#she gets the silvas to reconcile

[loosesodamarble]

Helia: I'm so happy to be joining the Silva family! I mean, I'll be getting more siblings! I really hope we all can get along and grow together as a new family unit~! Solid: (leans over to Nozel) You can't go through with this, Nozel. It'll be so weird. Nozel: What's the worst that could happen? Nebra: She'll make us do commoner stuff like "family bonding night." Noelle: I'm not opposed to that. It just means I'll kick your butts at Twister. Nebra and Solid: ... Even worse, we'll be humiliated by Noelle! Nozel: (looks between his siblings) You know what, that's even more reason to go along with it. Noelle: (pumps fist) Helia: (tilts head) What're you guys talking about over there?

#black clover #black clover incorrect quote #nozel silva #noelle silva #nebra silva #solid silva #black clover oc #helia nymvire #soda's ocs #helia being that over zealous mom about family bonding #she gets the silvas to reconcile #though the siblings are gonna be very awkward about it #it makes helia happy so nozel has the easiest time going along with it #noelle is unsure but she's not scared of being around her family. she just wants to get closer #and nebra and solid are floundering the most

[kiame-sama]

Ok, so I'm not an old-man fucker, but I got curious and read your Zeno fics. I liked them! Very well written, and it got me engaged with it despite not caring much for Zeno. Now I'm curious though, since Dove is the reincarnation of Silva's mother, would he be interested in getting to know her, since it'd be a chance to get the years of affection from his mother that he was denied due to her death? Or would he not care? Would the answer change if Dove started to remember her past life? And you mentioned that Zeno would be gentler with his darling than Silva is, since he doesn't want to lose her again. How would he reconcile that resolve with Dove's fear of him (both due to the NC and due to being trained to be just a butler)? Would the butler training be a hard habit for darling to break? Like Zeno wanted darling to not be so formal with him, but what would he do if she slips back into old habits while trying to unlearn them? I desire more, please!

- Well, since Silva has his darling angel, he isn't overly interested in meeting his mother. For him, that ship has already set sail and he already has spent over forty years without knowing that maternal affection. It would be interesting just from a knowledge standpoint, but he doesn't really care. If his mother reincarnated wanted to connect with him, Zeno would make damn sure his Dove and Silva's Angel get to see one another so Silva has no choice but to be cordial with his reincarnated mom.

- He is much more lenient with his Dove, especially if they are timid or anxious around him. Zeno already screwed up the first chance he had and drove his Dove to an early grave, he will do everything in his power to avoid doing that again. When he was younger he tried to tame his Dove using pain and violence, it only broke his darling's spirit until they were little more than a puppet. He will do what he can to keep his Dove from breaking again, especially by his own hand.

- It will be very hard for his reborn darling to adjust to life as his Dove. The butlers have set rules to not have romantic relationships unless pre-established marriage before working for the family. It is also a rule to not have romantic intentions towards any member of the family so his new Dove has quite the learning curve when it comes to breaking those habits, especially after two years of working for the family already.

- If his darling Dove has trouble breaking these habits, he may have to use similar training he used on the dogs. He used some nen to train the Zoldyck dogs to answer only to the family and a spare few butlers, so he may use that on his Dove. He will try to avoid it, if he can, instead he will be attempting to use positive reinforcement to help his darling break from the trained habits of being a butler.

#kiame-sama #yandere #x reader #yandere x reader #reader insert #tw yandere #hxh yandere #yandere zeno #zeno zoldyck #tw mention of death #tw mention of abuse #male yandere

[septemberrie]

Hiya, you posted a fan fic writer ask earlier so I’m a bit late, but who cares!

Questions 4, 14 and 29 please 😍

Thank you, Dexter!! These are so fun! fic asks

4. How many WIPs do you have right now?

I have 3 that will probably see the light of day. 1 more is a solid "maybe." Then maybe 3-4 more that will likely live forever as a handful of dialogue and nothing more.

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick?

Oh man, you are forcing me to choose between my children... I'm going to have to pick Battle Lines because it's got a good balance of intrigue and action and pining. Idk. I've spent a lot of time rereading my stuff over the last few weeks and my storytelling is noticeably improved with that fic. I think it would translate well to the screen.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic.

One of my WIPs is a S2 rewrite in which I try to reconcile Saul's... blankness. It's been in progress and unposted since September 17th 2022 in case anyone's counting lol. I wrote out the tribunal but if I ever do post this fic, I'm going to skip this scene and just start with Saul & Sebastian in Blackbridge. Here's a portion of it.

“Saul Silva. You are here for the sentencing of the attempted murder of Andreas of Eraklyon.”

He raised his head, the only action he could do that didn’t cause the humiliating clink of the chains that bound his wrists. “For this action, you’ve been sentenced to—”

“I don’t even get to argue my case?”

Luna sat back, her hollow black eyes glittering with disdain. “State your defense.”

He thumbed the thick chain that bound his wrists together. “It was self-defense.”

Unimpressed, Luna lifted her hand to pick beneath the nail of her index finger. “Self-defense… you mean, when you attempted to prevent Andreas from fulfilling a military action.”

Saul ground his jaw. “We didn’t know it was a military action. Rosalind neglected to tell us Aster Dell was full of Blood Witch extremists. We thought it was full of innocents.”

“So your solution was to simply attempt to murder him?”

“Only because he tried to kill me first!”

“And yet there were no witnesses.”

“There were no witnesses I attempted to kill him, either.”

“We have his testimony as well as Rosalind Hale’s.”

“I have Farah and Ben’s—”

“Benjamin Harvey has claimed the law of self-implication. He will not testify either way. And Farah Dowling has vanished.”

He couldn’t keep looking into her soulless eyes; it hurt too much. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard Farah had vanished. The Ben news was a blow. They had his kids, he knew. But he couldn’t help but wish that Ben had found an alternative solution than standing by and letting the axe fall on Saul.

“I do not deny that I was willing to stop Andreas from carrying out what we thought was a mission to kill bystanders. We operated under that for sixteen years, which you were only too willing to cover up—”

“Strike that from the record,” Luna said sharply. “It’s hearsay.”

Saul would have argued but he knew it was fruitless. This was all a sham, anyway, he knew it as soon as they hauled him from his cell that morning.

“Although I would like the record to note that the accused attempted to blackmail the queen of Solaria.”

He dug his untrimmed nails into his palms. He was starting to understand why Ben had invoked the right against self-incrimination, if she was going to twist everything he said.

#ask games #fate the winx saga

[kalolasfantasyworld]

I've started reading Paper Hearts (took my long enough to get around to it). Sorry for making you wait! Anyways, I'm hoping to read a chapter every other day and share my thoughts.

While not much happens within the chapter, it really is just Helena saying goodbye, I think it's a wise choice to show the Drazel family's dynamic as a foil to the Silva situation that Helena will be interacting with in the future.

Helena and Nozel are both the eldest of their families but the family structures as vastly different. The Silvas have both parents absent: Acier by death and Papa Silva by just... not being plot relevant to BC... Meanwhile, the Drazels have both parents clearly deeply involved with their children lives as Luciana searches for Helena herself rather than leaving it to staff. And Maxim is vocally supportive of the children (with Helena highlighted because she's leaving). There's already a stark difference in the families based on the older role models they're given.

Helena's family being larger also shows how more harmonious they are. Helena is 17 years older than Cecilia and yet they're very close, open and playful with each other. A stark contrast to the tension that is present is many of the interactions between Noelle and Nozel. And where Helena is shown putting trust in Gabriel in the second eldest, Nozel and Nebra's interactions are limited but I still read it as Nozel viewing Nebra as being under his care than seeing her as his second-in-command (and this is despite the fact that I like to headcanon Nebra as the Silver Eagles VC). Helena sees her siblings as needing her care, as she frequently healed them to train, but she knows they won't be helpless without her.

There is warmth and stability in the Drazel family where there is coldness and distance with the Silvas. I can only imagine what Helena's opinions will turn out to be when she finally meets the Silvas. I could see her being shocked obviously. But will it turn into anger at the family's inability to reconcile their differences? Sorrow that the family is so broken? I don't see any way for her to be comfortable going into it...

Best of luck to Helena.

I was off the social media yesterday evening. I check it this morning. This is one of the first things I see and it made my day ^^

I’m so excited to read your thoughts now and in the future!

I agree that not much is happening here (just as in first three chapters…). This is very much setting up a scene, but a necessary one to get to know Helena and the Drazels (who will reappear). They are a really strong contrast to the Silvas.

You are right there are similarities between Helena and Nozel, actually there are quite a few parallels spread through the story, but yes the family situation is so much different. Drazel familia is indeed full of love and they are really close. Luciana and Maxim are amazing parents.

I love how you summarised their family relations. How there is trust and care at the same time. The relationships between Helena and her parents, Helena and Gabriel, and Helena and Cecilia are especially important.

Nozel and Nebra… there is some distance, but there is distance between Nozel and anyone.

Hah you can right way tell that the atmosphere in the Silva household won’t be really Helena’s “way”.

Best of luck to her indeed.

Thank you so much for this Erika 💕🫶

#Erika 💕 #asks #paper hearts

[the-silver-chronicles]

8, 17 💒🤍

Okay! Let’s do this! Funny thing you should know about Silva and Faith; they’ve had two weddings. One in Silva’s Bunker with Azriel during the seven years and the other to satisfy all the friends and family who missed out on the first time.

