#hashtag abandonment issues

[thebabblingcrow]

Also I hate how I think I have a grip on jealousy but then the tables turn FAST and it turns out jealousy still has a grip on ME

[herbal-moons]

[single word response]

I need you to love me like you need me. And to worry like you care . You don't care. Why?

Why don't you care about me? I care like a dog. I care like the soil cares for the plant. I care like the bee cares for the queen. I care I care I care. You don't care.

I hate your indifference. Fuck you. I hate you. Fuck everything you actually care about. I hope you lose it.

I'll come back. I didn't mean it. I love you I love you I love you (I don't.). Let me be the carpet you walk on. The ground you stand on. The air you breathe.

Why can't you love me. Why can't you care about me?

I hate you. I don't wanna care about you. I wanna hurt you. I want to WANT to hurt you. I hate caring about you. I hate you for not loving me.

(Dont leave. Please stay. Stay so I can hope one day you'll realize I'm a person, and grow to care.)

[unearthedheart]

What's your number one #relatable Steven moment? If you don't have one for him, then another character lol

ive definitely gotta say these two scenes are the most relatable thing i can remember watching in. a while JSNSKSNKSW

[digitaldiseas3]

thinking abt how my classmates in spain once randomly decided to figure out what animal each of us would be. somehow no furry subtext was brought into play which i wasn’t sure was possible anymore (/neutral) but it literally just felt like a conversation little kids have. they said i’d be a bunny

[lesbiansluffy]

but i got so wrapped up in actually spending a pleasant few hours with my mother that for a few minutes i forgot i lived in a world where my relationship with my father is just one (1) honest conversation away from completely evaporating as well

[starburstminibot]

Hey, anon who asked bout the "how things were before Breakcheck was born"

First of all: I read the tags, don't ever apologise for info dumping, I love the dump and will eat it all. I am thoroughly enjoying this au and would love to read/see more of it

Secondly: It's quite alright for not doing art, as much as I do enjoy your art very much and love to see how you draw these characters, I also very much enjoy reading about it

Thridly: You are so right, the writers dont know shit and you get it alot mlre, and i LOVE how you are writing the issues between the 'Cons and 'Bots. Like there is sooo much they just, didn't explain. Megs being the one to become good and the other cons are left to be the bad guys??? PUH-LEASE

And even if they were to no longer be the bad guys, there is SO MUCH to their relationship that is skimmed over, like, c'mon

Anyhow, eating up your au OP. Breakcheck is best boy and I love seeing this goober and his story on my feed, writen or drawn out

Do not give me permission to yap bc i will not stop and you will regret it I promise /lh

IM SO FERAL??!>{£|! OUGHH IM SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT SO MUCJ BC IM GOING INSANE THINKING ABOUT IT

Also… I’m going to give possibly a hot take and it’s that Earthspark genuinely pisses me off sometimes. Because how dare they introduce such an interesting concept of a post-war setting with a redeemed Megatron and complex Decepticon/Autobot relationships and expect me to care about the Terrans.

I still like the Terrans, i think they are so silly goofy, and I like the idea of new characters to explore. But THE BACKGROUND PLOT IS SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING TO ME. The human alliance that turned out to be anti-cybertron??? Mandroid literally killing bots and experimenting on them?? grimlock getting mind controlled and having ptsd??? The rest of the Decepticons fighting for power and seething in rage of their leader’s betrayal??? Megatron trying to navigate his new life while being repentful of his past actions while also not crumbling under the guilt of his mistakes??? The fact that they are stranded on an alien planet and can’t go home?????? STARCREAM’S ABUSE GETTING RECOGNIZED????

they keep introducing these really interesting plots and then abandoning them for the sake of the Terrans getting more screentime.

I think these things would be easier to juggle if there weren’t so many of them tbh. I would rather just have Twitch and Thrash be these new Cybertronians that can guide the viewer through these complex plots because like us, they weren’t around for the war. They have a fresh untainted perspective on life.

(Dont get me wrong, I love Hashtag, JB, and Nightshade, but sometimes it feels like there isn’t enough screentime to flesh them all out and they end up getting characterized to one singular trait) (if all of them are around, I would rather them have their own focus show without the background plots of Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee, ect.)

Also they are REALLY trying to hit the family theme over our heads. They keep saying “family this family that” but deadass they talk about being a healthy family more than they actually act like it. Show me how much they love each other instead of putting it in every other line of dialogue.

Ok that is all, I didn’t mean to go on such a rant LMAO. I still like Earthspark, just sometimes it feels like they are trying to be two different shows and they are stuffing more into the plot than they have time to flesh out. (Breakdown, Starscream, and pretty much all the Decepticons deserved better)

[cosmics-beings]

The last thing I’ll say too is that, I think that Starscream is going to get a redemption arc, but if you want him to have a redemption arc that is well fleshed out, and sends an actual message, you are going to have to accept that he is also bad. You are going to have to accept that, despite the fact that he was a victim of abuse, he also perpetrated abuse/abusive actions to those close to him and he was doing that before he met megatron. in many iterations starscream is also an abuser, ES may not be different.

That’s the issue with the hashtag episode that I think you all missed. starsrcream, despite being a victim himself, is still changing. Hashtag called out his harmful traits and that was something he was seen working on at the end of the episode.

He is STILL going to be working on it. This is his redemption arc. He got to have his trauma and abuse validated, but he is also working on how he treats others that way too. A good redemption arc is going to actually show him changing, and being a better person, and I hate that so many people are throwing that away because they’ve convinced themselves that Starscream is this uwu softboy when he’s not. He’s not at all. And that’s the beauty of his character. He is a victim and an abuser, and he is working on breaking that cycle.

Like I mentioned in my other post, starscream is probably the deception leader, and he is the leader because he is changing. He is the leader of the cons because he is actually helping, listening to them and cares for him. That whole conversation he had with hashtag is probably going to be reflected in how he actually cares abuout and attempt to be a decent leader to teh decepticons.

Also, starscream is the leader the deceptions chose. Megatron, in their mind, abandoned them. Starscream did not, and he is doing everything in his power to make sure that the deeptiocns are okay—unfortunately, because ehe doesn’t trust the autobot that’s probably gonna look bad. His development is more than likely going to be in how much he loves the cons. And how much they love him back, and how much they have forgiven him.

That said, there is still the chance of a redemption arc. So many people are just throwing his character away and I KNEW this was going to happen, and I really wish people looked at the hashtag episode in depth because we saw that starscream was still dealing with evil, manipulative tendencies that the still has to work on.

