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isekaithatplease · 3 years ago

Note

Review -the princess wars

Part 1 of this....review (it's more like rambling/reviewing/ranting) ((I will upload a part 2- when I get further into the story)

But Imma give you the official run down of this story before we start:

'After the Princess died, the soul entered a life-betting game! She will be the famous Pea Princess and other princesses in a fairy tale who will pursue the only prince. Only a princess who has successfully married a prince can return to the real world and continue her life and receive a huge bonus! How can she fight powerful princesses to capture the prince's love? ! War of the Princesses!"

interestingly enough- I read this one a while back, dropped it like a hot potato too, I'm in the middle of re-reading it right now, and I can safely say- that save for the fl and the art, can't forget the gorgeous art- I have literally nothing nice to say about this story.

I'm serious.

This will probably be the meanest review I ever type (for now)

Reading 20+ chpts of this series in one go was like going to a pig farm with no shoes on. Yes, I'm actually kinda upset that I had to re-read this story (it's not you, I just kinda hate this story) but I wanted to give it somewhat of a fair review, so to compromise I sort of speed read it.

So let's start with the good:

Well- ok, I might have a few good things to say about this story- mostly with the fl, Juana (I think that's her name).

Smart, resourceful, loyal and pretty funny! Not to mention that she's pretty strong and knows how to handle herself with weapons or maid work.

And the art- holy cow this art-

SHE KNEW WHAT WAS UP- GET A JOB! GET AWAY FROM HER!!!

The concept: Is also kinda interesting too, with the princess having special abilities, and whatnot, and you sorta feel bad for them, as there are actual stakes in the story! I also appreciate that the princesses seemingly follow their original story rather than a modified/watered down retelling, especially with the creative liberties that they take with the pea princess that technically doesn’t break the original story as:

-the original pea princess for all we know might not have ever been a princess to begin with

and

-her test was kinda rigged because anyone sleeping atop of so many mattresses would definitely complain about something, so I’ll give credit where credit is due- the concept is fairly interesting and inspired. There.

NOW ONTO THE BAD:

Now look, this is isekai, right? And let’s be honest most isekai isn’t perfect, but we can still enjoy it for what it is.

Bad/corny villains? Eh ok, bearable I guess.

Basic/uninspiring side characters? Ok a little tolerable, but not unbearable, if you got a good fl and ml, the story can still be ok.

Terrible/stupid fl or ml? Ok now you’re just going too far~ and that brings me to this story.

YIKES.

THE ML- PRINCE VINCENT.

Prince VINCENT

ugh this Ml

Like imagine taking Cardan from The Cruel Prince- and removing his microscopic redeeming qualities and 3-5ft deep character depth (obviously I'm exaggerating/joking here) BUT- if you did, you'd get Vincent. In fact, if I were to just jump down a nearby rabbit hole- this whole story kinda feels like if we were to do an uninspired 'eligible bacherolette' for the prince- Cruel Prince version. Yes.

One thing I hate hate HATE about this story is how society gossips about the princesses acting out of line, yet no one says anything whenever Prince Vincent, who's supposed to be the morally upstanding future emperor looking for a wife- A WIFE- YES ONE, willingly eggs them on against each other, because deep down I think he wants a harem of toys. He gets off on manipulating them and kinda egging them on against each other which is just...weird and kinda gross. He obviously wasn’t held at ALL as a child. Sadly this isn’t even the worst he does

I hate the ml (the way how he mistreats and acts like a terrible person to the fl is just ugghhh- I think he has a thing for humiliating and threatening her (with death or just pretty much anything whenever she doesn’t comply with his demands)- I actually think it’s a kink too. You know he's only getting a pass because he's the prince, the art is pretty and he's hot. Otherwise he'd be dragged and shredded.

I'm serious- mistreating her as having her spend her punishment as working as a maid (even when he had the same suspicions and in the end had no problem humiliating that princess who they were accusing of, in order to humiliate her own country into submissiveness), and then when she (I think) becomes something akin to a knight, his personal knight *unfortunately* he kinda just annoys/harasses her.

And let's not forget that time when he tried to kill her for her ending up in the library late at night and then forcing her to work for him. Maybe it'd be cute if they were like itsy bitsy kids or something- and this was just left to cold/jilted banter, but nah, I think he's abusing his power against her in an uneven power dynamic relationship.

He knows he can make these demands and sometimes he blatantly does when she clearly doesn’t want to do something, but he knows she can’t resist because he’s the one with the power here. They’re obviously not equals in this relationship- I mean, it’s kinda clear that he only sees her as an asset to completing his own mission rather than her being an actual person. He doesn’t berate her for almost killing herself in order to fullfil a mission for him, nor does he have any problems with using magic against her when SHE’S VISIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE WITH IT, and even after he uses it ON HER, he refuses to TELL HER WHAT HE DID TO HER. That’s SUCH A VIOLATION OF CONSENT- IT ACTUALLY MAKES ME ANGRY. ESPECIALLY WHEN WE KNOW HE’D THREATEN HER LIFE IF SHE DID ANYTHING EVEN REMOTELY SIMILIAR TO HIM.

This isn't like some harmful flirting, nah- he's making power moves against her. Publicly mocking her, privately putting her down while just leveraging her for whatever reason, pressuring and threatening her to ride a horse when she’s showing FEAR (which is kinda understandable, I can see why people would be scared of horses) and then stuffing her in an uncomfortable carriage when she’s still too scared to ride a horse.

He really doesn’t deserve her, in fact he doesn’t deserve anything at all, well except for the worst.

Also him painting using this as a test on only someone he can ‘trust’ aka so he could manipulate her into doing it is LAUGHABLY PATHETIC/MANIPULATIVE- given how he saw how said magic almost killed her in the first place, and despite her proving her worth to him MULTIPLE times while putting everything on the line, despite the fact that he treats her like utter GARBAGE. Just say that you want to exploit her for your own means, since it’s worked so far, and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, because that’s all you want to do.

Just to be clear, I have nothing against a 'mean' ml, and in some cases it does make way for great banter/relationships, and character depth- but I think that ultimately fails here- with the stakes being so high and the power mostly being in his favor. The dynamic fells uneven- and it feels like she’s being taken advantage of someone who doesn’t even see her as a person. Heck, I don’t think he sees anyone else as a person- as it’s shown how he can so easily toss away people for his own gain, which sure, is politics, but that doesn’t make him any better suited for her, in fact it shows that he’d probably sell her out too if he could politically one up, or just humiliate her (because that’s his kink- I’m 100% sure of it)

People call him complex, but no, I’m sorry. The most complex thing about him is how the artist blows their back out weekly trying to make him look good. Being a flat out terrible person who takes advantage of others is not complex, it’s poor writing. If he were the villain it would be ok, and understandable even, but he’s not- he’s supposed to be a deuteragonist that we’re ok seeing Juana with when she deserves BETTER.

You wanna know what actually is complex? Maybe a conflict or some sort of inner dilemma which the prince never has. If it’ll change, I’d like to see so, but I’m like 40+ chapters in, and I have yet to see anything.

That’s really sad that these are her ‘last thoughts’.

It also doesn’t help that literally any other male in this story would be a better male lead for the end game. Not even joking, I’d take the gardener or even the prince’s uncle over the prince. (Does anyone know what the gardener's curse is? I haven’t figured it out yet, but if I reach that point Imma upload it in part 2, if any of you know, please feel free to spoil it for me, the less I have to read outside of spoilers- the better).

I would not recommend this series to anyone - AT ALL.

the only way this story can redeem itself is if the females band together and rip his head off.

#manhwa #isekai #princess wars #review #rant #juana #anti-prince vincent

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quickspinner · 4 years ago

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“I trust you.” Viperbug 🐍🐞💙

Edit: Part 2 is now posted

Greetings from the fuuuuuutuuuuuuure...

Yeah, okay, so remember way back in uh....September, when the NY special aired, and I was so mad about it I decided to take Lukanette fluff prompts to ease my soul? Well, there were two prompts that never got answered because it turned out I had a bit too much salt to keep a lid on it altogether, and my dear friends who requested those prompts were okay with me going off the rails a bit...and then things happened and here we are months and months later. But finally! Here is part 1 of 2, and I've posted it on AO3 separately from the original Here for You so that those who were just coming for the positivity and don't want the salt can skip it.

Chat salt, Adrien salt, mainly ML writer salt to be honest but it gets taken out on Chat so screen accordingly.

The premise here is that Uncanny Valley could not/did not take the ring back to Chat, and the consequences of that decision. We'll be keeping, of course, the original Lukanette (or more accurately for this part, the Viperbug) love-and-support intent, because that's just how we roll on this blog.

Live With It Part 1

Luka was frowning as he played, staring at the lights on top of one of the cranes that had been brought out to deal with the rubble still littering the streets of Paris. He was worried.

Luka was not naturally a worrier. He mostly let things happen as they happened, preferring to face the aftermath once he knew what he was dealing with rather than to obsess over possibilities.

With the state of things lately, though, it was getting hard not to worry. All of Paris was worried, in fact, suddenly feeling vulnerable in a way that they hadn’t truly felt since Ladybug gave her speech defying Hawkmoth all those months ago, and released her ladybugs for the first time.

There had been no ladybugs this time. No Ladybug, no ladybugs, and all Paris was frightened, the whole city resonating with bone-deep dread. It didn’t matter that Ladybug had clearly pursued Hawkmoth to New York, that she had averted a crisis there halfway across the world. What mattered was that Paris had been left undefended and unprotected, without even a warning, and its people wanted to know why—and how they could be sure it wouldn’t happen again. The city was tense, silent, and frightened.

Even Luka felt it, that fear, despite his implicit trust in Ladybug. He knew that if she had left Paris, it was for something important, and it was unlike her to not have a backup plan or a backup to a backup plan, so...Luka was worried. He was sure something had gone wrong, he just didn’t know what, or how he could possibly help.

