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freelance-informatique · 1 year ago

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Monaco attend l'arrivée de 2 recrues XXL avant la fin du mercato !

L'AS Monaco, l'un des clubs phares de la Ligue 1, est en plein remaniement. L'été à Monaco est synonyme de soleil, de glamour et, pour les fans de foot, un mercato mouvementé. Décryptage. Chamboulements offensifs : Embolo, Volland Out ! Breel Embolo, l'une des figures montantes de l'ASM, a malheureusement été victime d'une grave blessure. Son absence pourrait peser lourd dans les rangs monégasques. Parallèlement, Kevin Volland, après avoir marqué de son empreinte le club de la Principauté, s'envole vers l'Union Berlin. Un accord a été conclu entre les deux clubs pour un montant de 4 M€, assorti de 1,5 M€ de bonus. Mercato : Arrivée probable de Balogun à Monaco Face à ces départs, Monaco ne reste pas les bras croisés. Le nom de Folarin Balogun est sur toutes les lèvres. L'attaquant d'Arsenal serait en accord avec l'ASM. Mais les Gunners ne lâchent pas leur pépite si facilement : ils demandent 50 M€ pour le jeune prodige américain. Si cette piste venait à se compliquer, Patson Daka, l'attaquant vedette de Leicester, est une solide alternative. Les négociations sont en cours. Renforts défensifs : Monaco mise gros sur le mercato La défense de l'ASM a besoin de sang neuf. L'intérêt pour Davinson Sanchez de Tottenham témoigne de cette volonté de renforcer le secteur défensif. Mais le gros coup du mercato monégasque est l'arrivée de Wilfried Singo pour 5 saisons, moyennant 10 M€. Les discussions sont également avancées avec Fulham concernant Tosin Adarabioyo. Cependant, un hic subsiste : un problème avec l'agent du joueur, qui serait lié à Tottenham. Affaire à suivre. Voir ensuite : - Wissam Ben Yedder accusé de viol : une enquête en cours ! Une caution de 900.000€ pour Ben Yedder Wissam Ben Yedder, malgré ses prouesses sur le terrain, dont ses deux buts contre Clermont en Ligue 1, est au cœur d'une tempête judiciaire. Mis en examen pour viol, tentative de viol et agression sexuelle suite à un incident survenu le 10 juillet à Beausoleil, l'attaquant a passé deux jours en garde à vue à Nice avant d'être libéré sous caution de 900 000 euros. Lire aussi : - L’AS Monaco vise un défenseur central de Man City ! L'affaire Ben Yedder : soutien total du club La question de sa réception par les supporters lors du prochain match contre Strasbourg subsiste. Hué à Clermont, Ben Yedder est resté stoïque. Malgré les accusations, le club ne l'a pas écarté et a repris l'entraînement le 10 août après une discussion avec le coach. L'AS Monaco et le directeur du football, Thiago Scuro, continuent de soutenir leur joueur, souhaitant profiter de sa dernière année de contrat tout en respectant le processus judiciaire. Un mercato agité pour Monaco Le mercato à Monaco est, cette année encore, riche en rebondissements. Entre renforcements stratégiques et affaires extra sportives, l'ASM est au cœur de l'actualité footballistique. Les supporters attendent avec impatience la fin du mercato et le début de la saison pour voir comment ces changements influenceront les performances du club sur le terrain. ________ Pour retrouver toute l'actu foot, rendez-vous sur notre page Facebook ou sur notre page Twitter ! Read the full article

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omagazineparis · 2 years ago

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Un voyage aux États-Unis? Voici quelques endroits incroyables à ne pas manquer

