#boule brothers

[sailorheadcanons]

Kooan + Kooankou (aka: kermesite, red antimony)

Berthier + Berthierite

Calaveras + Calaverite

Petz + Petzite

the Boule Brothers + some (silicon) boules

[smvillainsweek]

Favorite subgroup of villains

[ww2yaoi]

boule à zéro • ORIGIN French • (noun) closely shaven head, buzzcut On the eve of D-Day, Joe cuts Web's hair.

[themattress]

The 10 Best Sailor Moon Manga Battles

Naoko Takeuchi is a talented writer and artist, but if there's one thing she usually struggles with, it's compelling action sequences. Most battles in the Sailor Moon manga are rushed, with many enemies getting taken down in just one hit. However, there are occasionally exceptions where she turns in something exhilarating, and this post will point them out.

Vs. Kunzite:

Unlike the previous members of the Shitennou who went down with just one blow, Takeuchi made very certain to vividly display that Kunzite was on a whole other level of power. He is able to deflect everything the Sailor Senshi throw at him, and every dark energy blast is treated as lethal, to the point where he nearly does kill Tuxedo Mask. He leaves undefeated, and in the second clash with him, it takes all of the Senshi's power combined to destroy him:

And even then it looks like a Herculean effort: look how Takeuchi draws the panel of Kunzite attempting to hold back the attack with his own energy, then the close-up on his eye. It's like in clashing with the Senshi's blast, Kunzite's super-brainwashing is lifted for a split second, causing him to hesitate and thus allow himself to be destroyed. Had that not happened, he still might have stood a chance at deflecting the attack. That's how powerful this guy was!

Vs. Prince Endymion:

No wonder Queen Metalia wanted to get Endymion under her control! When fighting for the dark side, he's a fucking beast! Not only was he able to face all the Sailor Senshi at once and counter against their moves, but in the end defeating him almost cost Sailor Moon her life.

Vs. Esmeraude:

Esmeraude struck twice, and both times were surprisingly intense. The first one was a death trap utilizing the power of her Boule Brothers servants, which slowly and gradually threatened to crush Usagi, Mamoru, Minako and Chibiusa to death. The second one had her as an active combatant using the Death Hands ability she was granted by Wiseman, capable of striking multiple opponents at once and draining them of their life energy. Both times she came frighteningly close to success, stopped only by Future Endymion's interference.

Vs. Black Lady:

Now granted, this fight may have been more intense than the usual primarily because the heroes were pulling their punches considering who Black Lady really is. With that said, Black Lady still shows truly impressive power derived from the Malefic Black Crystal, and having a mind-controlled Safir and Prince Demande for backup added to the whole challenge factor.

Vs. Death Phantom:

The final battle of the Black Moon arc is split into three segments. First is a battle against the planet Nemesis (or so it seems) floating above Crystal Tokyo, sending wave upon wave of dark power down as Death Phantom taps into the energy of the Malefic Black Crystal towers that Black Lady has created. Prince Demande also jumps in with his final attack at this point.

The second phase actually pulls the heroes inside of the Malefic Black Crystal's darkness, where the soul of Death Phantom appears. This is the shortest stage of the battle, basically just a one-on-one clashing of energy between Death Phantom and Sailor Moon which ends up being a trick so that he can warp her (and Mamoru) to the real planet Nemesis' location.

Finally, there's the showdown against planet Nemesis in space. Death Phantom is pulsating with dark energy that is powerfully depicted, threatening to tear Usagi and Mamoru apart, but Chibiusa comes to the rescue as Sailor Chibi Moon. The two Sailor Moons then blast Nemesis at once, their light energy and Death Phantom's dark energy clashing until his is inevitably extinguished and the whole evil planet explodes. It's a truly spectacular finish.

Vs. Cyprine:

First of all, she's a level 999 witch, so she's definitely no slouch at magic:

But the bigger threat is that she pits the Inner and Outer Senshi against each other:

That's what makes this battle great; it's the climax of a conflict that was building for several chapters now (the Inners vs. the Outers), and it concludes through the unforgettable scene of Sailor Moon creating the Holy Grail and becoming Super Sailor Moon, aka "the Messiah".