It frustrated him, being unable to do anything about the problems occupying his mind. Even if he could, though, he wasn’t sure his assistance would be welcome, and that stung even more. A few months ago things would have been different, but now...he was a liability, thanks to Miracle Queen.

He struck the strings in his frustration, and the chord rang out, vibrating over the water, still perfect despite the discord within him.

Luka sighed again.

The thud of superhero feet landing on the deck of the Liberty jolted him out of his funk, and the sound had never been more welcome.

“Ladybug,” Luka gasped, leaping up from his chair and dropping his guitar in it to cross the deck. He took her by the shoulders before he could stop himself. “I am so glad to see you. Are you all right? Of course you’re all right, sorry, it’s just we were all so worried when you didn’t show for the Sentimonster attack, and then that fight in New York looked vicious and I knew you had to be okay, but...I’m just really, really glad to see you.” He closed his mouth quickly before any more uncharacteristic babble could spill out.

“I’m all right, Luka,” Ladybug said, one hand curling around his forearm. Something in her voice scared him, and without thinking about it he cupped her cheek and tilted her face up into the light.

“Are you really?” he asked softly, and then asked the question that had been bothering him ever since he watched the fight in New York. “Ladybug, where’s Chat Noir?”

She stared at him for a moment, and then tears welled in her blue eyes and spilled over the edges of her mask.

“I’m not all right at all,” she cried, throwing herself against his chest and sobbing into his hoodie. “Chat—Chat’s gone.”

Luka sucked in a breath, arms curling instinctively around her, but Ladybug was pulling back to shake her head. “No, no, not like that, I’m sorry. The person, the b-boy who was Chat Noir, he’s all right as far as I know, but…” She looked around, and then back up to Luka, a frightened expression on her face. She rose up on her toes to speak next to his ear and whispered, “He gave me his Miraculous back.”

“No,” Luka breathed, and wrapped her up close in his arms. “Oh my God,” he whispered, rubbing her back as he held her. It occurred to him that he was being awfully forward and touchy with her, but he’d been so worried, not knowing what was going on, and tangled in knots about Marinette as well, who’d come back from her New York trip even more uncertain and depressed than when she’d left. Ladybug buried her face in his chest again and shook with silent tears, so he figured she didn’t mind.

No wonder. She probably really needed a hug as badly as he did right now, if not more. His hand continued to move across her back mechanically as he tried to take in the implications of what she’d told him.

Ladybug had no backup. Fighting by herself would be massively more dangerous and require a total change in tactics. She now had possession of both the black cat and the ladybug miraculous. Hawkmoth had only to capture her, and he would win. All her temporary heroes had been exposed, including himself. And all of Paris was clamoring to know why they hadn’t been protected in this last attack, why Ladybug had left them defenseless with no warning, and where was Chat Noir?

“You’ve had it rough, huh,” Luka murmured, squeezing her tight. “You always do, but I mean. More than usual.” She made a pitiful little noise of assent, barely audible from where she had her face smushed against him.

Luka took a deep breath and sighed it out slowly. “We can stay like this as long as you need to,” he told her. “When you’re ready, then you can tell me your plan.” She tensed slightly, and he added, “And if you don’t have one, we’ll make one.”

“I do,” she said without lifting her face, gripping his hoodie tight. “But we can’t talk about it here.” She took a deep breath. “I need Viperion. I know...I know that it’s dangerous, but I don’t know who else I can go to right now…”

“If you say it’s necessary then I trust you,” Luka said simply, putting as much conviction in his voice as he could. Ladybug straightened, and looked up into his face. He smiled, reaching up to wipe a tear off her mask with his thumb. Ladybug took a shuddering breath, and then unclipped her yoyo, reaching into it to retrieve the box. She met his gaze, and put it in his hands.

“Luka Couffaine,” she said, her voice shaky but strong. “Here is the miraculous of the snake. You will use it for the greater good.” She paused and swallowed. “When it’s no longer needed, you will return the miraculous to me. Do you accept this responsibility?”

“I do,” he said softly, opening the box. When the flash faded, he smiled at Sass. “Hey, buddy. Long time no see.”

“Luka,” Sass said simply, his expression grave. Luka reached out and stroked his hooded head.

“It’s going to be okay,” Luka told the kwami. “We’re going to make it right.”

Sass flashed a brief, small smile, one fang popping out.

Luka slipped the bracelet on, and then let Ladybug take hold of him and swing him off the boat and up onto a nearby roof where he could transform.

When the light faded, he found Ladybug looking at him, eyebrows raised.

“That’s...different,” Ladybug said, and Luka looked down at himself. It certainly felt different.

His suit was black. No, not black, he realized as he lifted his arm and the light hit it. Very dark green, indistinguishable from black in the shadows. He reached up and touched his face and head. The suit now sported a green-black cowl hood that appeared to be attached to the center top of his mask, covering his hair. Ladybug popped open her yoyo and handed it to him so he could look at his image on the screen. Lenses in his mask gave his eyes a yellow cast in addition to the usual green-gold color of his pupils. The bright yellow fangs on his mask extended farther down his face. It felt like there was more armor in his suit, too, as he moved. Still sleek, but more protected. He looked...dangerous. All the colors of his suit were darker, except for the bright yellow accents flashing here and there.

“Is this just Sass being dramatic?” Viperion wondered aloud.

“Maybe,” Ladybug said thoughtfully, circling him. “Maybe not. You look really different...maybe this is Sass trying to disguise you as much as he can. Make it look like you’re not the same Viperion Hawkmoth unmasked. I don’t think it would be hard to convince people you were someone else, done up like this.”

“I think you’re right,” Viperion said, concentrating on some...sense or feeling, an odd vibration almost that was tingling the back of his mind. “But I also think...it’s a warning…”

“A warning?” Ladybug repeated, tilting her head slightly.

Viperion nodded, and gave her a grim smile. “I think Sass is pissed .” He raised his arms slightly, looking at the bright yellow and green diamonds running along the outside of his sleeves. “They’re on your hood, too,” Ladybug told him. “Running all the way down your back to your—” she stopped, and blushed.

“It’s definitely a warning,” Viperion muttered, and then grinned. “Mess with the bug, and expect to pay.” He winked at Ladybug, and she covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

“I don’t think Sass is the only dramatic one,” she teased, and Viperion just shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, enough admiring my wardrobe upgrade,” he chuckled. “Let’s get going.”

He followed Ladybug across the rooftops, until she stopped on the roof of Montparnasse. She gave him a slightly apologetic glance. “The Eiffel Tower is more picturesque, but too obvious,” she said.

Viperion shrugged. “I’m not here for the view. Tell me how I can help.”

“Okay...so…” Ladybug began to pace, twisting her hands. “I think...I think I better tell you the whole story, so that you’re...prepared.”

“I’m listening,” Viperion said, folding his arms and leaning back against the roof ledge.

She told him everything—some with words, and some he could read in what she left unsaid. How she’d needed to leave Paris, and she’d left Chat to protect the city, and made sure he had the means to contact her if there was trouble. How, without telling her, Chat had left Paris and gone to New York—followed her to New York? He wasn’t clear on that part, whether Chat had gone knowing Ladybug would be there or if he just happened to go there himself for some reason. Viperion honestly wasn’t sure which possibility pissed him off more.

Then the disaster of a fight with the supervillain akuma (and hell wasn’t that phrase a nightmare by itself), her argument with Chat, the accident, getting berated by New York’s superheroes. Worst of all, Chat’s sudden attack of useless, frustratingly selfish conscience. How Ladybug had almost quit herself because she’d been so crushed by Chat’s actions, but had been called back because she simply couldn’t abandon her responsibility, especially when it was a rogue miraculous putting New York in danger. His fingers dug tight into his bicep as Ladybug berated herself for having been so harsh on her partner, but he clenched his teeth, determined to say nothing to the end.

By the time she wound up the story of how she’d teamed up with two young superhero apprentices to take down an entire city full of insane fully-grown, powered-up superheroes and a miraculous-enhanced akuma, he kind of wanted to punch something. Of course he’d seen part of that on the news, but it was different thinking about it with her standing there in front of him, so young and small and tired, and knowing all she’d been through leading up to it.

Maybe not even all of it. Ladybug was only part of who she was, after all. Who knew what else she had to deal with that had nothing to do with the mask.

“Chat could still change his mind,” Viperion said, as she began to pace and mumble to herself. His heart wasn’t in the words, but he felt like he should point it out. “I know you don’t know who he is, but he could find you fairly easily. Presumably his kwami would be able to confirm his identity. If you even want him back,” he couldn’t help adding, a slight edge creeping into his tone despite his best efforts..

“He’s my partner, of course I want him back,” she muttered as she paced. “I can’t do this alone, I don’t want to!”

“You’re not alone,” Viperion said reflexively, but went on quickly when her head snapped up to look at him. “It’s Chat’s call, then. Does he still have the thing you gave him when you left for New York?”

Ladybug’s eyes widened. “He does, actually,” she gasped. “The alert I gave him to call me if Paris needed me. He still has it! Unless he...unless he threw it away.” She shook her head. “I’m sure he wouldn’t. He could contact me with that if he wanted to meet up!”

“Okay,” Viperion tapped one finger on his arm. “Has he?”

Ladybug deflated. “No…”

“Too bad,” Viperion muttered. “I’d like to have a few words with him.”

Ladybug looked at him and seemed to register his expression for the first time. “You’re mad.”

Viperion felt his face soften just a little. “Not at you, Ladybug. You did everything you could. Nothing that happened was your fault.”