[sincerelyverena]

I’d like to request a Felix Catton smut where the reader and Felix are in the library ir study room in saltburn and she is sitting on his lap while he reads a book and she looks through a magazine. But as she leans in she accidentally humps into him making him let out a small moan. Then she innocently knowing the effect it has on him she slowly starts jumping into him as his hands run to her waist. Then they end of fucking in the library .

i luv all of these requests for fi (which I'm slowly starting to get thru lmao), thank u sm for the req anon! mwah!

⟡⁺ WRITER'S BLOCK

. . . FELIX CATTON X FEM!READER ‘tryna put her mind into the inside of my zipper.’

inbox is always open to requests!

in whichꕀ

✦ ﹒you drive felix crazy in every which way, even when you're not aware of it. especially when you're not aware.

tagsꕀ

✦ ﹒smut ﹐established relationship ﹐dry-humping ﹐felix is a pillow princess ﹐hashtag bring back dry humping1!!1 ﹐what is it w yall and fucking in a library ﹐reader might b a little zesty but who isnt atp its 2007 everyones gay

You loved lazy afternoons with Felix more than anything in the world.

The air is silent. It was not uncomfortable silence by any stretch of the imagination; it was peaceful. The library you occupied that afternoon was dimly lit, and the smell of books and cigarette smoke tingled in your nostrils with every breath. You and Felix found an otherwise quiet corner in the back of the library, residing on one of the numerous leather-bound sofas nearby.

“So fuckin’ boring,” Felix grumbled to himself. He balanced the hide-bound book on the top of the curve of your thigh, the pad of his large fingers flipping through the thin pages rather lazily. He had leant back into the surface of the lounge, cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.

On the other hand, you were stable on the top of Felix’s lap. Legs strewn over the muscular surface of his thighs and calves. He was warm, like always. Uncomparable to a fireplace, he alight a flame inside you like nobody else could. Especially as Felix’s hand grasped the line of your waist, thumb caressing circles into your skin. 

You have a magazine placed on your lap. Flipping through the latest Playboy issue Felix had picked up the other weekend. Sara Jean Underwood was sprawled over the flimsy pages caught underneath your forefingers. You needed ideas for lingerie, and the women within the volume weren’t too bad to look at either.

Thoughtfully, you dog-eared a page of one of the models in an intimate position. “You were the one that chose to study during break.” You pointed out without raising your eyes, sensing how tense your boyfriend was underneath you.

“Well, someone here has to,” Felix remarked, rather smartly. He abandoned the book in his hands momentarily to place his head into the crook of your neck. You could feel the warmth of the curve of his cheek against your own, his breath fanning the loose strands of your hair.

The two of you fell back into that comfortable, intimate silence. Cut through by the sound of pages flipping. You leant forward, shifting your hips to adjust your position on top of Felix. You hadn’t realised what you had done until you heard a soft groan and a sudden hardness pressed against the curve of your ass.

You ducked your head, shielding the smile that threatened to quirk upon your lips. Inclining backward, your back hit his chest. Knowing damn well what was going through his head. “You okay?”

A grunt escaped Felix with your words. His fingers clutched the surface of his book a little tighter, his hand rose to steady his cigarette. “Yea, why wouldn’t I be? Are you okay, darlin?”

“I’m fine, Fi.”

“You sure?”

You ignored the heat unfurling in your gut. “Mhm.”

Felix returned to the book between his palms, yet you were unable to focus on the magazine sprawled across your lap. You were more focused on the bulge that strained against the fabric of Felix’s pants, which you sat on at that current moment.

So you were unable to help yourself. You bent back forward, hips shifted. You acted subtly about it, feeling the tilt of your ass grind against your boyfriend’s clothed cock. You drew your bottom lip between your teeth, stifling the moan that threatened to escape.

“[Y/N].” Felix breathed. The noise was throaty and strained. His fingers abandoned the book that balanced on your knee, moving to the curve of your waist.

“Felix?” You managed to muster, feigning some sort of innocence as you glanced over your shoulder. There was a foreign heat in Felix’s eyes, as he met your own dimmed hues. You virtually jolted with excitement.

Felix’s hand slipped a little further downward, toward the hem of your jeans. The pad of his fingers teased the button, popping it to loosen the fabric around your hips. “You’re such a fuckin’ tease, you know that, yeah?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Playing dumb was your specialty, but you were unable to hold back the sly smirk that crossed the frame of your lips.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, princess.” He insisted at once, fingers moving to loosen the zip downward. Felix’s other palm slid down the fabric of your flared jeans, buckling his hips to encourage the material to roll down your thighs.

You stifled another moan, watching as the garment pooled at your ankles.

Felix didn’t hesitate to slip two fingers underneath the lace of the tight thong you had decided to wear, a hungry look circulating in his eyes. You could feel the tip of his fingers dipping between your slick folds. “So damn wet for me.”

A thud sounded out throughout the library as the book that was once in Felix’s palms hit the ground. You flipped yourself over so you were facing him, thighs pressed on either side of his legs. His erection pressed more insistently, and you couldn’t help but allow yourself to unbutton the hem of Felix’s jeans.

“Yeah, yeah.” You drawled out, somewhat too stubborn to admit the hold he had upon you. You were too busy rolling down the denim, fingers latched onto the band of his boxers. “Maybe focus on getting these off instead.”

Felix only smirked to himself.

Within a few seconds, you had freed him from the confinements of his undergarments. Eyes locked upon his length, your core virtually twitched from excitement. You rose a single hand, fisting his girth once. Then twice. Fingers rolled down the rigid skin, causing Felix to incline his head backwards to groan.

“C’mon, hurry up and lemme get inside of you.” Felix pressed. You could see the sexual frustration in his eyes as he pulled his cigarette back toward his lips, the smell of weed high in the air. Filling your lungs.

“Fine. Fine.”

You rolled your eyes at his impatience momentarily before you lined his girth up with the slickness of your entrance, rolling the fabric of your undergarments down. Before you allowed him to sink into you, stretching you up like the two of you had done time and time again. Walls clenching, you absentmindedly moaned at the feeling of him filling you up. And so did Felix, whose elatedness filled the entirety of his eyes.

You were quick to shift against him. Moving. Felix leant back against the leather of the couch, watching with heated eyes as you bounced up and down on his girth. He inclined his head back, soft moans escaping his lips.

A hand was pressed against the rigid muscle of his chest. “You’re acting like you haven’t had pussy in months.”

“Twenty-four hours is a long time to wait, darlin.” Felix drawled.

You bounced back on him to shut him up.

It was only a matter of time until you felt that familiar warmth tingle deep within your gut, gradually building up with each thrust of your hips and with each moan that left your hips. You were insanely close, and so was he.

