#and I love the members. it's unrelated imo

[zoey-angel]

Writing a love song to S class in my head every day for being my most beloved skz title track since back door

The sound is fantastic too

[kangals]

thank you for such a thorough answer to my question about COI!! i don’t know anything at all about dog breeding, all of mine have come off the streets lol. it is BONKERS to me that the breed average for collies is 40%. so does that mean that most of the collies i see out in the world are kind of related? also i know you said w dobermans there’s not really any way to breed away from it, is it the same with collies? are breeders working to move that average % down?

thank you for sending me an ask that tickled the 'adhd special interests' section of my brain lmao

so are all collies related - yes and no. yes, in the sense that they all descend from the same ancestors and share genetics. no, in the sense that on paper they're not related. for example: stellina comes from a long-time breeder of show dogs on the US east coast. @as-old-roads audrey (my beloved) was a rehome who originally came from a midwest puppy mill. our dogs do not have any shared members of the family tree for several generations back. they're, at best, extremely distant cousins. and when we compared their DNA test results... they were 50% genetic matches for each other. that's not from being actual relatives - that's just because the collie gene pool is small enough that if you take a random scoop, you overlap with someone else 🤷

is there a way to breed away from high COI - not really, which is the tricky part of it. COI will always accumulate over time, meaning that as long as no new blood is introduced, each generation will have higher COI than the last. the way to combat this is A) start with a very large population of founding dogs (obv not an option for collies anymore, as the breed was developed in the 1800s); B) allow new blood through an "open studbook" (anyone with a collie-ish dog can breed their dog and have the offspring registered as collies if it's determined they look enough like a pure collie); or C) dedicated outcross programs (specifically seeking out unrelated collie-type dogs to cross to pure collies and then breeding those offspring back to pure collies to try and add more diversity without sacrificing the breed type)

the first option (large founding population) isn't viable anymore - we know that the original collies were developed from the native working farm dogs in whats now the UK, and then people said 'hey these dogs are pretty' and started breeding them specifically for bench/show moreso than herding, which is what makes the collies such a (IMO) lovely blend of herding and companion/family dog. we know other dogs were crossed in during development, but we don't have records of what: we've heard rumors that borzoi were added, and gordon setter, among others, but we can't say for sure. but regardless, this ship has sailed.

the second two options - the open studbook and outcross problems - are workable in theory, however they're not magic fix-alls. while COI/diversity is very important, it's also not the end-all be-all to health (as evidence by the fact that collies as a breed are doing really good health-wise). however, the biggest positive is also the biggest negative: you're diluting what's already in the gene pool. collies have high COI, but they also have very unique temperaments - they're very gentle, polite, exceptional with children, watchful but non-aggressive, intelligent, driven but not obsessive. i love the collie personality - that's what makes them collies, and not just random fluffy herding dogs. the idea of bringing in non-collies to the studbooks and creating generations of dogs that didn't have that same unique collie personality is so, so sad for me to think about. and yes in theory you can try and breed back to the traits you like, but what if you've now introduced, say, resource guarding into the gene pool? or fearfulness? or a health issue like DCM? there's such a fine line as to what makes a breed a breed, and it is very easy to deviate from that, even accidentally.

are breeders working to move the COI down - 😬 ymmv but most of the breeders i've talked to have a very "well it's not a problem so i'm not concerned" type of thinking about it. which, again, yeah the dogs are healthy now, but i think it shows a serious lack of foresight to not be concerned. but, these high COI show dogs are producing very consistent puppies who are doing consistently well at shows, so that's whats being bred. and that means that the breeders who are passionate about breeding and showing The Collie, and the breeders who want to do outcrosses and open studbooks, tend to have very, very little overlap. i've not seen any outcross programs that are worth following IMO (and i don't consider "old time scotch collie" to be outcross programs, as those OTSC dogs are supposed to be significantly different. if you're not aiming to keep your dogs part of the original breed, then it's not an outcross, it's a different breed).

i would love to see collie breeders and the collie breed club actually work together and focus on specific, dedicated outcross projects. or a formal procedure for allowing new blood into the studbooks. but unless something happens to really light a fire under their asses, i doubt it'll happen. so for now i'll stick with my worryingly-high COI dogs, with the temperaments and health that i love, and hope that the breed manages to defy the odds and stay healthy.

[kaarithoughts]

Imagine releasing an album you have been very excited about and that’s very important for your career as a band only for some people to say how the album or a specific song is about bojere

Now imagine being one of the band members reading your fans’ opinions on the album and the songs and the only thing you see is people claiming they’re love songs about one of your friends...

How do bojere shippers manage to make everything about bojere jesus fucking christ. I can’t even listen to the album in peace without these fans shoving their bojere agenda down my throat

Yes it is quite overwhelming having everything assumed with the ship. I haven't gotten to listen to the album but all I've seen is a bunch of songs being compared to the ship. I can't really understand either why everything needs to be related to a ship? It has to be boring at some point or at the very least repetitive. It's also somewhat disregarding of the songs in themselves imo because there was thought and emotions put into the songs going an entirely different direction and in the end they just get discarded for a association to an unrelated ship.

It'd be lovely to see different interpretations of the songs instead of just that. It's a shame.

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

“I like to think that the affair didn't happen and that William is faithful but being on any other SM platform convinces me I'm a naive idiot for believing that .”

Imo William wouldn’t cheat. He had to hear the infamous tampon tape as well as the Bashir interview. People can be discreet, but it’s hard to keep secrets like that for forever. A lot of the biographies I’ve seen also stress that Will loved Kate’s family from the start. He was a child of bitter (and public) divorce craving a warm, uncomplicated, loving home. His personal life is probably extremely boring and he probably loves it that way. Add to this the fact he dated Kate so long. Some took that as a sign of lukewarm feelings, but to me it sounds like a man with baggage taking his time to be certain. All this paints a picture of a very intentional, careful person. Not someone very easily carried away by feelings, like Diana. I bet Meghan coming into his family triggered an almost PTSD like response.