“But—if I hadn’t—”

Viperion threw his arms out, finally letting some of his frustration burst out. “Why wouldn’t you be angry that he betrayed your trust, left the citizens you entrusted to him undefended so that he could—I don’t even know what he was trying to do, honestly, but regardless, he broke your agreement and you had a right to be angry at him. If he didn’t want you to be angry, he should have made different choices. He did kill someone. Nearly killed you, in fact.” He gestured at her, and she seemed to shrink into herself. “And then instead of taking responsibilities for his mistakes in any kind of meaningful way, he does this tragic, noble sacrifice that amounted to abandoning you without backup, knowing there was an undefeated akuma-charged supervillain running around, to face the consequences of his actions alone, without even acting to take responsibility for the monster that wrecked Paris on his watch—and he did all that knowing that Hawkmoth was still in New York!” He paused, taking a breath to rein in his temper, and then another. When he was calm, he shrugged slightly. “Yeah, I’m mad. More than mad, honestly. But I care more about helping you than kicking Chat’s ass, even if I could find him.” He gestured his own emotions aside. “Regardless of how I feel about it, It’s Chat’s call whether he wants to come back, since he’s the only one with means to get in touch with you. That’s not something we can control or count on. So. What do you want to do, and how can I help?”

Ladybug stared at him for a minute, blinking rapidly as she tried to process what he’d said. Then, shaking her head in a clear I’ll deal with that later gesture, she came back to the moment. “I need to arrange a press conference with Mayor Bourgeois to reassure the citizens of Paris that they’re still being protected.” Her hands came together, clenched, and twisted as she spoke. “I...don’t know how it’s going to go. I don’t want to give Hawkmoth more information. The last thing I need is for him to know that Chat gave his ring back, that if he catches me, he gets the entire miracle box.” She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “I need you to be there. I should be able to make the speech in less than five minutes, at least the important part. If it...doesn’t go well, if I let something slip, or the people don’t like what I have to say...I want the chance to do it over. This is too important, Viperion. I can’t just wing it and hope that I don’t mess up.”

“I understand,” Viperion nodded. “We’ll need a signal.”

“We can do that,” Ladybug agreed. “But if you think things aren’t going well, then do what you need to do. I trust you.”

Viperion put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “I know that trust probably doesn’t come easy for you right now. I promise I won’t let you down.”

Ladybug looked down, and then covered his hand on her shoulder with her own. “It’s always been easy, trusting you. Thank you.”

He hoped the new mask would cover the heat rising from his neck to his face.

He knew from the way her lips quirked that it didn’t.

“The new look suits you,” she said, unclipping her yoyo from her waist. “I’ll let you know when I get things set up. Try to transform and check your communicator as often as you can. I want to get this taken care of as soon as possible.”

Viperion blinked. “You’re not—you want me to keep it?” he said, lifting his wrist where the bangle still rested.

“For now,” Ladybug shrugged, and for the instant before her blue eyes flicked away from him, they were sad and worried. “I’ve got to do what I need to do to survive and protect the city. That means the rules are changing. I just...haven’t figured out how yet. But this feels right.” Her gaze returned to him and she smiled. “Like I said, I trust you.” She winked. “You might want to think about a different name, though. To go with the new look.” She pointed at him. “Not Black Mamba, understand?”

“No respect for the classics,” Viperion complained, folding his arms.

“Your love for that movie is unhealthy,” Ladybug sighed, and Viperion raised his eyebrows slightly.

“I’m surprised you even know that about me.”

“I know a lot of things about you,” she smiled, giving him a wink. “You’re not the only observant one.”

“Have you been stalking me, Ladybug?” Viperion teased, and Ladybug snorted.

“Like I have that kind of time.” She took out her yoyo. “I’ve got to go. Be safe, okay? If you have any second thoughts, call me.”

“I understand,” Viperion nodded. Ladybug gave him a lift down off the skyscraper, and then he ran home on his own, his thoughts full of everything she had told him.

Still, he realized as he landed lightly back on the deck of the Liberty, as angry as he was...he felt better. At least now he knew. At least now he could do something.

At least now he could be there for her.

Clearly somebody needed to be.

#quickspins #Live With It #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #miraculous ladybug #miraculousladybug #miraculous new york #new york special #ml writer salt #chat salt #adrien salt #pro lukamari #viperbug

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spxllcxstxr · 4 years ago

Text

To Make A Calming Draught • J.P

Summary: “You have my heart.” (Bolded)

Warnings: potions, use of animal parts for potions, brief mention of blood?

Word Count: 899

A.N: Um, don’t actually look up the ingredients for a Calming Draught because I got two conflicting takes and then decided to have some creative liberty so....oops? I also call this fluff but it’s just kinda amusing to me

****

“Lupin and Evans.”

“McKinnon and Snape.”

“Black and Meadowes.”

“Potter and (Y/Ln).”

You audibly groan and drop your head onto the cool wood of your desk, successfully interrupting Slughorn’s ramble.

“No complaints, Miss (Y/Ln). Look on the bright side, he will only be your partner for a month.” Slughorn cheerfully informs you, blissfully unaware of how much pain his decision has brought you.

You purposely bang your head on the table once, the dull thunk causing your nearby housemates to erupt into snickers.

“Literally stop complaining, I’m partnered with Snape. For a month.” Marlene hisses from the seat next to you.

“Guess we’ll both have to suffer.” You sigh, picking your head up and rubbing the spot of your forehead that made contact with the desk.

“Everyone find your partner and a table and open to Calming Draughts in your textbook. You may begin.” Slughorn announces.

Reluctantly, you rise from your seat and drag yourself over to the spot Potter and Black had already claimed as their own.

Potter leans against the table, his uniform prim and proper, his dark curls deliberately placed in organized chaos.

His whole being infuriated you.

With his glasses always slightly askew so he has an excuse to repeatedly take them off to readjust, running a hand through his hair in the process to attempt to look cooler.

If anyone asks you, though, it just makes him look more like a prick.

When you get close enough, Potter’s hazel eyes run over your figure. You roll your own, praying to Merlin that for once, the Gryffindor will keep his mouth shut.

“It seems fate brought us together, (Y/Ln).” He flirtatiously greets.

Thanks for nothing, Merlin.

“No, I just think Slughorn is still miffed about the Fungiface Potion I slipped in his goblet during dinner last week, and this is my punishment.” You retort blandly, dropping your things on the table in front of you.

“Alright, Dorcas.” You greet your friend standing across from you.

“Hey (Y/n).” She smiles, flipping through the pages of the textbook. “Sirius, why don’t you get the ingredients?” Dorcas continues.

You glance down at the ingredient list.

1 L water

60 mL syrup of hellebore

3 sprigs lavender

15 mL salamander blood

30 mL essence of belladonna

1 crocodile heart

“Dear—“

You hold up a hand, cutting him off.

“Don’t call me dear, Potter. And yes, I’ll grab the ingredients.”

You stalk off to the storeroom, Potter calling out his thanks loud enough for the whole class to overhear.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, you join Marlene in the supply closet, Black not far behind.

“He’s driving me mental!” She whisper-shouts, tying her platinum blonde hair in a bun. “The only time he speaks to me is when he critiques my every move and when he’s not focused on that, he’s creepily ogling Lily!” Marlene throws one hand in the air in exasperation before angrily grabbing a vial of salamander blood.

“Relax, Marls, you’re guaranteed an O with that tosser.” Black points out, blindly taking containers off of the shelves.

You nod in agreement. “At least you’re not partnered with someone who thinks Calming Draughts and Draughts of Peace are the same potion.”

Black and Marlene freeze, looking at you in shock. “They’re not?” They ask together.

“I’m surrounded by bloody idiots.” You mutter in irritation.

You grab your jars and vials and make your way back to your cauldron. And Potter, who shockingly hasn’t caused anything to explode yet.

But the period isn’t over.

You do your best to ignore Potter and Black, instead trying to focus on making basically the entire potion yourself while the two boys goof off.

Eventually, you’re staring at a pale orange concoction. You look around for the next ingredient before spotting it in Potter’s hand.

“You’ve got my heart, Potter.” You interrupt their riveting conversation about Mulciber’s newly charmed lime green hair.

“You hear that, Sirius?” Potter dramatically swoons. “I’ve got (Y/Ln)’s heart!” His smirk widens significantly.

Dorcas snorts across from you, still stirring her potion.

Black reaches across, hand held up high, which Potter cheerfully slaps. “Alright, Prongs! Knew it’d happen some day!”

“My crocodile heart, dumb arse.” You clarify, motioning to the jar still grasped tightly in his hand like a Quaffle.

“Crocodile—?” His hazel eyes widen, dropping to the mysteriously dark red jar.

“Yeah, y’know, for our potion?” You raise your eyebrows at him. “Did you not read over the brew?”

“James doesn’t know how to read, (Y/n), we all know that.” Dorcas teases.

“I do know how to read, Dorcas, piss off.” Potter snarks benevolently. “I just trust (Y/Ln) here to not screw up the potion.”

He twists open the jar, taking a whiff before recoiling violently, coughing.

“Oh how kind of you.” You roughly yank the jar out of his hands, chuckling at the look of disgust that overtakes his features.

“It says here that the heart shouldn’t be exposed to open air for a long period before use—“ Dorcas starts.

However, before she’s able to finish, you drop the heart in the concoction, just like the instructions tell you.

And then the explosion happens.

Vibrant blue sparks fly up, buzzing beneath your nose and catching on your eyebrows. Intense heat surrounds your face and the distinct smell of burning overpowers your senses, making your eyes water.

“Potter!” You shriek, horrified.

“Ah, shit.”