Felix had his head burrowed into the crook of your neck, hands gripping almost desperately around your waist. With a couple more professionally placed movements, you felt his cock twitch inside of you before a pussyful of seed began to fill you up from the inside out. 

“God, you’re such a good fuck, arench’a?” Felix praised you through ragged breaths, which only quickened as you sped up your pace. Helping him to ride out his orgasm. 

The heat of his come was enough for you to climax yourself, and with a shuddery yelp, the metaphorical dam inside of you snapped. You tilted your back, moaning loud enough for the entirety of Saltburn to hear. Walls clamping, hips twitching. You ground yourself desperately upon Felix’s cock, prolonging the waves of pleasure you experienced as long as possible.

Eventually, the both of you had settled into something similar to serenity.

Your breaths began to slack, resting your head against the tilt of Felix’s chest. His hands rose to cradle you against him. He was still inside of you. It served as a comfort more than something for pleasure as the two of you slowed down.

“You didn’t do that much studying after all.”

“Oh, shuddup.”

WORD COUNT: 1.5K MASTERLIST REQ ME!

[see-arcane]

Van Helsing Venting (Vent Helsing)

Requisite apology goes here: I am sorry in advance to everyone with a soft spot for the funky old man.

But the reread combined with the podcast has helped put into focus an aggravation that has been nettling me forever without quite knowing how to articulate it.

I’ve brushed the edges of it more than once in several rants about how the Harkers are so constantly given the short stick in every single adaptation of Dracula for a hundred and a quarter years.

Jonathan is either erased, made into a bore, a brute, or unceremoniously killed off while all the amazing character traits and actions he’s responsible for in the story get stolen away and parsed out to others in the cast, often Dracula, Van Helsing, or [INSERT FEMALE THROWN INTO THE CASTLE TO BE BRIDAL CARRIED TO BED HERE].

Mina is alternately a feeble damsel who’s only there to be the pure maiden who gets to live through her seduction*** by Dracula (versus the suddenly scandalous-and-salacious Lucy), or a hashtag girlboss (reincarnated wife syndrome applied as desired) who divorces or otherwise abandons her milksop husband to hook up with a REAL MAN like DRACULA who sexily sex-liberates her. With sex. That she totally for sure wanted along with the bloodsucking.

But on one thing, the Harkers are equal—they never. Ever. Ever. Get to be the true protagonists of any Dracula adaptation, or spinoff, or offshoot, or revamp, et cetera.

This, despite Jonathan being the one to spend the most time with Dracula, alone, in his gothic horror novella of an opening, for Two Months, in which he got the most interaction and dialogue with the Count out of anyone else in the book.

This, despite him and his diary and his love to the point of blasphemy and his nerve and his kukri all being instrumental for the novel to work.

This, despite Mina being the one to literally compile the entire novel out of the transcripts it’s stitched from.

This, despite her connecting the dots to oust the bastard and showing immense courage all on her lonesome in confronting the Count for others’ sake more than once.

But why?

For the longest time, I was ready to grind my teeth and grouse over the obvious reasons of Jonathan and Mina Harker being so gloriously subversive then—and now!—that writers and directors of a certain sneering bent refused to acknowledge anything of their characters beyond the names when slathering their latest cookie cutter vampire bodice ripper with Stoker’s cast titles. The Harkers’ approaches to gender, to heroism, to defeating a villain whose entire role is being the worst of the Gothic Masculine Monster who bullies and preys upon pretty victims to collect for himself (hello harem and power fantasy combo, let’s make THIS guy the ultra-cool totally misunderstood sexypire star of the show!) all chafe against the mental rewrites too many filmmakers and writers make to turn the novel more palatable to their tastes. Assuming they read the book at all.

And that’s all its own pile of rants. But I’ve realized, only now, that this is just part of the problem. The other issue stems from Bram Stoker himself.

That issue being the conversion of an otherwise tight narrative and set of primed protagonist characters into the Abraham van Helsing Show.

I don’t know what it was about today’s entry specifically that made it all click home. Maybe it was already percolating since yesterday, or the day before. But somewhere in Van Helsing’s latest filibuster of dialogue—‘We must share everything! No, wait, tell her nothing! We must make all haste and not lose a moment! Let me turn five minutes’ worth of information into a monologue about bloom and blood and then suggest we all take a siesta on our laurels since we definitely have time to beat the Czarina Catherine! Jonathan, you stay at home with Mina while me and my non-questioning ducklings/the others who don’t really need lines anyway take care of the problem, doctor’s orders! And all my orders are followed, unquestionably, every time, despite them very clearly having only a 50/50 success rate, as is right!’—it all really hit me.

The moment Van Helsing turned into the never-doubted, never-need-apologize, yes, do kiss his hands like a fucking mafia godfather in gratitude for Doing the Things He Should Have Known to Do in the First Place After Lucy, ‘leader’ rather than ‘the lore collector/mentor’ is when the novel turns on its heel and starts breaking its back to accommodate him at the expense of everyone else.

The Harkers get it the worst, naturally.

Once they arrive in Purfleet and the documents are handed over, Van Helsing leads the pack in peer pressuring them into sequestering Mina away as their cheerleader who Need Not Suffer the Icky Horror of -checks notes- finding boxes. Not sent away anyplace safe and guarded by home rules and garlic and crosses; just left to Yellow Wallpaper her days away in the asylum suite.

Meanwhile, Jonathan proves to be literally the only useful member of this group project via hauling ass all over London to gather information to bring back to the table…which Van Helsing then oh-so-helpfully disseminates on top of the obvious point that, hey, yeah, there’s probably boxes there. We should do Wafers about it.

Now, in fairness, Van Helsing was a vital character up to a certain point. Jack called him in for his broader expertise, for how open his mind was as far as what he was willing to investigate or believe as a threat. Without him and his lore collection in Amsterdam, a lot of the details regarding anti-vampire tactics and Dracula’s history lesson wouldn’t have come into play. All this, plus providing the hideous proof of the Bloofer Lady’s reality, making the last three nonbelievers into members of the Drac Attack Pack. Last but far from least, he helps reassure Jonathan to free him from his crushing self-doubt, and then brings in both of the Harkers to create the full group. Fuck yeah!

All that considered, it does make some sense for him alone to give his little seminar on the Dracula Issue…

…except for the fact that Mina has absorbed and transcribed all the info herself. Literally all of it. And the fact that Jonathan personally knows the fucker. All three of these characters should have been at the head of the table, sharing what they know.

But they weren’t. It’s starting to become all about Dr. Abe—because that’s how Stoker keeps his OC self insert in the lion’s share of the spotlight.