8. Was there any drama whatsoever regarding the guest list?

First wedding they didn’t have that problem. It was just Silva, Faith and Azriel in the bunker. Second wedding (which takes place in the New Dawn arc) though… the only one I think they both would have discussed heavily about would be Joseph. While he definitely has stepped down from his role as prophet and is working to fix his mistakes, I do believe Silva still doesn’t trust him, or particularly like him. A lot of what he did was too close to some of the things her biological father, Adam, did to her and her loved ones (I will argue that Joseph is a better man than Adam though), and she likely isn’t ready to forgive him, unlike his brothers. Faith would also be conflicted, mostly because while Joseph is the man who helped her find a new identity, purpose and family (albeit, an identity and purpose that were previously others, and back then the only family member who really cared about her was Joseph, as John didn’t like her and Jacob didn’t care about her at the time), she also became very disillusioned towards Joseph when he made the poor decision of listening to Adam of all people (though to be fair, despite Adam’s clear-as-day flaws he is an extremely talented liar and manipulator) during the Reaping, and didn’t protect her from the older prophet when Adam decided he wanted her gone. There was also the discussion about how John and Jacob would take Joseph’s exclusion, as unlike Joseph, Silva and even Faith reconciled and grew bonds with the two brothers (though Faith is closer to John than Jacob), and while the relationship isn’t how it was before, the brothers still do care about Joseph.

So yeah, that’s the only drama I can think of regarding the guest list. For anyone on the Resistance side, I don’t think anyone of them would have drama as it’s been nearly two decades since the war and a lot of reconciliation has happened since then. I think the likes of Tammy and Jess would have excluded themselves (either not wanting to be in the same vicinity of a Seed or because they’re still dealing with their own problems and don’t want to bring down the mood) and maybe Rush and Gina as well (given they don’t have a personal connection to the wedded).

17. Show us their vows. Did either of them tear up at them?

I hadn’t got the time to write or think much about their vows actually, but the general gist is that Silva’s would likely be a deeply emotional insight on Faith’s meaning to her and the promise of being as good as she can be for her, while Faith’s would be more Silva being a light she didn’t realise she needed, with an emotional insight but has a air of charm and humour to it just to get a rare giggle out of Silva, and the promise that she will be by Silva’s side indefinitely. And yes, both did tear up the first time they said their vows to each other, and was still as effective the second time.

#far cry the silver chronicles #far cry 5 #otp: boa lurking in the bliss #ship: silva omar x faith seed #oc: silva omar #faith seed #oc: azriel #the seed family

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

Prompt 8. “Blankets” Characters: Nozel & Noelle Genre: Sibling fluff Fanfic type: Oneshot Length: ~0.7k Warnings: the word “blood” is mentioned once in connection to being cold and starting to feel blood circulating again

Frost covered the windows of the Silva estate, as the winter weather tried to seep into the house through the thin sheets of glass. Despite estate being warmed through the best possible means, the harsh winter, was taking the better of them.

Noelle hugged herself while making her way through the corridors of the estate, her previous home, as she was making a visit. Her hands moved up and down along the sides of her own arms, trying to warm herself up. But the frost that she carried with her, from outside, still clung to her, refusing to let go.

There was a fireplace in one of the common rooms on the way to her own bedroom, and the warmth, called to her.

If I just warm up for a while here, she thought before making her way to the fire, and kneeling down in front of it.

She held her hands out, feeling tingling sensation as she begun regaining her sense of touch; feeling in her hands. This was one of the moments when she didn’t like being a water mage, because it left her susceptible to the cold.

A tremor passed through her, making her shiver, even if she could feel blood stating to circulate in her body again. But her joints still seemed stiff and muscles tense.

I hate winter… she muttered in her mind, even if she couldn’t argue that, aesthetically speaking, winter was pretty. It was just the damned cold that made it so insufferable.

But. At least she could sit there, by the fire, and warm up. Tomorrow she’d properly meet up with her siblings, and spend time. As a family. Try to reconnect and grow closer, though she doubted that she’d ever grow as close to them as she was with the Bulls.

Because they were her new family. A family. She didn’t want to cut ties with her siblings, but it was… difficult, to say the least.

Faint steps echoed around the room, which made her turn her head, and look towards whoever was approaching her.

Nozel stood there, holding a blanket. Just looking at her.

“I… just stopped to warm up,” she said, not sure why she needed to explain herself. Perhaps because of the family history. Even if they had moved on from that, from what things used to be.

He nodded to her, still holding the blanket. “I noticed. As I was walking by,” he begun. His tone wasn’t distant, but it wasn’t exactly warm either.

In fact, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of that tone. But it wasn’t disapproval, she was sure of that. And Nozel-oniisama would be sure to express disapproval, if he saw it necessary. So… she supposed it was … alright.

“Here,” he held out the blanket, taking a few steps closer to her. “It’ll help you stay warm,” he placed the blanket over her shoulders.

She stayed still, mouth slightly agape from the gesture. One that was genuine and heartfelt. Because he didn’t need to fetch a blanket for her, and granted how she hadn’t noticed him, he could simply have pretended not to have seen her.

He could have, and yet… he hadn’t.

“Thank you,” she told him with a faint smile, pulling the blanket around herself.

“But there is a lit fireplace in your room as well,” he noted to her.

But the statement held no ill will.

“It’s no place for royalty to warm up by a fire in the common room,” she said, more as a general statement to make than anything else, while still wearing that faint smile.

He gave her a nod. And silence settled between them.

Neither quite knew what to say, but then again, was there something to say.

“I’ll be going then,” she said, getting up and beginning to make her way to her room. But she stopped some distance away, and turned around. “Good night, Nozel-oniisama,” she called after him, not expecting a reply.

But. “Good night,” she heard as she had recommenced her steps.

Maybe reconciling wasn’t that far fetched after all.

#nozel silva #noelle silva #black clover fanfiction #black clover oneshots #falling for you

[radicalrascals]

The Aspiring Journalist

Original Character | FC: Bianca Comparato

NAME: Vaneza "Nessa" da Silva

AGE: in her 20s

SPECIES: human

PROFESSION: journalism student & retail-employee

Short Bio

Nessa grew up regarding her dad as some kind of a superhero who put bad people in their place, by uncovering and publishing the uncomfortable truths about their machinations. Though when his work as a journalist became the reason for her parents' divorce, her sentiment changed and they fell out with each other.

Now, a young adult herself, the two reconciled, and Nessa even wants to follow in her father's footsteps as a second generation journalist; focusing on crime journalism.

Addendum for the Supernatural Verse

To finance her studies, Nessa helps out in her uncle's occult bookshop where she first gets into contact with the supernatural. She decides to focus her work on supernatural crime and often works with as well as gets in the way of police and hunters alike.

Relationships

tbd

Playlist

Só Rezo by NXZero from Sete Chaves (2009)

Me leve às estrelas by Dance of Days from A História Não Tem Fim (2001)

Sim by Falante from Entrelinhas (2007)

Careful by Paramore from Brand New Eyes (2009)

Vanessa E O Véu by Sua Mãe from The Very Best of The Greatest Hits (2010)

Detailed Profile

FULL NAME: Vaneza Talita Pinto da Silva

KNOWN AS: Nessa da Silva

NICKNAMES: Nessa, Neca, Vanzinha

~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPECIES: human

RESIDENCE: recently moved out to study

PROFESSION: studies journalism and works at her uncle's bookstore

~~~~~~~~~~~~

AGE: in her 20s

DATE OF BIRTH: May 30th

PLACE OF BIRTH: São Paulo, Brazil

NATIONALITY: Brazilian

~~~~~~~~~~~~

PARENTS: Joana Luíza Ribeiro Pinto de Mello Neves & Rafael Moreira da Silva

SIBLINGS: Tiago Vicente Pinto da Silva (younger brother) , João Henrique Pinto Neves (younger half-brother)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

FACE CLAIM: Bianca Comparato

HEIGHT: 5ft 1 (1.57m)

NOTABLE FEATURES: -

STYLE: -

~~~~~~~~~~~~

LANGUAGES: Portuguese (native), English (fluent) , Spanish (broken)

SPEECH MANNERISM: Nessa works hard on losing her Portuguese accent when speaking English; it's still noticeable, but she's getting better and better

STRENGTHS: technical know-how, extensive coding skills, intuition, strong sense of justice

WEAKNESSES: stubborn, hotheaded short-sighted, impetuous

INTERESTS: making the world a little more just

VICES: smoking

~~~~~~~~~~~~

NSFW

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: panromantic

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: pansexual

PREFERENCE: dom | switch | sub

ROLE: top | vers | bottom

#Muse #Muse: Nessa

[sageglobalresponse]

‘I was placed on medication for life’, Mercy Johnson reveals journey with cancer

Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson has shared for the first time how she overcame cancer and had a procedure that changed her life.

The actress made this known in a recent edition of her cooking show on YouTube when she was joined by Joke Silva as a special guest for a conversation. 

Mercy Johnson questioned Joke Silva about the health of her husband ,Olu Jacobs during the program.

Joke’s remark was followed by Mercy’s account of how she was given lifelong medication after receiving a cancer diagnosis.

She said; “… Odi [her husband] and I have actually been here and I have never discussed it where we had, like uhm, a scare. I had a cancer scare in quote and I had like my thyroid removed. And it was like a journey for us because we had kids.

“My last was six months at that time and then we kept on saying okay, we have to understand that this is the new us, let’s go get the surgery done.

“And then we got there, they said I was going to be on medication for the rest of my life and it was a reality that we had to sit down.

“You know, them giving me a timing and telling me you can’t miss your medication. Once you wake up that day, that’s the first thing. Telling me all of the side effects.

“So I’m reconciling with this you’re saying, it’s the truth. At the point you realize this is where we are, let’s grow from here, let’s live in this comfort zone.”

#likeforlikes #love #celebrity #nollywood #mercyjohnson #jokesilver

[atlas-of-a-human-soul]

Riven’s crush

Pairing: Riven x fairy!reader

=================================

Staring intently, Riven had stopped pretending. He could hardly get enough time in the day to reconcile his ever growing feelings for Y/N, the very thought daunting.

