#ugt poll

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate NPC Tournament: Round 1B

Propaganda below cut

Dainsleif:

Bro drops lore and dips. Also he's got a complicated relationship with the abyss twin.

Nameless Bard:

He is the entire reason Venti is who he is. He taught Venti freedom and dreamed the Mondstadt we see in the game today. He had so many dreams — to see the world, to write the best song, to see birds fly — yet was trapped in storm clouds under a tyrannical god, and died fighting to free Mondstadt. We wouldn't have carefree loving Venti nor idyllic Mondstadt if not for the nameless bard. Also he's very Gender

[argyrocratie]

Did anarchist abstentionism ever, in the slightest degree, affect the course of events? There was one occasion when it was tested simply because it was one of the rare times and places when anarchism really influenced a mass movement. And the irony was that the effectiveness of abstentionism was demonstrated only when it was abandoned.

In Spain, in the 1930s, there were two huge trade union federations. On one side was the socialist UGT and on the other the syndicalist CNT, strongly influenced by the anarchist federation FAI. The membership of both these bodies was vast. (By the time they agreed on joint action each could claim, according to whose estimates you read, between a million and one and a half million members.) After the dictator Primo de Rivera resigned in 1930, his supporter the King abdicated in 1931, but the new socialist-republican government continued the repression of the revolutionary left. In the elections of 1933 the CNT used the slogan Frente a las urnas, la revolucion social (the alternative to the polling booth is the social revolution). The triumph of the right was attributed to the mass abstention of the workers, and the usual sporadic confrontations followed.

Then came another chance to vote in the February elections of 1936. Very quietly, the CNT leadership tacitly abandoned the position it had held since 1911, that elections were a fraud and that “workers and peasants should seize the factories and the land to produce for all. They and their members voted for the Popular Front (a kind of joint Alliance and Labour tactical voting). Our most revered chronicler of the events of 1936, Gerald Brenan in his Spanish Labyrinth, explained that the electoral victory of the Popular Front ‘can to a great extent be put down to the anarchist vote’. And certainly a deal behind the scenes ensured that many thousands of political prisoners would be released. Brenan says that ‘in many places the prisons had already been opened without the local authorities daring to oppose it’.

But the triumph of electoral common sense over the convictions of a lifetime had many consequences in Spain that no one had anticipated. The Spanish workers were ready to take on the political right, but the politicians of the left were not. The army was poised to seize power, but the government was not willing to resist. In his book Lessons of the Spanish Revolution, Vernon Richards raised a forbidden question: did the CNT leadership take into account that by ensuring the electoral victory of the left it was also ensuring that the generals of the right would stage a military putsch which the respectable left politicians would not restrain? ‘On the other hand a victory of the right, which was almost certain if the CNT abstained, would mean the end of the military conspiracy and the corning to power of a reactionary but ineffectual government which, like its predecessors, would hold out for not more than a year or two. There is no real evidence to show that there was any significant development of a fascist movement in Spain along the lines of the regimes in Italy and Germany.’

In fact, Spain had three different Popular Front governments on 18 and 19 July 1936, each of which was anxious to cave in to the insurgent generals. It was only the popular rising ( on traditional anarchist lines) and the seizure by workers and peasants, not just of arms and military installations, but of land, factories and railways, that ensured that there was any resistance at all to the generals. These are ordinary facts, totally contrary to what Orwell used to call the News Chronicle / New Statesman version of what happened in Spain. The Spanish revolution of 1936 was forced upon the working class by the election of the Popular Front and its capitulation to the insurgent generals. It was subsequently eliminated in the name of national unity in combating the right, which by then had won international backing. Having participated in the elections the next step was participation in government by the CNT/FAI leadership. This led to the permanent destruction of their own movement and the suppression of the popular revolution, and was followed by 40 years of fascist dictatorship.

And all this because of the decision to abandon the tradition of non-voting. If history has any lessons for the conscientious abstentionists it is that every time they get lured out of their self-imposed political isolation into participation in the electoral lottery, they make fools of themselves.

We might object that there is no parallel between Spain in 1936 and Britain in 1987. But isn’t it interesting that the same politics-fixated people who peddle horror tales about the power over government of various non-elected bodies, whether it is the secret services, the military chiefs of staff or the Association of Chief Police Officers urge us to abandon any notion of principles or policies, and vote strategically?