Vs. Mistress 9 & Pharaoh 90:

Naoko Takeuchi just went full disaster movie with this one. Tokyo is being threatened with getting torn apart as Pharaoh 90 floods into its streets and begins the process of merging himself with the planet, while up in the air Mistress 9 reveals her true monstrous appearance and fights against the Sailor Senshi with brute force. Even when she's defeated, she then merges with Pharaoh 90 to make him an even more nigh-unstoppable force, and in the end it looks like the only way to defeat him might be to let Sailor Saturn destroy the entire world.

Vs. The Amazoness Quartet:

This is a pretty straight-forward battle. Sailor Chibi Moon and (the now nerfed for reasons too complicated to get into) Sailor Saturn face off against the Amazoness Quartet in the Dead Moon Circus big-top, with the opponents being evenly matched in terms of skill and ability. The power of Sailor Senshi against the power of trickery and the nightmarish Lemures.

But shame on Sailor Moon Eternal for leaving out the best part:

Vs. Queen Nehelenia:

Following a disappointing battle inside of a dark mirror, Queen Nehelenia returns in the realm of Elysian and poses a far more spectacular challenge. She's still behind her mirror, but now it seems impenetrable and she is free to launch as much dark energy at her opponents as she desires. Rather than harm them physically, it attacks them psychologically, which proves effective enough to ultimately allow Nehelenia to claim the Silver Crystal and nearly triumph:

But once Sailor Moon gets a second wind and transforms into Eternal Sailor Moon, she uses the Holy Grail, all of her friends' power, and Mamoru's Golden Crystal to launch an attack combining all of that energy. The mirror shatters and Nehelenia is forced out of it as she starts disintegrating from the attack's power, exposing her true hideous form in the process.

Vs. Sailor Galaxia & Chaos:

Sailor Galaxia attacked Sailor Moon before, and our heroine was rendered powerless and needed Chibi Chibi to bail her out. But now she's finally able to go head to head with her nemesis, the two of them showcasing their full power as they clash. The fight takes them through Shadow Galactica's palace and out to the Galaxy Cauldron, where Chaos gets involved and displays by far the most impressive exertion of dark energy in the series as it threatens to merge with the Cauldron and spread itself across the universe. It's one Hell of a note to end on, and it sticks with you rather seen in the manga or in Sailor Moon Cosmos.

[acknowledgetheabsurd]

It's Sunday. The day is almost beautiful, with wind. They are playing boules on the road below and I can hear the clash of the balls from my room. The world is peaceful. How nice it would be to have the heart of a boule player in a Provençal village on a Sunday! But I promised myself to tell you the facts.

It's not much, it's true. Life continues with one more guest at the meals, Michèle Halphen who has moved to the hotel. I think she's leaving tomorrow. I like her but her sadness adds to the inertia of the days here. Yesterday, after a week's absence, Dolo came to liven up the house. I took her home in the evening. Sad too: she has been waiting for S[artre] for weeks, he said he would come at the end of this month and he announces that it will be at the beginning of the next. In short, things are not going well for her. Cheerful, isn't it?

I was repeating to myself Vigny's verse: "Separated lovers were united at the altars"! Come on, it's not for tomorrow. More important news: my brother is coming tomorrow. As the G[allimard]s are still here (they leave on the 20th) I will lodge him at the hotel. I will go tomorrow afternoon to Cannes to look for him. I am happy to see him again, but worried about him. I would like him to get well again. What else? A doctor from Grasse came to dinner with his wife. She had lost her mother following an operation that had caused an intestinal obstruction. The mourning was eight days old. Now you know that the company of more than four people exhausts me. Moreover, you can't count on the G[allimard]s to animate the conversation. So I made a great effort to talk about anything. The result was that I spoke successively about the cemetery in Cabris, about surgeons who are butchers, and about intestinal obstruction (all this without thinking of the deceased, of course). To finish, I told the story of Chamfort, where a doctor talking about his deceased patient said: "He is dead, no doubt, but he died cured."

