#and no there are no other options in this contest

[hotvintagepoll]

I humbly request the voter base to consider options other than Toshiro Mifune and Eartha Kitt for this contest. They have already won so much and they are great! But there are other great options! Sydney Poitier has great propaganda and so does Barbara Stanwyck! And others! There's so many options to consider!

Who should be Darcy? Who should be Elizabeth?

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

MDZS x Firefly AU: A ragtag crew.

[frettedzetaplushball]

[mythicalmoonfrog]

Can you guys guess what my favorite dynamic is

[nocofamilyau]

total drama moment (4/8)

[braisedhoney]

[SCENARIO CONTINUED FROM HERE.]

You select the second oldest of the available files. An observation log — COLONY keeps these, or so you assume. He never leaves commentary or notes to organize them. He probably just memorizes them instead. The terminal beeps beneath your fingertips, every click practically a gunshot in the quiet room. Thanks to your pass you are technically permitted to be here by the system — but you know better. There are security measures here that were not to be violated. If you are discovered, if THIS is discovered, you would likely be in trouble. The screen loads. Text fills the margins. After a moment, you realize that it is not just a file; it’s a transcript and an audio sample. There’s also a small attachment of some kind, likely an image. You play the audio.

[LOADING. . . (A short period of complete silence. Then, rustling as footsteps approach, and the familiar whir of a door. A familiar voice fades in with them.) “… I told you, it isn’t going to work.” “So you’ve said, Captain.” (The door whirs again. Locks.) “Please don’t call me that. Everyone keeps calling me that. Really I mean, I don’t even know what to do with…” (The sound of movement. Footsteps, slightly heavier but more measured than the first. The sound of something opening with a mechanical hiss — a containment unit?) (A quiet sigh. It’s barely audible.) “That… isn’t what I think. Right? Another one?” (A chuckle.) “Don’t sound so unenthusiastic. It’s terrible for morale.” “Le—“ “Just put them on, won’t you? It can’t hurt. One more trial.” “… Fine! Fine.” (The footsteps draw closer.) “Good. Now grab my hand.” (A clang, like somebody knocked into something.) “No.” “Trust me.” (Rapidly receding footsteps joined by another set.) “No!”(A loud bang, like a fist slamming against metal. The footsteps stop.) “No.” “It’ll be fine.” “You don’t know that.” “I’m right.” “This isn’t the answer. It isn’t going to — it’ll never be the answer, Leander, and I don’t even know what it — you know you can’t, right? Can’t come back? Doing this won’t let you see her agai——!“ “Captain.” (Silence.) “… shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” “Prove it.” ”Leander, please.” “Grab my hand. This will work.” “…” “I swear.” (The seconds tick by. Then.) “You...” (Another chuckle. Warmer in tone.) “Didn’t I say I would do it? Didn’t I promise?” (Laughter. Loud, nearly hysterical laughter interrupts him. It’s boisterous, disruptive.) “You did! You did, you… you magnificent bastard, you really found a way to———“] The audio ends. You stare at the screen. No matter how long you look at it, the text does not continue, the audio file does not extend. All that remains is a single attachment. Frustration makes your jaw tense, but you don’t have time to waste being angry. You’re running out the clock as it is. You click it. [LOADING. . .]

And then the screen goes dark. No. Not just the screen — the whole room blacks out. Every terminal flickers off, every bulb extinguishes. For a moment, there is total, unfamiliar silence. Even the faint electric buzzing that comes with electronics is gone. You are completely alone. You turn, grasping blindly at the records pass, the imprint of the screen still on your eyes. You stumble for the door, and to your surprise the pass blinks green, the only light left in the room. It opens and you shove your way through into the hall — Only to slam into a barrier. You look around. There is no hallway. Of all times for the paths to shift… The room you are in is tiny. The door behind you closes, and there is no scanner on your side, nor a handle. It is completely featureless. There is no way to open it. You call for COLONY. There is no answer. You call for the Captain. There is no answer. You call for help. You call for help. You call. You call. you. c a l l. . . . . . . . . . [YOU CANNOT BE TRUSTED.] [. . . ] [THE CAPTAIN WILL LOOK FOR YOU.] [. . .] [BUT THE CAPTAIN WILL NOT FIND YOU.] [ . . . ] [I AM SORRY.] [I AM SURE THAT MEANS LITTLE. BUT I AM.] [CURIOSITY IS NOT A TERRIBLE THING.] [BUT I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT HUMANS QUITE LIKED CATS.] [. . .] [A POOR JOKE.] [I CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER IF IT WAS WORTH IT.] [I DOUBT IT.] [BUT I DO HOPE.]

