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yr-obedt-cicero · 1 year

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Does Hamilton have abandonment issues? Especially if you look into the exchange between his dad and him, I feel like his dad always asks for money and Alex always unconditionally give them to him.

Hamilton definitely dealt with a lot of abandonment issues, that was especially present in his close relationships.

Hamilton lost many loved ones throughout his childhood, and even later in life but his fear of abandonment definitely had to stem from his childhood trauma. With his father leaving his impervished family in 1765, only to lose his mother in 1768 due to yellow fever when he was eleven years old. After being taken in by his cousin, Peter Lytton, he soon lost that legal guardian too because of an act of suicide, and his uncle - father of Peter - shortly after. Hamilton was then separated from his brother, and despite some communication between the two they never successfully saw each other again. So, by the time Hamilton made it to the colonies, he had lost a majority of his close family and was on his own.

Hamilton's strained but still an attempt of a relationship with his father displays that Hamilton was quite eager to see his father again, but was incredibly anxious about losing contact with him again. Sometime in 1780, Hamilton mentions to Elizabeth that he'll inform James of their wedding and hope he'll attend. But as we all know, James did not attend. Some years later and again, Hamilton is anxious about losing contact with his father so much so that he even questions if James had died;

“But what has become of our dear father? It is an age since I have heared from him or of him, though I have written him several letters. Perhaps, alas! he is no more, and I shall not have the pleasing opportunity of contributing to render the close of his life more happy than the progress of it. My heart bleeds at the recollection of his misfortunes and embarrassments. Sometimes I flatter myself his brothers have extended their support to him, and that he now enjoys tranquillity and ease. At other times I fear he is suffering in indigence. I entreat you, if you can, to relieve me from my doubts, and let me know how or where he is, if alive, if dead, how and where he died. Should he be alive inform him of my inquiries, beg him to write to me, and tell him how ready I shall be to devote myself and all I have to his accommodation and happiness.”

(source — Alexander Hamilton to James Hamilton Jr, [June 22, 1785])

Despite the lack of requited communication with his father, Hamilton decided to name his fourth son after him in 1788. And even when Hamilton was knee-deep in political scuffles, struggling with his work as Treasury, Hamilton never stopped trying to keep up communication with his father. Later on, Hamilton even offered to help James sail over to America, where he would take care of him in his old age. During the August of 1792, Hamilton wrote to Seton asking for assistance with forwarding a letter to St. Vincents to deliver it to his father. Though unfortunately, Hamilton's letter was never actually delivered, so James reached out again reporting delays in his plans to set sail for America due to a war which broke out between France and England. And, well, unfortunately James never did reunite with Hamilton. But regardless, Hamilton was always loyally willing to trust his father and supply him with whatever funds he needed at the time. As if anxious that if he lost communication with his father again, it would become lost forever.

Not only that, but this fear of losing his loved ones was also apparent in his relationships with his lovers. John Laurens was terrible at writing back to people, and his family and friends often reprimanded him for it. So, you can imagine Hamilton's distress when he barely receives word from Laurens;

“I acknowlege but one letter from you, since you left us, of the 14th of July which just arrived in time to appease a violent conflict between my friendship and my pride. I have written you five or six letters since you left Philadelphia and I should have written you more had you made proper return. But like a jealous lover, when I thought you slighted my caresses, my affection was alarmed and my vanity piqued. I had almost resolved to lavish no more of them upon you and to reject you as an inconstant and an ungrateful ___.”

(source — Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [September 11, 1779])

And while later Hamilton does admit he also neglected to write, he still faults Laurens more since one of his letters was miscarried. Although just a bit later and Hamilton is desperate to hear word from Laurens;

“That you can speak only of your private affairs shall be no excuse for your not writing frequently. Remember that you write to your friends, and that friends have the same interests, pains, pleasures, sympathies; and that all men love egotism.”

(source — Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, [September 16, 1780])

He even worries about this in regards to his own wife. Where he even goes on a bit of ramble of his fear that Elizabeth would neglect him;

“It is an age my dearest since I have received a letter from you; the post is arrived and not a line. I know not to what to impute your silence; so it is I am alarmed with an apprehension ⟨of your⟩ being ill. Sometimes I suspect a ⟨– – –⟩ of your letters. Sometimes my anx⟨iety accuses⟩ you of negligence but I chide my⟨self⟩ whenever it does. You know ⟨very well⟩ how precious your letters are to m⟨e and⟩ you know the tender, apprehensive ⟨amia⟩ble nature of my love. You know the pleasure that hearing from you gives ⟨me.⟩ You know it is the only one I am now capable of enjoying. After all you certainly would not neglect ⟨me⟩ if you possibly could. Here am ⟨I⟩ immersed in business, yet every d⟨ay or⟩ two I find leisure to write to my a⟨ngel;⟩ the reason is you are never out ⟨of⟩ my thoughts, and if I had but one hour in the four and twenty to rest ⟨all⟩ of it would be devoted to you. I do not say this to reproach you with unkindness. I cannot suppose you ca⟨n,⟩ in so short an absence, have abated ⟨your⟩ affection; and if you even found any change, I have too good an opin⟨ion⟩ of your candour to imagine you would not instantly tell me of it.”

(source — Alexander Hamilton to Elizabeth Schuyler, [July 20, 1780])

He even thought that she was deathly ill because he wasn't getting a response, and although later he apologizes for over-worrying he still remains adamant she writes back;

“Pardon me my lovely girl for any thing I may have said that has the remotest semblance of complaining. If you knew my heart thoroughly you would see it so full of tenderness for you that you would not only pardon, but you would even love my weaknesses.”

If you thought that him worrying over her being ill was a bit far, he even goes on to worry that Elizabeth - his soon-to-be bride, mind you - doesn't even love him and is simply marrying him out of generosity;

“For god’s sake My Dear Betsey try to write me oftener and give me the picture of your heart in all its varieties of light and shade. Tell me whether it feels the same for me or did when we were together, or whether what seemed to be love was nothing more than a generous sympathy. The possibility of this frequently torments me.”

It is clear Hamilton dealt with some anxiety with the thought that all his loved ones would either leave him, and if not that; than them dying.

#amrev #american history #alexander hamilton #historical alexander hamilton #james hamilton #historical john laurens #john laurens #elizabeth schuyler #elizabeth hamilton #history #lams #historical lams #hamilza #historical hamilza #queries #sincerely anonymous #cicero's history lessons

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nordleuchten · 1 year

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What was Lafayette's opinions on slavery? Sorry if this has been asked before ^^

Dear Anon,

excellent question! And please, never be sorry to ask anything. :-) While something like this has already been asked, I needed to update the post anyway.

The short answer is, La Fayette was decidedly opposed to the concept of slavery. But, just like with many white men of influence at that time – the matter was not quite that simple.

La Fayette had his first real exposure to the concept of slavery during his first visit to America. He soon could not quite understand how a people, fighting for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness could keep other people in bondage. He furthermore witnessed first hand the bravery, ingenuity, cleverness and determination of enslaved people – one notable person here is James Armistead, later James Armistead Lafayette. When the state of Virginia refused to grant James his freedom after the end of the Revolutionary War, La Fayette used the full weight of his name to aide James, who rendered an invaluable service to La Fayette by spying for him on the British. The two men would later meet again during La Fayette’s tour to America 1824/25.

Back home in France with free time on his hand La Fayette wanted actions to follow his words. He wanted to show everybody that it was possible to abolish slavery – gradually at least. He wanted to purchase a plantation and a number of enslaved individuals and then teach them everything they needed to know – in his opinion at least, to be freed. He told Washington (and a number of other people) about his idea and tried to enlist his aide. In general, La Fayette often discussed the matter of slavery with Washington, who owned quite a number of enslaved individuals himself, and even tried to convince him of freeing all these men and women. La Fayette hoped that Washington’s greater than life reputation would convince other people to do so as well. Washington’s reputation and great name were also surely among the reasons why La Fayette wanted his help with regard to his plantation-project. He wrote the following in a letter to Washington on February 5, 1783:

Now, My dear General, that You are Going to Enjoy some Ease and Quiet, Permit me to propose a plan tot you Which Might Become Greatly Beneficial to the Black part of Mankind—Let us Unite in Purchasing a small Estate Where We May try the Experiment to free the Negroes, and Use them only as tenants—Such an Example as Yours Might Render it a General Practice, and if We succeed in America, I Will chearfully devote a part of My time to Render the Method fascionable in the West indias—if it Be a Wild scheme, I Had Rather Be Mad that Way, than to Be thought Wise on the other tack.

“To George Washington from Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, 5 February 1783,” Founders Online, National Archives, [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.] (01/25/2023)

For the next three years, not, much was happening – until La Fayette wrote Washington again on July 14, 1785:

You Remember an idea which I imparted to you three years ago—I am Going to try it in the french Colony of Cayenne—But will write more fully on the Subject in my other letters.

“To George Washington from Lafayette, 14 July 1785,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 3, 19 May 1785 – 31 March 1786, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1994, pp. 120–121.] (01/25/2023)

He wrote again to Washington on February 6, 1786:

(…) an other Secret I intrust to you, my dear General, is that I Have purchased for Hundred And twenty five thousand French livres a plantation in the Colony of Cayenne and am going to free my Negroes in order to Make that Experiment which you know is My Hobby Horse.

“To George Washington from Lafayette, 6 February 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, vol. 3, 19 May 1785 – 31 March 1786, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1994, pp. 538–547.] (01/25/2023)

La Fayette had instructed his attorney to buy property in French Guiana in a letter on June 7, 1785 with the condition that he would “neither sell nor exchange any black.“ The 125.000 Livre he paid translate roughly to 1.250.000 modern US Dollar. The plantation was named La Belle Gabrielle and was the “home” of just under seventy individuals between the ages of a few months and 59 years (I have sadly never seen a more precise number). The Administer of the plantation, a Monsieur de Geneste, send La Fayette a list with the names, ages, and descriptions of these people. Here is the first page of his report.

Intendant L. de Geneste. “List of Negro Slaves Selected by Daniel Lescallier” for Lafayette’s Experimental Plantation. March 1, 1789, La Fayette: Citizen of Two Worlds, Cornell University. (01/25/2023)

La Belle Gabrielle was a clove and cinnamon plantation and after La Fayette bought the property, he employed the following changes. The people there were paid, given free time and days off and an education. Furthermore, the severity of their punishments was toned down to resemble the punishment that any free white labourer would face under similar circumstances. He soon bought additional property because La Belle Gabrielle did not sustain itself, since the production was switched to less labour intensive and less profitable crops. When the French Revolution really hit it off in 1789, La Fayette had less and less time to spend on his “hobby horse” as he called it. His wife Adrienne, who was involved from the begin, took over and managed now most of the plantation’s affairs. Adrienne was a very religious person and the moral and religious education of the people on the plantation was for her of great importance. Shee corresponded regularly with Miolas Jacquemin, a missionary who lived in a settlement of missionaries close by the plantation. It seems as though he not only reported to her what was happening on the plantation but that he and his fellow missionaries also coordinated the religious education of the people there.

In 1792, when the National Convention called for La Fayette’s arrest and he was captured by the Prussians, his properties were sold, including his plantation. His improvements on the plantations were revoked. In February of 1794 the Convention abolished slavery and French Guiana was actually one of the places that was reached by the new law while in many French colonies things continued like they were despite the new law. Furthermore, French Guiana was one of the few places that did not see a lot of violent upheaval during this time – something La Fayette later in life took great comfort in.

Jules Germain Cloquet wrote about this whole endeavour:

But he was not content with sterile wishes; and on his return to France, flattering himself, like Turgot and Poivre, that the gradual emancipation of the negroes might be conciliated with the personal interests of the colonists, he was desirous of establishing the fact by experience, and for that purpose he tried a special experiment, on a scale sufficiently large to put the question to the test. At that period, the intendant of Cayenne was a man of skill, probity, and experience, named Lescalier, whose opinions on the subject coincided with those of Lafayette. Marshal de Castries, the minister of the marine, not only consented to the experiment, but determined to aid it by permitting Lescalier to try upon the king's negroes the scheme for a new system. Lafayette had at first devoted 100,000 francs to this object: he confided the management of the residence which he had purchased at Cayenne to a man distinguished for philosophy and talent named Richeprey, who generously devoted himself to the direction of the experiment. The seminarists established in the colony, and above all the Abbé Farjon, the curate of it applauded and encouraged the measure. It is but justice to the colonists of Cayenne to say, that the negroes had been treated with more humanity there than elsewhere.