On Wednesday Gide, who is in Juan-les-Pins where he is translating an English play for Barrault invited us all to lunch. Cartier, the producer I told you about and about whom you didn't tell me anything (but you are answering less and less to the questions I ask you. Linotte!) writes to me about his projects. I don't know why I trust him. After all, maybe we'll see The Plague on the screen. Now it's my turn. I've been muddy for two days. Headaches, vague nausea, I feel like I'm pregnant. I've even lost my rested complexion, but I guess it will pass. It is true that this waiting, it is silly to say, is so anxious that it ends up tiring me even physically. I exhaust myself imagining you and living our meeting in advance. Yet I behave wisely: a well-organized schedule, regular work (which does not necessarily mean fruitful work. There are good days and bad days, that's all). But the deprivation of happiness sometimes has the effect of under-nourishment, of asphyxiation too.

All my hope, all my courage comes finally from what I expect as a total reunion, love, emotion, joy, absolute freedom between us, bodies and soul, transparency and naturalness. And I do not wait for it as a utopia. I wait for it because I am sure of it. And it is not so far, no, it is not so far. Because listen carefully: yesterday in the mountain I saw the first flowers of the almond tree. The tree was still black. But at the ends of the branches a dozen or so frail and soft flowers were already rustling in the wind. You understand, my love, Maria dear! It was the extreme point of the extreme beginning of spring. And a great impulse came to my eyes and heart, which I can call no more than an impulse of adoration. I made a vow. I looked for a long time at the crying petals. And I went home, my heart full of love. Goodbye, my beautiful and wonderful love. I kiss my Valentine and give her the few flowers that we should give on Valentine's Day to the one that we love. You are the one I love, before every spring, and I kiss you deeply, with all my love.

Albert Camus to Maria Casarès, Correspondance, February 12, 1950 [#187]

[evb0]

Sighs. Jason. Ur tryna kill me. /silly

AHEM

You are the sweetest, kindest, most loving, funniest person I have ever met

You're sweet, you're always checking in on people's boundaries, making sure everyones comfortable, and give people second chances and stuff <33 You've made me a more forgiving person

You're kind, you always choose to just- be nice, and honestly, we could all take that lesson from you. You do little considerate things, you always hear everyone out, help everyone in any way you can <333 You've nade me a gentler person

You're loving, you have such a big heart. You love so many people, you make sure they know they're loved, and that you'll defend them to the ends of the earth. Being loved by you and being able to love you is a privilage <333 You've shown me it's okay to love

You're fucking hilarious. I've never smiled so much while messaging someone, never spat out so many drinks, never smiled for so long that my cheeks ache <333 You've brought light into my life

ESSENTIALLY. I love you, Jason. Very very much, I'm so lucky to ahve you as my lil brother <333

??HELLO???????????????:GRACIE WHAT??? IM CRYING EHLLO????????? "being loved by you and loving you is a PRIVILEGE" IM SOBBING IM ON THE FLOOR IM KILLINGMYSELF IM BOILING MYSELF??????????????? you deserve go be bouled. Wbat. /VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVPOS

[askbeannuts]

Yep, tiny bit of a change Getting an early start to their morning, it seems.

Previous

[[OK, ask call time!

I promise I won't produce random side-stories this time!

Hints-many of them-under the cut, but first, the scenarios:]]

Karola and Mystery are hanging around, waiting for the supposedly called "Rapidash Express" to arrive for Cypress, though things are a bit tense now it seems... It's not long now before the Rapidash Express arrives [2 asks remain and/or I actually work on the Mystery-focused update... whichever comes first]

Ayanna, Gil and Pau's part to be updated...

Despite wanting to be alone, Boule's wound up with William. They've made their way into the city now (Larry and Jonquil are somewhere nearby)! The two are available until Karola finds William at least.

And finally, Lars has joined up with Moe, Kayla and Serius, occupying their time before deciding to head back to the Guild most likely.

\\ What's Mystery's mother like? What did she do to wind up in prison? //

\\ Why does Karola wrap her feelers around herself like that? What's Karola's mother like? Who is William's brother? //

\\ "The Scream" Who is William's brother? //

\\ If Boule wound up as a popular rookie with the veterans because of the attack caused by Flack did that popularity ever get overwhelming? Or does he prefer it? Has he had any chance to talk to Hachi or Hanna after the incident was resolved? //

\\ Lars and "Dark Cloak"... how deep does this mystery go? Did he lie to Gil about this connection to them? Lars, Kam and Serius' challenge to Bak to join the Guild [or] Gil, Moe and Bean allegedly beating Bak's challenge to join the Guild... //