She's the perfect girl, the one everyone orbits like she's a magnet, a source of life. If he was entirely honest with himself, she was like the Sun, her smile set his soul alight, her touch burned him like fire.

Even now, Riven watched her giggle when Sky handed her a dandelion and he wanted to be mad, he wanted to throw a fit and flip them off. He couldn't. Doing anything to upset her felt unnatural, painful to him.

Instead of being destructive, Riven marched toward the two, his eyes set on her.

"Hello there", Riven drapes his right arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer. His lips press against her temple, tender and sweet, two words no one would assign to Riven.

"Hey Riv", her tone is enthusiastic, smile genuine as she tilts her head to look up at Riven who so bravely dared to initiate contact.

"I have to run to meet with Silva, but think about it?" Sky takes a few steps back, smiling softly at Y/N who nods, prompting Sky to smile wider before turning away.

"Don't tell me you swoon over him too", Riven mumbles, dropping his arm and taking a step back.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Y/N shakes her head, "Sky is like a brother to me. I'm just doing him a Bloom related favor."

"Oh", Riven runs the back of his neck, feeling a little out of his death. Accusing her of being into someone else didn't feel like a good way to express how he feels about her.

"Yeah, my taste in guys is more along the lines of guys who pretend to be baddies but are soft inside." Winking, Y/N chuckles at the wide-eyed stare Riven deals her with. She always found it amusing how lip locked Riven would get around her. It had gotten to a point where she enjoyed teasing him just to get a reaction.

"Seems like you have someone in mind", Riven sighs, averting his gaze to the ground before flickering his gaze up to her steady one.

"Maybe", she trails off, "Do you? I'm open to suggestions." Eyebrows raised, she waited for Riven to speak.

"I don't want to scare you, but I think I am in love with you." Riven speaks fast, unsure why he's doing this because there is no way Y/N would ever be interested in him but he couldn't help himself.

For the first time ever, he couldn't imagine keeping his feelings under wraps, not when she stood there with her perfect smile and her kind eyes. He wanted to scream LOVE ME, but at least he found a more civilized manner to express the same.

"Why would that scare me?" Y/N steps closer. Raising her hand, she plants her palm against his chest, tilting her head up to fix his gaze. "I'm a fire fairy, Riven. We don't scare easily."

"Shit", Riven mutters under his breath. The proximity, the way her hand lingers on his chest, the sensuality of her tone had taken his breath away, but nothing quite worked as well as the moment she pulled his head down and kissed his lips.

She wasn't as kind or gentle when she claimed his lips, her teeth sinking into his bottom lip. Gasping, Riven found himself unable to form a coherent thought, overwhelmed by emotions she evoked. Her scent intoxicates him, her arms wrapped around him and sooner than he wanted, she had let go of him altogether.

Lips swollen, darkened by her red lipstick, Riven stood there with a smile adorning his face. "Does that mean you're in love with me too?"

Cocking her right eyebrow, she licked her lips, "It means I like you, Riven."

Nodding to himself, he smirks, "I can work with that."

Pursing her lips, she takes a step back. "Are you sure? Because you're about to find out exactly why they say fire fairies are a little mad."

Chuckling, he swipes his thumb under his bottom lip, "All the best people are."

Raising her hands in mock surrender, Y/N continues backing away, "Don't start running when you can't handle the heat."

Riven's heart flutters at her words, watching her walk away from him slowly, her smile wide and enchanting.

"Don't threaten me with a good time, doll!"

Shaking her head at him, she brought her hand up to her lips, sending him an air kiss Riven found himself catching. It's foolish, something he'd mock anyone else who'd do it, but if there is anyone out there he's willing to be silly for, it's Y/N.

#riven #riven x reader #riven fate winx saga #fate the winx saga #riven fate #fate riven #riven imagine #riven fluff #riven fate the winx saga

[hamliet]

Hi I was reading your hunter x hunter posts and it was really interesting to read it made me realize and see things differently about certain characters especially illumi, so i wanted to ask you few questions about the zoldyck that I have been wondering for a while now: what do you think is the reason for kalluto dressing like a girl? like is it because their mother wanted a girl in the family so she dressed him like that or is it just kalluto being jealous of alluka so he thought it would be a way to get killua's attention? And will killua free his brothers like alluka? every one of them either seek freedom or affection so i wonder if killua will fight silva one day for them, since killua has been running away from his family since the beginning i thought it would be a great development for him finally face the situation and try to fix his dysfunctional family. And the last one do you think killua hate or care about illumi and his family?

Hello!!! Ah, I miss HxH!

For your first question, I do not think the text gives us a clear answer at this point. I see all the possibilities you raise as viable options, as is the possibility that Kalluto just enjoys dressing in girls clothing for whatever reason. It's also quite possible it's a combination of the three--to please their mother and to get Killua's attention, and also he likes it. If I had to guess, my guess would be that it's the combination, but we'll see.

As for whether Killua will free his brothers, I absolutely think he'll free Kalluto and reconcile with Illumi in the sense that one is supposed to integrate with their shadow, not destroy it. Milluki, too. Whether or not that results in a new relationship for them, I do not know. I do think, and it is my preference, that Killua become the true leader of his family as was always said he would be--but not in the sense of leading a family of assassins. Instead, in the sense of showing them how to be a family.

I do think Killua's main antagonist is Silva, not Illumi. Like for Kurapika it''s facing grief, not Chrollo, and for Gon it's accepting what and whom Ging is, not Hisoka. So yes, I do see there being a fight some day.

I do not think Killua hates his family--or, if he hates them, it's because he loves them. I wrote more on this here.

#ask hamliet #hxh #zoldyck family #killua zoldyck #illumi zoldyck #kalluto zoldyck #hxh theory #silva zoldyck

[notyourordinaryrandomgirl]

Silva's Revenant

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Chapter 2

“Oh, Fuegoleon!” Yami happily called the captain of Crimson Lion. The glee in his voice and face is too obvious that everyone knows Yami is looking forward to this.

“Yami Sukehiro, I would appreciate it if you would let things flow smoothly tonight.” Fuegoleon said, respectfully.

Yami laughed, “Why wouldn’t it flow smoothly?”

“Tch, this guy is enjoying this show!” Jack the Ripper said.

“This is not a show…” William quietly told him.

“You all should keep quiet.” Roselei told the captains at the table.

Azure Deer’s captain spoke, “I heard rumors and she came from Coral Peacock.”

“Tch, this sleepy captain…” Yami side glanced over Dorothy, “She doesn’t seem interested that her member came back. Look at her sleeping.”

The door opened and the silver-haired captain appeared. The room went quiet as they all felt the tension around him. His face looked dark that anyone who dared crossed him, they know he will not hesitate to fight. He did not even greet and coldly sat on his seat.

“Silva…” Fuegoleon greeted, but the Crimson Lion captain’s greeting is not reciprocated in any way or form. He was answered in silence.

Yami although was throwing jokes earlier knew better than to peeve the man. He only continued to watch his expression but Nozel is not giving any. If Yami could compare, Nozel looks like a robot in front of him.

Jack and Yami continued throwing banters to each other, with Charlotte telling them to shut up once in a while. If Nozel was in the right state, they all know he would’ve not passed the time to call them commoner and foreigner.

Finally, the door opened. Marx appeared followed by the Magic Emperor. Julius smiled at his captains but his eyes lingered on Nozel Silva for seconds, not making it obvious he looked away quickly.

“My captains, I am so glad to see you all tonight.” Julius gratefully said.

“You summoned us.” Yami stated.

Julius laughed, “Right? You must have all heard the news. It is true. She returned and only did she not come back but she also brought lots of new discoveries and information that can help the Clover Kingdom. I am grateful to her.”

“She needs a squad, right?” Yami asked before smirking, “We are taking her.”

Jack scoffed, “As if I would let you have her.”

“It’s only fair for her to be on the strongest squad in Clover Kingdom.” William joined.

“The strongest girl knight deserves to be on a squad with women.” Charlotte glared.

Fuegoleon stole a glance at Nozel and stood up, “She will be in my squad.”

He needs to get you. This way he could somehow not let you meet Nozel in any way. He could send you in missions or just stay inside the headquarters. Although he knew at the back of his mind that the addition of some likes of you will contribute greatly to his squad.

“It’s her decision, anyway for formality she needs to show her magic to all of you and like during the exam you’ll raise your hand if you want her in your squad. If more than one, then she chooses.” The Magic Emperor explained.

Jack sneered, “I could sleep like this woman here, and I will still raise my hand for her.”

“Compared to Dorothy, she is still aware while you might not be and completely dozed off.” Charlotte retorted.

Julius smiled then shifted to Marx, “Call her now.”

“Yes, Magic Emperor.” Marx went outside immediately, and the longest minutes of tension appeared once again. This time the tension is thicker. The Magic Emperor worriedly eyed Nozel Silva, his face looked dark and cold, and seemed like no one could get past seeing his face.

The door opened and Marx went in with a red-haired woman, your hair ponytailed on your lower nape falling into your chest. The usual look of your combat outfit is very much present. The only thing Yami could see that changed is your eyes. It is the eyes of a person who went through the hardest and deepest of life, like it went through the bottom pit of pain. An eye of a woman that is not just physically stronger than 5 years ago, but a woman who became stronger through her experiences.

Your eyes did not take chances and straightly did not linger to the man you left 5 years ago. You salute to the captains in front of you with respect.

“Y/N… coming back for duty.” You stated.

Yami laughed loudly, as much as you want to clapback at his reaction you hesitated. You only raised an eyebrow at him.

“Still a rule woman that you are, Y/N.” Yami said.