Lorsque l'on prépare un voyage aux États-Unis, on peut se poser de nombreuses questions sur les endroits à visiter, les régions à parcourir et le nombre de jours à passer sur place. Rien d'étonnant à cela, puisque les États-Unis est un pays d'une superficie de 9,834 millions de km² et de 331,9 millions d'habitants répartis dans 50 États différents. Si vous souhaitez obtenir quelques conseils sur les éléments à prendre en compte avant de vous rendre aux États-Unis et sur les endroits à visiter, cet article vous expliquera tout ce qu'il faut savoir pour passer des vacances inoubliables. Préparatifs avant le départ - Réservez votre hébergement et vos billets d'avion, à l'aller comme au retour, suffisamment à l'avance pour bénéficier des meilleures offres, - N'oubliez pas que les soins médicaux sont très chers aux États-Unis et que l'assurance maladie ne vous couvre pas à l'étranger (sauf dans l'Union européenne) ; il est donc conseillé de souscrire une police d'assurance voyage tout inclus avant votre départ, - Vérifiez vos conditions de voyage pour savoir si vous devez ou non demander un Visa, - Assurez-vous d'avoir un passeport en cours de validité. Comme nous l'avons déjà mentionné, les États-Unis sont un vaste pays que vous ne pourrez probablement pas parcourir en un seul voyage. C'est pourquoi, dans cet article, nous nous limiterons à expliquer ce qu'il faut visiter dans les villes les plus importantes de la côte est et de la côte ouest des États-Unis. Il est maintenant temps de commencer à organiser votre voyage aux États-Unis. Côte Est La ville de New York Sans surprise, l'une des villes incontournables est New York City. Je recommande un séjour minimum de 3 jours pour visiter les sites d'intérêt suivants : - La statue de la Liberté, - La statue du Taureau de Wall Street, - Le pont de Brooklyn, - Times Square, - Central Park, - Chinatown, Greenwich Village et DUMBO. Si vous avez la possibilité de rester un jour de plus, je vous recommande de vous rendre à la frontière canadienne pour voir les impressionnantes chutes du Niagara. Washington DC Une autre étape incontournable de votre séjour aux États-Unis est Washington DC, où vous pourrez faire les activités suivantes : - Visite du National Mall où vous verrez la Maison Blanche et différents monuments, - Accès gratuit aux musées emblématiques de la ville. Boston La ville de Boston peut facilement être visitée en deux jours et je recommande le Boston Freedom Trail qui permet de faire le tour de la ville et de visiter les 16 lieux les plus emblématiques. A lire également : Un bijou caché en France : le village troglodyte de Saumur Côte Ouest Seattle Seattle est la plus grande ville du nord-ouest des États-Unis et est mondialement connue pour le Space Needle, une tour d'observation de 158 mètres de haut. Vous pourrez également visiter le célèbre Pike Place Market et le musée de la Pop Culture. San Francisco Si vous vous rendez dans la ville de San Francisco, une visite des lieux suivants s'impose : - Le pont du Golden Gate, - L’architecture des Painted Ladies, - Lombard Street. Los Angeles Vous ne pouvez pas terminer votre voyage sur la côte Est sans vous arrêter quelques jours dans la trépidante ville de Los Angeles. Vous pourrez y visiter quelques-uns des sites d'intérêt suivants : - Le Mont Lee, - Hollywood Walk of Fame, - La promenade de Venice Beach, - Jetée de Santa Monica. La jetée de Santa Monica est peut-être l'endroit idéal pour terminer votre voyage aux États-Unis, car c'est aussi là que vous trouverez le panneau qui marque la fin de la Route 66. Nous espérons que cet article vous aidera à préparer votre voyage, et n'oubliez pas que si vous ne voulez pas payer une fortune en cas d'accident malheureux, nous vous recommandons toujours de souscrire une assurance voyage pour les États-Unis. Read the full article

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stillthewordgirl · 8 years ago

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Central City Rendezvous, chapter 13 (of 16)

Rip Hunter never came for the Legends. But maybe some meetings are meant to be... (A Captain Canary AU.)

Yeah, yeah. It’s now 16 chapters. I promise that’s it. :) Expect one every two days from now until March 20, just about the one-year anniversary of my first CC story! (Well... that’s the plan. The only chapter that’s not done at this point is 15.)

This also takes place during the Flash episode “Invincible.” Many thanks to @larielromeniel for the beta.

Can also be read here at AO3 and here at FF.net.

Sara can't reach Laurel, her Laurel, in Star City.

And somehow that just makes it all worse. Because it’s tough, so very tough, to look at the image of the smirking, slinking, black-clad woman on the surveillance camera footage and remind herself that that’s not Laurel, not really, that Laurel is mostly confined to a wheelchair right now, and she’s still in Star City, and she's OK. She is. Sara has to believe that.

It’s hard, too, to watch Wally strike the… Black Siren… with his car, even though it’s not Laurel, not her Laurel, and she’d been about to hurt Barry, and, and…

She turns away, closing her eyes, but stops when she bumps right into the man who’d been standing behind her. Leonard lifts his hands to her arms, then hesitates and slowly lowers them to his sides after only a brief touch.

And then, a moment later, she feels them return, feels his hands settle firmly on her upper arms, holding her, anchoring her, and all the watchers be damned.

But no one says a word.

“She’s a meta. And she brought down all of Mercury Labs,” Sara says a bit numbly. “While we were out there?”

“You all were on the other side of the city,” Barry offers. “And we didn’t know… who it was… at the time.”

Leonard turns to level a glare at Wells. “You knew about our Earth-2 counterparts. But you didn’t tell them about her?”

Wells meets him stare for stare. “Frankly, until Mr. Allen had his run-in with her, I thought she was dead.” He shrugs. “Zoom didn’t take the death of... well, her failure to capture... your counterpart well. And there are other meta powers that can take down buildings.”

“Yeah, well, no one else managed to kick Barry’s ass.” Cisco’s grin slips a little as Barry turns to look at him. “Uh. Anyway, we’re putting together some tech to take down all the Earth-2 metas—it uses vibrations, it’s kinda weird, just trust me,” he rattles off. “We just need some time. But she says she’s just going to keep taking down buildings for Zoom. We don’t really have another good way to stop her. We just need…”

The silence hangs for a moment before Sara finally opens her eyes, then turns around and looks at him.

“… time,” she finishes. “You need a distraction.”

As if on cue, a noise from the other side of the room breaks into the tableau. Caitlin reacts first. “Cisco, it’s your metahuman alert app.”

“That’s the hi-rise development on the west side,” Joe says, eyes on the display as Iris comes up behind him.

“Hundreds of people live there,” she breathes in horror.

But Harrison Wells is moving already, running for a bank of computers. “Ramon, we’re up! Let’s go. Set that pulse off right now.” He pauses to point at Barry. “Allen, you start generating that refracting field around the city right now.”

“But… all those people…”

And, just like that, there’s no more time. Sara takes a deep breath. “Where is she?” she whispers. “Black Siren. I’ll go.” She looks at Barry. “Admit it. I’m the perfect distraction. With what Wells has told us, she’ll be completely focused on me. Not on what you’re up to.”

“She’s right,” Wells breaks in before Barry can respond. “And Black Siren… she knows capturing this Sara could be a ticket back into Zoom’s good graces.” He holds up a hand as Sara looks at him. “But… she gets angry. That’s how… well. Be careful.”