Form an effective Popular Front, they imply, and cast a tactical vote for whoever the market researchers tell us is likeliest to unseat the Conservative candidate. At the same time they revel in the allegations that recent governments have been under suspicion from the State’s own secret services because Harold Wilson was thought to be a Moscow agent, and that the service chiefs were planning a takeover of power should anyone to the left of Wilson take office.

- Colin Ward, The Case Against Voting (1987)                    

[crimethinc]

Anarchists on the Catalan Referendum: Three Perspectives from the Streets

On Sunday, October 1, the Catalan government held a referendum about Catalan independence from Spain in flagrant defiance of the Spanish government. Massive open clashes between Catalan voters and Spanish police took place throughout the region. A general strike is called for October 3 as a showdown looms between rival politicians and, perhaps, rival states. This situation poses complex challenges: how do anarchists show solidarity to partisans of Catalan independence against police repression without legitimizing nationalism, democracy, or a new Catalan state and its police? We spoke with several anarchists throughout the region and translated these three reports to offer insight into how Catalan anarchists are approaching these questions.

The Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) announced that the polling locations would be closed or evicted by 6 am Sunday morning. This can be understood as a way to to encourage people to turn out to protect the voting centers. The Guardia Civil and riot police of the Policia Nacional (Spanish police) had been ferried into Catalunya on cruise ships and accommodated at hotels. They began evicting voting centers early in the morning, inflicting at least 844 documented injuries across Catalunya. Over a hundred people were hospitalized, some in serious condition. The actual number of injuries may be considerably higher. In one instance, an old man had a heart attack after a police charge; police attacked again as people were trying to revive him. Another was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.

Farmers blocked the streets from the Port of Barcelona to prevent more Spanish Guardia Civil from exiting their cruise ships.

First Perspective: An Overview

Yesterday, October 1, the referendum for Catalan independence took place in the middle of an enormous police operation. The government in Madrid threatened to close the places where voting was going to take place; in order to prevent that, people occupied those spaces two days ahead of time, including half of the high schools in all of Catalunya. In some towns, people even took off the doors so that they could not be closed to lock out potential voters.

People came together starting at 6 am to protect the ballot boxes, while police showed up outside at many polling stations to remove them. The watchword of the day was to defend the ballot boxes nonviolently and within this framework were seen many diverse shows of spontaneity: tractors blocking roads, people running and organizing themselves to make sure that all of the points where police could go were covered. In some towns, the police were stopped with barricades. One highlight for me is that in the town of Sant Carles de la Rapita, the Guardia Civil were forced back with a hail of stones.

In thousands of towns, people opposed the police. It’s difficult to know how far self-organization reached, although in the big cities, most people drank the Kool-Aid of nonviolence and let themselves be beaten. This created some surreal situations: police beating people who wanted to vote and confiscating ballot boxes in order to “defend democracy,” firefighters forming security cordons to protect voters from police, confrontations between Spanish and Catalan police. All this generated sympathy from the people towards the Catalan police (who are known for being real motherfuckers), to such an extent that people applauded when they saw the Catalan police vans pass by. It was Kafkaesque.

At the end of the day, President Rajoy was pleased with the actions of the police and affirmed that in Catalonia “there had been no referendum.” On the other side, Puigdemont, the Catalan President, said that Catalonia would apply the referendum law according to which they must proclaim the new Catalan Republic in the days following the referendum, and appealed to European and international heads of state to mediate the process.

Catalan firefighters showed up to act as a barrier between the Guardia Civil and those trying to access polling places.

Spanish police beating Catalan firefighters.

There is no single anarchist position on all of this. All anarchists reject institutional politics, bourgeois nationalism, and class collaboration, and we will never applaud the Catalan police. At times, the situation is not inviting to anarchist participation. Even so, there are many who affirm that where they live, they find themselves on the side of those who decided to take the streets. What anarchist can stay indoors while police threaten and beat people who desire to have more of a say in their lives? It is tempting to want to break up the Spanish state or, if not to destroy it, at least to debilitate it through a popular struggle. And when people are in the streets, this presents the possibility that things might overflow, exceeding their limits… although at the moment, this is difficult, since it is politicians who hold the initiative.

Anarchist and antiauthoritarian organizations and unions and independent unions have called for a general strike on October 3. Yesterday, at the eleventh hour, the CCOO and the UGT (the “fire-extinguishing” unions that re-absorb and domesticate popular struggles) and the ANC along with the Omnium Cultural (the organizations that articulate bourgeois nationalism in its purest form) joined the call for the general strike.

