Uhhhh

In 2016, over 75,000 mail-in ballots were left uncounted and discarded because they were received after  mail-in voting deadlines, which all vary by state, according to CBS news. 

Some states like California allow you to check with the Registrar of Voters on-line to verify both if a ballot has issued and if it was received to help prevent voting errors.

Adrien: *taps in response*

Gabriel: Stop that.

Adrien: Stop what?

Gabriel: I know you two are talking about me in morse code.

Félix, with sarcasm: Yes, that's what we're doing. In our very limited free time, we took a class on a very outdated, very unnecessary form of communication just so we could talk about you in front of you.

*Later*

Let’s talk about dad Bruce and lil 8 year old Dick (and look I know Bruce didn’t actually adopt Dick until much much later but you can let me dream) (I’m also allowed to make adoption jokes because I’m adopted)

- let me make something clear right now. Bruce loves his kids. More than life itself. If you want to argue w me, post up. And catch these fucking hands

- when fucking goth emo bitch boy Bruce Wayne adopted a lil baby 8 year old Dick Grayson he was in WAY over his head

- the manor went from dead silence 90% of the time to “BRUCE LOOK WHAT I CAN DO” 100% if the time

Dick: you have to hold my hand when we cross the street

Bruce: that wasn’t in the adoption contract

- Alfred doing a bulk of the work Bruce was supposed to be doing lowkey

- Bruce definitely blew everything out of proportion when it came to Dick

- the thought of Dick blowing his nose in Bruce’s cape makes me laugh so fucking hard

- Bruce Wayne fussed over his child ok

- I’m a strong believer what Dick was literally Bruce’s ray of sunshine because i know that BABY had such a CUTE smile

- Bruce almost bought an elephant because Dick cried for one (Alfred said absolutely not)

- Strong images of Bruce brining Dick to work and him coloring on the floor of an important board meeting

- when Dick misbehaved and wouldn’t listen once Bruce threatened to dig out his receipt and return him. Dick cried and Alfred yelled at Bruce

- Dicks pictures are ALL OVER Bruce’s office

- Bruce is definitely so so so proud of Dick. He brags about him all the time. He’s a proud Dad™️

Merlin, to Aithusa: Why are there tiny pawprints on his desk?

Aithusa, too good for this world, too pure: Because I have tiny paws!

[Flashback]

Sokka, sprinting into the throne room: hey if we got married would I get diplomatic immunity?

Zuko: Sokka what did you do

Sokka: wedding first, questions later

- he has pictures of Dick and Jason when they were babiiiieesssss (u know like 9 whatever) he keeps then hidden in his room so neither Dick nor Jason can steal them because they are definitely inciminating

- Jason started referring to him as “the fossil” and Bruce does NOT like that

- “If you don’t fix your behavior right now, you won’t get a single bite of Alfreds dessert for a week. Do you understand me young man?”

-Claims he doesn’t have favorites. Everyone knows it’s Cass

- He still sees Jason as a 15 year old 100% (let me live. Let it go)

Bruce: Jason have you been eating? Is that a burn? I knew Roy Harper was a bad influence he-

Jason: Bruce you’re EMBARRASSING me

- Whenever one of his kids does something questionable he makes that Dad face like ‘no that one is not mine’

Damian: maybe if the thugs hadn’t heard your old bones creaking from 20 miles away, we would have caught them

Bruce: eXcUsE mE?

- he always takes Tim to the science museum when there’s a new exhibit and in his head he’s like “my god, my son is a fucking NERD”

- “I do not want to see anymore pets in this house Damian” fast forwards to him sitting on the couch next to Trevor the turkey, pointing out aspects of a basketball game.

- he’s seen Dicks apartment. He was in shock because Dicks a fucking slob. “Damn bitch you live like this?”