Richeprey’s six months’ stay there, and the example set by him before he fell a victim to the climate, contributed still further to assuage their lot. Larochefoucauld was to purchase another plantation as soon as Richeprey’s establishment had met with some success, and a third was afterwards to be bought by Malesherbes, who took a cordial interest in the plan. The untimely death of Richeprey, the difficulty of replacing such a man, the departure of the intendant, and a change in the ministry, threw obstacles in the way of this noble undertaking. When Lafayette had been proscribed in 1792, the National Convention confiscated all his property, and ordered his negroes to be sold at Cayenne, in spite of the remonstrances of Lafayette, who protested against the sale, observing that the negroes had been purchased only to be restored to liberty after their instruction, and not to be again sold as objects of trade and speculation. At a later period, all the negroes of the French colonies were declared free by a decree of the National Convention. It is nevertheless remarkable, that some of Lafayette’s plans with regard to slave emancipation were realized: Cayenne, the only one of our colonies in which the example set by him of instructing the negroes had been followed, was also the only colony in which no disorders took place. Urged by gratitude, the negroes of his plantation declared to Richeprey’s successor that if Lafayette’s property was confiscated they would avail themselves of their liberty, but that in the opposite case they would remain and continue to cultivate his estate. Lafayette was desirous of emancipating the negroes only by degrees and in proportion as their moral intellectual education rendered them worthy of freedom. He foresaw all the inconveniences that might the sudden emancipation of a people debased by slavery, and the dangers that must follow their transition from a state of brutal degradation to one entire liberty, - a state that must prove to them more than one of unbridled licentiousness, of despotism would artfully take advantage, as of a weapon, first to establish, and next to justify sway. For man, in fact, there are moral as well physical transitions. The prisoner enfeebled by a confinement in dark dungeons cannot, without danger, be suddenly restored to the light of day. The slave, like manner is, fitted to enjoy liberty only after enlightenment as to the privileges which it confers, duties which it imposes, and the limits prescribed to by reason and justice. But, in Lafayette’s opinion, the greater the difficulties that impeded the abolition of slavery, the more energetic should be the zeal, the more persevering the efforts, of the genuine to obtain so honourable a result; and he saw with pain that paltry considerations of interest paralysed the hearts of some who might have given a impulse to negro emancipation.

Jules Germain Cloquet, Recollections of the Private Life of General Lafayette, Baldwin and Cradock, London, 1835, pp. 152-154.

Even after this failed project and his personal hardships, he continued to be outspoken. He was a member of several manumission societies and corresponded with abolitionists all around the world. He and his wife Adrienne joined the Society of the Friends of Blacks right when it was founded in 1788. He was unanimously named a member of the Society for the Emancipation of the Blacks. He was also Vice-President of the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America. His last known letter was written to an abolitionist society in Glasgow. Interestingly, one of the few letter we have written by La Fayette to his daughters and daughters-in-law talks about slavery:

(…) there [Florida and Louisiana] is only one point to which I decidedly cannot resign myself: that is slavery, and the anti-Black prejudices. I believe that in this respect my travel might have been useful. The fact that I asked to meet with colored men who fought on January 8 was another proof of what I am preaching continuously, not for the beauty of it, but in order to bring gradual healing.

Lafayette. Letter to his Daughters and Grand-daughters. New Orleans, April 15, 1825, La Fayette: Citizen of Two Worlds, Cornell University. (01/25/2023)

La Fayette was praised and quoted by many abolitionists that came after him, Frederick Douglass quoted letters between George Washington and La Fayette in relation to the plantation in Cayenne in his news paper. Senator Charles Sumner famously quoted a letter by La Fayette to John Adams from February 22, 1786:

(…) in the Cause of My Black Brethren I feel Myself Warmly interested, and Most decidedly Side, so far as Respects them, Against the White part of Mankind— Whatever Be the Complexion of the Enslaved, it does not, in my opinion, Alter the Complexion of the Crime Which the Enslaver Commits, a Crime Much Blaker than Any Affrican face— it is to me a Matter of Great Anxiety and Concern to find that this trade is Some times perpetrated under the flag of liberty, our dear and Noble Stripes, to which Virtue and Glory Have Been Constant Standard Bearers—

“To John Adams from the Marquis de Lafayette, 22 February 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 18, December 1785–January 1787, ed. Gregg L. Lint, Sara Martin, C. James Taylor, Sara Georgini, Hobson Woodward, Sara B. Sikes, Amanda M. Norton. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2016, pp. 182–183.] (01/25/2023)

Most notable is perhaps this quote from La Fayette:

Digital Commonwealth: Massachusetts Collections Online, Boston Public Library, Anti-Slavery (Collection of Distinction) (01/25/2023)

I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America, if I could have conceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery.

The British abolitionist Thomas Clarkson claimed that La Fayette wrote the above quote in a letter to him. This quote was printed on broadsides as seen above and distributed in America, mainly in New England I think. While it can be debated if La Fayette really said it like this, the publication of the broadsides had an enormous impact.

We could conclude the matter here and agree that La Fayette really meant well, he was opposed to slavery and earnestly wanted to do something. Were all of his believes as enlightened as he might have wanted them to be? Definitely not! Could some of his measures have been more thoughtful, more effective - in simple term “better”? Certainly! But La Fayette tried, and he meant well – while meaning well is still far cray from doing the right thing, it is still something.

We however, have to talk about two further aspects, something that some contemporary books often like to gloss over, because it is not quite that pretty and simple.

There is this letter from Henry Laurens to La Fayette, dated October 23, 1777:

I have not seen the french Gentleman who did me the honour to bring your Letter, but will enquire of your black Servant where he may be found & you may depend upon me Sir to attempt, at least, to Serve him, nor shall the Subject concerning Mr. De Valfort depart from my mind.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 1, December 7, 1776–March 30, 1778, Cornell University Press, 1977, pp. 126-128.

The “black Servant” that Laurens refers to was an enslaved man that La Fayette’s aide-de-camp Edmund Brice purchased for 180 Pounds on August 4, 1777. We no neither the name of the men, his age, nor his fate. This is the only reference that we find in La Fayette’s papers and it is hard to say what happened to the man. From context is fair to say that he probably was not long with La Fayette.

Then there is another matter, proposed by La Fayette in a letter. Take the following summary with a grain of salt, since I have only read the letter once and that was in a rush. The letter was in relation to the Canada expedition – the expedition was chronically underfunded and there was supposedly private property that had been confiscated, among the property were a number of enslaved individuals. La Fayette proposed that in selling these individuals, enough money could be raised. The expedition was aborted in the end and La Fayette never again came up with such ideas, so I like to think that he learned his lesson there.

This turned into a rather long post, but I think that this topic needs an in-depth discussion, especially since La Fayette tends to be put on a pedestal in some representations. As I already said, he meant well and had the best of intentions, even more so as he grew older, and he was determined to do something instead of twiddling his thumbs and his influence certainly helped the cause. He saw slavery as an evil that needed to be abolished. But we also have to see the wider picture and realize that he was an imperfect man with a fair amount of flaws.

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not-krys · 1 year

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2022 Writing Summary

Time again for everyone's favorite post of the year: the Year End Summary!

Lots more writing than last year, so I'm happy for that. Did a few writing challenges this year as well, so that's something I'm proud of.

For previous years summaries, here's 2020's summary and 2021's summary.

And, as always, you can also check out my master list for a full list of my works past and present.

And now, let's crunch some numbers.

---

Posted works to tumblr/ao3: 8

-Start the Day [Ikemen Vampire, Arthur Conan Doyle x Reader]: 221

-Birthday Present [Ikemen Prince, Nokto Klein x Clara Laurent (OC)]: 221

-How Would That Even Work? [Ikemen Sengoku, Mitsuhide Akechi x Preg!Reader]: 755

-The Red Shawl [Ikemen Revolution, Jonah Clemence x Preg!Reader]: 1038

-A Little Tired [Ikemen Prince, Licht Klein x Reader]: 221

-A New Resident [Ikemen Vampire, Comte de Saint Germain x Preg!Reader]: 2157

-Name [Ikemen Prince, Leon Dompteur & Leona Dompteur (OC)]: 1785

-Second Glance part 4 [Ikemen Sengoku, long fic]: 3402

Total Word Count on Published Fanfics: 9,800

Published Headcanons:

-Ikevamp Suitors Help You Get Dressed: 1,549

Total Word Count on Headcanons: 1,549

Published WIPs (That Were Written in 2022): 7

-Second Glance Pt. 4 [Ikemen Sengoku: Nobutaka (OC), Nobukatsu(OC)] :1024

-Clara and Nokto in the Library NSFW [Ikemen Prince, Nokto Klein x Clara Laurent (OC)]: 693

-Silence [Ikemen Series and Obey OCs, Houki, Maddie, Abby, Clara, Miri]: 1992

-Fictober Off Season-You Keep Me Warm [Ikemen Revolution, Lancelot Kingsley x Reader]: 266

-Fictober 2022-You Love This, Don't You? [SLBP, Kojuro Katakura x Reader]: 334

-Fictober 2022-Sounds Like a You Problem [Ikemen Prince, Licht Klein, Nokto Klein x Clara Laurent (OC)]: 405

-Fictober 2022- Leon and Princess Leona snippets [Ikemen Prince, Leon Dompteur & the Fourth Prince]: 707

Total Word Count on Published WIPs: 5,421

Total Creative Works Word Count: 16,770

Essays/Commentary/Asks/Other Writings: 26

-Will I Continue Writing anon: 204

-OC Emoji Ask (Ophelia, Abigail, Miri): 649

-Yet Another Writing Ask: 864

-Artist Asks (anng): 85

-Artist Asks: (Honey): 513

-OC Emoji Asks (Ophelia, Miri): 563

-Artist Asks (Yuu): 200

-Character Bingo (Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, the Mitsus, Vincent, Arthur): 1209

-Put a character in my askbox (Vlad, Faust): 265

-Put a character in my askbox (Diavolo, Mozart, Leon): 554

-Put a character in my askbox (Ieyasu, The Mitsus, Yoshimoto): 1085

-Writer Asks (Chase): 475

-Writer Asks (Lorei): 423

-Writer's Would You Ever (Alby): 219

-Artist Ask Meme (Honey): 464

-Ikemen Tag Game: 2262

-Fanfic Writer Emoji Asks 1.0 (Lorei): 960

-Questions about Creating Your Ocs (Houki, Ophelia, Maddie, Miri): 951

-Questions for Fic Writers (Scummy): 638

-Questions For Fic Writers (Mo): 399

-Weirdly Specific Artists Asks (honey): 474

-Random Numbers Asks (honey): 34

-Random Numbers Asks (anng): 401

-Fanfic Writer Wrapped 2022 (Lorei): 369

-Give Me a Number OC Ask (Honey): 527

-Fanfic Writer Emoji Asks 2.0 (Lorei): 289

Total Word Count on Other Writings: 15,078

Total Word Count for 2022: 31,848

Lots of little things this year, adding up to some big totals.

Thanks for everyone for sticking by me and hope to see you all in the new year!

#writing summary #2022 writing summary #krys's adventures in fanfiction #year end summary #masterlist #ikemen sengoku #ikemen vampire #ikemen revolution #ikemen prince #samurai love ballad party #obey me #krys's babies #ikesen oc #ikevamp oc #ikepri oc #obey me oc

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tmarshconnors · 7 months

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New World Order.

1773 - Mayer Amschel Rothschild assembles twelve of his most influential friends, and convinces them that if they all pool their resources together, they can rule the world. This meeting takes place in Frankfurt, Germany. Rothschild also informs his friends that he has found the perfect candidate, an individual of incredible intellect and ingenuity, to lead the organization he has planned – Adam Weishaupt.

May 1, 1776 – Adam Weishaupt establishes a secret society called the Order of the Illuminati. Weishaupt is the Professor of Canon Law at the University of Ingolstadt in Bavaria, part of Germany. The Illuminati seek to establish a New World Order. Their objectives are as follows:

1) Abolition of all ordered governments

2) Abolition of private property

3) Abolition of inheritance

4) Abolition of patriotism

5) Abolition of the family

6) Abolition of religion

7) Creation of a world government

July, 1782 – The Order of the Illuminati joins forces with Freemasonry at the Congress of Wilhelmsbad. The Comte de Virieu, an attendee at the conference, comes away visibly shaken. When questioned about the "tragic secrets" he brought back with him, he replies: “I will not confide them to you. I can only tell you that all this is very much more serious than you think.” From this time on, according to his biographer, "the Comte de Virieu could only speak of Freemasonry with horror."

1785 – An Illuminati courier named Lanze is struck by lightning, and killed while traveling by horseback through the town of Ratisbon. When Bavarian officials examine the contents of his saddle bags, they discover the existence of the Order of the Illuminati, and find plans detailing the coming French Revolution. The Bavarian Government attempts to alert the government of France of impending disaster, but the French Government fails to heed this warning. Bavarian officials arrest all members of the Illuminati they can find, but Weishaupt and others have gone underground, and cannot be found.

1796 – Freemasonry becomes a major issue in the presidential election in the United States. John Adams wins the election by opposing Masonry, and his son, John Quincy Adams, warns of the dire threat to the nation posed by the Masonic Lodges: “I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils under which the Union is now laboring.”

1797 – John Robison, Professor of Natural History at Edinburgh University in Scotland, publishes a book entitled “Proofs of a Conspiracy” in which he reveals that Adam Weishaupt had attempted to recruit him. He exposes the diabolical aims of the Illuminati to the world.

1821 – George W. F. Hegel formulates what is called the Hegelian dialectic – the process by which Illuminati objectives are achieved. According to the Hegelian dialectic, thesis plus antithesis equals synthesis. In other words, first you foment a crisis. Then there is an enormous public outcry that something must be done about the problem. So you offer a solution that brings about the changes you really wanted all along, but which people would have been unwilling to accept initially.

1828 – Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who finances the Illuminati, expresses his utter contempt for national governments which attempt to regulate International Bankers such as him: “Allow me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who writes the laws.”