[neon-in-the-night-time]

i think it’s so funny how the hunger games fandom collectively decided that peeta’s two unnamed brothers were rye and bran because those were bread-related names. like imagine if he had more than the two brothers. anyways here’s an incomplete list of other bread-related words they could have used (from most to least sensical) (coming from a baking and pastry student currently taking their bachelor-level bread lab) (no i will not be using all the fancy letter accents for the french words don’t come at me):

levain

biga

emmer

naan

barley

kamut

tetet

spelt

autolyse

ciabatta

focaccia

einkorn

poolish

boule

batard

baguette

bagel

pate fermente

dough hook

[smvillainsweek]

Favorite Black Moon Clan member

[sailorheadcanons]

Diamond, Sapphire, Rubeus, Emerald, aren't their actual names.  When they formed the Black Moon Clan, they wanted to abandon their old Crystal Tokyo Selves, so they came up with new monkiers.

Even Wiseman's name isn't his actual name. The only ones that go by their actual birth names are the Boule Brothers and the Ayakashi sisters.  

[trashisonme146]

Here's some more welcome home OCs

The one in suit is Sydney and the one with the cap is Savanna or Savi.

Sydney Boul:

Sydney seems to be very rude but she does her best to make sure the neighborhood is safe. She is the mayor of the neighborhood. It is heard she has a condition that makes her say the opposite of what she means so if she says "I hate you" she loves you, but she does communicate with writing so it's not much of a problem. She had very strict christian parents who she "forbid" to listen to. She is often seen in her office or with other neighbors. She appears in most of the episodes. Sometimes there are episodes that don't have her but that's only when the episode is focused on a certain character. She loves writing so much she writes 7 books and gets Wally to read them but she usually writes that much books to focus on 3 series she has. She enjoys reading as well and will get inspired with ideas for her books. She looks rude but she's sweeter than candy. She is a hand-made puppet.

Savanna Rippler:

Savanna is Cooper's sister. She takes care of pets. She's a pet shop owner and a vet. She and her brother never had parents and we're a orphan their whole life. She enjoys cleaning a lot and that's why the home the Ripplers live in is so clean you see your reflection on their floor. Savanna isn't a germaphobe, she's just a little addicted to cleaning. She always gets excited when a animal has babies because the babies are so adorable to her. She also aggressively grabs someone's hand and full on drags them when she wants to show them and she's excited as a dog when their owner comes home. She appears in some episodes that usually have to do with animals but she has appeared in her and Cooper's special episode. And like Cooper, we don't know if she's a puppet. She's the same species as her brother.

More

The left one with the brown shoes is Colby and The right one with green hair is Abby.

Colby Jam:

Colby was a doll neglected by their owner. They were torn apart eye plucked out,arm cut off, etc. The other puppets along with the Ripplers find them and fix them up. They were rushing because they were dying and they had to fix them up before they died so they got the wrong colors which explains their patches. They don't have a job but they have a house which is a cardboard box with doors and windows. Their bed is made out of a tissue box and so is their couch but it's not like they don't like it. They are very grateful they even have a home. They're a felt-made doll. They never appeared as a major character in any episodes except when they had their own episode but they usually appear as a minor character or a background character.

Abby Heart:

Abby is very calm but energetic. She is a Clay-made puppet and that explains her skin color and why it's not something like yellow or green. She hated her dad because he was crappy to her mom and it caused them to divorce. She doesn't go outside unless it's autumn,winter, or an important event because she claims that she gets melted when the sun is too hot. She's good friends with Sydney and Wally. She has a crack in her eye because she fell down the stairs when she was excited to get her mail. She does appear in some episodes with Wally and her own episode but usually is not seen because most episodes take place in spring or summer. Sometimes she is seen in episodes inside her house. She usually visits wally during spring and sometimes brings apples.