“I’m going too.” Leonard’s voice is flat and profoundly unhappy. It’s his turn, though, to hold up his hand as Wells starts to speak. “She needs backup. It’s me.”

And that’s that.

They park the bikes a block or so away, then split up, Leonard giving Sara's elbow a quick touch before vanishing into the night. She watches him go, then takes a deep breath, sets her shoulders, and gets on with it.

Black Siren, obviously waiting for someone to respond to her use of powers, is lingering in an abandoned building near the development. She turns as Sara steps through the door, a quick blink the only sign of surprise she shows.

“Well, well! If it isn’t my sweet lil’ sister," she says, stepping closer. "I'd wondered about you."

"Not quite," Sara responds tersely. But Siren doesn't even seem to hear her.

"You look like quite the bad-ass here. I heard it went a bit differently, on this Earth.” She makes a tsking noise, shaking her head as she strolls slowly in a large circle around Sara, who turns to keep her in view. “Dear ol’ Ollie. I wonder if my version harbored any of the same thoughts? I’m going to guess… yes.” She shrugs. "Maybe he just didn't have the balls to go for it there. Doesn't matter."

Sara licks her lips, moving her bo from hand to hand, unable to escape the visceral feelings of guilt that she and Laurel are long since past, that don't, can't apply to this Laurel.

"I'm not her," she points out, as much to herself as the other woman. "And you're not... you're not my sister."

"No." Siren stops, cocking her head to the side, birdlike. "I'm not. I'm ever so much better." She smiles as Sara's eyes narrow. "Oooh, protective of your dear sissy, are you? My s... she was, too. Or at least she pretended to be."

Keep her talking. Just a little longer. She doesn't dare look past Siren to where she knows Leonard is skulking silently at the other side of the building. "Oh?"

It's almost like this Laurel wants to talk, wants to air her grievances. She continues, still moving, still circling, as Sara watches.

"I came to Central for a fresh start, but everywhere, it was always about her. Sara, working her way up through the ranks, fighting for women's services. Sara, the young, hard-working director of the CC YWCA, helping women with nowhere else to go." Her tone is light, but with a bitter edge, Sara thinks. "And then, the perfect story, the fairytale romance with the politician no one thought had a heart. My baby sister was fucking the goddamned mayor, after I'd lost..." Siren stops, spins, and stares at Sara a long moment, then smirks again.

"And then! I got the meta powers, you didn't." She does a little pirouette, smiling, black leather flowing out around her legs. "So much potential, I thought! Maybe... now, I could…” Her expression hardens. "But people hated metas. And all that potential... the only one who wanted it was Zoom... and, oh, it's just so much fun to watch things crumble and fall..."

Sara, who's been watching Siren's throat, tenses as she sees the muscles tighten, but the other woman doesn’t attack her. Instead, she spins, screaming, sonic waves aimed at the back of the room and causing havoc in their wake. Leonard dodges and rolls out of the way, bringing himself into view in the dim light.

“Oh, you did! You did find him here!" Black Siren actually sounds quite pleased about this, taking a step closer to see the newcomer. “And, my my, you look a lot more bad-ass on this Earth, Leonard.” Her tone is admiring as she looks the crook up and down. "I like the jeans, and the black leather, of course."

She taps a finger against her lips. "Other you is a lot more... staid. Cute, in a preppy, older sort of a way, but staid. Should have realized there was a bit more potential there, given how difficult he's proven, but... well, that's besides the point."

Since the jig is up anyway, she can see Leonard weigh his options… and then shrug in typical Captain Cold insouciance, sauntering over to stand by Sara.

“Thanks,” he drawls, hand on cold gun, “I think.” She can see the gleam in his eyes. “I might appreciate it a bit more if you weren’t so obviously insane.”

Siren actually laughs. “Oh, I do like you better! But I’m not insane. I just like being the one with the power. It’s such fun.” Her eyes narrow. “And now, speaking of which…”

Come on, Cisco! “Laurel!” Sara says in desperation. “We could really use your powers here, use them for good. I'm sorry they weren't appreciated there, that you weren't appreciated there, but you could be, here."

She sees a spark of surprise in the other woman’s eyes, quickly concealed. Siren pouts, dark lips forming a moue of annoyance, as she steps closer.

"The time for that is past, dear Sara," she says lightly. "Besides which, she tried to convince me of that, too." A shrug. "She was wrong. And then she died."

Sara can feel Leonard's arm move as he grips the cold gun besides her, as she grasps for more distraction. She seizes, then, the very real grief she feels bubbling up at the other woman's words.

"You were her sister," she cries, her tone full of anguish. "Even if you hated her... even if you had reasons... how could you kill her? Just tell me that."

Siren seems just as stunned by Sara's words as Sara herself is. She blinks a moment, then says, "It was an accident."

They both stare at the Earth-2 woman. Black Siren glances away, but she continues.

"You had earplugs," she says, as if to herself, as if she's forgotten again that this is not the same Sara. "They fell out. I didn't know... Zoom was going to let me go, he was... he was just going to use you..."

Sara takes a step, feeling Leonard tense again. But she needs to take this opportunity, for more reasons than one. "I mean it," she says quietly. "You don't need to work for him here. You could change sides. It's not too late."

For a moment, Earth-2 Laurel Lance stares back at her little sister's Earth-1 version, and there's almost something besides mockery in her eyes. Something wistful.

But then they harden again, and she laughs.

