ii mcmc oo spsp titi ws_

Father: _a __ _d _i __ o- __ __ __

That's unfortunately not much information about the father, sorry. He could have been a black or a blue tabby, or solid black or blue, with or without white.

[redistrictgirl]

2016 vs. 2020 vs. 2024 Polling Comparisons

The provided polling averages are the raw numbers from Nate Silver's averages. For ease of interpretation, I calculated win probabilities based purely on those toplines.

Wisconsin:

September 27th, 2016: Clinton 43.4%, Trump 37.8% (~68% chance for Clinton)

September 22nd, 2020: Biden 50.2%, Trump 43.7% (~95% chance for Biden)

September 24th, 2024: Harris 49.6%, Trump 47.5% (~87% chance for Harris)

Pennsylvania:

September 27th, 2016: Clinton 44.5%, Trump 40.3% (~66% chance for Clinton)

September 22nd, 2020: Biden 49.7%, Trump 45.2% (~91% chance for Biden)

September 24th, 2024: Harris 49.0%, Trump 47.4% (~76% chance for Harris)

Michigan:

September 25th, 2016: Clinton 41.2%, Trump 36.5% (~62% chance for Clinton)

September 22nd, 2020: Biden 49.7%, Trump 45.2% (~92% chance for Biden)

September 24th, 2024: Harris 49.2%, Trump 46.8% (~79% chance for Harris)

North Carolina:

September 27th, 2016: Clinton 42.7%, Trump 42.5% (~51% chance for Clinton)

September 22nd, 2020: Biden 47.7%, Trump 46.5% (~62% chance for Biden)

September 24th, 2024: Harris 47.7%, Trump 48.0% (~47% chance for Harris)

The main thing that sticks out to me is that 2020 and 2024 look astonishingly similar for Democrats and a slight improvement for Mr. Trump. Whether this means that undecideds and leaners will break like they did in 2020 to produce a 2022-like environment or that Mr. Trump's base is being properly captured in a way it wasn't during COVID is an exercise left up to the reader's speculation. In the Rust Belt, Ms. Harris' odds of winning here lay right between those of her two predecessors, which will probably cause the people who believe in the Shy Trump Voter to take this as a sign that the election is VERY close. Finally, note how many undecideds existed in 2016 and how those deflated the impact of ~5 point spreads, whereas that was decisively not the case during COVID and even less so today.

You're free to reach your own conclusions about what will happen between now and election day, but understand that the spread, the vote share for each candidate, and the probability distribution all mean very different things (even though they're all related) and can be interpreted in very different ways, even individually!

[horsesarecreatures]

I just love her. <3 But this post is not going to be about Amba. Instead, I would just like to share my thoughts and perspectives on Shelby Dennis/ Milestone Equestrian/ Sdequus (and I apologize in advance to all the horseblrs who have been here a long time and are probably sick of such discussions - no judgement at all if you all scroll past this one). But the reason I'm bringing it up is I got some private messages the last time I posted a screenshot from the Milestone Equestrian's FB page showing the Olympic dressage champion Dalera's awful topline, and another calling out Horse & Hound for photoshopping the foam off a dressage horse's mouth. I didn't know about this until now because I live under a rock sometimes, but I've also been made aware that another horse blog has also expressed frustration at Shelby Dennis' stuff being re-shared here (and implied that I may have sent them an anon calling them a fucking moron because of it?).

Accordingly, I just want to put it out there that while I do follow her on FB and sometimes watch her youtube videos, I don't think she is a God, or that people should listen to everything she says without thinking critically about it. I also don't want people to think that I'm judging them or have absolutely no understanding of why they don't want to follow her. I truly, honestly, do see some of the criticisms. For example, I don't agree with keeping horses in pastures with barbed wire, and I don't think think its less risky than a horse getting cast in a stall. I've found no empirical evidence for that, and anecdotally speaking, some of the worst horse injuries I've seen were from them running into barbed wire. I also think her bitless & multibridles are a good idea, but they don't fit some of her horses well. Finally, I have a feeling the dam of her homebred might have been bred a little prematurely. To name a few.

But that said, she has admitted to being wrong about a bunch of things and has said that she is still evolving as a horse person, which we all are. There are things she posts about that I not only agree with but am grateful for because most people are too scared of the professional backlash they will receive if they call out certain people/practices. And while I don't think it's the one and only way to ethically train, I love clicker training and agree that the horse industry has been slower to adopt it compared to other animal training industries like seeing eye dogs. I also love the discussions about some of the systematic problems in the competition world that need to change (like ownership of certain venues, magazines, and ticket payment platforms by people like Andreas Helgstrand) before the amount of abuse will decrease.