Good points.

Personally, I could see him having an affair, but it would be an “escape” affair with someone completely unrelated to the royals (Jecca in Africa or someone like that). Definitely not a member of the court.

[lover-of-mine]

Back again because of the video Kenny posted. Apparently the video is inappropriate because of the casting couch joke. IMO? To each their own. I am a survivor and I found it funny but I understand why some might not.

BTs love to blame Ryan for everything though. At worst Ryan masterminded the joke and roped poor Oliver and Kenny into it. At best they are all complicit but it still is more Ryan’s fault than anyone else’s. Bet you anything if Lou was part of that video they would not have a problem with it.

‘It’s no surprise that Ryan finds this funny. But Oliver and Kenny?’

‘rg never beating the allegations of being a piece of shit. But yeah, disappointed in all of them.’

‘Well not shocked they’re besties with a racist transphobe so why do I think this isn’t on brand for them’ (re: Oliver and Kenny)

‘Not a single woman was present during the filming of this ill advised video’ (meanwhile a female crew member filmed it and Aisha was laughing in the comments)

‘And obviously why was obviously rg who had to come out of the door doing that think with his belt… yeah’

‘Also the fandom using that disgusting video to speculate on OLIVER’s sexuality and insinuating he likes rg in that sense, ew.’

Cherry on top is that people are praising Lou for not liking the video. He has been ‘quick on the draw’ to like videos lately so obviously it is intentional that he has not liked this one. He totally disapproves of the video and is much more moral than all the other cast members.

(Unrelated: I saw that you think of me as blues clues anon and I LOVE THAT! Very nice thing amid a chaotic day lol.)

Hi baby 🩵

Obviously, Ryan is the root of all evil. I don't even know what to say. It would be funny if Lou liked it tho. But yeah, absolutely, if Lou was involved they would not care. But hypocrisy.

I'm glad you like my nickname for you 🩵

[blorbologist]

❤ give me ur hottest fanon personality takes

yessir

❤: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

Good fucking GOD does fanon do Keyleth so dirty!

She isn't my favorite member of VM, and my least favorite of Marisha's PCs, but it's not for any fault of her own. This is a very inexperienced character whose arc is about gaining that confidence and growing into it! Her heart is incredible and imo she is probably second to Percy as a creative-ideas-person which is really underrated (when Travis is not stepping in Grog's place; Vex has very practical ideas usually which are their own thing). She's enthusiastic and silly and a huge awkward mess, and often giggling in the background or repeating what's happened out of delight. But she's also got a stubborn streak to her, and develops a lot of anger she can't quite handle, and sometimes her naïve impulsiveness can cause more harm than the good she intends. And just how all that inexperience and heart-first living makes her early romance with Vax a fucking mess! And then it's a sweet little fluff-fest, with some pretty soft demi and bi rep too, until it becomes deliciously tragic and brings out the best and worst in them both and literally becomes a key plot point. Seeing how she's matured in C3 - and how some of that same girl still lives in her - awkwardness and all - is such a treat! Now she's the noble ruler we all hoped she'd be... with a long future still ahead of her and all the joys and hurts that implies.

See all I crossed out? That doesn't exist in fanon Keyleth. At all. Bye! Congratulations, you get a girl-next-door redhead walking Taylor Swift song with just as much depth. Cursory bit of spice or sad included, because She's Just Like Me You Guys! Totally unrelated that she's (one of) the canon love interest of this broody, hot, emotional guy (or his sister, if you want Vex to step on you and decide she wouldn't go batty with Keyleth).

As soon as fanon gets its hands on Keyleth, she becomes a reader stand-in with flaws filed off. Guys Marisha confirmed she was this close to multiclassing Barbarian for a reason. Perfectly sweet boring people do not multiclass into Barbarian!

Ask me about my unpopular opinions!

[sharpth1ng]

What did you think about the motives of the ghostfaces in Scream 2? I thought they were one of the more interesting ones throughout the series (aside from Sidney's cousins. She slayed) loved Nancy's good old revenge and she was so unhinged 😭 Billy totally got that from her

Yeah I think the motives in Scream 2 are pretty great!

Nancy's revenge motive kinda makes her a Mrs Voorhees, it's like going back to the first Friday the 13th movie after Jason already grew up and started killing people. I think it plays well with Billy's Norman Bates coding as well, instead of the mother living on through the son like she does in psycho, the son lives on through the mother. Either way, this family revenge motive is classic in horror and the maternal relationship is central to that a lot of the time in movies like this.

Mickey's motive works well too. It was smart to bring in an unrelated killer- it's something that's less common in the franchise, were we keep coming back to killers that are related to people in the original movie. Scream 5 subverts that a little, with Sam being the blood relation, while Richie and Amber aren't related to the original killers, but then in scream 6 we go right back to the trope with the killers all being Richies family members (weak as hell imo, but I'm not getting in to that here).

All that is to say that Mickey's motive stands out to me, and he pulls it off better than Richie- I do still think Richie's reveal is good, the reddit bit is funny, but Amber is a lot more compelling than he is. Mickey is both more fun to watch, and also he's not a groomer (which Richie pretty clearly is, he would have started talking to Amber when she was 16/17).

Mickey's motive also works well with the meta aspect of the franchise, its directly commenting on the "movies don't make psychos" part, only the line is blurred. Stab isn't just a movie, it's a dramatization of real events. So in the end we have movies inspiring murderers, which in turn inspires a movie, which in turn inspires another murderer.