#james potter #james potter x reader #james potter fluff #james potter blurb #the marauders x reader #the marauders

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whatdoesshedotothem · 2 years ago

Text

Friday 28 September 1832

6 ¼

fine morning F68 ½° at 6 25 breakfast with my father at 8 musing before getting up and as I dressed of Miss Walker I think we should be happy together I should gently lead her into my own ways and soon be really attached to her to the exclusion of all care for anyone else - Out in the walk at 10 –

x from 2 to 3 10 asleep in the hut or rather the last twenty five minutes incurred a cross thinking of Miss Walker I shall think myself into being in love with her I am already persuaded I like her quite well enough for comfort Home at 3 ½ meaning to write letters – talking 2 or 3 minutes to Marian – when company rap at the door and Miss Walker shewn into the drawing room – her call seemed to be on my aunt – sat about ½ hour, and I then walked back with her down the walk - she asked if I had got her note – no! then explained that she had come to ask my advice about her tenant - Collins having forced open the barn doors opening into her courtyard - this matter settled we sat down in the hut for about ¾ hour sill 5 50 I then walked with her to her own door and got back at 7 - bordering on love-making in the hut said I should certainly take her off with me hoped she could trust me yes she had the greatest confidence in me and our going together was actually agreed on and we afterwards talked of it as a thing settled depending only on our respective aunts both of whom are in a precarious way our liaison is now established it is to be named to nobody but her sister and aunt and my aunt and that not till a week or ten days before our being off we shall now go on swimmingly and our courtship will progress naturally she already likes me perhaps she scarce knows how and we shall both be in love seriously enough before our journey s[aid] I should breakfast at Lightcliffe tomorrow and could not resist calling as I returned to ask if she had got cold if she is out I am to go to her at Cliff hill my aunt had hoped she would come on Monday to which she readily consented so that we shall probably see a good deal of each other she looks happy and as if the remainder of the victory to be won would not cost me too much difficulty thought I as I returned well π- set me at liberty in May in less than five months I as [am] reprovided and the object of my choice have perhaps three thousand a year or near it probably two-thirds at her own disposal no bad pis aller [last resort] even if I liked her less a better take than Lady Gordon or perhaps than Vere either well now I will be steady and constant and make the poor girl as happy as I can so that she shall have no reason to repent like the day of engagement between Miss Walker and me on my return home found on my desk a parcel the letter-press (presse-papier - the first thing she ever gave me) and note from Miss Walker – explaining about Collins and that she should hope to

like the day of engagement between Miss W- and me

the 1st thing she ever gave me

SH:7/ML/E/15/0123

find me in my walk between 3 and 5 - begins with ‘I have real pleasure in sending the letter-press tho’ my own motive, and its possible utility are its only recommendations to your acceptance’. the first thing she ever gave me - we are in smooth waters now she tells me more and more of her affairs she feels at ease and happier with me than perhaps she could easily explain and probably we shall both be impatient by and by to be off I myself am surprised at my so rapid success and at the novelty of my situation perhaps after all she will make me really happier than any of my former flames at all rates we shall have money enough and I don’t fancy she will either be close or stingy or cold to me had just written the above of today at 8 ¾ - how little my aunt thinks what is going on! π- believes me safe at home and dreams not how she is losing all chance of me she is right served – nobody working for me today (except Pickles and co. at the wearing) but Dick getting on and spreading ashes – William Green brought 4 loads today – went into the other room at 9 ½ - skimmed over the paper – came to my room at 10 ¾ wrote a note to Mr. Parker in answer to his of yesterday – thanks for it, and the act of parliament – Jones of Huddersfield coming over in a few days – have desired Washington to employ him to value the stone – hear the trustees have agreed to give Mr. Holroyde of Priestley Green a shilling a yard for stone said to be not worth so much as mine – (George Robinson told me the other day) – desired by my father to give his compliments and thanks for some very fine cranberries Mr. Parker was so good as send – ‘I am, sir, etc. etc. A Lister’ – very fine day – F70 ½° at 11 ¼ p.m.

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misslisterkeepsajournal · 4 years ago

Text

Friday 14 March 1834

6 25/.. 12 3/4

x Vc N N N N

very fine morning Fahrenheit 53 1/2° at 7 1/4 - out at 7 20/.. to Charles H-'s [Howarth's], and along my walk at nine in twenty five minutes incurred a cross in the hut thinking of Miss W [Walker]

breakfast at 9 3/4 with Marian - out at 10 1/2 - with John Booth planting lavender &c. in my walk came in at 11 1/2 - had Mr. Fuller of Horley Green about Northgate house - would like to buy the whole if the Times allowed it - asked £120 per annum rent - said if he thought we could agree on these terms, he had better arrange with Mrs. Scatcherd to give the house up to me - wrote and sent by Thomas at 12 35/60 note to 'Mr. Edelstone, Lee Bridge' compliments - should be particularly obliged if he would inform me if he thought Mark Town a good farmer and likely to pay his rent regularly - apologized for taking the liberty of asking these questions but hoped Mr. Edelstone would do me the favour to give a direct answer - wrote and sent note to 'Mr. or Mrs. Waterhouse Wellhead' compliments - ask if they can let me have the catalogue of Rouge Croix's letters and if Mr. W- [Waterhouse] ordered one for me at Whitleys -

then out till near 2 and then till 2 20/.. wrote the last 24 lines - Note from Mr. Edelston saying he is 'perfectly satisfied with Mark Town both as regards farming and money matters' - note also from Mr. Waterhouse - hopes to get the catalogue Tomorrow and ordered me one at Whitleys - out with John planting out flowers till 6 1/4 - then had Mark Town Told him Mr. Edelston's note was satisfactory and let him the land - explained that there would be no mention of water - his use of the Little field well would be merely by sufferance - the lease should be ready at Mr. Parker's on Tuesday afternoon and possession of the land given by Washington or John Booth at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and gaps made for him to cart manure - told my father I had let the land -

dinner at 7 20/.. and coffee and read from page 425 to 508 Waldensian Researches 2nd series - with my aunt from 9 20/.. to 10 20/.. - fine day - Fahrenheit 53 1/4° now at 11 40/.. p.m. till 12 10/.. looking over papers -

Reference: SH:7/ML/E/17/0007

#anne lister #anne lister code breaker #gentleman jack #1834

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laresearchette · 2 years ago

Text

Sunday, June 11, 2023 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: 76TH ANNUAL TONY AWARDS (CTV/Paramount +) 8:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT?: YELLOWSTONE WARDENS (TBD - Animal Planet Canada)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

OOPS ALL BABY DRIVERS

AMAZON PRIME CANADA BABY DRIVER (!)

NETFLIX CANADA BABY DRIVER (!!!)

WNBA BASKETBALL (SN1) 1:00pm: Wings vs. Liberty (TSN5) 3:00pm: Mystics vs. Storm

MLS SOCCER (TSN3) 1:00pm: St. Louis vs. L.A. Galaxy (TSN5) 10:00pm: Portland vs. Dallas

MLB BASEBALL (SN) 1:30pm: Twins vs. Jays (SN Now) 1:30pm: Rangers vs. Rays (SN1) 4:00pm: Mariners vs. Angels (TSN4/TSN5) 7:00pm: Red Sox vs. Yankees

CFL FOOTBALL (TSN/TSN3) 7:00pm: Roughriders vs. Elks

FARMING FOR LOVE (CTV) 7:00pm: Jealousy brews as the daters vie for attention from their farmers, who struggle with juggling multiple relationships at once.my

AMERICA’S NATIONAL PARKS (Nat Geo Wild) 8:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): Exploring the iconic, wild wonder of the West.

MYSTIC (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm: Amanda decides to give Gordon a chance just as Issie starts doubting him; Natasha is the bearer of bad news for Caroline; the true cause of Dora's shipwreck is revealed.

CAR S.O.S (Nat Geo Canada) 9:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend undertake dramatic automobile interventions across the U.K.

DəNE YI'INJETL - THE SCATTERING OF MAN (documentary) 9:00pm: In a wave of development, the Tsay Keh Dene people find themselves displaced from their land amidst rising waters.

LITTLE BIRD (Crave) 9:00pm: Esther finds her adoption papers and a newspaper clipping that evoke fuzzy memories of her life before her adoption; determined to learn more, she uproots her life and sacrifices everything in search of her family and identity.

#cdntv #cancon #canadian tv #canadian tv listings #farming for love #mystic #little bird #wnba basketball #mlb baseball #mls soccer #cfl football

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anne-lister-adventures · 4 years ago

Text

Monday, 20 April 1840

2 5/’’

Reaumur 8 1/2º at 11 a.m. no fire – Going out – Madame Galovin’s Droshky here at 11 1/4 – Breakfast at 11 3/4 to after – Ready at 12 1/4 –

At the garden at 12 40/’’ – 25 minutes sauntering to the top – And then the door opened and what a panorama! A-[Ann] sketched – I stood gazing – Then to the Observatory a little above – Had the windows opened – Gazed in mute admiration – The Town – The river – The circular opening out for the German Colony, and Town and then throttled at the bridge the range of snow covered mountain and Kasbek – How fine – How new and Asiatic to us –

Tiflis Botanical Garden in the 1870s.

