Fido, your leash is too long!
You go where you don't belong.
You've been digging in the rubble-
Getting bitches in trouble-
Fido, your leash is too long!
[Image Description: Fanart of the Bad Kids from Dimension 20's "Fantasy High: Junior Year" episode 11, exchanging gifts for Yulenear. Alt text provided and copied below the cut. End ID.]
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Image one: Adaine pats a pouting Fabian on the shoulder as he plays his pipes of the sewers to summon rats.
Image two: Fabian gives Adaine an ear worm that immediately burrows into her ear and dizzies her.
Image three: High above the ground, Kristen hangs off of her immovable rod as Fig cheers her on from below.
Image four: Riz hugs Kristen and admires his Riddler-styled bracers of defense.
Image five: Gorgug examines his potion of fire giant strength and asks, "Is this legal?" Riz replies, "No!"
Image six: Gorgug sheepishly watches as Fig uses her orangutan mask of beasts to ask the rats to show hole. Fabian shields his eyes.
oh thank god. if nobody got me i know rascal news got me
Adventurers for Harris dodges technical disaster but not the moral pit of American politics
More importantly than the special’s merits as a work of art is its purpose as a political marketing and mobilizing tactic. There are myriad insights this specific event offers into the state of actual play, of Millennial and Gen Z culture in politics writ large, and the fine line between organizing community power and doing just enough to anesthetize a discontented liberal populace.
Admittedly, Sunday’s installment of this fundraising effort went much smoother than its predecessor—the first event, filmed in an empty dinner theater-style venue, faced a number of technical difficulties that made it nearly unwatchable, issues which were resolved by moving the second one to a virtual stream. Aside from significant audio problems that visibly frustrated the players, the video’s delay rendered the voting element of the game (it’s primary thematic purpose) largely moot for people who had paid $35 to influence their parasocial faves. I don’t mean that flippantly. All of the performers in both games are actively leveraging their nerdy audiences: largely hyper-engaged, left-leaning, millennials who are willing to pay for both access to these celebrity figures and to feel like they're contributing to a greater cause. …
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People in the Adventurers for Harris Discord are connecting outside of the channel to organize voter awareness campaigns and building genuine relationships. But I wish such coalitions formed around things other than elections. Giving funds to political campaigns, organizing, and mobilizing once every two to four years is not going to alter the tangible, existential reality we are facing. In theory, it might do some harm reduction, but progressive voters are struggling to square their support of the Democratic party with its perpetuation of real moral evils.
There isn’t an endgame of progress that the current state of electoral politics can provide. Under Trump or Harris, climate change will still be an issue, the authoritarian right and appeasing neoliberal center will not disappear overnight, the genocide will continue—and efforts to combat those society-altering problems will be met with increasingly militarized law enforcement within cop cities all over the country. It can seem overwhelming, and the balm of pushing for a candidate with fun memes and no convicted felonies can feel like a relief. Even if they actively contradict your ethics, at least you can help make things not as bad.
In the second Adventurers for Harris, Sean Astin plays The Mayor of the setting. His candidacy prompts a recurring series of jokes about the New York Times’ role in influencing public opinion to remove a massively unpopular President Biden from the ticket, and about pollsters like Nate Silver and betting sites like Polymarket (both of which are heavily influenced by billionaires like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk) influencing the tenor of the race. The gallows humor of this overwhelming reality coupled with a few horny jokes and the standard chaotic tone of a Dungeons & Dragons celebrity-focused one shot perfectly encapsulates the role of electoral politics: to act as a release and a distraction for those without power. Both voting (in the one-shot and in presidential elections) is meant to provide an overblown sense of agency in a world that truly operates based on the actions of a small, powerful few.
While the audience may be able to impact the direction of the story, the options provided (and ultimately the final decision) rests with the performers on screen. Even then, they may have beliefs that conflict with the candidate they are raising money for. Bex Taylor-Klaus wore a keffiyeh during the second stream, the only acknowledgement of the dark underside of what the millennial nerdery on display was supporting. Not everyone can or is willing to reconcile that.
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