"Oh, please. Really? After I've disposed of lover boy here and taken you back to Zoom, gotten him off my back, I think I'll head to Star City, see what my counterpart is up to." Her lips curve. "She should be easy to dispose of, and then I might be able to get an actual life back. Is it any less than she deserves, for being such a little..."

Sara lunges for her, bo in one hand, knife in the other. Leonard curses, bringing the cold gun into firing position. And at that moment, the S.T.A.R. Labs secret weapon blankets the city in vibrations designed to take out the residents of Earth-2.

And Black Siren claps her hands to her head with a look of horror on her face--before dropping like a marionette with her strings cut.

Sara stutters to a halt, then drops to her knees by the other woman's side, a hand covering her mouth, shoulders shaking. With her free hand, she reaches out toward the Black Siren’s shoulder, stopping just shy, her fingers trembling, unable to bridge the final centimeter of space. Leonard hesitates just a moment, then puts a hand on her shoulder, and she reaches up to put hers over it.

They're still there, motionless, when Barry arrives.

They go back to her apartment this time, the solitude much-needed, Sara giving the request to Leonard in a voice that’s more numb than anything else.

Once they’ve parked their bikes, he takes one look at her standing there, staring at the building with a blank expression… and then makes a decision. Moving slowly so she can see what he’s doing, he steps closer, then swings her up into a bridal-style carry and makes his way toward the door.

Then up the stairs. Into a sparse apartment that has less sign of someone actually living there than the S.T.A.R. Labs medical rooms. Into the bedroom, where she finally stirs from her curl in his arms to motion, still wordlessly, for him to put her down. When he does, she divests herself of her uniform in small, efficient, unthinking movements, finally peeling back the bed covers only to stare at them like she's not sure what to do.

Leonard's the one who gently pushes her down until she’s stretched out on the bed, then pulls the covers up over her. But as he does, small, strong fingers wrap around his wrist, tug him toward her and down.

He caves, lying down next to her and pulling her into his arms with a sigh. She curls up there with a sigh of her own and is asleep in moments.

Leonard intends to wait only until she’s out—as comfortable as he is, and as much as he’d like to stay with her, there are things he needs to do. But it’s been a long day, a long, exhausting, stressful day with only one brief rest. It’s not much longer before he’s out too, breathing evenly and deeply as they slumber.

Sometime in the middle of the night, he wakes from a sound sleep to find Sara staring at him from only a few inches away, eyes nearly purple in the dim light, hand on his chest. After a moment, she leans forward to kiss him, lips soft, then increasingly urgent.

They’d been having fun, before. Blowing off steam and enjoying each other.

This is different. This, he thinks, not long later, every sense filled with Sara, is what people call love-making.

He’s never understood that before, not really. He does now.

This is… healing. Far more than the physical, more than a satisfying release. And when she whispers his name on a breathless cry, hands tightening on his shoulders, the words he responds with are not her name.

It’s nothing he’s thought out. Nothing he’d expected to ever say. But other words and thoughts from throughout the day keep echoing through his head and…

Since I knew it contained Sara Lance.

There are people who simply seem to find each other in all the worlds we know.

You were each other's balance, on my Earth.

… and life can change, so fast.

He sees her eyes widen, even as he, too, gasps, shuddering over her as her arms tighten again around him. And then she whispers. His name.

A few other words.

He lowers himself to the bed, pulls her into his arms. She buries her face in his neck.

And they hold each other.

He waits until she's sound asleep again, then carefully disentangles himself, rising and searching for the clothing discarded earlier. Dressed, he scrawls a quick note, then stands there a moment, looking down at her, thinking about the paths he's chosen and those he's walked away from, and why he's done what he's done.

What he wants.

How it's changed.

And then he goes back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

#central city rendezous #captain canary #legends of tomorrow #sara lance #leonard snart

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a-different-equation · 5 years ago

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Notes on “Disappearance” (2)

When you translate you offer more than a word-to-word but more an interpretation of a story. Languages follow different rules, but to echo the cultural aspects of its origin is important as well. And sometimes you have to edit some bits for the greater good.

In the best case, the author approves of your changes. @ladysybille did:

Merci ! Une jolie traduction et j'ai beaucoup aimé les petites variations ! Je vous l'ai dit ! Vous rendez le texte encore plus beau!

In chapter 2 of “The Disappearance of Adèle Landsbury” I made four minor alteration: I added the quote by Charles Dickens from “Tale of Two Cities”, I cut out the talk about military history between “Germany” and “France” and how it is perceived by “England”, and I changed one Watson to “John”. Lastly, I switched a pronoun so the bedroom at the end is now theirs (for a while).

Below the cut, some short elaboration on my reasoning.

a) In chapter 1 the author quotes an author and highlights Holmes’ ability to recite (world) literature. I decided to not translate it but to let it be in its original French.

Now, I added Dickens, because for one the novel focus about London and Paris (and we’ve got the French-English-connection as central here), and the other because it’s closing line, “winter of despair” echoes the overall theme of the fan fiction perfect.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,

it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,

it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,

it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,

it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

b) (Military) history is tricky. What you learn in school about history differs drastically from your country of origin. It also differs massively from what you learned then from what people know in the past. However, we don’t start some talk about dialectics here. To cut it short, I cut it out. You don’t need to potentially offend a reader to make a point. (Instead I added a))

c) The author used far more often “my dear Watson” than I did. I’ll admit that I put some “old boy” in. However, when they’re already in the bedroom, Holmes is hurt and still teasing his Watson, I thought I could let him call him “John” once. The self-reference as a “couple” is in the original (in text AND tags).

d) Almost exactly the same reasoning as c) I remember reading the chapter in French and later re-reading my English translation and I was confused: I couldn’t pinpoint their relationship status.