Then sauntered along under the whole length of the old wall over Town and brink as at Scarbro’ castle to the old castle tower – Now powder magazine then back – Thro’ the gate into the garden and down to the stream and crossed it 3 times and traced it upwards (9 v.[versts] to its source) and climbed onto the ridge of rock (magnificent view) beyond the Observatory along which the Salun slightly charlybeate, almost tepid water is conducted – It is a long narrow ridge or promontory of rock on which the old castle and fortification and wall stands, divided the Town from the ravine of the garden – Magnificent – I longed to go farther but the Droshky was waiting and had waited 4 hours before we returned to it at 3 40/’’ –

The Narikala fortress in 1911. “ The fortress consists of two wall sections on a steep hill between sulfur baths and Tbilisi botanical gardens.” (Wikipedia)

Home in 25 minutes at 4 5/’’ – We had looked down from the Arx, the Citadel, the Acropolis of the ancient capital of Georgia – A noble rock which hosts of half the peoples of the world had passed and gazed on! – The Kur still bathes its foot as when Cyrus himself was here –

A-[Ann] prepared our dinner of boiled eggs and barley cake and our Prince of Georgia’s Nijni gingerbread – The frugal meal over at 6 1/2 – Before and after 10 till now 7 1/4 wrote the last 11 lines of p.[page] 169 and the last p.[page] and so far of this –

Very fine day – A little sun and not too much and no wind – Our Colonel has won his 2 lbs.[pounds] of bonbons – (Vide yesterday at dinner) –

Walked about a little with A-[Ann] – Expected Mr. Chvastoff who called this morning while we were out, and wrote on a sheef[sheet] of paper his name ‘A Chwastoff intends to wait again upon Mrs. Lister in the evening’ – This in spite of this he has not come – Messrs. Roubetz of the État Major and Stadler who lent us the History of Persia came soon after 9 and staid till 11 35/’’ the last 40 minutes said A-[Ann] standing -

Chwostoff head of the Chancellerie

our Colonel is Broussiloff and his friend General Anrep Diplomate (Foreign Office) here

Rjevsky nephew of General Golovin

General Orloff Ataman des Cossacks

General Braiko Military Governor of Tiflis and Georgia

Kakhanov Civil Governor of Tiflis

Besac Vice Governor

General Kotzebue Chef de L’Etat Major

Daghestan country of mountains (Tartar)

Ghulistan country of roses (Persian)

Joubert’s Turkish and Tartar Grammar Paris.

Elbrous one large cone cleft into 2 at the top –

poor fellows our friends tonight would prefer more liberty to say and write whatever might come into their heads without the fear of Siberia no true history of Russia can be published Peter poisoned Alexis but nobody daress say this the archives at Moscow one man had permission to see them but might neither speak nor write what he learnt very fine day – tea till 12 40/’’ – a general malaise among the higher orders in Russia –

[symbols in the margin of the page:] ✓c

Page Reference: SH:7/ML/E/24/0088

#anne lister code breaker #anne lister #ann walker

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kusumasposts · 10 months ago

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vgckwb · 5 years ago

Text

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 42: The Eye of the Beholder!/The Mad King

The day of the student art exhibition had arrived. Marinette woke up and got ready. “Are you excited?” Tikki asked.

“Of course” Marinette said. “I’m a bit nervous, but I’m ready!”

“That’s the spirit!” Tikki said.

Marinette got a phone call. “Hello?” she answered.

“Hey Mari, it’s me” Adrien said.

“Mari?” Marinette said.

“Do you not like it?” Adrien asked.

“No. I mean, I like it, I just-” Marinette sighed. “So, what’s up?”

“Well, I thought I’d walk you to school today. You know, since it’s the big art exhibition and all. I figured you could use some help,or at least some company” Adrien said.

“Thanks Adrien, but you don’t need to do that” Marinette said.

“Well…” Adrien said.

“What’s going on?” Marinette asked.

“I’m kind of already here” Adrien said.

“WHAT?!” Marinette shrieked.

Marinette went downstairs and opened the house door to see Adrien standing outside. “Hi Mari” Adrien said.

Marinette was somewhat frustrated, but then smiled. She couldn’t stay mad at Adrien. “Alright fine. Come inside. I just need to grab a few things.”

Marinette went back upstairs while Adrien went into the kitchen. “Morning Mrs. Cheng” he said.

“Oh, hello Adrien” Sabine said. “Want something to eat?”

“Sure” Adrien said. “I’ve had breakfast already, but I always get a little nervous before a gig, so I like to eat a little more.”

“Oh my. It must be hard for you” Sabine said.

“Yeah, it can be” Adrien said. “But today will be worth it because I get to model Marinette’s outfit.” A smile graced Sabine’s face.

Gabriel finished his breakfast. “Thanks for helping me find the time to attend both events, Nathalie,” he said.

“Of course sir” Nathalie said.

“Remember, you don’t need to get the miraculous to make me proud. Though I would prefer it” Gabriel said.

“Yes sir” Nathalie said. Gabriel left.

Alix was finishing putting on all of her skating equipment. “You’re coming, right dad?”

“Of course” Mr. Kubdel said. “I just need to take care of a few things here. You go on ahead.” Alix skated out of the Louvre with a smile on her face.

Juleka and Luka were on the deck of the Liberty watching the street. They saw their dad pull up with a trailer on his car. “Mom! Dad’s here! We’re leaving!” Luka said.

Richard came out. “So, is everything ready?” he said.

“Yeah dad” Juleka said. They started packing the instruments and stage equipment in the trailer.

Max and the Nighthawks were already at the school, working on finishing setting up Max’s game. “Hey guys” Carter said.

The rest of the crew turned to look at him. He was still wearing his baggy pants and black shoes, but he had taken off his hoodie to reveal a long-sleeved red t-shirt, and he had taken off his hat to reveal his long brown hair with blonde highlights. “Carter” max said.

“Yeah, I know” Carter said. “It actually feels nice.”

“Does this mean the team is breaking up for good?” Gerard asked.

“Nah” Carter said. “But after a week of thinking, and working on this, I think I’ve decided that we should maybe limit ourselves. We aren’t ready for the big leagues yet. I thought we were, but last week proved me wrong. We need to start small. So, we’ll only be a weekend team.”

“But what will we do with our weekdays?” Laurence asked.

Carter smiled. “We’ll finish high school. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not as smart as we think we are. Of course, we might need a tutor…”

Max smiled. “I’m proud of you Carter. And I’ll gladly tutor all of you”

“Ooo! Can I help?” Markov asked.

“Of course” Carter said. “Now let’s finish setting this up.” The gang got back to work. Carter pulled Max aside. “You know, I wouldn’t be at this point if it wasn’t for you.”

“Me?” Max said.

“Yeah” Carter said. “I was so angry with you after the match. But then, after I calmed down, I thought about you and your team. You were actually close. I could see it in your eyes. I never felt that close with anyone. You gave me a goal. I needed that.”

Max smiled. “Well, I’m happy to help. Say, um, you wouldn’t happen to know Katelyn’s deal, would you?”

Carter looked over Max to Katelyn. “Later” he said.

Nathaniel and Marc arrived at school, each carrying a box of their latest comic. “I’m so glad we get to show this off” Marc said.

“Yeah” Nathaniel replied. “I think it’s our best work so far!” Marc giggled.

Marinette and Adrien were in the building. “Thanks for walking with me” Marinette said. The two kissed.

“Well well, if it isn't Paris's number one couple” Vlad said, walking up to them.

“Stop that” Adrien said. Marinette blushed. “Are you OK? You look a little tired.”

“Yeah, well, I had a long night” Vlad said.

“Who’s fault is that?” Adrien asked.

“Hawk Moth’s. Always Hawk Moth’s” Vlad said.

Adrien shook his head. “Um, Vlad, here’s your outfit” Marinette said. She gave Adrien his outfit as well.

Vlad was impressed. “Wow. I like how it looks already.”

“Yeah, well, put it on. It’ll look even better” Adrien said. The two headed to the locker room to change.

A few minutes later, the two emerged. “Wow, you weren’t kidding” Vlad said. The two were wearing a dress shirt-dress pants combo with a series of V-shapes with a 128 degrees of separation on the inside angle going down the entirety of the outfit. Vlad’s was purple with gold Vs and Adrien’s was black with green Vs.

“I’ve gotta say Mari, you’ve really outdone yourself” Adrien said.

“Oh, it was nothing. I was trying to keep it simple” Marinette said.

“...Mari?” Vlad said.

Marinette blushed. Her hands went in her face. “Um, maybe I should be the only to use that” Adrien said.

“Noted” Vlad said.

“Ah, Marinette. Are these your outfits?” Mr. Chastain asked. “They look wonderful.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chastain” Marinette said.

“So, where are you set up?” Mr. Chastain asked.

“Well, I was promised I could use the stage that Kitty Section was using before they performed” Marinette said. “I just hope that we still can…”

Mr. Chastain was confused. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing” Marinette said, nervously.

“Just teen drama stuff” Adrien said.

“I see” said Mr. Chastain. “Well, if your drama isn’t settled, I’m sure Alix wouldn’t mind splitting the art room with you.”

“Really?” Marinette said.

“Sure. I’ll go ask her now.” Mr. Chastain left.

“I’m gonna grab a drink of water” Adrien said, leaving.

“Speaking of talking to Alix…” Marinette said.

“Right” Vlad said. “Well, Beyyo, you heard where she was.”

“On it” Beyyo said. Beyyo raced to the art room to see Alix. He hid before Mr. Chastain entered and asked Alix about the room. Alix nodded and Mr. Chastain left.

Beyyo appeared in front of Alix. “Woah! Oh, hello. You my be Beyyo” Alix said.

“Indeed it is” Beyyo sad. “I am here to report that you have gained my approval.”

“Well, that’s good” Alix said. “Anything else, or can I get back to preparing?”

“You’re good to go” Beyyo said.

“OK. Thanks” Alix said. Beyyo left. He saw Kitty Section and Richard enter with a bunch of equipment. He thought to tell Rose in a more private setting. He hid in the corner to keep watch from above.

Marinette approached Luka. “Hey Luka” she said.

“Hey Marinette” Luka said.

“So...Could we still use the stage when you’re not using it?” Marinette asked.

Luka smiled. “Of course. What would make you think otherwise?”

Marinette hugged Luka. “Thank you!” She realized what she did and broke off. “Ah! Sorry…”

“Relax Marinette” Luka said. “I’m doing better.” Marinette smiled.

Rose went to get a drink of water, and that’s when Beyyo decided to strike. Once Rose was done, she looked up and said “Oh hello. You must be Beyyo!”

“Yes” Beyyo said. “I am here to inform you that I have passed you as well.”

“Really? That’s great!” Rose said.

“Yes, now run along. We don’t want to arouse suspicion” Beyyo said.

