#also thinking of making a poll to vote on whether or not i should make a public list of all my plans

[tdvotes]

Welcome to Total! Drama! Tumblr!!!!!!

Now that we've wrapped up our analysis on every vote in the canon Total Drama series, it's time to mix it up a little.

This will be something of a crossbreed between Total Drama, The Ridonculous Race, and the Tumblr tournaments that have been so popular recently. Here are the rules:

All 100 contestants from Total Drama and the Ridonculous Race will compete.

Because of this, there will be no submission phase. Instead, there will be a "team building" phase. Click on the form below to submit two to ten characters who you think should be on the same team. You can also submit a team name if you like. Once we've received enough submissions, I will put together the teams based on the information received. Please submit as many teams as you want.

The characters will initially be split into 10 teams with 10 players on each team.

I will call each player by their in game name. That means, for example, Mildred Stacey Andrews O'Halloran will be called Blaineley, and Valentina Escobar will be called MacArthur. While this rule applies to me, you can call the characters any name you want.

We will probably put each pair of Ridonculous Race partners on the same team, as well as Katie and Sadie, Amy and Samey, and Wayne and Raj.

A typical episode will be split into 3 polls, each of which will last a day:

On day 1, a challenge poll will pit all the teams against each other. Vote for the team you want to WIN the challenge.

On day 2, a campfire poll will pit the members of the LOSING team against each other. Vote for the player you want to ELIMINATE.

And on day 3, a final poll will pit the two players with the MOST votes against each other. Vote for the player you want to receive the FINAL MARSHMALLOW.

The player who loses that poll will be eliminated and have their total stats revealed, both for the canon series and for our game. The stats will include how many votes they received vs how many votes they mathematically could have received, how many elimination ceremonies they went to, how many times they won invincibility, and more.

Teams that won the challenge may or may not receive an extra vote or two in the next challenge.

(Obviously, since the polls last 24 hours each, and I need time in between polls to tally the results, and my schedule will not always align with the time the poll expires, each episode will last slightly longer than 3 days.)

Feel free to submit roleplay, propaganda for or against a certain player or team, or virtually anything else you wish.

Language: if it's allowed on the Canadian version of Total Drama, it's allowed here. (For those unfamiliar, they do allow words like crap, frickin, testicles, and suck, but they bleep out other swear words. For example, Lindsay's rant against Heather is entirely bleeped out in the Canadian version, whereas in the American version it is replaced with a load of PG insults.)

I may introduce game elements that happened or were mentioned in the real show, including but not limited to non-elimination / double elimination rounds, tiebreaker polls, returning players, immunity idols, team swaps, merging teams or eliminating an entire team if a certain team becomes too small, etc. Depends on how the game goes.

While I reserve the right to run the tournament however I want, here are the rules on tied polls:

If a challenge poll is tied for last, the tied teams will either battle it out in a tiebreaker poll, or have an elimination ceremony for each, or have a combined elimination ceremony, depending how I'm feeling that day and how many players are left on each team.

If a campfire poll is tied for first or second, the tied campers will all compete for the final marshmallows.

If a final marshmallow poll is tied, it is at my discretion whether to make it a double elimination, non-elimination, or tiebreaker.

With all that out of the way, the team building form is linked below:

Again, please submit as many teams as you want!

Signal boosting all the tournament blogs I know below the cut!

@tournament-announcer @mysterycharacterbracket @sea-creature-tournaments @freaky-fellers-tourney @guess-that-ship @doofenshmirtzjingletourney @yall-hate-kids-tourney @mystery-classic-lit-bracket @halloweensongbracket @badlysummedupmoviestournament @trioswag-competition @ferbracket @whosthatcharacter-bracket @cartoon-character-competition @blueboybracket @girlgeniusbracket @tmblrsfavshow @autisticgirliesbracket @weird-al-song-tourney @super-shapeshifter-showdown @died-but-not-dead-tournament @siblingshowdown @disneyvillainbracket @dwampyverse-tournaments @best-green-character @orangecharactersmackdown @battle-of-the-dads

[flyingspicerack]

Okaaaay daydreaming time then sleeby nienie eveyone!!

[anistarrose]

Please don't tune out when you get to the non-partisan section of your ballot this November. First off, where state Supreme Court justices are elected, Republicans are trying their darndest to elect candidates who will destroy reproductive freedom, gut voting rights, and do everything in their power to give "contested" elections to Republicans. Contrast Wisconsin electing a justice in 2023 who helped rule two partisan gerrymanders unconstitutional, versus North Carolina electing a conservative majority in 2022, who upheld a racist voter ID law and a partisan gerrymander that liberal justices had previously struck down both of.

Second, local judicial offices will make infinitely more of an impact on your community than a divided state or federal legislature will. District and circuit courts, especially, are where criminalization of homelessness and poverty play out, and where electing a progressive judge with a commitment to criminal justice reform can make an immediate difference in people's lives.

It's a premier example of buying people time, and doing profound-short-term good, while we work to eventually change the system. You might not think there will be any such progressive justices running in your district, but you won't know unless you do your research. (More on "research" in a moment.)

The candidates you elect to your non-partisan city council will determine whether those laws criminalizing homelessness get passed, how many blank checks the police get to surveil and oppress, and whether lifesaving harm reduction programs, like needle exchanges and even fentanyl test strips, are legal in your municipality. Your non-partisan school board might need your vote to fend off Moms for Liberty candidates and their ilk, who want to ban every book with a queer person or acknowledgement of racism in it.

Of course, this begs the question — if these candidates are non-partisan, and often hyper-local, then how do I research them? There's so much less information and press about them, so how do I make an informed decision?

I'm not an expert, myself. But I do think/hope I have enough tips to consist of a useful conclusion to this post:

Plan ahead. If you vote in person, figure out what's on your ballot before you show up and get jumpscared by names you don't know. Find out what's on your ballot beforehand, and bring notes with you when you vote. Your city website should have a sample ballot, and if they drop the ball, go to Ballotpedia.

Ballotpedia in general, speaking of which. Candidates often answer Ballotpedia's interviews, and if you're lucky, you'll also get all the dirt on who's donating to their campaign.

Check endorsements. Usually candidates are very vocal about these on their websites. If local/state progressive leaders and a couple unions (not counting police unions lol) are endorsing a candidate, then that's not the end of my personal research process per se, but it usually speeds things up.

Check the back of the ballot. That's where non-partisan races usually bleed over to. This is the other reason why notes are helpful, because they can confirm you're not missing anything.

I've seen some misconceptions in the reblogs, so an addendum to my point about bringing notes on the candidates: I strongly suggest making those notes a physical list that you bring polling place with you. Many states do allow phones at the polling place, but several states explicitly don't — Nevada, Maryland, and Texas all ban phones, and that may not be an exhaustive list. There may also be states that allow individual city clerks to set policies.

You should also pause and think before you take a photo of your ballot, because even some states that don't ban phones still ban ballot photographs. But whether it's a photo, or just having your phone in general — in an environment as high-risk for voter suppression as the current one, you don't want even a little bit of ambiguity about your conduct. Physical notes are your friends.

[basketobread]

does anyone remember that one popcorn meme comic from like forever ago because it makes me think of these little critters... also is popcorn canon in the bg3 universe??? it should be?? if it isnt, let's pretend gale is the inventor of popcorn.

also, i did a poll a few days ago about whether or not i should free gale from the portal in this new campaign and... the people have voted yes... so i suppose gale will be making some appearances in the lunara comics now!!