I also like the fact that Mickey wasn't planning on getting away with it. His whole plan is to become a celebrity murderer. Even in versions of the script where Billy talks about the possibility of getting caught he's still planning on making himself as sympathetic as possible in court, but Mickey isn't thinking about that at all, and I find that interesting.

But also yeah I agree, Jill is a lot of fun, I do really enjoy her plan to frame herself as the final girl.

[orionauriga]

writerly ephemera

✨ share some little bits of you, easter eggs, memories, etc. you have left scattered in your fics or art. if you fancy it, tag a pal. ✨

thank you to the lovely @moondal514 for the tag, and shoutout to the wonderful @decaflondonfog for starting this up!! one thing about me is i love yapping about the behind-the-scenes of my fics

Andrew’s gaze is heavy, like Aaron’s spiraling thoughts are displaying on the dashboard screen amid the radio information: 101.1 Columbia’s Alt Rock Hits — my mother died in a car crash i could kill myself or someone else just as easily and knowing my luck i probably will — Now playing: Sugar, We’re Goin Down by Fall Out Boy — (on the cusp of getting it right)

since getting a functioning aux cord i rarely, if ever, listen to the radio BUT when i do, my favorite local station is 101.1 because they're always playing alt rock. also, writing this scene was terribly amusing to me because (1) this was for last year's T&N fest and was posted anonymously and i was certain i'd exposed myself by mentioning fob by name and (2) when i was learning to drive, my dad never EVER allowed me to have anything playing during a driving lesson. and you know what. he was right to bc i did once nearly crash while trying to change the song when doing practice hours with my mom.

What he learned was that Aaron’s shoulders tensed first when he was scared. What he learned was that Aaron liked things in threes and fives. What he learned was that Aaron was a creature of habit who got cranky when his routines were disrupted. What he learned was that they shared a distaste for mayonnaise, an inability to sleep on their right sides,... (breaking every finger, praying that it makes me clean)

all of the above are true of me as well!

Dan, Matt, and Renee burst in, the latter mediating a debate between the couple about something useless and incomprehensible as usual. “I’m just saying, I don’t give a fuck if Harry has had the most successful solo career, I’m going to be a Louis girl ‘til the day I die.” (proof of survival)

take a wild guess who my favorite member of one direction is

Aaron would love to have an answer. At first he’d thought it was exams: there’s nothing like the last two weeks of a semester to send him into a soul-crushing, mind-destroying study spiral to prepare for three straight days of tests that will directly impact his future. But it’s officially winter break and he should be relaxing, yet he can’t shake the tight flutter of nerves behind his collarbone. (call the parents, tell them i'm okay)

right around my collarbones/upper chest/throat area is where i tend to feel the physical effects of my own anxiety

On the table directly in front of him are rows and rows of pin-back buttons in an overwhelming number of color combinations, each emblazoned with PSU PRIDE ALLIANCE in blocky font. (despite everything, i'm still human)

tbh this whole fic is projection central, but this was inspired by my school's annual coming out day table in the campus center, which had tons of buttons and is where i got the aromantic and asexual pins that lived on my backpack for the rest of my undergrad years

unrelated to the fic but still feels relevant: someone in my spanish class who i barely spoke to all semester let me know on the last day of class that he saw my ace flag pin and wondered what it was and that eventually led to him not only learn what it meant but to figure out that he is also ace. i don't think i ever saw him again but i think about him a lot. i'm so glad he told me that.

In the bakery, a package of cookies for you. Frosted in ice blue and dotted with snowflake-shaped sprinkles. (leftovers)

i didn't describe them with specifics in the fic but i was thinking of the lofthouse brand sugar cookies with frosting that are the subject of much debate on the internet bc so many people think they're gross. however they are very gorgeous to me. dessert of all time imo

There is a house inside Katelyn’s mind. In the room where she harbors her instincts regarding her boyfriends’ respective addictions, a light switches on. This bulb is rarely used anymore; it flickers, uncertain. The room it hesitantly illuminates is bare but for a floor littered with dusty liquor bottles and orange pill canisters prescribed to a dead woman. At the threshold, by her feet: a bottle, empty. “Kevin,” Katelyn says, standing in that doorway, looking at him over her shoulder. (i've known this dream for a long time)

this is one of my favorite metaphors i've ever written. partly because i love inventing incorporeal spaces like this as a way to represent emotions, and partly because this specific metaphor is a reference to something only i'll get. it references the original novel i wrote a couple years back, about a young woman and the ghost who is possessing her. whichever one of them is not presently in control of her body retreats to a house that 'exists' in her mind. inventing that internal world was the most fun part of writing that story (i'm hoping to edit that novel into something readable or at the very least repurpose the concept at some point)

no-pressure tags (sorry if you've been tagged/done this already!): @merceyca @cummandercold @jaywalkers

[dulcewrites]

Probably unrelated but I found funny that Rhaena; the neglected daughter of Daemon, ended up marrying a Hightower who was not even an heir, he literally was a little brother and ended up having six daughters with him (like she probably was traumatized after her mother died on childbirth because contrary to what Team Black wants to think Rhaenyra is not the only one with that trauma); and unless something else is revealed in other book she probably was happy with him.

Like this girl was probably looked down by her father; he is Viserys brother after all and that men looked down on one of his kids for not having a dragon; and as some like to point out Viserys kind of have to raise Daemon, so he also probably did the same to her as a little girl. But Daemon hated the Hightowers so much that one of his two daughters marrying one is so… funny, karma, the cherry on top 👌; like you go girl, drag him, end him, destroy him.

*Side note: I would love that Aemond and her could have bonded when children, like they have a big thing in common; George missed a great ship in there with those two; tragic lovers sort of Romeo and Juliet 😢

Yeah it is quite ironic, and I tend to believe that Rhaena married for love (or at the very least liked Garmund). She literally just wanted a nice husband, which is so sad and bare minimum but the bar is so low during that time. And it’s nice she went onto have so many kids, safely one can hope, after miscarrying the baby she would have had with Corwyn.