However, as - for me - there are no straight explanations for calling themselves an old couple, being in a bedroom, and ending almost all sentences with “my dear Holmes” or “my dear Watson” (but only in that context, behind closed doors), I thought I made it a bit clearer. However, I edited it countless times.

In the end, I couldn’t imagine such teasing, emotional, exasperated but so loving old men to only call by their own names in the big finale.

After all, in canon it’s not only The Three Garridebs in which the audience learns about Holmes’ loyalty and love towards Watson.

#acd canon #johnlock #sherlock holmes #john watson #johnlock fanfiction #lost in translation #ade translates fic #the disappearance of adele landsbury

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izzyovercoffee · 5 years ago

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Prompt number: 12. “What if I don’t see it?” Fandom: Republic Commando Rating: PG Warnings/Tags: none that I can tell, ask to tag if need Summary: Bardan can’t sleep, but he’s quick to learn this isn’t much better. Notes: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ dear etain come home everyone misses you and bardan’s developing some neuroses from seeing you floating indefinitely thanks

##. or maybe he’s just hallucinating

It lurks at the corner of his eye.

He turns, and it’s gone. A trick of the light. A trick of his mind. The paranoia and the anxiety that permeates the ground Kyrimorut’s built within creeping into his blood, maybe. Louder, still, at night and in the dark, where his eyes find difficulty to adjust and he relies more on … other … senses to guide him, much to his chagrin.

A friend of Mereel’s once took one look at him and laughed.

“It’s hard to be haunted, no?” they said, after.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, and thought he sounded convincing.

Certainly he hadn’t been, for they said nothing in reply. Just smiled, knowing, and walked away.

Bardan breathes in the bite of cold air as he crosses the snow---over the tracks that have worn away at the fallen evidence of winter, packed down the cold and the dirt to forge a path just shy of “safe” to walk in the night.

It occurs to Bardan, suddenly, as his hand lands on the wall panel to the makeshift medical bay on-property that Mereel has a suspiciously long list of friends who all, it seems, are equally as haunted. If that is, indeed, what haunted means.

The door cycles open under the scan of his palm, and he’s met with a figure that chills his blood before his eyes.

He blinks and it’s …

Gone.

Leaving only an open hall, lit as well as their off-grid power can afford to offer alongside the regular heating.

He steps into the hall, and waits for the door to cycle shut behind him. He removes the outer layers, hanging them up on a rack to the left of him, and leaving him in sparse armor---casual wear, if mandalorians could be said to have them.

He walks down the hall, down past the open door connecting the lab to this hastily built structure connecting multiple points of necessity to a centralized power. The voices of Mereel, and Dr. Uthan, blur together with the gentle hum of power in the walls as he passes.

Still talking, still working, long, long past the end of daylight.

He stops at the end, at the door to another room---empty. Lighting as sparse as everywhere else in this medical station, he feels a pressure lay on his chest he hadn’t at the door. The hairs at the back of his neck rise, and he’s reminded, suddenly, of when he was a child in the temple. Of wandering the halls, past curfew, and feeling the weight of being watched by one of the Knights that walked the halls.

They had watched him in silent curiosity, and later he understood what he didn’t know then.

So long as he behaved, he would find no trouble.

He can’t imagine, now, why he’d begin to court trouble in here, in this very room, in this very place, at this very day, but…

Hell.

Maybe there is something to calling their gifts a haunting, rather than a gift.

“What do you think, Etain?” he asks as he enters the room slowly, hands out of his pockets and hanging at his sides.

She says nothing---simply floats there, dead to the world, the galaxy, the universe---unresponsive and barely better than the night before.

Worse, he knows, than Fi had been.

He wants to wonder what the point of maintaining a corpse might be, but the weight of the watching is nowhere near as threatening as the grief welling up in his chest at the thought.

“You’re right,” he says, “I can’t give up hope.”

He sometimes thinks he wants to. Isn’t it easier to entertain the grief, and the tragedy, and the world-shattering weight of losing her over the unending pain of uncertainty? Of hanging in this limbo of not knowing if she would ever recover?

Her vitals stable. Her body mending, slowly. But… nothing. Unresponsive.

If not for the …

But he can’t explain that to anyone who asks. Only defend the maintenance of the bacta tank, and his periodic attempts to reach her, through the glass and the distance of…

No one ever spoke about this, before.

And as much as he had distanced himself, broken off and separated himself, from the Order and everything it had once stood for before it was cut down brutally in its hubris, he still struggles, now, to piece together broken and painful memories to find an understanding---some kind of way through this nightmare Etain’s trapped in.

But as the days drag into weeks and into months, he finds himself more, and more, desperate---more, and more, fiddling on the edge of frustration, and fury. Fury at himself, for being unable to do what he should have been able to do, easily. Fury at the universe, for aligning in this way, to strike out at them at their heart, and nearly succeed---and, if she never improves, then ‘nearly’ becomes certainty.

And fury at Kal, for calling her back to the core, for no reason that Bardan could guess at, could understand or make sense of---when she could have easily rendez-vous with the rest of them, at Kyrimorut. They didn’t need her in the city. She didn’t have to come back.

And Ordo knew it. And said it.

And yet Kal.

Didn’t listen.

One of the vials to Bardan’s right shatters. Glass sprays, everywhere.

