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420thewritersroom · 4 months

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Thunderstorms in Spring

~Welp, just as fast as I posted that first installment, now we have a second one! I didn't expect everyone to like the first one so much, and I wanna thank you guys for your loving words! And the previous piece honestly gave me so much work to go off on that I decided to continue with a sequel (will this become a possible series, idk, but there's a second one now, so who knows).~

~I, once again, want to thanks the artists in this community who made their pieces of White Haired!Raiden and contributed to the whole "Oops, Kung Lao's Dead Again" AU, you can find them credited in the previous post since I don't want to annoy them with constantly tagging them whenever I make another installment with this series lol.~

~Before we continue just wanted to put some mild context to ensure this makes sense. Fire God Liu Kang starts getting deja vu as certain coincidences and events start playing out that are too eerily similar to how things played out during the MK9 game. All roads were seemingly leading to Kung Lao dying in his timeline, and Liu Kang struggled with how to cope and deal with this. On one hand, he did not want his friend-…His new teacher…To die, especially since he tried so hard to tailor-make this timeline to ensure everyone got a happy ending.

Yet, at the same time, he refused to stoop down to Kronika's level and start altering the timeline until it was his "perfect" utopia. However, his fears and suspicion about the situation become even more realized when Raiden gets gravely injured, and the only thing that prevented him from kneeling over was the thunder amulet infused with his person (and some other magical shit, idk). From this, Raiden gains his iconic white hair, and this gives Liu Kang a heart attack. To make a long story short, Kung Lao ends up dying at the hands of the villains, Raiden is going through the stages of grief, but he's going down the same dark path as the previous Raiden, now becoming Dark Raiden. And Liu Kang has to finally interfere.~

Still confused? Too late, now on to the story!

Previous // Next

Characters: Raiden, Raiden's Sister (Fuji), Johnny Cage, Kenshi, Mentions of Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Madam Bo, and Jax

Word Count - 8,001 (wow!)

Ships: Johnny/Kenshi - Past Raiden/Kung Lao

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence (with less blood), Heavy Talks About Character Death

~The Netherrealms - Undisclosed time and place~

Sulfur, ash, smoke, burning stone, and landscapes; the smell of the Netherrealm. Although Raiden's memories are fuzzy at best and nonexistent at worst, he remembers this in near clarity. His vision presents him looking up at the hellish sky as if he's lying down on the ground. He remembers not moving; it's too painful to move. He remembers breathing heavily. Is it because of the suffocating air of the Netherrealms? Or perhaps because of the blinding pain that Raiden remembers experiencing.

He can remember not just hissing and groaning in pain but screaming and writhing-silently begging for it to end. In this mnemonic dream, everything was selective when it came to what he saw, heard, smelled, and tasted. For taste, he can taste the iron of his own blood mixed in with something foul. Could it be the rancid air or the fact that this mixture almost tasted like poison?

His hearing in this dream is quite literally selective. Some people sounded horribly muffled, requiring Raiden to strain his ears to hear them. Others, he could perceive with great clarity, and then there were those he could not hear at all, their lips moving with no audible sound. Then there was his sight. Like the other senses, Raiden was faced with blurred faces, some only possessing one discernable feature, such as their eyes, nose, mouths, ears, hair, etc. Others were completely faceless to Raiden, with only their speech or smell being the one thing Raiden could cling to.

But what often overrode all these senses was the overwhelming pain he felt at this moment. Three figures stood above him. One was featureless; the only distinguishing aspect of this entity was that they were female-presenting as their speech sounded feminine, but it was horribly dimmed. Another figure was only distinguishable thanks to the glowing eyes they possessed and distinct dragon tattoos that crawled up their arms. If Raiden concentrates, he can maybe recollect what this individual is saying, but this pain prevents him from doing so.

Then there was Kung Lao. Deadass, just his long-time best friend, Kung Lao. Out of all the figures in front of Raiden in this instance, Kung Lao-he could see and hear with such perspicuity. Kung Lao stood beside the lying Raiden, tears in his eyes, slurring his speech, holding tightly to the thunder wielders' shaking hand.

"It's ok, Raiden! It's ok, you're going to be ok!" Kung Lao sobbed, trying, but failing, to smile at Raiden despite his tears actively gracing Raiden's face.

Raiden doesn't remember if he said anything back to him. His sight throughout this scene remained on his friend…At least, he thinks they're friends. There's a foreign feeling that encompasses him whenever he looks at Lao, and it's an overwhelming sense of love. And, I mean, people can definitely love their best friends. He and Kung Lao had known each other since they were children. Lao was a reckless, poor kid, and Raiden was a boy from a well-off family. Despite their class differences, they saw something likable about the other. But this love was more than just having a natural affinity for someone he's known all his life.

This felt…Stronger? Louder? Raiden doesn't know how to describe it. If it wasn't for the pain, Raiden would get lost in Kung Lao's chocolate eyes. He would untie his short ponytail and play with his hair before readjusting his look. Raiden notices little details about his friend that others might not have picked up on. Like his dimples when he smiles, even under such stressful circumstances, the way his face piercings adds to his cocky personality, and his undercut brings back fond memories of the pair trying to learn how to cut his hair which ended disastrously. Raiden wanted…To kiss him dearly…

And just like how Raiden held his perspective on Lao, Kung Lao hasn't torn away his gaze on Raiden, spitting out promises of what they will do together once Raiden was right as rain in rapid fire. What ended up redirecting Kung Lao's attention was when the figure with the glowing eyes was mumbling something.

"What?" Kung Lao snaps his head over to the tattooed figure with hopeful confusion on his face.

This tattooed individual, Raiden could not understand fully. However, he was able to catch on to some words: Amulet, Raiden, Entity, and Consequences. The fully faceless being, who was also present, gestures as if they're conversing with the pair - but Raiden cannot hear their input on the matter.

"I don't care how you do it! I…I just want him to survive! Please, Liu! Save him! Save Raiden!" Kung Lao cries, holding onto Raiden's hand like his life depended on it. As if, if he didn't clutch onto Raiden, he would lose him forever.

The tattooed individual holds their gaze toward Kung Lao, their silence and body language hinting that they were…Uneased and uncertain. The tattooed looks at the feminine figure and nods, saying something in the mumbled jargon they spoke. But the three individuals in front of Raiden were all in agreement. They were going to save him. He was going to survive this…Somehow.

Kung Lao focuses back on Raiden, smiling at his downed friend. "Look at me. Look at me, Raiden. You're going to be alright! Liu is gonna help ya. You…" Kung Lao looks Raiden over, primarily where his stomach is. Why was he looking there? "You're going to be alright. I love you. I love you so much, and I'm not going to let you die, ok?"

Raiden feels his heart flutter as if Kung Lao said something that would've usually made the thunder wielder swoon. But what was it? Despite being able to understand everything Kung Lao was telling him, his dream censored him; twice it did. Raiden feels something swell within him, this desire to respond to Kung Lao. Words at the tip of his tongue that he wanted to get out.

But then the pain gets worse. A LOT worse. His body was on fire as if electricity was coursing through his body. Raiden screams, making sounds that one would not think a human could make. He writhes, so much so that he feels someone holding him down. He remembers wanting it to stop; that dying was a better alternative than enduring this much pain.

Raiden jolts awake, sitting upright, sweaty, and breathing heavily. His eyes roam about his room, taking stock of what's around him. It was just a dream. He's in his room, in his bed. Not in…That hellish place…Whatever that was. Yet, he's not calming down. It felt real, too real. The pain, the heat, the people talking to him. It was as if he experienced it before, and there was a part of himself that felt like it was factual. But it was so…Surreal…

"Ugh! Aaah!" Raiden clutches his stomach, where his lower and upper body meet. It's happening again.

He can feel static dancing off his person in painful waves, coursing through his body from his stomach. He doubles over as he clutches his stomach in a hugging position. He can feel it wanting to get out again, this strange, unknown power, as it swells in electric prowess, begging to be let out.

"Raiden? Raiden!" Fuji's voice sounds distant, yet tangible, as she rushes to her brother's side. "Raiden, what's wrong? Is it happening aga-ah!" Fuji feels a jolt of electricity shock her, and she pulls away from touching her brother.

Raiden hisses through the growing pain, "Y-yes, it's happening again! It's stronger this time!"

"Come on, let's get you outside!" Fuji says in a hurried tone as she quickly dresses herself in whatever she can get her hands on in her brother's room.

Raiden groans as he tries to remove himself from his bed (something he kinda doesn't want to do right now) but ends up rolling off the mattress onto the floor with an audible grunt. Fuji is quick to Raiden's side again and helps him up with all her strength. Despite having a sleeper build in terms of muscularity and being leanly built, he was heavy to carry and drag around for someone of her strength and stature.

"Come on, come on, let's go, Raiden! We're almost to the door; let's go!" Fuji tries to encourage her brother.

"I-I'm trying, Ji. It hurts!" Raiden whines.

They both get past the front door and rush to hop onto Fuji's motorbike (she saved up ALOT of money to get this baby). She revs the engine and speeds away down the road, biking to a remote area so that her brother can let out…Whatever the fuck is going on with him.

"We're almost out of here, Raiden! Just give me-HOLY SHIT!"

Suddenly, an arc of lightning strikes the ground, deadly close to them. It's only now that Fuji notices that the night cloudy skies above were crackling with thunder and lightning (fortunately, no rain…Yet…).

"Raiden, control yourself! Just give me 2 minutes! AAH!" Fuji dodges a lightning strike that landed 3 seconds ahead of them.

"I'M TRYING!" Raiden shouts in pain, his hair and eyes glowing intensely as the power of the amulet strengthens. Throughout the trip, Raiden KNOWS that he was unintentionally shocking his sister, the poor farm boy constantly apologizing as he tries to reign in the energies coming off him.

Fuji is able to bob & weave around the constant lightning strikes and endure the shocks her brother kept giving her, just enough to reach not just the outskirts of the village but into the remote parts outside their settlement. Once they were a good 15 minutes away from Fengjian, Fuji slows down to park her bike, but this would nearly cost her. As they were about to stop, another strike of lightning hits them from behind, kicking up dirt, debris, and their bike. The motorbike ends up being tipped forward forcefully, sending the siblings flying.

"AAAAHHH!" Fuji screams as she soars above the ground before crashlanding into the tall grass nearby. Although she didn't gain that much air, thanks to her slowing down not too long ago, she still felt her ears ringing and her head and muscles aching. She makes sharp gasps as she slightly rolls in pain.

"Damnit, Raiden," Fuji hisses. "Fuck, Raiden! Raiden?" Fuji picks herself up, almost losing her footing, as she frantically looks for her older brother.

The sounds of her brother screaming gave her an idea of where he was at. He wasn't too far from her. Fuji could see lighting bouncing off his person as he was in the fetal position. As Fuji was attempting to approach him, Raiden yelled out to her, "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

Fuji immediately stops in her tracks, watching her brother uselessly as he suffered. Ever since he came back home a year and a half ago, ever since Liu Kang dropped her brother off at their family home, he's had these strange abilities. But nothing like this. It has never gotten this bad! It's gotten out of control. Whatever's happening to Raiden, it's trying to get out. Fuji anxiously scours through her brain as she considers WHAT she can do to help her brother that she hasn't done before. But…BUT WHAT THE FUCK WOULD ANYONE DO IN THIS SITUATION!?! Her brother is becoming a malfunctioning transmission tower! No amount of guidance from their parents, friends, workmates, or even TikTok inspiration posts could prepare her to handle this!

There is one thing she notices about her brother in this situation. It's almost as if he's trying to hold back whatever this electrifying beast is. This gives her an idea.

"R-Raiden! Raiden, you need to let go! You can't keep holding back…Whatever this is!" Fuji shouts as loud as she can, the raging thunder clouds, cracks of lightning, and howling wind overpowering her voice.

"NO!" Raiden screams in response, fear heavily apparent in his tone. "I-FUCK-I'LL HURT YOU! LIKE LAST TIME, I'LL HURT YOU!"

Oh…

Fuji stares uselessly at Raiden as that incident plays in her head again. It was a couple months since Liu Kang returned her brother home. Raiden was…He was going through alot. What, with his sudden memory loss and having to come to terms with the lost memories, Raiden was silently coping with this alone. It's unnatural for him to bottle up his emotions. Fuji has always known her brother to speak his mind when something troubled him…Then again, his trusted confidant when he didn't want to turn to his family was Kung Lao…Who's dead…Even Madam Bo he couldn't look to for guidance; she died many years ago (peacefully, surrounded by her family). And despite the natural trust, as siblings, they both had for each other; Raiden clearly avoided speaking with her about what he was thinking and feeling.