You pouted, “Rules aren’t that bad as you make it out to be, Captain Yami.”

“Nice to see you, Y/N.” Charlotte smiled at you.

“Yeah, thank you.”

“You’re still amazing. Welcome back, Y/N.” William told you.

You grinned, “Nice to see you, Captain William,”

“You’ve grown astoundingly.” Purple Orca’s captain, Kaiser, said.

“Nice to hear those words, Kaiser senpai. I will work hard.” You said.

“Glad to see you, Y/N.” Azure Deer’s captain said.

“I didn’t know you became captain, youngest at that, but I am happy to see you too.”

“It must’ve been nice to be welcome like this, Y/N, but you deserve this. Make sure you go to my squad.” Jack the Ripper told you, creepily normal.

You laughed, “You didn’t change, Captain Jack, but I need to see it to my former Captain.”

“Welcome back. I’m proud of you, Y/N.” Dorothy Unsworth murmured to her sleep, but you knew better. Your heart warmed to her words. She is one of those that encourage you, and did not falter letting you go.

“I’m… I’m back, Captain.” You mumbled. You saw a small smile to her lips before she went back sleeping.

“Nice to see you back here, Y/N. We are all glad that you’ve returned safely.” Fuegoleon said with a smile to you.

“Me too, Captain Fuegoleon.” You grinned.

Everyone froze. You could see it. The tension that temporarily diminished appeared again. He is the last one, and you know that he did not owe you any greeting even as civil.

“It is nice to see you again, Captain Nozel.” You greeted.

He slightly glanced at you, “You too.”

The Magic Emperor laughed to ease the awkward atmosphere.

“Since the greetings are done, let’s proceed with selection of squad. Shall we all?” The Magic Emperor turned and proceeded to go outside the room.

The captains slowly get up to leave the room, but even before they leave you have already decided what squad you want to be in.

“If I will be accepted, I would like not to waste your time. I think I still want to be in my old squad.” You said.

Your captain suddenly woke up with a smile on her face. She sported her famous peace sign, “It’s settled then!”

Different groans echoed in the room. Captain Dorothy gave you a thumbs up. The Magic Emperor acknowledged and accepted it with a smile. He nodded at you then left the room with Marx following.

The other captains slowly leave the room, while some are bickering still. After they all left, you sighed. Nozel is the last one who leaves, letting you watch his back. So much has changed to him, he has gotten so tall and well built.

You waited a little bit before following but became face to face with your former friend, Nebra Silva, and you decided to greet her.

“Nebra…”

“Y/N…” She’s cold.

“It’s nice to see you.” You smiled sadly. You missed her. She’s not the kind and nice type of person but she is good to people she acknowledges.

She looked away, “You too.”

You bit your lower lip. You really want to catch up with her, or talk or maybe reconcile. As you were about to say something, she ran past you.

“Nozel-nii sama!”

The lump in your throat made you gulp. You looked back to your shoulder and you were met by a purple eyed captain, who was watching you. Slowly looking away, you proceeded to your way. You know you have no right to even be looking, moreso talk to him, you owe him to just completely avoid him. And you did.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

#nozel silva #nozel silva fanfic #nozel silva fanfiction #black clover #black clover fanfic #black clover fanfiction #nozel fanfic #silva's revenant

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 9/25/2021

Fena: Pirate Princess EP#08 - A Knight's Vow: The Bonito II rushes to port at Chaouen, making it just in time to get Yukimaru to a doctor they know who takes the bullets out of his body. While Yukimaru recovers, Shitan calls Fena a witch for her role in nearly getting Yukimaru hurt twice in a span of ten years. Shitan reminisces over his past about him watching over Yukimaru when he was just saved, Kei making negative comments over his swords fighting toward Shitan by calling him pathetic, and how he picked up the bow. With Brule by her side, Fena later manages to reconcile with him. Eventually, Yukimaru wakes up thinking his legs were paralyzed and bonking Fena and Brule over their head after he failed to wake them up gently. Fena and Yukimaru have a conversation on the roof and Fena confides in him that she is confused of who she is and is afraid of moving forward. Yukimaru tries to assure her and he swears that he will protect her and keep her safe, then he kisses her hand. Fena falls backwards shocked over his gesture. Elsewhere, Abel is painting a portrait of a still life of a bowl of fruit with Helena's portrait behind him and promises her that they will meet again soon.

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon EP#13 - The Delicious Feudal Monks: Tōtetsu, the last member of the Four Perils, is eating virtuous monks to increase his demon power, even though he possesses the orange Rainbow Pearl. Taking heed of this, Kohaku sends Hisui, Towa and Setsuna to protect his brother-in-law Miroku, who is participating in a 1000-day training course to increase his spiritual powers tremendously, while Moroha is assigned by Jyūbei to protect another monk. Hisui is dissatisfied at first with meeting his father, as he does not approve his behavior. While meeting Miroku, they also meet Hisui's older sister Gyokuto, who is paying a visit to her father. Tōtetsu appears to attack Miroku and attempts to eat him. While protecting his father, Hisui is afflicted by some poison they used on Tōtetsu and the sisters keep fighting the enemy while Miroku tends to him. Knowing that they are in as disadvantage, Setsuna asks Miroku to undo the seal he put on her to restrain her demonic blood, which unlocks her true powers and she forces Tōtetsu to retreat, with Miroku restoring the seal afterwards and Hisui starts seeing his father in a better light. After the battle, Hisui, Towa and Setsuna bid farewell to Miroku, who now must clean all the mess caused by the battle and Hisui informes his mother Sango that Miroku is safe and continuing his training, while Moroha is disappointed that once again she could not get any bounty or money.

My Hero Academia Season 5 (My Villain Academia: Paranormal Liberation War Arc) EP#109 (21): Revival Party: Deika City's welcoming party for the League quickly turns into an ambush, causing everyone to get separated. Toga is soon surrounded by Curious and her supporters. Intending to understand why Toga is the way she is like why she attacked and drank the blood of a classmate in middle school, Curious overwhelms Toga with her explosive arsenal. Toga doesn't know what a normal life is, just that she wants to be the people she loves. Due to her near death state, Toga's Quirk evolves, unintentionally allowing her to use Uraraka's Zero Gravity, dropping Curious and her supporters from the sky. Elsewhere, Shigaraki demonstrates his evolved Quirk as well, killing those beyond who he has touched. While Dabi begins his battle with the ice user Geten, Twice finds an unconscious Toga only to be surrounded by Skeptic's puppets that were modified to look like an unmasked Twice.

Food Wars: The Fourth Plate (Promotion Exams Arc) EP#67 (06) - A Single Blade: Soma and Saitou continue their match. Saitou starts off by juicing oranges, while Soma makes a white sauce using kirimochi. Saitou finishes his dish first, presenting a buttered seafood rice bowl. By using lemon and orange, he is able to incorporate large amounts of butter into his dish without affecting its taste. Satoshi explains that Saitou honed his skills running his mother's sushi restaurant when she fell ill, defeating all the old fashioned, traditional sushi chefs who disrespected his mother because she was a woman. Soma asks Saitou why he sided with Central, and he explains that he was motivated to protect those who suffered at the hands of the cooking establishment. Soma then presents his own dish, Yukihira-style Toasted Butter Pilaf Inari Sushi. The judges and Saitou are amazed at Soma's incorporation of techniques he learned from his classmates to maximize the flavor of his dish, and declare Soma the victor.

Black Clover: The Spade Kingdom and the Dark Triad Arc EP#167 - Black Oath: Vanica decides not to kill Loropechika but to take her to the Spade Kingdom and recalls fighting someone similar to Noelle, and remembers the person to be Acier Silva, Noelle's mother. Using a curse-bomb Vanica kills all of her subordinates and cause explosions all over the Heart Kingdom and tells Noelle to get stronger and she’ll be waiting for her in the Spade Kingdom and takes Loropechika with her. Back at the Black Bull's headquarters Asta and Yami fight Dante. Asta decides to awaken his dormant power, in doing so he meets Liebe. Asta converses with Liebe, who agrees to give him some of his true power in return for a part of his body. With renewed power Asta fights Dante, who is supported by Yami. Asta manages to get close to Dante and slashes him using Yami's katana, nullifying Lucifero's power. Grey is overjoyed to see Gauche alive. Before Yami can finish Dante, Zenon arrives with a still unconscious and captured William Vengeance and restrains him while recovering Dante. Zenon also tries to capture Asta but is stopped by Finral and realizes he’s still injured from his last fight with Yuno so he decides to retreat. Enraged, Gauche and Henry attack Zenon but their attacks fail to hit him. Liebe rejects Asta's plea to trade more power. Vanessa also tries to use Rouge to save Yami but Zenon sends Rogue back, Zenon escapes taking William and Yami with him leaving the Black Bulls devastated.

Slightly Damned Page 1026: https://www.sdamned.com/comic/1026

#Toonami #Toonami Weekly Recap #Toonami Game Review #Fena: Pirate Princess #Yashahime: Princess Half Demon #InuYasha #My Hero Academia #My Hero Academia 5 #My Villain Academia: Paranormal Liberation War Arc #Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma #Food Wars: The Fourth Plate #Promotion Exams Arc #Black Clover #The Spade Kingdom and the Dark Triad Arc #Slightly Damned

[the-geeky-truth]

Fate: The Winx Saga 1x06

I get that Bloom wants answers, but what gave her the impression that Rosalind would be trustworthy?

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” - No, Mr. Harvey, they don’t, because nobody ever tells them what’s going on.

Terra rules. As always.

Sam is a good boyfriend, also as always.

The beautiful (and tricky) thing about Aisha vs. the others is that both sides have a good point.

You know things are going downhill when Riven is the sensible one.