[froggibus]

hello hello! froggi i have something rotting my brain and i would love to hear your thoughts on it, but by no means is this something you have to answer!

how do you think gojo satoru and nanami kento (and anyone else you'd like to include!) would feel about having someone pack lunches for them? like real, thought out, balanced lunches in nice containers and thermoses with little drinks and maybe notes

i can already see the confused first years, yuji and nobara gossiping about whether they're dating someone and megumi being weirded out gojo isnt just buying something like the rich boy he is

Sack Lunch - Satoru Gojo, Nanami Kento & Suguru Geto

Pairing(s): Satoru Gojo x gn! reader, Nanami Kento x gn! reader, Suguru Geto x gn! reader

Genre: fluff!

Word Count: 667 (Gojo's), 685 (Nanami's), 680 (Suguru's)

Summary: a day in your s/o's life when you pack a lunch for him

CW: established relationships!, jokes about dying/being widowed (Gojo's--though they are not necessarily married), lots of cutesy stuff, Gojo acts like a child

anon you are the first person ever to call me froggi (and i kinda love it omg)!! i have not answered a request/ask in a hot minute, but this one was too cute to pass up! not sure if you wanted headcanons for this or not, but i got really carried away :') hope this is what you wanted! also i really feel strongly about Gojo having a 90s lunchbox collection that he is very proud of! - also!! the Valentine's Poll is open if you guys have any ideas of what you want for our Valentine's event this year!! you can vote here - also thank you @l0serloki for helping me with writing nanami!!

Satoru Gojo:

“Satoru!” You shake your head at the man as he slinks past the kitchen.

He pops his head in, white hair falling over his eyes. “Yes?”

“Don’t forget your lunch.”

“You made me lunch?” He coos, surging forward to pinch your cheek, “you’re so cute.”

You roll your eyes. “No one should spend as much money on food as you do.” You chastise. “And I want to make sure you don’t only eat sweets today. I can’t have you dying on me at 30.”

“Pft, I’m gonna live forever!”

You shove the metallic Sailor Moon lunchbox into his hands. “Keep eating what I make you and you just might.”

“Aw, baby,” he practically sings, “look at you, trying to take care of me.”

He playfully ruffles your hair, but upon seeing your scowl, drags his hand down to your waist. He leans in and presses a sloppy, needy kiss to your lips. You stand on your toes just to kiss him back, rubbing your hands up and down his back.

He pulls away blushing, lunchbox in hand. “I’ll see you later! Love you lots!”

You wave to him as he heads out the door, “love you too!”

Even when he gets out to his car, the grin on his face doesn’t fade. He might have teased you a little, but only because he was so honoured that you even thought to pack him a lunch. The cute Sailor Moon lunch box that totally isn’t his is only the icing on the cake.

—

Nobara and Yuji stare at Gojo in disbelief. The man has his feet propped up on his desk, whistling a song as he peels a mandarin. A mandarin. The sight of their teacher eating an actual, real fruit is jarring. 

Yuji elbows Nobara gently, “has Gojo-sensei finally lost it?”

“He must have, have you ever seen him eat real food before?”

Gojo rolls his eyes behind his blindfold, popping a slice of the orange into his mouth. He listens to his first years gossip about him as he makes his way through the lunch you packed. You really outdid yourself with this one, he has to admit.

It’s all of the foods he likes, cutely displayed in pink containers that match the glittery exterior of the lunch box. You even packed him strawberry mochi, homemade and neatly bundled. There’s a note in there, too.

Please eat all your fruits and veggies, I don’t want to be a widow. 

Lots of love!

Y/n

Gojo stifles his laughter at your note, but he can’t stop the flush that creeps up to his blindfold. Not only did you pack him a lunch, you wrote him a note. He can’t wait to come home to you and tell you how much he loves you.

It’s when Gojo gets up to use the bathroom that Yuji makes a mad dash to peek in his lunch box. “Sailor Moon?!”

Nobara leaps to her feet, joining Itadori at the desk. “There’s a note, look.”

Fushiguro sits at his desk, softly chewing on the sandwich that you also made for him this morning. He shakes his head at his nosy peers, wondering why they care so much about their ridiculous teacher’s life.

“From y/n?!” They cry out in unison.

“Did he steal this from someone?!” Nobara exclaims.

“Did he do something to y/n’s boyfriend?!”

The pair share their conspiracies on just how Gojo ended up with a homemade lunch and a handwritten note from you, oblivious to the way Megumi snickers at them in the back. 

Finally, he can’t take it anymore. “They’re together.”

Their eyes practically pop out. “They are?!”

“Yep,” Gojo leans against the door to the classroom, smirking at his students.

“And it’s…like that?” Yuji asks quietly.

“It’s like that.” Gojo raises his eyebrows for emphasis.

All three First Years cringe, groans filling the room. Gojo smiles proudly though, already figuring out how he’s going to tell this story to you when he comes home to you.

-

Kento Nanami:

Nanami’s cheeks tinge pink as he makes his way to the door and sees you standing there. There’s a massive grin on your face and you’re holding a grey lunchbox in one hand and a coffee thermos in the other. Despite this being an everyday occurance, Nanami still isn’t used to it.

“I packed your lunch.”

He leans in and presses a soft kiss to your lips, grabbing the items from your hands. He sets them on the small table just next to the door to free up his hands before immediately wrapping them around your waist. He caresses your sides gently, almost as gently as he kisses you—trying to show all his gratitude and love for you with a single gesture. 

You’re flustered when he pulls away, straightening out your clothes while you find your breath once more. You watch Nanami as he grabs his lunch and coffee from the table and pulls his keys out of his pocket, clicking open the lock on the front door.

“Oh!” You call to him just before he steps out. “There’s some extra snacks in there, just in case Yuji wants them!”

His dark eyes fill with admiration, his face falling into that soft look he saves for those closest to him. “You really are the greatest.”

You giggle, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he says. “Have a great day today, dear.”

“I will!” You wave at him from the door as he walks to his car. “Oh! And please don’t forget the cutlery at work again!”

“Will do!” His words are punctuated by the closing of his car door followed by the roar of the engine.

You shut the door but the grin doesn’t fall from your face. These mornings are always a highlight for you.

—

Nanami is exhausted by the time he makes it to his lunch hour. Him and Yuji had been running around all afternoon chasing some low grade curse. The second his watch beeped to indicate lunch time, Nanami was already headed to the crosswalk to head to the park across the street, Itadori in tow.

It’s a beautiful day out, the warm sun heating the wood of the park bench just enough to keep it comfortable. He has his most recent novel open on his lap, his lunchbox on the seat next to him. Yuji sits on the other side of his lunch, happily snacking on the extra things you packed for him.

“Y/n really is the best, Nanamin.” He says through a mouthful of food, “packing you all these snacks and keeping you healthy.”

Nanami offers the boy a half grin, though he’s tempted to remind him of his table manners and how rude it is to talk with food in his mouth. He takes a sip of the coffee in his thermos—still warm from this morning—and relaxes farther into the bench. You always make it just the way he likes it, no sugar and hardly any cream. 

He reaches a hand into his lunchbox to grab the small container of carrot slices when his fingers graze something else. He closes his novel and leans over to examine the paper he’s just grabbed.

Hope you’re having a great lunch today, honey. Made with love

To the moon and back,

Y/n

He tries to hide his widening grin and reddening cheeks by pretending to cough into his arm, but only succeeds in drawing more attention to his flustered state. 

“Are you okay?”

Nanami nods, catching his breath from his fake cough. The heat starts to fade from his face. He pulls his head out of his elbow and turns to address the boy, only for his eyes to widen in horror as he realizes the First Year is clutching the note that was just in his hand.

“Woah,” Yuji’s eyes widen. “It’s like that? You really are lucky, Nanamin.”

Nanami breathes a sigh of relief, glad it was Yuji that found the note and not Nobara or Gojo. Had they found it, he would never hear the end of it.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “I am lucky.”

-

Suguru Geto:

Suguru is shocked when he sees you waiting for him by the door with a small, black bag in your hand. He tilts his head at you when your eyes meet his, as if asking you what you’re doing.