Everyone always focuses in on Aegon 3 post dance which I totally get, but idk Baela and Rhaena have the most interesting journeys imo. How their places almost end up getting switched in a way.

I always idk slightly balked the ‘Baela is like her father’ thinf simply bc I think she would have moved differently if that was the case. Though I do get the stipulations she had as a girl/woman versus daemon. But she goes from fighting in the war, a dragon rider, hot girl in the streets, possibly future Queen consort -> almost killed, no dragon, her husband (the one that ends up once again leading to her not getting driftmark) being an ass imo. Then rhaena who had little part in the war, poetically comes out pretty ok. Ofc she has trauma from it like baela, her family died. But she seems to move on. She has a dragon for some time. The council thing she’d make a good queen.

There’s something… jarring about how Baela literally fled to get away from marriage and then boom her and rhaena offer up their six year old family member. The cycles keep cycling.

[narniangirl1994]

Having finally watched Breaking Bad after all these years, in part because of its resurgence in popularity on tumblr lately, I'm surprised by how often I've seen black and white interpretations of both characters and situations that seem far more gray to me...

Let's Talk Jesse Pinkman

One great example of this is Jesse Pinkman. I love Jesse - he's my favorite character and the main reason I watched the show. But the people who think he's either perfectly innocent and blameless, or a whiny, useless 'addict' are missing the point of his character imo.

Jesse definitely has more empathy and a stronger moral compass than many other characters on the show - trying to protect kids, not having a stomach for violence (most of the time), trying to get rid of his blood money in the end, etc. But he has also done objectively terrible things of his own volition as well.

Jesse's Bad Choices Unrelated to Walt

Jesse encouraged multiple people in his life (ie: Badger, Skinny Pete, and arguably Jane) to do drugs, tried to sell meth to people in recovery, and sold meth in the first place.

To be fair, I do want to point out that the people Jesse harms/enables tend to enable him as well. Such as Badger encouraging him to cook again and Skinny Pete/Combo planning to leave Jesse if he didn't give them some meth in season 1, or Jane getting him into heroin after she relapsed in large part because of his own drug use.

But while a lot of people want to blame all of Jesse's actions on Walt's manipulation, not all of the bad things Jesse does can be chalked up to Walt's toxic influence. Jesse was already cooking meth before he met Walt and was hanging with people who enabled him and vice versa (as previously mentioned). He's the one who chose to try to sell to people in recovery (and his grief/guilt over losing Jane, caused by Walt, is still not an excuse).

Jesse's Involvement in Murders Blamed on/Committed by Walt

While Walt did blackmail Jesse into cooking meth with him specifically in Season 1, which led to the confrontation with Emilio and Krazy 8, it's likely Jesse would have continued cooking on his own and gotten into a similar predicament with those two regardless of Walter's involvement (seeing as Emilio was initially pissed because he thought Jesse was the rat).

Without Walt, Jesse might not have survived that encounter with them. Instead, he brought a furious Krazy 8 and Emilio to Walt's doorstep and then encouraged Walt to kill Krazy 8 when they realized he was still alive, even though Jesse didn't want to have to kill Krazy 8 himself. We have to wonder if Jesse would have gone through with it himself if he had lost the coin toss.. So he's not entirely blameless for the very first murders Walt committed.

Then when Jesse tried to go after the two gang members who killed Andrea's brother (and Combo, indirectly), Walt saved Jesse's life by killing them first. It was that action that ultimately put Walt at risk of being killed by Gus, which then caused Walt to tell Jesse to kill Gale. Yes, he could have gone with Jesse's advice and pursued witness protection instead, but ultimately Walt was in that predicament because of Jesse's initial actions.

However, it's also fair to say Jesse was only trying to kill those gang members because they used and murdered a child. Jesse was the only one who stood up to Gus despite the risks and demanded they stop using children. So Jesse's ethical stance is what caused Walt to be in that situation in the first place. And everyone in fandom acts like Gale was perfectly innocent when, again, this was a grown ass man who willingly chose to cook a highly addictive, harmful substance. Doesn't mean Gale deserved to die, but also doesn't mean he was as innocent in all this as people act like he was. Once again showing the complexity of that particular situation.

Jesse's Continued Involvement in the Meth Trade

Jesse had multiple opportunities to try to pursue a different path in life, but chose to return to the meth business multiple times. While the car salesman job didn't work out, he still could have chosen to spin signs or try for another job. Instead, he actively sought out Walt to cook again. When Walt got out in Season 3, it was Jesse deciding to cook again that played a big role in pulling Walt back in (by threatening Walt's ego)... although tbf, he was pressured by Saul to involve Walt again.

Then after season 4, Jesse had plenty of money and could have done anything else. But yet again, he chose to cook with Walt. This time, however, there was a much greater element of guilt involved in that decision, likely feeling like he owed Walt for trying to kill him the previous season (despite being right in the end that Walt poisoned Brock). And he was a lot more broken down mentally after everything he'd been through that he seemed resigned to just doing what Walt wanted at that point.

Jesse's Self Loathing Being What Hurts Not Only Him, But Others

I did see someone point out that Jesse unfortunately misinterprets the message of his NA group and thinks acceptance means he should give into his 'dark side' by embracing what he's done and continuing to do it. His view of "I'm the bad guy" winds up serving as an excuse for him to continue harming himself and others without owning up to what he's done and realizing the purpose of acceptance is so that you can change and move on. The tragedy of his self loathing is in the many lives it harms.

However, it is fair to say Walt and other people's influence on him certainly contributes to that self loathing in the first place..