And it finally came overhead when the siblings had a mild dispute. She doesn't even remember what they were arguing about. Could've been typical brother/sister shit. Maybe she finally confronted him about his silence and reluctance to speak about what had happened to him. Regardless, things got a bit personal, and Raiden, who is usually the patient and calm one, even during their little disagreement bouts; lashed out.

And quite literally did he lashed out. Fuji probably should've seen the telltale signs when his eyes and hair were giving a dim, white glow, but she was too riled up in the conversation to pay attention. Then it happened, Raiden yelled back at her, and suddenly, an arc of lightning erupted from him. Striking Fuji.

With a highly concentrated energy of electricity, it shocked her to the point that her body shut down temporarily…But Raiden didn't see it like that, at the moment. His sister, his closest friend aside from Kung Lao, was lying on the kitchen floor, dead. Their elderly parents arrived home to see Raiden sobbing loudly as he tried to revive his sister while lightning was pulsing off him. They couldn't get close enough to each reach the phone to call for emergency services as arcs of lightning were going everywhere in the house, practically destroying it (the expenses were much, even for their family). And maybe it was the constant shock of electricity that restarted Fuji and kept her from fully kneeling over. Who knows, there was a lot of pandemonium going on at that moment, but she remembered jolting back to life, breathing heavily as she tried to scoot away from her brother.

But there was one thing she regretted that day. Being so scared of Raiden that she had the look of someone seeing a monster, a threat.

Fuji can ascertain that he's been holding it in ever since that day. Because he's scared of hurting her again. And sure, they would both go out of town to a remote area to let Raiden air out and release the energies of the amulet infused to his body. But there was a deafening disconnect since that day. And it pains Fuji that it wasn't until now that she realized she'd shut Raiden out because she was scared of her brother.

Another painful cry emits from Raiden. The storms above were becoming dangerous, Fuji felt like she was going to be swept off her feet by the roaring winds. Although Fuji was scared of the mystical prowess her brother possessed, she loved him more than she feared him.

"Raiden, you're not going to hurt me! I know you won't, I trust that you won't!" Fuji has to now scream over the raging storm as she puts some further distance between her and her brother, readjusting her fallen motorbike. "Whatever you're holding on to, you have to let it go!"

"Fuji, I-"

"Raiden, don't you fucking argue with me!" Fuji shouts, using her "mom voice." Fuji might be just as soft-spoken as her brother, but she knew when to assert herself and take up space when needed. "You're going to harm me far worse the longer you keep holding on to...Well, that! You'll destroy all of Fengjian doing what you're doing RIGHT NOW!"

I mean, Fuji can't say for certain that it will. But storms like this can definitely level villages, and she's not about to wait and find out if this is the case. Fuji yelps loudly as a soaring large tree branch flies by her, the dark-haired sister ducking behind her bike for safety. There's another resounding scream from Raiden, and she looks in his direction with extreme worry. However, there was something different about this scene.

Raiden was howling, sure, but he was releasing the energies of the amulet. The best way one could describe this scene is that it's like watching Raiden raise his power level as if he's a Dragon Ball Z character. The storm around this time worsens, so much so that Fuji ends up holding onto her, albeit skidding, bike while screaming herself.

Then it...Stops...The roiling thunder, the crack of lightning, the raging winds calmed. Fuji opens her eyes and looks to the still-night sky, the dark clouds slowly parting to reveal the gibbous moon above, the sound of thunder now becoming an infrequent presence. When she finally takes a look at her brother...She might as well be looking at an all-powerful being, maybe even a god.

Raiden was levitating, hair and clothes flowing as if he were in water, sparks of electricity visibly coursing through his being as his hair and eyes glowed a godly white. Fuji stared in awe as electric energies sparked off him, unsure of how else to take in this scene in front of her. Her brother would soon gracefully touch the ground again before kneeling over. Fuji cautiously approaches her brother as if she's entering an emperor's throne room unannounced.

"...Raiden?"

"...Yeah?" Raiden, now sounding like his usual, soft-spoken, self, looks up at his sister. His face plastered with the same amazement as she possessed.

"Are you...Ok?"

"I think so," Raiden looks himself over, watching the energies pulse around him. "...Yeah. Yeah, I think I'm alright now."

"What was that? This never happened before." Fuji starts getting more bold as she approaches her brother. She wanted to dust him down but hesitated as the energies continued to encompass Raiden.

Raiden is quiet for a moment. During this silence, the electrical current finally dissipated. "...I'm sorry, Fuji."

"For what?"

"For...For everything."

Fuji's heart nearly breaks the moment she hears Raiden's voice crack. Raiden's eyes become glassy as he begins to cry. "No. No, Raiden," Fuji takes the first step to break the space between them, holding his shaking hand in hers. "I should be the one apologizing. I...I'm not going to pretend that I know what happened to you that caused all this. These strange powers, you're new color," Fuji brushes some stray hair behind Raiden's ear, "Or why you can't remember the past...I don't even know how many years."

"But you clearly needed help. I can't assist with any physical help, but I can help with this," Fuji pokes at his heart, smiling at her elder brother. "I was scared of you, Raiden...Because you became...Unrecognizable to me. But I was wrong to emotionally shut you out. You're still my brother, and I'm going to still be your sister."

Raiden chuckles, smiling through his tears as he fondly looks at Fuji. "Thank you, sis."

"Now come on, we best get home. Mom and Dad, if they're not awake already, are going to be worried about why we were gone during an active storm. Also, you're still in your underwear."

"What?" Raiden looks at himself, finally realizing that he's still in a t-shirt and boxers. "W-why didn't you help me get dressed!?!"

"You were literally screaming and shooting lightning out of your hands, what did you want me to do?" Fuji responds as she gets her motorbike prepped for departure.

"I would've been fine with a hoodie or something," Raiden says, now in a bit of a jesting mood. He does notice that his sister is wearing his clothes and points at her. "Can you at least hand me my hoodie?"

"Can't. Not wearing anything under this."

"I can literally see your PJs under there, Ji."

"Ok, but it's cold. No thanks to you," Fuji sticks her tongue at him teasingly.

The pair continue their sibling banter as they make their way back to Fengjian. The back & forth is interrupted as Raiden grows silent suddenly. Growing increasingly uncomfortable with the silence, Fuji breaks the ice.

"Something on your mind?"

Raiden remains still.

"...Come on, Raiden. If something is troubling you...Listen, I might not have all the answers, but at least let me know what's going on."

~Two Days Later~

Raiden closes the mirrored medicine cabinet, the soft click of the small door indicating it was successfully shut. Raiden is faced with his reflection. White, shoulder-length hair, brown eyes (that occasionally turn white, he has noticed), upside-down heart-shaped face, chubby cheeks, oval brows; these features he has seen time and time again. Yet, this look still feels...Foreign to him. How did he get the white hair? Nothing in his memories can track down the point in time when he dyed his hair (Fuji says that he dyed his hair...But...).

He looked...Older. As if he's experienced many things in his life. What those experiences are though-he cannot tell you. Raiden places a hairband in his mouth as he gathers his strands to recreate the man-bun he fondly prefers to wear. It's the one thing that gives him a sense of familiarity. He can remember precisely how he favors pinning up his hair. Raiden looks at himself in the mirror again, staring into his reflections' brown eyes as if he's searching for something behind them. His gaze then focuses on a small picture. A photo was taken when he, Kung Lao, and Fuji went on a school trip in their elementary years. Their class went fishing that day, and he can distinctly remember his kid self getting frustrated because he couldn't catch a single fish that day. Despite living in a village that was on the water, fishing wasn't a skill Raiden acquired. He remembers Kung Lao always being able to catch a large or small one, bragging about how he was going to take his catches back home to eat.

Perhaps it was Kung Lao's bragging that made his younger self jealous and throw a fit. But in that same instance, Kung Lao actually taught him the tricks he used to capture fish. It was Kung Lao that turned that sour trip into a journey he will always remember.

...

Why can't he remember anything? Past that day, when the pair competed to see who could harvest the most cabbages and pay for the loser's meal at Madam Bo's, everything else is a blur. And maybe this wouldn't bother him much; people can have fuzzy memories, especially if they were beaten so severely they had to be bandaged with extreme care by a stranger. But it's not just a few memories that he can't recollect; it's practically all of them past that day at Madam Bo's. Even more alarming...

...He had forgotten that his best friend, Kung Lao, had died. Now, unless he's getting a grave case of early dementia, who would miss that their own best friend died, their own funeral procession? When his sister and parents came forward about this with him, it was only then that Raiden realized that some years passed as well. That meant that he was missing years-YEARS-of life experiences that were now gone from his mind. Even more confusing, he wasn't in a coma. At least, he doesn't think he was.

Ok, lemme explain. Based on what Fuji and his parents told him, some man named Liu Kang offered him a position of high-paying work. It required him to work in the United States, and both he and Kung Lao were offered the job; both men said yes to this opportunity. Looking back at it, in his family's words, they should've pushed back further as they were suspicious of this Liu Kang fellow and this job he was offering their son. But seeing the joy on Raiden's face and his determination to leave with Liu Kang convinced them that their son could handle themselves and pave his own future. Occasionally, he would visit home and send money & unique souvenirs before promptly leaving back to the States. Apparently, he was a martial arts teacher in the States, but everything else was unknown to them. It was a shock to everyone when they heard that Kung Lao died. It came out of left field. Based on what Liu Kang and Raiden told them, an accident happened where some equipment malfunctioned and blew up in Kung Lao's face, a lacerated throat being the primary cause of death. After that, Raiden was radio silent to his family. It wasn't until Liu Kang came to their house in the dead of night years later with Raiden in tow, bandaged and bruised, and left without another word. They haven't seen Liu Kang since.

Aside from the mild inconsistencies (if he was in the States while his family was in China, of course, there would be some muddled details), their story was pretty straightforward based on their point of view...Yet, deep down, Raiden couldn't help but...Feel like there's more to this story. Not that he's distrustful of his family; he truly believes what they said. However, somewhere deep within his conscience, it felt like the story they told him was the tale he WANTED them to believe. As if Raiden knew the truth that explains the holes and contradictions that riddled their recollection of previous events. Yet, the answers to these truths are hidden even from Raiden. Always at the tip of his tongue but forbidden from ever speaking them.

Raiden enters the kitchen; his mother and sister preparing breakfast and lunch for Raiden. Seeing him enter, Fuji smiles from ear to ear. "You slept in, lazy butt."

"Oh?" Raiden looks at the mounted clock, and yep! He's an hour and thirty minutes late to work. "Aw, crap!"

"Calm yourself, boy. I already called the Farm. They were understanding and said to come in when you're ready." His mother says as she sets down a bowl full of steamed Bao Buns. Enough to last until lunch, really.

Looking at the bowl, Raiden knew why they cooked so much. Kung Lao, the gluttonous butt he was, would always visit Raiden so that they could travel to work together. And without fail, he was always raiding their kitchen for any leftovers no one else wanted. It became nearly tradition to cook a bit extra in case Kung Lao decided to pay them a visit.

...Apparently, old habits die hard...Raiden smiles and kisses his mother gingerly on the cheek. "Thank you, mother. I don't want to keep them longer, though. I'll see you guys when I get back." Raiden quickly packs his own lunch, thanks to the assistance of his sister, Fuji, who was already 3 steps ahead of him and grabs a couple Bao Buns before heading out the house.

Walking to the Farm, Raiden couldn't help but feel a sorrowful, almost lonely, acceptance of the village around him. Every building, path, small body of water, old face, new face, everything about Fengjian felt like a ghost to him. It was familiar, yet so dissimilar to Raiden. This village has grown in the past years he was in and out of this settlement. But what disheartens him is the absence of his friend. Raiden only wishes that Kung Lao was here, perhaps he would've helped him make sense of all of this. This...Amnesia mess that he's in. And Raiden would've confided with Madam Bo...You know, if she were still alive. Her death had more consistency; she simply died of old age. It was still a shock; she was his adopted grandmother in Raiden's eyes. So in Raiden's mind, he not only lost a close friend but also a family member and valuable mentor.

Raiden found himself staring at points of interest that held significance to him, especially if it related to Kung Lao. There was a cherry blossom tree up a hill nearby that he and Lao would frequent without fail. Be it to do school work, to see who can climb that tree the fastest and highest, or to chill. It was there that Kung Lao, at the age of 15, expressed his desire to explore their horizons past Fengjian. Raiden still grins to himself, thinking back on the many adventurers Kung Lao wanted to have (although few of them were a bit exaggerated). How they both promised-once they were older-they would travel outside of Fengjian, and experience the world together. Somewhere, deep down, Raiden feels like this has come true if they have gone to the States before...But it feels like more was there than simply hopping over to another country.