So Sky defied the order to keep spying on Bloom (which was of course the right thing to do). But now he tells Riven to follow Silva’s order and to “suck it up”? Hypocrisy is not a good look on golden boy™ and seems out of character.

For a moment there I was proud of Bloom for questioning Rosalind, but that didn’t last long.

Stella realizing and admitting that she and Sky shouldn’t be together is a very welcome surprise. I love the way she puts it into words: “codependent at best, toxic at worst”, and that she says these words out loud, so it’s unmistakably clear to herself, to Sky - and to the viewer as well.

So Silva in the past was all for questioning orders (as people should!), but at present he wants everyone to just follow his?

Sky, Andreas and Silva are basically Luke, Anakin and Obi-Wan. Oh well.

Musa is an absolute queen.

FIRE WINGS !!

That eye thing Rosalind did to Riven and Dane can’t be good.

Bloom and Ms. Dowling reconciling is a beautiful moment.

I really like that Bloom gets to show her parents the truth about herself. Beautiful sequence as well.

Beatrix was raised by Andreas? I did not see that coming.

And both Stella and Sky will have to face their evil parents.

But the girls are united now and a force to be reckoned with.

#fate: the winx saga #bloom #aisha #stella #musa #terra #mr. harvey #sam #sky #silva #andreas #beatrix #riven #dane #rosalind #queen of solaria #ms. dowling #fate spoilers #1x06

[thespiralgrimoire]

Nozel and Fuegoleon personality swap AU

Okay oof this ask is a doozie

So, starting from the beginning...

There’s still a lot to uncover what all went down with Magicula and Acier, but assuming that Nozel doesn’t have some really good reason for allowing Noelle to be treated like that (HA), Nozel with Fuegoleon’s personality would not allow Noelle to be mistreated. Their mother’s death would have been a huge and dramatic catastrophe at the time, but when the dust settled, Nozel would not have tolerated Noelle being pushed away and abused. The siblings would be close knit and disciplined... Perhaps to their chagrin. But Noelle’s life would look a lot different.

I think that regardless of where her magic was at 15 (and let’s be real, without her family’s abuse her control would probably be a lot better,) she would be admitted to the Silver Eagles, which throws the whole trajectory of the story off.

It seems to me that Fuegoleon with Nozel’s personality may have a complicated relationship with Meoroleona for dropping the family business to live in the woods. While they would still quietly love each other, they would not be on good terms. Imagine that instead of having this loving rivalry, they genuinely resent each other for their choices, despite being so close for the first 15 years of their lives.

When Fuegoleon got attacked, I don’t think that this would change Nozel’s way of handling it. Their relationship wouldn’t look much different, and if anything, Nozel would be more intense about finding the person who hurt him. Again, I don’t think this would change what happens, just how it happens. Imagine Nozel doing everything he does in canon, just WAY more loud and intense about it. A+, if you ask me.

Meanwhile, does Meoroleona take Fuegoleon’s place as captain? Or did they burn that bridge because Fuegoleon felt betrayed when she left? If she didn’t, who would take that role? What are vice captains even for????

Let’s say that she does, a little more begrudgingly than she does in canon. And she acts just the same way that she does in canon, because her brother may be an insufferable twat, but he’s still her little brother and she loves him. So when he woke up, and after the dust settled, let’s replace Nozel and Noelle’s half-assed heart-to-heart with Meoro and Fuego reconciling after years of tension and come to an understanding about each other’s choices. Nice.

Again, canon gets farted on because if Nozel is treating Noelle like a person instead of a reminder of his family’s past mistakes, she probably already knows about Magicula and Vanica. Maybe it’s at this point where Nozel goes, “You’re strong enough to fight her now”? That would be kind of nice, although I am still stewing over Nozel having no part in Magicula and Vanica up to this point.

Overall, the Silvas would look very different if Nozel had Fuegoleon’s personality. The Vermillions would have some work to do in their family. But their relationship to each other would be more or less the same. It would completely change Noelle’s journey as a character especially.

#fuegoleon vermillion #nozel silva #noelle silva #meoroleona vermillion #black clover #spinda tea #Anonymous

[lukeskywaker4ever]

24th King of Portugal (4th of the Bragança Dynasty): King João V of Portugal, “The Magnanimous”

Reign: 9 December 1706 – 31 July 1750 Acclamation: 1 January 1707, Lisbon Predecessor: Pedro II

João V (22 October 1689 in Lisbon – 31 July 1750 in Lisbon), known as the Magnanimous (o Magnânimo) and the Portuguese Sun King (o Rei-Sol Português), was a monarch of the House of Bragança who ruled as King of Portugal during the first half of the 18th century. João V's reign saw the rise of Portugal and its monarchy to new levels of prosperity, wealth, and prestige among European courts.

João V's reign saw an enormous influx of gold into the coffers of the royal treasury, supplied largely by the royal fifth (a tax on precious metals) that was received from the Portuguese colonies of Brazil and Maranhão. João spent lavishly on ambitious architectural works, most notably Mafra Palace, and on commissions and additions for his sizable art and literary collections. Owing to his craving for international diplomatic recognition, João also spent large sums on the embassies he sent to the courts of Europe, the most famous being those he sent to Paris in 1715 and Rome in 1716.

Disregarding traditional Portuguese institutions of governance, João V ruled as an absolute monarch. As a continuation of a Bragança dynasty policy that stressed the importance of relations with Europe, João's reign was marked by numerous interventions into the affairs of other European states, most notably as part of the War of the Spanish Succession. On the imperial front, João V pursued an expansionist policy, with significant territorial gains in Portuguese India and Portuguese America.

João V was a very pious man who devoted large parts of his day to prayer and religious study. He rewarded his long-awaited recognition as a lawful monarch by Pope Benedict XIV with a fervent devotion to the Catholic Church and some very large donations to the Holy See. The Pope granted João V the style "Most Faithful Majesty," which appealed to him greatly. However, João's relationship with the papacy varied at different periods in his reign; there were both close relations and conflicts at different times during the reigns of five different popes.

João was born on 22 October 1689 at Ribeira Palace 

in Lisbon to King Pedro II and Queen Maria Sophia of Neuburg. He was baptized on November 19 at the Royal Palace Chapel and given the full name João Francisco António José Bento Bernardo. João was not his father's first son; he had an older brother, João, who died a year before João's birth, thus the court was overjoyed to have a new male heir to the kingdom.

Upon his baptism, João was not given the traditional titles of the heir apparent to the Portuguese throne, Prince of Brazil and Duke of Bragança, but merely the default title Infante of Portugal. This was intended as a sign of respect for his elder brother's death, which had happened only months before.

João had a stimulating upbringing surrounded by some of the most brilliant minds of Europe at the time. It was agreed by the court that João's care as a child was to be strictly run by women only, a custom of the Portuguese court, and the Portuguese nobility as a whole. João's governess (who was later the governess for all of the sons of Pedro II) was Maria de Lencastre, the Marquise of Unhão, who was given that position more for her beauty and status than for her suitability as a child care giver.

The policies that João's father had pursued made the Portuguese court wealthy, the national economy stable, and the imperial military strong. This made a richly varied and interesting childhood possible for John. As a child, he was under the tutelage and heavy influence of the Jesuit Fathers Francisco da Cruz, João Seco, and Luís Gonzaga. Father Luís Gonzaga was in charge of the education of all of King Pedro's children; he taught them military education, politics, astronomy, nautical studies, mathematics, and history.  As the prince grew up, he was mentored in political affairs by Luís da Cunha, 

a prominent Portuguese diplomat.

When João reached age seven, his father determined that his eldest sons were sufficiently educated in basic subjects and decided to take over supervision of their instruction himself, though his interest in mentoring them quickly faded. This was formalized when he and his brother Francisco, Duke of Beja,

were admitted into the Order of Christ on 7 April 1696. Later that year, the king finally decided to confer on João the titles of the heir apparent, namely Prince of Brazil and Duke of Bragança. On 1 December 1696, on the anniversary of the Portuguese Restoration War of 1640, a grand ceremony was held in which João was invested with his titles. The ceremony involved the placing of a large ermine and red velvet mantle on his shoulders, as well as the adornment of his person with various jewels and royal regalia.

Just over a month before João's tenth birthday in 1699, his mother Queen Maria Sofia died at the age of 33. This caused João to retreat from court and become depressed for many months. Catarina of Bragança, his aunt and the former Queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland, then took control of his education. She resided in the palace she had built, Bemposta Palace, 

and remained João's main tutor and female role model until her death in 1705.

In April 1700, João fell terribly ill; it was assumed that he was on his death bed. Fearing his imminent demise, he asked for his last rites and confessed his sins. To everyone's surprise, he rallied and soon returned to his normal activities, his complete recovery being considered a miracle by the court.

The death of João's sister Teresa Maria in February 1704, greatly saddened him. It caused him to avoid appearing at court for some months and to estrange himself from his father, who favoured João's younger brother, Manuel, Count of Ourém. 

During this time, much gossip was spread and worries arose about whether João would ever recover from his depression. In May of that year, he eventually returned to the court and reconciled with the king, saying that his saudades for his sister would not get in the way of his performing his duty to the king.

In early December 1706, Pedro II moved himself to the Royal Quinta in Alcântara, as he was growing ill and needed space from the court. On the fifth of that month, the king caught a high fever, and the court doctors met to examine him fully. They determined his health was greatly deteriorating. The next day, Pedro II called all of his children to his bedside and told them of his coming demise. He appointed João as prince regent of the kingdom and asked that all of his children follow João's wishes. Although he appointed João the prince regent, Pedro II still favoured his youngest son Manuel, and the king gave Manuel a special gift that no other child received.