Visca la terra lliure de patriotismes! Here’s to an earth free of patriotism!

Guardia Civil raided over 300 of the 2300 polling places around Catalonia.

Guardia Civil raiding a polling station.

Second Perspective: Mixed Feelings

I’m writing this to you just after getting out of an assembly because tomorrow there will be a general strike in Catalunya. Actually, they don’t consider it a strike, more like a work stoppage. From the neighborhoods, people are organizing piquetes [blockades] and some demonstrations. These have been tireless days, filled to the top. I’m guessing you have seen the images of the day’s events on October 1, which were really, really crazy.

Anarchists have showed up late and ill-prepared for the independence process. For five years, the proposal for independence has been gestating, from both the Generalitat (the Catalan government) and leftist, independentist Catalan political parties like the CUP. Anarchist and anti-authoritarian movements haven’t really kept up with the movement for an independence referendum. So this whole thing has caught us almost by surprise, which doesn’t put us in a good light, considering that it’s been going on for five years. Often, we live in our own bubble while the world changes and forces build without us realizing it.

Starting some months ago, various neighbors, including some who belong to the (independentista) National Assembly, others to the CUP party, and other people who are closer to the independentista movement all started to organize themselves into committees in defense of the referendum. Spanish censorship was ramping up ahead of the vote, and the state was taking measures to control what appeared on the internet, especially in the moments right before the referendum.

Through these neighborhood defense committees, people organized assemblies that are not controlled by the (indepedentista) National Assembly, nor by the Catalan government, which is the driving force behind the referendum. There have been tensions between representatives from the National Assembly, the government, and the neighborhood assemblies because the assemblies questioned instructions from the Catalan government about how to defend their towns. In the days leading up to the referendum on October 1, there was a lot of nervousness on the part of the government because there were many parts of the independentista movement that they couldn’t really control. In the end, the neighborhood assemblies were responsible for much of the logistics of what happened on voting day, determining how people organized themselves and how they defended the polling stations.

The violence of the Spanish police.

Anarchists hadn’t thought about what to do in relation to this movement until the referendum was approaching and the Spanish state began to crack down on civil liberties. Faced with the censorship imposed by the state, a large number of anarchist groups from different parts of Barcelona, who have already been organized in their own neighborhood assemblies and social centers, decided to give support to the local independentista movements.

Within the anarchist movement, there are people who support the referendum itself, and also people who don’t. Independentist people are demanding basic democratic rights and civil liberties, such as the right to vote, and some anarchists believe that anarchists should be out there with them. There are also people involved in the independence movement who we lost track of years ago when the political parties like CUP and Podemos that gained momentum after the 15M movement in 2011 institutionalized the energy from the streets. Now, with the referendum, people are returning to the streets, so we decided it was an important moment for us to be out there too. But this has created a good deal of debate within and between anarchist collectives, because we are definitely not coming from the same place politically as many of the independentistas.

For us, it has been really complicated. For me personally, sure, I hold contradictory positions all the time, like supporting certain reformist campaigns or engaging with single issue movements… but to defend a democratic process towards national independence… it’s very hard to figure out where I stand. Many of the comrades in our neighborhood are trying to figure it out too.

We have been organizing ourselves and coordinating with independentista groups that have been active in the neighborhood. We attended some assemblies and announced that on the day of the referendum, we would open up our social center as an info-point with food and outlets for charging cellphones, a place where you could rest up and get hydrated. This was also a way of suggesting to people who believed in self-determination, albeit through statist means, that there are other ways to take direct control over our lives, in these spaces at the margins of society.

So yes, we decided to lend our support. Yesterday was the day of the vote, and there was no other topic either on the news or in discussions on the street. It was the only subject of conversation.

Anarchist graffiti in Barcelona, September 2017.

On the street where I live, there were two polling stations. Starting at 5 am, we went out onto the street and erected barricades. Catalan police came to tell us we weren’t allowed to do that. Then they marched, and from 8 am the whole voting thing commenced. There were so many people out. Honestly, it was difficult not to get swept up in what was happening—lots of elderly people, lots of excited people. On one hand, it was really exciting; on the other hand, it was a bit ridiculous, in that the independentista voters were acting like they were doing the most clandestine, badass thing in the world.

I’m sure everyone has already seen the scenes of violence showing the Policia Nacional and the Guardia Civil in high schools in Barcelona and other towns around Catalunya. We heard that the Policia Nacional were deployed close to where we were. Things intensified from there and that lasted the whole day.

