#Voting. In. Enough. Numbers.

[freepassbound]

One major problem is that there is an inherent power differential surrounding the parties' objectives - it's hard to oppose nihilism (which is essentially the platform of the modern Republican Party).

Rendered down to the most general description possible, the basic stance of the Democratic Party is that government can work and can do good and help people; and the basic stance of the Republican Party is that government does not work and cannot do anything and does not (and/or will not) help people.

So what happens is that when Democrats are in power, they attempt to use the government to help people - while having to deal with an opposition that is perfectly willing to violate any previous norm in order to sabotage them. Then when Democrats are in opposition, they want to try to cooperate in order to have a government that will at least help somebody, somehow - but since the Republicans in power don't care, they just tear everything down.

(and in modern times, when Democrats come into power, they usually have to clean up a Republican mess first - Clinton with H.W. Bush, Obama with Dubya, Biden with Trump)

It's way easier to do nothing than try to do something; it's way easier to destroy than create, or cooperate. Plus, in the U.S. government, the minority really doesn't have much power to obstruct (though again, obstruction isn't something that comes naturally to most Democratic politicians, who want the government to function and help people) - in the House everything goes through the Speaker, so the minority can't introduce any bills or call any hearings, or much of anything. In the Senate, it is possible to filibuster almost anything... but since Republicans don't care about passing any laws (they'll let Trump do it all by executive order), only about passing a budget (only takes a majority when done via reconciliation) or seating right-wing nutjobs as judges (only takes a majority thanks to previous rule changes), there's very little to actually filibuster. The only real opposition possible is just performative - which is obviously unsatisfying if you want to protect the government or actually believe you should try to achieve things or help people in government.

“Parties succeed and gain traction by doing far more than by self-analyzing. And my own theory of the case is that core driver and cause of the low standing of the Democratic Party right now is not wokeness or immigration or Joe Biden’s age but the fact that Democrats are simply not effective at advancing the policies they claim to support or protecting the constituencies they claim to defend. Put simply, they are some mix of unable and unwilling to wield power to achieve specific ends.”

— Democrats’ Hamlet Moment Isn’t the Start of a Solution But the Heart of the Problem

[sexypeople-contests-2025]

Okay guys, follower count broke 15000

To celebrate I’m about to start getting the sexy numbers contest ready as a bonus contest so if you haven’t voted here’s the link before the contest starts

Again thank you all so much I can’t believe how many of you are having fun with these contests along with me, this blog has been so much fun because of you all, seeing your reblogs and comments are the highlight of my day

[elumish]

This is not a problem unique or specific to here, but I do see it a lot here: people need to get so much better at identifying the actual cause of harm.

No, Democrats are not responsible for the actions of Republicans. No, white women are not responsible for the actions of white men.

In the choice between being angry at the people who are actively working towards harm and the people who just aren't succeeding at stopping them, so many people will choose the latter to be mad at.

And the biggest problem with that is that it helps the people actually doing harm get away with it, because all of the focus is on other people.

This is not to say that you shouldn't be mad at the Democrats, or at conservative white women, or whoever. But please learn to identify who is actually trying to do harm and focus your attention on them instead.

[hetaberia-week]

˖ ࣪ ⭑ [ 🍇 ]⠀˖ . 𐙚 ‧ ₊˚ ⋅ ⠀it's prompt o'clock !

june 30 - july 6 ! :

day 1: ⠀childhood ▪︎ pirates

day 2: ⠀siblings ▪︎ regrets

day 3: ⠀hurt/comfort ▪︎ crown

day 4: ⠀love language ▪︎ gold

day 5: ⠀confession ▪︎ history

day 6: ⠀flowers ▪︎ memories

day 7: ⠀mythology ▪︎ sea

+ a free day token for you to use on any day!

not too sure how to tackle a day's prompts? never fear, your free day is here! rather than having a designated free day for this event, we believe it best for you to pick any day to have a free day - just make sure to tag your work with #free day token for us!

we can't wait to get started! happy creating!

[ @hetaliahappenings & @hetaliacalendar ]

[tanadrin]

o tanadrin, normal politics understander, i'm an american with a german mother (finally applied for my first german passport last month but i'm told processing times are around 3mo, hoping it gets through alright because I would really love to have an EU passport right about now). i'm not a doomer, the current state of affairs enrages me and makes me want to act more than wallow, but by god it's getting really bleak out here. is there any barometer you would look to for a time-to-flee-the-country alert? besides the presidential statement that anyone can and will be sent to a death camp in el salvadore on a whim

you do not need my permission or anyone else's to move countries if you want to (aside from the relevant immigration authorities i mean. you definitely need their permission). if you've got an easy route to an EU passport your main obstacles are just gonna be the usual things that are impediments to moving like how much it costs and finding a job and maybe the language a bit if you're not fluent (and especially if you move to a city without a big anglophone immigrant community).

i have no special insights here about what you "should" do. i come from a long line of people on both sides of my family who for the last several centuries have had the habit of fucking off to new places whenever the fancy took them, and am in general in favor of people spending at least a little time living overseas if they can bc it's an interesting and character-building experience. i will say you should be clear-eyed about the difficulties. money, jobs, language. also just the alienating effect moving to a new place where you don't know anybody can have. but you gotta weigh that against your personal feelings about staying put, how safe you feel, and your ability to maintain your current standard of living where you are.