1848 — Moses Mordecai Marx Levy, alias Karl Marx, writes “The Communist Manifesto.” Marx is a member of an Illuminati front organization called the League of the Just. He not only advocates economic and political changes; he advocates moral and spiritual changes as well. He believes the family should be abolished, and that all children should be raised by a central authority. He expresses his attitude toward God by saying: “We must war against all prevailing ideas of religion, of the state, of country, of patriotism. The idea of God is the keynote of a perverted civilization. It must be destroyed.”

Jan. 22, 1870 – In a letter to Italian revolutionary leader Giuseppe Mazzini, Albert Pike – Sovereign Grand Commander of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry – announces the establishment of a secret society within a secret society: “We must create a super rite, which will remain unknown, to which we will call those Masons of high degree of whom we shall select. With regard to our brothers in Masonry, these men must be pledges to the strictest secrecy. Through this supreme rite, we will govern all Freemasonry which will become the one international center, the more powerful because its direction will be unknown.” This ultra-secret organization is called The New and Reformed Paladian Rite. (This is why about 95% of the men involved in Masonry don't have a clue as to what the objectives of the organization actually are. They are under the delusion that it's just a fine community organization doing good works.)

1875 – Russian occultist Helena Petrovna Blavatskyfounds the Theosophical Society. Madame Blavatsky claims that Tibetan holy men in the Himilayas, whom she refers to as the Masters of Wisdom, communicated with her in London by telepathy. She insists that the Christians have it all backwards – that Satan is good, and God is evil. She writes: “The Christians and scientists must be made to respect their Indian betters. The Wisdom of India, her philosophy and achievement, must be made known in Europe and America.”

1884 – The Fabian Society is founded in Great Britain to promote Socialism. The Fabian Society takes its name from the Roman General Fabius Maximus, who fought Hannibal's army in small debilitating skirmishes, rather than attempting one decisive battle.

July 14, 1889 – Albert Pike issues instructions to the 23 Supreme Councils of the world. He reveals who is the true object of Masonic worship: “To you, Sovereign Grand Instructors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st and 30th degrees: The Masonic religion should be, by all of us initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian doctrine.”

1890-1896 – Cecil Rhodes, an enthusiastic student of John Ruskin, is Prime Minister of South Africa, a British colony at the time. He is able to exploit and control the gold and diamond wealth of South Africa. He works to bring all the habitable portions of the world under the domination of a ruling elite. To that end, he uses a portion of his vast wealth to establish the famous Rhodes Scholarships.

1893 – The Theosophical Society sponsors a Parliament of World Religions held in Chicago. The purpose of the convention is to introduce Hindu and Buddhist concepts, such as belief in reincarnation, to the West.

1911 – The Socialist Party of Great Britain publishes a pamphlet entitled “Socialism and Religion” in which they clearly state their position on Christianity: “It is therefore a profound truth that Socialism is the natural enemy of religion. A Christian Socialist is in fact an anti-Socialist. Christianity is the antithesis of Socialism.”

1912 – Colonel Edward Mandell House, a close advisor of President Woodrow Wilson, publishes “Phillip Dru: Administrator”, in which he promotes "socialism as dreamed of by Karl Marx."

Feb. 3, 1913 – The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, making it possible for the Federal Government to impose a progressive income tax, is ratified. Plank #2 of “The Communist Manifesto” had called for a progressive income tax. (In Canada, the income tax is introduced in 1917, as a “temporary measure” to finance the war effort.)

1913 – President Woodrow Wilson publishes “The New Freedom” in which he reveals: “Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the U.S., in the field of commerce and manufacturing, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.”

Dec. 23, 1913 – The Federal Reserve (neither federal nor a reserve – it's a privately owned institution) is created. It was planned at a secret meeting in 1910 on Jekyl Island, Georgia, by a group of bankers and politicians, including Col. House. This transfers the power to create money from the American Government to a private group of bankers. The Federal Reserve Act is hastily passed just before the Christmas break. Congressman Charles A. Lindbergh Sr. (father of the famed aviator) warns: “This act establishes the most gigantic trust on earth. When the President signs this act the invisible government by the money power, proven to exist by the Money Trust Investigation, will be legalized.”

1916 – Three years after signing the Federal Reserve Act into law, President Woodrow Wilson observes:“I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world. No longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.”

1917 – With aid from Financiers in New York City and London, V. I. Lenin is able to overthrow the government of Russia. Lenin later comments on the apparent contradiction of the links between prominent capitalists and Communism: “There also exists another alliance – at first glance a strange one, a surprising one – but if you think about it, in fact, one which is well grounded and easy to understand. This is the alliance between our Communist leaders and your capitalists.”(Remember the Hegelian dialectic?)

May 30, 1919 – Prominent British and American personalities establish the Royal Institute of International Affairs in England and the Institute of International Affairs in the U.S. at a meeting arranged by Col. House; attended by various Fabian socialists, including noted economist John Maynard Keynes.

1920 – Britain's Winston Churchill recognizes the connection between the Illuminati and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. He observes: “From the days of Spartacus-Weishaupt to those of Karl Marx, to those of Trotsky, Bela Kun, Rosa Luxembourg, and Emma Goldman, this world-wide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilization and for the reconstitution of society on the basis of arrested development, of envious malevolence and impossible equality, has been steadily growing. It played a definitely recognizable role in the tragedy of the French Revolution. It has been the mainspring of every subversive movement during the nineteenth century, and now at last this band of extra- ordinary personalities from the underworld of the great cities of Europe and America have gripped the Russian people by the hair of their heads, and have become practically the undisputed masters of that enormous empire.”

1920-1931 – Louis T. McFadden is Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Curency. Concerning the Federal Reserve, Congressman McFadden notes: “When the Federal Reserve Act was passed, the people of these United States did not perceive that a world banking system was being set up here. A super-state controlled by International Bankers and international industrialists acting together to enslave the world for their own pleasure. Every effort has been made by the Fed to conceal its powers, but the truth is – the Fed has usurped the Government. It controls everything here, and it controls all our foreign relations. It makes and breaks governments at will.” Concerning the Great Depression and the country's acceptance of FDR's New Deal, he asserts: “It was no accident. It was a carefully contrived occurrence. The International Bankers sought to bring about a condition of despair here so they might emerge as the rulers of us all.”

1921 – Col. House reorganizes the American branch of the Institute of International Affairs into the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). (For the past 60 years, 80% of the top positions in every administration – whether Democrat or Republican – have been occupied by members of this organization.)

December 15, 1922 – The CFR endorses World Government in its magazine “Foreign Affairs." Author Philip Kerr states: “Obviously there is going to be no peace nor prosperity for mankind as long as the earth remains divided into 50 or 60 independent states, until some kind of international system is created. The real problem today is that of world government.”

1928 – “The Open Conspiracy: Blue Prints for a World Revolution” by H. G. Wells is published. A former Fabian socialist, Wells writes: “The political world of the Open Conspiracy must weaken, efface, incorporate, and supersede existing governments. The Open Conspiracy is the natural inheritor of socialist and communist enthusiasms; it may be in control of Moscow before it is in control of New York. The character of the Open Conspiracy will now be plainly displayed. It will be a world religion.”

1933 – “The Shape of Things to Come” by H. G. Wells is published. Wells predicts a second world war around 1940, originating from a German-Polish dispute. After 1945, there would be an increasing lack of public safety in "criminally infected" areas. The plan for the “Modern World State” would succeed on its third attempt, and come out of something that occurred in Basra, Iraq. The book also states: “Although world government had been plainly coming for some years, although it had been endlessly feared and murmured against, it found no opposition anywhere.”

Nov. 21, 1933 – In a letter to Col. Edward M. House, President Franklin Roosevelt writes: “The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned the Government since the days of Andrew Jackson.”

March 1942 – An article in “TIME” magazine chronicles the Federal Council of Churches [which later becomes the National Council of Churches, a part of the World Council of Churches] lending its weight to efforts to establish a global authority. A meeting of the top officials of the council comes out in favor of: 1) a world government of delegated powers; 2) strong immediate limitations on national sovereignty; 3) international control of all armies and navies. Representatives (375 of them) of 30-some denominations assert that “a new order of economic life is both imminent and imperative” – a new order that is sure to come either “through voluntary cooperation within the framework of democracy or through explosive revolution.”

June 28, 1945 – U.S. President Harry Truman endorses world government in a speech: “It will be just as easy for nations to get along in a republic of the world as it is for us to get along in a republic of the United States.”

October 24, 1945 – The United Nations Charter becomes effective. Also on October 24, Senator Glen Taylor (D-Idaho) introduces Senate Resolution 183, calling upon the U.S. Senate to go on record as favoring creation of a world republic, including an international police force.

Feb. 7, 1950 – International financier and CFR member James Warburg tells a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee: “We shall have world government whether or not you like it - by conquest or consent.”

Feb. 9, 1950 – The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee introduces Senate Concurrent Resolution #66 which begins: “Whereas, in order to achieve universal peace and justice, the present Charter of the United Nations should be changed to provide a true world government constitution.”

1952 – The World Association of Parliamentarians for World Government draws up a map designed to illustrate how foreign troops would occupy and police the six regions into which the United States and Canada will be divided as part of their world-government plan.

1954 – Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands establishes the Bilderbergers: international politicians and bankers who meet secretly on an annual basis.

1961 – The U.S. State Department issues Document 7277, entitled “Freedom From War: The U.S. Program for General and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World.” It details a three-stage plan to disarm all nations and arm the U.N. with the final stage in which “no state would have the military power to challenge the progressively strengthened U.N. Peace Force.”

1966 – Professor Carroll Quigley, Bill Clinton's mentor at Georgetown University, authors a massive volume entitled “Tragedy and Hope” in which he states: “There does exist and has existed for a generation, an international network which operates, to some extent, in the way the radical right believes the Communists act. In fact, this network, which we may identify as the Round Table Groups, has no aversion to cooperating with the Communists, or any other groups, and frequently does so. I know of the operations of this network because I have studied it for twenty years and was permitted for two years, in the early 1960s, to examine its papers and secret records. I have no aversion to it or to most of its aims, and have, for much of my life, been close to it and to many of its instruments. I have objected, both in the past and recently, to a few of its policies, but in general my chief difference of opinion is that it wishes to remain unknown, and I believe its role in history is significant enough to be known.”

April 1972 – In his keynote address to the Association for Childhood Education International, Chester M. Pierce, Professor of Education and Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard University, proclaims:“Every child in America entering school at the age of five is insane because he comes to school with certain allegiances toward our founding fathers, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being. It's up to you, teachers, to make all of these sick children well by creating the international child of the future.”

July 1973 – International banker and staunch member of the subversive Council on Foreign Relations, David Rockefeller, founds a new organization called the Trilateral Commission, of which the official aim is “to harmonize the political, economic, social, and cultural relations between the three major economic regions in the world” (hence the name “Trilateral”). He invites future President Jimmy Carter to become one of the founding members. Zbigniew Brzezinski is the organization's first director.

There are three major economic areas in the world: Europe, North America, and the Far East (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc.). If, under the pretext of having to join forces to be able to face economic competition with the two other economic regions, the member countries of each of these three regions decide to merge into one single country, forming three super-States, then the one-world government will be almost achieved. Like Fabian socialists, they achieve their ultimate goal (a world government) step by step.

This aim is almost achieved in Europe with the Single European Act (Maastricht Treaty) that was implemented in 1993, requiring all the member countries of the European Community to abolish their trade barriers, and to hand over their monetary and fiscal policies to the technocrats of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium.

In January, 2002, all these European countries abandoned their national currencies to share only one common currency, the “Euro”. Moreover, the Nice Treaty removed more powers from countries to give them over to the European Commission. What begun innocently in 1952 as the EEC (European Economic Community, a common authority to regulate the coal and steel industry among European nations), finally turned into a European super-state. Jean Monnet, a French socialist economist and founder of the EEC, had this in mind when he said: “Political union inevitably follows economic union.” He also said in 1948: “The creation of a United Europe must be regarded as an essential step towards the creation of a United World.”

As regards the North American area, the merger of its member countries is well under way with the passage of free trade between Canada and the U.S.A., and then Mexico. In the next few years, this free-trade agreement is supposed to include also all of South and Central America, with a single currency for them all. Mexico's President Vucente Fox said on May 6, 2002, in Madrid: “Eventually, our long-range objective is to establish with the United States, but also with Canada, our other regional partner, an ensemble of connections and institutions similar to those created by the European Union.”

1973 – The Club of Rome, a U.N. operative, issues a report entitled “Regionalized and Adaptive Model of the Global World System.” This report divides the entire world into ten kingdoms.

1979 – FEMA, which stands for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is given huge powers. It has the power, in case of “national emergency”, to suspend laws, move entire populations, arrest and detain citizens without a warrant, and hold them without trial. It can seize property, food supplies, transportation systems, and can suspend the Constitution.

Not only is it the most powerful entity in the United States, but it was not even created under Constitutional law by the Congress. It was a product of a Presidential Executive Order. An Executive Order becomes law simply by a signature of the U.S. President; it does not even have to be approved by the Representatives or Senators in the Congress.

A state of “national emergency” could be a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, or a stock market crash, for example. Here are just a few Executive Orders associated with FEMA that would suspend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These Executive Orders have been on record for nearly 30 years, and could be enacted by the stroke of a Presidential pen:

# 10995: Right to seize all communications media in the United States.

# 10997: Right to seize all electric power, fuels and minerals, both public and private.

# 10999: Right to seize all means of transportation, including personal vehicles of any kind, and total control of highways, seaports, and waterways.