Many Catalan anarchists have voted. I voted too. The truth is it was difficult not let yourself get carried away by the moment.

More police violence.

As for an anarchist analysis of what’s going on…

Many of us went home yesterday very annoyed because we had a lot of differences with what was happening. About two weeks ago, the anarchist collective here in my neighborhood had a discussion about whether or not to defend the process of national “self-determination.” There were many people close to us, with whom we share a lot of political affinity, who said it was better to struggle against the institutions of a Catalan state because it would be a smaller state. Many people also supported the process in hopes of destabilizing the Spanish state because at the moment the Spanish state is very weakened. It’s a moment that could tip either way.

Personally, I don’t like either of the options. We can’t lose track of where we stand as anarchists. I think we should be supporting people in the streets, but I truly believe the worst thing that could happen to us would be if a Catalan state gained independence. In the end, it’s just a way to legitimize the social and political exclusions that exist today to believe that we’d have more control over them in a smaller state. But it’s hard for people to see a Catalan state as something other than their own, especially after struggling for years to achieve it.

While people went out to vote impassioned to the point of tears, several police murders have taken place in Barcelona in the last several months without any response. Meanwhile, thanks to the referendum process, the Mossos d’Esquadra have gotten a PR makeover as the good guys; until this, they always received negative press coverage. The Policia Nacional (Spanish police) have practically tortured people, leaving many with visible injuries. On the good side, they’ve turned public opinion against them. So the militarized Policia Nacional now look very dirty, and the Mossos de Escuadra seem more “clean”—although their current “clean” image just means they will be able to utilize this legitimacy to employ violence with fewer obstacles.

I believe we have to acknowledge the disobedience of the Catalan people, their confrontation with the police, and the resistance that they’ve demonstrated. It has been incredible. Like I’ve mentioned, the anarchist movement has arrived late and ill-prepared to a process that has been gestating for five years already. We can’t expect to do the work of years in just a couple weeks. Carving out our own space is difficult and we have to take a humble approach to it.

The people of Catalunya against the police of Spain.

Spanish nationalists sending off the Guardia Civil on their trip to Catalunya.

Third Perspective: Some Analysis

The point isn’t to help build a new state, but rather to demonstrate through practice that self-organization, networks of mutual aid, and assemblies are the real alternative to the Spanish state, and through this we find each other, some of us being anarchists, but many others too. What is clear is that the struggle against statist hierarchies is not on its way out: it simply continues in a different context. If a Catalan state comes to exist, we will maintain our opposition to the state from the very same networks with our own practices, our own communities, our own economies of mutual aid.

My enemy continues to be capitalism, the military, the clergy, the farcical politicians and bankers. Anarchists don’t stop being anarchists just because they express solidarity with people facing retaliation from the state. I know perfectly well what happened in 19371 and that we must not abandon our memory of the previous times we were betrayed by statists, but we also must oppose current state repression—or else will we simply stay put, watching? Our struggle is to be present in the streets to offer our vision and denounce the violence of the state, whether it be Spanish, Catalan, or Chinese!

We must learn about what happened in the past, when anarchists were betrayed. We should try to make sure it doesn’t happen again, which is to say, we should foment a consensus among anarchists and anti-authoritarians for when this situation is over, when we will continue building self-organization. I, at least, for many years now, have been working for this 24/7, and whatever happens I will continue doing it as I’ve done every day.

Anarchism is not a dogma, neither is it a religion. It is a form of life, a way of feeling and acting as a human in harmony with the earth. Every era has its context, and it’s true that those who believe in the state have betrayed us before, but we forget that without us, they won’t change either! We will continue influencing society despite ourselves.

The Anarcho-Independentista current is criticized by comrades who are more “orthodox” or dogmatic, depending on how you see them. There are some who support the idea of independence without a state. It’s not a majoritarian position, but I consider it a valid one. For a long time, anarchists have not focused attention on the subject of independence. Now this issue has served to inspire debate and discussion; we disagree with each other, but we try to come to some consensus.

I don’t know if we ought to vote or not, but I do know that the Spanish government is getting more fascist by the day. It’s not that it surprises me, in any case I am against a government that approves the slogan “better bloody than broken,” referring to the Iberian peninsula and so-called Spain, which already indicates how old this subject is—something that has been going on for centuries.

#Jo també soc anarquista.

People applauding the Catalan police.