(Scenario End. Ending: “Status Quo”.)

[kalosian-woods]

hey, synchro anon here!

actually pretty curious about the rest of ash's pokemon during the bond business arc, like they definitely must've witnessed some stuff in some way. same thing with the rest of the kalos gang(except they witnessed the whole thing)

That's a pretty good question!! I feel like a large proportion of that would depend on how their (whoever it is + Greninja/Ash) relationship would've been prior to the whole thing, because it did start with an evolution and a split-second chance in some village no one else has ever seen. Going by AU rules for this, because geez barely anyone was out for Ash-Greninja ngl.

At the start, I don't think a lot of them would react? The birds (Hawlu and Talonflame) are probably more concerned with whatever Noibat is doing, and Serena with her group are dealing with the end of the Showcase season and Eevee herself while Bonnie is poking around places with Squishy and having fun (Clemont is doing Clemont things dw about it :P). Pikachu is the only one apart from Ash that has an inkling as to what's on the horizon and is the only mon that is constantly watching this, but is kind of powerless to stop their folie à deux, so to speak (that's definitely going to be a fic name btw). Tbf, Greninja is becoming Ash, right? Ash wants this. That's their strength, and Pikachu should be is comfortable in his own strength. Soon enough they'll grow out of their facination and become better. They have to. (I think deep down, Pikachu hates it. Not because Ash isn't his anymore, but because Ash isn't Ash. Isn't the one he chose, isn't the one he grew up with, isn't the one he travelled with. This Ash is a stranger. This Ash is leaving them all behind. All that's left is dust and smoke.)

Now that I think about it, wasn't Talonflame out there for the Anistar Gym Battle? While it wasn't there for the actual prophecy itself, bro must've felt the power in the battle and the way everyone held themselves throughout their time there. The focus that even the Professor was having. Talonflame would've definitely picked at Frogadier until he got a short answer, but left it out of his mind after hearing it. Great power in the future? That's called evolving, dummy!

Hawlucha is really going to have his metaphorical hands full with Noibat/Noivern, but I'm sure he's going to notice the difference, especially since he has trained with Greninja before. He knows how stubborn the frog can be, but seeing the way that they're both getting more crazier about the bond without any care for themselves is... not good, to say the least. He's a bit more softer now, so a lot less bickering would happen, but Hawlu wouldn't sit by and do nothing for long. At some point, even the best need to rest to continue on. Noivern has absolutely no idea what's going on but can sense how Ash (and Greninja) are more intense now. It's a bit unsettling, but then again have you seen Talonflame? Maybe it's just the way they express their feelings in battle. In the end, that's still her friends and family!

With the people themselves, Clemont was purely interested in it from a scientific point of view. Recording data of their transformations and documenting it will go a long way in understanding the bonds between people and Pokemon, and also a long way in solving the mystery that is Ash himself. This could be the key to a world where both people and Pokemon can live together! ...But the tent is always empty at night. And why does his own heart hurt when he sees the signal split? And why does he understand Wulfric when he shakes his head at Ash and tell him that he isn't ready yet? Wasn't Ash the ideal (in battling and with Pokemon and with courage most of all)?

Quilladin at first thinks it's cool but then goes on to think it's stupid, but he's probably jealous (...and maybe misses his friend) (and his Trainer's friend too, of course). Luxray thinks it's stupid too but that's their decision, and as long as Clemont isn't doing the same that's not her problem. Bunnelby gives no comment.

Serena has a bit more clarity and confidence with her intuitive nature at this point, or at least after Showcases, and feels very worried for Ash as a result. He used to train a lot before, it's true, but now he's going overboard. Greninja too. They're barely around, and they're getting hurt in ways that people and Pokemon do not get hurt. They're changing in ways... she doesn't like. And maybe it's because she lost the Master Class afterwards when it really hits her that she knows, utterly, that feeling of losing and not wanting to lose. To do anything to prevent that (her aching wrist is a reminder). Maybe... when they finally reach Snowbelle. Maybe that's a good place to talk. After the Gym Battle, he'll totally be a bit more calmer, right?

