#brba theory

[uhthatsodd]

the special love i have for you, my baby blue

[saulgoodwoman6]

Guys call me crazy... But..

Jimmy x Marco = Jeremike

McWexler = Schmelly

Bravo vince...

[spacerockband]

sorry 4 drawing him smoking so much. take care of ur lungs. inhalers are in now.

[sillygirldisease]

as a reminder, killing someone by poisoning them is relying on a classicist view of the "elegance" of death and consuming content that uses it as a murder method means you should shave your head in shame.

[ravensvirginity]

i was just watching a youtube video that said gus breaking bad being gay is a popular theory like theory??? how else are we supposed to interpret any of that???

[taraxippos]

My best friend keeps floating the concept of us moving in together and I'm like. Desperately trying to find a nice way to say "That will end in murder-suicide, probably"

[theheisenblog]

Book Review - The Dark Triad of Personality

Today I’m going to do something a little different and talk about a book as it tangentially relates to BB/BCS. The Dark Triad of Personality - Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy in Everyday Life by Dr. Minna Lyons is a monograph published by Elsevier. Check out the e-book here → https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128142912/the-dark-triad-of-personality

This book aims to summarize the latest research on the Dark Triad traits while contextualizing these behaviors in everyday scenarios, such as these individuals in the workplace versus in romantic relationships. I’ll summarize some of the segments that caught my attention while skipping through, particularly in relation to the characters of Walter and Jimmy/Saul (DISCLAIMER: this is not intended to be a diagnosis!)

Chapter One introduces us to the main concept. The Dark Triad of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy are overlapping traits that share a core of selfishness, callousness, and manipulation, yet have distinct identities of their own. Narcissism is pretty straightforward: the inflated view of oneself that isn’t often grounded in reality. Lyons interestingly notes that out of the three traits, narcissism (in a non-clinical sense) most observably fluctuates with environmental factors. Particularly, studies have shown that stress exposure lowers traits of narcissism in individuals, while being in positions of influence (positive or negative) raises it. This fluctuation is something observed in Walter, as being so regularly emasculated at the start of the series didn’t allow for his narcissistic tendencies to be as obvious. Though, as his rise to power progresses, he becomes increasingly volatile and abusive. While it’s debated if Walter fits the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder, his tendencies definitely ring the bells for narcissistic abuse.

Machiavellianism is the chameleon-like ability to adapt and manipulate situations to create leverage in one’s own favor. While both protagonists exhibit this trait, it is especially prevalent in the charismatic Slippin’ Jimmy. Lyons describes these individuals as “skillful political maneuvers, with an eye of opportunities to exploit in order to achieve personal gain” (2). An example of this was Jimmy staging a fall on the billboard in order to make headlines while competing with HHM. Lyons notes a study that found high fluid intelligence to be linked with this trait. Fluid intelligence, as opposed to crystallized intelligence, is the ability to problem solve without extensive experience. This fits right in with Jimmy’s character, as he is eventually able to make a name for himself using his wit despite getting his law degree from an unranked correspondence school. This is something Chuck reprimands Jimmy for, arguing that he’s “not a real lawyer” because he cheated his way there. Jimmy’s schemes are arguably the most defining aspect of his character, and the part of himself he grapples the heaviest with as he fails to break past his reputation as a con artist.

The final trait, psychopathy, is one we could observe in both protagonists, but much more in our infamous drug lord. Psychopathy is characterized by an extreme disregard for people and rules, and can be divided into two categories. Primary/“successful” psychopathy describes cold and calculated individuals that are able to mask themselves in a way that grants them power in society. Meanwhile, secondary/“unsuccessful” psychopathy is hallmarked by high risk and impulsive behavior that usually ends in imprisonment or general disapproval from society.