Bardan takes a step back. Like peering through a curtain, he can see, and feel, his desperate anger as a separate creature from himself. Like a thing of its own mind, and own being, though it lives inside of him.

It takes effort to unfurl his fists, and even more to understand what he stares at is broken glass of an empty vial from the counter against the far wall.

And yet he can’t be sure if it’s him who’s responsible.

A different version of himself might say it’s no one’s fault. A different person with his face and his voice and his name, from a different time, might try to find the middle ground.

But here, and now, with Etain so close to them and yet on the edge of being lost forever, and him being unable to find the path to her, to bring her back---

What middle ground could he justify, that he could not before to stay with the Order? What middle ground could he create to explain his willful blindness, that would not have been just as senseless, and hypocritical, and of help to no one?

He’s supposed to be a healer. A healer heals.

A healer mends a wound, but a wound can only be mended when it’s recognized for the damage done.

“But what if I don’t see it?” he asks, and receives nothing in answer. “What if I can’t see it?”

Something moves in the dark, and he spins to face it---and finds nothing.

A crack of something sounds down the hall. The lights go out.

The dark seizes his shaken heart and for a brief moment it’s fear, and grief, that roots him to the spot. All that lights the room is the single bacta tank and Etain’s near-lifeless, comatose form floating in the fluid. Though he knows, logically, that her medical supports are hooked up to numerous fail-safes, panic still grips him.

The backup generators grind to life, and the emergency lights blink on, lighting the room in red.

It’s less than comforting.

He finds his frustration and gathers it back down in his chest, and leaves her without a goodbye. He passes the lab---noting Mereel and Uthan still worked despite the outage---and stops only to gather the outer layers he needs to survive the bitter cold.

The door opens under his press to the wall panel.

A dark figure stands in the snow.

A sharp wind bursts across the clearing, throwing snow and ice in every direction, and as it passes---so does she. There and gone, in a breath and a breeze.

He wants to say the pressure is getting to him. The anxiety, the frustration, the failure.

But he knows better.

And that knowing only weighs heavier on his heart.

#writing: mine #writing: fictober19 #c: Bardan Jusik #c: Etain Tur-mukan #this continues to be an etain lives au and we can just deal with that

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fuckyeahroadtrippin · 5 years ago

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Jour 39: Little Clinic

Après une grosse matinée à bien glander dans les bassins d'eau chaude, on s'est remis en route vers Denver pour voir un toubib et en finir avec cette histoire d'infection urinaire qui nous limitait depuis quelques jours. La route valait le détour. On a dû retraverser la montagne par le sud du parc national cette fois, encore des vues pas degueu depuis les lacets, et des petites stations de ski bien sympa en mode estival.

On est allés dans une Little Clinic, une clinique de supermarché. C'est un genre de stand dans le supermarché, comme le stand pharmacie, où tu te pointes sans rendez-vous, tu remplis un formulaire, et tu es reçu par un•e "nurse practitioner", un statut intermédiaire entre l'infirmière et le médecin, qui peut faire des diagnostics et prescrire. S'il y a un peu d'attente, tu peux faire tes courses en attendant. Là c'était pas le cas, mais Morgan s'y est quand même collée le temps de ma consult. J'ai pissé dans mon bocal, récupéré mon antibio au stand pharmacie à côté, et chopé du paracétamol au rayon médocs ainsi qu'un truc qui allait me faire pisser orange fluo mais m'éviter de me lever 5 fois par nuit en attendant que l'antibio fasse son taf.

Aucun camping dispo sur Denver même, du coup on a mis le cap sur Central City, à 45min à l'ouest, dans les montagnes. On a trouvé un spot au Columbine Campground, au bout d'une dirt road un peu funky. Chouette ambiance dans le camping, qui était rempli de denverites venus passer le weekend en grands groupes, avec moult pick-ups et quads. Ils faisaient des grandes veillées en famille autour du feu. Le ciel était rempli d'étoiles. On s'est dit que si on habitait là on ferait ça tous les week-ends. C'est vraiment le truc cool de la culture américaine qu'on a négligé de copier en France, la tradition familiale du camping semi-sauvage, en pleine nature, sans night club qui joue du Claude François, juste des veillées au feu de bois à griller des Chamallows en racontant des histoires de fantômes.

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surlespaves-linstant-blog · 6 years ago

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JUSTINE

Elle ne doit pas rater le prochain. Arriver en retard est hors de question. Pas ce matin. Elle sait qu’elle aurait dû prendre le train d’avant, celui de 6h42, mais elle a mis plus de temps que prévu à se maquiller. Même si dans ce domaine, le maquillage discret et naturel est privilégié, elle a voulu en faire un tout petit peu plus, s’assurer d’être agréable sous tous les angles. La première impression est toujours la plus importante. Elle le sait bien. L’expérience le lui a appris, plusieurs fois à ses dépens.

Elle a rendez-vous à 08h00 au numéro 10 de la Rue de Hollande, 1211 Genève. Banque Havilland SA. En plein quartier des banques. Heureusement, ce n’est pas très loin de la gare. Son train devrait arriver à 07h48 précises, le tram 15, direction Palettes, devrait ensuite partir de l’arrêt Cornavin à 07h51, arrivé à Stand à 07h56, et elle devrait être devant l’immeuble trois minutes plus tard, soit juste une minute avant l’heure de son rendez-vous. Ce sera serré, mais ça devrait le faire.