As for which anarchist organizations have taken positions on this issue…

The CGT has called for a general strike in Catalonia which will be supported by the CNT-AIT, the historic organization that nowadays is much smaller than the CGT, an anarcho-syndicalist union that is more “open” and participates in union elections, with over 25,000 members in Catalunya. The CNT-AIT, sadly, does not represent even a 25th of this amount. The other CNT has a very hard split with the Independentistas and is against anarco-independentistas.

The Cooperativa Integral Catalana, despite not being a specifically libertarian (i.e. anti-authoritarian) organization, has many members who are activists. Their structure is horizontal, based in non-hierarchical assemblies, and they make decisions by consensus. It’s dedicated to building self-organized economic networks and protecting small non-hierarchical projects in Catalunya. They are supporting the strike.

Oca Negra and Proces Embat are anarco-independentista organizations that organize with the CGT in some aspects of the struggle.

The Federació Anarquista de Catalunya is another relatively new organization with a position in favor of celebration of the referendum.

Further Reading

1O: El Poble i les Seves Gàbies: an anarchist analysis in Catalan, speculatively exploring possible scenarios in the independence referendum, that appeared on September 20.

Fire Extinguishers and Fire Starters: An Anarchist Analysis of the 15M Movement of 2011

The Rose of Fire Has Returned: The General Strike of March 29, 2012

After the Crest: Barcelona Anarchists at Low Tide, an analysis from 2013

From 15M to Podemos: The Regeneration of Spanish Democracy

Here we refer to the situation created by the ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia), the Catalan State, and the PSU (Communist Party) in 1937 in the middle of open revolution and civil war. They were determined to annihilate anarchists and wipe out their important contributions to the collectivization of farms and workplaces and to the struggle against the fascist reaction led by Franco. They forcibly integrated anarchist militias into the state military. There were fierce confrontations between the Stalinists and the anarchist CNT-FAI, who had the support of non-authoritarian communists of the POUM. This produced numerous armed confrontations between both sides. Let’s just say that many comrades remember this and don’t want to have anything to do with the contemporary ERC, even less with the Catalan Democratic Party (PD Cat), nor with the CUP, although this last party seems to harbor certain libertarian tendencies in its ranks. ↩

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 5

Propaganda below cut

Venti:

calls the Traveler "his warrior" plus he's like our long-time friend??? He basically asked us out during the alchemy event???? You can choose to bring him up during the fight with Signora????? He's the best idc

He. Is. Amazing. So many layers, so interesting...So much trauma and potential...Not to mention look how AWESOME he is generally!!! He's kind and caring towards everybody, and also carefree and mischievous!!! How can you not love him??

he’s TOO GOOD for this world- he’s just a little guy!! Like he cares for his nation and the people of Mondstadt SO MUCH it hurts when people say he doesn’t. Like, my poor trauma-driven little mega-powerful war god who’s actually just a tiny little wind spirit honoring his dead friend!!!! I love him so much

his lore means he gets brought up almost every patch. he convinced a bunch of the most lethal women in Teyvat to have tea instead of screwing him up. he would always rather take the path of least resistance. he’s the three time best bard in Mond. he never seeks glory, only wishes to offer it to others. he was a better father to Diona than her real one five minutes into meeting her. he gives Glory whispers of what the world looks like so she can navigate. when a nun of his own church denied his identity he decided to run a heist to steal back an item that is only holy because it is his. he keeps his misery and loneliness trapped within, and does his best to bring joy to every person he meets. how can you not love him? 

He's Venti. How do you beat that? Answer: you don't. You can't. 

they say that an nation is most like their archon but is the anemo archon a god that took after the people's traits or did the people take their archons traits (the only correct answer is that venti took after old mond's people traits and it's so disgustingly sweet, he's a lil baby who cared so much that he kept old mond's wishes heard and their dream a reality — of freedom (without a god, as much as he could) where humanity leads trust. he left mondstadt because he trusted that humanity would do that right thing always but then he got betrayed by the Lawrence clan but he forgave them???! the anemo archon gave them no punishment , but mondstadt did . venti has me ugly crying

Kaeya:

He's cool, he's mysterious, he wears an eyepatch, he has a super tragic backstory, he's good with kids, he takes care of his friends, what's not to love!!!

despite all the hardships he’s suffered, he’s still such a kind person 

This is the character of the everyman. Everyone should love Kaeya because he's with you no matter what. He has the great mystery of his origins and his damage with his family and his brother, but he is with you til the end. That's what makes him so special to me