“I threw together a couple of things,” you explain. “For lunch.”

He’s never been cared for like this, never had anyone to pack him a lunch. A million thoughts cross his mind. Thank you, you’re the best, how’d I get so lucky? Of course, none of that comes out.

Instead, he utters a simple, “...why?”

He cringes at the sound of his own voice, bracing himself for you to be disappointed. Luckily, you don’t offend easily and your smile never wavers.

“Well, you were complaining about Satoru only ever wanting to go to sweet shops—and that you were sick of eating lunch alone, so…”

You look down to his hands, suddenly too embarrassed to face him. It felt like a great idea at the moment, but the longer Geto looks at you, the dorkier the idea feels.

Geto closes the gap between you, grabbing your hand from under the lunch box handle. “Thank you,” he mumbles against your lips, tugging you closer so he can taste you better.

Relief floods through you at his words of gratitude. You lean into the kiss, relishing in the way he feels against you.

“I really do love you, you know?” He says softly when he pulls away, the bag now hanging from his hand.

“I know.”

He looks at you expectantly, giving you the same look he does when you’re acting like a dork or giving him attitude.

“I love you too, Suguru. Now get going! I don’t want you to be late.”

He offers you a small wave before he heads out the door, wondering exactly how he’ll return the favor when he gets home.

—

Satoru stares at Suguru from across the table in the teachers lounge. Even with the blindfold on, Geto can tell the man is eyeing the food he has spread out in front of him.

Gojo raises a finger, about to open his mouth.

“Not a word, Satoru.”

His best friend chuckles, dropping his hands in surrender, and goes back to eating his pastries out of a cute pink box. Geto goes back to his own lunch. Though you claimed you just ‘threw together a few things’, he knows that’s far from the truth.

It must have taken you an hour to prepare it all, at minimum. Not only did you make his favorite meal, but you also packed him steamed, honey coated carrots, a slice of homemade banana bread, and a small thermos of his favorite roasted rice tea.

He pops open the lid of the thermos to smell it, the familiar toasty aroma filling his senses. It smells like home—like the nights where he can’t sleep and you bring him a cup of it mixed with sweet honey.

“What’s this?” Satoru snatches the lid from the desk, flipping it upside down and letting a small piece of stationary fall out.

Suguru groans, reaching desperately across the desk for the lid, only for Satoru’s jaw to fall open. He lets the paper float back down to the desk.

“What?” He demands.

Gojo offers him a teasing grin. “Y/n and Suguru, sitting in a tree….”

Geto scowls and grabs the note before Gojo can pick it up and tease him more. Any annoyance he was feeling at the fellow special grade fades away when he sees your handwriting scrawled across the paper.

Hope Satoru doesn’t give you too much trouble today. I love you so much, can’t wait to hear about your day when you get back

All the stars in the sky,

Y/n

Satoru must not see the way Suguru’s cheeks redden at the sight of the note—or if he does, he doesn’t say anything about it. Though he teases, he couldn’t be any happier for his friend as he watches him read the words on the note over and over, a growing smile on his face.

-

masterlist | jjk masterlist

[gammija]

[CECIL]: "So, as we move into the final hours of the competition, vote! Whether it's for your favorite, local, Night Vale community radio host or some... pile of bones, don't let your voice go unheard.

Also... Well, this might be a little bit outside the rules, but you could even make a second account to show a little more support for whoever you think should win. You probably won't get caught. As City Council declared in a recent press release, "Voter fraud doesn't exist."

"There is no such thing as voter fraud," City Council said last Wednesday, their many mouths moving as one. "No one can vote more than once. We certainly can't. Ha, ha." Some of their feet shuffled. "We definitely did NOT commit voter fraud by using the recently developed cloning technology to make copies of ourselves, force them to vote for us, then bus them into the Whispering Forest where we threw them out. That. Never. Happened," they added emphatically.

Immediately after the press conference they disbanded the City Council's, 'Night Vale committee for Fair Elections', by eating them."

[A door creaks.]

[CECIL]: "Listeners, someone has just entered my studio.

Uhm, excuse me! You're not allowed to be in here!

It looks like it's a small man, with a smoothly bald head, and dark empty eyes...

Oh no. They're sockets. This must be him, this 'Snas' the skeleton. He's coming to defend his title...

Listeners, as I prepare myself for what will surely be a fight to the death, seeing who takes who out first, I take you... To the weather."

[CECIL]: "Welcome back. I know you're all dying to know whether I won the Tumblr sexyman poll, and if I defeated the small skeleton. Well...

I was all ready to fight, getting into a stance, when the skeleton held up his hands. He said that he didn't want to fight, and that he'd come here to concede and hand me the title.

I'll admit, I was a bit taken aback by this at first. Of course, I had to protest. Wouldn't that be unfair to the few people who voted for him, I asked?

But he explained that, since he already won last year, he wasn't really looking forward to all the attention and hassle from winning a second time. And seeing as it apparently meant a lot to me, he'd rather just let me win than miss his wedding.

Yeah, apparently he's about to be wed to someone named Komaeda in a few days? Good for him.

Dear listeners, after his heartfelt plee, I felt I had no choice but to accept the win.

Which means I am now, officially, Tumblr sexyman of 2023. Yay!

Stay tuned next for muffled sounds of celebration, overheard from a neighbour's house nearby.

Good night, Night Vale. Good night."

[qqueenofhades]

I just read an article on The Conversation that states: "Today, most data has Trump narrowly beating Biden in the national popular vote, albeit within the statistical margin of error." (Source for that data: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/)

In your opinion, is that true? How can that be possible after everything Trump has done? After the Insurrection? I'm terrified 😕

(For reference, the original article can be found at https://theconversation.com/five-reasons-why-trumps-republican-opponents-were-never-going-to-beat-him-223288?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Weekend%20Conversation%20-%202888329325&utm_content=The%20Weekend%20Conversation%20-%202888329325+CID_fceedfd21410eb8a7b6fd6e1124d9d54&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=five%20reasons)

Short answer: no, I don't think it's true.

Long answer: no, I really don't think it's true. Here's why.

Broader context. A Republican has won the popular presidential vote only twice in the 21st century, and in the first of those occasions -- 2000 -- I use "won" very advisedly. We all know, or at least we should, about all the fuckery that went down in Florida with Bush vs. Gore and SCOTUS stepping in to stop the recount (which almost surely would have gone to Gore) and handing Florida, and thus the presidency, to George Dubya Bush by a mere 537 votes. Dubya then did win re-election and the popular vote/EC in 2004, in the throes of patriotic war fervor and the GOP's Swiftboating of John Kerry (who was a pretty terrible candidate to start with). Other than that? None. Zip. Nada. None. Even in 2016 when Trump squeaked out a win (and thus the presidency) in the Electoral College, he lost nationwide to HRC by over 3 million votes. He lost to Biden by 7 million votes nationwide last time. Also, the reason the GOP loves the antidemocratic Electoral College is that it always works in their favor, and because red states with relatively scant population are given the same power in the Senate. That's why California, with 40+ million people, gets two (Democratic) senators, and Wyoming, with 400,000 people, gets two (Republican) senators. There is just no way that red states can get the actual raw numbers to win the popular vote against heavily blue urban population centers. The only one that comes close is Texas, and while it's something of a white whale for Democrats who think fondly that it'll surely turn blue this election cycle (and then it doesn't), it's not giving all its votes popular-vote-wise to Republicans. So yeah. The numbers aren't there. Biden is about 99% certain to win the popular vote, but because this is America, the question is whether the EC will follow.