Why Jesse Isn't a Useless, Cry-baby 'Addict' Either

When it comes to Jesse's addiction, willingness to cry/show his emotions, and lack of ability to stomach the more gruesome aspects of his 'career,' some subsets of the fandom (ie: some people on reddit) think that makes him a shitty person/character. But it adds more depth and nuance to him than if he was just a stone-cold 'badass' like I imagine those fans would prefer.

I mean, do I really need to say why Jesse wearing his heart on his sleeve and wanting to avoid violence in many situations is a good thing that makes him a more sympathetic and relatable character? How it shows he never should have been in this heartless business in the first place and makes us root for him to get out of it?

As for his addiction, everything in Jesse's life is colored by this struggle - including his lack of support from his parents, rejection from society, his propensity to be berated and manipulated by the people around him (from Walt to law enforcement), his struggles with leaving the business and finding a purpose outside of it, even his decision to influence other people into relapsing.

It doesn't excuse his actions, but it does mean that he ultimately has less unconditional love and support, fewer prospects, lower self esteem, and greater challenges he needs to overcome than the average person does. All of which influence his poor decisions and make him more vulnerable to manipulation and mistreatment. People who struggle with substance abuse deserve compassion, not punishment or scorn.

Not so deep down, Jesse is just a young person looking for acceptance, approval, and purpose in life. Unfortunately, he turns to the wrong places (including drugs and people in that 'scene') for these things, which lead him to many of the bad situations he gets into. Walt especially takes advantage of that.

Yes, Walt Does Of Course Play An Important Role in The Bad Things Jesse Does and the Bad Things That Happen to Him

One way in which Walt preys on Jesse is by making him feel inferior, which I think a lot of people take at face value - therefore thinking Jesse is actually dumb. And while yes, he can be short-sighted at times and doesn't always understand the things Walt tries to explain, Jesse's also shown to have plenty ingenuity and an ability to learn. It just isn't in a traditional sense, which may have even influenced his childhood (ie: he might not have been able to live up to his parents' expectations and turned to drugs to escape the pressure).

Walt constantly cycles between berating and disingenuously hyping Jesse up whenever it suits his needs, to ultimately keep Jesse unsure of himself, dependent on Walt, and loyal to him, because Walt needs the ego boost and the tool Jesse provides.

He directly harms Jesse in many ways - pushing Jesse to work with Tuco that results in him being beaten up and having his life threatened multiple times, pushing him to confront Spooge and his wife which traumatizes him, pushing him to expand their territory which leads to Combo's death, which causes Jesse to spiral, and leads to Jane's own relapse, which then causes her to overdose and Jesse to spiral even more. Pushing Jesse to kill Gale which leads to yet another spiral, poisoning a child Jesse cares about to manipulate him into helping Walt kill Gus, gaslighting Jesse about the whole thing, killing Jesse's friend/supporter Mike, selling him out to a Nazi gang... need I continue? Walt is a piece of work who undeniably impacted Jesse's life for the worst and pushed him into doing and experiencing terrible things he likely never would have on his own.

But to act like Walt is exclusively responsible for every bad thing that happens to Jesse and that Jesse never made any bad decisions that harmed others/himself OR to act like Jesse is just some "useless junkie" who doesn't deserve any sympathy or appreciation, is really missing the point of who Jesse truly is.

This Complexity Applies to Many of the Other Characters Too

Skyler may have slept with another man and helped Walt launder his money, but she was cornered in many ways and outright abused by Walt over and over, feeling like she had few choices to keep her family together. Also I literally do not care that she slept with Ted - don't get me started on how that wasn't even wrong under the circumstances.

Hank seemed to genuinely care about and want to help Flynn more than Walt himself, but Hank was also shitty towards Marie, racist/xenophobic, punched down in every way possible (ie: hurting "junkies" and "prostitutes" instead of helping them), skirted the law when he was supposed to uphold it, and actively contributed to the harmful War on Drugs.

Saul may have been pressured into continuing to work for Walt in later seasons and was given little choice but to help him and Jesse in the first place when he feared for his life in the desert, but he actively and willfully encouraged/enabled many of the worst aspects of their business.

Jane may have had some self-serving reasons to blackmail Walt in order to get Jesse's money when Jesse was clearly uncomfortable with it, but she was under her father's thumb and wanted to live a life that wasn't controlled by him and needed Jesse to get that money so they could go off together.

Marie may have tried to support Skyler and the kids, but she also refused to see that Hank was taking advantage of Skyler by encouraging her not to get a lawyer. And she may have been nice in giving Jesse a coffee while he was at his most vulnerable, but just a couple seasons ago, she was encouraging Hank to lie about beating Jesse up. Seeing the way Hank mistreated her during his recovery and how that contributed to her kleptomania (her desire to live a different life manifesting in those scenarios) definitely made her more sympathetic than earlier in the show.

Yes, This Even Applies to Walter Unfortunately

Walt did care for Jesse deep down (in his own toxic, narcissistic way though), was understandably facing an existential crisis about what he had done with his life when forced to face his own mortality with the cancer diagnosis, and made decisions that were misunderstood by fans/other characters at times (ie: when people act like he killed Gus due to his ego, when he was mostly trying to save his and his family's lives at that point). He did go out of his way to protect Skyler, Hank, and Jesse at various times, but barely gets brownie points for that since he was often the one who put them in those situations in the first place.

And ultimately, Walt used and abused nearly everyone he cared about, actively chose to kill people even when there were alternatives, sexually assaulted his own wife, was ableist towards his own son, significantly contributed to the harmful meth trade, and chose to get into all of this mess of his own volition because of his ego/pride.

He brought suffering on everyone in his life and did it all mostly for himself - refusing to recognize his motives and the harm he had done until the very end.

Conclusion, Yo

All of which is to say, Breaking Bad is a show about complicated people in complicated situations. While some people are worse than others in both their motives and actions (*cough* Walt *cough*), no one is entirely innocent and nearly everyone has at least one moment where you can empathize with and maybe even understand to an extent where they're coming from.