There's a convenience store nearby where Kung Lao's house was. It was a favorite, and every time the pair visited it, Kung Lao would rant and rave about all the many meals one could make from just a few store-bought convenience items. Being a child of a middle-class family, Raiden was always baffled by the "dishes" Kung Lao would make, most of them hit or miss due to the cheap ingredients. But Kung Lao loved to cook. He probably would've wanted to become one with the kind of passion he had. But Kung Lao cooked to survive due to...Well, let's just say, he was a poor kid.

Then there was the Farm. They were always getting into some kind of trouble there. Playing daring jokes on each other, helping one another with the back-breaking labor, then the fulfilling trip to Madam Bo's Teahouse. All fond memories.

Before Raiden knew it, the day was already reaching its finale. Raiden worked overtime, something he was often known to do. And, you know, working such late hours without Kung Lao there was...Disheartening. Kung Lao wouldn't assist in the work. In his mind, his shift ended at 5:30 P.M. But he would at least stay with Raiden. To provide him company during the late hours. This time around, the nightlife critters and beasts were his only company. The walk home was seemingly worse. The darkened village felt quiet, with only a few shops open that had loud commotion going on. Friends hanging out and enjoying a good drink together as they drank and ate the rest of the evening away.

The only moment of solace Raiden gained was when he walked back into his house. His mother, father, and sister were loud in conversation as they went over the recent village gossip, village news & politics, and pastime activities they engaged in. It was a breath of fresh air having this personal community that broke the solemn silence that his best friend filled. The night ended with Raiden sitting down with his family and enjoying the dinner they made. It closed with him and his sister, Fuji, cleaning up after their parents as they turned in early for the night.

"Hey."

"Hmm?" Raiden gives Fuji a side glance as he continues to clean up dishes.

"You feeling ok?" Fuji eyes him curiously.

Two days ago, Raiden finally came forward with Fuji about the emptiness he's been feeling. Even though he's in a village that he was born & raised in, filled with familiar faces and family, the fact of the matter is that he dearly missed Kung Lao. But...But it was more than just grieving for a best friend, not that it would make a difference. But Kung Lao filled deeper shoes than just simply being a friend. When he's in bed, he feels like the mattress is too big all of a sudden. He can't eat certain dishes because it will all remind him of Lao. He finds himself crying to himself because he forgot for a moment that Kung Lao would not answer his door or his phone if Raiden were to call. All these things, even as a best friend, would be reasonable to miss and grieve over. But there was something more to their friendship than that.

"Do you think you loved him?" Raiden remembers Fuji asking him when he came forward with this.

"...I don't know...And if I did...Now I have to reconcile with the fact that I'll never get to tell him..."

Raiden smiles at his sister and playfully bumps shoulders with her. "Now that I'm home? I'm feeling good, for now. The rice and pork was really good, Fuji."

"I know right! I used this new spice that my friends were crazy about. It's a Korean spice-"

Fuji rambled on about how she made the dish they had for dinner, and Raiden eagerly listened and conversed with her. Even though Kung Lao was gone, he could try to fill that space with more people who loved him.

Outside the residence where Raiden lived, a shadowed figure rests on the rooftops of the sleeping Fengjian village, watching the building like a predator that has found its prey. Blazing red eyes stare through the open windows, watching closely the two figures who pass it daily, unaware they have an interested third party observing them. The being in question, however, was laser-focused on Raiden, watching his every move, taking them to memory. The show would be over, unfortunately, as they closed the curtains and cut off the lights, slumbering like the rest of the village.

The shadowed individual smiles, "Worry not, Raiden. We'll be reunited soon enough. You'll see. Then not even death will tear us apart."

And in a flash of mystical air and dead cherry blossom petals, the figure is gone.

~Somewhere in California~

Kenshi groans awake as he feels inklings of the sun peering out from the half-closed curtains. Half-naked, Kenshi, through his sight provided by Sento, is greeted with the ceiling of the luxury apartment belonging to Jonathan Carlton, Johnny Cage. Kenshi felt an added weight on the bed he slept on, knowing who was sharing the mattress with him. Despite this, Kenshi twisted his head to drink in the blissfully still-sleeping man beside him, Johnny.

You know, if you asked Kenshi that he would end up in the loving arms of a pompous Hollywood star, he would've had you killed for even thinking about it. Even when their relationship evolved from enemies to friends, Kenshi would've thought that was the final step in their relationship. Just being friends. But it all fell into place when...When Kung Lao died. Funny how shared trauma can bring others together...

You see, Before Kung Lao died, Johnny was good friends with Kung Lao. They both had their similarities. They were both friends with whom some would consider "the straight man" of their other half, they were both hella self-confident and prideful of their capabilities. The only thing that seemingly differentiated them was that one was poor while the other was rich. Oh, and the fact that Kung Lao was more disciplined when it came to his fighting prowess, compared to Johnny, who was more of a "free-form jazz" type of guy. Although Kung Lao expressed mild annoyance at the actor's Hollywood pride (even Kung Lao wasn't that egotistical), the pair worked off each other pretty well to be good friends.

So when Kung Lao died, aside from Raiden, Johnny took his death the hardest. Being perhaps the more foolhardy of the group (even with his years of maturity the more he was asked to help Liu Kang with other realm matters), that moment was when Johnny really "grew up." It's not like he was new to death, the kind of work they did, they have met many instances where they watched people die in front of them or saw corpses in horrendous states. But it was one thing when it was someone who you weren't close to or didn't know in general. It's another thing when it's someone you do know and have history with.

After Kung Lao's death, Johnny's way of coping was trying to fill in the shoes that Kung Lao left behind. Kung Lao always had a way of lightening the mood that was unique compared to what Johnny would do. Where the actor would constantly spill movie references that no one but Johnny understood, Kung Lao knew how to inspire from the heart. And that took skill and experience to pull off, something Johnny wasn't too well versed in. Looking back on it, Kenshi sees them in a more positive light than before. However, he can't say the same for Raiden. When they were still considered the protectors of Earthrealm, Raiden was spiraling into his own self-hatred and grief. With good intentions, Johnny tried to be a friend to Raiden, wanting to reassure Raiden that they had his back...It didn't end well.

Johnny's desire to keep their friend group together, even though they were drifting apart was harming Johnny more than he thought it was. So when Liu Kang suddenly announced that he would no longer be needing their services, Johnny was quick to take his offer. Now, to the untrained ear, one would think:

"Of course, Johnny Cage dipped out after the going got going! He's an actor who never saw any of the cruelties of the real world because of his wealth!"

Which, in some way, could be the reason. But Kenshi saw something else to Johnny's reason for dipping out. As stated before, Johnny put a lot of emotional energy trying to keep their friend group alive. He tried to fill the shoes that Kung Lao left behind, and in the process, he was draining himself as he tried to keep everyone happy while everyone was coping with Lao's death. No longer being obligated to be Earthrealms protector, meant that Johnny no longer had to hold onto the tearing strings since they were all going their separate ways.

Their relationship still wouldn't blossom until nearly a year and a half ago. Granted, looking back at their previous interactions, perhaps it was fate that they would find solace with each other. Kenshi, with the line of work he involved himself in, had to go into hiding but had nowhere to turn to. Hunkering down with Johnny would've been a foolish thought; he was the exact opposite of discreet. But, because he had to cut back on some expenses, Johnny was living in an apartment building that was a perfect "hiding in plain sight" spot. With Kenshi as his new roommate, Johnny got a bit personal with Kenshi as he was helped dress his wounds. The rest was history as Kenshi found himself kissing Johnny in the heat of the moment. A year and a half later, Kenshi is still in disbelief that they're together still.

While Kenshi would love to admire the sleeping person beside him, he knew that he couldn't stay long. He was still in hiding, and he promised Jax that he would meet him at a disclosed location to discuss next steps. He's careful to slip out of bed without disturbing Johnny, swiftly getting cleaned up and dressed before walking into the kitchen to prepare himself a cup of joe.

"Mmhm. Morning sunshine."

Kenshi nearly jumps out of his skin as he feels strong arms wrap around his waist. He smiles as he cranes his head back to look at Johnny. "Did I wake you?"

"Didn't feel your body keeping me warm, honey. You leaving already?" Johnny says in a husky tone as he nuzzles behind the blind swordsman.

"Have to. I have an associate who's waiting for me. I might not be able to stay here for much longer."

"Again?" Johnny complains in an overexaggerated tone. "How long will you be gone?"

"Don't know, depends on the situation."

This isn't the first time Kenshi and Johnny been separated for long periods of time, something they were both well accustomed to. Johnny was an actor/director, which means he was constantly traveling to other states and countries for filming. Working for the OIA (Outworld Investigation Agency) and the FBI, Kenshi was either traveling the world or traveling realms. Perhaps being the only Earthrealmer who didn't hang up the mantle of being Liu Kang's warrior.

Johnny continues to whine about being alone without Kenshi (even though he'll be alright), playing up his desperation for Kenshi to "stay home" with him. And Kenshi will admit, he can definitely see why he was, and still is, a popular star in Hollywood.

"Can you at least leave me a goodbye gift?" Johnny's fingers start to linger towards Kenshi's waistbelt.

"Johnny," Kenshi chuckles as he moves one of his hands away from his waist, kissing the fingers individually. "I can't right now; I'm going to be late."

"Aw, come on! Just a quicky?"

"No, Johnny."

Cage huffs, but there is no anger hinted there. He just kisses Kenshi's neck and sighs. "Fine. Just come back sooner than later, ok? Bed feels empty without ya."

"I bet it does," Kenshi jests.

"I know it does." As Johnny giggles, his eyes glance at the reflection displayed on the microwave mirror, and he sees…Something moving. A tall, humanoid figure attempting to stealth because it assumes it hasn't been seen.

Just as quickly as Johnny notices this, he quickly grabs a kitchen knife from the knife holder and swiftly throws it at the intruder. Even with his fast reflexes, they weren't as fast as the unwanted guest. The Intruder grabs the knife, blade in hand, while their glowing red eyes stay trained on the couple.

Kenshi, already alerted that something is wrong, calls for Sento to his hand. The magic sword unsheathes itself and flies over to their location. Before reaching Kenshi's hand, with his mystical sight and ability to utilize Sento, even if the weapon is not in his hand, he sharply gestures his one hand in multiple directions in slicing motions. Sento redirects its trajectory as it starts to aim for the home invader. Although the sword was able to get a few good slices in, the individual was fast…Too fast…

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment!?!" Johnny growls as he grabs another weapon of his own (it's another knife).

The figure doesn't respond, only growling as it attempts to rush at Johnny and Kenshi. The pair dodge out of the way, both separated on opposite sides of the person.

"Listen, I'm willing to not press charges AND give you the comfiest dirt nap you'll ever experience IF you tell us what you're doing in my place and why you're attacking us!"

"Something tells me they're not here to talk, Johnny," Kenshi replies as he commands Sento to his hand.

"Ok, dirt nap it is then."

The pair rush the intruder, hoping to overwhelm them with their combined might. Johnny's theatrical and dirty fighting tactics with Kenshi's samurai-like skills and roughhousing tricks. Yet, even with their combined might, this individual was swift and able to counter almost all their attacks while also producing devastating blows of their own.

Very quickly, Kenshi caught on that this person possessed some superhuman strength. Every punch sent Kenshi and Johnny flying in some instances during the fight. This intruder also had some cracks in their skin that had a glow to them. Unfortunately, while Sento gave him sight, it didn't provide Kenshi clarity on specific details like colors. Johnny, however, could see that this person had ashen gray skin, much like how a corpse would look, and the supposed "cracks" were actually the outlines of their inner veins, glowing to an unnatural degree.

Another thing too, this guy just would not quit. Their back and forth was eventually tiring Johnny & Kenshi as they missed one too many close calls that would've killed them. But this home invader had stamina for days. Johnny and Kenshi had to resort to going on the defensive as they had to dodge his attacks while waiting for openings.

Johnny is nearly choked out by this creature before grabbing the heated french press on the stove and slamming it against the intruder's head. Granting the actor time to build some distance.

"Kenshi, I'm gonna need you to think of something, and think of it quick because I'm going to be paying for all these expenses that this prick is breaking!" Johnny windily fusses as he lands a one-two punch on the intruder.

"Get him closer to the living room!" Kenshi says as he provides a helpful block for Johnny, using Sento to slash at the intruder before they can land a hit on Johnny.

"What?" Johnny looks at Kenshi confused before taking a punch to the face.

"Just follow my lead!"