(Although, I gotta say. In the deeply unlikely event that Biden loses the popular vote but wins the Electoral College -- i.e. the exact same thing Trump did in 2016 -- the right wing would lose their fucking minds and it would be incredibly hilarious. Also, we might finally get some red states willing to sign up to the National Popular Vote Compact, which is just a few ratifications away from going into effect. As noted, the Republicans will cling onto the Electoral College with their last dying breath because it's the only thing that makes them competitive in nationwide elections. If it fucked Trump, they might finally listen to ideas about changing it.)

The media are incredibly biased, and so is Nate Silver. Silver first rose to prominence as an independent geeky Data Guy elections whiz-kid, and was relatively good at being unbiased. That is not the case anymore. He's now affiliated with the New York Times and has started echoing the smugly anti-Biden framework of both that paper and the mainstream media in general. I'm not necessarily saying his data is total bunk, but he's extremely eager to frame, narrate, and explain it in ways that artificially disadvantage Biden (in the same way the NYT itself is all in on "BUT HIS AGEEEEE," just as they were with "BUT HER EEEEEEMAILS" in 2016) And that's a problem, because:

The polls are shit. Like, really, really shit. Didn't we just go through this in 2022, where everyone howled about how All The Data pointed to a Red Wave and then were /shocked pikachu face when this was nothing more than a Red Dribble of Piss (and frankly, the best midterm election result for the ruling party since like, the 1930s?) We've also had major, real-time proof that the polls are showing a consistent pro-Trump bias of 10 or more points, which is a huge error and keeps getting corrected whenever people actually vote, but the media will never admit that, because TRUMP IS WINNING WE ARE ALL DOOMZED!! We heard about how Biden might lose New Hampshire because he wasn't even on the ballot and that would be a critical embarrassment for him. He cruised easily with 68% (all write-in votes and FAR more than any other Democratic "candidate.") Meanwhile, Trump won New Hampshire by about 15% under what the polls had predicted for him (after doing the same and barely squeaking over 50% in Iowa, one of the whitest, most rural, most Trump-loving states in the nation). The number ballparked for Biden in the NV Democratic primary was something like 75%; he got over 90% (and twice as many votes as any candidate in the Republican Primary/Caucus/Whatever That Mess Was). The number for what he was supposed to get in the SC primary was in the high 60% (driven by the media's other favorite "Black voters are abandoning Biden" canard); he absolutely crushed it at 97% statewide. When Biden is winning by whopping margins and Trump is underperforming badly, in both cases by gaps of ten percent or more, it means the polls are simply not showing us an accurate state of the race. This could be because of media bias, bad data, selective polling, inability to actually connect with voters (especially young voters, who are about as likely to eat a live scorpion as to pick up an unsolicited phone call from an unknown number). This also shows up in:

Special elections. We've heard tons of Very Smart Punditry (derogatory) about how Democrats kicking ass in pretty much every competitive election since Roe was overturned in 2022 totally means nothing for the general election. (Of course, if the situation was reversed and Republicans were cleaning up at the same rate, we would be hearing nothing except how we're all destined for Eternal Trumpocracy... wait. no... we're still only hearing this. Weird.) In the last special election in early February, Democrat Tom Suozzi won back his old U.S House seat (NY-03) by over eight points, after polls had given him at most a two- or three-point edge. (Funnily, once again a Democrat did far better than the media is determined to insist, so Politico hilariously called a thumping eight-point win "edging it out.") This represents almost a 16-point blue swing from even just 2022, when The Congressman Possibly Known as George Santos won it by 7 points. On that same night, a Democratic candidate in a Trump +26 district in deep, deep red Oklahoma only lost by 5 points, marking another massive pro-blue swing. This has been the case in every special election since Roe went down. Apparently blah blah This Won't Translate to the General Election, because the media is very smart. Even when Democrats (historically hard to motivate and muster in off-year election cycles, or you know in general) are turning up in elections that don't involve Trump to punish terrible Trumpist policies, we're supposed to think they won't be motivated to actually vote against the guy himself? And not just them, because:

Trump is a terrible candidate. Which we know, and have always known, but now it's really true. We've had up to half of Haley voters stating they will vote for Biden over Trump if that is the November matchup (which it will be). Haley, amusingly, actually outraised Trump in January, because it turns out that the Trump Crime Family's open promise to send every single donor or RNC dollar to pay El Trumpo's legal fees hasn't been a terribly effective message. We had Republicans in NY-03 telling CNN that they voted for the Democrat Suozzi because they're so fed up with the GOP clown show in the House and don't think Republicans can govern (which uh. Yeah. Welcome to reality, we all knew that ages ago too). We have had up to a third of Republican voters saying they won't vote for Trump if he's convicted of a felony before the election (and technically he already has been, but we're still hoping for the January 6 trial to go ahead). Now, yes, Republicans are a notoriously cliquey bunch and might change their minds, but for all the endless bullshit BIDEN SHOULD STEP DOWN BECAUSE DEMOCRATS ARE DISUNITED narrative the media has been pushing like their kidnapped grandmothers' lives depend on it, Democrats aren't actually disunited at all. Instead, Trump is in chaos, the GOP is in chaos, sizeable chunks of Republican voters are ready to vote for someone else and in some cases have already done so, and yet, do we hear a peep about how Trump should step down? Nah. In related news, did you hear that Biden is old?!?! Why isn't anyone writing about this?!?!

Now, I want to make it clear: Trump's chances of winning are not zero, and they are not inconsiderable. We need to face that fact and deal with it accordingly. Large chunks of the country are still willing to vote for white Christian nationalist fascism. Trump still has plenty of diehard cultists and the entire establishment Republican party in his pocket, and it's been made very clear that Putin is bringing the full force of his malevolent Russian fascist machine to bear on this election as well. Case in point: we spent four years hearing about HUNTER BIDEN HUNTER BIDEN SECRET CORRUPTION GIANT SECRET BUSINESS SCANDAL, and it turns out that the GOP's "star informant" has been actively working with Russian spies the whole time and fed them complete bullshit disinformation, which they were eager to repeat so long as it might hurt Joe Biden. (And it would hurt Ukraine, so, twofer! I cannot emphasize enough how much it was all a deliberate collaboration by some of the worst people on earth.)

In 2016, people naively assumed that Trump could never win, and so they were especially willing to throw away, spoil, or otherwise not exercise their vote, or throw purity hissy fits over HRC (likewise fed at the toxic teat of Russian disinformation). That was exactly what allowed Trump to squeak out a win in the EC and put us in the mess we are currently in. If people act in the same way in 2024 that they did in 2016, Trump's chances of winning are drastically increased. So once again, as I keep saying, it's up to us. If we all vote blue, and we get our networks to vote blue, Biden is very likely to win. If we don't, he won't, and Trump will win. It's that simple. We had better decide what we're doing. The end.

[foundfamilyhq]

Welcome + Rules

Welcome to the Tumblr Found Family HQ! Here, we present your blorbos to the masses to have them vote upon whether they should be added to the collective tumblr found family or not. Submit your blorbos here:

See which blorbos have already joined the found family HERE! To avoid seeing the results posts, mute "ff results" The rules are: 1. Play nice; be respectful to others 2. Blorbos can be of any age, since a found family can be just that. So feel free to submit a one-day old infant or a ten thousand year old tree, if those are your blorbos 3. No Harry Potter (or other titles associated to this series or the author) 4. No real people (might make an exception if it's funny) 5. "No real people" includes no individual tumblr users, youtubers or streamers (this might seem obvious, but there were still a lot of them submitted) 6. No OCs. All your OCs are great and I'd feel sad if they got rejected from the found family F.A.Q. under readmore:

Q. When are submissions opening? (Pinning this one to the top, because it's by far the question we get the most) Short answer... I don't know, sorry! Long answer... Because of the way the blog is set up, it's very hard for me to figure that out. Basically, each fandom gets one poll a week, but as there are often multiple characters from some fandoms in the submissions form, it's a pain to figure out exactly how many characters are left to add new polls for when you factor out the repeat fandoms (and also, if a repeat fandom's poll would end before submissions are opened, then a new character from that fandom will be polled before submissions are opened, meaning I'd need to work that out as well). There are often about 200 characters in the submissions form, so you can understand this is too much for me to figure out manually, especially since I'm a full-time shift worker, so my schedule doesn't give me a lot of free time. I don't even like to give a ball park estimate to this question, because with being a shift worker, if I have to do a lot of extra work at short notice and can't meet when I said I'd open submissions, I feel like I'e let you all down and that feeling sucks However, when I do open submissions I try to vary it so that one round will be open at roughly 7-10am GMT and the next round will be open at roughly 7-10pm GMT, to try to catch as many people possible. I know that's not ideal for everyone and people have expressed disapointment about this in the past, but those are all the hours I'm able to give :(

Q. How does this work? A. A post featuring a blorbo shall be made, stating who they are and their source material. A poll will be attached set to one week, asking if the blorbo should join the tumblr found family. At the end of the week, based on the result, I will announce if the blorbo has joined or not Q. What is a found family? A. A found family is a family you find for yourself. It is a term often used in fandom to describe a group of characters who aren't related by blood (although a few members might be) but have come to think of each other as a family through circumstance. Alternatively, they might not be officially recognised as a found family in canon, but wider fanon regards them as such Q. Is this a tournament bracket? A. Nope, blorbos aren't competing against each other, they're only here to be judged by you. We are here enternally submitting blorbos (at least until I run out of steam or pass away lol) Q. I'm not sure if my blorbo counts because of ___ reason? A. If it's not any of the reasons mentioned in the rules, then feel free to send an ask. Or just submit them anyway and I'll decide Q. I submitted a blorbo and they haven't been posted. Did you get them? A. Again, feel free to send an ask. I don't have a regular schedule for posting these. Somedays there'll be batches of polls, others there'll be one or none Q. My blorbos are a duo/trio/etc., who cannot be separated. Can I submit them as a group? A. While I would prefer to stick to individual characters, if you have some who absolutely cannot be separated, I might make exceptions. Most likely, I'll make a poll asking if they should be judged as a group or individually, since there's a lot of media I won't be familiar with Q. My blorbo didn't get voted into the found family! Fuck you! A. Friend, as a fan of Theseus from Hades Game, I understand what it's like to have your fave hated by fandom. Anything decided on this blog can never affect your personal headcanons, so go in peace with your middle finger held high Q. What are your icon and header? A. The icon is of the Pokemon Bouffalant and Natu, based on a series of trading card art where Bouffalant finds two Natu and rescues them - the true spirit of found family. The header is a group of characters called the Black Ravens from the Professor Layton series - a group of ragtag working-class kids who make a black market together Q. I wrote some propaganda on the submission form, can you post it or send it back to me? A. Submissions are deleted as the polls are posted, so I can keep track of how many I have left to post, which means I can't do this. Please save your propaganda for the post and not the submissions form Q. Did you know you used fan art on ___ poll? A. Unless I'd mentioned getting permission from the artist, then please assume that I did not know and let me know. I hate art theft and wouldn't want to partake in that, but I'm just not familiar with a good 80% of the series submitted, so sometimes it might slip through the cracks Q. Can I submit a character who isn't my blorbo? A. Also fine! I enjoy it when people submit controversial characters to see how they'll do Q. What happens if there's a tie? A. The blorbo in question becomes an occassional family member who appears with our found family for some important cutscenes, but isn't officially considered part of the found family

Q. No, but seriously, my blorbo got ditched. Do they get another chance? A. At the beginning of each year we host a Redemption Event, where any past blorbos who were submitted get another chance. Because of the high volume of ditched characters, to be included in the event, your character will need to be submitted with propaganda via a form that will be released about a month before the event Q. I think the image used is a big reason why my blorbo got ditched. Why did you use that image? A. If an image hasn't been submitted, I will just grab one from an image search result in most cases. You know your blorbos best, so if you have a specific (non-fan art) image that you think shows them in their best light, please do submit it when you submit them Q. Did you mean the book version or movie version of that character? A. Whichever version of the blorbo that gets submitted, that'll be the one I use. If no specific version is mentioned, I'll just post that blorbo in general and use whatever image is most common when I look them up, unless an image has been submitted or a book cover has been requested to be used Q. My blorbo is a character played by a youtuber and/or streamer, not the youtuber or streamer themselves, is that okay? A. If it's a character, then it's fine. But please mention this on the submission. Because if I look them up and the result looks to be just some real person, that won't be included. I am largely unfamiliar with these kind of fandoms and will always err on the side of caution about their inclusion Q. What counts as a "sweep"? A. Any character who gets 90% or higher in either joining or not joining is counted as a sweep. This doesn't give them anything extra, it's just for bragging rights Q. What counts as a "close call"? A. Any character who's poll results are within the 49%-51% range for join/don't join is counted as a close call Q. How many characters can I submit at a time? A. There's no hard rule, since the form doesn't track emails, but please be considerate to others and try not to submit more than 10 characters per submission period. See next question for more details Q. How many characters from the same series can I submit at a time? A. Four (4) characters per series per submission period. I'll be lenient for if they've been submitted by multiple people, but from my experience running this blog, it's only the current Hot New Thing that'll be submitted by multiple people and anything else is usually one person submitting one character after another. I used to allow more, but people took this for granted and submitted 50+ from the same series, so now 4 is the cap Q. You missed a tag from that poll! Can it be added? A. Sure! Tags are either provided by the submitter or where left blank, I'll use my best guess. At minimum, you'll get the name of the character and series as they've been submitted. If you know more, let me know and I'll add them to the post during the voting period. Please note: The polls themselves cannot be edited after being posted, only the tags Q. Can fictional characters based on real people be submitted? A. Fictional characters that are inspired by real people (e.g. Steven Universe being inspired by Rebecca Sugar's brother) are generally fine. But characters that are basically just some real celebrity making a cameo somewhere (e.g. Simon Cowell appearing on the Simpsons), are a no. Q. I don't understand what this blog is A. Don't worry about it, friend. Just keep driving and whatever you do, don't wind down the window. We'll be safe soon :) Q. Didn't this blog used to be called the Found Family Adoption Agency? A. It did, but I were made aware that the language used on the blog could be seen as potentially harmful to real life adoptees, so I changed the name of the blog and made some edits to try to avoid using such language. Posts made prior to 5th May 2024 will still contain references to adopt/ditching, so tread with caution on older posts

[readyandnot]

WHY I AM HUXLEY’S NO. 1 FAN

{ a ready rambles special! }

credit to the lovely @milogreer once again this is amazing :)) and Morgan for getting it for me!

1: I am Huxley’s No. 1 Fan

2: I am a certified Huxley Simp 🪪

3: All jokes aside, Huxley has and will continue to remain my favorite out of all the characters in the Redactedverse. From the moment I listened to his first audio (meeting FL) I fell in love IMMEDIATELY. I’ve never seen a himbo so perfectly portrayed in a character as Huxley and he’s made me love them even more (him especially of course).

4: Even with Huxley dating Damien instead of FL, he continues to remain my favorite character because he is so much more to me than a romance option. He is is own person with flaws and perfections. He is so emotionally intelligent, physically and mentally strong (even in the dark moments), and so sweet to everyone. He is also so protective of his friends (saw that in Inversion) and supportive it’s so heartwarming.

5: I also still love him when he’s dating Damien because it’s brought out a new side of him and Dami that I absolutely LOVE. They’re so perfect together it makes me so happy for them both even though they were potential romance options for FL.

6: I payed for the Patreon and the FIRST THING I DID was listen to his BA… (it’s so good like wow)

7: I have written so much about Huxley with my FL, and Morgan can vouch on how often I think of and write Huxley whenever we write our FL’s. He’s the first one I think of with my FL in every single AU we do together.