This is also when Van Helsing is fresh off the nightmare with Lucy, fresh off of acknowledging that there is literally no reason at all to keep vampire secrets from anybody in this room, fresh off of being oh so thrilled with Mina’s helpfulness and canniness, fresh off of what should have been him learning his lesson and—in open-minded fashion—cutting off any benignly sexist chivalry at the knees to keep Mina in the loop and share the mastermind role.

And what does he decide?

Off to the tower, princess. It’s man work time! Man work here meaning: Investigate some scary dirt. Some rats are there. Everyone break up some Christ crackers, men. Thank God Mina isn’t here to suffer this, amirite? Oh, and Jonathan, be a dear and gather all the information on Dracula’s locations and properties while me and the others…do whatever. Read? Smoke? Something. Anyway, attaboy, such a good hard worker you are, Only Non-Titled Fresh-From-the-Lower-Class Man in the Group!

And then, after October 3rd?

He’s horrified. He’s upset. He’s King Laughing about Dracula’s good meal and within inches of being kukri’d. But you know what he isn’t?

Apologetic.

Oh, he says sorry for the crack about Dracula eating well—but all the actions that led up to the attack? Not a peep.

And when he falls right back into the ‘withhold as much information as possible until it’s time for a Big Specialboy Meeting and my Big Specialboy Corn-flavored Monologue of the Day, in which I’ll give more orders with full expectation that everyone here will hop to it like good little student-soldiers because the author says we can only follow me me me?’

The only saving grace is that Jonathan—not even Mina! JONATHAN!—finally puts his foot down and refuses to chase the stick without conferring with Mina first. Mina, who has always taken precedent to him, period, but also Mina, who has proven herself to be the soundest mind in the entire group and already well aware of the dangers Dr. Abe has been rambling about and trying to be oh-so-covert and sneaky about with Jack.

On that subject? Van Helsing is STILL living a fantasy world where he, and occasionally Jack, are the only ones who can put 2 and 2 together and consider taking anti-vampire measures against Mina.

When everyone has already read everything.

When Mina knows exactly what the risks and measures are.

When Jonathan ‘Would Sell His Soul for His Love and to Slaughter Dracula’ Harker knows all of this.

WHEN EVERYONE HAS EYES THAT CAN ALSO SEE MINA’S TEETH.

Brammy Pajamas. Bramothy Stokerton. Bramward Stokerbroker. My guy.

Your OC, by your own text’s rules, is not special here. He is not the protagonist. He is not the extra-clever center of the narrative’s universe, per your own fucking writing. Stop forcing this man and his refusal to evolve from his preconceptions and his main character pedestal-theft and his goddamn corncobs down our throats.*

*Note: This will not happen.

The one silver lining yet to come will be that Jonathan and Mina get to roughly shoulder their way back into the story’s forefront by the book’s climax. In a huge way. Jonathan even gets an upcoming scene in which he gets to finally, rightfully, chew Van Helsing to ribbons for casually declaring a Certain Horrifying Action has to be taken (Again! No questions asked! No explanation offered until after said chewing-out!) and the narrative treats this as the right move!

But still. Still. Van Helsing is showered with Stoker’s overblown attention to a character that should have had his influence and dialogue whittled down to a supporting role rather than crowding out the Harkers for two whole thirds of the book, complete with them batting their eyes at how brilliant~ he is for much of it.

Despite.

The facts.

In The Text.

That Mina and Jonathan could have led the the whole fucking thing themselves.

We’ll see in later chapters that Mina is ONCE AGAIN the one to figure out Dracula’s plans ahead of time and set everyone on the right course. Jonathan is ONCE AGAIN the one laser-focused on seeking and slaying the Count almost on a supernatural level. On top of all that? What galls me almost as much as the Harkers being robbed of their story spotlight IN THEIR OWN FUCKING STORY?

If Van Helsing hadn’t been one-man-showing the bulk of the dialogue to make sure Brammington got to wave his self-insert around as much as possible?

We could have let Jack, Arthur, and Quincey be actual presences in the book. Jack has a big role! Absolutely! But even he gets relegated to an orbiting figure rather than an active one once Van Helsing starts hogging the pages. Arthur is practically reduced to a mutely mourning money machine. Quincey gets a few moments to remind everyone Hi, Yes, I am a Cowboy. And that’s it.

THAT’S. IT. FOR ALL OF THEM.

Hell, even Lucy and Renfield get whittled down to wisps of dialogue compared to the whole trees’ worth of lines Van Helsing rattles off.

All because Stoker couldn’t bear to let Van Helsing be the character he should have been.

The support. The guide rather than the commander.

Star Wars isn’t about Yoda, but it wouldn’t be the same without the wise little weirdo! That’s what Van Helsing would and should have been great for! But no!

I see now that I owe at least one small retroactive apology to those movie makers and spinoff writers who try to spin Van Helsing as the very real definite archnemesis of Dracula despite the fact that they have exactly two (2) scenes together and no dialogue. It’s not just the cool name. It’s not just because all of the (frequently male and/or Dracula-crushing) directors and writers refuse to acknowledge Jonathan Harker’s existence or importance.

It's because Stoker himself damn near choked his own book to death with the old man’s screentime, backed up by an utter refusal to let the narrative or the characters acknowledge when he’s fucked up. He always has to be the wise scholar. He always has to command the room and the story when neither of them belong to him.

I’d genuinely like to see one of two adaptations in the future.

In one, we could see a Van Helsing who, following October 3rd, chooses to step back. One where he and others logically point out that he has misled everyone with forced unnecessary ignorance and following stodgy hindering social rules, again, and it has doomed someone precious to them, again. One where the Harkers finally get proper center stage, likewise for the Suitor Squad—the latter of whom are written in canon as having a legit history of dangerous adventures undertaken together. Flesh those out, writers! Let these characters be present in their own fucking story! It’d be a golden opportunity to highlight a point Stoker fumbles even as he champions so many other forward-thinking notions:

Sometimes the older generation has to let go of the reins. Sometimes progress doesn’t come just from following and nodding along, but from forging ahead with new concepts and fresher minds. Case in point, Mina and Jonathan, who are apparently still too radically-written to be bothered with depicting accurately in the 21st century apart from a podcast that is literally just reading their lines verbatim.

The other option an adaptation could take? Supposing it really wanted to lean into the horror and heartbreak and forcing the ducklings to stop grasping at the Dutchman’s coattails?

Kill Van Helsing.