Where Johnny's luxurious apartment was located it was built into a tall skyscraper building, and Johnny paid to get a good view of the city he was living in. That meant that his room was exceptionally high up in the building; leading to an estimated 250 ft drop. And Kenshi was getting some sneaking suspicions that this creature could survive all 250 of it.

Kenshi dares to get closer to the intruder, putting all his might into pushing and fighting this man closer to the living room which had an entire glass wall that showcased that good Californian view. Helping him, Johnny also jumped into the fray, along with Sento as they brought him closer to the glass windows. The intruder was able to block their attacks, but he was inching toward the glass, and they finally grabbed at Kenshi's throat in a crushing grip.

"You will join us, Takahashi. Our family will gladly welcome you." The intruder says.

"I'm all for visiting in-laws and relatives, but we're gonna have to decline the invitation to the family barbeque!" Johnny says. And in that same second, he drops it low and hits your man with the most devastating nutcracker they'll ever experience.

The intruder makes an audible moan as they double over, covering their private bits. Seems this was just enough to not only get them winded but grant Kenshi enough time to perform a flying roundhouse kick and send the intruder falling 230 feet back to the lobby.

"Yo, Kenshi! What the hell, man! I didn't think you were going to kill him!?!" Johnny exclaims. "Dude, I live on this floor!?! And it's 10 in the fucking morning! People are going to see, and then the police are going to be called, then what the fuck am I going to do then? I mean, sure, we were fighting in self-defense, I think that guy had the intent to kill us, but I'm a famous star, dickhead! What am I going to tell the press? Fuck, fucking A, I can already see it, 'Johnny Cage: Famous Actor, Director, and Killer?' Fucking fuck, Kenshi!"

Despite Johnny's angry rambles, Kenshi paid him no mind as he carefully leaned out the side of the broken window, trying to get a good view of the intruder and seeing if his prediction was correct.

…The motherfucker got up.

"Johnny, get dressed, we gotta go," Kenshi says in a hurry as he picks up Sento and the sheath it belongs to.

"Wait, what? Were you even hearing me-"

"We don't have time, get dressed!"

"Ok, ok, I am!" Johnny windily says as he rushes to his bedroom. "Fucking hell, what a goddamn mess."

As the pair are leaving the apartment, Johnny is just getting his best shoes tied, hopping on one leg as he tries to follow the hurried Kenshi. "Wait, Kenshi, what the hell is going on. You're doing that 'I know way more than I let on' schtick that you often do. Did you know that guy?"

"I'll explain once we're far from here. Right now, you're about to meet a good friend of mine."

~Wow, this was even longer lmao! I made a second installment! Very excited to keep working on this because we're about to get to the part where Kung Lao returns >:). Had a lot of fun writing Amnesia!Raiden trying to cope with Kung Lao's sudden departure in his life and writing his sister Fuji. BTW, you can check out this post I made of my picrew interpretation of what Raiden's Sister looks like (Fuji - Raiden's Sister). Not too happy with the Johnny & Kenshi scene, but I've been, once again, working all evening and well into the night with this one, so I'm gonna make my peace with it. Hope you guys enjoy it. Can't wait to start writing up the next installment! Pray that I make this one shorter ;A;~

#Mortal Kombat #Mortal Kombat 1 #MK1 #oops kung lao's dead again au #MK1 Raiden #Raiden's Sister #Fuji #MK1 Kung Lao #MK1 Johnny Cage #MK1 Kenshi #Raiden #Kung Lao #Johnny Cage #Kenshi #Wilted Cherry Blossoms Dark Thunderstorms Burning Hopes

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youremyheaven · 1 month

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Omg I saw your moon dominance post and I have to share something 😭

I have a friend whom I went to the same school as, we still talk sometimes but not as much.

She has always been quite a charismatic person, and is a relatively small built, conventionally attractive blonde white girl. Needless to say she is considered quite “soft and feminine” - I only mention race because racism would naturally prevent her being perceived that way.

I like her, she’s very diplomatic and intelligent but MY GOD the manipulative tendencies she had growing up😭😭😭

It’s been a couple years since I was regularly in close proximity to her so I can’t remember that many examples of her lying (also because it was a such a common occurance), however I remember it getting to the point where she herself would awkwardly joke about it.

What I *do* however remember quite distinctly the way she’d occasionally have these “tantrums” after I gave her any mild criticism.

For example, one time we were all having lunch together as a group and she made a mean spirited comment on someone else who was nearby. I pointed out that is was a pretty mean thing to say, not in a particularly accusatory tone, and she quite literally started shouting at me saying “WELL THATS QUITE BIG OF YOU TO SAY BC YOU TOLD ME [insert minor joke about manipulative Snapchat fboys that therefore was nothing to do with her] AND IT REALLY UPSET ME [insert sob story about having a disabled brother] etc etc”

She also had a similar public outrage at me after I asked her if she brought her present in for the Secret Santa, and she responded by kicking me in the shins and going on a tangent about how her life is really stressful and how I only worry about “school and sleep” 💀

However the interesting part that I vaguely covered at the beginning is that she had mastered the whole sweet innocent teenage facade. She had people, primarily older men in authority, entirely wrapped around her finger. She developed this oddly close relationship relationship with one of our teachers, which never got inappropriate, but he would direct like 80% of his energy to helping her over other students (who were equally if not more needing of help). Similarly her therapist literally UNRETIRED to help her personally 😭 I can think of so many examples of authority figures literally bending over backwards to be of service to her.

(She also attracted a kind of unreal level of male attention that was way above the average)

To finally conclude:

She is a hasta sun, moon and ketu with PBP ascendant. Her birthtime isn’t exact but I feel as though PBP is more likely than UBP.

There was also an incident of her sleeping with a teacher in his 20s when she was 17 😬 obviously it’s on him, but it’s interesting to consider that she has Jupiter in the 9H in Chitra (mars) - aswell as a mercury chitra which sits in her 4 planet 8H stellium.

Sorry for this extremely lengthy ask😭 it’s more of an info dump than an ask but I hope it served as an interesting example of moon dominance (+ a little bit of mars influence) in women

bestie never apologise for spilling tea 😂i love reading what ya'll have to say, otherwise i feel like im talking to a wall. and i feel you about this moon bestie of yours, im glad you're out of that toxic friendship!!

a few years ago i had a toxic moon dominant bestie who like you said lied so much and manipulated things so much, its hard for me to even make a list of the shit she did lol, yk how a lot of poc parents will whip their kids or yell at them or something and afterwards act extra nice bc they feel guilty?? I've noticed that Moon dominant people are like that to some extent. my "friend" would say the nastiest most vile derogatory things about me TO ME and then when i responded with radio silence she'd be all 🥺🥺im so worried about you, have you eaten? have you done all the assignments?? here's mine, you can refer to it🥺🥺,, like i was always sooo confused by her but then i started seeing thru her bullshit, how she's only being nice cause she feels guilty lol,, she had a tendency to criticize other people A LOT like your friend and honestly its tiring to listen to that shit, so i think i started saying nice things in return like "oh but xyz is so sweet, she's always so thoughtful" and then she'd say some shit "its so crazy you'd say that because i felt like xyz and abc always hated you" like classic manipulation lmao, like she hates those ppl and if i say one nice thing about them, then she'll try to convince me that those people hate me so that i can be on her side in bitching about them lmfao.

Moon dominant people are soooo insecure its sad,, they feel the need to be so rude and nasty af to others to mask their own insecurities. Obviously I'm only talking about unhealthy Moon influence, im sure there are nice ppl out there as well.

u guys pls feel free to dump any gossip/tea u have in my inbox, i love reading this stuff!!

#moon #jyotish

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irithnova · 1 year

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The way white hetalians, especially fairly popular white hetalians, react to poc who actually speak up against racism is really telling.

I'm sick and tired of having to hand hold and coddle white hetalians when I call them out on questionable behaviour to try and convince them that no!!! I still think you're a good person despite the fact that you've already blocked quite a few poc who are vocal about racism even though they've never interacted with you, even though you're excruciatingly exclusionary of non white nations, post ignorant and historically deaf takes and repost literal n*zi fanart!!

I find it incredibly telling when a white hetalian already has a bunch of vocal poc blocked even without ever interacting with them. Because I know exactly what they're trying to hide.

Like. Why should I, a poc, have to hold your hand while I explain to you why other poc are upset with your post/posts. Why do you see this fandom as a safe space away from poc and away from any and all forms of accountability. As if a poc didn't create this manga/anime in the first place. You guys are fucking pathetic lol.

Btw before anyone says "if you don't like it then leave!!!!!!!!" lol what a cheap copout plus I've been in this fandom for 8-ish years in total now so obviously I enjoy hetalia enough to stay. Imagine telling someone who wants to fix their home to just move to a new one. Because fuck trying to work to improve anything right? If you try to actively improve the quality of the fandom (like. make it less racist) then obviously you must hate the fandom and you're only here to whine!

If anything, people, especially poc who are vocal about the racism care more about the fandom space than the hetalians who brush it under the rug. And I find it absolutely hilarious when popular white hetalians block small poc creators who are known for calling out racism/ignorance. Doesn't look good bestie x

For a while now I've pretty much curated my fandom space to include people who are similar to me and have similar interests to me because I wasn't a fan of the racism I saw when I first joined quite a while back. I reach out to the wider fandom again after a hiatus and yup still having to deal with white hetalians not wanting to take accountability for their racism, ignorance, and exclusion.

I mean, the fact that with the poll argument I had with a larger white creator ended with them not even uttering an apology, whining the entire time about being "harassed", not taking anything I actually said on board and that the only reason why they were no longer doing the poll was because they had a "private conversation" with someone about how the poll wouldn't work, and not because a poc (and others) called them out for being blatantly exclusionary to non white nations...

That's not the only incident if anyone accuses me of milking the situation, there were incidents before that and after and a lot of my poc mutuals/friends still deal with a lot of shit on the daily.

Anyways maybe try to listen to poc who actually speak up against the racism/ignorance in the fandom rather than speed run blocking them, talking down to them, tone policing them and ignoring them. Thanks.

#hetalia #Hetalia critical #Hetalia fandom #Hetalia discourse #Hetalia racism #hetalia world twinkle #hetalia world stars #hetalia world series #hidekaz himaruya #Aph #Hws

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caelisfashiondiary · 3 months

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౨ৎ₊˚⊹♡How I would dress "The Tortured Poets Department" Album ₊˚⊹♡₊ ⊹

+ a way to in-depth analysis over some imaginary clothes for a basically imaginary album

2.4.24

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@taylornation

@taylorswift

Edit: this was made before the title tracks dropped! so analysis regarding that will not be in this post, although I will be making a "how I would dress each track title" which should be posted within the next couple of days, it will focus a lot more on the fashion aspect!

INTRODUCTION

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please bear in mind we only have an album cover and a short epigraph! We don't know alot about this album but I'll always be a sucker for album aesthetics and the personification of Taylor albums (@alefvernon im looking at you!) if you think this album will look completely different that's ok! This is just for fun, I can't wait for the actual album to come out to see if I feel different about any of my choices! so here is my interpretation of "The Tortured Poets Department" by @taylorswift !

In order to think of the fashion we might be able to associate with this new album, (not necessarily the style or outfits taylor will wear during this era, just how the aesthetic of the album will feel, and what people will associate it with after listening in full, like how we did with Folklore) we have to look at the cover of the album along with the epigraph.

The Cover

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Now, looking at the title alone, "The Tortured Poets Department" we immediately are aware of the literary asepct of this new album, with the word "Poet" literally being in the title, that alone already gives at least somewhat of an idea of where fashion could go, maybe somewhere in the academia sphere.

After looking at the title, the cover gives a completely different vibe (at least to me) to what I was expecting. Taylor seems to be laying in a bed, with a pair of tight black shorts and a sheer tank. The first thing I thought of when I saw the cover of this album was ancient greek statues, now please bear with me, you're probably saying "how did you even think of the connection" and all I have to say to that is that it was completely off of vibes alone, that's really all there is to it lol. I will say that the color scheme of the light black and white gave me the idea in the first place, compared to her other black and white albums (Reputation and Folklore) this album seems to lean towards the lighter side, whereas Reputation leaned more towards the darker side, and folklore was more a dark gray. I feel like this lean towards a lighter and more bright Black and white will reflect in the album and its choices.

The Epigraph+ The Deluxe CD

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Now onto the epigraph.