8: I have made numerous thumbnails involving Huxley and have had thumbnails made for me by the fabulously talented Morgan on multiple occasions with Huxley!

9: I have posted on numerous occasions (whether my own post or on someone else’s) about my love for Huxley!

10: I have voted for Huxley in every poll that involved him :))

11: For most of the time, I call Huxley by his full name because it’s such a beautiful name and deserves to be said fully (Hux is a cute nickname though don’t get me wrong!)

12: I have a Pinterest board SPECIFICALLY for Huxley 💚

13: Huxley in my opinion is the underrated one of the DAMN group, and he is so sweet it makes me sad sometimes! He is the balance of everyone in the group: The sweet to Dami, the gentle to Lasko, the ease to Freelancer and the fun to Gavin! It makes me smile seeing him interact with everyone and I love him so much with the group because it’s so nice seeing him be himself after so many years of not!

14: The first commission I ever asked and received was one of Huxley and my FL :))

credit to @sri-rachaa for this beautiful masterpiece you made quite a long while ago!!!

15: I am Huxley’s Sunflower :))

N E WAY

These are fifteen reasons why I believe you should vote for me as Huxley’s biggest fan! Blunt and explained points and it would mean so much to my fictional and irl heart if awarded :))

Even to be nominated is awesome and I sincerely wish the best of luck to the other nominees and the other categories!

Good luck @morgansplace with Lasko, you got my vote :))

@plaqying Thanks for letting me be a nominee!

Sincerely,

[shrink-or-grow]

WELCOME TO THE BLOG!!! TAKE A SIZE RAY AND HAVE A SEAT.

This is a blog for making polls about giant/tiny size headcanons about characters from all kinds of different media, run by me, the one-and-only @tiny-brain. Yeah, you've probably (never) heard of me. I (don't) get around.

Each poll will be about a different character from a different piece of media, determining whether they should shrink, grow, or if they'd work better as a full-on sizeshifter!

I'm going to try to make this a daily thing, but don't be surprised if I disappear or forget to post some days. Basically just check back whenever and see if there's a new poll or not. I'll try not to keep you all waiting too long if I do go missing.

There's also a chance I'll hand this blog off to someone else in the future, cause while I obviously wanna stick around for as long as I can, I DO NOT want to be doing this forever. I might be willing to come back on occasion though, so who knows?

ANYWAY ON TO THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: DA RULES!!!

ALL CHARACTERS MUST BE SUGGESTED VIA ASKS! If you have questions about a character you are submitting please DM me through my main blog, @tiny-brain.

Characters can come from almost anything (movies, TV, video games, web series, comics, novels, etc), and be almost anything (even inanimate objects or memes/jokes).

This blog is SFW only. PLEASE DO NOT SUGGEST CHARACTERS WITH OVERLY SEXUAL/NSFW CONNOTATIONS BEHIND THEM (Or if they come from something intentionally meant to be NSFW) NSFW blogs, please DNI.

DO NOT Suggest characters associated with problematic real-life individuals/organizations. I will not tolerate any racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, hatred for religious or ethnic groups, or any other prejudice of any kind. This blog is meant to be a safe space for everyone. If you are not willing to tolerate others because of their differences, do not interact with me or follow me.

I also reserve the right to refuse to do a poll on a character if I don't want to do one for them. You can DM me on my main account to argue your case for them, and I will explain my own reasoning, but if I still refuse, please do not continue to bug me about it.

Your OCs are wonderful and I love them all, but chances are they're already big and/or small, if you're the kind of people I think you are (cause who else would follow a blog like this?). Suggesting them for this poll would be kind of redundant, wouldn't it? If you want to submit an OC that's not already size-related though, that's fair game, just be sure to provide me with art/images of them to use in the poll header.

Please make sure to be kind and considerate to others! This isn't a competition, so if more people vote for a character to be a different size than what you thought they should be, don't be a jerk about it. We've all got our own headcanons, and if you want Reigan to be a smol little guy in your AU fanfic, nobody's stopping ya. In fact, tell people about it! I'm sure they'll love your ideas, even if they chose to vote differently.

AGTHMP I ALMOST FORGOR THIS RULE AM SORRYYY Basically, please only submit one character per ask. That means no groups for now, sorry. I'd like for each individual character to have their own poll before we start messing with both them and all their friends together as a unit. Sorry!

And that should do it! Now start suggesting characters! I can't wait to get this started. I put off doing homework for this!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Oriana González at NOTUS:

Democrats thought having abortion rights on the ballot would put Republicans on the defensive, supercharge turnout and deliver victories like the ones they saw in 2022 after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Instead, Tuesday’s election results are empowering Republicans and anti-abortion activists to lean harder into an anti-abortion platform than they ever have before. Over the course of the campaign, Republicans repeatedly attempted to change their messaging: saying abortion is a state issue, trying to make a “pro-family” message and avoid talk of bans, claiming that there shouldn’t be a united GOP message, arguing that a personhood bill is not an abortion ban, focusing all of their reproductive health messaging on IVF and even borrowing terminology from the abortion rights movement.

But advocates hope that the election results empower Republicans. If the GOP gains control of the House, they’ll have a trifecta in Washington. It’s unclear exactly what would get through Congress, given the 60-vote threshold for legislation in the Senate and a likely narrow majority in the House, but the days of Republicans shying away from talking about abortion seem over. It’s unclear whether anti-abortion legislation would move up higher under the legislative priority, Speaker Mike Johnson’s office did not return a request for comment, but for longtime allies of the anti-abortion movement in Congress, they are happy their colleagues will be able to speak out more forcefully. GOP Rep. Mike Kelly, who has introduced a bill to federally ban abortion after six weeks of pregnancy multiple times, told NOTUS that it is “absolutely” time for Republicans to be louder about their anti-abortion beliefs. “I don’t believe you should let a political, what some people think is a political advantage, be that way,” Kelly, who is not in a competitive district, said. “I am always going to vote for life.”

[...]

Data shows that abortion was not top of mind for most voters. Only 25% of voters said that abortion was the most important factor to their vote, with larger shares saying their biggest issues were the border (29%), free speech (31%), inflation (40%) and the future of democracy (50%), according to a KFF analysis of an Associated Press survey that polled over 115,000 voters nationally conducted between Oct. 28 and when the polls closed on Tuesday. Those numbers were even lower with independent voters, with 21% saying it was their most important issue. Democrats had hoped that abortion rights support would rally undecided voters to their side. Trump managed to neutralize the issue during the campaign. His most consistent abortion message this cycle was that it is up to the states, and Democratic strategists previously admitted to NOTUS that the president-elect’s messaging may have worked. At the same time, Trump managed to keep the anti-abortion movement in his corner, with groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Students for Life — both want to see a federal ban enacted — saying they made unprecedented investments in voter outreach efforts to turn people away from Kamala Harris.

[...] Anti-abortion advocates saw their biggest wins in years on Tuesday. Measures to protect abortion rights — in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota — failed for the first time since the Dobbs decision. Nebraska also became the first state to have an anti-abortion measure win at the ballot box since then.

“If the playing field is evened by pro-life elected officials fighting back, life wins. Abortion activists’ lies do not prevail when Republicans devote money and messaging to the truth,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. She said Republicans should follow Gov. Ron DeSantis’ example, saying that he “did not back down” and “traveled across the state” to speak with voters about his opposition to Florida’s abortion rights initiative (although most Florida voters supported the measure). She also thanked Sen. Pete Ricketts, who backed Nebraska’s anti-abortion measure, and Rep. Dusty Johnson in South Dakota, who “ran ads and sent mailers” to voters saying the abortion rights referendum went too far.