Dracula would absolutely think to target him, assuming that he, the elder with his acquired lore and scholarly nuisance, must surely be the keystone keeping his young enemies together. Given the chance, he’d follow that assumption to its conclusion and, on top of burning what he assumes is all the documentation on him, murdering his fellow clever old man in cold blood, ala Renfield. Bonus points if this comes at a bittersweet cost of Van Helsing landing a parting blow on the Count as thematic penance for ‘failing’ Mina, the second young girl who trusted him and paid for it, giving the bastard his second scar to match the shovel blow on his brow. Double bonus if the mark comes from a Wafer burn.

“Any last words, old man?”

“God bless you.”

Cue him slapping the Son right in the fucker’s face. He doesn’t last long after that, but it’s still a good view to go out on as the Vampire curses and sizzles.

And, natch, he will have been wise enough to leave another memorandum for Jack and the others just in case this very thing should happen. A rousing farewell speech, some parting intel, some apologies made. Perhaps a more personal goodbye to his pupil; complete with Jack’s professional mien cracking like glass and the long-put-off tears finally pouring. Then, finally, the crew move forward as one; no longer leaning on or chafing against Van Helsing’s assumed lead, but using the exact same tools they’d always had at their disposal, along with their own wits that the narrative forced them into ignoring in favor of the Professor’s lectures.

Anyway.

Van Helsing is not a bad character. He’s richly made and interesting, as any worthwhile member of a cast should be! But Stoker crammed him into the wrong role and spread him far too thin across the whole book. Doing so has been detrimental not only to all the media which followed it, but to the actual leads of the novel.

[projectjasper]

poor ai :( no one has ever chosen her before, so of course she immediately expects the worst. hashtag abandonment issues.

[vorbarrsultana]

the vampire lestat reread, pt. 1 (lestat and nickistat)

also known as "i decided to reread tvl after the season finale because some takes i've seen online give me the impression i read a completely different book two years ago". i've finished it two days ago, and turns out i have more than 5000 words of notes that significally exceed tumblr character limit. so, i had to split them into three parts.

here is part one, all about dramatic theater kids full of love, sad violinists of infinite beauty, and friends-to-lovers romances doomed by the narrative.

i love lestat.

i forgot how fun and likable tvl lestat is from page one. and how different he is from his fanon characterization!

lestatposting is fun, i get it, but i am starting to get annoyed at the amount of fanfics where lestat needs someone to help him adapt to modern times. he is doing fine on his own, thank you. it took him less than two weeks to start a rock band.

(and the whole iphone thing from "prince lestat" is more about him not seeing it as something useful since he has a mind-skype ability to talk to any vamp on planet earth, and they cannot decline the call.)

lestat is not stupid. impulsive? yes. stubborn? of course. but clever, resourseful, and cunning when he needs to be. all of this makes him a great hunter! also, really thoughtful when the mood strikes, and his quiet, existential moments have some of the best prose in that book.

i wish someone smarter than me wrote a good meta about lestat & social class because he really seems to buy into the idea of "noblesse oblige" i.e. the belief that aristocrats are obliged to take care of those less fortunate. it's present in the way he kills the wolf pack for the villagers (who live on his father's land), and later takes responsibility for the theatre troupe & remnants of armand's coven, even though he doesn't owe them anything.

also, characterization of lestat as someone socially cluesless is simply untrue. sure, he plays dumb on occasion (and hates it every time because early life illiteracy trauma), but he is also good at reading people. like, he got a pretty accurate read of armand behind the angelic facade during their first face-to-face meeting. the only people he has trouble reading are those closest to him because he heavily projects his abandonment issues on them.

lestat's struggle of being "too much" contrasts nicely with the struggle of never being enough which is so crucial to louis. hashtag made for each other.

and juxtaposition of lestat's desire to be loved for who he is and louis's struggle with identity is also delicious.

this time i also related so much to lestat's "malady of mortality" and his search for meaning in the world. which ultimately fails because he is forcibly turned into a monster, and now every ounce of happiness he might bring into the world (and lestat desperately wants to do good!) is outweighed by him killing to survive.

and marius later reinforced the belief that vampirism has no higher purpose, and no wonder that nola!lestat is a shell of his former self.

lestat's turning is the most classic horror moment of the vampire chronicles to me. the mina harker of it all. the creature of night shrouded in terror snatching an innocent victim from the arms of their love right before bleak november sunrise.

also, all the implications of what magnus has done to lestat were even more clear during this reread, and i wonder if that was the reason rolin "i-love-narrative-parallels" jones added bruce into claudia's story.

the book also explains perfectly why lestat is so well suited for vampirism. his curiosity, thirst for new experiences, and adventuring spirit are his eternal engine on the devil's road :)

however, the downside of that personality facet is that lestat steamrolls over his trauma telling himself "this is fine! look, satan, i am making the best of it", which in turn leads to the iwtv nola mess.

and i feel like this constant search for positives in vampirism (that unwilligly turned lestat & claudia share) is why they can't really relate to louis, who chose it for himself. if these two start to get too existential, the temptation to throw themselves into the fire might become unbearable.

lestat equating his loneliness with his evilness is interesting, but i have nothing to say about that for now other than equation being there.

lestat's explosive temper is also present in the book. there is a constant pattern of lestat doing things he regrets the most (like the theater performance fiasco or eating people at notre dame's steps) when he is angry or upset.

let's talk about nicki. i love him, despite half of fandom hating on him for some reason.

lestat has a type, which is "good catholic boy" with narrow view of good and evil. except louis is of a parent's favorite, conforming variety, and nicki is the rebellious one, driven to the utmost cynicism by religious dogmas.

however, despite being a self-proclaimed cynic, nicki practically drowns in catholic guilt, almost reveling in the fact that everything he does, from playing violin in the boulevard theater to having an affair with lestat, is wrong. there is no meaning in anything, and he is doomed to die a sinner's death.

he is doomed! by the narrative though.

lestat and nicki's philosophical difference seems to be that nicki (unlike lestat) does not believe in inherent goodness of the positive emotions. for him, "sin always feels good", therefore happiness they bring performing = sin.

but still, nickistat's love is so touching. after lestat ghosts nicki to protect him, he still trusts lestat's love for him and the troupe, thinks best of him, and shuts down all nasty rumours. in turn, lestat equates all the good that was in his mortal life, all his hopes and dreams with nicki. he is a symbol of everything magnus took from him.