-“I RAISED you Dick Grayson. Hand me the damn remote”

- once he made so many dad jokes at dinner and Duke eventually lost it and SLAMMED his fist down and cried, “ENOUGH, god PLEASE, E N O U G H.”

it’s like. imagine you’re a prince and you’re used to getting everything you want and then suddenly your servant is this teen that regularly gets into fights with raccoons. this supposed alcoholic is just following you around and trying to fight everyone every second. every day you wake up to this kid like. attempting to put out a fire in your room and you just?? accept it??

or imagine you’re a knight and your one job is to protect the prince and this punk ass kid is just. throwing stuff at him. and the prince keeps threatening to stop him but he hasn’t?? and like this kid is scrawny but he’s about to throw a full table at your boss and instead of being responsible your knight friend Leon is just completely losing it. he’s not even breathing he’s in hysterics watching someone threaten the future king. he’s been laughing for a solid minute and you can’t even tell if he’s breathing. like??

The Merlin theme was totally meant to be a slow tragic love ballad and not the jaunty little tune played so quickly in the show intro.  I mean just listen…

Arthur’s glance is not of the exasperated “this idiot can’t even dress himself” kind. It’s one that says: “Merlin is nervous before a battle that might cost his life and the lives of all the villagers, including his mom, and I really shouldn’t think about helping him get ready, but we’ve come this far, and he needs all the support I can give him.” And so Arthur is compelled to help Merlin, because he feels he can and must give him support—as the one who’s his senior, more experienced in battle, and the one who insisted on having a battle in the first place. 

It might be the only time in the whole series when it’s not Merlin cheering Arthur on before some trial, but Arthur doing something similar to Merlin.  For once, it’s not all about Arthur’s burdens, and Arthur can see that. Arthur catches Merlin at a vulnerable moment, and tries to help.

The gauntlet’s more or less by the by; Arthur doesn’t even look at it. His eyes are trained on Merlin’s face the whole time, even as Merlin avoids looking at Arthur. It’s an emotionally charged situation for both of them, but, in a twist on their usual dynamic, it’s Arthur reaching out and trying to make it better for Merlin.

“He’s dying…..A man he loves is dying, so he’s holding him.”

The way Arthur cradles Merlin’s head so gently - if it’s for the sake of it, or a reminiscence to the way he sometimes used to put his hand on his neck instead of the hug he couldn’t (bring himself to) give; or maybe it’s one last, weak attempt to pull him into a kiss after all that he doesn’t quite manage anymore. 

Or maybe it’s that last, silent ‘I love you’ that he can’t say out loud - because maybe he’s still terrified of rejection despite everything, or maybe of not being good enough, OR - and that’s my personal theory - he didn’t say it because it seemed cruel, because he knew Merlin would have an even harder time of moving on if he finally, finally heard it and then lost him. Arthur already told him ‘I don’t want you to change,’ (no matter what happens, Merlin,) because he knew that for Merlin it would be near-impossible to not break over his death as it would’ve been for Arthur. 

Right, and then - look at Arthur, look at him. He looks.. content. Like he’s exactly where he wants to be, sees what he wants to see in that final moment. I’m convinced that he knew he would die for longer than Merlin wanted to admit, and all Arthur wanted was to be right there, in that position with that one person, and his only concern was to maybe offer some comfort to Merlin as well. Like. I don’t mean he’s in any way content to die, but he found peace. He told Merlin so, said ‘We finally brought peace,’ talked about ‘The Kingdom we built,’ and Arthur was always ready to die in battle and yeah, if he has to die, then like this. 

There are no more secrets, no more barriers between them. Arthur doesn’t need to worry about being king anymore, about what’s appropriate or possible consequences, and the last little distance between them that - I’m simply convinced of this - both could always feel because of the secrets Merlin had to keep is finally gone. Arthur finally knows what it was that ‘he never could put his finger on,’ and Merlin finally knows that Arthur ‘really sees and accepts him’ and you can read that in every single line of their faces in this scene. 

Seriously, both their acting is so good in this, and the whole last episode to be honest, I could probably write rambling interpretations to every single scene in The Diamond of the Day, though I’d probably break my heart even more than I’m already doing.