Abortion rights measures largely passed on Tuesday Night in several states; however, Donald Trump’s win, the GOP flipping the Senate, and the House likely narrowly staying GOP has emboldened anti-abortion activists.

[forsetti]

On Pres. Biden: Sadness, Anger, Counterfactuals, And Motivation

Right up front, I want to say that Kamala Harris was my first choice to be the presidential nominee in 2020. Joe Biden was way down my list of preferred candidates. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Joe or respect him, I just didn’t think he had it in him to be the candidate for change the country needed. Boy, I was wrong. He outperformed every expectation, and then some. His record over the past three and a half years is something any president would be thrilled to have as their legacy.

It is this legacy that makes me both sad and angry he decided not to continue to run for reelection.

I am sad because I cannot imagine how difficult this decision was for him to make. He has dedicated a half-century of his life to serving his country and was responsible for the greatest economic boom in America over the past fifty years.

I’m angry because he deserved better.

He deserved better from the media that opted not to discuss his accomplishments but instead focus on bullshit claims from the right about Hunter, the border, the economy, his mental state…

He absolutely deserved better from the left who, at the first sign of negative press, turned on him like a pack of rabid dogs. Whatever happens in Nov., I will NEVER forgive the Dems who dog-piled on Pres. Biden because a bunch of donors panicked and some well-funded, right-wing pushed polls showed Biden in trouble in some key states. (I can tell you as a matter of fact there is no way in hell he was trailing Trump in Michigan.)

As someone who has gone through what he has in his life, who was the proud Vice President to the first black president in history, who put the first black woman on his winning ticket, who appointed the most minorities to high-ranking posts and judgeships, who had his only surviving son publicly dragged and attacked by the right, who transformed the country’s economic model away from top down to middle out, he absolutely fucking deserved better.

While it is true Pres. Biden deserved better, it is also true, that he really had no choice but to step down from running for reelection. There were just too many forces outside his control pushing the narrative and it was affecting voter enthusiasm. He might have weathered the storm of bullshit had every Dem rallied to his defense but they didn’t for a multitude of spineless reasons.

No matter what happens in Nov., I am pretty sure the wrong lessons will be learned by the ones who helped push him out. Whether VP Harris wins or loses, the media will pat themselves on their backs because they were losing money on the Biden v Trump matchup. The chaos of Biden stepping down and the opportunity to come up with whole new lines of attacks against VP Harris is going to boost ratings, regardless of the election’s outcome.

The far-left, mostly white dudebro talking heads, pundits, and podcasters who pushed the hardest for Biden to step down won’t learn a lesson because if VP Harris wins, they will claim it was because of their efforts to get Biden off the ticket. If she loses, they will claim it was because Biden didn’t step down soon enough or because she really wasn’t who they wanted to replace Biden (Hint-she absolutely is not who they want to run.)

The media and the far-left are also the ones pushing for the Democratic Party to not go with VP Harris but instead have an open convention. There is no good reason to do this. The Biden/Harris ticket not only beat Trump in 2020 but 14 million people voted for this ticket in the 2024 primaries. The student body president at Bugtussle High got more votes cast for them than the second-place person in the Democratic Primaries. Dems wanted Biden/Harris. Not that the top of that ticket has stepped down, but that doesn’t mean Dean Phillips, RFK Jr., Marianne Williamson or the fifth-place finisher at the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest should be given a second look.

A contested convention would serve only two purposes: 1-created chaos which the media would gobble up like the attention whores they are; 2-allow the misogynist dudebros on the left to bypass VP Harris because that has always been their real purpose of getting Biden to step down.

Here’s the thing, no one knows what would have happened had Pres. Biden stayed in the race. No one. Not the pollsters. Not the pundits. Not the media. No-fucking-one.

Three weeks before the 2012 Presidential Election, Mitt Romney was polling 2 points ahead of Pres. Obama in the nationwide polls. How’d that turn out? Polls used to be fairly accurate but once people figured out they can manipulate and rig polls to suppress voter enthusiasm, they really aren’t that reliable.

The real problem is, any hot take about what would have/wouldn’t have happened if Biden had stayed in the race or stepped down sooner or whether there was an open contest at the Democratic convention relies on a counterfactual.

Counterfactuals are conditional sentences that discuss what would have been true under different circumstances. For example, “If Draymond Green had not been suspended for game five of the 2016 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors would have won the title.” Or, to stay with politics, “If Bernie Sanders had been the nominee in 2016, he would have beaten Trump.” Maybe. Maybe not. Just because you believe a counterfactual does not make it true.

The problem with counterfactuals is NOTHING counts against them. There is no way to swap out the conditions and replay the scenario. Counterfactuals are nothing more than guesses disguised as factual statements.

The Media and Left-Wing Dudebros LOVE counterfactuals because they allow them to NEVER be wrong. No matter what they proclaim would have happened, there is no way to prove them wrong. What they don’t say is, there is no way they can prove their claim(s) would have turned out true.

With this being said, through all the sadness and all the anger, I’m politically motivated more than I’ve been in years. I want Kamala Harris to be the next president not only because I believe she will do a tremendous job but I want her, and everything she is and what she stands for, to be a daily reminder of what America is supposed to be. I want her ethnicity to be a thorn in the side of every racist and bigot. I want her gender to annoy every misogynist. I want her example to be a ray of hope for everyone who feels marginalized. I want a Black/Asian woman to be the one defending America against the fascism, totalitarianism, and authoritarianism of the right.

The key to everything is if Democrats can maintain the enthusiasm, unity, and motivation they currently enjoy. These are going to be put to the test because the right-wing propaganda machine is going to be working overtime to discredit VP Harris and tear Dems apart. After all, that is the only way they can win.

[mallardducksaysquack]

Aaaaaaaand the multifandom captor poll results are in!!!

Let’s analyse them one by one before we head out to our designated basements ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

(obviously, major spoilers for Slow Damage, Sweet Pool, Togainu no Chi, Boyfriend to Death and Manakashi no Yuri wa Akaku Somaru as well as descriptions of extreme violence)

(if you are a minor and somehow came across this post, please do NOT proceed)

I recalculated the percentages after excluding the “see answers” votes. Enjoy the MS Excel conditional formatting I had learnt for all the jobs I didn’t get.

Here's the sorted ranking with recalculated percentages:

Let’s now go through the ranking from last to first place.

8. Yuuko (Manakashi no Yuri wa Akaku Somaru) - 0% (0 votes)

No one voted for Yuuko. Very good. FUCK YUUKO.

The snuff-to-necrophilia skullfucking scene might as well have been the vilest shit I have ever seen in my life. I literally had to look away from the screen while censoring this screenshot.

6/7. (tie) - Masami Toono (Slow Damage), Manami Kanzaki (Manakashi no Yuri wa Akaku Somaru) - 2.6% (3 votes)

While I didn’t end up voting for Toono, I actually seriously considered choosing him (alongside Madarame and Taku).

To the three people who did vote for him – you got the ugliest waifu. But hey! You now live in a villa! All of your orifices are safe! Congrats!

Barely anyone has played Manakashi, so I'm positively surprised to see that a couple of Manami enjoyers have showed up.

She might seem very sadistic, but in fact she’s just a pure maiden who will do anything and everything in the name of love. And no matter whether you’ll get choked until you end up in a vegetative state or let her amputate all your limbs with a chainsaw, you’ll always have the pleasure to marry her in the end, or at least have her start planning your wedding. Long live the bride and bride!

4/5. (tie) - Strade (Boyfriend to Death), Zenya Okinaga (Sweet Pool) - 8.6% (10 votes)

Looks like the Strade voters want the hammer AND the drill.

I couldn’t understand why anyone would vote for him considering such a low chance of survival until I saw @pesikoshka reblog the poll with a tag saying “strade because he would kill me fast lmao”. Seems like the fast imminent death was in fact an effective selling point!