Audiences even had glimpses into the depths of many side characters and even some of the most one-dimensional characters (*cough* who were usually one dimensional due to racism *cough*) at times, such as when Tuco seemed to genuinely respect his tío, or when Skinny Pete played piano expertly and both he and Badger proved their loyalty by helping Jesse evade the cops, or when we see Wendy's strength when she withstands a police interrogation for Jesse.

It's ok to like or hate a character (love Jesse and his crew, and fuck Walt and Hank, amaright?). And I really do get wanting to view these characters in a more simplistic, straightforward way. But I just think that recognizing and embracing the nuance built into these characters and the plot as a whole ultimately makes this story more interesting and enjoyable.

[leastdatablebracket]

ROUND 3, MATCH 1

Propaganda under the cut!

Sam Wayne

Propaganda

Sam Wayne is a possessive stalker of a ghost who reeks of rotting meat and leaves puddles of yellow, bloody pus wherever he stands too long. He has alluded to wanting the PC to only ever be with him and that their relationships with any of the other characters are meaningless in comparison to the one they "share". Is always watching the PC and disregards their constant requests to stop, including while they sleep and shower. Regards any decision they make that does align with his own as "very foolish". And even though it was when he was actually still alive....Wayne is TECHNICALLY your cousin Tabitha's ex and she gets really upset if you ask her permission to date her undead "sloppy seconds" lol

Jumin Han

Propaganda

manipulative and abusive asshole

He's a stuck up trust fund baby, and won't take no for an answer. His route is objectively the WORST

He is in love with his cat and constantly compares you with the damn cat😭 like an actual fucking feline animal that’s not nickname 😭😭😭

unapologetic member of the bourgeoisie. makes his secretary cut her hair and wear glasses so he can take her seriously. 0/10 hate this man so much it has been 7 years since i first set eyes on him and to this day i have carried this with me in silence. my hatred for this man has been my burden. my old mysme mutuals will never know.

ok so fun fact when i tried to play jumin’s route i hated it so fucking much i abandoned ship on day 7. this is a grown ass man who is far too immature (and has too much money) to be romanceable like can he see a therapist first? i’m not his therapist. i’m not. i’m not his cat either. why are you locking me in your penthouse does this LOOK like amnesia: memories. also i hate that in order to gain favor ability you have to act like a jerk to other characters at times and also i love jaehee (his secretary that he makes do Fucking Everything For Him) too much to want to date him romantically. imo he’s a great character in other routes, but in his own it’s just…. :/ . did i mention i hate the whole “getting locked in his house” thing. 

he makes jaehee do so much shit that is WAAAAYYY outside the scope of her job description???? she’s his personal assistant. he makes her take care of his personal — completely unrelated to the company— projects related to cats, makes her watch his pet cat at HER APARTMENT OUTSIDE OF WORK HOURS (as far as i can tell he didnt pay her extra for that, though she does get paid overtime) which is so wildly entitled of him to do, but he’s a rich man so. in every route except for jaehee’s and his own— in jaehee’s she quits altogether and in jumin’s she gets a long awaited and well deserved vacation— he piles her with so much more work than is reasonable. for example: in another story she is tasked with— on top of her regular work tasks — to become the HEAD OF AN IT DEPARTMENT FOR COMBATTING HACKERS. also, he constantly pushes zen —someone who is very, very allergic to cats— to interact with his cat. like he wants to take his pet cat to their charity party/event, and seems very blase and uncaring and disbelieving to the fact that he’s allergic, and that other attendees could be too! and as another example: in zen’s route he offers zen a job when he’s looking work— but it has to do with modelling for a cat food brand, and interacting with cats. which he’s explicitly told jumin he doesn’t want to do. they reconcile and it leads to zen giving in and doing the modeling job :/ now, i don’t dislike cats— i love cats! but i’m also very allergic to them (fur, dander, and saliva) so this hits a little close to home. but constant exposure to an allergen can trigger chronic asthma and asthma attacks, and chronic asthma can be very damaging to someone. it can damage their lungs! it’s not a matter to be trivialized! and even if zen’s allergies were “minor,” jumin’s constantly trying to force someone who’s set up a boundary time and time again about not wanting to interact with cats to interact with them and while it is a small example — at least in comparison to the rest of his route— of him ignoring/overstepping/bulldozing past boundaries, it still makes me itch!

[moriartyluver]

Not a fanfic post but lets just talk about the hounds of Baskerville arc because there is just SO MUCH I have to say

Warnings: spoilers,mentions of gore, violence & various forms of child abuse

Alright first off, we all pretty much know it wasn’t animated (kinda for a good reason. It was really visceral and although I must say it was well made, I doubt they would’ve been allowed to animate something like that.) but there are some things this chapter had which I think were very crucial in terms of character development for almost every one of the member of the Moriarty gang.

I think the main focus for the chapter is brotherhood (or just sibling love in general) along with the past and how that affects our current lives.