Furina:

girl deserves therapy and hugs and the best life in the WORLD because oh boy she went through a lot!!!! wouldn't pretending to be a god for 500 years with no support mess you up? and yet she still kept on going for her people!! she wanted to save her nation from a doomsday prophecy and she DID

After act 5 she deserves the world :(

“If all the people of Fontaine are on one side, and I am on the other…is it not obvious where the scales of suffering should tilt?” NO IT ISNT YOU’RE JUST ABNORMALLY SELFLESS AND INCREDIBLE AND PERSISTENT. Even the Archons praise Furina’s name and say she is a human with strength and capability worthy of an Archon. That’s not even to speak of Focalors. She snapped at Arlecchino only when the Harbinger implied that Furina had done nothing to preserve her people from the flood. Meanwhile every minute she was working to prevent the prophecy. A month after we took her to court and almost got her killed she agreed to help us direct a play, a favor for a favor

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate NPC Tournament: Round 4

Propaganda below cut

Enjou:

His humour, sassiness, depth of character despite his few appearances and ... he's pretty ...

Dainsleif:

Bro drops lore and dips. Also he's got a complicated relationship with the abyss twin.

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Finals

[Mistake poll, go vote in the new one]

Propaganda below cut

Arlecchino:

Hot Evil Woman.

#the duality of arlecchino is so well done #Also her design is insanely attractive (via @rinrinlovee)

#women driven by their own agenda #implied to be fucking insane #people were disappointed she didn't actually kill the kids in her story but listen #that would make her no better than dottore #she's a bad bitch she refuses to run the house on anyone’s terms but her own #i love morally grey characters guys #arle has mystery and intrigue there is no telling what her next move might be #and she has her fair share of tragic yuri #the fact that she is harsh #that there is inherent immorality in her character since she trains orphans to be child soldiers #but the fact that she still cares deeply for her charges #and arle thinks the doctor is despicable and refuses to make deals with him #except one that allowed her to set the children free to take their own path #like i cannot emphasize enough how much depth is in her character #freminet reports that she doesnt like when the children cry #but she still brought him back an emblem of his mother #and told him the truth about why he is in the House #in fact she's deeply appalled when she finds out he's been lied to and told his mother no longer wanted him #she is incredibly perceptive and forward thinking #and fine ill say it shes hot #and she's ridiculously powerful #in her boss fight we dont even kill her. we don't even come close #she was just entertaining us as a test #also i really enjoy a character who can suffer such tragedy and carry it with her in her life #but then is afforded the agency to make it better for herself and everyone who comes after #no child will die for wanting to choose their future #wanderer saying that those who have seen through her cordial facade have disappeared #like how can you NOT be interested in her #i want to know desperately what her grand plan is #i think we as a fanbase moved on way too quickly from the fact that teenage arlecchino #KILLED A FUCKING HARBINGER #also the question of where is arle actually from still remains #what exactly *is* she? (via @stormyrainyday)

Furina:

girl deserves therapy and hugs and the best life in the WORLD because she went through a lot!!!! wouldn't pretending to be a god for 500 years with no support mess you up? and yet she still kept on going for her people!! she wanted to save her nation from a doomsday prophecy and she DID

After act 5 she deserves the world :(

“If all the people of Fontaine are on one side, and I am on the other…is it not obvious where the scales of suffering should tilt?” NO IT ISNT YOU’RE JUST ABNORMALLY SELFLESS AND INCREDIBLE AND PERSISTENT. Even the Archons praise Furina’s name and say she is a human with strength and capability worthy of an Archon. That’s not even to speak of Focalors. She snapped at Arlecchino when she implied that Furina had done nothing to preserve her people from the flood. Meanwhile every minute she was working to prevent the prophecy. A month after we took her to court and almost got her killed she agreed to help us direct a play, a favor for a favor

Guys, she deserves to win. She endured 500 years of torment and suffering. No hope in sight, just the knowledge that a trial, any trial, might signal the start of her life as herself. She sacrificed herself again and again: her reputation before the people of Fontaine, her happiness during the 500 years of her rule, and her very own divinity. Her trailer is literally just her worst nightmare coming to life. She is finding the joy in life again, slowly. Let’s be a part of that joy. Vote Furina!!!! 

Your honor, they're married and Arlecchino would want her wife to win.