AND THEY COMMUNICATE THROUGH MUSIC, AND IT'S THEM AT THEIR BEST, AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

nicki almost became lestat's charlie. when they meet face to face for the first time after lestat's transformation, he can barely contain his hunger magnified by attraction.

the most terribly sad thing about nicki is the unfairness of all that happened to him. he had seen lestat being shot right before him, then he disappeared with dying gabrielle, then the coven kidnapped and tortured him until he lost his mind.

and for nicki, the dark gift is a confirmation of everything he believes in being true. the meaninglessness of it all. evil being the only certain thing in the world. the way to fall into a deeper, darker abyss than the one that was before the mortal him. and it is a confirmation that lestat's inner light he loved so much will eventually burn out.

(his spark in the dark, if you will.)

(and lestat's dream before turning nicki hurts, because he dreams of growing up and growing old together, of maturing past magnus's eternal lelio with sunlight in his hair and summer sky in his eyes. oh, the lesdaughter of it all.)

there is certainly a parallel between nickistat's bitter "in darkness, we are equal now" vs loustat's comforting "in the quiet dark, we were equals".

[optimal-spark]

Earthspark Spoilers!!

I feel like a LOT of people are completely misinterpreting the Starscream situation so I have to make a post of my own about it.

Looking up ES Starscream stuff on here I’m met by one post after the other going “I can’t believe Starscream abandoned the other seekers! What a piece of shit!!” And I can’t help but wonder if we’ve all been watching the same show or if people just have such a bad bias against Starscream specifically.

Throughout the course of the entirety of ES we have seen nonstop situations of decepticons abandoning each other when things get hairy. Swindle, Hardtop, Soundwave, the cassettes, Novastorm, Skywarp. Everybody has abandoned each other and treated each other terribly at some point. Is it bad? Yes. But why are people acting like Starscream is the only one who’s done it and like he’s Satan incarnate for it while the other cons are innocent for the very same thing?

The decepticons have all around been instilled with the idea that everyone is bound to betray them one way or another. They have the mindset of every man for himself when it comes down to it. Novastorm and Skywarp have abandoned each other and those they’ve worked with. It is how things have just played out. Starscream is just one who had an arc about such a thing so it’s more in the spotlight and fleshed out. He does not trust people. He cares about the seekers (despite what some fans believe) but he has a very intense paranoia of what will happen if he does not try to look out for himself above all. He needs to rationalize this without allowing guilt and other emotions to override. If you think he doesn’t care about his seekers rewatch the scene where the Terrans reunite with each other after he and Hashtag talk about Megatron for a brief moment, watch how he puts on a scowl for them reuniting, then see how his face changes when he sees Novastorm and Skywarp. Also watch how they listen to what he tells them when they want to leave. They all care about each other, despite abandoning one another when things get hairy. It is absolutely something they have gotten drilled into them over time due to a mix of trauma (especially on Starscream’s end where we actively see his hallucinations) and simple patterns learned over the years of being a Decepticon.

Again: Starscream is NOT the only Decepticon that abandons ship when things get extra risky. Every single Decepticon we meet has done the exact same thing once or more throughout the duration of the show. Starscream’s was just spoken about more and turned into an arc so we couldn’t miss it. And he, alongside the other Decepticons, grew from that. He wasn’t the only one to stop turning away when things got scary, the other cons came with him. Therefore they had a similar arc of their own.

One thing about Earthspark is it shows that the characters are the farthest thing from black and white. They all have their own trauma. They have all done bad. They should be held accountable for it, but I am baffled by the intense vilifying of Starscream (and likewise babyfying of Nova and Skywarp) for something every single con has done in the show.

It is giving us an amazing look at character dynamics alongside mental health issues and what trauma can do to someone.

[aroace-poly-show]

For hw ask game!!

👻 A headcanon about what scares them

🖕 A headcanon relating to anger

🥇 A headcanon about what they’re best at

💔 An angsty headcanon

under cut it is kinda long but TY FOR QUESTIONS YAYYY

fears: okay for an easy trait everyone shares we got the HASHTAG ABANDONMENT ISSUES 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 none of them are exempt. it’s really funny to me tbh. like ruis obvious but nene “if i’m not skilled enough i’ll be abandoned” kusanagi emu “if i’m too much and too persistent and childish i’ll annoy them too much and drive them away” otori tsukasa “i was left alone for much of my childhood but that totally didn’t have any lasting effects on me now :) no having an empty quiet house totally doesn’t bother me nuh uh” tenma

anyway. tsukasa is Stupid and isn’t self aware of it but he’s scared of not reaching the goals he sets for himself. like he’s got his high expectations of what he should be and not being able to do that fucks him up bad. also he doesn’t like silence.

emu is scared of losing things. like even minor things like a pretty bracelet or the pencil she uses the most like she gets Really distressed about it. smth smth she has had so much loss of things she holds so dearly that she holds onto everything she can and even minor loses hurt her

for nene and rui idk tbh. i’m considering fear of the dark for rui but aside from that idk. well i do know one more but that is in the anger section soooo

anger:

i had a thought about main story here but this does say like. headcanon. and not canon. soo. hmmmm. i might add on for nene and tsukasa another time cause i don’t got much rn tbh

emu isn’t the type to get angry very often i think? she likes to make people happy, and her being angry doesn’t achieve that. i mean she gets upset at herself but like outside of that. not a really angry person?

something about rui being scared of being angry. like he does get angry sometimes. he gets upset at how they’ve been treated, nene mostly, but the feeling of being angry is one that he hates bc the last time he was mad at someone (albeit rightfully so) he ruined so so much so he hates feeling angry. hashtag projection

what they’re best at: aside from canon talents ruis really good at video games now, nene is even more stacked it’s insane. but rui only has nene to compare to so he thinks he’s like average at games. emu is good at memorization and really good at arts and crafts stuff. tsukasa is good at sewing.

angsty headcanon: keri you are a masochist you want MORE ANGST????? /silly

anyway tsukasa always gets a little nervous when people are late for stuff cause he gets worried. emu has a few versions of the phoenix wonderland park maps with old attractions she misses and memorabilia from said attractions stored away in a special box ay the wonder stage. nene has had a few times where she had to take breaks from vocaloid tuning bc she gets really jealous she can’t sing and she gets so embarrassed by herself everytime because it’s a literal no sentient software program, how pathetic can she be. rui will sometimes hurt himself doing robot stuff and then leave the wound unattended for a little longer than he should bc he has normal feelings about him deserving to hurt.

[cyle]

Hi Cyle, so Tumblr has something like 600 million blogs in total. I'm wondering whether the costs of hosting so many blogs is an issue & whether it'll systematically delete them like how Flickr was gonna delete a bunch of photos at some point cuz of server costs or something. Because the main reason I use Tumblr is to dig through archives, so that would be a bummer.