First thing I wanna point out is how some of the kidnapped children are sort of parallels to William and Louis. This boy in particular looked a lot like william, not only in his hairstyle but also his actions. In the anime, we see that William stabs himself with a fork instead of letting Louis get hurt and in the manga there are alot of instances where William sacrifices physically for Louis. This unnamed child also gouges his eye out with a spoon in an effort to protect his sister which is sad because they both end up dying anyways at the hands of Baskerville

Also the fact that they both seemed to have grown up in slums and stolen while sticking by each other to stay alive shows that they were probably intentionally written to be similar.

these two kids are completely unrelated but this second one looks similar to Louis imo

The way William looks at the two also kinda contributes to this parallel

Another thing in relation to this would be how Louis sees his brother and it’s not just a terrible mischaracterisation of “Sherlock get away from

my precious nii san 😡” but rather shows how William and Louis were so dependent on each other as kids that it’s now become a main part of their current relationship. We see earlier in the arc that Louis asks to go on the mission with William and he says that he wants (in essence) for Louis to live in the new world without corruption or the nobility. These three pages are also a major parallel to when the first Moriarty estate burnt down and William took on og William’s identity. Strangely enough, I don’t think we ever saw Albert in this arc which is odd considering he’s also a brother to William and Louis despite not being blood related but I digress. We see how devoted Louis is to William here (“they burned well for my brother’s sake” and “if you take that out you’ll die of bloodloss”)

Also why did Louis kinda eat in this scene

Anyways on a more positive (??) note, I find it adorable that Fred sees Moran as his older brother. It’s such a funny dynamic too 😭

It’s giving “don’t tell mom I didn’t do my chores”

The way that Fred’s sweating too 💀 💀

Tbh I thought they were related at first but even if they’re not the “my little brothers here” is so cute for no reason. I’m surprised people haven’t brought up their sibling relationship before

Moran is like a rodrick heffley type of brother and you cannot change my mind.

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

I watched I AM STILL again yesterday! I loved it! The first time I was super hungry and the anticipation soured things for me (as usual), but this time I just focused on "being" with Jungkook and it was a lot more enjoyable! I love him so much it's ridiculous.

But one thing I still don't like are the performances. I love the Golden and TSX stages and rewatch them all the time because they are raw. Jungkook's vocals weren't perfect, especially SNTY at TSX, but they were real and powerful. Hybe being Hybe had to ruin what people loved so much about the TSX stage in particular, what the reviews they chose to include in the movie praised - "His vocals were raw". I AM STILL is a doc. It shouldn't be super polished, it needs to feel real, like you're traveling back in time, but his performances didn't feel real at all. They were so heavily edited I felt like I was watching a music video all of a sudden. I couldn't feel connected to the songs because they sounded so fake to me... And I know what Magic Shop means to Army, but the last song being a song Jungkook sings 25% of and that doesn't even do his vocals justice wasn't the best move imo, especially for casual kpop stans or people watching the movie for someone else. The right call would've been SWY, a universally loved song that Jungkook sings beautifully, and also had many moments of him just taking in Army, not singing (like Magic Shop).

Also, just like last time, a group of women yelled when V appeared - but were dead silent when it was Jimin. They were clearly Taekookers and would've yelled (less passionately) for every other member but Jimin... It's sad seeing this bullshit irl.

Finally, unrelated to BTS, but keeping it to BH Labels, I randomly saw a group of girls hanging out yesterday and one of them was dancing, but the choreo seemed so familiar I sort of stopped to watch. Only when she dropped down into a split were my suspicions confirmed... She was dancing GGUM!!! It was so crazy to me, seeing kpop stans in Portugal is insane... It's like, yeah, we exist, and not just in other countries or online...

[yoonia]

Hi again Dia! If it’s alright, I’d like to share some fun facts about EANA. You may or may not have read them already in the outline but I’d like to share them here with everyone else. (Just minor spoilers with the 1st chapter if anybody cares ig lol)

So initially, I did consider having their roles switched, with Seokjin as Prince Edward, and Jungkook as Robert. While I was still writing the outline, I even considered “casting” Yoongi as Robert at some point. But as you know, my final decision ended up with said members. I decided to have Jin star as Robert just to give him more attention and appreciation. I feel like compared to the other members, Jin seems to be rather slept on in the fandom sometimes (imo at least). Also, I thought he makes a better dilf lol.

Imo at least, I feel like in the fanfic community, there are certain character archetypes/stereotypes the boys tend to be written as in fanfics without realizing at times. For ex, since Jin is nicknamed “worldwide handsome”, he tends to be cast into “prince charming” roles, most notably in fairytale AUs. And since Yoongi irl is known to be rather introverted, he tends to be written into the “stand-offish and distant tsundere bad boy” roles. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love reading fics where authors use some of those archetypes. I just wanted to do something different for a change :)

Having Jin and Jungkook “cast” into their respective roles was the whole point. I wanted to break stereotypes like how the movie did. Some, at least. There ARE certain parts from the movie that I loved too much to cut out in, I won’t deny that haha. I wanted to put my own spin on EANA while still keeping everything that made the movie unique. But yeah, that’s just one of many fun facts I wanted to ramble on, haha. Also, unrelated, but I think it’s kinda funny how the chapters for EANA are being released around the same time Jin discharged from the military lol. Anyway, take care!☺️💜

Ah thank you so much for sharing your thought process into this commission!! Because I know everyone has been curious about the characters and how the roles were chosen and I think the best way to explain it is through your thought process since you had a role in this too

I can't remember if I told you how happy I was when I learned about your characters' casting. I agree, Jin hasn't gotten a lot of love in the fanfic community as ever since I've been active, a lot of love and attention has been given more to the stories written for the maknae line. So I was really excited when you asked to give the role of Robert to Jin. I thought it would be a nice change and a really unexpected twist, given that the other character was Jungkook, who mainly gets the lead role in stories like this, and I was right about how the role placements are making things more interesting with the story. Then I began mapping the story and loving the way things just fell into place

Jungkook does have the perfect traits to be Edward, while Jin fits the image of Robert so well that things started to flow once I began writing the scenes where they are involved

While I feel sorry for making you wait for so long until I begin posting this chapter, it feels like the universe had a hand in things since the story comes out around the same time Jin is coming back. It does feel like the perfect timing to celebrate his return. I hope to finish the rest of the chapters soon since the progress seems to be going more smoothly now that the first chapter is out haha

[larebiscornue]

AYO??? Heavy season 4 spoilers discussion under the cut

Sooo that blogpost about eva's past mentioning her living as a kid with her mother, father and Cleophée, and then getting sent to train as a sadida bodyguard, with no indications of her and cleo not necessarily having a tough family life.. (and unrelated I think the dad? rode a dragodinde. Sorry I had no clue where to write this vital fact)

Are now effectively obsolete.