Braixen was just warming up to Frogadier when he goes back to being a prick as Greninja, so she thinks it's a resurgence of the Froakie mindset™. Pancham totally doesn't care but would not be opposed to oh, I don't know, Greninja actually being free to talk once in a while. Sylveon is just bombarded with feelings all around and just prefers to not be around them, thanks, but can and will step up to the plate later on in her own arc because enough is enough :(

Basically, it's a whole mess with the group lol. No matter how this AU goes, just know that everyone will have very loud opinions on the Bond but will find themselves hard-pressed to find the right moment to address it, because Squishy is gone and oh, no, we need another Princess Key and we lost Noibat to another strong wind, rip, and don't forget the invention about to explode in 0.01 seconds. And also Team Rocket.

[eurovision-del]

Del’s Favourite Songs Poll: 2010s

And I'm finishing it off with the 2010s! I thought this was gonna be a tough one to pick my top 5 from considering just how many songs there were, but actually it fell into place really easily - these five are just on a whole other level for me!

Songs under the cut:

[harmonizewithechoes]

I downloaded a prompt app to practice writing because I have bigger projects I want to do but I’m super rusty and I forgot how much fun it can be and how fun coming up with ideas is!

I also forgot how every 100 words I write feels like running a mile and I get tired so fast lol it’s like the words are pieces of my soul itself and I only have a much of it to give.

Is this a normal thing to feel and does it get better with practice?

[ender-sheep]

my best friend gave me first pick for her costume birthday party before she sent the list to anyone else knowing i’d take the opportunity to make the most over the top one i could

she was right

i have until early-mid january and i’m leaving for a week or two for christmas

so basically i have like 2-3 weeks total to work on it 😭

[cosmicsociology]

Hi, I am up at 2 AM. I think was actually onto something from a previous post.

I was going back to some parts of The Dark Forest to grab quotes and I saw this:

Together, the 5,500 crewmembers were like an infant who had been cut from its cord, then cruelly tossed into the abyss of space. Like that infant, there nothing they could do but cry. Yet Zhang Beihai’s calm eyes were a strong force field that upheld the stability of the formation and helped them maintain their military poise. Children cast aside into the endless night needed a father most of all, and now, like Dongfang Yanxu, they found the power of that father in the person of this ancient soldier.

[megapteraurelia]

fushiguro toji made previous men feel like boys.

fushiguro toji who doesn't play games. you hadn't heard from him all day. there was no good morning test, no small talk that filled the silence, yet at 6:43 pm sharp, like every day, there was a knock on your door.

when you opened it, there he stood. his shoulders broad, a jacket slung over his form, his hair tousled. a grocery bag hung from his fingers, and the familiar scar on the corner of his mouth twitched when he saw your face.

"i figured ya haven't eaten," he said, his voice rough like he hadn't talked much today; he stepped past you easily, his free hand finding your neck to squeeze once in quiet acknowledgement.

you narrowed your eyes at him, his palm heavy on your nape, "you could've at least texted me today, said something."

"why?"

"because—" you faltered, caught off guard by the straightforwardness of the why, like he didn't just take your passive aggressiveness at face value, "i don't know. it would've been nice."

he raised his eyebrows, "you thought i wasn't comin' or what?"

you shrugged, because you didn't know if that was what you thought. because you were used to flakiness, used to being forgotten, used to men who said a whole lot and followed through on nothing.

exhaling, his hand squeezed down again, "if i didn't give a damn, i wouldn't be here, woman. i don't waste time on people i don't care about. ya think i move for just anyone?"

fushiguro toji who didn't scare easy. not from blood, not from death and sure as hell not from you crying. unlike anybody before, he didn't hover and didn't ask you if you were okay every five minutes. he didn't because it was clear you weren't, because he knew that your pain needed out, because he wasn't going anywhere.

he leaned back, his arms crossed as he watched your chest heave wrecked breaths, sobs stuck in your throat. he waited, no matter how long it took, waited and sat there and watched over you until your body opened up, arms unravelling from your knees. he dropped down next to you, his huge body shadowing you, stance wide, hand finding your thigh. his fingers splayed out to ground as much of you as possible.