Genuinely trying to figure out whether the ten of you are such hardcore Zenya simps or just haven’t played the other games. Getting fucked and forced to give birth in a basement until the end of my life does not seem very appealing to me, but I mean, you do you, I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3. Kei Madarame (Slow Damage) - 14.7% (17 votes)

My personal choice – at least at the time of voting. Sure, he’ll beat the shit out of me, but at least he’ll also grant me relative freedom? I swear I did not vote for Madarame just because I’m so horny for him. This is not a waifu contest. I just like the idea of not spending the rest of my life in a basement.

@mahnati I saw your tags

and let me just say… “as it should have been”. But the nation has spoken, and we have to accept the verdict.

2. Shiki (Togainu no Chi) - 19% (20 votes)

Voting for him has never once crossed my mind. I think I must have been blinded by the fact that I don’t like him. I played TnC about 13 years ago, so my memory is very fuzzy, but I guess you were right about him being a relatively safe option?

1. Taku Murase (Slow Damage) - 44% (51 votes)

What a landslide victory! While I did not end up voting for Taku myself, I truly approve of your choice. After all, he is the literal only character on this list who doesn’t want to hurt you. He’s keeping you imprisoned for your own good. It’s just his lil silly way to protect you ;> It’s time for you to become a guinea pig for his drug research. Enjoy spending the rest of your days in Taku's basement, making sweet love while picking at each other's skin, so that the hallucinatory bugs crawling underneath it can emerge as beautiful butterflies.

That's all for today. Assembly dissolved.

Now go to your basement.

See you never ~ヾ(＾∇＾)

(unless you've voted for Madarame or Shiki - in this case we might bump into each other while roaming around some dilapidated squats and maybe pick a fight)

[waywardsunlight]

Info About Inclusion Under Cut

The last time I did this it was received with a lot of people trying to define what a dad is. Being a dad is purely about whether or not the kid(s) see them as a dad. Dads who adopt/who are step dads, dads who died before meeting their kids, and/or are father figures to children they don’t adopt/raise are still dads. I don’t care about this discourse and I don’t support the people who tried to argue that anyone should be removed for not being a “dad” in their definition.

Also redoing because I think that the perception of certain characters have changed, ei I like Alador more after the finale, so I think it’s fun to see how the fandom changed after the final episode. Warden Wrath was removed for space and lack of votes in the last poll but he’s still a dad and make a case for him in the tags!!

I removed teams because it was unfair last round, I originally did it bc I was worried the Parks wouldn’t get votes, I had no idea ppl would mobilize around them and use them against other dads intentionally. It didn’t feel like a win to me bc the tags were filled with ppl saying stuff like “vote Parks so Darius doesn’t win” or otherwise along that line when those votes may have gone to Perry, or Caleb, or the Titan, or anyone else. This isn’t me trying to change the results, there just should’ve never been teams in the first place bc having a partner effects the poll (ei. If Alador had Odalia that would’ve tanked against him, if Darius had Eber that might’ve changed results, it wasn’t fair for Harvey and Gilbert to share the same spot bc they’re actually different people who have different relationships to Willow). All dads are on the same playing field now.

GO SUPPORT YOUR DADS!!!

[fe-smashorpass]

Introduction! (Please Read)

Inspired by other smash or pass blogs, this one is about Fire Emblem characters!

My name is Mod Garn and I use she/her!

Will only be posting characters who are 18+ but since this is Fire Emblem not everyone has a canon age. Even if they do, a character's age can be called into question (here’s another post I made on this topic). TL;DR I'll be arbitrarily judging a character if they look old enough for this. If you think a character should or shouldn't be here, I am sorry.

I will be doing almost every character in the franchise, including from the mainline and spin-off games, one off generics, the cipher exclusives, and manga exclusives.

Also I am splitting up characters who are technically the same character but under different identities.

Characters that will be excluded are:

underage characters (as mentioned before)

characters without a decent (or any) picture of them

Characters who share the same portrait as each other since that will be redundant

Generic portraits for classes, so if a character uses a generic class portrait (ex the 10 elites from fe3h) they won't be included (the only exceptions are Abysskeeper and Gatekeeper)

I'll be posting 3 characters a day, alphabetically, at 12PM EST.

Also thank you to reddit user u/Just_Nefariousness55 for making this post compiling every character in the games. My life was made so much easier because of you.

Also I made this uquiz and I would appreciate it if you took it :)

FAQ under the cut (please read!)

Q. Why? A. Because I can

Q. What’s the age limit of the polls? A. I’d rather not have any underage people rebloging/commenting/liking on the smash or pass polls (for y’all’s safety)

Q. I don't care for the other things on this blog, what are the tags for the smashing or passing? A. #fe smash or pass and #fire emblem smash or pass are the tags used for the actual smash or pass polls, in case you don't care for the random bs I sometimes post on this blog

Q. Why are people smashing/passing X character? A. IDK!!! Maybe to piss people off. Maybe the character is not as hot as you think. Maybe something else. Baseline is… I don’t know!

Q. Can you post X character? A. No, as I've stated before, I post characters alphabetically and certain characters will be excluded due to a multitude of reasons (read above). If you're asking me if I were to smash or pass a certain character, please specify and I will answer.

Q. Can you add a “not attracted to character’s gender” option? A. No I don’t think it’s necessary to have, you can just press “pass” or not vote at all

Q. Why is fe2 Nuibaba your pfp? A. It funni

Q. IDK this character, can I still participate in the poll? A. Sure! You can decide whether to smash or pass just based on looks

Q. Can I explain the reason why I would/wouldn't smash? A. Yes cause I'm nosey

Q. What will happen once you’re finished with all the characters? A. I’ll do the generic portraits for classes and idk what will happen afterwards

Q. Are you a fan of Digimon? A. Yes :}

[greatwyrmgold]

There's a lot of discourse around what leftists in the USA should do on election day. A lot of people think we should not vote for Kamala Harris (and either voting for a third-party candidate or abstaining entirely), but I disagree.

Lots of people point to Harris's bad decisions in the past and mediocre decisions promised for the future, but for pretty much every point, Trump has done or promised worse. Maybe there are some points where Harris would be unexpectedly savage and Trump would be unexpectedly kind, but it's exceedingly unlikely that this will be true on most issues. And if it is, the Supreme Court isn't going to give her as much leeway as it will Trump. Arguing that Harris would be overall worse than Trump (or even equally bad) is just counterfactual.

A more reasonable argument is that Kamala is bad, and withholding our votes would convince the Democratic Party to stop appointing bad candidates. I want to say "Did you forget 2016 already?", but a lot of people of voting age this election were in middle school when Trump was elected. I wasn't paying much attention to politics in middle school, either.

Back in 2016, the left did not turn out for Hillary Clinton. Voter turnout among the more left-leaning Bernie-supporting demographics was low, and votes for third-party candidates were high. The Libertarians got more votes than they ever had before or since (about 3% of the popular vote), and the Green Party got more than 1% for the second time (the first being Ralph Nader in 2000).

Did the Democratic Party adjust its strategy to appeal to the American left wing? No. They blamed the left wing for their loss, picked an even more right-wing candidate for the 2020 election. Their 2024 candidate is less right-wing than Biden not because Biden polled badly with socialists, but because his age and health started to make centrists worry, so they promoted his VP.

The US Democratic Party has demonstrated that they do not give a shit how the left wing votes. They'll blame us when they lose and ignore us when they win. If the left wants to influence American politics beyond the local level, they cannot do so by voting.

But while voting isn't going to change the world on its own, it's still a thing you can do. You can vote and also organize; voting doesn't take that long. Whether and how you vote is a separate question from non-electoral praxis. And if withholding your vote (or supporting a third party) isn't going to do shit, you might as well support the mainstream candidate whose policies are less terrible.

If you can vote, vote Harris.