I wonder if the rest of blog stories (such as that about az having a lil adventure before even hatching, or getting the closest to a kind of a rough estimate of armand's age (afaik) as he was a teen when amalia was a young kid (also their mother's spirit watched over them thanks to the tree of life I think?. That was so sweet :'( ) are obsolete too.. I don't think they necessarily need to be.

I'm watching the toross episode, and while I am obviously sad the cra sisters had this sad background, part of me is kinda glad cause while happy, the little blog perfect family was a bit underwhelming when compared to.. everybody else's family quirks

It seems all guilde des murmurs members were family but not all were cras (or at least they were rare not bow using cras which would be neat) which does make sense worldbuilding-wise.

HOOO THE SADIDA KING BEING ONE OF THEIR MOST LOYAL CLIENTS THOUGH OGHHHH GASP. I thought he was fully "good" but this adds a new depth and moral greyness to the king, as many krosmoz esp royals do in the franchise which is an exciting addition! Now I'm not saying he's like. Secretly evil, but instead of an always good-presented king, it's heavily implied he hired assassins against his enemies. VERY frequently at that. We don't know if his enemies were truly evil but still this is quite a surprise and layer! IF AMALIA N ARMAND LEARN ABOUT THIS I WILL LOSE IT... Dunno if the queen was a part of this, she was more laissez-faire on royalty stuff. Not that means she was a BAD queen, as far as we know for now she was good and loved, but much as her daughter, she loved to sneak and go on adventures. Maybe the king stopped his merc-hiring thing time ago and repented about it, he changed his ways, but, yeah this adds more depth and a twist.

Did the king always plan having eva as a bodyguard for amalia since he might have guessed she had a great potential as per her kin does? I don't necessarily think so, again, not going on the EEEVIL KING REAL tirade. For now we have no proof. Eva seemed to regard the sheram sharm family well. I wanna think the reason why madagaskane chose the king wasn't fully out of his loyal client or king status, but because he supposed he could be caring.

Of course if you wanna go gritty you can imagine eva getting picked as a bodyguard was deliberate, that the slightly older, talented with the bow kid was a good helping hand for the king's youngest child. Armand probably had his own bodyguard(s). And this could help build loyalty to the princess but... Too cynical for me, really.

Wonder if, going by this though, cleo not getting picked was cause of her less standing talent compared to eva or her being more childish n clashing w amalia. Idk. That's my last addendum.

Also I'm sooo glad they explained why eva and cleo have always had this extraordinary bow talent even for a cra. Don't get me wrong I'm the biggest hater of "oh there was not any hard job only magical talent" situations, but, aside from talent not being equal amongst the sisters, I feel it's a question of hard work. We can see it imo in Evas training ethic with Flopin. She has always tried to teach him hardwork.

So, I believe Eva is quite talented, perhaps even quite talented for a regular guilde des murmurs relative's standards, but she for sure has and keeps quite working on her abilities too

[bookofmirth]

I hate to see people romanticize Elain's kidnapping.

I didn't see anything there that seemed romanticized, Elain saying You came means maybe she believed no one would, and it might have been all for Feyre.

And apart from if the Author romanticized it doesn't mean , we should continue to do so if we know it's wrong and we have choices not to continue to romanticize something that is wrong.

And other than that I don't think there's anything romanticized there or even Elain and Az in Acowar.

more is my interpretation too, I just don't like Elain kidnapped and the scene being used to confirm shipp, when there must be better ones to use.

YES, THANK YOU so I'm going to rant now.

It's the way that these horrific things have happened to Elain and somehow, people need to interpret it as ship confirmation or having romantic connotations when the whole reason that Hybern was able to use the Cauldron's power to kidnap Elain was because she was still in love with Graysen in acowar.

1) When Elain was kidnapped, how did the Cauldron do it? It used Graysen, her ex-fiancé whom she was still mourning. It exploited her pain to take advantage of her. The gave her a small, sickening glimpse of hope and then dashed it.

And then after she had been rescued, imagine how she felt:

She's still sad af!!!! Where is the buildup, I ask you.

2) "You came for me" is not specific to Azriel; Feyre was there too, but disguised as Ianthe at first.

Feyre changes her face back to her own. The Cauldron had *just* tricked her using Graysen. Of course Elain is like "the fuck is happening, is this real??? Graysen wasn't real, the person who sold us out to Hybern and got us kidnapped in the first place just walked in with Az, wait that's my sister, ummmm????"

"Devouring the sight of him as if not quite believing it" yeah because everyone is playing Funhouse Mirrors with Elain and she's not sure what she can trust to be real.

On top of this is the fact that Elain is the quiet, unassuming one who stays out of the way. I'm sorry bookclub I forgot who said this but someone mentioned to me that Elain might have thought her absence would go unnoticed. So it's possible to interpret it not as "YOU came for me", but as "you came for ME".

3) And maybe this is unrelated to the kidnapping but you know what? It's about Elain's feelings being disregarded so I'll go there too.

When Az gave Elain Truthteller, what did she do with it? She killed Hybern. Leaving aside the fact that she had zero training and no one expected her to actually do anything with it...

Does anyone care (in the fandom or amongst her family members!) what impact that had on her, the gentle grower of things, to kill someone? Even if it was to defend Nesta and Cassian? Here are some thoughts I've had on that.

I find these scenes really interesting in terms of what they can tell us about Elain and how she's feeling. Especially since we have never had her POV. IMO it does the character a disservice to only think about romantic implications, and not even just that, but to ignore the blatant fact that Elain is mourning a relationship.