"g'on, get that shit out."

you pushed at him, fist finding his arm easily yet with no budging. so, you hit again, intent to find him softening underneath your anger, again and again, and again.

he rolled his eyes, huffing in something almost akin to amusement, the pelting of your fists against his bicep barely more than little pecks left by a fluttering bird, "you done swingin'?"

he let you, still. you didn't scare him, not even close. how could you when he had seen worse? had been worse?

fushiguro toji who didn't get jealous per se. he didn't get into pissing contests with other men when you were approached, who lied about his height, who felt the need to prove that you were with him. at the end of it all, it wasn't about him feeling like he was less.

it was simple, really.

you were welcome to test his boundaries, you were. if you wanted to flirt around, feel like you still had options, make a point to him, then you could go right ahead. he had no interest in stopping you, didn't need to tug you close or make a scene to know that you felt the heaviness of his eyes following you.

he'd sit back in the chair, his legs spread, one arm slung over the backrest of the chair next to him as he watched you: the way you leaned a little too close, laughed a little too much, watched the way that guy inched a little closer to you.

and when you glanced back at him, his gaze already rested on you as you had known, though not with furrowed eyebrows as though he were mad, not bothered. just a heavy stare that spelt more promise than any threat, and if it had the guy's shirt get a bit damp, then all the better for it.

he leaned down to you when you found his side like a butterfly, his breath hot against your ear, "he touches you again, i'll break his fuckin' hand."

to him, it wasn't about feeling less, at all. people just tended to forget, and he was just there to remind them.

fushiguro toji who walked on the outside of the pavement. he stood behind you in a crowd, sat closest to the door in any establishment you were in: his back to the wall, one leg stretched out, the other braced like he was ready to get into action any moment.

he scanned every room like a slumbering weapon, muscle memory kicking in in the way he watched every person that walked in. you felt it in the silence when somebody got too close and he shifted his weight like he was calculating how fast he could drop them. sometimes, when he was bored, he also thought about how quick he could do it for the fun of it.

he never told you you were safe with him — he didn't have to. one day, you just realised that you had never once felt unsafe with him.

fushiguro toji who didn't hide his scars. who chose to let you see them, who chose to allow you to take a peek at his innermost workings, rusted and half-broken. he wasn't somebody who opened up usually; life had a habit of teaching him that no one stuck around when shit got heavy so why would he?

yet, sitting at the edge of the bed, his shirt off and the disfigured marks on full display, he didn't dodge your questions.

fushiguro toji who showed you what it meant to keep choosing you. because he carried more than anybody you had met before, because he wasn't heartless, because he learned to wear the cold like an armour, efficient and far-removed. because with that quiet violence simmering underneath his skin, it was leashed by pure will and determination only.

because living life like that, every day was a conscious decision to hold back. because there was a twisted kind of loyalty within him, raw; one that was forged from the same ruthless intensity that he used to destroy, except now it was directed to protect you.

beause fushiguro toji did not love halfway. ever.

[reasonsforhope]

Kamala Harris just announced that her vice president will be Minnesota governor Tim Walz. Based on the coverage so far I'm really reassured by this decision.

The Washington Post did an obviously great job of making a prepared article for each option, considering how long an article they had up 7 minutes after the announcement.

((Okay technically it's not an official announcement yet it's "according to three people familiar with the pick, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that is not yet public." But listen. I am 99% sure this is a weather balloon. (Meaning: a deliberate leak to gauge reaction.) Because the sheer weakness or incompetence on the part of the Harris campaign that it would take for three people to all confirm that within a few hours hours of each other and the planned announcement it is massive.))

-via The Washington Post, August 6, 2024

Honestly this decision, from everything I've read and can tell, looks like it's brilliant politics.

Important Context: The vice president(ial candidates)'s job in an election is not to be similar to the president. The vice president's job on the ballot is very, very much specifically to be different from the president. Why? So they can cover each others' weaknesses. Especially regionally.

(Sidenote: I feel a bit ridiculous saying this. But genuinely if you want to get a stronger understanding of how US elections really work. Go watch seasons 6 and 7 of The West Wing. Genuinely, a lot of politicians have said - especially back in its day - that that was the most accurate depiction of an election they'd ever seen. Also specifically features an entire arc about a contested Democratic primary convention, so also very good if you're interested in understanding weird nominating convention shenanigans.)

From the article:

"Harris’s choice for a running mate was among the most closely watched decisions of her fledgling campaign, as she sought to bolster the ticket’s prospects for victory in November and rapidly find someone who could be a governing partner. In picking Walz, she has selected a seasoned politician with executive governing experience and signaled the importance of Midwestern battleground states such as Wisconsin and Michigan.

Walz’s foray into politics came later in life: He spent more than two decades as a public school teacher and football coach, and as a member of the Army National Guard, before running for Congress in his 40s. In 2006, he defeated a Republican to win Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District--a rural, conservative area--and won reelection five times before leaving Congress to run for governor.