[italiangothicwriteblr]

CoM Character Intro: Adrasteia

Full Name: Adrasteia Falco

Nicknames: Adra

Title: Aristoi of Khrysos (revoked), member of the Bellamagnan boule (suspended)

20 years old + she/her + lesbian

Physical Description: 5’7”, Short brown hair, silver eyes, thin

Character Traits: Protective, pragmatic, intelligent, mercenary, fair

Theme Song: marjorie--Taylor Swift

City of Marble Taglist: (Interact here or message to be added/message to be removed): @theprissythumbelina @writeblrfantasy @bittenthehand @pertinax--loculos  @terrisredrose @calicojackofficial @evethenovicewriter @houndmouthed @faithfire @ceph-the-writing-spook @rose-bookblood @pinespittinink @aohendo @flowerprose @perasperaadastrawriting @marrowwife @jessica-writes22 @lockejhaven @mr-writes @dreamywritingdragon @tc-doherty @did-i-do-this-write @inkingfireplace​

@ryns-ramblings​ @wildswrites

@writeblrsupport

@wip-nook​

Longer description under cut!

-Daughter of Atreus Falco, whose family has been important in Bellamagna for generations. 

-In addition to being a noble, her father was appointed Polemarch (war leader) during the war with South Circi, making him a prime target for the Southern armies

-The war in her country has been going on since before she was born

-Oldest of 5 children, she informally became the protector of her younger siblings

-3 sisters (Medea, Andromache, Deianera) and a brother (Astyanax)

-When she was fifteen, the Southern army invaded her city, and her father and siblings were all killed

-By sheer coincidence, she wasn’t in the house at the time, and fled to the palace of King Karcharias, the same man who had appointed her father decades ago

-He knew that he would not be able to keep her safe, and so sent her to North Circi  -She didn’t trust anyone at court, especially the Imperatore to whom her protection had been entrusted. 

-One of the first people she met was Martino, who she bonded with immediately, because they were from the same place.

-He took her in and helped her to acclimate herself, and gained her trust by finding her a space where she could grieve/honor her family in their country’s traditions, rather than just the Circian ones

-Slowly, she started to get to know the other people around her

-Volunteers for the trip to the South at the start of TTH because she wants to see it for herself, and do some fact finding. Now that she’s old enough, she wants revenge on the man who killed her family.

-She’s a trained warrior, but she hasn’t been able to touch a weapon since she lost her family.

-Since she grew up protecting, when she meets Nova, who’s separated from her family and in danger, she immediately takes it on herself to stop Nova from getting killed

-She is the first one to get violent defending people she loves

[themattress]

Sailor Moon: Black Moon Clan - Original vs. Toei Adaptation

- The end of chapter 14 / start of chapter 15 is adapted into episode 60.

- In a strange choice, the following scenes in chapter 15 of Chibiusa on the swing and Chibiusa hypnotizing Usagi's family into believing she's a relative are moved to episode 61.

- Conversely, one of the best choices made in adaptation is to completely change the repetitive early "Rubeus kidnaps the Sailor Senshi in his UFO" plotline. Now, it only happens in episode 73 and resolved in episode 74. Sailor Venus is now also among the Senshi who get captured, and the UFO is an actual spaceship made of Malefic Black Crystal rather than a floating wormhole, which makes for an exciting climactic showdown with Rubeus aboard it.

- Ami and Berthier's chess match from chapter 16 is moved way down the line, all the way to episode 71. Ami doesn't get captured at the end and Berthier is redeemed and not killed.

- Chibiusa wandering alone in a thunderstorm where Petz goes on the attack from chapter 17 is adapted into episode 64. The events that unfold are different, Makoto doesn't get captured, and Petz doesn't get killed off, instead surviving to be redeemed along with her sisters later.

- Chibiusa stealing the Silver Crystal from chapter 18 is adapted in episode 73, but the fall-out where Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask protect her from Rubeus and she breaks down crying while pleading with them to help her save her mom was adapted earlier in episode 68, which also included a great anime-exclusive battle between the Inner Senshi and all four Spectre Sisters. Thankfully, a change is made to make this sensible: Chibiusa doesn't learn the Sailor Senshi's true identity right away. So between episodes 68 and 73, she ends up learning it and feeling betrayed that she'd poured her heart out to them and yet they still weren't honest with her, which especially hurts with Usagi whom she's come to view like an older sister.

- The confrontation with Sailor Pluto inside the realm between time from chapter 19 is adapted in episode 82. But the battle with the Boule Brothers that occurred later in that same chapter was strangely adapted in the episode before, episode 81, transpiring on present-day Earth rather than in Crystal Tokyo. Esmeraude and the Boules were wasted in the anime!