"and so I enter into evidence, My tarnished coat of arms My muses, acquired like bruises My talismans and charms the tick tick tick of Love Bombs my veins of pitch black ink All's fair in love and poetry Sincerly, The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department - Taylor Swift "The Tortured Poets Department"

This little epigraph is once again, leaning into the literary aspect. If we were to take this epigraph extremely seriously (in the terms of fashion and aesthetic) these are the words that stick out to me, and what i gathered from them.

enter into evidence

detective, suit, business professional,

Colors: grays, white, black

tarnished coat of arms

battle, chainlink armor, ancient greek statues (its just the vibe to me ok!?)

Colors: gray and black

talisman and charms

Witchy, magic, supernatural

Colors: light pink, purple, and blue

love bombs

similar to talisman and charms, this reminds me of magic and witchy things. potion, spell,

Colors: light pink, red

veins of pitch black ink

quill pens, fountain pens, feeling so passionate about something that it literally engulfs you

colors: black

This epigraph gives us a slightly better look on what this album will be about, giving a better look and a better idea of what the aesthetic might be like. This album to me so far is really giving a department of detective's trying to solve a case of a lost love, and how to deal with that through poetry. ONCE AGAIN, this is completely my opinion of what we have so far and once we get more info this could change! we're working with scraps right now.

The deluxe CD also influenced my idea of the album concept, the file tab named artifacts, the patches (?) of the logo are giving old school detective department logos, as well as the bonus track being called "manuscript". It's all giving, lets solve a case, (im trying so hard not to think of the scooby doo gang rn)

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So, with all the evidence we've acquired what do I think this albums aesthetic (given by the fans) will look like? I know in my analysis I talked lots about the detective, finding evidence side of it, but really that type of aesthetic is not what I think will be at the forefront of the style of this album, it will no doubt be apart of it, but I am more focused on the Poets part of it.

I think the main focus on the fashion of this album will relate to Poets, spilled ink, and a mess of papers (like you would find in a poets workspace, or a detective's desk.)

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now, we all know that taylor likes to hint at her next era with outfits (for example, how she started hinting at Lover by wearing more pastel colors towards the end of the Reputation era) so lets look at what she's been wearing for the past couple of weeks before the announcement of "The Tortured Poets Department"

As shown above, Taylor has been seen wearing LOTS of plaid the past couple weeks and months, short pleated plaid skirts, with a dark long sleeve top or sweater (you can't tell because of the crop, but in the picture with Selena she is wearing a plaid skirt) and she has recently been rocking a trench coat style coat to go along with these outfits. This gives us an idea of the album as a whole (once again, the rep into lover example, by dressing in lighter more pastel colors, she told us that lover would be brighter and overall "happier" then REP) but what does this transition mean for The Tortured Poets Department"?

Well, plaid is often associated with academia, it is often found in european universities, as well as many schools with uniforms have plaid within the uniform. This tells us once again that she is really leaning into the literary and poetry side for this album (take a shot everytime i say that) the warm colors of the skirts and coats also give a cozy and academic feel to it.

I'm going to take the outfits taylor has recently been shown wearing, and what i took away from what we have so far of the album, and build my outfits that way, so finally....

here is how I would dress "The Tortured Poets Department" by Taylor Swift !

I feel like plaid skirts and layering are KEY to this era, turtlenecks black/white see through tights, vests, mary janes/doc martins are also other pieces that I feel fit the vibe of this album. We have seen taylor wearing pieces like this recently (plaid skirts, sweaters, doc martins/mary janes) so like I said before this could be a hint towards the aura for the new era. I've also seen a lot of people comparing this new era to Folklore, which there are some similarities, in the black and white theme, and how the way the epigraph was written which was very similar to Folklore's writing style; However, I feel that the styles and fashion for these albums will differ extremely. For example....

The Folklore Era was all about loose fitting clothing, though we didn't get to see much of taylor during this era because of the pandemic, it doesnt change the fact that everything that she wore during this era was loose fitting. In comparison to The Tortured Poets Department, where in real life she has been more form fitting with her outfit choices, looking for a more fitted look and showing more skin then she did in the Folklore era, and the cover for TTPD shows exactly that. So though both albums have very similar moods, with both being black and white, and seeming to be literary driven, that does not mean they would be dressed the same, TTPD in my opinion is short plaid skirts, fitted blazers that accentuates your body type, pearl necklaces. The only type of loose fitting clothing I think I could see in this era would have to be matched with a tighter counterpart (ex/ loose sweater with short skirt or loose trousers with a tighter top)

For another compare and contrast with the Folklore Era, I feel like TTPD would wear trench coats like Folklore did, but TTPD would wear them more form fitting and shorter to show off some sheer tights and a black mary jane, or high boot.

Overall, i think TTPD would go for a very classic, academic look. Think pearls, brown leather bags paired with a fur trimmed gloves, slacks and sweaters, circular glasses, silk bows, sweetheart necklines and fitted at the waist maxi dresses, mary janes, loafers, neutrals. with the information we have so far I think TTPD will give us old money chic looks, as well as academia and old hollywood inspired outfits!

So that's that! I hope you enjoyed me rambling on for who knows how many words about this new album which I am SO excited over! I needed to end this at some point before taylor releases more information. (ex/releasing the track titles!!! That already changed my theory a teensy bit) this post ended up being a lot more analysis than I expected, but my next post about how I would dress the Track Titles will be much more focuses soley on the fashion aspect!

tell me what you think!

do you have a different image of TTPD in your head?

what do you think the album will sound like?

I will probably go into this more later and edit if I feel the need, I want to get this out or else I'll write forever. until next time!

#taylor swift #fashion blogger #fashion #taylor alison swift #tswift #swifties #the tortured poets department #ttpd #ts11 #how i would dress #no beta we die like rep TV #ill proof read later #style blogger #blog #new blog

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staliaqueen · 1 year

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Do you ship scalia or is it just something that you don’t mind seeing?

I ship scalia in a vacuum. I think it's a sweet dynamic with a lot of potential. Shelley and Tyler do have a lot of chemistry, so I can see why the writers wanted to explore that pairing. They have a very similar awkwardness/cluelessness that feeds into each other well (I think the same can be said about stira, which is a ship I like in a similar way, actually even more because of the tricksters/kitsune angle in their dynamic, and I also think there's some sciles meta in there about how they both got girlfriends that are so similar to the other lol) and I'm happy with how they really utilised that during their scenes in 6B. I've only seen the season once, so I can't even recall what the scene was about, but I remember the scene that sold them the most to me as a couple was that Malia face palm one lol. Where Malia is trying to communicate something but they're both just totally clueless.

This one:

The problem is the circumstances of when this pairing was explored. The messy way stalia broke up, the unfair way Malia's feelings about st/ydia was completely disregarded. Granted, this makes a part of me go "Stiles unfairly dumped you and got with Lydia without asking how you'd feel about it? Fuck yeah you should get with his best friend! Give him a taste of his own medicine! Fair is fair!" but that's more about me being a Malia stan than having to do with any ships lol. When viewing the show as a whole, it's just impossible NOT to compare scalia and stalia, and when you do, scalia so obviously comes in short.

Like, every single argument I can come up with for scalia potentially working better is disproven by what stalia was in canon. Like, "oh maybe Scott could help her with her werecoyote struggles and do it better because as a werewolf he knows what it feels like" but we literally saw Stiles help Malia with that and he did it perfectly! After hammering in for 2 and a half seasons that Stiles is Malia's anchor I can't see anyone buying how Scott could just replace him in that aspect. Also "Scott is so good and anti violence that he could help Malia get over her kill first ask questions never coyote thing in a way Stiles can't because he's very similar to Malia in that regard" doesn't work for me either. We saw throughout their relationship that Stiles and Malia felt the best about their violent tendencies and trust issues with each other because the other one could understand. They could tell each other "You're still a good person" and the other could actually believe it for once. They opened up to each other and told the other aspects of their trauma that they never discussed with anyone else! "But when I came through it, I learned something else... Control is overrated." "I said, 'I wish you were all dead.'"

Then there's the scira of it all too! I'm not gonna go too much into it since I'm mainly a stalia stan lol, but the way Kira was pushed out of the show is honestly so horrible, and the fact that scira was so huge and how Tyler and Arden kept talking about how in love they were AND the fact that the writers said that they didn't actually break up and Scott was gonna wait for her... it's all very frustrating. Add the fact that Shelley is a white woman and Arden isn't and, yeah... it's all very bad.

Plus the way season 6 not only sucked in general, but also how the writing was really bad at actually selling st/ydia and scalia. I really like what @bericas said in the tags of this post: #like on a real level#i just don’t understand what they wrote it like this#like#why would you do this#6a outside of the narrative telling us stydia showed stalia and scydia like crazy#and it’s so weird#if you’re gonna lie to me at least do it well. If they really wanted to make the endgames make sense, they really needed more time to do it. You can’t just decide to completely change your character dynamics for the last season of the show. Don’t know what the writers were on during that decision.

TLDR: I think they’re a nice ship in theory but they just don’t work in canon.

#malia tate #scott mccall #stiles stilinski #stalia #scalia #teen wolf #meta #twmeta #anti stydia #mal answers

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sizzlingpatrolfox · 6 months

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seeing some of your posts seems like you're one of the people who were either jkkr or baised them in the past and glad i found you cause i would love to talk about those things cause even tho at one point i was fond of jkk's bond i also have always had SOME thoughts which are similar to you and finding someone with similar thoughts feels good. I don't blame other jkkrs to talk and hybe only good thing about jkk since they might wanna keep their account positive but i also kind of don't like it when people go "it's always rainbows and sunshine". Not exactly blaming them for wanting to stay positive it's just my nosy ass who wanna discuss things i have no business with lol.

Saw your recent reblog and yes at one point even i had thought i have already sent you an ask about it.

--☠️

Heyy. Yeah I mean, positivity is so fake to me tbh. I see people be like "VMINKOOK MY FAMILY!*!!#!@!" and I'm like... Touch grass. I've just seriously never understood the keyboard smashing type of excitement over members' interactions that goes on in the fandom. I used to get excited, yes. A lot. But some stuff is just so.. juvenile. And I see all the blind positivity and trust and optimism as juvenile as well.

It's not that I'm a negative person, either. I've been arguing about people's negativity and constant state of impending doom regarding Jimin's career for example, since 2021. But when it comes to the members is obvious that things aren't black or white because no human relationship ever is, and people who still act (or blog) like everything is rainbows and nobody is allowed to be sad or doubt things are literally INSANEEEE to me. I strongly believe most of them are pretending just for the sake of keeping their followers, btw.

"We don't need our BELIEFS to be accurate as much as we need them to be socially convenient. The problem is that sometimes, we are rewarded for believing falsehoods and/or punished for believing the truth."

And like, people can go "jikook is real!1!1!!" and that's what they want to hear, and other people saying exactly that validates them, so they keep coming back. When people start talking about things that aren't so shiny and bright, it makes others uncomfortable so they ran away from that. It's literally like your mom trying to talk to you about sex and you know she could make some points but it feels uncomfortable and awkward so you don't want to hear it. Even though she might be right about what she's saying. That's what people do on the internet, too. They get uncomfortable reading stuff that might make them think twice or reconsider what they believed in.

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eroticcannibal · 11 months

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I’ll just get this out of the way: I believe in transandrophobia or whatever people want to call it, I believe in listening to trans mens experiences.

BUT. I cannot stand most of the big people on here who discuss it for reasons similar to the recent post you made about how privileged women still experience violence.

I once saw a thread of trans men all saying that cis white women who fear violence and being kidnapped murdered, shouldn’t fear that, and that any cis white woman who is scared of misogynistic violence has just been brainwashed by mainstream true crime and crime shows, and a couple people said “lol they don’t want you why are you scared”.

I am a white cis girl (I’m also a trans guy but that’s not super relevant rn lol). I fully know my privilege and frequently have discussions along the subject of white privilege with friends of color. I don’t shy away from the topic.

but I have almost been kidnapped twice in the short 18 years I’ve been on this planet. One of my earliest memories is that experience in a shopping mall. Every cis girl I know, white or not, has had real life experience at least once with this kind of thing.

and when I saw that thread, it made me feel ill. To me it feels like so many other trans guys on here decided that the “being a man doesn’t make you bad” doesn’t apply to any other privileged group because they didn’t want to be seen as deniers of other forms of privilege. I also saw an entire thread where a shit ton of trans guys were literally saying that, because white cis women are the physical “vessels of the white race”, then apparently we are not at risk of domestic violence because cis white men need us to keep their dream of a white supremacist world alive. and many people responded with righteous outrage just to be dismissed as “well they are just trying to defend white women”.

the fucking rampant misogyny in these spaces is so fucking hard to deal with, and they complain all day about how people ignore issues men have, then turn around and act like one form of privilege means your other experiences of oppression don’t matter.

so long story short thank you for those posts I’ve been so ducking exhausted lately trying to find a balance between discussing transandrophobia with other transmascs, and protecting my mental health from all the misogyny in those spaces. it’s so fucking tiring.