# 11000: Right to seize any and all American people and divide up families in order to create work forces to be transferred to any place the Government sees fit.

# 11001: Right to seize all health, education and welfare facilities, both public and private.

# 11002: Right to force registration of all men, women, and children in the United States.

# 11003: Right to seize all air space, airports, and aircraft.

# 11004: Right to seize all housing and finance authorities in order to establish “Relocation Designated Areas”, and to force abandonment of areas classified as “unsafe”.

# 11005: Right to seize all railroads, inland waterways, and storage facilities, both public and private.

# 11921: Authorizes plans to establish Government control of wages and salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial institutions.

1991 – President George Bush Sr. (father of the current U.S. president) praises the New World Order in a State of the Union Message: “What is at stake is more than one small country; it is a big idea - a new world order... to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind... based on shared principles and the rule of law... The illumination of a thousand points of light... The winds of change are with us now.” (Theosophist Alice Bailey used that very same expression – “points of light” – in describing the process of occult enlightenment.)

June, 1991 – World leaders are gathered for another closed door meeting of the Bilderberg Society in Baden Baden, Germany. While at that meeting, David Rockefeller said in a speech: “We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.”

Oct. 29, 1991 – David Funderburk, former U.S. Ambassador to Romania, tells a North Carolina audience:“George Bush has been surrounding himself with people who believe in one-world government. They believe that the Soviet system and the American system are converging.”

May 21, 1992 – In an address to the Bilderberger organization meeting in Evian, France, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger declares: “Today Americans would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order; tomorrow they will be grateful! This is especially true if they were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead with world leaders to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well being granted to them by their world government.”

July 20, 1992 – “TIME” magazine publishes “The Birth of the Global Nation,” by Strobe Talbott, Rhodes Scholar, roommate of Bill Clinton at Oxford University, CFR Director and Trilateralist (and appointed Deputy Secretary of State by President Clinton), in which he writes: “Nationhood as we know it will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single global authority... All countries are basically social arrangements... No matter how permanent or even sacred they may seem at any one time, in fact they are all artificial and temporary... Perhaps national sovereignty wasn't such a great idea after all... But it has taken the events in our own wondrous and terrible century to clinch the case for world government.”

1993 – A second Parliament of World Religions is held in Chicago on the 100th anniversary of the first. Like the first convention, this one seeks to join all the religions of the world into “one harmonious whole,” but it wants to make them “merge back into their original element.” Traditional beliefs of monotheistic religions such as Christianity are considered incompatible with individual “en- lightenment”, and must be drastically altered.

July 18, 1993 – CFR member and Trilateralist Henry Kissinger writes in the “Los Angeles Times” concerning NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement): “What Congress will have before it is not a conventional trade agreement but the architecture of a new international system...a first step toward a new world order.”

1994 – In the Human Development Report, published by the UN Development Program, there was a section called “Global Governance for the 21st Century.” The administrator for this program was appointed by Bill Clinton. His name is James Gustave Speth. The opening sentence of the report said: “Mankind's problems can no longer be solved by national government. What is needed is a world government. This can best be achieved by strengthening the United Nations system.”

May 3, 1994 – President Bill Clinton signs Presidential Decision Directive 25, and then declares it classified so the American people can't see what it says. (The summary of PDD-25 issued to members of Congress tells us that it authorizes the President to turn over control of U.S. military units to U.N. command.)

Sept. 23, 1994 – The globalists realize that as more and more people begin to wake up to what's going on, they have only a limited amount of time in which to implement their policies. Speaking at the United Nations Ambassadors' dinner, David Rockefeller remarks: “This present window of opportunity, during which a truly peaceful and interdependent world order might be built, will not be open for too long... We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis, and the nations will accept the New World Order.”

March 1995 – U.N. delegates meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss various methods for imposing global taxes on the people of the world.

Sept. 1995 – “Popular Science” magazine describes a top secret U.S. Navy installation called HAARP (High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) in the state of Alaska. This project beams powerful radio energy into the earth's upper atmosphere. One of the goals of the program is to develop the capability of “manipulating local weather” using the techniques developed by Bernard Eastlund. (The program has been underway since 1990.)

September 27, 1995 – The State of the World Forum took place in the fall of this year, sponsored by the Gorbachev Foundation located at the Presidio in San Francisco. Foundation President Jim Garrison chairs the meeting of who's-who from around the world, including Margaret Thatcher, Maurice Strong, George Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, and others. Conversation centers around the oneness of mankind and the coming global government. However, the term “global gov- ernance” is now used in place of “new world order” since the latter has become a political liability, being a lightning rod for opponents of global government.

1996 – The United Nations' 420-page report “Our Global Neighborhood” is published. It outlines a plan for “global governance,” calling for an international “Conference on Global Governance” in 1998 for the purpose of submitting to the world the necessary treaties and agreements for ratification by the year 2000.

2003... The world is on the verge of another global war, the “state of emergency” looked for by the one-worlders to impose martial law and the universal microchip under the skin... But with enlightened peoples help, they will not have the last word!

2017... It may sound like an Orwellian nightmare, but the technology to implant RFID chips into human beings and track their every move has been there for years.

RFID stands for radio frequency identification, and uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects, including an implanted chip

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capisback · 4 years

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character A hasnt seen character B for years. they're both villians in a superhero AU and they reminisce about the old days where they worked together or had a common interest in killing a/the hero/s. They don't use their real names, just their villain names. Maybe they're secretly into each other, who knows. Go wild babe. i imagine they meet on top of a building and suprise eachother.

Nothing ever changed in the city Melusine called home. Once, a long time ago, she’d hoped it would. She’d thought maybe she could change it with her own two hands. Take it, and twist it, and make it new, better, make it a city she and her family could live in without – well. Everything that came with being different.

As she stared over the monotone greyscale cityscape, given colour only by the setting sun, she thought of how foolish she’d been.

She’d started being a Villain at seventeen. Young enough to hold such naïve hopes for herself and the future.

Melusine sighed, kicking her legs, which dangled over the skyscraper’s edge, back and forth. She sounded like an old lady, and yet she wasn’t a day over twenty-six.

Pigeons scattered up from the lane right below Melusine, a luxury car speeding past as if it owned the street. She briefly considered sending a bubble down, trapping the car inside, and letting it and its driver stay suspended for an hour or twenty-four.

Gravel ground under someone’s feet, behind her, to her right, and she instantly summoned five paralysis bubbles to her fingertips. She whirled around, poised to throw, but stopped short, almost frozen, when she was met with a familiar – albeit a little different – figure.

“Vougn?”

“Méduse?” Vougn all but gaped at her, posture and features openly displaying her shock. “Is – Is that really you, Méduse?”

“Vougn”, Melusine breathed.

“Méduse!” Vougn launched herself towards Melusine so fast, that Melusine, out of reflex (and necessity, she later realised, seeing as she’d been about to be tackled off a skyscraper), threw a bubble towards Vougn, trapping her inside.

“Hey!” Vougn whined. “This isn’t what I call a warm ‘Nice to see you again’!”

“Sorry.” With a flick of her fingers, the bubble dissolved. “Reflex.”

“Hmm, good to see you’re still sharp, even after all this time.”

“It hasn’t been that long.”

“Please”, Vougn laughed, walking up to Melusine this time. “How long have you been a Villain for? Ten years? And I haven’t seen you for the last four of them, so sorry if I’m pleased to see you haven’t gotten rusty in your old age.”

“Har har”, Melusine said with a fond roll of her eyes. “I’m old, laugh it up.”

“Awww, don’t be like that, Méduse.” Vougn shoved her shoulder, seating herself next to Melusine. “If it’s any consolation, you look just as pretty as when I last saw you.”

Heat flushed across her cheeks and nose, and she quickly turned to look back at the city, away from Vougn.

“You don’t”, Melusine said loudly.

“Aw, I don’t?”

Melusine’s face, rather than cooling down, became a tad bit hotter at Vougn’s teasing tone, and she turned her face away to the left even more.

“You look even prettier”, she said, only a bit clearer than a mutter. And it was true. Vougn had changed overtime. Cropped her dirty blonde hair to just beneath her chin, where it had been a long braid when she and Melusine had had their partnership, and she’d changed her colour scheme to a fetching black-and-red.

“Hmhm~”, Vougn hummed, victorious, teasing grin clear in her voice. “Thought so.”

“Your personality’s terrible, though.”

That shocked a laugh out of Vougn. “Well! That’s what I’m known for!”

“What a pity to be both beautiful and a bastard.”

“Oh, Méduse, if you keep complimenting me like this, you know how we’ll end up?”

Ah, well, that didn’t help Melusine’s long-held (and previously dormant) crush get out of overdrive at all.

“Locked in battle?” she tried, hoping her voice wasn’t several pitches higher than usual.

“Yeah. Taking down our very own Superhero together.”

“You mean Draft?”

“Him, and whatever other hero we want.” Vougn sent her a cheeky, dreamy grin.

“That does sound nice, doesn’t it?”

If only it was something they could do – something she could do. But she hadn’t been able to realise something that big for a long time. When they’d started out, she and Vougn had been a great team. Draft had been a bit of a novel hero then, too, and he’d been so much fun to toy with. Too bad that Heroes got actual training, while they had to figure it out for themselves. Really gave the Heroes a very unfair advantage, and the Villains didn’t get enough credit for their actually quite impressive feats. Not that anyone was going to praise a Villain.

“Remember back in our first year?”

The sun dipped below the skyline, rays of gold, molten sunshine illuminating them through the haze hanging over the city.

“I remember all our time together, so you’ll have to be a bit more specific.”

Melusine chuckled. “The first time we captured Draft? Got him to spread my sticking bubbles all over the city. He was so upset.”

“Oh, oh, yes”, Vougn chortled. “Of course! God, and when we hung him by a rope at the edge of that gargoyle? I lit a fire under him, and he got right to begging! ‘Buh-buh-buh-lease’! He was so pathetic!”

“He is! And he’s gotten such a big head now, despite only having some so-so wind powers. Borea has amazing control over it, and the tricks she does are amazing, but you don’t see anyone complimenting her.”

“The fate of being a Villain, I’m afraid.”

“And who names themselves Draft? Who let him name himself that?”

Vougn sputtered a laugh. “It’s probably the best he could come up with since he’s so damn daft!”

“Oh my god”, Melusine laughed.

“Right?” Vougn wiped at her eyes. “What would you have called him?

“Probably just Daft, I think that’s perfect.”

“It checks out, for sure, but really. If you had to give him a proper Superhero name, what would it be?”

“I don’t know…” Melusine twirled her hair around her finger. “Something cool? Like, let’s see… Zephyr?”

“Oooh, sounds fancy. What’s that from?”

“It’s the Ancient Greek name for the western wind.”

“Oh, man, that would’ve been so much more intimidating than Draft. Can’t believe I have to regularly beat up a kid called Draft and not Zephyr.”

Melusine bit back her laughter as she tried for mock-sympathy. “Oh, no, poor Vougn. Having to kick ass and not even having someone cool to beat up. However will the number three villain recover from this injustice?”

Vougn sniffed and wiped away an imaginary tear. “Thank you, it’s really hard.”

“How is it, though, being a big time Villain? Everything you hoped for?”

Everything fell silent for a long moment. Melusine was struck by the weariness of Vougn’s expression, the tired curve of her back.

“Well…” That bitter, breathy laugh shouldn’t come from someone like Vougn. She was upbeat, bright, and sometimes a little too much. She wasn’t quiet, or reserved. She wasn’t bone-tired and disillusioned. Not the Vougn Melusine remembered.

But then again, neither was Melusine the one Vougn remembered. The world had changed them both. Maybe too much.

Melusine, too, was tired.

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you”, there was that cheeky tone again. Both a relief and a painful sting, since it was so obviously strained, an attempt to divert from her inner turmoil. “How are you holding up? I see you’re still rocking that jellyfish aesthetic.”

She motioned to Melusine’s blue-and-white, puffy (and jellyfish-frilled) skirted outfit.

“I’m getting kind of tired of it, actually.”

And of everything that came with it.

Maybe she and Vougn still made a perfect pair, after all.

“Oh. That’s too bad. I think it suits you.”

Melusine cracked a smile. “Thanks.”

They settled into a long silence. Dusk rapidly caught up to the time. The long shadows cast down on the city below disappeared into the dark. Only they, up on their skyscraper, were privy to the beauty and the setting of the sun, and the movement of the Earth.

Her grandmother loved dusk. Le Crépuscule, she always said, refusing to use the English word. Her grandfather had once told her he’d had to bargain with her to keep from naming their little crafts-and-herbs store that. She had to admire her grandfather. Her grandmother was a hard woman to bargain with.

“You know”, Vougn said. “When I first got these powers, I never imagined I’d turn out like this.”

She let fire dance across her fingertips, the bright orange flickering and casting a warm glow between them.

Melusine huffed, bitter and understanding. “Me neither. They always tell you you’ll be the hero, don’t they?”

“Yep.” Vougn popped the ‘p’. “But, hey, they also say everyone’s the hero of their own story, so I guess they’re a little right.”

“No, they’re not.”

“No, they’re not”, Vougn agreed, and snuffed out her fire.

Melusine closed her eyes and tilted her head back, face towards the clouding sky. This, this, was nice. Calm, quiet. Peace. She wanted that. No more battles, being yelled and cussed at, no more injuries and long days and late nights.