I love rediscovering the past here, Tumblr is absolutely teaming with dormant blogs, aesthetics from late 2000s and early 2010s, it's the most wonderful thing to me, rediscovering those ancient posts like I'm wandering through an abandoned library in the middle of a forest. I vaguely remember some talk about a "time machine" feature, so that gives me hope that the dormant blogs are here to stay.

Expanding on the time machine thing, how would that be implemented? Maybe like a date configuration on the dashboard and the ability to see old blogs and posts and hashtags and whatever else as if they were new and active depending on how far back you set your date. Would be great for getting the dormant stuff back into circulation. Maybe if this is well thought through and implemented practically and functionally, Tumblr will become the first platform to not actually be bound by time, by the present moment. So it can exist in any time in history, all the way back till it's inception in 2007. different users interacting in different time periods at the same time.

Maybe that would be confusing but I can sort of see it working, again if it's implemented well. Because there's just so much history on this platform. And it's famous for having old posts circulate now and then with the reblogs.

And another point... It wouldn't be limited to the number of posts today, cuz there would be "new" posts happening in all the other dates too. So there would be way more "new" posts for users to interact with. I think we might need parallel timelines. Or not! Just add more and more new posts to the old time periods when you've set your Tumblr time machine to that date. Ahhh it's a work in progress in my mind but talking about it makes me genuinely excited and hopeful haha.

I'll explain it more comprehensively if it's a point of interest for the team (this is just a 3am brainstorm). Because it could have some genuine benefits in making Tumblr feel more alive and bigger as a platform - like how it used to be. It is very much alive now because it does still have and always has had a great community. but a time machine might blow that up to astronomical proportions. All diff communities from across Tumblr history at the same time. After all "2014 tumblr" is probably the most used phrase that includes Tumblr in it. But Pre 2010 Tumblr was something else altogether.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this and any info u feel like dumping about the whole server cost query for the 600 million-ish blogs and how you manage them. Kind regards ^^

hey, long ask!

we have been experimenting with a new recommendation source of posts we’re calling “evergreen posts” which tries to surface great posts from tumblr’s whole history. you may see some in the For You tab.

having an actual “time machine” to go to specific times at tumblr is kind of already possible as a hack of the max post ID in the dashboard URL if you have “endless scrolling” disabled on web.

we could make that more of an obvious actual feature but i don’t think enough people would want to use it to justify the cost. neat hack day idea tho! someone did make a search time machine once for hack day.

[amigac0debasic13]

inhaling so heavily so so heavily,, hey guys its me im back. ninjago. This is just a huge rant about me HATING how trauma is handled in this show. ignore this if you do not want to see my HORRORS.

WHY. IS TRAUMA NOT A FUCKING THING IN THIS STUPID ASS SHOW. Im on another rewatch because im FUCKING INSANE but it drives me actually mad that there are so many downright horrific things that happen to these characters that are just NEVER addressed. lets talkabout the fucking first one that caught my eye when I was first watching the show!!! Im basically going from least infuriating to most infuriating, im trying to cut this show some slack but dear god. !!WHY IS COLE OKAY MAN. HE LITERALLY DIEEED. HE TURNED INTO A GHOST. listen Iknow ninjago death means nothing, and im going to talk about that too but he literally could have ceased to exist if he so much as touched water. after he got his body back, why was this never FUCKING mentioned. I think. if I was in a perpetual state of being horrified my existence would amount to nothing and id just stop BEING when I touched some clear shit coming out of my sink id be pretty scarred for life. I loved possession man, but this happened to TWO CHARACTERS. TWOOO. AND THE OTHER CHARACTER IS LLOYD. lets not even MENTION that hes been exploited the moment everyone found out he was a green ninja, and before that a bunch of grown ass people were bullying a CHILD WHO IS ACTUALLY HOMELESS, lets talk about how his fucking body was taken over by Morro while he ALSO worries about his DAD BEING STUCK IN THE FUCKING UNDERWORLD. IM LOSING IT. IM LOSSINGG ITT. On a smaller note, MISAKO ABANDONED LLOYD. KILL HER. I am the hashtag misako hater garmadon deserves better. The show made no attempt for them to bond or try to make amends for what happened when Lloyd was a kid, she barely appears at all really and it just makes me fucking despise her. ALSO MORRO. this kid. reminding you, CHILD, fucking died in a cave. the cave we SAW in the pilot, if i remember right which is FUCKING INSANE>,,?? we SEE HIS SKELETON. THAT IS A CHILDS SKELETON. never mentioned again after episode 8 I don't think. now the MEAT. THE MEATT. whatever the FUCK went on with garmadon after he got resurrected. They actually did cover this a bit with how Lloyd acted around garmadon, but crystalized also sucked ass and really gave us nothing on how Garmadon felt about this. on god im so sick that hes so normal shaped in crystalized too, He was literally growling with every breath in sons of garmadon why is he normal now. Its been years, i get it. also the Garmadon comic. but he SHOULDNT be a normal person whos just an asshole, I want him to be feral okay?? ok??? I am playfully gesturing to Devils Horns by TeuthidaRegina (did i spell that right. idk man. Its a super fucking good fanfic.)