U get it. U get it. And yeah this sickening attitude towards women is rampant in spaces that support the idea of transandrophobia (and honestly I think this most recent wave of "progressive" misogyny is squarely on trans men who believe in transadrophobia, and insay that as one of them) I wasn't sure if I was gonna call out that group specifically myself but since u bring it up!

Also I think we saw the same post cus that sounds like one of a few that set me off lol

Like im not even shocked at ur experiences there. I have experienced and seen some SHIT while playing the role of a white cis woman. And it was all normal. The women who raised me to always be on guard did that for a reason. The distrust of men among white women isnt from brainwashing, its from knowing half your friends were molested by their male relatives and seeing their mothers get beat every evening.

But also that other example you discuss... now I've not seen it in these spaces specifically but I have seen *some* people dismissing violence against white women due to something something white supremacy and just. Its truly sickening. Its evil. (And shows a fundamental misunderstanding of white supremacy, female subjugation is an intrinsic part of it).

And yeah like you say. Any time someone brings attention to any of this shit its "how dare you defend WHITE women". As if they arent still women.

And especially when the social space i occupy still overlaps with the experiences considered that of white women, when I'm facing these justified fears of violence (again) in my day to day life.... yeah. Its fucking exhausting. When the spaces that claim to support my experiences as a man dismiss my experiences and fears because those are the experiences and fears of icky white women. (When they arent even mutually exclusive categories, and even people like me and the most cis of cis women have more in common than difference)

#ppl dont touch if u arent willing to approach this with compassion

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pub-lius · 2 years

Text

part something of research for @thereallvrb0y

I'm so productive today so here we go. Today, we got Ben Tallmadge, James McHenry, John and Abigail Adams. Love you, Richie

@thereallvrb0y

Oh, also, for my sources, I really just used Mount Vernon and the White House website because I am a capitalist piece of shit. (the white house has the best timeline, Mount Vernon has more specifics)

Benjamin Tallmadge

Benjamin Tallmadge was born on February 25, 1754 in Setauket, Long Island *insert Turn theme* as the second of five sons to Reverend Benjamin Tallmadge and Susannah Tallmadge. He was educated in the classics by his father, who didn't send him to Yale until 1769.

"President Dagge[t, at that University], on a visit to [his] father, examined and admitted [Tallboy] as qualified to enter college, when [he] was twelve or thirteen years old."

Tallmadge developed a "close friendship" with Nathan Hale as a student at Yale. I'll let someone more eloquent in Halemadge mythology tackle that information, but to me they seem kinda sus but slay.

He completed his studies in 1773 and took up a teaching post at a school in Wethersfield, Connecticut. However, after the disaster that was 1775, Tallmadge began seriously considering joining the Army. He was offered the position of lieutenant in one of the six month regiments in Connecticut by Captain Chester of Wethersfield in 1776. He first saw action in the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, which was a British victory. Meanwhile, his older brother, William, was taken prisoner at Long Island and "literally starved to death in one of [the British] prisons."

But all that bad stuff is okay because in December of that year, he was appointed to a captain in Colonel Elisha Sheldon's 2d Regiment of Light Dragoons, then rose to the rank of major in April 1777. They grow up so fast. Tallmadge was also present at Brandywine and Germantown, which would be slay queen pussy boss, if both those battles weren't losses lol.

In 1778, Tallmadge was appointed director of military intelligence by Washington, with a focus on getting information from New York City, so "[he] opened a private correspondence with some persons in New York (for Gen. Washington) which lasted through the war." This was, you guessed it, Abraham Woodhull, Caleb Brewster, Anna Strong (allegedly!), Robert Townsend, and Austin Roe (we don't know who tf that is).

Those people formed the Culper Spy Ring, named after the nickname given to Woodhull, "Samuel Culper." Tallmadge was given a similar nickname, "John Bolton".

A system was created for the spies in which numbers were substituted for common words, names, and places. A key was provided to Washington, Woodhull, and Townsend. Washington also provided them with invisible ink because apparently he's Dumbledore. A message would be written with it, sometimes on the back of a normal letter, for the recipient to treat the paper with a reagent to reveal the message. This, apparently, saw significant use.

"I have not any of the Ink, but I will endeavor to provide some of it as soon as possible," -Washington to Tallmadge on April 30, 1779

The Spy Ring prevented a British fleet from sailing for Rhode Island in July 1780. Woodhull passed the intelligence of the fleet to Tallmadge, who allerted Washington. A fake plan of attacking New York was made, which made the British recall their ships, and allowed Lafayette and Rochambeau to land 6,000 troops at Newport.

Tallmadge also played a significant role in the apprehension of John Andre. If you want the whole story of John Andre's arrest and Benedict Arnold's flee from West Point, I have that shit memorized and I love talking about it so send me an ask bc I don't feel like typing all that shit out rn lol.

After the war, Tallmadge returned to civilian life with his wife, Mary Floyd Tallmadge, and their seven children in Connecticut. He entered into several business and financial ventures, for example serving as president of the Phoenix Bank and joined the Ohio Company to purchase and resell land in the west.

During Washington's first presidential term, Tallmadge was given the position of postmaster for Litchfield, Connecticut. He was elected to Congress in 1800 as a Federalist (here in my notes I wrote "freaks who fuck together federal together" and I'm not sure why, but there you go) and remained in the House until 1817. He died at 81 in 1835.

James McHenry

James McHenry was born on November 16, 1753 in County Antrim, Ireland. He was classically educated in Dublin before immigrating to Philadelphia in 1771. He returned to Philadelphia from a term at Newark Academy in Delaware to study medicine under Dr. Benjamin Rush in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War.

He put his medical training to good use in the "American Continental Hospital" (idk why that's in quotes but I figured it's important) near Boston in the Autumn of 1775. He followed the Army to New York and was appointed surgeon for the 5th Pennsylvania Regiment on August 10, 1776. He was captured less than three months later with over 2,800 soldiers at the fall of Fort Washington on November 16, 1776. McHenry actively treated wounded comrades during captivity and informed Washington of the condition of prisoners of war in New York. He was exchanged in March 1778.

McHenry returned to his duty as a senior surgeon at Valley Forge. He accepted Washington's invitation to join his staff as an assistant secretary without a rank. He assisted in the duties of an aide-de-camp, and became particular friends with Alexander Hamilton, which is a job all within itself. He formed the opinion that Washington "is a singular exhibition of Human Excellence."

He proved himself "worthy to wield the sword as the pen" at Monmouth on June 28, 1778. He transferred to Lafayette's staff in August 1780 as an aide-de-camp and was given the rank of Major on October 30, 1780. McHenry "tempered the young Frenchman's ardor" during the 1781 Virginia campaign. He fought at the Battle of Green Spring and at Yorktown.

Oh, also, he was the only one on Hamilton's side at his wedding. Like literally everyone else there was in the Schuyler family or were family friends. Isn't that depressing. Anyway.

In December 1781, McHenry resigned military commission to sit in the Maryland senate. He began a correspondence with Washington in order to keep him aware of the political state of affairs that would continue for fourteen years. He held a number of local, state, and national government positions, including being a Maryland representative to the Constitutional Convention, where he reluctantly signed the document and voted for ratification.

Washington offered him the position of Secretary of War in early 1796 after three others declined. He remained in the cabinet of John Adams. During the Quasi war, in 1798, Washington expressed disappointment in Mchenry during the initial months of preparation for war. Despite this, he proved to be a capable Secretary, despite dealing with fucking John fucking Adams and "two domineering generals" aka Hamilton and Washington.

Adams forced McHenry's resignation in May of 1800 because he was loyal to Hamilton, and McHenry retired to his estate near Baltimore before his passing on May 3, 1816.

John Adams

John fucking Adams was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1735. His father was from Braintree, Massachusetts and was a farmer and a cobbler. Adams was educated at Harvard in 1751 and then decided to be a lawyer.

He married Abigail Smith in 1764. She was the daughter of a Weymouth, Congregationalist minister and granddaughter of pre-revolutionary era politician, John Quincy. They ended up having six kids and managing a farm together.

During the war, Adams served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses where he led the movement for Independence. He met George Washington for the first time in 1774. They dined together several times, and he respected Washington greatly. In 1775, he pushed Congress for him to be Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.

"This Appointment will have a great Effect, in cementing and securing the Union of these Colonies." -John Adams

Adams served in France and Holland in diplomatic roles during the war and helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris. However, he wasn't really a good diplomat. Everyone thought he was blunt, annoying, impatient, hypersensitive to criticism, and a fucking asshole. He would also convince himself that everyone else was evil and out to get him in some way. The most outrageous example of this, in my opinion, was the one time he accused the Marquis de Lafayette of attempting to colonize America... I'll let that sink in for a moment. Marquis de I'm-fucking-obsessed-with-America Lafayette. Mf literally had an America themed house and Adams thought "yep. he's plotting the downfall of this country." So that was fucking stupid.

Tl;dr Adams isn't as great as mainstream media thinks he is.

Adams also served as minister to the Court of St. James's from 1785-1788 but that was irrelevant apparently because I have no info on it lol.

Adams wanted to return when he got back to America but instead had to serve as Vice President and I don't feel bad for him. He didn't like being Vice President though, and I still don't feel bad for him.

"My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived." -John Adams to Abigail Adams

He was a one term president after that and geez was that one term a mess. There was a war between France and Britain going on because the French are continually fucking up international affairs at this time, and that caused complication in American shipping and domestic affairs. Why domestic affairs, you ask? Take one guess. You're right, it's Hamilton.

Specifically Hamilton and Jefferson. Because of fucking course. The Federalist (Hamilton and Adams' party) wanted to support Britain because the French were too liberal, and the Democratic Republicans (Jefferson, Madison and Monroe's party/ies, it's complicated) wanted to support France because they were allies to the US once blah blah blah they were just liberal.

However, this all was different when um. France kind of. Fucked everything up. Again.

So basically Adams sent three commissioners to France to try to get them to stop fucking up everything so the US could mind their business. However, in the spring of 98, a little birdie tells Adams that French Foreign Minister Talleyrand (a fashion icon let me tell you /j) and the French Directory refused to negotiate unless the US gave them money.

Adams, a Federalist, was like FUCK THAT and snitched to COngress who was also like fuck that, and the Senate printed the correspondence, which only referred to the French commissioners or whatever they were as "X, Y, and Z" *roll credits*

The nation had "the X. Y. Z. fever" in the words of Tommy J which increased the popularity of the Federalist party because they realized the French were fucking everything up, and people even liked Adams for a little while.

So this caused some problems later, but I'll get to that in a sec. When the debate of France vs Britain was still largely 50/50, Adams approved this little thing you might have heard of called the Alien and Sedition Acts. These were acts made to "frighten foreign agents out of the country and stifle the attacks of Republican editors." To translate out of propaganda speak, Adams was trying to limit the rights of immigrants and stop people from printing negative things about him. So you know. Infringing on Constitutional Rights. (oh, btw, Hamilton agreed with these, which is why people say he was anti-immigrant)

Anyway back to the XYZ affair kind of. Basically, because of those proceedings, the US was like "...well we're fucked." And they were, because France started fighting America on the sea. And at this point in history, America was. detrimentally fucked when it came to anything military.

American shipping was basically defenseless since they disowned Daddy Britain who had big guns and big money, both of which were used to protect shipping. For example, (this comes up later with Jefferson), the Barbary states in North Africa had pirates that would attack European merchant vessels to steal their merchandise as well as the people on board to enslave. The European superpowers (Britain, Spain, France, etc.) would large sums of money for the Barbarian governments to keep their pirates from attacking their shipping. America didn't have that kind of money. And because they didn't have that kind of money to pay bribes, they didn't have that kind of money to buy guns. or ships. or gunpowder. or food. or like anything you need to run a navy.

So France was basically decimating American merchant ships. But they chilled out by 1800 because shit was going down. The Federalists called it a war since Daddy Hamilton was angry, but war was never officially declared, so we call it what the Democratic Republicans called it, the Quasi War.

Long negotiations ended the Quasi War and I don't care. However, someone special was a little bit kind of extremely PISSED that Adams sent a peace mission to France. Take one guess- you know what I'm not even going to let you finish, it's Hamilton.

By the time of the election of 1800, Republicans had their shit together. They knew Jefferson was the most obvious choice for president, with Burr being the kind of underdog that still had potential, however the Federalists were fucked, since the party was already dying. Now you're thinking, but wait, I thought Adams was Federalist. We'll not anymore because the sluttiness in the room is about to get ASTRONOMICAL.

