now that it's been five months, can I point out something really funny that I don't think anybody noticed?
so you may remember that round 2 was notorious for the voter fraud that happened in blackbonnet vs stucky. some people (on both sides!) found the whole thing hilarious; some people (again, on both sides!) got really, really unreasonably angry.
the graph looked like this. now, that's a very sudden and noticeable spike there at the end; this was definitely a coordinated effort and it was definitely to some degree fraud. there's screenshots of a job listing on sproutgigs to prove it.
but look at the rest of the graph. that's fairly natural-looking— no enormous spikes, no stopping and starting. there's bumps, of course, because sometimes you get reblogged by someone with lots of followers, and there's upsets, but there aren't cliffs. for the most part, except for that sudden bend at the end, this is pretty normal voter behavior.
people joked about the fraud in this poll for weeks afterwards. "hey, where's the award for most voter fraud?" people said.
well.
the award for most voter fraud does not go to stucky vs blackbonnet. it goes to this absolute fucking nonsense:
like, look at that. look at those long stretches where almost nobody was voting crimeboys. look at the sudden jumps, and look at how suddenly they end. in the earlier sections you can see the little pauses where whoever was frauding took a break to rest their wrists and get a snack.
I don't know what I think the takeaway here is. you could say this is a story about how accusations of voter fraud don't track voter fraud, they track controversy. you could say this is a story about how if you don't have a graph right in front of you, it is significantly harder to identify voter fraud than you think it is. both of those are even true.
but personally, I like to look at it as a post about how if you really try, you can chart human passion. and I think that's beautiful.
me and @serpentineshine are hosting a little tournament to finally determine who the best Team Dark member is! this week there's gonna be goofs, bits, and even a special prize for the winner 👀
however, the most important prize of all is what awaits at the end of the festival! ...but that's a secret right now.
💥 cast your vote below! 💥
(oh also if anyone makes any propaganda for their fav character. tag me i wanna see)
video transcript below the cut! ⬇️
A blue announcement screen with scrolling text reads “SPECIAL FENSNAILZ ANNOUNCEMENT.” There’s a looping animation of Squeak the cat in the middle. It disappears, cutting to a shot of a studio space.
In the studio, SNAIL, SHINE, SQUEAK, and a VASH PLUSH all sit at a desk with a large CRT TV on it. Squeak and Vash are on top of the TV, and shelves with various items line the walls. Everyone seems to be unaware that the camera is rolling - Snail is reading the script, Shine is drinking from a mug, and Squeak is licking her butthole. Vash remains motionless.
Snail notices the camera zooming in, and throws away the script in a moment of panic. Shine and Squeak sit up to face the camera as well.
SNAIL: Coming at you pre-recorded, it’s Snail, Shine, and The Beasts!
SHINE: We’re here today to announce a special tournament we’re hosting: the TEAM DARK FEST!
SQUEAK: Eep!
VASH: weemp womp :]
SNAIL: You know ‘em, you love ‘em-
SHINE: Or hate them.
SNAIL: It’s all about TEAM DARK this week! Fellas, turn on that TV!
The camera cuts to a close-up of the TV as the screen flips on. Three shitty photos of each Team Dark member appear on the TV under the question “Who is the best member of Team Dark?” Every Team Dark member’s name is misspelled underneath the photos.
SHINE: Time for the ULTIMATE question: Who is the best Team Dark member?
SNAIL: Oof. We’re turning them against each other, huh? That’s dramatic.
SQUEAK: Meep! (HOLY SHIT)
The camera zooms out to a wide view of the studio, but zooms out much further than needed for a split second. For some reason, this is all being filmed on a green screen set, and the shelves behind the cast seem to be edited in. Not only that, but this studio is either widely over-staffed or widely under-staffed, because the boom mic is held by seven Chao stacked on top of each other. The camera zooms into a closeup of Snail before much of this information can be processed.
SNAIL: Well, it’s obviously Shadow. I told him if he won, I would get him ice cream after soccer practice!
The camera pans over to Shine.
SHINE: No way, vote for Rouge! She can carry like. Nineteen mountain lions. Give or take
The camera pans over to Squeak and Vash. Squeak points at a crude drawing of Omega that seems to say “VOTE OMEGA.” It is upside down. Vash holds a cute little sign that says “I <3 OMEGA” that he likely made himself.
SQUEAK + VASH: ?????????????? (we didn’t hire anyone to translate this part.)
Back in a wide shot, Snail and Shine stare blankly at Squeak and Vash. Squeak licks her butthole again. Vash is now Real. Someone off-screen sneezes very convincingly.
SHINE: This poll will run for ONE WEEK before we announce the winner! So little time…
SNAIL: Everyone make your vote count! The winner of this festival will have a special page in my…
An image of a porcelain snail appears over a white background as an echo-y human voice says “SECRET UPCOMING PROJECT.”
VASH: bweep bwaa :] (Yay! Prizes!)
SHINE: The final verdict will be decided by Twitter AND Tumblr, so commit as much voter fraud as you please!
Squeak bites Vash and he screams. They both fall off the TV and make a surprising amount of noise. Snail and Shine stare in shock.
SNAIL: See you in seven days! And hey, if you want to participate… tag me in any propaganda you make to fight for your favorite Team Dark member!
Reminder: this is a goofyfun, non-serious poll. If you are genuinely upset at any point, step back. If you are genuinely salty, step back. If you are attacking anyone’s character, we don’t want you here. Yes, even if they’re redditors or twitter users - we’re all the same fandom at the end of the day, people. Go take a drink and a snack and a time-out and come back in ten, yeah?
(And if you are one of those mythical off-site users, welcome! Please, while you’re here, check the propaganda for all the other guys, not just your vote! This is like r/place - there's a lot going on elsewhere on the canvas, so take a look! We hope you stick around!)
For everyone, just remember: the real joy of this event has absolutely nothing to do with who wins. It's all about the narrative we create, the community we're in, and the creativity that we make from it. Just make sure to always keep that in mind!
[PROPAGANDA HIGHLIGHTS: THE OWL HOUSE EDITION. GET A DRAWING REQUEST JUST LIKE THIS BY VOTING FOR GLENN CLOSE IN THIS TOURNAMENT HERE!]
hi the owl house enjoyers! i am accepting drawing requests for anyone that votes for glenn close in the tournament linked above! it's the final round, and we could use all the help we can get!
requests don't have to be for toh! this is just a compilation of already completed requests because yes i have completed a lot of these i am very dedicated to this specific cause -
commit a little bit of voter fraud for me please and thank you; there's a sketch request in it for you if you do <3
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