- Meeting the astral projected King Endymion in Crystal Tokyo and receiving the big plot exposition dump from chapter 20 is adapted in episode 83. Prince Demande capturing Usagi and being a total creep toward her from the end of chapter 20 / start of chapter 21 was also adapted in episode 83, but he takes her to a Malefic Black Crystal base in Crystal Tokyo rather than to his palace on Nemesis which allows Tuxedo Mask to rescue her immediately. On the one hand I dislike this since originally she ended up rescuing herself at the end of chapter 22, but on the other hand the set-up for that development was absent from the anime so it wouldn't make sense, plus it stops Demande from successfully forcing a kiss on her.

- Wiseman using Chibiusa's guilt and insecurities to lure her over to join him in chapter 21 is adapted in episode 84. The scene at the end of chapter 22 where Wiseman kills a member of the Black Moon Clan while Black Lady floats above him shrouded in darkness and cackles is also adapted in this episode, except that Esmeraude is the victim rather than Rubeus.

BONUS:

- In the absolute stupidest adaptational decision, Mamoru hearing the voice of his future self in his head goes from being something that helps him to something that hurts him, as it causes him to break up with Usagi for her own protection only for it to end up being some sort of asinine test of love King Endymion decided to pull for no good reason, meaning Mamoru comes off looking like a dumb bastard in both the present and the future! Ikuhara, why?

- The scene where Mamoru comforts Chibiusa with a Tuxedo Mask doll in chapter 16 is moved all the way to episode 73 following Chibiusa's ill-fated Silver Crystal theft.

- The scene in chapter 18 where Naru shows that she knows Usagi is Sailor Moon and prays for her safety is moved all the way to episode 87, the arc's penultimate episode.

- The heroes returning from Crystal Tokyo to present-day Earth in chapter 20 is moved to episode 85, but here which heroes it is are different and they don't end up going back.

- While Death Phantom's origin is left out of the anime, visual cues suggest that it's much the same: that he was the leader of the insurgents who rebelled against Neo-Queen Serenity and got banished to Nemesis, and that he merged his consciousness with the planet and has been magically controlling his corpse to serve as "Wiseman". The primary difference is that originally Death Phantom's consciousness merged with the entirety of the planet, whereas in the anime it's specifically with the Malefic Black Crystal. This change makes sense given that the anime's version of Nemesis is widely populated, so blowing it up at the end was a no-go.

[lboogie1906]

Richard A. Collins (1939) was an Engineering Executive and Chief Design Engineer at the Boeing Company. Born in Ft. Lauderdale to Marcellus Sterling and Anita Collins. He received his BS degree in Mathematics and Chemistry from Morehouse College and received his MBA from Seattle University.

He began his engineering career at the US Weather Service. He began working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Boeing Company recruited him as a software engineer in the Space and Defense Division. He led the Boeing software design and development team for the nation’s first personal rapid transit system in Morgantown, West Virginia.

He served as the Chief Design Engineer for the National and International Aerospace Systems. He was the Chief Design engineer of the Air Force’s Weapon Control System. He led the Millimeter Wave Radar Target Acquisition and Terminal Guidance System technology development, upgraded the Command and Control system for the Navy’s Mercury Communication Control Aircraft, and led the multi-billion-dollar Army Future Combat Systems program.

He completed advanced management programs at the Defense System Management College, Carnegie Mellon University’s Graduate School of Industrial Administration, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Center for Creative Leadership.

Among his recognitions are the Colorado Outward Bound Competition; Boeing Sustained Quality Performance Award; Outstanding Leadership of Millimeter Wave Terminal Guidance Technology Development; National Black Engineer Nominee of the Year; and First Flight of Red Rover Aerostat-Hot-Air Balloon.

He was President of Morehouse College Club of Seattle; Sire Archon of Alpha Omicron Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity; Board of Directors for Seattle Big Brothers, Seattle Monorail Expansion, and Seattle First Tee. Memberships include NAACP Life Member; Omega Psi Fraternity; Association of Computing Machinery; Strathmore’s Who’s Who in American Science and Engineering; and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

He and his wife, Minnie have two children. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #sigmapiphi #omegapsiphi

[sa7abnews]

Postcards from France - is petanque the most beautiful game created?