“Right” Rose said. She put her finger to her lips and then walked away. Beyyo returned to Vlad.

Everyone finished setting up. “Well, this looks wonderful” Mr. Chastain said. “And with that, I declare this student art exhibition officially open!” The students not participating walked around taking in the art. Soon after, people from all over the city came by to check things out.

Max got a lot of good feedback on his game, Marinette got many compliments on her outfits, everyone loved Alix’s street art, and Nathaniel and Marc sold more copies of their comics than ever before. All of the other students participating all got positive feedback as well. Nathaniel had to leave to use the restroom for a second. “I say, things are going well” Mr. Chastain said.

“Simon?” said a voice from behind. Mr. Chastain got nervous instantly. “Simon Chastain?” Mr. Chastain turned around.

Sure enough, with his balding hair, moustache, suit, glasses, and notebook, it was who he thought and feared it was. “Hello Raphael” he said in an angry tone.

“I didn’t expect to see you here” Raphael said. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing” Mr. Chastain said.

“Well, I’m here to do a piece on today’s exhibition” Raphael said. “And I’m supposed to interview the art teacher…” Raphael looked through his notes. “Oh. Look at that. The art teacher’ name is Mr. Chastain as well. Where can I find him?”

“You’re looking at him” Mr. Chastain said.

Raphael burst out laughing. “Seriously? Good one” Raphael said. “Now, where is he, really.” Mr. Chastain glared at him. “Oh. You’re serious.”

Nathaniel was walking back to his table when he saw Mr. Chastain staring down Raphael. “Woah! What’s going on here?” he asked.

Mr. Chastain sighed. “Nathaniel, this is Raphael Beaumont. An art critic.” Ice seeped from every word from his mouth.

“I’m familiar with who Mr. Beaumont is” Nathaneil said. “He’s one of the harshest art critics there is. But, what is he doing here?”

“He’s doing a piece of today’s exhibition” Mr. Chastain said.

“Did you tell him I’m harsh, Simon?” Raphael said.

“No. I found that out by reading your articles” Nathaniel said.

“Then you should know that I’m not harsh” Raphael said. “I just believe art has standards.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “Hey, you’ve been gone for a long time,” Marc said, coming up to Nathaniel. “Oh. Uh, what’s going on here?”

“Simon, are you still mad about art school?” Raphael said.

“You two went to art school together?” Nathaniel asked.

“Yes. We did” Mr. Chastain said.

“Look, you could ask any art critic, ‘The Mad King’ is not a good piece of art” Raphael said.

“Wait. You mean the piece you showed us recently?” Marc asked.

Mr. Chastain looked worried. “Oh no. Tell me I did NOT just here you kept your dumb painting all this time” Raphael said.

“You made the painting?” Nathaniel asked.

“Yes” Mr. Chastain said.

“Oh man. This is almost too good to be true” Raphael said. “I can’t wait to see what drivel comes from The Mad King’s subjects.”

“Hey! Our comic is NOT drivel!” Marc shouted.

“Comic? As in comic book?” Raphael said. He then laughed.

“Comic books ARE art!” Nathaniel said.

“I agree. Now, if you just came here to insult me, I suggest you leave” Mr. Chastain said.

“Well, I didn’t come here to do that” Raphael said. “I’ve got a piece to write. I hope your students don’t expect to have careers in creative fields. If they’re being taught by you, then there’s only so much they can learn. Let’s start with this dynamic duo. Show me your ‘artful’ comic book.”

“Very well” Nathaniel said, angrily. He, Marc, and Raphael walked over to the comic booth.

Mr. Chastain angrily walked over to the art room. Alix was explaining her art when she noticed Mr. Chastain. “Mr. Chastin, are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine” Mr. Chastain said. “I just need a break.” He went to the back of his room and stepped into his office. In his office was ‘The Mad King’. It was a painting of a king dressed in all white, with a red crown with a gold rim and ordained with jewels, a gold scepter and a red cape, giving a declaration to a scared populace. Mr. Chastain looked at it before sitting down and grabbing a paintbrush. “He can push me around all he wants, but I won’t let him tarnish my students!” He slammed his fist on his desk.

“Well well, nothing stings worse than the reopening of old wounds” Nathalie Hawk Moth said. “Except maybe failing to protect the people you’re supposed to. Fly away, my precious akuma, and evilize him!”

The akuma fused to Mr. Chastain’s paintbrush. “Hello, Mad King. I am Hawk Moth. Art should be cherished, not criticized. I’m giving you the power to bring art to life and punish those who would dare criticize it. In return, I only ask for the small fee of Ladybug and Cat Noir’s miraculous.”

“Indeed. I shall grant you that” Mr. Chastain said. A purple-black aura surrounded him.

The Mad King kicked down the door. He looked similar to the painting, except the scepter was a giant paintbrush, and he had Hawk Moth’s traditional purple skin for akuma victims. “Mr. Chastain?” Alix said.

“There is no Mr. Chastain anymore. Only The Mad King!” he said. “Though we do share a similar appreciation for your street art, Miss Kubdel. Although, it is a pity that it has to stay confined to such a space. Perhaps I can help with that.” He aimed his paintbrush at Alix’s art and shot a colorful beam at it. Alix ran out of the room, but the graffiti grabbed a hold of everyone else in the room. “There. Nobody move.”

“It’s an emergency!” Alix yelled from the second floor. “Mr. Chastain has been Akumatized!” Everyone was shocked.

“And here I thought we got along” Mad King said.

Alix was afraid, but she knew she had to stand up to this. “I got along with Mr. Chastain!

“Well, I suppose one can’t be king without having a few enemies” Mad King said. “But I still like you, so I’ll let you go for now” Mad King said. He jumped onto the railing. “I have a different enemy in mind!” Raphael was quivering. He started to run before Mad King aimed his paintbrush at the comics. The comics came to life and grabbed Raphael and dragged him.

Mad King met up with the now upside down critic. “I never knew why you attended art school” Mad King said. “All you ever do is tell people their art is bad. That’s not fair. That’s not even constructive! But don’t worry. We’re going to deal with you now!”

Marinette, Adrien, and Vlad looked at each other and nodded. They all left for the lockers and transformed. “Tikki! Spots On!”

“Plagg! Claws Out!”

“Beyyo! Fangs Sharpen!”

When the three of them got out there, The Mad King had taken the stage. Surrounding him was a plethora of student art projects. In the middle, Raphael was being held down. “You feel that? That fear? That iciness? That’s how you make everyone feel when you walk into a room. Although that won’t be for much longer.” He grabbed a sword out of a painting of a pirate. “Thank you, Captain Abelard. Now, it’s time!” Ladybug knocked the sword out of his hand with her yo-yo. “Ladybug. I didn’t expect to see you here so soon.”

“If you’re not one for critics, then take me on first!” Ladybug said.

“Oh, I’m fine with critics” Mad King said. “Critics are a tool meant to help artists. Except some of them would rather use it to make people give up on art altogether!”

Cat Noir and swooped in and destroyed a lot of the art surrounding Mad King. “We’re not at a Van Gough exhibit, but I’ll make you see stars!” Cat Noir said.

“I’ll mess you up like Dali clock” Judgement Wolf said.

“Good references” Mad King said. “But you’re forgetting I still have a hostage completely at my mercy. So suggest you be a patron of the arts and give me your miraculous!” Mad King looked at Raphael only to see Marc free him. “What are you doing?”

“Run!” Marc said. Raphael ran out of the school.

Mad King grabbed Marc. “Why’d you do that?”

Marc was struggling while being lifted off the ground. “Because he doesn’t deserve that!” he shouted. “No one does!”

“Well, how noble of you” Mad King said. “But you’re wrong!” He threw Marc. Judgement Wolf caught him. “And now I need to find him again! And I’m all out of art too!”

“Mad King, surely you can’t be out” Nathalie Hawk Moth said. “This city is filled to the brim with art. Think creatively.”

“Of course Hawk Moth!” Mad King said. He saw the sword on the ground. He picked it up and threw it at Ladybug and Cat Noir. While they dodged it, he made his escape.

“I’ll track him down!” Cat Noir said, rushing out after him.

Ladybug ran up to Judgement Wolf. “Is he alright?” she asked.

“Yeah. He’s fine. Just unconscious” Judgement Wolf said.

“I’ll take it from here!” Nathaniel said. Judgement Wolf handed Marc to Nathaniel. Nathaniel gently hugged him and took him to the nurse’s office.

“So, what should we do now?” Judgement Wolf.

“We need a plan” Ladybug said. “Lucky Charm! An incense burner? Wait, I’ve seen this before. Judgement Wolf. Make sure everyone here is safe then go join Cat Noir! I’ll catch up with you!” Ladybug left. Judgement Wolf made his way around the school.

Marinette busted into the parlor. “Master Fu! We need help!”

“Of course” Master Fu said. He opened the Miracle Box. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you on this mission. Choose wisely; such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over you will retrieve the Miraculous from them.”

We need someone who can calm down this Mad King. “Ah! I need the rooster miraculous!”

“Very well then” Master Fu said. Marinette took it and left.

Cat Noir kept chasing Mad King, but kept having to fight pieces of art that Mad King brought to life. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Catalyst used their power on Mayura!” he said.

“Who’s Mayura?” Judgement Wolf said, catching up to Cat Noir and taking out another piece of living art.

“Oh. Right. I guess you wouldn’t know” Cat Noir said. “She holds the peacock miraculous and sometimes helps Hawk Moth.”

“You’re telling me that there’s ANOTHER person with a miraculous?!” Judgement Wolf said. “Forget it. We don’t have time to get into it.” The two kept fighting art.

Nathaniel was watching over Marc. “How’s he holding up?” Alix said, entering the room.

“He’s doing OK” Nathaniel said. “I can’t believe he did something like that. The little guys is something else.”