HAVE YOU SEEN HER? SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL OH MY GOSH AND HER VOICEEEEE MY QUEEN MY GODDESS MY EVERYTHING WE NEED TO HAVE HER WIN THIS SHE IS SO PRETTY

she literally gave up her entire sense of self and sacrificed everything just to save Fontaine… all without ever knowing that she was the human side of the archon. She did everything because of her own sense of justice, because of her love for the people, because even she had to do her all for a chance for them to live on. Furina is the perfect example of what a leader should be, while also being so so very fragile and just…so very human. needless to say, Furina is perfect through being imperfect. So she absolutely deserves this win FURINA SWEEP REAL!!!

she managed to fool an entire nation and even the hydro dragon for 500 years. She literally put up the greatest act in all of history. All for one singular goal. The survival of Fontaine. And what did she give? Everything. Her soul. Her life. She is the epitome of the most amazing character design. And so she absolutely deserves this win!!

she literally was almost assassinated by the one she is up against right now. She literally almost was killed by arle. Literally WHY would you let arle win over our beloved queen Furina? Furina is a victim who is suffering trauma from her. She deserves the win more than arle! Payback for arle traumatizing sweet, innocent Furina…!!!!!

(image via @deityofhearts)

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 4

Propaganda below cut

Diluc:

Filuc. Fon Fonstad. Fot finterested fin fidle fit fat. 

Kaeya:

He's cool, he's mysterious, he wears an eyepatch, he has a super tragic backstory, he's good with kids, he takes care of his friends, what's there not to love!!! Vote for Kaeya today!!!

despite all the hardships he’s suffered, he’s still such a kind person 

This is the character of the every man. Everyone should love Kaeya because he's with you no matter what. He has the great mystery of his origins and his damage with his family and his brother sure, but he is with you til the end. That's what makes him so special to me

Tartaglia:

he went to hell when he was 14 and then came back and instead of acknowledging how this might have messed him up he just periodically shows up to go "hiii would you like to hear about how i love being used as a weapon. and also i love my family. and also i would so like to hit you as hard as i possibly can just to kind of see what happens." he has such a delightful sense of violence about him but also he is a silly goose. easily one of the characters of all time

Literally have no words. I just love him so so much, the lore, the drama, the fighting. The way he was permanently changed by the abyss but doesnt see this in a bad light. The inherent tragedy of his character, and his resilience in front of it. I cant just write a few bullet points to explain why he is perfect, so have this: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKGK2JVWNVJFNDJDJDJWJFKWJFNFKEJFKWFHEKWKGKEJJDKDJDJDNDKD

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 4

Propaganda below cut

Venti:

He straight up calls the Traveler "his warrior" in his teapot lines, plus he's like our long-time friend??? He basically asked us out for drinks during the alchemy event???? You can choose to bring him up during the fight with Signora????? He's the best idc idc

He. Is. Amazing. So many layers, so interesting... So much trauma and potential... Not to mention look how AWESOME he is generally!!! He's kind and caring towards everybody, and also carefree and mischievous!!! How can you not love him?? VOTE FOR THE GREEN BARD

Please I can’t he’s TOO GOOD for this world- he’s just a little guy!! Like he cares for his nation and the people of Mondstadt SO MUCH it hurts when people say he doesn’t. Like, my poor trauma-driven little mega-uber-powerful war god who’s actually just a tiny little wind spirit honoring his dead friend!!!! I love him so much ALSO it was just his birthday soooo

he hasn’t had a major in game appearance since the poetry event w Hu Tao but his lore means he gets brought up almost literally every patch. he convinced a bunch of the most lethal women in Teyvat to have tea in his lands instead of screwing him up. he would always always always rather take the path of least resistance. he’s the three time best bard in Mond. he never seeks glory, only wishes to offer it to others. he was a better father to Diona than her real one five minutes into meeting her at the potion making event. he gives the blind girl glory whispers of what the world looks like so she can navigate. when a nun of his own church denied his identity he decided to run a heist to steal back an item that is only holy because it is his. he keeps his misery and loneliness trapped within, and does his best to bring joy to every Mondstadter and every person he meets. how can you not love him? 

Kaveh:

This poor sopping wet man has captivated me. Look at his stupid mullet. I swore I would become a Kaveh main when his drip marketing came out and I have let him down. He's broke. He's in a relationship(?) with Alhaitham. He can't stop helping others. Hoyo trapped him in the basement again cuz where is his rerun??? Where is it? Where is my boy?