[companion-showdown]

Who had the worst time aboard the TARDIS?

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

[batcavescolony]

I was talking to an idiot and I need validation.

[light-wrath-paradise]

Animorphs Book club book 8

My reaction can be summarised as this (yet again):

I don't have many thoughts because uh. That was depressing as hell and I need to stare at a wall.

But I DO gotta say that the subplot with the dead "wife" was so telenovela-esque that for a good minute it was more funny than depressing. Then it got depressing. But it was so jarring and so far out of the left field that for a good second my friend and I had to pause the audiobook and laugh because ????????? Unhinged to just appear, go "I am Eslin, I have a G U N. My secret wife was killed. By my boss. Now I yearn for sweet sweet revenge." and not elaborate. Like. Damn dude ok. Sorry about our wife also. Fucking killed me that he continued like "So anyway I reacted adequately by killing all of my boss' friends. Starvation style." Like ???? Jjhsgdjsdfghsjdfh what????? I mean damn I do respect the grind set but also that's such an absurd escalation out of context. Did your boss kill your wife? Kill all of his friends! And in context the most absurd part is probably the notion that Visser 3 has friends??????? Like??? Wait no Eslin. Eslin wait. I love your John Wick-esque "fridged wife" trope swag but you need to slow down. I need details. I need you to tell me HOW your boss even has friends.

In my heart I do not believe we will see that madman ever again but on god I do wish for an insane telenovela-esque sequence of him just showing up at the most random moment to do exactly one thing and that's to pull a gun on Visser 3. For no reason, I just think it would be kinda funny. Like,,,did your boss kill your wife?:

Kill all of his friends

Acquire a G U N

Attempt to make the local Andalite youth assassinate your boss for you

Pull the gun on your boss

???????

Profit (probably die)

Aside from that, I also need to say that the moment when Ax called Tobias his close friend at the end was so sweet. Also ngl kinda...concerning/harrowing how much Tobias really doesn't give a shit about not being a human. Like it doesn't seem so concerning from other points of view but the way Ax gets increasingly weirded out by Tobias not asking him about the nothlit (idk if I'm spelling that right rn) really reminds you that it IS kinda worrying. Like I get it, I mean...Tobias has no family that cares about him, he has no friends outside of the Animorphs friend group, why would he care? But it's still kinda...yeah.

Also unimaginably surprised by the amount of collective guilt present in the Andalite society. You'd think they're Catholic or something the way they keep beating themselves up and force everyone to also beat themselves up and their system itself is saturated with the guilt and shame and they teach it to kids at school from an early age. Like. Jesus Christ calm down. Stop that. As the Animorphs said at the end of the book - the Andalites made an oopsie once. It sucked, yes, it continues to have consequences that suck, yes, but it happens. Sometimes you think you're doing something kind and it turns into a disaster. That does not mean you should beat yourself up for it or, god forbid, tell other people that they should not be kind lest they make a mistake. Damn I guess we should all be cold assholes forever, huh? I'm sure that can't have any negative consequences.

Andalite society in general seems kinda unhinged. Like...do I get why it is like that? Yeah. But do I find it unhinged? Also yeah. Like ok duty and the collective being the most important things is totally sensible for a prey animal. Safety of the herd and all that. But it's still kinda unhinged that they do make everyone have duty as their number 1 priority and that they have rituals devoted to it. Not all rituals are spiritual or religious in nature, but the morning ritual is kinda...borderline religious in a way. More spiritual than religious, I suppose, but yeah.

Also I love Ax so much. 10/10 character. He has it all: an incredibly hilarious desire for cinnamon buns, the inability to act like a human being (same dude), spitting random facts at completely random times, a thirst for blood only a 13(?) years old could have, a dysfunctional obsession with duty and doing what is right that only a 13(?) years old could have (also lol yeah dude I was like that when I was 13 too. dw you'll grow out of it), he can even code. And he might even be bi (I'm joking but I' referring to the fact that he was like "Yeah so when I morph into a human form I suddenly agree that Rachel is beautiful and that Marco is cute.").