“Yeah” Alix said. “He just went up there without thinking. Like a hero.”

“Hey Alix. Can you watch him? I’ve gotta use the bathroom” Nathaniel said.

“Of course” Alix said. Nathaniel left.

Once Nathaniel left the bathroom, Ladybug appeared in front of him. “Ladybug? Shouldn’t you be taking care of Mad King?” Nathaniel asked.

“I’m going to, but I need some help” Ladybug said. “Nathaniel Kurtzberg. Here is the miraculous of the rooster, which grants you the power of tranquility. You will use it for the greater good. Once the job is complete, you will return the miraculous to me. Can I trust you?”

Nathaniel was in awe. “Of course Ladybug!” he said. He grabbed the box and opened it.

Orikko appeared once the box was opened. “Hello. My name is Orikko. I am the kwami of tranquility.”

“Hi Orikko. I’m Nathaniel” he said, putting on the miraculous.

“Once the miraculous is on, all you have to do is say ‘Orikko! Comb Up!’” she explained.

“Orikko! Comb Up!” Nathaniel said. He transformed into a hero with an orange domino mask with a little beak, an orange jumpsuit with decorative feathers on his arms, a strap going across his torso to carry a crossbow, and a bandana to make his hair stand up to form a comb-like structure. “Woah!”

“‘Woah’ indeed” Ladybug said. “Now let’s move!’ The two left the school.

While they were running across rooftops, Ladybug gave Cat Noir a call. “Hey honey. What’s up?”

“‘Honey’? Are you two dating now?” Nathaniel’s superhero form asked.

Ladybug made a nervous noise, while Cat Noir said “Oh. I didn’t know we had company.”

Ladybug groaned. “It’s OK. Most people kind of expected it” Nathaniel’s superhero form said.

“Well, then, I don’t see what we need to worry about” Cat Noir said.

“And if there is something, your secret is safe with me” Nathaniel’s superhero from said.

“Aw, thanks buddy! What’s your name?” Cat Noir asked.

He smiled. “Rooster Gold!” he said.

“Huh. Well, welcome to the team!” Cat Noir said.

“Cat Noir! Focus! Have you tracked down Mad King yet?” Ladybug said.

“Yeah! We tracked him to the Arc de Triomphe!” Cat Noir said. “Judgement Wolf, Rena, and Carapace are keeping him busy. I’m hiding his target.”

“Great! Meet you there!” Ladybug said.

Ladybug and Rooster Gold made it to just before the Arc. They kept out of sight. “Hey Ladybug” Cat Noir said. “Do you have a plan yet?”

“Not yet. Where’d you hide his target?” Ladybug asked.

“He’s in one of the buildings here” Cat Noir said.

“OK. Let’s see if we can’t take him out before he realizes something!” Ladybug said. Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Rooster Gold charged further. Rooster Gold fell back after he thought of something.

Ladybug and Cat Noir arrived to join the fight. “Ah, Ladybug. Cat Noir. Have you come to admire my collection?”

“Not really” Cat Noir said. “But we’d like to add a new piece. It’s called my foot in your face!” Cat Noir jump kicked, but a pierce of art blocked him.

“Get them!” Mad King commanded. The variety of art works kept storming the heroes.

“Do these ever let up?” Rena Rouge said.

“Yeah. It’s like every time I turn, he has a new piece of art after me” Carapace added. A piece of art was about to take out Carapace, but it got hit with a feather and went down. Carapace looked as saw Rooster Gold in the distance sniping pieces of art. Carapace acknowledged him, and he acknowledged him back.

Rooster Gold kept taking out pieces of art from a distance. “What’s going on?” Mad King asked. He started to panic, but then he looked up and smiled. “It occurs to me that the Arc de Triomphe is also art.” He aimed his paintbrush up and brought the Arc to life. It started to move, causing quakes whenever it landed.

“This is bad” Cat Noir said.

“I didn’t want this to happen” Ladybug said. “Lucky Charm! Mustard?!”

“My condiments to the chef” Cat Noir said.

Ladybug looked around and saw all of the artwork, the mustard, Mad King, and Rooster Gold. “Of course. Cat Noir! Take care of the Arc. I’ll handle everything else!”

“‘Take care of the Arc’ she says” Cat Noir said. “Sometimes, I wonder if she realizes just how strange things have been getting.

The Arc was about to step on Rena when Carapace joined her and called out “Shell-ter!” The Arc stepped on the Shell-ter and began to fall over after not breaking it.

“Cataclysm!” Cat Noir said, touching and destroying one of Paris’s most iconic landmarks.

“Thanks you two” Rena Rouge said.

Meanwhile, Ladybug was squirting mustard all over the different art pieces. Once they were hit, they became lifeless. “What’s going on?” Mad King asked.

“By vandalizing them, I’m ruining them as art” Ladybug said. “Making it so you can’t control them anymore!” She continued to squirt mustard all of the art.

“NOOOOOOOO!” Mad King said. Once the last one was down. “You're forgetting something. I still have the Louvre. The Eiffel Tower! This city is FULL OF ART! You can’t stop all of it!”

“I don’t need to” Ladybug said. “NOW ROOSTER GOLD!”

“On it!” Rooster Gold called back. He held his crossbow in the air and pulled back on the launcher. The feather loaded in it became gigantic. “Down Strike!” he called. He unleashed the giant feather.

“Uh oh” Mad King said. He got hit with it. He loosened up a little bit. “MhmhmhmhmhmhmAhahahahahahahahahahahahahAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” The Mad King laughed heartily. “Oh, what a wondrous day!” he said.

“What are you doing?” Nathalie Hawk Moth said.

“I dunno. I just feel more relaxed” Mad King said.

“Rena, could you make him something to help him relax a little more?” Ladybug asked.

“Sure thing Ladybug!” Rena said. She played her flute. “Mirage!” She generated a vision of their class.

“Ah, children. How are you today?” Mad King said. He walked over lazily. The smiles on those kids faces relaxed him further to the point of letting go of his paintbrush and falling over. Judgement Wolf quickly destroyed the paintbrush, releasing the akuma.

“No more evildoing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize! Gotcha! Bye Bye, little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!” She threw the mustard in the air, and the ladybugs fixed all of the damage.

“Well, I’ve yet to create my masterpiece, but I suppose I can review what I learned” Nathalie Hawk Moth said.

“Uh. What happened?” Mr. Chastain said.

“Pound it!” The six heroes said.

The miraculouses started beeping. “I’ll take these guys back to the school with Rena and Carapace, while you and Judgement Wolf take off with Rooster Gold?” Cat Noir said.

“Sure” Ladybug said. Carapace grabbed Mr. Chastain while Cat Noir fetched Raphael, and the three took off. Ladybug, Judgement Wolf, and Rooster Gold went off a different direction.

Cat Noir, Carapace, and Rena Rouge dropped Mr. Chastain and Raphael at the front door.

Meanwhile, on the side of the school, Ladybug, Judgement Wolf, and Rooster Gold arrived. “Orikko! Comb Down!” he transformed back into Nathaniel.

“You do realize what you are doing?” Orikko asked.

“Of course” Nathaniel said. “But I can’t afford to be stressed out about it. I just need to relax.”

Orikko smiled. “Well, I sure hope you pass. I wouldn’t mind teaming up with you again.” Nathaniel smiled. He place the miraculous back in the box and ran off.

“Why don’t I take this back?” Judgement Wolf said. “I have more a charge.”

“Alright, but be quick. I’m going to need my art to actually be here, you know” Ladybug said.

“Of course” Judgement Wolf said. He took the box and returned it.

Nathaniel walked into the nurse’s office. “Hey. What happened?” Alix asked. “You were gone a really long time.”

Nathaniel smiled. “I guess I just got lost in thought worrying about Marc is all.

Marc started to wake up. “Is everything alright?” he asked.

“MARC!” Nathaniel said, hugging him. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“Oh, uh, thank you” Marc said, blush.

Nathaniel broke the hug, but kept his hands on his shoulders. “Don’t scare me like that again.”

“I know...I’m sorry,” Marc said.

“It’s alright” Nathaniel said. The two exchanged a kiss.

A few minutes Later, Vlad left the locker room to join a crowd gathered in the courtyard. “I’m sorry about today’s disturbance” Mr. Chastain announced. “But, now that everything is back in order, I declare this exhibition: Re-Opened!”

The rest of the exhibition went off without a hitch. Later on, parents began to arrive. Mr. Chastain was smiling proudly at his student’s accomplishments. “I gotta say, you have some fine students” Raphael said, standing next to Mr. Chastain. “You certainly make a good teacher.”

Mr. Chastain smiled. “Raphael, do you know why I show my class ‘The Mad King’ every year?”

“No” Raphael said.

“The composition, the coloring, the technique, it’s all there” Mr. Chastain said. “But you’re right. Anyone could tell you that it’s not a great painting. I only made it because it was for an assignment. I didn’t put my heart into it. That’s not what art is to me. Art has to come from within. Not because someone told you to do it.”

“I see…” Raphael said.

“The night’s not over yet” Mr. Chastain said. He walked over to the stage, as Vlad and Adrien got off. “Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the musical stylings of Kitty Section!”

Kitty Section was walking to the stage. “Miss Lavillant” Gabriel said. Rose turned to meet him. “Your sister wanted me to give you this.” He handed her a note.

Rose read it. “Dear Rose, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your concert tonight. But maybe you can give a private concert later. Anyway, the reason I’m not there is because I finally became a full-time employee of Gabriel! AND Julian is taking me out tonight to CELEBRATE! I am completely ecstatic right now. I hope your concert goes well! Tell mom and dad for me! Love, Courtney.”

“I hope your date is going well too,” Rose said.

“She also wanted me to give you this” Gabriel said. He held out a box with a white lace wristband with a pink rose. “She made it for you just before she left.” Rose’s face lit up. She put it on and made her way to the stage.