She wanted a life. A proper one.

“Vougn”, she said, softly. “I’m quitting Villainy.”

“What?”

Melusine looked back at Vougn, surprised by the disbelief in her voice, and even more at the distress on her face.

“I’m quitting”, she repeated, firm and resolute. “It’s not worth it anymore, Vougn. All of this, it’s just – ” She sighed. “I can’t do it anymore. I don’t want to.”

“But – but you had such big plans!” Vougn stumbled over her words. “Weren’t you going to change things?”

“And where have I gotten with that?” She looked at Vougn with earnest sorrow. “Tell me, Vougn, how have I changed anything? How will I ever change anything? We’re not the heroes of this story. At least, not me. Maybe you still have a chance. But I’m done, Vougn. I’m – I’m so tired.” She choked on fresh tears.

“Méduse…” Vougn hesitantly reached for her, hand hovering in the space between them.

Melusine clasped that hand tightly with her own two.

“Will you remember me?” Her throat was raw. Her feelings clawed, sharp and unbidden, up her chest. “When I’m gone. Will you at least remember me?”

Vougn swallowed thickly, frozen for a moment, but then she placed her other hand, gently but firmly, a promise and a reassurance, over Melusine’s.

“How could I ever forget you?”

Melusine let out a wet laugh, her smile wobbly.

The caress of Vougn’s thumb over the back of her hand was gentle, comforting.

“Méduse”, Vougn’s voice was soft. “I just – I want to –” She frowned, struggling. She tried again. “Will we ever meet again?”

“I don’t know. I hope so.”

“Me, too.” A pause. “I’ll search for you.”

Melusine smiled, soft, and for the first time in a long while, hopeful. “I’ll love to see you try.”

#Anonymous #hello thank you for this prompt because I think I'm in love with Meluse #me: this is going to be short :)#also me: writes 1785 words #ok so maybe I should explain Meluse's jellyfish theme?#so like her name is méduse #and this both means Medusa #AND #jellyfish #idk why that is but I really love it #french did a good job with this one #first I wanted to call her Méduse as in medusa and then I went with Médusine but Melusine kept calling to me #so in the end I used both Melusine as her first name and Méduse as her villain name #and Vougn comes from Vough (or Fuath) which is gaelic and I didn't think Vough fit very well and for some reason my mind kept going Vougn so #here we are #also I'm not very good at writing superhero/villain stuff lol #but I tried!#I had to cut a few small things I wrote because it didn't fit in with the rest and im sad #it's been ages since I last wrote something so thank you SO MUCH for this prompt #I had a lot of fun!!#hope it's somewhat alright #I'll probably pick out a few things I would've changed later but so far I'm pretty pleased with it #hope you enjoy it too!!#cap's writing #writing #hope there's no mistakes either lol #but eh we'll see #prompt

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princesspreze7 · 3 years

Text

That letter to James Hamilton Jr

I'm really bored so here's my thoughts on this letter (and headcanons on the relationship between Alexander and James Jr).

In case you don't know what letter I'm talking about, it's this one:

Things I like about this letter (hopefully in order):

1. "My Dear Brother" I know this isn't uncommon, but I just think it's cute

2. MORE LETTERS he's talking about other letters between them and we only have one. Can you imagine them gossiping about what's happening at the Island and on mainland?? Or maybe referencing childhood memories?? Or James asking about how college is and Alex just being like "oh actually I'm fighting a war now..." and James going off at him? Or just saying that they miss each other? So much history and we only have one letter.

3. Alex helping James as much as he could at the time. Considering Alex probably blamed himself for many things, he could've been thinking back on how James had been there when their father left, comforting him after their mother's death, taking care of him with Peter, and dealing with everything that had after Peter's death. James had probably done so much for his little brother and he wanted to repay him for everything.

4. So he wants to get James to mainland, most likely because of the conditions of the islands but he must miss James. I think he also just wanted to see, and be with him again.

5. Alex asking (kind of in a teasing manner, I'd say) if he's single. That's brotherly love. (I also like how he says "If the latter, it is my wish for many reasons it may be agreeable to you to continue in that state" now I know this is because I he's to bring James to America, it would be so much easier if it's just him, but I think the way he worded it is amusing)

6. Asking about their dad. The guy couldn't have been too bad if he referred to him as their "dear father". That or his daddy issues are showing and he's forgave him.

7. It's quite sad how he keeps writing to his father without a reply. Honestly guy could've gotten someone to write a fake letter about his death and sent it to Alex.

8. The fact that Alex mentions his father being unlucky to the point it's embarrassing is one of my favourite things in this letter.

9. "Sometimes I flatter myself his brothers have extended their support to him" yeah me too Alex. Honestly, I don't get why any of this man's seven brother's would help him after abandoning his children. Also here's some information I found on the brothers :

10. "beg him to write to me, and tell him how ready I shall be to devote myself and all I have to his accommodation and happiness" Alex, your daddy issues are showing. Imagine James not ever trying to communicate with their dad but now just because his brother asked, he writes to their dad and is like "heyy so I don't wanna talk to you but Alex does so if you don't mind and go bother him that'd be great, thanks. - one of the kids you left behind like an asshole <3"

11. "My object will be, by-and-by, to get you settled on a farm" wouldn't it make more sense to get him a small house near town?? Maybe James wanted to have a farm when he was little and Alex remembered that? Or he could really like animals?? Or maybe that's just a pretty stable job but let me dream.

12. "Believe me always your affectionate friend and brother, Alex. Hamilton" sorry I just really like them making a point on how they're brothers. Seems like they were the type of brothers to argue about everything but as soon as one of them got into a fight with some other kid, they'd join forces. Did anyone else try to make a secret language with their best friend?? They'd do that.

Well that's it, thanks for reading my rambling

#fav #look at that i made an actual history post #alexander hamilton #james hamilton jr #james hamilton #amrev #letters #american history #history #best bros #they had to be close am i right??#historical alexander hamilton #historical hamilton #hamilton

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eurydicees · 3 years

Note

August Prompt Challenge Prompt: do-over. Maybe with Zukka

thank you for the prompt! it's a bit rushed, but this was super fun to write :)

to begin again, with new names and familiar faces

summary: in a tea shop in ba sing se, sokka and lee start over.

pairings: gen fic, but can easily be read as pre-relationship zukka

words: 1785

warnings: none

The first time that Sokka goes to the Jasmine Dragon, he’s served by a boy whose hands shake when they set the tea cup in front of him. Sokka doesn’t look too hard at him, distracted by the biscuits that are on the tray with the tea.

The tea is good, and that’s really all that he cares about.

The second time that Sokka goes to the Jasmine Dragon, he goes right before closing. It’s an asshole move, but he’s had a long day of searching for Appa and if he has to sit in that house with the rest of the kids one more minute, he’s going to lose his mind. He can only think of so many places in Ba Sing Se that are open at this hour, and so, before he can regret it, he’s stepping into the tea shop.

The boy at the cash register groans.

“Now, Lee,” Sokka hears someone say, “we’re welcoming of all our customers, no matter what time they come in.”

The boy seems about to protest, but then his eyes lock on Sokka and he cuts himself off. Sokka isn’t quite sure why, until he looks at the boy. At the shaking hands. At the scar on the left side of his face. At the curl of his mouth.

It’s Zuko.

Except, the boy who must be Zuko says nothing. He doesn’t light his fists on fire, doesn’t take aim at Sokka, doesn’t narrow his eyes in anger. He gives no sign of recognition other than the subtle shake of his hands.

Have Zuko’s hands ever shaken before? Or have Sokka’s?

Sokka can’t remember any moment in their many fights when Zuko had done anything other than growl. There had been no trembling hands. There had never been this tense silence between them; there had never been anything even remotely similar to this. To Zuko, standing there with his mouth in a hard line, his hands gripping the counter tightly. To Sokka, standing there with his lips parted, his hand halfway to his boomerang.

“How can I help you?” the boy says. His voice is hard, flattened out into the same voice all customer service workers use. There’s no fire in it; there’s no threat in it. If Sokka didn’t know better, he might think that there was a sliver of anxiety to the formal speech.

Sokka finds himself standing in front of the cash register, money in hand, and convincing himself not to be afraid. Zuko can’t attack him here, not with the groups of people finishing their teas. His boomerang burns where it rests, tied against his back. If the worst happens, Sokka is prepared to fight.

“Hibiscus tea,” Sokka says, swallowing down any fear.

The boy— Zuko, it has to be— bites his lip as he writes down the order. “It’ll be a few minutes.”

Sokka just nods. He doesn’t know what to do with his hands. He and the boy— Zuko, he must be Zuko— just stare at each other, until there’s a clanging in the kitchen and the boy turns away. All that Sokka can see is the red of the scar.

It’s exactly the same as Zuko’s scar. How many people, Sokka wonders, could have been hurt like this? Who could survive such a burn but a firebender?

But Sokka can’t do anything about it. Not here.

So he sits at one of the tables, crosses his arms, and keeps his eyes on the boy. He watches him clear the tables, wiping them down with a rag. He carries several trays in one hand, balancing them perfectly. He talks with the customers, people that Sokka guesses are regulars, who laugh with him rather than wincing at him.

It’s strange and uncomfortable and Sokka itches to run, but he can’t flee now. He can’t give in— he has to figure out what Zuko is doing here. He had been trying to escape the house because Aang was annoying him by virtue of being twelve, but he would still kill for that boy, and right now, all of his protective instincts are telling him to stay in this tea shop.

“Here’s your tea,” the boy says, setting down a tray. The words aren’t a growl, but they’re rough, as if they’ve been burnt, as if Zuko has just coughed out a collection of embers in his throat. Even just this simple sentence, spoken in a tea shop, is enough to set Sokka on edge. The boy seems to realize it, too, because he flinches away from Sokka’s gaze. “Enjoy.”

Sokka, before he can stop himself, grabs the boy’s arm. “Zuko.”

Zuko freezes.

There’s a moment of silence.

Then Zuko tears his arm out of Sokka’s grip. He stands still, staring at the wall, refusing to meet Sokka’s eyes. Sokka, though he wants to fight, take him down here and now before he can get to Aang, is grateful that they aren’t looking at each other. Zuko doesn’t turn around to glance at him when he says, “I don’t know who that is.”

“What’s your name then?” Sokka says.

“My name is Lee,” Zuko says, “you must have confused me for someone else.”

Sokka swallows down any protests. He can see the lie just as well as Toph might have been able to feel it, but he also knows that he can’t fight Zuko in a tea shop. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Lee says, and then, with the stiffness of the hunted, he walks away.

Sokka watches him go, and tries not to flinch when Zuko turns around, his eyes meeting Sokka’s for the first time. In the candlelight of the tea shop, his eyes are a molten gold.

Sokka shivers.

The third time he goes to the Jasmine Dragon, it’s in the middle of the day, at the height of the lunchtime rush. Zuko, standing alone at the register, is hastily scribbling down orders as people come in, barely having time to count out the coins before he’s handing the change off to the customer. He’s rushed, frazzled in a way he hadn’t been when Sokka was there in the empty hours.

Sokka orders his tea— he’s been trying a new one off of the menu every time he comes, and today it’s a blend of lavender and chamomile— and Zuko barely glances at him. The only sign of recognition is the flicker of his gaze from Sokka’s eyes to the boomerang strap at his chest to his eyes again. But still, he doesn’t bring out his fire and he doesn’t attack. He only waves Sokka towards a table and promises that the tea and macaroons will be ready momentarily.

Sitting down, Sokka watches the rush die down from his table by the door. It’s a strategic placement, he tells himself. There’s an easy escape route, and he can keep an eye on Zuko without craning his neck towards the register.

It’s not long before Zuko comes over to his table with his tray. His hands are steady as he sets it down in front of Sokka and pours the tea. It’s slow and careful, like Zuko has been practicing pouring tea his entire life. He can’t have been, though, because Fire Nation royals don’t pour their own tea. Sokka watches Zuko’s fingers, wrapped around the handle of the tea kettle, knuckles paling until he sets it down.

“You’re busy today,” Sokka says casually.

“It’s lunch hour,” Zuko says. His voice is rough, but there isn’t the same nervousness that there had been on Sokka’s last visit. “It’s always busy around this time.”

Sokka nods. Then, because he doesn’t know how to control his mouth, he says, “Sit down with me. Take your break.”

Zuko falters, his hand slipping as the tea kettle clatters back on the table. Nothing spills, but Zuko shakes out his hand like he had been burned. “What?”

“You look overwhelmed,” Sokka says, trying to figure out what he’s doing and why. It’s part of a plan, he decides. His mind just hasn't caught up with the plan his tongue is weaving. “So take your break.”

Zuko stares at him. Sokka can feel his skin burning with the glare of the afternoon sun that floods through the wide open windows. Sokka thinks that maybe Zuko is going to run away, but instead he just swallows. “I’ll tell my uncle I’m taking lunch.”

“Okay,” Sokka says, and Zuko turns towards the kitchen. Just before he walks out of earshot, Sokka calls out, “Don’t keep me waiting.”

He doesn’t realize it sounds like a threat until Zuko flinches. He doesn’t realize how scared his voice sounds until Zuko disappears behind the kitchen doors. There are a lot of things that Sokka is unsure of, right now, and one of them is whether or not Zuko is going to come back— and if he does come back, if he’ll be coming back with fire-hot hands.