[fisheito]

which yakuroom am i voting for??

proooobbabbly (in order of preference) 1. vampire yaku (i REALLY wanna hear yakumo lash out. AND the goofy mirror training) 2. idol yaku (lots of lore in this one, along with potential for snake-language yakumo. bonus: panicked whisper yaku in R1) OR 3. iced coffee yaku (give me more of that dulcet service voice)

deliberations under the cut

when they launched the poll, my immediate answer was SHADOW LINEAGE YAKUMO! I WANNA HEAR HIM SCREAM AS HE PLUMMETS FROM THE CLIFF but, not so hasty... did he ACTUALLY scream while hurtling to his doom? after i checked the rooms, no. no he did not. in fact, he was quite coherent throughout the crisis. that simply will not suffice. so, scrap shadow lineage. i must now go through room by room...

Things that , voiced, may INTRIGUE me? 👀👓:

White day yakumo: - eiden's weaponised incompetence while yakumo teaches him how to stir 😁

Idol yakumo: - blade and oli!! - yakumo ?happy!? it feels like it's been so long - yakumo speaking ancient serpent language - i can see the appeal in hearing yaku sing [ancient mating ball music], but i kinda prefer letting my imagination do the work. hmm...

Count drakumo: - yakumo losing his temper with eiden (I WANT TO HEAR HIM LASH OUT AT PRECIOUS EITO-SAN. JUST ONCE) - eiden talking about his hidden scalp scar and past anger issues - garu and aster!! often talking about food!! - eiden saying affirmations in the mirror about himself :)<3 - yakumo being forced to repeat eiden's compliments about his stamina and cuteness 😂

Nerdkumo: - some extra lines of being nervous and flustered never hurt anyone

Shadow Lineage: - a loooot of backstory but it's from Great Serpent POV/outside narrative, so it's not as relevant voice-wise - if they could squeeze in some distress noises every time yakumo nearly dies , that would be great

umbrella yaku: - yakuei being scared about ghosts and clinging onto each other - baby yaku? but... he's just crying again, in a pitched up voice probably. not the MOST interesting for me 🤨

Mermaid yaku: - the stupid sappy moment where eiden lies on yaku's lap and gets his tummy rubbed and theyre all disgustingly sweet n whispery

Iced coffeeyaku: - rei and blade!! - confident service yaku voice? talking with customers??? - yakumo switching between his calm happy-to-serve mode to being DEAD FLUSTERED by eiden's advances - idk something about yakumo acting as little coffee boy with a jingly collar .. bringing back this relevant line from the aster/yaku fic:

[thevioletcaptain]

if you as a fic reader ever become possessed by the urge to do a popularity bracket with the fics other people wrote and shared for fun and for free, consider:

don't ❤️ 

[thesmokinpossum]

Oh my god guys, tell me why so many people in the notes of this survey are not only lowkey highkey bragging about not washing their hands before eating but also implying that doing so is inherently a sign of OCD and also foolish/pointless?

I remember 5 years ago genuinely thinking that the covid crisis was gonna have longlasting consequences on everyone, including making us a little intense about handwashing and now I have to come to term with the fact that not only it didn't happened but many of y'all nasty fuckers actually still have worst hygiene practices than litteral medieval peasants.

Anyway, I hope y'all are ready for another pandemic because between intensive animal farming and people refusing to engage in the easiest possible harm reduction practices it will happen again.

[birdmenmanga]

this IDIOT doesn't even understand geopolitics well enough to know how many united wings reps there should be! ! ! everybody point and laugh! ! !

[raandim-emortal]

This won’t happen, but I think it’d be really cool if after we took a couple of days to grieve, we just started throwing stuff at the wall to see if anything will stick. I think it’d be really cool if the ACLU and other organizations looked into people’s stories of not being allowed to vote, or anything else, and at least tried to do something about it, right now, before January ever starts.

I think it’d be really cool if there was mass protesting, and lawsuits, and dissent, and political leaders doing what they can to keep us safe. I want state governments to outline a plan to keep us safe. I want to know that these people are not going to sit by and watch this happen in silence. and I think it’d be really cool if that mass protesting caused Biden to step down and hand the reigns over to Harris who refused to transfer power under the threat that a completely unbalanced government poses.

I know nothing will stop what’s going to happen, but we have two and half months, we do not have to go into this silently. I am sick and tired of democrats in office trying to be the bigger person. There are ways they can fight back within legal parameters. There are things they can do now to make things even just a little more difficult in January and I want them to take every advantage they can claw up from this mess of a government. I want them to get down and dirty and fight with every last ounce they have.

I want them to fight until the last second and then I want them to continue to fight and resist and do the jobs they got hired for. I want them to give a shit and I want them to show that with action.

I just want someone with the power to do literally anything, to give enough of a fuck to try and do literally anything.

[sera-wasnever]

Speaking of not knowing what the politics words mean:

Lol. lmao even.

[orcelito]

Woke up early and decided to check the electoral votes and now I'm #Siiiiiiiiick