I think it should be made clear that Walter does not completely lack empathy or remorse, yet his desire to protect his ego is what takes precedence over doing the right thing. Of the two, the cerebral and calculative Walt displays more traits of primary psychopathy, shown by how he is able to climb the ladder so high before ever being suspected by the police. Although, he does exhibit more irrational and impulsive behaviors when his ego is under attack, hence why he killed Mike. His impulsivity is just more controlled than say Jimmy, a known delinquent with colleagues who generally have low expectations for his behavior. I think the tendencies Jimmy has lands him between the two types, as he’s cultivated a successful career with his manipulation, but isn’t the most cool-headed person. However, compared to Walt, Jimmy displays much more obvious signs of empathy and remorse, making his manipulative schemes resemble that of a struggling addict more so than a sadist. Because of this, I’m somewhat hesitant to include him in this discussion alongside Walt, though it should be noted how easily he can disregard the humanity of his opponents, consistently pushing the boundaries of what’s okay despite insisting that he’ll change.

From what I’ve read, I’d recommend this book to anybody interested in personality psychology. The ideas are interesting and well-written, keeping me engaged as I went along. The author does a good job at introducing different theories in personality while not attempting to argue that one is the absolute truth without data to back it up. The tables and figures are easy to digest and add another dimension to the information provided. However, as a disclaimer, this book does not aim to discuss the ramifications and nuances of clinical disorders like NPD or ASPD, as traits like narcissism and psychopathy are discussed through the lens of personality theory. For more specific diagnostic criteria or treatment of these disorders, it’s best to look elsewhere. 

[krristee]

actually, hold on, this makes perfect sense!!!

if we consider the additive colour spectrum (RGB) then we'll have - Mr Red, Mr Green and Mr Blue, which joined together make the white colour, so essentially Mr White

however, there also exists a second reading - the subtractive colour spectrum (CMYK) and if we consider that we'll have - Mr Cyan, Mr Magenta and Mr Yellow, which joined together make the black colour, so Mr Black, if you would

now we have two polar readings, on the one hand, Mr White and on the other Mr Black, which represent Walter's two personalities

Mr White split into Mr Red, Mr Green and Mr Blue representing the light(er) side of Walter where red represents cancer(?), green envy for a better life and greed for more of life and lastly blue Skyler and family

whereas, Mr Black split into Mr Cyan, Mr Magenta and Mr Yellow representing the dark side of Walter - Heisenberg, always dressed in black, where cyan may represent the blue meth they're making, magenta his partnership with Jesse because pink is close to magenta and lastly yellow either the drug business they're in or the desert where they cook, or both

Breaking Bad could easily have an episode where Walter touches a crystal and it makes him seperate into multicolored different parts of his personality and Jesse has to try and put them back together

[vixonimus]

watching the stream like everybody else and i have the theory that the resonance cascade is just going to hit out of nowhere and it is the brba characters surviving half life 2

[seraphtrevs]

ok for the choose violence ask game, 1, 16, 21 for bcs/brba?

1 - the character everyone gets wrong

I already did howard over here - but here's another one. the character everyone gets wrong is...walter white

well, sort of. i was going to do the usual tap dance by going over his many crimes, but we all know what he did and we all agree that he's a terrible horrible no good very bad man who deserves to burn in hell for his many crimes and abuses

but like...i think people are watching the show wrong if they never at any point feel any sympathy or affection for walt. remember when tuco beat the shit out of jesse, and then walt used his science powers to blow up tuco's hideout as revenge for what he did to jesse and also to force him to pay what he owed them? were you (the rhetorical you) really sitting there, scowling, hoping walt would lose because you hated walt so much? No! you were cheering! or at least i was, anyway.

and also - i think hating walt as a character is like hating lestat for breaking every bone in louis's body, or hating hannibal for sticking a severed ear down will's throat to frame him for a series of killings in the hopes that it would drive him insane so he'd become a serial killer for real. like I GUESS that makes sense to hate a character for doing those horrible things, but i love lestat, and i love hannibal, and i love walt! It seems weird that characters doing hateful things doesn't stop people from still loving them, with the exception of walt. the hate is just so over the top - yes he's awful, but that's why he's great! (i have my theories why he's the exception, and if anyone is interested in an extended walt "defense", lmk)

16 you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

i've been thinking about this all day and am coming up blank 😅So I'll say that i don't understand the enduring popularity of hank in the fandom at large (although not here thank god). I HATE hank with the passion of 10000 suns - he's a monster and no one talks about it! they think he's an honorable cop! he's not, and there's no such thing!!!