Justine court. Elle sort du bus et elle court. L’escalier qui mène au tunnel sous voie se trouve exactement en face des portes latérales du bus. Quelle chance ! Elle descend les marches aussi rapidement que ses hauts talons le lui permettent et s’engouffre dans le tunnel. Il y a du monde à cette heure-ci. Presque tous des pendulaires. Tant de visages, tant de regards absents, tant de directions différentes. En face, en contre-sens, à gauche, à droite. De dos, devant elle. Ils ne vont pas assez vite. Ils ont dû mieux prévoir leur emploi du temps qu’elle, pour être si calmes et confiants. Justine, elle, n’a pas l’habitude de prendre le train, surtout aussi tôt. Elle n’aurait jamais imaginé que cela impliquait autant d’étapes, depuis la sortie de son appartement jusqu’au quai. Voie 8, une des plus éloignées. Forcément… Il est 7h11. Le train doit déjà être là.

Elle zigzague dans la foule, évite les gens et finit par atteindre le plan incliné qui monte au quai. Il y a moins de monde ici. Elle accélère, monte la rampe en quelques secondes seulement et saute littéralement dans le train. Elle n’a pas le temps de reprendre sa respiration que, derrière elle, la porte du wagon se referme dans un bruit métallique, fort et désagréable. Puis, un autre bruit, tout aussi violent et inattendu la fait bondir. Elle se retourne. Un homme énervé frappe frénétiquement sur la vitre de la porte. Ses poings la martèlent, mais la porte ne bouge pas, évidemment, heureusement.

Le train commence à s’ébranler et démarre. Un « Putain ! » étouffé, mais venant clairement du cœur, résonne sous la verrière de la gare, jusque dans le wagon. L’homme resté sur le quai ne sait plus quoi faire et regarde sa montre, le panneau d’affichage, les gens qui arrivent déjà sur le quai pour le prochain train, sur la voie d’à côté. Tout ça dans un ordre totalement aléatoire et désordonné.

Encore saisie, Justine ne le quitte pas des yeux, fascinée. Puis l’homme disparaît. À quelques secondes près, ç’aurait été elle. Un de ses amis pendulaires lui avait dit que deux tiers des trains, au moins, avaient du retard le matin. Ça l’aurait sûrement arrangé.

Justine choisit de ne plus y penser. Elle se sent déjà assez stressée comme ça. Elle entre dans le wagon et une autre porte, coulissante cette fois-ci, se ferme à nouveau derrière elle dans un bruit brutal et encore métallique. Elle fait quelques mètres dans le couloir central et s’assoit à la première place qu’elle trouve, à côté d’un jeune rivé à son téléphone et en face d’une femme italienne, qui discute au téléphone. Justine souffle. Dans exactement trente-six minutes, elle sera à Genève.

Cet entretien d’embauche est inespéré. Ça fait plus de six mois qu’elle cherche du travail et apparemment, même si les marchés financiers se portent bien, les emplois ne courent pas les rues. Peut-être est-ce la faute des logiciels et algorithmes prévisionnels qui prennent bien plus vite qu’on ne le pensait la place de l’humain. C’est déconcertant, certes, mais elle trouve ça logique. Néanmoins, les clients ont besoin de parler à de vraies personnes pour se sentir écoutés, pas à des machines. Surtout les clients de ce genre de banques.

Malgré cela, Justine a déjà passé plusieurs entretiens avant celui-ci, tous soldés par un échec. La plupart du temps, elle arrivait à comprendre ces refus, car elle répondait à toutes les annonces, toutes, mêmes à celles auxquelles ses compétences ne correspondaient pas exactement. Ainsi les recruteurs la voyaient souvent plus par curiosité qu’autre chose. Il faut dire que son curriculum vitae a de quoi éveiller l’intérêt : deux Master, l’un en Finance pure, l’autre en Comptabilité, Contrôle et Finance, tous deux obtenus à la HEC de Lausanne, Championne du Monde étudiant 2018 de l’analyse financière, stages effectués dans la célèbre banque privée J.P. Morgan de New York et à la HSBC de Londres, en pleine City, agrémentés des pléthores de recommandations qui vont avec. On lui a même parfois dit qu’elle était sur-diplômée, sur-expérimentée. Conneries ! Certaines fois pourtant, le poste pour lequel elle postulait correspondait parfaitement à ses compétences, mais finissait quand même par lui passer sous le nez. Il y en a eu plusieurs comme ça. Peut-être sept ou huit. Au début, elle ne comprenait pas. Elle avait tout ce qu’il fallait, et même plus, pour obtenir ce genre de postes. Puis elle a revu ses camarades de promo et certains bruits de couloir l’ont aidée à mieux comprendre.

Justine est une femme et elle est noire. Ce genre de critères compte apparemment encore aujourd’hui dans le choix de nouveaux employés. C’est du moins ce qu’on lui a raconté, que ce pouvait être une explication plausible et que certains recruteurs et recruteuses étaient connus pour ça. Ils s’en défendent d’ailleurs en disant que ce n’est pas eux qui veulent cela, mais leurs clientèles qui avec tout l’argent qu’elles ramènent aux banques peuvent bien se permettre d’être un peu racistes et sexistes.

Justine y est habituée. Elle s’y était depuis longtemps. C’est pour ça qu’elle a n’a pas traîné pour faire ses preuves. Dès le début de ses études, elle finit presque toujours première de sa promotion, et réitéra l’exploit dans tout ce qu’elle entreprit ensuite. Elle a toujours eu l’impression de travailler plus que les autres, car elle n’était pas partie sur les mêmes bases. Les siennes étaient plus basses, plus en arrière. Et cela se vérifie encore aujourd’hui.