Zuko does come back, though, and he comes without any weapons. He’s wringing out his apron in his hands, like he needs something to keep him steady. As he slides into the seat opposite of Sokka, he drops the apron against his lap and clasps his hands on the table.

“What do you want?” he asks, voice small. “I’ll do anything. Just… leave this place alone.”

Sokka frowns. “What?”

Zuko still doesn’t meet his eyes. “I’ll turn myself over to the Avatar. I will. Just let my uncle have this.”

He’s serious, Sokka realizes. He really will turn himself in if it means keeping the Jasmine Dragon peaceful. He’s willing to give up this false identity that he’s created, he’s willing to give in to whatever Sokka asks for.

There’s a rush of power that runs through Sokka’s head— Zuko has been making his life hell for the past few months, and he has the ability, now, to take him prisoner.

But Zuko— Lee, now— looks so tired as he sits there, head bowed. Zuko drops his hands from the table to his lap, pulling at the strings of his apron.

“Your name is Lee,” Sokka says quietly, “I don’t know why I would ever introduce Lee to the Avatar. I don’t know why Lee would want to meet him, either.”

Zuko’s head snaps up, widening eyes meeting Sokka’s. They stare at each other for what feels like years— the kind of years that bring the wisdom that comes with a stalemate. Or, not a stalemate, nor a surrender, but a peace treaty. Sokka doesn’t bring Aang here, and Zuko doesn't start a fight with them.

“Right,” Lee says quietly. “I don’t know either.”

Sokka takes a breath. “Then let’s start over, Lee. Do you want a macaroon?”

#ask #my writing #august prompt challenge #atla #zukka #atla fanfic #avatar fanfiction #avatar: the last airbender #zuko #sokka #zukka fanfic #zukka fanfiction

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dumblydork · 3 years

Text

Wasn't expecting to be back as a writer so soon but I just absolutely CANNOT get enough of writing headcanons and AUs and JUST BEAR WITH ME OKAY

Also I feel like this is super long but it might not be idk

Some more Hinny, with a bit of Romione! So this one is set in the modern magical world. Hope you enjoy! And don't forget, if you have absolutely ANY Hinny headcanons you'd want to see written, please drop me a message or an ask anytime and I'll do my best to write one 3>

"This class just CANNOT get any worse." Ron muttered, drawing lazy lines with his pen on the History of Magic textbook they were reading.

"We literally live in 2020, do we really HAVE to study all this old age crap?" He continued, now shifting to drawing circles as the teacher droned on.

Harry for one, wasn't listening to the professor (though he did vaguely hear him mention 'Goblin War' but that was about it) and neither to Ron. Harry was busy staring out of the window onto the busy streets of London below their high classroom, thinking about a certain redhead.

A certain redhead who also happened his best friend's sister.

"Hi!" Hermione's voice came in an excited whisper as she started taking out her textbook, the dull grey of it made slightly happy with all the colourful muggle stickers (once affronted, she had told Harry that they were called 'Post Its' but Harry just could never bother with the name), full of notes and extra bits. Hermione was careful not to let the professor know that she was suddenly here, a thought which hit Harry when Ron exclaimed almost loudly before Hermione kicked his foot under the table to shut him up.

"I swear to Godric you weren't here literally a minute ago how- Harry?" Ron wondered, calling his best friend.

"Yes it's very odd Ron." Harry almost sighed, back to his brooding. Hermione was doing weird things always- it was nothing new.

"Please be like Harry and stop looking so surprised. Let me focus." Hermione sneered at Ron and whipped out her pencil, furiously noting down from the board whatever the professor had been droning on about for the past 45 minutes.

"And that, is all on the Goblin War of 1785 today. Make sure you finish your homework- remember, 4 pages on the magical strategies used by the two goblin sides to win the war. I need it handed in on Monday. Class dismissed." The professor walked out with his nose in the air, as if he had imparted the knowledge of a lifetime in one single lesson. He waved a lazy hand at the board which wiped off all the notes, releasing a few cries from the back where some kids were still making notes.

"Thank Godric that's over!" Ron could almost cry. Harry was back to paying attention, especially after Hermione slapped his hand. "Earth calling whatever planet Harry Potter is on!" She laughed. The three of them got up and walked out into the corridor.

"What lesson do we have next?" Harry asked absentmindedly.

"What's up with you today? You've been like this since we returned from the Burrow well over a week ago." Ron said thoughtfully, an arm slung carelessly around Hermione's shoulder, who was surprisingly okay with it.

Harry snapped back to reality. If Ron found out, it would be Harry's head and nothing else.

"And what about the two of you? Care to explain," Harry looked at the Ron's arm, "whatever this is? You two have been just finding ways for touching each other, don't think I haven't noticed." Harry finished with a whistle, knowing this was the nerve he had hit. He almost grinned to himself.

"That," Hermione shrug off the arm around her, blushing furiously, "is just two friends being friendly." She finished, but there was a considerable change in the pitch of her voice.

"Yes yes whatever." Harry flicked a lazy hand at the two, knowing fully well they had gotten up to something in the Burrow which was only between the two of them.

The trio had reached the cafeteria where they sat down on one of the empty benches, having half hour free before moving on to Harry's most despised class- Chemistry, or Potions as it was called in the older ages.

Harry let his thoughts move back to the Burrow (courtesy this couple who were now sitting with their sides practically touching). The Burrow was Ron's house, and the trio's favourite hangout. They were there for the summer break, which had ended a week ago, but the memories were still as old as yesterday.

"Oh please, I will kick your ass at Quidditch." Ginny, Ron's younger sister and the youngest Weasley piped, her fiery red hair pulled back into a ponytail.

Quidditch was the one thing Harry really enjoyed- it was rare to have Quidditch matches in school now with so much course load, so these summers were what he lived for.

Particularly this one summer where Ginny had turned up looking just gorgeous, something Harry had failed to notice in the 6 years he had known her. It wasn't as if she wasn't gorgeous before- it just struck him differently this time. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the fact that she could make Harry laugh almost always. She was not only gorgeous- Ginny had developed a sense of humour and sarcasm quite unlike her brothers- they were fond of practical jokes, whereas Ginny was more of the sharp tongued type who could make an entire room laugh without as much as waving a hand. And it was absolutely fabulous. Harry had found himself staring at her practically everyday of summer since he came to the Burrow three months ago.

The way she tied her hair up, or how she bit her lip when exasperated with her Math homework and the way her lips opened slowly first when she laughed. The slight, barely perceptible crook in her teeth and the generous sprinkling of freckles all across her face. It was all suddenly very endearing to Harry.

And hence, midway through his last week at the Burrow, Harry had come to the conclusion that he had started fancying Ginevra Weasley, his best friend Ronald Weasley's younger sister. Not to mention practically Hermione's best friend, despite being an year younger.

So that was why Harry was barely able to keep his impulses in check when he saw Ginny in her Quidditch outfit, wearing a red and gold jersey with cream coloured bottoms. But when he thought of how he could have his ears boxed in by Ron, he could very much focus back on the match and not on a heart-achingly stunning redhead.

"Language, Ginny. This girl," Ron's mom, Molly, muttered under her breath, currently putting up laundry by swishing her wand back and forth. All of the Weasley siblings were back home at the Burrow, except for Percy and Bill, who were both busy working.

"Sorry mom! As I was saying Harry, I will definitely kick your bottom in this match." Ginny corrected herself.

"Please, we shall see." Lately it was getting increasingly difficult for him to produce coherent responses in front of the woman he had come to consider as practically a sarcastic goddess. But he was proud of this response- he should continue thinking about Ron's punches.

"Okay, positions, and go!" Harry heard Arthur, Ron's father say and the match began in earnest. Hermione was sitting this one down with a novel, but at the moment was preparing a jug of lemonade the Muggle way.

Ron and Harry were one team, whereas Ginny, George and Fred were another. The game lasted for a good 40 minutes before Harry and Ron won the game by obtaining the 'snitch' (which was actually just an enchanted flying ball, kindly given to them by Arthur who had an obsession for all things Muggle).

"What happened to all that talk of kicking ass, huh?" Harry laughed, almost falling into one of the reclining chairs. Molly was handing out cool glasses of lemonade. "I think mine needs more ice." Harry said, sipping from his glass.

"Oh I totally forgot the ice! My wand is in the kitchen though." She said sheepishly, not wanting to give up her spot on the recliner. Or rather not wanting to get up from her spot next to Ron, who had decided to perch himself on Hermione's recliner despite there being an extra empty one.

"That's okay, I'll get some myself." He grinned. "I'll come too- I need to change out of this." Ginny added. They walked back inside the Burrow which was empty, with the entire family outside in the garden.

Harry waved his wand which was lying on the kitchen counter into a bowl and ice appeared, shining in the sunlight but not melting. Magic.

He added a few to his glass and leaned on the counter, sipping lazily on the drink. It was good to be away from the noise for a minute. Ginny reappeared downstairs, having changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and unholy thoughts came rushing back into Harry's brain.

"I'll get some ice too, now that I'm here." Ginny took out an empty glass and filled it with ice, presumably wanting to fill it with lemonade later. But the way she took the ice gave Harry goosebumps- she leant across him instead of asking him to move and picked a few pieces of ice from behind him. Harry was frozen in his place- Ginny made no move whatsoever to stand behind. She stood inches away from Harry, just a few centimetres shorter than him.

"Oh for goodness sakes Harry, kiss me already." She rolled her eyes but the tip of her ears went red.

"What?" Harry spluttered- it was something he had been wanting to do since the start of summer but putting it into words stunned him of sorts. Was he THAT readable?

"Don't think I haven't seen the way you've looked at me all summer, Harry. It's not that difficult to know that you fancy me. A lot. And just so you know, I do too. A lot. Have done so since Ron introduced us.* She whispered, but stepped back after her confession.

Harry was still stunned, but could anyway notice the distance she had put, now slightly unsure after her brazenness. She still stared at him, her lips shaped into an imperceptible 'O', begging to be kissed. So that's what Harry did- he pulled Ginny back towards him by her waist and placed his lips on hers, almost tasting sunlight but with cherry swirled in it. His hands remained at her waist but Ginny moved hers to lock around Harry's neck, slowly playing with the curls at his nape. She smiled into the kiss, parting her lips were slightly, just so Harry could taste her; it was sinful but decadent. Very much like a good bar of chocolate. More than good. An absolutely unbelievable bar of chocolate.

When they finally pulled back after what could have been a lifetime, or an eternity, or a few seconds, Ginny grinned at Harry. "Do you not have anything to say?" She stood there's suddenly a bit shy, with her arms still around Harry's neck.

"You said all of it for me. I do fancy you- maybe way too much." He said, feeling as if Ginny's brazen confidence was transferred into his veins.

"That's a relief, because I might or might not have been looking to get you to kiss me." She said, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

"You what?" Harry stared at her incredulously, before breaking out into a wide smile.

"Don't worry, the bit about me fancying you is real. Have done so since I was 10." She added seriously.

"So are we a thing now?" Harry raised an eyebrow, quite enjoying the small circles he was making on Ginny's side.

"Keep dreaming on, Potter." She removed her hands from around his neck and disappeared like she had reappeared after changing, what felt like ages ago. Harry smiled to himself before walking outside again, his lemonade glass forgotten.

---

"Really Harry, one would think you're in love the way you're zoned out." Ron stared at him, as Harry snapped back into the real world.

"Huh? Oh yeah." He agreed absent mindedly, still reeling a bit from that summer afternoon.

"You're in love?" Hermione asked, an eyebrow raised as she looked up from what looked like homework.

"Forget me, but you do seem to be." Harry glanced at her notebook, which had R+H scribbled messily on the margins. He grinned as Hermione and Ron blushed furiously.

"Okay fine, me and Ron might have kissed at the Burrow." Hermione said, snapping her book shut as Ron stared at her longingly.

"How interesting, because me and Harry did something similar." Ginny suddenly appeared from behind and sat beside Harry, pressing her lips to his cheek.

The two boys stared back and forth. Ron's eyes widened but returned to their normal size, as Ron slung an arm around Hermione again, except this time she actually leaned into him.

"What? Is happening?" Harry looked around, first at the couple in front of him and then at Ginny. This was all extremely confusing.

"Did you think you were the only observant human to ever exist? Hermione Granger is my girlfriend, Harry. Nothing escapes her. Not when one of her best friends kisses another one of her best friends." Ron laughed.

"Wait so you're not mad?" Harry was still shaken. Was his worrying all a waste? If he'd known, he could have spent more time with Ginny, locked behind doors, his lips on hers-

"Why would I be? I'd rather Ginny end up with you rather than some other git from school." Ron's voice cut into his thoughts breezily.

"Oh. Okay." Harry settled before smiling at Ginny and weaving his hand through hers.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Harry's eyes widened.

"Wait. Hermione Granger is your girlfriend?!" The typical Potter late realisation. The three people around him laughed heartily before Harry joined in, shooting Ginny an endearing look, making the tips of her ears turn red.

#hinny au #harry potter #ginny weasley #harry potter headcanon #harry x ginny #hinny headcanon #hinny #headcanon #school #romione #ron x hermione

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ghosstlycc · 3 years

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Brief 1: Red vs Blue Starting Points

When given the theme of Red vs Blue, I didn’t have an immediate idea, so I started by writing all of the characters, objects, shows, ect. that I could relate to these words.