21 - part of canon you think is overhyped

don't kill me, but i think el camino was only okay. i liked it just fine and i'm happy it exists - the flashback scenes alone make it worth it. but it felt kind of unnecessary and i've only watched it twice, as compared with the many times i've watched brba and bcs

choose violence ask game

[ghostboyhood]

What's you're favorite episode of Community???

oh my God.

okay id have to go through and rewatch all of seasons 1-3 to know for Sure but probably abeds uncontrollable christmas... which is probably so basic but WHATEVER

Its sosososo good, its one of the first ever times ive seen a situation like that portrayed like that in media.. i can relate Extremely well to it as well which is just like.. idk i love how they handled the episode and the animation style was incredible, the way they mix comedy and emotionally destroying episodes is incredible... i just... ugh its so great to see something i struggle with represented in media yk??

a lot of abed centered episodes i love because i think, at least for me, they did such a great job representing his like... mental health?? if that makes sense idk

again i need to go thru and rewatch the first seasons.. of COURSE i love remedial chaos theory im pretty sure thats a given.. epidemiology, ive found myself watching mixology certification a few times, cooperative calligraphy is amazing and the episode where theyre told it was all a shared delusion always makes me laugh when they say at the end "i want to see what happens if we take one of their pens", digital estate planning is fun and i loved seeing gus from brba,

thats all i can remember right now but i love seasons 1-3 sm ousghhh

[wormstar]

@skinwretch do you have the one post i think you made ages ago that was warrior cats + breaking bad evil swimming pool theory. ive been watching brba recently and keep thinking about it

[cyberdrive2htmlove]

I saw what you posited about the idea of Jodio betraying the gang and I'd like to offer the idea of instead more losing them/pushing them away not through any specifically malicious intentions. The BrBa parallels are kind of what have me subscribed to this, but also just the way the lava rock works kind of only specifically benefits one person.

hi anon! i believe this was sent to the wrong blog but this is very funny to me

i have never posted about my jojolands theories in detail (which ill mention under the cut anyways for fun) and im assuming BrBa is short for breaking bad and i am. very curious as to who has a Jodio Betrayal Theory related to that......

my only theory related to jojolands is actually usagi betraying the gang. it might be cheap to analyze him in that way but i have a lot of fun thinking about it and this part's parallels to part 5. something something usagi doppio equivalent :-)

[you2018]

i should rewatch brba now that im a different person.. could be good for me. would be huge for bald theory at the very least

[girltakovic]

tagged by the incredible @gayassbenaffleck to post 10 characters!! (tysm!!! <3 <3 <3)

fox mulder

he's my right hand arm. man. my everything. my confidant. my silly rabbit. he's so me im so him i am he and he is me and we are all together i am the walrus. i have never found a character i relate to more and if the x files has no fans assume i am dead

2. ripley from alien

she's so. she's sooooooooo [REDACTED BY US GOVERNMENT]

3. princess bubblegum

finally. the unethical lesbians in stem representation we need

4. roman roy

[i bet on losing dogs by mitski plays faintly, as if from a great distance]

5. vriska

are you sensing a theme yet. perhaps she's not the unethical lesbian in stem representation we need, but the unethical lesbian in stem representation we deserve

6. oswald cobblepot

i just started this show recently but he's so silly i love him :^) putting him in a terrarium as we speak