King Pedro II died in his sleep on 9 December 1706. Following his death, Ribeira Palace was redecorated as a reflection of the mourning. On the façade towards the Terreiro do Paço, 

large black banners were hung from the windows for this purpose. A month later, the time was declared to be appropriate for João to be acclaimed king. Preparations for João's acclamation had already been started and once allowed, the royal palace was redecorated; the black banners were replaced with red ones, and fruit wreaths were hung throughout all of the palace.

On the day of João's acclamation, 1 January 1707, 

his new throne was placed on the balcony of the Torre do Rei (Tower of the King) of Ribeira Palace. Specially-made tapestries illustrating the allegories of Justice and Prudence were hung high above the Terreiro do Paço to remind the public that these were the traits their king would have. Once João sat down on his throne, wreaths made of gold were laid around the throne and balcony. Wearing his Cross of the Order of Christ, 

and with the Portuguese Crown Jewels 

beside him, and not on him, as was the Portuguese royal custom, João was acclaimed "His Majesty, by the Grace of God, King of Portugal and the Algarves, before and beyond the sea in Africa, Lord of Guinea and of Conquest, Navigation, and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India, our Lord, John, the fifth of that name in the table of the Kings of Portugal."

João was now king of an empire that stretched four continents. He was also the head of state of a kingdom that was at war with Spain and France. His first regnal act was to renew Portugal's membership in the League of Augsburg and continue in the war alongside the England and the Habsburgs. Portugal quickly supplied more troops to aid her allies in the war. This new level of Portuguese involvement allowed João's general, António Luís de Sousa, Marquis of Minas, to capture Madrid on 28 June 1706. While Portugal put vast resources into the war, contrary to João's predecessors, who avoided conflicts in Europe, activity in the war soon lost the interest of the king, who had more pressing affairs to attend to.

During his life, Pedro II had worked a long time to secure João a marriage with an Austrian archduchess in order to guarantee Portugal's alliance with the Habsburgs. João continued these negotiations and finally succeeded in negotiating a deal. On 27 June 1707, Fernão Teles da Silva, Count of Vilar Maior, signed a marriage contract with Holy Emperor Joseph I 

that made official a match between João and the emperor's sister, the Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria. The contract also set the archduchess's dowry at 100,000 crowns, a vast sum for the day.

The armada that Portugal sent to escort Maria Anna from the Lower Countries to Lisbon arrived in the Tagus river estuary on 26 October 1708. 

The flagship, in which Maria Anna traveled, berthed at the docks of the private garden of Ribeira Palace, where João and a party of the kingdom's richest and most powerful nobles met the new queen for the first time. The marriage celebrations lasted until 27 December; they were sumptuous and very costly.

By late 1710, João and Maria Anna had not produced an heir to the throne. It had been two years since the couple had been married, and the court was starting to question the future of the House of Bragança. In early 1711, the king met with Franciscan Cardinal Nuno da Cunha e Ataíde, High Inquisitor of the Portuguese Inquisition, who told him that if he promised God to build a Franciscan convent in Mafra, God would deliver his long desired heir. Accordingly, João promised that if Maria Anna became pregnant before the end of 1711, he would build a Franciscan convent in Mafra. João's wish would come true later that year, when Maria Anna fulfilled her duty as queen and gave birth to the Infanta Maria Barbara of Bragança on 4 December 1711.

João and Maria Anna had a successful marriage, but lived largely separate lives. Maria Anna devoted herself to preserving the decorum of the royal court and her own religious interests, while João concerned himself with whatever pleased him at the moment. João kept many mistresses throughout his royal career, including Filipa de Noronha, Paula de Odivelas, 

Luísa Inês Antónia Machado Monteiro, Madalena Máxima de Miranda, Inácia Rosa de Távora, and Luísa Clara de Portugal.

Maria Barbara's birth was followed by the birth of Pedro, Prince of Brazil, on 19 October 1712, which temporarily gave João a male heir. 

Prince Pedro's death on 29 October 1714 greatly saddened him, but he took solace in the fact that his son, the Infante José (now Prince José), had been born on June 6 earlier that same year. Following the birth of Prince José, João and Maria Anna would have three more children: Infante Carlos, born 2 May 1716, Infante Pedro, born 5 July 1717, and Infante Alexandre, born 24 September 1723. Of the last three infantes, only two would survive to adulthood, Infante Carlos and Infante Pedro; only one would continue the Bragança line: Infante Pedro.

João's children were trained rigorously growing up. His plan was to have an intelligent son who could take his place as king, a strategically married daughter, and well-prepared statesmen sons; but he would achieve only part of his goal. From her birth, Infanta Maria Barbara's marriage had been closely arranged and monitored by João. When the engagement of Mariana Victoria of Spain 

to Louis XV of France 

was nullified, João proposed Infanta Maria Barbara as a possible bride for Louis XV, but in the end she was refused. João still managed to gain something from the dissolution of the engagement between Louis XV and Mariana Victoria, i.e., a wife for his son Prince José and a husband for Infanta Maria Barbara, Mariana Victoria's older brother Fernando, Prince of Asturias. 

Negotiations between Portugal and Spain began in 1725, and four years later João's eldest children would be matched with their spouses-to-be. The princesses Maria Barbara and Mariana Victoria were exchanged at a ceremony, called the Exchange of the Princesses (Troca das Princesas), held on the Caia River on 19 January 1729. Prince José married Mariana Victoria on 19 January 1729 in Elvas, and Infanta Maria Barbara married Prince Fernando on 20 January 1729 in Badajoz.

None of João's three other sons would marry in his lifetime. Infante Alexandre died at the age of five, and Infante Carlos died at the age of twenty without any marriage proposals or children. Only Infante Pedro would live long enough to marry, but João did not live long enough to see it. Infante Pedro married the daughter of his older brother King José I, Princess Maria Francisca, Princess of Brazil, on 6 June 1760. When Princess Maria became Queen Maria I of Portugal upon the death of her father, King José I (João's son), Prince Pedro became King Pedro III, following Portuguese royal law that if the consort of a queen regnant produced children with the queen regnant, he would become king of Portugal jure uxoris.

João fathered at least four children from various extramarital affairs: António of Braganza, by Luísa Inês Antónia Machado Monteiro, Gaspar of Braganza, Archbishop of Braga, by Madalena Máxima de Miranda, José of Braganza, High Inquisitor of Portugal, by Paula de Odivelas, and Maria Rita of Braganza, by Luísa Clara de Portugal. Out of his four illegitimate children, the three males were all recognized as João's sons and were collectively known as the Children of Palhavã, after the Palace of Palhavã that belonged to Luís Carlos Inácio Xavier de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Louriçal, 

where they lived at João's expense. The Children of Palhavã received educations worthy of nobility and went on to become noteworthy members of the clergy. Maria Rita was never officially recognized as his daughter, but he informally arranged for her life at the Convent of Santos and managed her expenses. The husband of Maria Rita's mother, Jorge de Meneses, attempted to stop João's actions for Maria Rita, but the king had him exiled to Spain and then to England.

Regnal politics

When João became king, he chose to reign as an absolute monarch. Notably, he never convened the Portuguese Cortes, the ancient parliament of the three estates in Portugal, and actively ignored meetings of the Council of State. However, João did not act by himself when making decisions; rather, he frequently consulted a close circle of well-informed advisers and held weekly intimate audiences with members of all three estates, which he preferred to larger institutions, such as the Cortes and the Council of State, which he viewed as incompetent and bloated. The Count of Povolide remarked on John's governance style, stating that "he established a predominance of personal consultation over institutional consultation."

The highest position in the king's government was that of Secretary of State of Portugal, the equivalent of a modern-day prime minister. This position was always filled by a favourite of João, the most notable one Diogo de Mendonça Corte-Real, 

whom the king consulted with on every matter, to such a degree that it often appeared that he was the king's only minister. When João became king, he inherited a powerful and large Council of State made up of numerous bishops, nobles, and bureaucrats, which was charged with being the utmost consultory body to the king, as it was during the reign of João's father. However, João's dislike of institutions and consultative bodies led him to cease convening the council formally, leading the prominent politician and diplomat Luís da Cunha to refer to the king as a despot and his government as absolutist.

Although the Council of State was never convened, several of its members were nonetheless close advisers to the king. Alongside Diogo de Mendonça Corte-Real, Cardinal João da Mota e Silva and High-Inquisitor Nuno da Cunha e Ataíde were close advisers to the king, the former eventually substituting Mendonça Corte-Real as Secretary of State when he died in 1736. Though he disbanded most institutions, João notably maintained the Junta of the Three Estates, a governing junta created by João's grandfather, King João IV, which managed the finances and maintenance of military installations, troop raising, and taxation related to defense. Having engaged in multiple conflicts throughout his reign, both in Europe and his empire, João understood the necessity of the junta and carefully picked its members, only selecting those deemed the most knowledgeable and competent. Similarly, João maintained the Council of the Treasury, which managed the finances of Portugal and its empire, including tax collection and budget accounting for the majority of Portugal's organizations (except the military), and exerted authority over the Casa da Índia, the Royal Mint, and the custom houses across Portuguese territory.

When João ascended the throne, he found himself entangled in the War of the Spanish Succession, as King Pedro II had signed the Methuen Treaty in 1703, which aligned Portugal to the Grand Alliance against the House of Bourbon and allowed Grand Alliance forces to launch their invasion of Spain from Portugal. Only months after assuming the throne, John saw his forces overwhelmingly defeated in at the Battle of Almansa, a defeat that jeopardized Portuguese forces in Spain and the outcome of the war. Portuguese forces continued to fight alongside the Grand Alliance until agreeing to an armistice with Spain and France on 8 November 1712. The war finally came to an end in 1713 with the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, whereby Portugal regained possession of territories conquered by the Bourbon coalition and acquired new territories in South America.