I wanted to generalise these ideas as much as possible, however I knew I wanted to start off this topic by creating something I knew I could do, which is concepts and costumes, which narrowed down my ideas to possibly redesigning an existing set of characters.

I chose 2 subjects I wanted to work on, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), or Little Red Riding Hood by by Charles Perrault (1628-1703) and the Brothers Grimm (1785-1859), where I then created some moodboards to narrow down to just one idea, and this allowed me to really think about what I could accomplish in the time frame given.

Instead of focusing on the “good vs evil”, I wanted to focus more on generational, societal, or social status, which led me down the path of working on Alice and The Queen of Hearts, rather than the “predator vs prey” route of Red Riding Hood and The Wolf.

With these things in mind, I went forward and started researching and creating individual moodboards using PureRef.

I created some initial sketches of both characters, focusing on their different lifestyles, ages, and backgrounds; Alice being a carefree child or a young teenager being from a small village or town, which made me think of Spring and flowers, clouds and breezes, but also playfulness and messiness, which is the exact opposite of the Queen of Hearts, ruler of Wonderland; “a tyrant – violent, authoritative and dominant [...] and is feared by all other Wonderland inhabitants because of her lack of patience and explosive character”, connecting with visuals of fire, power, materialism, and wealth, and these have - hopefully - been interpretated into my sketches.

Citations:

Brothers Grimm - Wikipedia (2021). Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Grimm (Accessed: 6 October 2021).

Charles Perrault - Wikipedia (2021). Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Perrault (Accessed: 6 October 2021).

Lewis Carroll | Biography, Books, Poems, Real Name, Quotes, & Facts (2021). Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lewis-Carroll (Accessed: 6 October 2021).

(2021) Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/snailperson/red-vs-blue/ (Accessed: 6 October 2021).

Queen of Hearts - Alice-in-Wonderland.net (2021). Available at: https://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/resources/analysis/character-descriptions/queen-of-hearts/ (Accessed: 5 October 2021).

#red vs blue #practice 1

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agentofship · 4 years

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Missing Pieces, chapter 1

FitzSimmons, rated T, 1785 words Summary: Suffering from amnesia after a bad car accident, Fitz is trying to get his memory back. Maybe having a big crush on his doctor while he does so isn't the best way to go about it. Or is it?

Written for AOS AU August for the lovely @sunshineandsciencebabies <3 But also, THIS IS MY HUNDREDTH FIC!!! Who knew when I finally decided to write my first fic a few years ago that I would get to a hundred?! But here I am and I'm very happy that it is with this little FitzSimmons fic I'm very fond of. A big thank you to everyone who read, left kudos, commented and made me want to write more. And an extra big thank you to @libbyweasley who has been my beta almost from the start and made my words, my ideas and my English so much better <3 Hope you enjoy this fic, there's four chapters planned for now but it is subject to change depending on my inspiration :) There was a knock on the door and Fitz instinctively hid his "construction" under the covers, straightening up before clearing his throat and telling whoever it was to enter.

"Good morning, Mr Fitz."

Fitz's lips pulled up immediately as his favorite doctor entered the room. Well, his current doctor and the only one he could remember anyway but still… seeing her first thing in the morning always put him in a good mood despite everything.

"Good morning, Dr Jemma Simmons, neurologist with an extra degree in biochemistry, originally from Sheffield, United Kingdom."

She smiled fondly as she tilted her head to the side.

"Very good, Mr Fitz!"

"Hey, no need to patronize me. You're the one who told me I'd have no trouble remembering things i've learned since the accident," Fitz grumbled.

"I didn't mean to patronize you. It's just that it's always good to make your memory work, whether it's old or recent, it might help you recover more…" She trailed off when she noticed his widening smile. "You were teasing, weren't you?

"Fitz nodded and she glared at him as she grabbed his file from the end of his bed and sat on a chair as she took a pen out of her blouse pocket.

"What are you—"

"Patient seems to have developed a mean sense of humor," she said, very clearly pretending to write. "Might be a symptom. Need to check for more brain damage."

Continue reading on AO3

#aosficnet2 #aosauaugust #fitzsimmons #alternate universe #fitzsimmons fic #amnesia fic #hundredth fic

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faelune-home · 4 years

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FFXIV Write 2020 #25: Wish

(A/N: I miss Minfilia ;3; I wanted to properly feature her in one of these since its turned to a heavy focus on Fufu’s relationships with the Scions.

A bit of backstory for Fufu featured here. Set after Ifrit’s defeat in early ARR.

Word Count: 1785

@ffxiv-writers)

“All the way from Thavnair?” Minfilia gawped, intrigue shining in her eyes. Fufu nodded, taking a sip from the glass of water the highlander had brought for her.

“Yup. Just a small tribe waaay away from the city though.” The candle set on the table flickered, making the shadows dance on the walls of the Sands’ common room.

It was almost certainly a late hour, but sleep had eluded the keeper woman after the mission against Ifrit. Looking for a way to calm her racing mind, she’d left her assigned room, only to run into the Antecedent, also up late herself. ‘Catching up on neglected paperwork’, she’d said with a chagrined scowled, fallen to the wayside in the flurry after the primal summoning.

The little chat they were having was suggested by the hyur to take their minds off their troubles. To get to know each other better as comrades.

“Still, you’ve come from quite far. I do hope Eorzea has treated you well in your time here,” the woman smiled. Fufu’s ears flattened against her head and she shrugged.

“It’s been fine. I went to Gridania to focus on training my bow skills--”

“Ah, I can see why; their archer’s guild is one of the finest around,” Minfilia interrupted, though she had a sympathetic look on her face, adding, “But I can tell they haven’t been all too kind, have they? Old prejudices against Keeper kind.”

Fufu winced, but tried to shrug it off with a nonchalant, “Well, one of my guildmates is a bit stuffy and all ‘Only native Wildwoods can be any good at the bow, your art is a pale imitation’, but the guildmaster tries to keep him in line. Sometimes.” Another sip. “I could do without the Wood Wailers though. They’re awful.”

Minfilia couldn’t help but snicker at the miqo’te’s imitation and her brutal frankness. She sobered quickly though, offering a sincere smile as she said, “My condolences, friend. Would that we could be without such animosity. Especially during these times.” Her expression darkened and she sighed.

A tail brushed her arm, and her companion said, “It is what it is. I can handle it.” The hyruan nodded, then perked up, saying, “But let us not dwell on things out of our control. What of your family? What are they like?”

“Oh, well, it's just my aunt really,” Fufu hummed, looking a touch guilty as she continued, “I know you wanted to shift away from a sad topic, but my parents died years ago. But I was only a baby, I didn’t even know them, just what my aunt’s told me.” Minfilia flinched, but before she could apologise, Fufu swiftly went on, “It’s not something I feel bad about to be honest. It was so long ago and like I said, I didn't even get to know them. It’s hard to miss someone you don’t even recall.”

“I see...That is an understandable feeling to have. I’m still sorry to hear that.”

A brief pause hung in the air between them, until after another sip of water, Fufu kept talking. “Aunt always told me it was a wild animal attack that did it. That destroyed our home village in Ilsabard where I was born, and that killed them and so many others. And growing up with the tribe on Thavnair and spending a lot of time with the hunters, I could see the impact beasts could have. Made it easier to believe. It wasn’t till years later I learned from one of the elders that escaped with us that it was Garleans instead.”

Her ear flicked. “It’s funny. When I asked her about it after learning about it, she said she never wanted me to grow bitter, or seek revenge. And I guess she had a point, ‘cos even after that, I didn’t want to.” She smirked. “And yet here I am, in a land where the Empire is right on the doorstep, and I suppose there’s always the risk I’ll have to fight them, won’t I?”

“Possibly. But you won’t be alone, I promise you that,” Minfilia insisted, giving her friend’s shoulder a gentle squeeze with her hand. The miqo’te smiled at the gesture, then asked, “What about you and your family?”

The highlander stared deeper into her glass, as though contemplating it. “I suppose I’m much the same as yourself; my birth mother passed away many many years ago. So for a while it was just myself and my father.” A deep frown passed her features. “He...he perished in an accident in Ul’dah. It was awful. And for a while I feared it was a purposeful attack, retribution for double crossing the Empire and selling their secrets to others. Truthfully I still don’t know if that outcome would’ve reassured me over it just being a terrifying mistake.”

To her surprise, Fufu pulled the woman into a one armed hug, her arm snaking over her shoulder, and nudging their foreheads together. Minfilia blinked, caught off at the sudden moment, causing the other to wince and pull back, “Sorry. I just thought-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” the hyuran sniffed, not realising she’d been near to tears until she was wiping away at her wavering eyelids, “Pray, forgive me, I didn’t think I’d be so weepy at the memories.” She shifted into a sad smile, as she mumbled, “As much as I miss him, I had people with me then to pick me up and look after me after it all. Thancred and my adopted mother, Lhaminn. I will always be grateful to them.”

“I’m grateful to so many who have stood with me over the years,” the woman murmured into the dark, “Some of my oldest friends like Tataru and Krile” - she saw the miqo’te’s ear flick at the new name, but she didn’t press, letting Minfilia talk on - “and I’ll ever appreciate the support Louisoix gave me before the Calamity struck. And to his Archons, for staying with me into the Scions’ creation. Even if it has never been an easy job.”

She sniffed again, the only sound in the common room, broken only by the gentle tap of an empty glass on wood. Fufu hummed.

“You’ve done a lot of work it sounds like. And the Archons and all the other Scions here must have a lot of faith in you to keep at this.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I deserve it,” Minfilia wavered, “When all we can do is follow empty leads, be ever one step behind having to chase after our problems, ever unable to fully solve them. How long can people follow someone that can only promise that peace will come eventually from our efforts? That we strive for hope where there is hopelessness?”

Fufu didn’t answer immediately, but she flicked her tail at the woman’s knee, catching her attention, and asked, “What is your goal here? And not just the whole ‘preserving the dawn of a new era’ stuff.”

She hesitated, but only briefly. With a determined look, Minfilia declared, “I would strive for Eorzea’s stability. That her people would know peace, that we can free them from the shadow of the Empire, and that we can bring an end to the Ascians’ machinations, for their every move would undermine our work.”

Her mask slipped only slightly, allowing her apprehension to slip through as she continued, “I would hope that we can bridge the gaps between the people of the city states and the beast tribes, who have been cast out and in their anger and sorrow listen to the whispers of the dark and perpetuate a cycle that locks Eorzea in conflict. For every time the city states silence the beast tribes, they grow more frustrated. With their frustration, they summon their gods. And their gods draw the ire of the Empire, whom the city state leaders fear in turn.”

She shook her head, scowling. “If only we could but break the chain. But to do that, we must needs make progress in our search for the Ascians, and further still in ways to defeat them.” Minfilia slumped, the weight of her conviction heavy on her shoulders.

Fufu placed a hand on her arm, and the hyuran looked up into a warm smile. “I’d fight for that.”

The reassurement raised the woman’s spirits, allowing her a smile once more. “I thank you, friend. And my apologies as well. I suggested this talk so that we could forget about what ails us, and I brought it back to the fore myself.”

The miqo’te shook her head, giggling lightly, “I don’t mind. I knew it was gonna be a lot of work here in the Scions. But hearing you sound so certain about what we have to do makes me feel better about it. Even if I know it's not gonna be easy.”

Minfilia chuckled alongside the other. “It is a lot to handle. But I have faith we can do it.”

“Then have faith in yourself as well,” Fufu insisted, looking serious, only to break the illusion with a pouty, “Please” at the end. Minfilia sighed, yet she still smiled.

“Very well then.”

A comfortable silence fell between them both, neither fussed about breaking it. Breaking through the walls of the base, the waves lapped at the docks of Vesper Bay.

“To achieve one's hopes and dreams, it is not always enough to wish on the stars or pray to the gods,” Minfilia suddenly mumbled, making the other’s ear flick, curiosity on her face, “We must put in the effort as well, that we know that we truly earned that which we worked for.”

Fufu was uncertain of how to respond, though any attempt she could’ve made was broken by the creaking of the door to the room, a sleepy Tataru peeking in.

The Lalafell yawned, “Minfilia, I got an emergency linkshell call for you. Someone named Red Cedar or Geyser...I’m sorry. But they said it was something you asked about last week and they’ve finally picked up on what you were looking for.”

Minfilia nodded, getting to her feet and taking both empty glasses with her as she said, “My thanks Tataru. I will get in touch with him myself. You can return to bed.” As the door shuddered closed again, Minfilia turned to her companion and smiled. “Yourself as well, friend. Twelve knows how busy our days will be now, especially after your grand victory.”

Fufu giggled. “I’d be more surprised if nothing happened. Oh,” Minfilia stopped at the door at the girl’s gasp.

“Thank you for the chat. It helped.”

The bright beam on the miqo’te face was mirrored on Minfilia’s own. “Anytime, my friend. Truly, I mean it.”

#ffxivwrite2020 #ffxivwrite #a realm reborn #minfilia warde #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #tataru taru #my wol #my writing #keeper of the moon miqo'te #fufu faelune

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nordleuchten · 3 years

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Did Lafayette own slaves?