Hamilton and Adams were on each other's shit list since the Revolutionary War. Hamilton hated Adams because Adams was in the Continental Congress and ignored how the army was struggling in order to make a point, and Adams hated Hamilton because Hamilton made him wake up at 3 am once (evacuation of Philadelphia).

Hamilton's political influence was so great, not because he was widely respected (he wasn't) but because he had people in nearly every position that he could influence to vote in the direction that benefited him most. It didn't always work, but it worked in Adams' case.

This was also another reason Hamilton didn't like Adams because, despite being in the same party as him, Adams was too stubborn to be manipulated by Hamilton. Also, when they were both in the cabinet, Adams was mostly, if not entirely, outcast from the proceedings, mainly because of how Hamilton and Jefferson overshadowed the other cabinet members with their big personalities, big opinions, and intense rivalry. To compound this even further, Hamilton held both second and first in command positions (the latter after Washington retired [again]). So for basically an entire decade, Hamilton unofficially outranked Adams, even though Adams held the more important position.

Their rivalry wasn't personal like Hamilton and Madison/Monroe, nor was it like Hamilton and Jefferson's rivalries where they were basically the antithesis of one another. It was really just political, but because they both expected the other to agree, being in the same party, and also because they were both so hypersensitive to criticism, it became very personal in their eyes.

Hamilton wanted Adams gone. And he handled this quite differently from how Jefferson handled it, even though they both wanted Adams out of the running.

Jefferson was basically the master of eliminating his political enemies from the competition. He, like many other statesmen of the time, including Hamilton, owned publishing companies where he would commission writers to publish slander against his political enemies in order to worsen public opinion of them, therefore losing them the majority of popular vote, and by extension, the electoral vote. This was the smart way to go about things, because it was anonymous, there was no risk of damage to Jefferson's public image most of the time. Emphasis on most of the time, because the newspaper wars of the earlier 1790s weren't as anonymous but whatever.

While Hamilton did utilize this strategy, when it was a case like Adams where he needed to deal the most about of damage as fast as possible, he needed to use more than one strategy at once. So in conjunction with the above, he also spread rumors, like he did with Burr at this exact same time, he made a direct publication(s). I put that s there because I haven't gotten to look into this era of Hamilton's life in excessive detail, so I don't know all the facts, but I do know how Hamilton works.

Essentially, Hamilton struck Adams' reputation on three fronts: word on the street, pamphlets circulating, and newspaper articles. Adding Jefferson's efforts, along with Hamilton's influence among the electoral voters, Adams was cast out of the running fairly quickly.

Adams gave up on politics after that, and retired to his farm in Quincy, and rebuilt his relationship with Jefferson, which had died sometime during the Washington administration, and they remained friends until July 4, 1826, when they both died.

"Thomas Jefferson survives" -John Adams' last words, not knowing Jefferson had died a few hours earlier. Dumbass.

Abigail Adams

Abigail Smith was born in 1744 at Weymouth, Massachusetts. She was descended from the Quincys on her mother's side. Every colony had Those Families that were pretty much their since the founding and made up the elite of that colony. New York had the Schuylers, Van Rensselaers, and Livingstons, Virginia had the Jeffersons, the Washingtons, and the other one, South Carolina had the Ramsays and the Pickneys, and Massachusetts had the Quincys and the Adamses.

Abigail lacked formal education, like most other women, but was known for her keen intelligence that she gained from reading whatever she could. This love of reading created a bond between her and John Adams, and they got married in 1764 when she was 19.

They lived together in John's farm at Braintree or in Boston when he had to do lawyer things. She had three sons and two daughters in ten years (ouch) and looked after the family and their home when John was running around the globe getting fired from every job he had.

"Alas! How many snow banks divide thee and me..." -Abigail Adams to John Adams in December 1773

They were apart for most of their relationship, and I think they're one of the best examples of the 18th century, mid-upper class relationship between husband and wife. In the American culture of this time, the wife was expected to remain home and raise the children, while also being involved in local politics and diplomacy to maintain the family name, while the husband was expected to have a similar role in state/national affairs. This is why you often see, in the upper class, women having prominent roles in their family and community.

Abigail joined John in Paris in 1784. Then, after 1785, she had to define and fill the role of wife of the first United States Minister to Great Britain, and she absolutely slayed. Then, they returned to Massachusetts in 1788.

Abigail had much a much more defined political ideology than other women at their time, even if they were equally involved in politics, because of how boldly she informed her husband, as well as the Massachusetts Colony General Court in 1775, of her beliefs. She was a humanitarian and an activist, with an unbiased opinion of the United States. She advocated for gender equality in public education and the need to pay attention to how women were affected by current events. When she was informed that the Declaration of Independence was to be written, she reminded her husband to, "Remember the Ladies..."

She also wrote a will that left the majority of her possessions to her female family members, which was surprising since her belongings would technically belong to her husband. As if he could argue with her. She was smarter than him.

Although Adams rarely listened to his wife, her opinions influenced him heavily. She had so much influence over him that she was nicknamed "Mrs. President" which I think is iconic.

She also believed in the necessity of emancipation, and firmly believed in independence, saying, "Let us separate, they are unworthy to be our Brethren. Let us renounce them..."

As the wife of the Vice President, she became good friends with Martha Washington, helping her with official entertaining, since she had experience in foreign courts. However, she became sick frequently after 1791, so she was in Massachusetts most of the time.

Funny story about when she met George Washington, she kind of didn't like him because he had slaves and was a member of the Virginia planter elite. But, after meeting him, she was "struck with General Washington" and said that he was marked by "Dignity with ease... the Gentleman and Soldier look agreeably blended in him."

When Adams became president, she continued a formal pattern of entertaining, even if the capital was kind of... not there. She fucking hated it.

She retired with her husband in 1801, and lived a happy life until 1818 when she died. She is buried beside her husband in United First Parish Church.

Okay geez that was a lot, I did this all in one day FHSKJHSKLJH (not the tallmadge and mchenry notes, i did those a while back, hence why i can't decipher "freaks who fuck together federal together). my wrist hurts so im going to go play minecraft and probably read fanfiction since ive got Hamilton on the brain (if you couldn't tell). hope this helps. love ya!!!!

#history #amrev #amrev history #american revolution #american history #benjamin tallmadge #james mchenry #john adams #abigail adams #alexander hamilton #hamilton #historical hamilton #thomas jefferson #if you can't tell i don't like adams #and im sure there are some positive things out there about him #i just cannot conjure those words myself #election of 1800 #i had a really bad american history teacher in 7th grade so now whenever i have to talk or think about the xyz affair or the quasi war #part of me dies #but man am i glad to be done with this #also i think the schedule of me working on history on saturdays works pretty well because its easy work but still productive #im on a roll guys don't let me get off track #jk you're not responsible for me #but if i don't post for like months yell at me #be mean its okay #also ignore any typos you can't pay me to proofread my tumblr posts #i already cross referenced what more do you want from me #okay i'll shut up now #do it for richie 💪

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lokiinmediasideblog · 1 year

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Hi my love, I saw your reblog on my post about liking Loki and about neurodivergence and being LGBTQ. I was going to reblog and reply but I didn’t want to overwhelm you and share your experience with my followers without asking first!

I have to say I’m both happy and sad you identified with it, happy because of course it’s wonderful to hear that I wasn’t the only person who had this experience who also likes Loki, and I’m sad because we shouldn’t have had these experiences in the first place.

I thought you were really brave sharing your own experience with me especially with how cautious you are, wanting to protect yourself from more ridicule is completely understandable yet you still tried to reach out to me on my post publicly which shows huge strength, you have my instant respect.

You made a wonderful addition to my post which was that not only are we bullied for liking the “wrong” people but we are also bullied for not liking the “right” people either, I distinctly remember being given shit for not finding most men attractive, we can’t win even if we try to mind our own business! You hit the nail on the head here!

I also loved how you compared Loki’s frost giant heritage to the queer and neurodiverse experience, I couldn’t quite pinpoint how exactly I related to it before (I think I was taking it too literally) but it’s clear to me now it’s because people around him treat him poorly because he is different, just like how we are.

I’m glad you’re doing better, lots of LGBTQ folk come into their own when they moved out. My closest friends are other LGBTQ and Neurodiverse folk which can make cishet/neurotypicals feel a bit slighted but there is just an added safety with my fellow marginalised friends that my more privileged friends just won’t understand. I imagine it’s a similar reason as to why we flock to Loki, he would understand and make us feel safe.

My DMs are always open to you, you have an ally and fellow Loki fan here!

Thank you! That is appreciated. I often see the Frost Giant heritage conflated with interracial adoption, but it is NOT a good analogy for that given that it's a different species and the Loki's appearance being altered with magic most of the time (And he is played by a white actor). Interracial adoption is not something you can hide.

On the other hand, I often see neurodivergence being represented through aliens or going to a different planet, which is essentially Loki's situation. Changelings are also famously inspired by neurodivergence (also Loki, technically). I also find myself gravitating to characters that are nonhuman in appearance because I relate to them and their misunderstanding of social cues. If there's an alien in a show, he's probably my favorite. Loki's probably the most human-looking characters I have ever liked tbh.

While Loki is not explicitly neurodivergent in cannon, he can definitely be argued to be coded as such. He's only tolerated by Thor's friends due to his relationship with Thor and because he is sometimes useful. People around him are quick to mock him. And the constant comparison to a sibling more adept at socializing than you are while you get labelled difficult and off-putting by pretty much everyone in your life...

And the ND-coding is there in all his appearances despite the inconsistency of the MCU Thor franchise, even the divisive Loki series. He also probably had different sensory needs growing up (e.g. maybe different temperature requirements and Marvel lies if he didn't lol). And he is cannonly queer (genderfluid and bisexual in comics and mythology, and bisexual in the MCU).

I feel like it's unfair to vilify deception and prop up "honor" because deception is often a survival mechanism. Especially when you belong to an oppressed group. Hearing horrible things about people like you from someone that claims to love you is the "queer in an un-supportive household" experience.

#mcu loki #queerphobia #neurodivergence #mcu!Loki

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cloudinterlude · 1 year

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I mean, yes you can sympathise with any character you want but imo some characters are just evil.

Howard is racist because he is a white man born in 1917 and he was involved in deals that are rooted in bigotry raging from Manhattan Project, operation paperclip, probably involved with the experimentation of Isaiah Bradley and others. He literally allowed Nazis infiltrate SHIELD. He also a part of the military industrial complex. He must have been involved in the NRA lobby.

And yes, you can criticise Tony for similar shit (including sexism) but the difference is we saw Tony develop unlike Howard. Howard was getting worse and worse in his treatment of women and his greed. I think it was in iron man 3, where there was a deleted scene in which Maria was crying due to Howard’s treatment so he’s a shitty husband. Regarding the abuse he inflicted on his son, it was more than just emotional abuse. If you read MCU tie in comic (which is canon MCU) he physically abused Tony.

My thing is: nothing about this character screams complex, just abusive and narcissistic. This is for MCU Howard. Idk much about comic Howard. I just know he was an ass too.

He can be evil to you, that's fine. I have no energy or intention of convincing you otherwise. I'm not protective in the slightest over Howard as a character. You can say he's evil incarnate and Id hardly bat an eye - I'm only ever defensive of Steve (and Wanda).

Manhattan Project, Operation Paperclip (which in turn allowed more room for Hydra to infiltrate them), yeah sure. He was involved in those things, fully agree. Don't know about canon evidence to support Howard being directly involved with Isaiah or the other AA test subjects. In fact, that seems as the least likely of all this, seems like Zola's work. Military industrial complex, yeah. NRA lobby, maybe? Definitely possible, although doesn't seem like his scene. Not being he'd have moral objections (Howard's morals as time went on definitely get looser), but for the same reason he stated he'd been avoiding joining Hydra-lite in Agent Carter. I'll probably address most of these in the Howard vs social issues post (if I ever make it lol) but I don't think he was an active racist. Sure there are more subtle forms of racism that you could probably convince me he was - Howard didn't come off as a violent, hateful racist. Also, I don't know if you were implying this, but I don't think I can ever get behind the "Howard (and Peggy) intentionally allowed Nazis to grow in SHIELD because they were Nazis" train.

And yeah, fully agree he wasn't good to his family. I already said I wouldn't defend him on that. Never saw the deleted scene or read the MCU tie-in comics and only heard of the ones involving Wanda w/ AOU. I just scrolled through it. It might have been missing something, but I didn't see any physical abuse. He did slap Tony's car out of his hands but that's all I saw. I'm willing to believe it happened and I'd take that right in stride. Nothing I've felt about him has changed with this, though.