With the War of the Spanish Succession ended, João could re-establish relations with the courts of Europe. His first grand act of diplomacy was the dispatch of Luís Manuel da Câmara, 3rd Count of Ribeira Grande, as his ambassador to the court of Louis XIV of France, in early August 1715. The grandson of François, Prince of Soubise, and cousin of Hercule Mériadec, Prince of Guéméné, Câmara was personally chosen by João to foster amicable relations with the French court. No expense was spared on the count's triumphal entry into Paris, which cost 100 Louis d'or and received such great applause from the people of Paris that Alexandre de Gusmão, the count's secretary, stated that "the Count of Ribeira Grande has eternalized the grandness of our generous king." Although King Louis would die only weeks after the Portuguese embassy's arrival to France, the richness and extravagance of its entry to Paris was noted at the French court and across Europe and gained a new level of prestige for João and his kingdom.

As João concerned himself with the presentation of Portugal at the court of Europe from home through the planning and organization of important embassies, the king's brother, Infante Manuel, Count of Ourém, was similarly raising the name of Portugal throughout Europe. Having left the country in 1715 without the king's permission (as was required for royalty and high nobility), the Count of Ourém traveled throughout Europe, staying with Portuguese ambassadors and nobles across the continent, causing quite a fanfare. Although the king was displeased that Manuel left without permission, the king forgave the infante, writing to Manuel "your age absolves your mistake". Now having the king's permission, Infante Manuel entered the service of Prince Eugene of Savoy, 

serving alongside him at the successful Battle of Petrovaradin. Over the next 17 years, the Count of Ourém moved from court to court as a celebrity and military hero and was even considered as a candidate as King of Poland by provision of the 1732 Treaty of the Three Black Eagles. Manuel's adventures throughout the continent inspired several literary works and gained him celebrity, raising Portugal's prestige in the eyes of Europe.

João's reign was characterized by a stressed importance of relations with Rome and the Papacy, though the state of relations with the Holy See largely depended on the Pope at the time. João sought acknowledgement by the pope as a lawful and righteous monarch as a means of international recognition of his capabilities and authority. Relations with João's first pope, Clement XI, 

were largely successful, resulting from mutual beneficial agreements. In 1716, in response to a request by Pope Clement XI to João for aid in the fight against the Turks, the king sent an armada of Portuguese ships to assist Venice and Austria in their conflicts with the Turks that was led by his brother, Infante Francisco, Duke of Beja, and Lopo Furtado de Mendonça, Count of Rio Grande. In the same year, João ordered a formal, triumphal entry for his ambassador in Rome, Rodrigo Anes de Sá Almeida e Meneses, Marquis of Fontes. Seeking to mimic the response received at the French court, 5,000 cruzados were spent on a luxurious entry for the Portuguese envoy. The ceremonial procession included a convoy of 300 carriages surrounding the pièce de résistance of the procession, the Oceans Coach, 

an ornate carriage made in Lisbon to demonstrate the wealth of the Portuguese empire to Rome. Having impressed the papal court, Pope Clement XI raised the dignity of the Archdiocese of Lisbon to the Patriarchate of Lisbon, making the Portuguese capital only one of two dioceses with this title in Europe, alongside Venice. João's good fortune with the papacy and Italy would continue to raise the next year, in 1717, when the aid of a Portuguese squadron of ships helped win the Battle of Matapan, in the ongoing Ottoman-Venetian War.

Pope Clement XI's successor, Pope Innocent XIII, 

had served as Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal from 1697 to 1710, at the court of João and his father King Pedro II. However, Innocent XIII's time in Portugal is cited to have been the source of his dislike of the Society of Jesus, owing to the immense power that the Jesuits held at the Portuguese court and the concessions they held across the Portuguese Empire at the time. An ongoing issue of importance to the Portugal was the long-standing Chinese Rites controversy, which largely concerned the methods used in Asia by the Jesuits, which were largely under patronage of the Portuguese. Innocent XIII's decision to prohibit the Jesuits from continuing their missions in China caused great upset at the Portuguese court. Though Innocent XIII's successor, Pope Benedict XIII, 

was the only Pope to descend from Portuguese royalty (descending from King Dinis I of Portugal),

relations were no warmer with Portugal than under his predecessor. Discontent with the Vatican's dismissal of his requests, João retaliated against Benedict XIII in 1728, closing the Papal Nunciature in Lisbon, recalling all Portuguese cardinals from Rome, and prohibiting official relations between Portuguese subjects and the Holy See. Though Benedict XIII sought to resolve the issues through an amicable intermediary, King Philip V of Spain, 

though João refused.

An issue of significance to João concerned the rank and appointment of the Apostolic Nuncio in Portugal, which the king wished to be raised to the dignity of a crown-cardinal and demanded input in the selection process. Both Clement XI and Innocent XIII had denied João's requests and Benedict XIII had failed to mediate a resolution. Only during the fourth papacy of João's reign was the issue resolved, when Pope Clement XII 

acquiesced to the king's demands, in 1730, elevating the Portuguese nunciature to the dignity shared only with France, Austria, and Spain. João's last pope and Clement XII's successor, Pope Benedict XIV, 

had a markedly better relation with the king, granting the king his desired recognition as a lawful Christian monarch. In 1748, the pope awarded the title of Most Faithful Majesty to João and his successors.

João's reign saw the rise of the Americas as the bastion of Portuguese imperial power, as fortunes became less lucrative in Asia and Africa. Under João, the Portuguese Empire saw territorial gains in modern-day Brazil, India, Kenya, Uruguay, East Timor, Angola, and Mozambique, among others.

Portuguese America occupied the highest priority in João's administration of the Portuguese Empire. The American colonies of Brazil and Maranhão had become vital sources of wealth to the royal treasury, making the protection, expansion, and good governance of Portuguese America crucial to imperial policy in the Joanine era. Expansion of Portuguese territory in the Americas was also a concern, which was primarily achieved through military incursions into the interior of the continent by Bandeirantes. Portugal also regained control of Uruguay following the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1714, and successfully defended it against an attempted Spanish reconquest in the Spanish–Portuguese War of 1735–37.

In the 1690′s, during the final years of King Pedro II's reign, precious resources were discovered in Brazil, namely vast gold and diamond deposits. However, exploitation of the resources primarily began in João's reign, with the establishment of mining companies, taxation systems, and a mercantilist supply chain, which ushered in a period known as the Brazilian Gold Rush. The Royal fifth was instituted as a form of taxation on mining activities, requiring a fifth of all gold to go directly to the king's treasury. In an effort to consolidate royal authority while promoting efficient governance, João took control of the Captaincy of São Vicente (in 1709) and the Captaincy of Pernambuco (in 1716), establishing direct royal governance in the two most valuable provinces of Brazil. In 1721, João ordered the separation of the region of intense mining from the rest of the Captaincy of São Vicente, into the autonomous captaincy of Minas Gerais (General Mines), allowing for the colonial administration to collect taxation more effectively.

Asia had been the traditional base of the Portuguese Empire's wealth and power, but its declining returns became especially noticeable during João's reign as gold and diamonds from the Americas flowed to Lisbon. Portuguese India, historically the "crown jewel" of the empire, was economically constrained, especially under the restrictive rule of the Portuguese Inquisition in Goa, which prohibited commerce with non-Christian merchants. Concurrently, Portugal's most important ally in the Indian subcontinent was the Mughal Empire, entered into a drastic decline following 1707, coinciding with the rise of the Maratha Empire, long-time enemies of the Portuguese. Portugal suffered territorial losses after the Battle of Vasai and the Maratha conquest of Baçaim, although the size of Portuguese India would triple from 1713 to 1788, in an era known as the Novas Conquistas (New Conquests). The declining importance of Portuguese India resulted in numerous administrative reorganizations during João's reign, including the independence of Portuguese Mozambique from rule by the Viceroy of Portuguese India, as well as the creation of a direct commercial route from Portugal to Portuguese Macau (present day China) which eliminated the stop at the Indian port of Goa.

The Portuguese colonization of Africa was less important to João's colonial priorities compared to the Americas and Asia. Minor contentions with Dutch corsairs blocking shipments to and from the Portuguese Gold Coast in the 1720′s resulted in successful Portuguese victory over the Dutch in minor naval battles. Notable, tensions were also raised with Britain in 1722 when British forces established a fortification in Cabinda (in modern-day Angola), which had been claimed and evangelized by the Portuguese since the 15th century. A notable rare exception to the long-standing Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, João ordered galleons from the Armada do Brasil to dispatch to Cabinda to either take possession of the fort or destroy it and its men, resulting in a Portuguese victory in 1723. Portugal briefly reconquered Mombasa (modern-day Kenya) in 1728, only to lose control over it again in 1729, ending the last period of Portuguese rule in Mombasa.

Joanine culture

João is often remembered as one of the greatest patrons of the arts in Portuguese history, having commissioned numerous construction projects and artistic studies. The king's most famous and important work was the Royal Palace-Convent of Mafra. 

In early 1711, married to Maria Anna of Austria for three years and without an heir, João grew worried for the future of the House of Bragança. He met with D. Nuno da Cunha e Ataíde, High-Inquisitor of Portugal, who assured the king that if he promised to build a convent for Franciscans in Mafra, in the Lisbon countryside, Maria Anna would bear him a child by the end of 1711. João agreed to do so. Construction started in 1717, with plans for a modest church convent for one hundred friars. However, in the following years, with a gratuitous flow of gold from the American colonies of Brazil and Maranhão, the plans were altered to become a magnum opus of João's reign, accommodating three hundred friars and adjusted to become a hybrid convent-palace, including a royal library, a basilica, and a vast set of apartments for the royal family. Noting the vast size and scope of the project, Charles de Merveilleux, a Swiss nobleman living in Portugal in 1726, remarked that "King João has decided to build a second Escorial."