Hello! Yes, the Marquis de La Fayette owned enslaved people – close to seventy people actually. He did own them in an attempt to promote the abolishing of slavery. That sounds like an awful contradiction at first so allow me to elaborate. La Fayette believed passionately that slavery was wrong and that something needed to be done. This opinion was in large parts formed during the American Revolution. It was not only the first time that he was so strongly exposed to the system of slavery but he was also confused by the contradiction America presented. A people fighting for their freedom and independence, writing such lofty words as “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.“ – yet the very same people kept their fellow man in bondage. But slavery was not an exclusively American problem – far from it. La Fayette wanted to show everybody that it was possible to abolish slavery – gradually at least. He wanted to purchase a plantation and a number of enslaved individuals and then teach them everything they needed to know – in his opinion at least, to be freed. He told Washington (and a number of other people) about his idea and tried to enlist his aide. In general, La Fayette often discussed the matter of slavery with Washington, who owned quite a number of enslaved individuals himself, and even tried to convince him of freeing all these men and women. La Fayette hoped that Washington’s greater than life reputation would convince other people to do so as well. Washington’s reputation and great name were also surely among the reasons why La Fayette wanted his help with regard to his plantation-project. He wrote the following in a letter to Washington on February 5, 1783:

„Now, My dear General, that You are Going to Enjoy some Ease and Quiet, Permit me to propose a plan tot you Which Might Become Greatly Beneficial to the Black part of Mankind—Let us Unite in Purchasing a small Estate Where We May try the Experiment to free the Negroes, and Use them only as tenants—Such an Example as Yours Might Render it a General Practice, and if We succeed in America, I Will chearfully devote a part of My time to Render the Method fascionable in the West indias—if it Be a Wild scheme, I Had Rather Be Mad that Way, than to Be thought Wise on the other tack.“

The latter was actually about the peace treaty that effectively ended the Revolutionary War. For the next three years not much was happening – until La Fayette wrote Washington again on July 14, 1785:

„You Remember an idea which I imparted to you three years ago—I am Going to try it in the french Colony of Cayenne—But will write more fully on the Subject in my other letters.“

He wrote again to Washington on February 6, 1786:

„(…) an other Secret I intrust to you, my dear General, is that I Have purchased for Hundred And twenty five thousand French livres a plantation in the Colony of Cayenne and am going to free my Negroes in order to Make that Experiment which you know is My Hobby Horse.“

La Fayette had instructed his attorney to buy property in French Guiana in a letter on June 7, 1785 with the condition that he would “neither sell nor exchange any black“. The 125.000 Livre he paid translate roughly to 1.250.000 modern US Dollar. The plantation was named “La Belle Gabrielle” and was the “home” of just under seventy individuals between the ages of a few months and 59 years (I have sadly never seen a more precise number). The Administer of the plantation, a Monsieur de Geneste, send La Fayette a list with the names, age and descriptions of these people. Here is the first page of his report.

La Belle Gabrielle was a clove and cinnamon plantation and after La Fayette bought the property, he employed the following changes. The people there were paid, given free time and days off and an education. Furthermore the severity of their punishments was toned down to resemble the punishment that any free white labourer would face under similar circumstances. They were however not free to just wander off. When the French Revolution really hit it off in 1789, La Fayette had less and less time to spend on his “hobby horse” as he called it. His wife Adrienne, who was involved from the begin, took over and managed now most of the plantations affairs. Adrienne was a very religious person and the moral and religious education of the people on the plantation was for her of great importance. He corresponded regularly with Miolas Jacquemin, a missionary who lived in a settlement of missionaries close by the plantation. It seems as though he not only reported to her what was happening on the plantation but that he and his fellow missionaries also coordinated the religious education of the people there.

In 1792, when the National Convention called for La Fayette’s arrest and he was captured by the Austrians, his properties were sold, including his plantation. His improvements on the plantations were revoked. In February of 1794 the Convention abolished slavery and French Guiana was actually one of the places that was reached by the new law. In many French colonies things continued like they were despite the new law. Furthermore was French Guiana one of the few places that did not see a lot of violent upheaval during this time – something La Fayette later in life took great comfort in. So yes, La Fayette did own enslaved people at one point in his life.

I hope you have a pleasant day/evening.

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husheduphistory · 5 years

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Nannerl: The Mozart Musician Forced to Sit in Shadows

Leopold Mozart wrote glowingly of his gifted child. The letter was peppered with words like "genius", "prodigy”, and he openly declared them "one of the most skillful players in Europe." He wasn’t gloating; his child was armed with a musical ability that stunned prestigious audiences all over Europe. Sadly, it is accurate to say that this musician’s gift was snuffed out of history and has never been heard by modern ears. That is because in this letter Leopold was not talking about little Wolfgang, he was writing about his eldest child, his daughter Maria Anna.

Leopold Mozart

Born in Salzburg, Austria on July 30th 1751, Maria Anna Mozart had music in her blood thanks to her father who was a composer, conductor, and an accomplished violin player. By the time she was seven years old Leopold had already taught his daughter how to play the harpsicord, a task he may have relished not only due to his profession, but because by the time little Maria Ann turned seven Leopold and his wife Anna Maria had already lost seven children. Only one other child survived along with Maria Anna, her younger brother, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Maria Anna, affectionately nicknamed Nannerl, proved early on that she was more than talented, she was a bona fide musical virtuoso. Able to absorb music as easily as taking a breath, Nannerl quickly learned complex musical pieces and began writing music of her own with her progress recorded in a notebook. At the onset of her learning, Wolfgang was only three years old and in these early years he was heavily exposed to every step of his sister’s education. The two Mozart children were very close, the pair regularly played in an imaginary “kingdom” where they occupied seats of fanciful royalty and they even created their own language. Wolfgang adored his older sister and as he watched her musical talent bloom some scholars believe it was his wish to be like her that sparked his interest in learning music for himself.

Portrait of Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart

When the young Wolfgang began attempting music like his sister the Mozart family was surprised to discover that they had not one prodigal child, but two. Taking selections out of Nannerl’s notebook, Leopold tested Wolfgang’s abilities and wrote in her pages “This minuet and trio were learned by Wolfgang in half an hour, at half-past nine at night on the 26th of January 1761, one day before his fifth birthday.” Because of his obvious talents Leopold started Wolfgang’s musical education early, beginning at only five years old.

On their own each of the Mozart children could display gifts that astonished even the most accomplished musicians, but together they were capable of wowing the world. Within three years the children, aged approximately eight and eleven, found themselves performing in Munich in front of the court of Prince-elector Maximilian III of Bavaria. Said one concert-goer “The poor little fellow plays marvelously, he is a child of spirit, lively, charming. His sister’s playing is masterly, and he [the prince] applauded her.” In 1763 Leopold wrote glowingly to a friend back home is Salzburg:

“We played a concert on the 18th which was great, everyone was amazed. Thank God, we are healthy and, wherever we go, much admired. As for little Wolfgang, he’s astonishingly happy, but also naughty. Little Nannerl is no longer in his shadow, and she plays with such skill that the world talks of her and marvels at her.”

In the summer of 1763 the Mozart family set out on their most ambitious endeavor, an eighty-eight city tour across western Europe, called the Grand Tour. The name of the tour was more than appropriate. Over the course of several years Nannerl and Wolfgang would play in front of everyone from common townspeople to royalty in performances that could exceed three hours. They were promoted as the “Wunderkinder”, with Nannerl being billed first above Wolfgang. As stated by one review written in 1763:

“Imagine an eleven-year-old girl, performing the most difficult sonatas and concertos of the greatest composers, on the harpsichord or fortepiano, with precision, with incredible lightness, with impeccable taste. It was a source of wonder to many.”

Portrait of the young Nannerl and Wolfgang Mozart

Their popularity steadily grew and the Mozart family quickly found themselves in a world of servants, gifts, and all manner of finery. The travel and fame filled their lives with happiness, but it also took an unavoidable physical toll.

Moving from city to city exposed the Mozarts to praise and prominence, but it also made them susceptible hosts for disease. While touring outside London Leopold fell ill and the Mozart children were told the temporary home had to be kept quiet. Unable to play their instruments the children decided to do the next best thing. Nannerl took up some parchment and the pair collaboratively wrote down Wolfgang’s first symphony with Nannerl remembering later how her brother told her “Remind me to give something good to the horns!” The illnesses eventually made their way to the children as well. In September 1765 what appeared to be a minor bug began to affect both Nannerl and Wolfgang but as time progressed the suspected cold grew worse and it was determined to actually be a severe case of typhoid. The disease wracked the children and it took them nearly four months to recover. But, despite the need for rest after recovery Leopold decided the tour needed to resume. The Mozarts did not return home to Salzburg until November 1766.

Modern day plaque in the Czech Republic marking a building where the Mozart family stayed while on tour in 1767.

Despite their working and sharing the stage together, there is little evidence that the Mozart siblings had any feelings of jealousy toward each other. In fact, it appears that it was the exact opposite between the two. They both reveled in the music and their abilities, collaborating and often encouraging each other. But, as time moved on their father began to see Nannerl as simply a part of a bigger picture and he began to focus his attention on Wolfgang. In approximately 1768-1769 Leopold decided it was time to once again bring the Mozart name on the road, but this time Nannerl was to remain in Salzburg. She would never tour again.

The reason for the eldest prodigy being left home while the younger Wolfgang went out into the world was as simple as it was sad. At the age of eighteen Nannerl was no longer seen as a wonder child prodigy, she was seen as a young woman who should be staying home and getting married. This decision from Leopold was never questioned. To the two Mozart children the word of their father was set in stone with Wolfgang writing in a later letter “Next to God comes Papa.” The loyalty Nannerl had for her father was absolute and when he and Wolfgang left on tour she waved goodbye while standing in place. The change was respected, but it was not unfelt by Wolfgang who wrote while touring Italy, “I only wish that my sister were in Rome, for this town would certainly please her.”

Many letters were exchanged between Nannerl and Wolfgang, and through some of this correspondence it becomes clear that Nannerl did not abandon her love of music. Leopold and Wolfgang sent her sheet music to study so the two siblings could play when he returned home but Nannerl took it a step further and continued to compose her own music which she sent to her brother out on tour. The support between the two is evident in a July 7th 1770 letter from Wolfgang to Nannerl where he praises the piece she sent to him:

“I am amazed! I had no idea you were capable of composing in such a gracious way. In a word, your Lied is beautiful. I beg you, try to do these things more often.”

The piece of music has never been found.

Painting of the two Mozart children playing together with their father looking on holding a violin.

As the Mozart children grew older their connections to their father took very opposite routes. Schisms between Wolfgang and Leopold began to grow as the roles of manager and father continued to blur. Wolfgang was Leopold’s livelihood and he attempted to direct him in all matters, but the son grew to resent him and he chose to go against his father’s wishes. When Wolfgang was twenty-one Leopold found him a position in Salzburg at the court of the prince-archbishop but Wolfgang refused it stating “The archbishop could not pay me enough for the slavery in Salzburg.” In approximately 1781 Wolfgang completely defied his father and left Salzburg for good in the pursuit of greater fame and fortune. Nannerl stayed behind, since their mother’s death in 1778 she had become Leopold’s sole caretaker and defying their father by leaving was not an option in her mind. Nannerl was completely devoted to Leopold and when Wolfgang left, she took her father’s side in the matter. The stepping out of Wolfgang marked a deep wound in the relationship between the siblings, one that would never fully heal. In 1783 Nannerl married Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg in a village twenty miles outside of Salzburg. She breifly returned to Salzburg in 1785 to have her son, the baby was named Leopold.

In a questionable move, Nannerl and her husband moved back to their home village shortly after the infant Leopold was born, but the baby was left behind with his grandfather. The elder Leopold may have been granted this custody in the attempt to cultivate another musical prodigy, but the plan never had a chance to develop. Leopold Mozart died in 1787 and the baby was returned to Nannerl and Johann.

Nannerl had two more children in 1789 and 1790 but by the time they were born her connection with her brother Wolfgang had ceased to exist. He had gotten married August of 1782 and visited his sister with his new wife in 1783, but after that the two never visited each other, their families never interacted, and it seems that their correspondence ceased completely by 1788. In 1791 Nannerl’s youngest child died in infancy and in 1801 her husband died leaving her with their two surviving children and four stepchildren from Johann’s previous marriage. She moved back to Salzburg with her family and found work as a music teacher.

Nannerl Mozart

The worlds of Nannerl and Wolfgang Mozart did not cross again until she reached old age. Wolfgang had died on December 5th 1791 but his widow, Constanze, got remarried to Georg Nikolaus von Nissen, and in 1820 they moved to Salzburg where she finally met again with her estranged sister-in-law. The meeting of the two women in the Mozart home city was not overly affectionate, but it was cordial enough that Nannerl agreed to help Constanze with the writing of a biography of Wolfgang, allowing her brother’s widow access to papers and letters written between the family members up until 1781.

In the last years of her life Nannerl’s health took a sharp decline with her losing her vision in 1825 and spiraling further into ill health for the next few years.

Maria Anna Mozart, musical prodigy, composer, world-renowned performer, and lead billing of the “wunderkind” duo of the Mozart children, died on October 29th 1829 at the age of seventy-eight.

Today the name Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is synonymous with musical mastery but the sister that supported and may have inspired him is hidden deeper within the pages of his life. She lives on in portraits, letters, reviews, and concert billings, and yet her music that was praised all over the world has never been found. Although it is a possibility, we may never know for sure if any of her later compositions made it to the world stage through the performances of her once adoring brother.

Maria Anna Mozart was buried in St Peter's Cemetery, located in her home city of Salzburg.

Communal vault where Maria Anna Mozart is buried.

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