She joined everyone up on stage. “Thank you for coming tonight!” Rose said. “Right now, we are debuting our second song, ‘Comforting Waves’. Hit it!” Ivan counted down and the band started playing.

“When it’s calm in my heart, that I can’t stand

Cause when where the ocean meets the sand

Is at peace I just see nothing at all

So no one’s looking at me when I fall

But I see your face

And my heart starts to race

And I know my place

Is by your side

Standing there on the ocean’s shore

Wishing, wanting you forever more

You flow through me so we don’t drift apart

Comforting Waves crashing in my heart

Your affection has swallowed me in your tide

And you couldn’t lose me if you tried

Right now I’m at peace surrounded by you

I can’t be the ocean, cause I’m not blue

Cause I see your face

And my heart starts to race

And I know my place

Is by your side

Standing there on the ocean’s shore

Wishing, wanting you forever more

You flow through me so we don’t drift apart

Comforting Waves crashing in my heart

(solo)

And I see your face

And my heart starts to race

And I know my place

Is by your side

Standing there on the ocean’s shore

Wishing, wanting you forever more

You flow through me so we don’t drift apart

Comforting Waves crashing in my heart

Comforting Waves crashing in my heart”

After the song was over, everyone cheered. Rose smiled and gave the peace sign. Juleka and Luka fist bumped. Ivan crossed his arms.

Once the day was over, Adrien and Vlad approached Marinette. “What is it, you two?” Marinette asked.

“Well, we were just wondering…” Vlad said.

“Can we keep these?” Adrien asked.

“Of course!” Marinette smiled.

“Ah, Marinette” Tom said. “Wonderful designs. I know for sure you’re going to make it as a designer.”

“Thanks dad” Marinette said.

“Oh, right. We should get home soon” Tom said.

“Why?” Marinette asked.

“Well, we wanted to tell you sooner, but you were so busy” Sabine said. “We were invited over for lunch tomorrow at the Agreste manor.”

“WHAT?!” Marinette and Adrien said.

“I’m sure it’s going to be great!” Tom said.

“We’ll leave you two be for now” Sabine said. They walked away.

Marinette and Adrien stared at each other. “Well, good luck you two” Vlad said. He walked off as well.

“So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Adrien said.

“Yeah” Marinette said. The two tried to awkwardly step around each other and then insisting the other should go first. They managed to walk around each other eventually and catch up with their parents.

Vlad rolled his eyes. “I thought that when they started dating, there’s be no more awkward moments like this” Beyyo said.

“”It’s just who they are” Vlad said.

Max was heading out when he was stopped by Carter. “Hey. My house. Tomorrow.”

Max nodded. “Gotcha” he said. He then left.

“So, what do we do about this Mayura?” Beyyo asked.

“The same thing we do with every miraculous, Beyyo” Vlad said. “We figure out the person behind the mask and test them.”

“But we haven’t seen them since we got here. They must be more secretive than Hawk Moth” Beyyo told him.

“True. But they can’t hide forever” Vlad reminded him.

“I guess” Beyyo said.

“Right now, we need to focus” Vlad said. “We’ve got to test our chicken before he hatches into a problem.”

Beyyo stared at him. “I think Adrien is a bit of a bad influence on you.”

“Eh. It is what it is” Vlad said. They walked out of the school.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfic #Vlad #Beyyo

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helenreviews-blog · 8 years ago

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bimboficationblues · 7 years ago

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a condensed taxonomy of liberalism

Two notes: First, there is an enormous deal of diversity and difference within each of these periods; these are useful conceptual categories and nothing more. Second, I’m focusing mostly on the history of liberal theory rather than the history of liberalism, because “actually existing liberalism” emerged and evolved in a multiplicity of ways across the globe - but I will make particular notes of significant events in its development, and the relationship between liberal theory and liberal practice is a reciprocal one.

Early or proto-liberalism is the term I prefer for the nascent period of liberalism, when it is not quite a fully developed political theory nor has it reached cultural, economic, or political hegemony yet. In Western Europe, this period roughly corresponds to the late fifteenth through seventeenth centuries, with the eighteenth marking the definitive break towards a new “type” of liberalism. The thinkers of this period are often not “liberals” in any recognizable contemporary sense but they introduce concepts that become formative to later forms of liberalism. Most of these thinkers take an atomized, individualistic, self-interested subject as the universal model of humanity; when these subjects are plopped into the conceptual device dubbed “state of nature”, either their human nature or environmental constraints (or both) result in the necessity and practicality of a centralized government, in the form of a state. But that government can only be legitimized through the consent of the governed (though this consent may be “tacit”). The other key principle of this period of liberal thought is toleration - primarily religious, but basically the idea of “negative liberty,” in which there are many domains in which the state cannot interfere due to “natural right.”

Key Proto-Liberal Thinkers: Thomas Hobbes, Baruch Spinoza, John Locke, John Calvin, arguably Renaissance humanists, arguably Martin Luther

Key Proto-Liberal Events: English Civil War, Dutch Revolt, Reformation, Peace of Westphalia, colonization of the Americas prior to the French & Indian War

Classical liberalism is a term I can’t stand because it’s overly broad in temporal scope, so I like to subdivide it in two: early and late.

Early classical liberalism is what most people associate with the revolutionary period, and I would argue is the point where it becomes a fully-realized political theory. Many of the proto-liberal concepts were expanded, edited, and developed. While many of the proto-liberal thinkers were not exactly free-traders, Locke’s “labor theory of property” and account of money and inequality became formative on liberal economic thought during this period. (Worth noting that capitalism and liberalism are historically co-extensive, informing each other in various ways.) Some of these liberals are more radical than others - early feminists operate in a liberal mode of thought, there were a number of radical factions in the French Revolution, and Thomas Paine is noted for his proto-socialism. One of the major struggles in liberal theory was the place of democracy, whether the public could be trusted or had to be guided. Hence, liberalism and democracy are not necessarily wedded, though their spreads have also been co-extensive - it is possible (as Shadi Hamid has noted) to have an illiberal political culture and a democratic system of governance, and vice versa. It’s also worth noting that on the whole, these liberals tend to emphasize particular positive liberties rather than the negative liberties which often characterized proto-liberal thought

Key ECL Thinkers: J.J. Rousseau, Mary Wollstonecraft, Maximilien Robespierre, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, J.B. Say

Key ECL Events: Atlantic Revolutionary wave (American, Haitian, French), First Industrial Revolution, 1848 Revolutionary wave

Late classical liberalism is the period in which liberalism begins to spread in its hegemonic status, during the mid-to-late nineteenth century as well as the beginning of the twentieth. The concept of eternal growth and progress, inherited from Adam Smith, is lionized into gospel and serves as justification for the expansion of industrialization, the world market, and imperial powers - hence the association of the term “classical liberal” with laissez-faire economic policy. It is also marked by an increasing emphasis on positivism, the view that natural science is the highest form of human knowledge and the attempt to apply the scientific method to social and economic relations. Related theories that were seized upon by classical liberals were utilitarianism and Social Darwinism, which were used in the social engineering of the period.

Key LCL Thinkers: Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill, Herbert Spencer, Frederic Bastiat, Manchester Liberalism

Key LCL Events: Latin American wars of independence, Opium Wars, American Civil War, Second Industrial Revolution, Scramble for Africa

Revisionist liberalism is a term that I have taken from philosopher Samuel Black to describe the forms of liberalism that emerge in the 20th century, especially after the Depression and World War II. I use this term instead of “left-liberalism” or “social liberalism,” which I think confuse more than clarify. “Revisionist” indicates that there is both continuity and rupture with the previous forms. While revisionist liberals seek to preserve a market economy and the rule of law within the state-form, they tend to pair this with a concern for individual citizen welfare and as such promote a more actively involved state, one that is willing to get involved in economic practice as well as expand and protect social, civil, and political rights. Subsequently, they place a much greater emphasis on pluralism and egalitarianism than earlier liberals. However, they retain many of proto-liberalism and classical liberalism’s premises. It is also often marked by a commitment to political as well as economic internationalism and associated with the rise of the Bretton Woods system.

Key RL Thinkers: Max Weber, John Maynard Keynes, John Rawls, ML King, Ronald Dworkin, Isaiah Berlin, Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum

Key RL Events: New Deal, American South Civil Rights Movement, LBJ’s War on Poverty

Neoliberalism is the big term that makes people upset. In contradistinction to revisionist liberalism, neoliberalism is not interested in egalitarianism though it may be interested in certain kinds of pluralism; its primary aim is to strip away barriers to market expansion. Though this often manifests as “anti-statism,” neoliberals usually support the existence of a strong state that can defend private property rights, guarantee money, and create the conditions for market expansion. There is a sharp opposition to the central planning of 20th-century socialist countries as well as Keynesianism, allegedly out of concern for institutional capture by interest groups or giving way to totalitarianism. Neoliberal policy and philosophy seeks to privatize public goods and services, weaken the power of organized labor, create a “good business climate” through revision of tax codes, and scrap regulations where possible. It is, in many ways, a resurrection of the late classical liberal period in a new guise and under new conditions.

Key NL Thinkers: Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman and the Chicago Boys, Robert Nozick, James Buchanan, Ayn Rand, Arthur Laffer, Karl Popper (yes, Popper is a neoliberal, eat my shorts)

Key NL Events: the past thirty to forty years (China getting Xiaopinged, Pinochet’s Chile regime, Reagan and Thatcher, 1970s recession, Bolivian water wars, structural adjustment programs and austerity measures round the globe)

Some contemporary reading recs that I thought of right now, feel free to add more:

- Liberalism: The Life of an Idea - Edmund Fawcett - Liberalism: A Counter-History - Domenico Losurdo - Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital - Vivek Chibber - A Brief History of Neoliberalism - David Harvey - Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy - Barrington Moore

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