He's the sweetest little man and look at his stupid little face. He looks like a soggy pathetic kitten sitting in a soggy cardboard box on a street corner. AND he has a husband. So. 

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 5

Propaganda below cut

Neuvillette:

#neuvillette's disconnect between him and humanity without trying to blend in is so unique for a hoyo character....#and I love anyone willing to fight back against the established rules under celestia!! (via @mandrakeboo)

Arlecchino:

Hot Evil Woman.

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 3

Propaganda below cut

Tartaglia:

he went to hell when he was 14 and then came back and instead of acknowledging how this might have messed him up he just periodically shows up to go "hiiii would you like to hear about how i love being used as a weapon. and also i love my family. and also i would so like to hit you as hard as i possibly can just to kind of see what happens." he has such a delightful sense of violence about him but also he is a silly goose. easily one of the characters of all time

Literally have no words. I just love him so so much, the lore, the drama, the fighting. The way he was permanently changed by the abyss but doesnt see this in a bad light. The inherent tragedy of his character, and his resilience in front of it. I cant just write i few bullet points to explain why he is perfect, so have this incomprehensible stuff: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKGK2JVWNVJFNDJDJDJWJFKWJFNFKEJFKWFHEKWKGKEJJDKDJDJDNDKDNSKDJFKDJDKEJCKEJDKEJRIDNCIRNG

Albedo:

No propaganda submitted

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 3

Propaganda below cut [taken from notes]

Arlecchino:

No propaganda submitted

Collei:

Read @oathofkaslana's full propaganda here

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 2B

Propaganda below cut

Fischl:

her story is absolutely heartbreaking. made me cry reading it in her character profile and then made me cry AGAIN playing through it in the archipelago event. she is my favorite genshin character and i will take any excuse to talk about her. her identity as Fischl is so important to her and it seems to be one of the few things that makes her FEEL important and motivates her to actually LIVE her life. her parents supported her, very briefly, when they thought it was a funny little phase or a game, but when she continued to find joy and self confidence in it, she lost all of that encouragement from them. and then in the archipelago event she gets really dodgy and uncomfortable about her friends seeing her story, because she knows what's in it. they watch her story anyway, and they see her parents calling her by the name they gave her in a way that is chillingly like a deadname. and in the spirit of the word, it IS a deadname. That's not HER identity, it's who her parents wish she would be for THEIR sake. that name is a cage and all she wants is to be seen for who she is and live as herself, as Princess Fischl. She's self conscious and insecure about the ways in which she doesn't line up with her character but her real friends still see her for herself anyway and she's just. such an amazing character who deserves the whole world.

Tartaglia:

he went to hell when he was 14 and then came back and instead of acknowledging how this might have messed him up he just periodically shows up to go "hiiii would you like to hear about how i love being used as a weapon. and also i love my family. and also i would so like to hit you as hard as i possibly can just to kind of see what happens." he has such a delightful sense of violence about him but also he is a silly goose. easily one of the characters of all time

Literally have no words. I just love him so so much, the lore, the drama, the fighting. The way he was permanently changed by the abyss but doesnt see this in a bad light. The inherent tragedy of his character, and his resilience in front of it. I cant just write i few bullet points to explain why he is perfect, so have this incomprehensible stuff: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKGK2JVWNVJFNDJDJDJWJFKWJFNFKEJFKWFHEKWKGKEJJDKDJDJDNDKDNSKDJFKDJDKEJCKEJDKEJRIDNCIRNGWOGNEOJFKDJEKEJF

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 2B

Propaganda below cut

Kaveh:

This poor sopping wet man has captivated me. Look at his stupid mullet. I swore I would become a Kaveh main when his drip marketing came out and I have let him down. He's broke. He's in a relationship(?) with Alhaitham. He can't stop helping others. Hoyo trapped him in the basement again cuz where is his rerun??? Where is it? Where is my boy?

He's the sweetest little man and look at his stupid little face. He looks like a soggy pathetic kitten sitting in a soggy cardboard box on a street corner. AND he has a husband. So. 

Dainsleif:

No propaganda submitted

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 2A

No propaganda submitted

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 1A

Propaganda below cut

Wriothesley:

No propganda submitted

Venti:

He straight up calls the Traveler "his warrior" in his teapot lines, plus he's like our long-time friend??? He basically asked us out for drinks during the alchemy event???? You can choose to bring him up during the fight with Signora????? He's the best idc idc

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 1B

No propaganda submitted