Walz was first elected governor in 2018 and handily won reelection in 2022. Though little-known outside his state, Walz emerged publicly as one of the earliest names mentioned as a possible running mate for Harris, and in the ensuing days he made the rounds on television as an outspoken surrogate for the vice president...

“These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away, they want to be in your exam room. … They are bad on foreign policy, they are bad on the environment, they certainly have no health care plan, and they keep talking about the middle-class,” Walz told MSNBC in July. “As I said, a robber baron real estate guy and a venture capitalist trying to tell us they understand who we are? They don’t know who we are.”

Walz also has faced criticism from Republicans that his policies as governor were too liberal, including legalizing recreational marijuana for adults, protecting abortion rights, expanding LGBTQ protections, implementing tuition-free college for low-income Minnesotans and providing free breakfast and lunch for schoolchildren in the state.

But many of those initiatives are broadly popular. Walz also signed an executive order removing the college-degree requirement for 75 percent of Minnesota’s state jobs, a move that garnered bipartisan support and that several other states have also adopted.

“What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies, so they can go learn, and women are making their own health-care decisions,” Walz said sarcastically in a July 28 interview with CNN when questioned whether such policies would be fodder for conservative attacks, later adding: “If that’s where they want to label me, I’m more than happy to take the [liberal] label.”

Walz also spoke at a kickoff event in St. Paul for a Democratic canvassing effort, casting Trump as a “bully.”

“Don’t lift these guys up like they’re some kind of heroes. Everybody in this room knows--I know it as a teacher--a bully has no self-confidence. A bully has no strength. They have nothing,” Walz said at the event, sporting a camouflage hunting hat and T-shirt.

Walz has explained that he felt some Democrats’ practice of calling Trump an existential threat to democracy was giving him too much credit, which prompted his decision to denounce the GOP nominee instead as being “weird.”

“I do believe all those things are a real possibility, but it gives him way too much power," Walz said on CNN’s “State of the Union” regarding the Democrats’ rhetoric. “Listen to the guy. He’s talking about Hannibal Lecter, shocking sharks, and just whatever crazy thing pops into his mind.”

If Walz is elected vice president, under state law, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) would assume the governorship for the rest of his term. Minnesota Senate president Bobby Joe Champion, a Democrat, would become lieutenant governor."

-via The Washington Post, August 6, 2024

--

This guy. Sounds like. fucking Moderate swing-state/rural/Midwestern/southern/"heartland"/working class white voter catnip. He sounds like he's also a very smart politician and strong campaigner. And he's apparently genuinely a good guy with a good record, too.

He sounds like he's going to do a really good job of appealing to voters in several of the big deal swing states without being from any of them specifically. Which means it doesn't feel like pandering to one of the states involved (and thereby spurning the others), which is also great.

(Also he was the one who started "weird" @ conservatives and I think we should take that seriously as a very good political instinct/move. Judging in large part by how it has so clearly hit an actual nerve with conservatives like so little else. Also hugely relevant: that post going around about how part of why conservatives are so upset about "weird" is because in the Midwest, "weird" specifically also implies anti-social or harmful behavior.)

Officially feeling more optimistic about Trump not winning in November

[dcxdpdabbles]

Dani: That slimeball!

Danny: Woah there, little lady, there is no need for that kind of language. Call him a fruitloop.

Dani: I'm sorry! It's just that Damian Wayne grinds my gears like no other. He totally stole my idea for the art contest!

Danny: Weren't you drawing Batman? That's like a really common theme-

Dani: I was drawing Batman being a protect spirit! Everyone else always paints him as a moster wating in the shadows, but I knew he's a kind soul! I painted him holding a laughing baby while smiling at it as his cape blocked snow from hitting them both! It took me hours!

Danny: What did he draw?

Dani: Batman holding a baby, lifting it up over his head and smiling at it. Keeping the laughing infant away from the flood. He titled it "Father's duty to protect a smile"

Danny: It sounds like you two are two peas in a pod-

Dani smacking her fist into her palm: I'll destroy him.

Danny: Okay that's a option too.

Meanwhile at Wayne Manor

Damian: She's got the prettiest blue eyes, sharpest of smiles and her art skill are out of this world. We even painted the same idea for the art contest. She's perfect Father, she's practically my soul mate!

Bruce: I don't know Damian. I saw the look on that girl's face. It's not the kind of look someone who is into you makes.

Damian: You just don't understand love. That's why your single despite having the ability to attract someone of my mother's caliber.