ALSO Vinnys apartment is very inaccurate there should be scratch marks on the walls and then they should kiss. ANYWAYS Besides this, Lloyd being mad at Garmadon was really all we got for how *he* was effected by his once loving father now randomly coming back with his ribs exposed and only being able to say like. 3 words. and also him immediately trying to kill Lloyd. I feel like we should have gotten a LOT more man. Now this isn't really a problem with the show (Its a huge problem in crystalized but that's a given) but more a problem with the fandom, so that's why I'm putting it at the end. this does not hold relevancy over garmadon becoming a BEAST. (also garmadon becoming a beast is the best thing that ever happened in this show btw. you all are wrong and he should have been animalistic from the beginning. still nice. but he should have also growled. all the time.) My issue is with how people portray harumi. I already had my Harumi spout in a post I made earlier, but I only mentioned the toxicity of the ship with her and Lloyd a little bit. Let us THINK BACK on how she literally feels nothing for Lloyd at all. He was a stepping stone in getting Garmadon back, and she probably straight up hates him. She pretends to like him to manipulate him into helping her resurrect garmadon ok?? do we understand?? Ive seen actual tags on AO3 that say "no harumi hate here" and I am so done. all the harumi hate. dont FUCKING talk to me if you want to justify the downright horrendous things shes done. That ship is toxic as hell and Lloyd is downright being abused AGAIN for like the FIVE BILLIONTH TIME IN HIS LIFE. I dont care man. shes an abusive bitch. i HATE HER. Crystalized made the worst fucking decision trying to justify her and I genuinely hate whoever thought that was a good and right decision to make. If she comes back in dragons rising i hope she dies AGAIN, but Im honestly rooting for them to ignore crystalized's existence. Now finally, this is the absolute peak of how Ninjago shittily handles trauma. the ICE EMPEROR. Zane was stuck in a fucking hellscape of a realm for like. what was it. EIGHTY YEARS??? he went fucking mad man, he turned into a bloodthirsty tyrant during that time. and when this seasons conflict was fixed with the "power of friendship" the show literally mentions that the ice emperor is STILL INSIDE ZANES NOGGIN. AND WHAT DOTHEY DOO?? THEY MAKE IT INTO A FUCKING JOKE. its honestly almost disgusting to me how they handled it, Zane has DIED BEFORE. that's bad. he should have trauma. BUT Zane LITERALLY HAS A BLOODTHIRSTY KILLER IN HIS FUCKING HEAD. DO NOT JOKE ABOUT THIS SHIT. ACTUALLY. HE SHOULD HAVE SOME RELUCTANCE TO USING HIS POWERS OR SOMETHING, ANYTHING MAN. HE KILLLED AN ENTIRE RACEE. Genuinely this is one of my favorite shows, and I love adding onto the shaky ass plot and making it better, but I cannot DEAL with this. Im going to throw in the shit that happened in the spinjitzu brothers book, because oh my god Wu and Garmadon should be fucked up with all the stuff they have had to deal with for like. 5 thousand years. but its fine. its okay. its the book series. I wont mention it. (that book series is so good please release the final book please) ((I LOVE wu and garmadon they are some of my favorite characters in the ENTIRE series im blinking my eyes at you. please go indepth on those two. also give Wu a dragon form, or an Oni form, or literally anything he IS NOT HUMAN.) Also if anyone tells me im ignoring skybound its because I do not need to say anything about skybound. we all know what happened. we ALLL know what the fuck they did to Nya. and fucking. mister possibly a pedo creep man who does not care about consent. I dont even remember his name thats how bad I hate him .

[critical-skeptic]

WHAT NOW?

TEMU Gilead is Coming: An Unvarnished Reckoning with Our Own Failures

This isn’t just a loss; it’s a colossal, existential crisis that everyone on the anti-QMAGA side, from Democrats to so-called progressives, needs to confront with brutal honesty. Trump has clawed his way back into power, buoyed by young male voters, sweeping the electoral college and taking both chambers of Congress. The dystopian blueprint outlined by Project 2025 is now within arm’s reach of becoming reality, and while there’s plenty of blame to go around, this moment demands an unsparing self-critique of our own faction’s spectacular failures.

Over the past two decades, a toxic combination of identity politics, performative activism, and hollow gestures of moral superiority has undermined what should have been a broad, powerful coalition against fascism. Instead of building alliances, we drew lines in the sand. Instead of engaging and educating, we alienated and dismissed. The pendulum swing between left and right has only accelerated, each side stoking the other’s flames in a downward spiral. And here we are, watching the collapse of democracy with smugness and overconfidence as fuel for our own undoing.

Identity Politics and Performative Activism: The Double-Edged Sword

Identity politics has been weaponized against us as effectively as we’ve used it to rally support. What began as a call for recognition, equality, and justice has been twisted into a purity spiral, where every misstep is grounds for cancellation and every dissenting voice—even within our ranks—is branded a heretic. We’ve reduced complex human issues to hashtags and purity tests, alienating potential allies with a sanctimonious fervor that rivals our enemies’. What’s worse, we’ve become oblivious to the backlash this has created among younger men—particularly white men—who feel vilified and abandoned, driving them straight into the arms of the right.

Want proof of this? Look no further than any outrage towards this very critique of ourselves or that very sensation you're feeling right now to dismiss my points, or to accuse me of being QMAGA, a misogynist, or some other convenient label. That is precisely the problem.

It’s no accident that Trump has seen a surge of support among Gen Z males. We’ve handed them over with our relentless portrayal of masculinity as toxic, our demonization of entire demographics, and our refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue. Every performative gesture, every viral Twitter clapback, every “woke” marketing campaign that reduces people’s lived experiences to commodified slogans—this is the oxygen that has fueled their resentment. And they’ve responded by voting in droves for the man they see as the ultimate middle finger to the establishment we represent.

Overconfidence and Smugness: The Seeds of Our Undoing

Our political campaigns have been plagued by a smug, overconfident belief that moral superiority alone would carry us to victory. Kamala Harris, to her credit, didn’t lean heavily into the “first woman” narrative during her campaign. But the broader messaging from her camp, the overreliance on pop culture endorsements, and the naive assumption that “Swifties” and Hollywood elites would deliver an unshakable base reveal how little we understood the electorate. We banked on identity and celebrity while underestimating the deeply ingrained conservatism within key demographics, including Latino voters, who remain far more complex and varied than we cared to acknowledge.

This overconfidence blinded us to the reality that smugness and moral posturing are not substitutes for coalition-building. The Latino community, for example, has shown time and again that their votes cannot be taken for granted. Yet we assumed that platitudes and virtue signals were enough, while the right steadily worked to win them over with culturally resonant messages and appeals to tradition. We’ve seen this before, but refused to learn the lesson: alienating allies, relying on performative gestures, and dismissing uncomfortable truths only strengthens the opposition.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The loss of this election isn’t just a temporary setback—it’s a harbinger of a dark future. A future where Project 2025’s corpochristofascist agenda is enacted, draining what little remains of our democracy, stripping away rights, and leaving us to fend off an authoritarian regime with dwindling resources and even fewer allies. We have already seen what happens when we rely on fantasies of “resistance” without the hardened resolve, the coalitions, and the practical strategies to back it up. The younger men on our side, while passionate, are often ill-prepared for the ugly reality of what resistance will truly require.

So what now? Are women and other marginalized groups prepared to rise above the petty infighting and bring the fight where it truly needs to be? Are we ready to abandon the performative acts and embrace true, coalition-based action that goes beyond virtue signaling and social media outrage? Or will we keep doubling down on what hasn’t worked, content to watch democracy crumble from the sidelines while we trade moral victories for actual losses?

TEMU Gilead is coming. The question is whether you will play the role of TEMU Offred—engaged in empty gestures and divisive rhetoric—or if you will wake up, before the last of us who have fought, and bled, and sacrificed are too exhausted, too old, or too dead to be of any fucking use. The time for games is over. Wake up before it’s too late. I hope I'm wrong, I hope I'm being an alarmist and that I am utterly wrong, but if I'm not, please stay safe.