Most of these things are post-Agent Carter. Which is the Howard I comment on the most and I've stated, hopefully clearly, that his downfall and everything that contributed to it is what makes him interesting to me. I don't I see all of the things mentioned as contributors to his character and gives me a clear map on how his mental state plummeted to Hell. And how he contributed to his own lack of well-being. I love characters that cause problems for themselves and then sit around and wonder how it all went wrong.

Unless you think Howard from the very start was the worst person ever which is where the disconnect is.

And yeah, the fact that we see Tony, who is scarily similar to his father, kind of change in ways his father didn't is also apart of why I like both characters.

I never said Howard wasn't an asshole. I'm not as mad at him as many others are since he isn't one-dimensional to me. I fill in the nuance. I wouldn't describe Howard as pure evil because I think that kind of has to be purposefully fostered with no good intentions, which Howard clearly had at the time of AC and further than that, I believe.

I'm perfectly comfortable with you and everyone else seeing Howard as Satan himself if y'all want. I have a different interpretation, and I'm chill with leaving it at that 🤷🏿‍♀️ Steve is just about the only character I'm going to get passionate about debating tbh, but I like Howard and no one is going to get me to not like his character.

#post office #thank you anon #howard stark #mcu

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thewomaninlilywhite · 2 years

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Sorry for the random question; is there any pictures you could share of the Woman in White revival set that you took when you saw the show? Big fan here lol.

no apologies necessary dear anon!

Long post because I got nerdy (also spoilers to any of my followers who haven't listened to the musical/read the book – highly recommend)

(excuse the poor quality, I was actually feeling a fair bit ill when I went to see it)

the first photo is the opening shot; the show began with Walter walking out and picking up the lantern

the first act closed with a blank stage (the set was generally VERY minimalistic, but I think it worked really well, especially in such a small theatre. I especially liked their use of moving wings.

the second photo is the act two opening, that flat turning to reveal Laura's bed, then adapting once more for the Marian on the Ledge scene. (note: there was no real set design for Marian's bedroom because the Nightmare sequence was cut – and the way it was played, I actually thought it was Marian who died, because the funeral scene sets up gradually, with Marian being the last on stage (because of her costume change) I'm not sure whether or not this implication was intended – and actually, there were actually quite a few revisions I noticed when I first listened to the cast album: I recall Anne knowing she was Phillip's daughter and telling Laura and Marian (since I recall discussing this with my sister at intermission) Also, the finale (and I think show in general) had more dialogue/less singing; and I believe it was said that Glyde beat Anne until she lost the baby rather than killing it after it was born. Also I don't remember Lamastide at all – I'm not sure if it was just a forgettable song, or if it was replaced/cut. I also recall Glyde singing the Evermore Without You encore, which was a Choice that I'm not quite sure I'm mad about (because I aDORE Chris Peluso) if that did indeed happen (could I check my programme, probably; but it's in the basement and I don't feel like it.) And probably other things that I can't quite recall at present.)

the third shot was at the end of the show, it is the train station/tunnel, illuminated by an oncoming train (at least, I believe that was the intention. Glyde's actually death was done beautifully with lighting, but I'm not sure how to articulate the details of it except that it literally looked like a train was coming, without the projections the original production relied on) You can vaguely see the same outline through the fog in the first shot.

and here's a more up-close shot of the finale set (that I used as my header when I first changed my url!) You can better make out the "russian doll doors" (if you will) that you can see in the first shot as well. This was actually a resting backdrop for the majority of the show. No turntable, but the sides were used as doors, and occasionally the centre for added drama (like Glyde's first entrance – very memorable. He wore a purple coat a similar colour to my water bottle, hence why I call him Percy – full name Sir Percival Glyde!)

the best way to describe this set was rustic victorian – not as ornate at the actual 19th century was to the wealthy, nor the original production; but still sleek and very good at setting the tone.

please don't repost any of these photos, however shite the quality

thanks for the question! love the chance to nerd out about this show – I only hope my answer was coherent enough, albeit way more than you asked for! xx

#lol these photos are even worse quality than I remember sorry #ask #anon #let's chat #speak to your head #the woman in white

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blackradandmad · 3 years

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why blippi is rotting yr children's brains

preface: i literally expect no one to read this. it is an essay length, strong opinion piece critiquing a niche youtube-based children's show that i don't expect most of y'all to even have knowledge of lol. but like, i promise that even if you know nothing about what i'm talking about, in my incredibly, super humble opinion, it's a good piece of writing and interesting nonetheless. anyway if you read this whole thing for some reason yr really hot and we should kiss.

i thoroughly vet everything my child watches before he watches it, episode by episode. and we rarely watch youtube for entertainment; we usually just look up educational videos when he has a question about something and wants more detail than i can provide him. and that's mainly because children's content on youtube is so fucking troubling and distressing. i don't judge parents who give their children a tablet at a restaurant at all bc i've been there and sometimes it's easier on everyone to just put on a video and avoid a giant scene, but i do judge parents who just leave their children alone with youtube kids on autoplay.

take stevin john, a literal millionaire who got famous from dressing up as a silly character called blippi and going on tours of places like aquariums, zoos, construction sites, etc and posting it on youtube. this has branched into a whole empire of blippi videos, hulu shows and specials, live shows and tours (that he outsources to another character actor), merchandise and so on. this 30-something year old man cites his main influence as being mr. rogers, but i question if he's ever even seen an episode of that program.

mr. rogers had no background in early childhood development or media production, but he revolutionized the world of children's media, because he respected his audience and didn't shy away from real world situations, all while creating a show with an enormous heart. mr. rogers begins his episodes by inviting the viewer in, literally changing his attire to be more comfortable, and talking about/doing things he genuinely cares about. whereas mr. rogers calmly and maturely addresses the viewer, blippi puts on a high pitched, contrived voice, interjecting every other sentence with a forced exclamation such as, "teehee! we're having so much fun!"

i don't find it a coincidence that john (blippi) is a veteran, either. his videos are completely devoid of the absurd, abstract, childlike thinking that makes children's media fun, creative, and entertaining. his thinking and process is methodical, devoid of emotion, and very superficial. this line of thinking clearly shows the kind of creative sterilization and emphasis on sameness and conformity instilled in the military. blippi simply observes things and interacts with them in a stale, matter-of-fact way. "this ball is purple! this ball is pink! anyway... what's over there? teehee! a car! vroom, vroom!" objects are colors, toy cars don't do anything but drive, curiosity is simply not encouraged.

he uses the "it's educational!" excuse to hide the fact that his show lacks everything that makes media a valuable resource for children to consume in the first place. further than identifying colors, numbers, and the occasional letter or shape, there is just this total lack of children's need for social and emotional development. when mr. rogers breaks the fourth wall to address the viewer and let them know they're special, it feels authentic and natural, because we've spent the last half hour building whole worlds with diverse characters and unique stories in a pretend neighborhood, learning about and enjoying different musical instruments, being exposed to and making friends with (even if parasocially, it is still a real bond to children when done properly) children who are similar to us in character regardless of physical or environmental differences, feeding the fish, making art together, and so on. when blippi tells the viewer, "you are very special, and i enjoy spending time with you!" it falls completely flat and feels unearned, because the last half hour was spent running around a soft play center pointing at bright, colorful objects, visiting interesting locations like farms or fruit production factories while failing to acknowledge the humanity of the humans actually working there (everything is machine or product focused; the human workers are simply an extension of the machine), learning "fun facts" about elephants that just list attributes of elephants, not taking the opportunity to inform the viewers of elephants' intelligence, or diet, or matriarchal society. it is a loud, sensory overwhelming display of a man so disconnected from the social and emotional needs and desires of children that he assumes they're stupid, easily entertained idiots who only need some silly dances and fast-moving cartoon graphics to give their attention (meaning time and desire to purchase products meaning $$$). john clearly views his audience as a means to gaming the algorithm and ultimately a paycheck by the hollow way he addresses them.

the show is so narcissistic, so focused on all the fun blippi is supposedly having, but he lacks any of the character traits that make individual children's show hosts memorable, so much so that he was able to have someone else who doesn't even vaguely resemble him dress as blippi and impersonate him and host the show or appear at live shows, and it went unnoticed by most of his toddler and child audience. the show is so formulaic and the character of blippi is so unmemorable that instead of taking the blue's clues route of developing a story of the host leaving for college and his brother now stepping in, or making some sort of believable excuse for the change in actors, they can simply swap him out with some random guy and not acknowledge it at all. although a comedy show for older children, the amanda show in no way could or would try to replicate the show with the same name but swapping out amanda bynes with a random teenage girl who is clearly not amanda bynes. it's weird and nonsensical and shows that his character is so much of a farce put on for a paycheck that not even his dedicated audience is affected or even cares when he is replaced by a random, unknown person.

this is completely garbage content made by an opportunist with no experience with children who saw his nephew watching children's youtube content, took it at complete surface level and still hasn't realized that while children's content only looks and feels so easy, entertaining, and enriching because it is so hard to do well. even with outsourcing his music, that aspect of the show still sucks. famous and successful children's musician, raffi, is known for his song describing the life of a little white whale, called "baby beluga." it opens with a calm strumming of his guitar, followed by the lyrics, "baby beluga in the deep blue sea/swim so wild and you swim so free/heaven above/sea below/and a little white whale on the go." is it silly and kind of pointless? yes, but the point is that he is captivating children and showing them the fun of listening to music, dancing, singing, and appreciating art. the "excavator song" featured in an episode of blippi about construction vehicles opens with what sounds like a default garageband loop and the flatly sung lyrics, "i'm an excavator/i'm an excavator/hey dirt, see you later/i'm an excavator." i don't feel i have to meticulously analyze the aforementioned lyrics; the stark contrast should speak for itself.

i have a million more criticisms about both blippi specifically and youtube children's content as a whole, but this is already so long and i doubt many people will get this far anyway. it's an issue i was completely apathetic towards until i had my own child and had to wean him off these kinds of junk food shows because i realized the fast-paced visuals and bright colors and repetitive songs/lyrics were putting him in this spaced-out, fugue state, and he thought he could demand this show or that show whenever he wanted. the moment he started regularly yelling things like, "watch! cars!" or "no! click it!" i knew i had to be a lot more invested in the things he watched even if just for entertainment or as a soothing message. i showed him an episode of mr. rogers yesterday and feared it would be too slow to hold his attention, but he was mesmerized, greeting and interacting with mr. rogers verbally, asking me, "what's that?" to different objects on the screen. since purging this low-brow children's entertainment, he has had a noticeable increase in attention span and concentration, can focus on a task for longer amounts of times, is more likely to "read"/look through books without me initiating it, and doesn't throw a fit when the tv/my laptop is off.

i just know that for me, growing up with so much unsupervised internet access definitely led me to real-world pain and consequences, and it seems like now children are born with an iphone as an extension of their arm. if my child is going to be consuming videos, i'm definitely supervising every second and am going to be highly critical of the videos and the credentials (or lack thereof) of the creators and team behind it. but i also know, from pure observation admittedly, that parents letting youtube kids autoplay parent their children for hours at a time is not an uncommon occurrence. and it worries me that a generation of children are being raised on videos that rely on being as loud and bright and superficially enjoyable as possible. what's the use of a child knowing their colors and alphabet if they don't know how to treat people with kindness and empathy and respect? there is something wrong for a children's show host to plug the spelling of his name at the end of his videos ("well, that's the end of this video. but if you wanna watch more of my videos, just type in my name! can you spell my name with me? b-l-i-p-p-i!") after essentially rotting his audiences' brains for a half hour. there's something so insidious about the prioritization of naming different parts of construction vehicles over honest depictions of and conversations about dealing with feelings, or why someone with autism may act differently than you, or what to do when you feel lonely, or ways to make art and express yrself creatively. also, not to mention the blatant police propaganda and outright worship is seriously jarring; as a black mother to a visibly non-white child, i cannot sit there and watch blippi show kids how to be a bootlicker for the shittiest profession on earth, but that could be a whole essay in and of itself.

anyway, thanks for reading, if yr looking for quality children's content, i recommend, in no specific order: mr. rogers, sesame street, the electric company, molly of denali, daniel tiger, bluey!, blue's clues, the odd squad, word party, trash truck, puffin rock, uhh... that's definitely not an extensive list but that's just off the dome!!! ok bye y'all <333

#lil rambles #long post t #idk why it's formatted like this ig cos i copy pasted from my fb?#whatever anyway idk why i waste my writing skills on shit literally nobody else but me cares abt #blippi #children's television

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