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/postcards-from-france-is-petanque-the-most-beautiful-game-created/

Postcards from France - is petanque the most beautiful game created?

Marcel Pagnol, the famous writer and film director once called pétanque the most beautiful game ever created by (hu)man (my parentheses). What do you think? Is pétanque a beautiful game? I know many football (soccer) fans who would be shaking their heads right now. I'm inclined to agree with Pagnol and whether I catch a glimpse of a casual game played in a village square, or by players in Paris, Marseille or Rennes, it's always such a delight.

It may not yet be summer in France but there is always pétanque to remind us of those hot, bright sunny days. The clink and clunk of the metal boules, the animated chatter and gamesmanship is just an unmistakeable sound of summer. The boulodromes exist all over the world, but the history of the game is deeply provençal.

Today's postcard is a little love letter to this sport I love. I recently picked up my pétanque balls and played a game on a gravel boulodrome for the first time in years and you know what? It was such fun! I'm very much still learning though and still have lots to figure out. Let's find out more about this fun game…

Did you know that it was created out of frustration? In the early twentieth century, many people loved playing la longue in Provence, which was a little like boules or bowls where you stride or run up to pitch the ball along the ground, trying to get it close to the jack.

But Jules "Le Noir" Hugues was no longer able to play so well due to his rheumatism and health issues. Frustrated that he couldn't play along with his friends as usual, it is said that he and the Pitiot brothers at the local cafe decided to play differently, with their feet planted firmly on the ground and that is how pétanque began. The name comes from the words pieds tanqués (standing with feet together) and so in 1907 a new game was born.

By 1910 the first official pétanque competition was played and became a widespread success. You can play on almost any surface and most people are able to play, which naturally helped to make the game the popular past time it still is today.

Played competitively by over 6,000 clubs in France and with thousands of keen players worldwide, pétanque is hugely popular. It's probably the game most associated with France – after all, it's a game most people can play or have seen when on holiday in France. Campsite matches with apéro, town and village squares or a patch of garden at home, it doesn't matter where you play but you'll not be far away from a (usually) friendly match!

The rules in a nutshell

Two teams compete to place all their pétanque balls nearest to the cochonnet (jack, in English; also know as a bouchon, a cric), which is thrown six to ten metres away along the pitch (terrain or boulodrome) from the circle where each player stands to throw from. The distance of the balls to the cochonnet is often measured and the points awarded. The first team to reach 13 points is the winner.

If your team scores nothing and loses 0-13, you may have to "faire le Fanny" and kiss the bottom of a Fanny sculpture or statuette (from a tradition to kiss the sculpture or wall tile depicting provençal legend Fanny's bottom in the local bar.) In defeat, you could always have a pastis and just seethe in disappointment instead.

Renowned ball maker Obut has a handy summary of the rules and goals of the game here. Obut still makes their pétanque balls in France and have done so since 1955. As they say, You can find out more about their history and what they produce at their site as well as which ball would most suit you.

This reminds me very much of the story of moving to Provence by Canadian IT worker and writer Paul Shore who became slightly obsessed with pétanque while living in France. Living in gorgeous Saint Paul de Vence and wanting to get involved in this sport that takes place every day in the square, how could you not want to learn to play pétanque? His book is a wonderfully enjoyable journey through small town life in Provence and exploring the traditions, culture and life in the south of France. A really enjoyable read which has plenty to interest every Francophile wondering what life would be like at a slower pace. Find the book here.

For more on official rules and rule changes, competitions and more (in English) check out this thorough website.

French Your Way also has a handy guide with pictures so you can play like a pro!

For more about pétanque (in French and English) watch this video summary with an insight into some real clubs in the home of pétanque, Marseille.

Is pétanque a sound of summer for you too? Do you play or have you played the game? Being such a popular game worldwide its possible you have club nearby. Let me know if you give it a try!

These postcards from France remind me of the happy times I've travelled through France and yet there's still more to discover. There's always another region, another town or beautiful village (officially a Plus Beaux Villages or not). There are customs and regional food and wine to discover as well as accents and words you might have never heard before.

Tell me, what book are you reading about France or French culture/language at the moment? Let me know by contacting me or on Instagram. I'd love to hear from you.

Before you go, dear Francophile…

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THE BLACK BOULE - BROTHERS & SISTERS: who are they related to really?