7. jesse pinkman

the most important girl in the whole wide world <3 he is my everything i love him so much. rae has heard my brba color theory rant and he is sooooo central to that theory it's so fun

8. shiv roy

another succession character because it's brainrot time again and i miss it so much!! i'm such a shivgirl in spite of myself. love her 2 death

9. maddy ferguson

MADDY!!!! she's so cool yet so tragic. are we beating the self-fulfilling prophecy allegations today chat

10. DATA!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S DATA!!!!! light of my life <3

tagging: @bat-bestie @cherrycherryboomboom2 @toadscools @lawyerkitty @draanden @tetrissyndromes and anyone else who wants to <3 mwah

[butchbenrey]

Are there any theories, predictions, or hopes you experience in regards to hl2vrai?

Also, consider this: benrey that is of copious spikes

god i have a complicated relationship with the idea of hl2vrai for so many reasons, most of them being really personal so i dont have as many theories or expectations as youd might think. the whole announcement and trailer happened during a really rough period of my life so the whole thing kinda has the ooze for me. still, i know i'll watch it when it comes out. i can't not, hlvrai has been my whole thing for nearly 3 years now.

as far as what i expect to happen, i think benrey probably wont come back. or if he does, itll be for a gag or something. this is gonna sound so bitter (because it admittedly is) but it seems like the crew is largely obsessed with teasing their fans for liking benrey too much and i imagine theyll keep dangling him over our heads. maybe thats too cynical, i dunno. i honestly don't think most of the science team will be returning? like obviously gordon, coomer, and g-man will, and people have theorized that tommy is that second g-man we saw which i can definitely get behind. but baaulp didn't like playing tommy and i don't get the vibe that gir is particularly attached to bubby either. i imagine the crew would wanna switch things up because they're notoriously unpredictable.

also, from the moment i saw alyx with a fat cigar in the trailer i've been pretty confident mira will play her, which i was initially really hyped for but now have complicated feelings about (again, for personal reasons).

speaking of alyx, i definitely don't think the gnome himself is coming back but i do think that the gnome series will have something to do with hl2vrai. ever since the gnome finale theater scene with the peppa pig monologue i've assumed "the girl" that "gordon" would meet soon was alyx. i imagine she'll have some memory of the gnome series somehow, or she'll have some knowledge of the higher powers at play (like whatever the fuck gaben was talking about wrt his games being their own entities and shit) or whatever. i wouldn't be surprised if they built on that meta aspect of the gnome series and make the game of half life 2 itself its own sort of character in a way. like, the nature of the copy of half life vr that "gordon" was playing within the fiction of hlvrai was left really ambiguous. "gordon" questioned it of course and was baffled by the weird ai but eventually just came to accept it. it was only truly interrogated by coomer at the very end, and not for long. but with the trailer for hl2vrai being narrated by coomer and having such a focus on how the ais were left to rot without the player, it seems like the meta aspects of the story will come into a bit more focus. but also, maybe not. because as much as the gnome series toyed with examining the nature of the game, most of it was ultimately left ambiguous. we'll see, i guess.

those are my expectations and predictions. my hope is that it's not as cynically self-referential as the brba stream and everything surrounding it was. ultimately i don't care if benrey's not in it, i don't care if none of my predictions are true, i don't care if it's wildly different from hlvrai in every way. they'll make a high quality work of art no matter what. i just don't want it to have that same weird mild contempt for hlvrai fans that i had seen not just in the brba stream but also cropping up here and there in other streams. like, the "stay tuned and benrey will be at the end of the stream" joke was funny maybe for the first 3 times but after that it just got really tiring. i think rtvs has every right to not be happy with their fans and they don't owe us anything but that doesn't mean i have to like it when they're mean about it, y'know? it just gets old really quickly and i don't super love being the butt of the joke just for being a big fan of a series they made. shrugs.

alternate answer: i hope the sacred texts come true