With the new plans for a palatial complex, the project at Mafra, entrusted to royal architect João Frederico Ludovice, 

became much more than a fulfillment of a religious promise, but rather a demonstration of monarchical power and wealth. By 1729, 15,470 workers from throughout Portugal and its colonies were contributing to the construction of the palace, alongside a total of 6,124 infantrymen and cavalrymen, making a total of 21,594 persons involved in the building process and site that year. While the majority of the palace was completed by 1730, João was so consumed in completing the project that he decreed it mandatory for all inhabitants of the villages of Mafra and Ericeira to work at the palace, requiring an excused permission not to participate, and only under extraordinary circumstances. In regard to the exuberant cost of the palatial complex, Merveilleux remarked that "three quarters of the royal treasury and nearly all of the gold brought on the fleets from Brazil were here, at Mafra, turned into stone."

Mafra stood as a monument to regal power, even though it would become only a pleasure palace and never a seat of authority. João commissioned numerous operas, comedies, and serenades to be celebrated at the palace with great pomp, and its enormous property became the favoured hunting grounds of the royal family for centuries to come. The king also began to celebrate his birthday annually at Mafra, starting in 1732. João housed one of the largest and most sumptuous libraries in Europe within the palace, 

with over 36,000 volumes dating from the 14th to the 18th centuries.  A curiosity about this library is that it used bats to preserve the books from the moths. This library and the Coimbra Univeristy Library are the only libraries in the World to use this method of preservation of the its books. Works at Mafra would continue until 1755, when the devastation wreaked by the Great Lisbon earthquake required as many workers as possible to rebuild the city.

João was afflicted with dropsy which caused his death in 1750 at age 60. He rest in the Bragança Pantheon.

King João has the following children:

By Maria Ana of Austria (7 September 1683 – 14 August 1754; married by proxy on 27 June 1708)

Maria Barbara, Queen of Spain (4 December 1711 – 27 August 1758) Married Fernando VI, King of Spain. She had no children from this marriage.

Pedro, Prince of Brazil (19 October 1712 – 29 October 1714) Prince of Brazil from birth to his death.

José I of Portugal (6 June 1714 – 24 February 1777) King of Portugal from 1750 until 1777. He was married to Mariana Victoria of Spain, daughter of King Philip V of Spain. He had four children from this marriage.

Infante Carlos of Portugal (2 May 1716 – 1 April 1736) He died at the age of 19, of a fever.

Pedro III of Portugal (5 July 1717 – 25 May 1786) King of Portugal, jure uxoris, from 1777 until 1786. He was married to Queen Maria I of Portugal. He had seven children from this marriage.

Infante Alexandre of Portugal (24 September 1723 – 2 August 1728) He died at the age of 4, of smallpox.

By Luísa Inês Antónia Machado Monteiro

António of Bragança (1 October 1714 – 14 August 1800) One of the three Children of Palhavã. João V recognized him and gave him share of his estate.

By Madalena Máxima de Miranda (c. 1690 – )

Gaspar of Bragança (8 October 1716 – 18 January 1789) Archbishop-Primate of Braga from 1758 until 1789. One of the three Children of Palhavã. João V recognized him and gave him share of his estate.

By Paula de Odivelas (1701 – 1768) 

José of Bragança (8 September 1720 – 31 July 1801) High Inquisitor of the Portuguese Inquisition from 1758 until 1777. One of the three Children of Palhavã. João V recognized him and gave him share of his estate.

By Luísa Clara de Portugal (21 August 1702 – 31 August 1779) 

Maria Rita of Bragança (28 May 1731–27 November 1808) Nun at the Convent of Santos, in Lisbon. João V did not officially recognize her, but he paid for her expenses.

#king joao v of portugal #king of portugal #bragança dynasty #portugal history

[centrifuge-politics]

Brick Club 3.5.3

Marius fully evolved, his final form, the pupa emerged from the chrysalis.

“To tell the truth, Marius was mistaken as to his grandfather’s heart.” Oh, really? Was he mistaken as to his abusive upbringing? “Old men need affection as they do sunshine.” Guess what, so do little orphaned boys! I’m feeling a significant lack of anything resembling pity for Gillenormand in this chapter. Oh, I believe he’s truly regretful and upset, but he never saw Marius as a person with his own agency and desires. He wanted a plaything who would agree with him unquestioningly, who he could live vicariously through and project his own desires onto. And also beat occasionally. So, uh...

Anyways, what I really want to talk about for this chapter is how Marius defines himself as a man! Particularly this concept: “Poverty strips the material life entirely bare, and makes it hideous; thence arise inexpressible yearnings toward the ideal life...The poor young man must work for his bread; he eats; when he has eaten, he has nothing more but reverie.”

Pushing aside Hugo’s need to romanticize the struggles of poverty, this is actually a sociological phenomenon that has been recognized in academic circles, and very recently at that. In Jennifer Silva’s 2013 book, Coming Up Short: Working-Class Adulthood in An Age of Uncertainty, she observes what she calls the “mood economy” in working class young adults. The premise is this: people growing up in the working class are systemically denied access to the ‘typical’ milestones of adulthood: marriage, financial stability, academic degrees, etc. So they instead create milestones centered around conquering their internal struggles in order to attain adulthood, removing the need for society to validate their adulthood in favor of therapeutic narratives of self actualization. The emphasis on the self, the individual is key to understanding this difference. Heads up, I’m diving deep into sociology under the cut.

From the chapter abstract: “young people learn over and over again that happiness is theirs only if they work hard enough to control their negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors on their own...the chapter demonstrates that the therapeutic narrative allows working-class men and women to redefine competent adulthood in terms of overcoming a painful family past.”

Who does this sound like? Now, this doesn’t map perfectly; Marius didn’t grow up working class and, if anything, has voluntarily opted into the mood economy. But in defying his grandfather and reconciling with the memory of his father, in the process losing significant material attachments, Marius finds a level of self actualization that he never could have otherwise.

I could tell you the positives of this, but Hugo has already covered that extensively for me. But what are the dangers of buying into the mood economy? Silva says, “However, [the mood economy] also transforms the self into one’s greatest obstacle to success, happiness, and well-being.” This is the key failure of the mood economy. Hugo almost touches upon this in regard to Marius, saying, “He had even, to tell the truth, gone a little too far on the side of contemplation.” This isn’t quite the same thing that Silva points out, but it stems from a similar flaw. Young people in the mood economy disregard the failures of the system, just as Marius disregards the value of his community. The individual triumphs over the collective. The problem is, nobody exists outside of society. There is no idea of the individual without the influence of societal context and ignoring one in favor of the other is harmful.

Monarchies and capitalist systems are motivated to encourage this misplacement of blame onto individuals, to encourage the mood economy because it keeps the blame off the inherently exploitative nature of the system that keeps those in power rich and everyone else poor. In the mood economy, working class young people are encouraged to think, “the reason I haven’t succeeded is because I haven’t overcome my own demons,” and not, “the reason I haven’t succeeded is because the system is set up to reduce class mobility because it needs to exploit the labor of the working class.” And it works, doesn’t it, because how much easier is the first statement to conceptualize? It’s incredibly difficult to part the veil, especially when every aspect of society is centered around the concept of an individual’s merit. (And to be clear, this is a false concept. To prove it, all I have to do is point out the very existence of the House of Bourbon, a hereditary monarchy.)

NOW, Marius stumbles into the mood economy, quickly adopts it, and immediately makes it worse. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now and it started with my opinion of Marius being knocked down a few pegs but ended with my opinion of Marius as a character written by Victor Hugo being tainted. I don’t think this is something I can fully express at this point but for now I’ll say this: thematically, Marius is the worst of both worlds. First, he is emulating the negative aspects of the mood economy when he doesn’t need to, because he has means. In doing so, he has legitimized it, both to himself and to those that exist around him (and to the readers!).

Second, and stay with me if social theory isn’t your thing, Marius is alienated from the fruits of his labor (as is everyone who exists in capitalism), “but to give up his liberty! to work for a salary, to be a kind of literary clerk!” He takes this feeling of alienation and, because he is steeped in the mood economy mentality, emerges with this idea: “to work as little as possible at material labour, that he might work as much as possible at impalpable labour; in other words, to give a few hours to real life, and to cast the rest into the infinite.” Oooh boy, this is not a good look. I heard you like alienation so I put some alienation in your alienation so you can alienate while you alienate! Marius’s solution to the struggles of exploitative capitalism are to remove himself from the system as thoroughly as he possibly can and this is bad.

Hugo runs into a problem here, in my opinion, because Marius’s existence undermines some of his biggest themes. He’s the closest thing we have to a thematically neutral character and that’s a problem. The only reason Marius doesn’t become one of the enemy upper class is because he chooses not to, but he also rejects the ideals of the revolution. He spits in the face of royalists but also allows them to stay in power by legitimizing the mood economy. He revels in the alienation that exploitative early capitalism has created. In chapter 5, Hugo says, “Properly speaking, [Marius] held opinions no longer; he had sympathies.” This wouldn’t be so bad except, well, Marius survives. He gets the girl, he gets a good, wealthy life, he reaps the thematic rewards that he never sows. In the end, isn’t it Marius that exploits the revolution? What is Hugo trying to tell us? Because I’m not sure it’s coming through.

#brickclub #les mis #3.5.3 #i dont mean to go this hard on marius! #but hes making less and less sense #to clarify as a Person hes fine but as a character who represents themes and ideas im having doubts #im so sorry for this being a long only vaguely organized lecture on social theory #if you disagree or have a different reading id LOVE to hear it #and this is definitely subject to change as the book continues #as im reading this with a very different eye than i have in the past and its been awhile