So for me, while there is stuff she says/does that I disagree with, they don't outweigh the points that I do agree with. And I also think there have been some accusations about her that are a little unfair, one of them being that she is so arrogant she thinks she doesn't need to work with a trainer anymore. She made a video explaining that the dressage trainer she was working for said some very racist things in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, and changed the way he treated her when he found out she was mixed race. If a local trainer is being racist towards you that's a very valid reason to distance yourself and do your own thing for a while. There was also the assertion that she dumped Donut, the dam of her warmblood, when it became clear that she wasn't a good a mother. From what I remember, it was a broodmare lease to begin with, and I've seen an update on Donut and she is doing well in a riding home.

While I overall understand and agree with many of the criticisms towards Shelby, to me they don't amount to cancelable offences. And I feel the same way about many other horse people with a social media presence like Denny Emmerson. I don't like that he has downplayed some of the bad effects of saddleseat riding, but at the end of the day I don't think he's a horse abuser himself, and for every post he makes that I disagree with there are 10 that I do like. Unlike someone like Rick Gore, who misinformation is constantly accompanied by misogynistic and racist comments.

Of course, I don't follow everyone on all platforms, and there could be some things that I am missing. I'm more than happy to have discussions with people who may disagree with things I've said here or have additional information to add, as long as there is mutual respect. For the time being, I'm not going to unfollow Shelby, and I may still share screenshots of things she's said that I also want to talk about because its just easier than re-writing it. This does not mean that I wholeheartedly-endorse everything else she says and does and think that you guys should be too.

[fuglyhorses]

i dont know anything about horses why did i scroll through this blog for so long. i have seen so many bad horses, what makes a good horse

Because it's interesting! Depends on the horse and what you want it to do. Overall basic conformation rules that apply to every horse:

The back should appear relatively level from shoulder to butt, with a slight dip in the middle. Too much of a dip is a swayback, no dip is a roach back, both are probably painful and bad. The shoulders can appear higher, but the butt should not be the obvious high point. There's some leeway on this last point for young horses who usually grow into it at least a little.

The neck should be a smooth line on top and bottom. It shouldn't appear to dip in front of the shoulders, and the horse should carry it in a smoothly arched posture while moving around, especially while moving faster than a walk. There should be visible muscle in the neck. It should be long enough that the horse can easily arch it enough so that the forehead is vertical. The head should never be longer than the neck, but in some heavy draft breeds and stocky ponies they'll sometimes look about the same.

All four legs should be vertical and straight when viewed from directly in front or behind. The joints should be as close to in line as possible. When viewed from the side, the long bones of the front legs should be in line above and below the knee. The knee will bulge out a bit, but any joint that looks abnormally large or out of line is an issue.

When looking at the hind legs, the long bone in the lower leg should be as vertical as possible, but this varies with posture. Judge this when a horse is standing calmly on level ground and bearing its weight evenly. The upper long bone in the hind leg absolutely should not be vertical in a neutral weight-bearing posture (when the lower bone is vertical). The closer to vertical, the more wrong it is. If it looks like the horse can easily bend and flex all joints in the hind leg, and the lower bone is often held comfortably vertical but the upper one isn't, you're good. If the movement, legs, and topline are fine, the hip is also probably fine, but you can get really technical with hip angles if you want. It should look like a triangle. Don't worry about it yet.

The feet should all be pointing straight forward, not facing each other or out. The pastern, the short bone just above the hoof, should be long enough to flex as they walk, but not so long that it looks like it's sagging. All four pasterns should be at about the same angle (though they can appear slightly more vertical in the back without issues) and that angle should match the angle of the base of the neck at the shoulder. This is a pretty easily visible line. Generally speaking, longer pasterns and a deeply sloped shoulder angle indicate smoother gaits and a more comfortable ride, and vice versa. Neither is necessarily more desirable, it depends on what activities you're doing. Steeper angles are better for jumping, for example, even if it'll mean a bumpier trot.

Overall, the horse should appear balanced and move freely. There should be visible muscle throughout the body and the coat should appear healthy. There's a wide range of acceptable body types specialized for different tasks, and the horse you choose should have a body type that lets it perform what you ask comfortably.

This is kind of off the top of my head but these rules should be pretty universal (and a perfectly achievable bar for any intentional breeding imo).