De toute façon, que ce soit vrai ou pas, Justine s’en fout. Elle finira bien par trouver quelque chose, une place où on l’aura prise pour ses compétences et non pas pour ce à quoi elle ressemble. Finalement, elle est plutôt contente de ne pas être recrutée par des gens aux a priori si prononcés, car ce serait trahir ses convictions. Et puis elle en a marre de penser à ça. Elle ne peut de toute façon rien y changer pour le moment, assise ici dans ce wagon.

Alors elle regarde par la fenêtre. À gauche le lac, à droite les collines. Elle vit dans un beau pays quand même, un pays carte-postale comme on dit souvent. Mais elle aimerait voyager. Quitter temporairement ce beau pays. Voyager, vraiment. Ne pas passer qu’un week-end dans une autre ville européenne. Découvrir d’autres contrées, de nouvelles cultures, partir plusieurs semaines. Peut-être le pourra-t-elle si elle obtient ce travail. Elle pourra enfin souffler financièrement et s’offrir des vacances, car contrairement à ce que beaucoup pensent, faire des études et chercher du travail n’en sont pas, n’en ont jamais été.

Justine s’imagine déjà en Italie, par exemple, un pays qui l’a toujours attirée, un pays tout proche et pourtant si différent du sien. Elle pourrait découvrir Milan, Florence, Venise, Rome, Naples et terminer en Sicile ou dans les Pouilles. Elle adorerait ça. Et ce ne serait qu’un début. Il y a tant d’endroits à découvrir sur Terre qu’elle en a parfois le vertige. Mais savoir qu’elle ne pourra pas tout voir ne lui fait pas peur, au contraire, cela veut dire qu’il y aura toujours un nouvel endroit, une nouvelle culture, de nouvelles personnes à rencontrer et à découvrir.

Le soleil se reflète sur les eaux du lac. Le regard de Justine s’y plonge, jusqu’aux rétines. En face d’elle, la femme italienne est toujours au téléphone, mais Justine ne l’entend plus. Elle vit dans ses pensées, qui se reflètent aussi sur le lac et c’est comme si elle y était entièrement immergée, que tout son corps ne faisait plus son poids et qu’il flottait là au milieu des poissons.

Soudain, plusieurs bâtiments moches et carrés obstruent la vue et la remplacent aussitôt par un spectacle d’abord de ville quelconque. Puis c’est le Jardin Botanique de Genève qui s’étend rapidement sous ses yeux, la faisant à nouveau, mais brièvement, rêver. Puis un mur de béton gris recouvert de graffitis, puis des rails en cascade surplombés par des immeubles de verre et de métal. Une voix annonce l’arrivée très prochaine du train en gare de Genève Cornavin et comme par magie, tous les passagers jusqu’ici scotchés à leur téléphone s’animent, rassemblent leurs affaires, s’habillent et se lèvent pour se figer presque aussitôt devant la porte et attendre.

Justine sort de ses pensées. Elle doit se dépêcher. Que le voyage est vite passé. Tout ce qu’elle espère maintenant, c’est d’attraper le tram à temps et de tomber sur quelqu’un qui la jugera pour ses capacités et non pour ce qu’elle est. Car malheureusement, la suite de sa vie en dépend.

Prochain portrait : NOAH

#portrait #chronique #lausanne #geneve #lac #train #banques #entretien #stress #slice of life #finance #photography #photo #travail #futur

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freelance-informatique · 1 year ago

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Mercato : Monaco s'apprête à perdre un joueur important en attaque !

L'été s'annonce mouvementé sur le Rocher. Un attaquant phare de l'AS Monaco pourrait bien faire ses valises avant la fin du mercato pour rejoindre les rangs de l'Union Berlin. Mercato : Un départ imminent de Monaco pour Volland Selon RMC Sport, un accord aurait été trouvé entre les deux clubs, signe que le joueur de 30 ans est bel et bien sur le départ. L'indemnité de transfert s'élèverait à 5,5 millions d'euros, dont 4 millions en versement immédiat et 1,5 million sous forme de primes de performance. Un montant bien inférieur aux 11 millions d'euros déboursés par Monaco pour s'offrir les services de Volland en 2020, en provenance du Bayer Leverkusen. Retour aux sources pour Volland Après avoir porté le maillot monégasque à 115 reprises, inscrit 39 buts et délivré 24 passes décisives, Volland semble désireux de retrouver son Allemagne natale. L'Union Berlin, ayant organisé un examen médical pour l'attaquant, a réussi à coiffer au poteau Wolfsburg, autre prétendant sérieux pour accueillir le joueur. Voir ensuite : - Monaco vise un défenseur central de Man City ! Monaco : Les arrivées s'enchainent sur le mercato Du côté des arrivées, le club de la Principauté et le Torino ont trouvé un accord pour le transfert du latéral droit ivoirien, Wilfried Singo. Ce jeune joueur de 22 ans, originaire de Ouaragahio, a su se démarquer en Serie A par ses performances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdfEwKoo-6U Avec une valeur marchande de 10 millions d'euros, Singo est vu comme une belle acquisition pour Monaco. Une deuxième arrivée après la récente signature de Denis Zakaria en provenance de la Juventus pour 20 millions d'euros. L'Atalanta Bergame avait également montré un intérêt pour Singo, mais c'est bien Monaco qui a remporté la mise. Sa puissance et son endurance font de lui un atout majeur, particulièrement dans un système défensif à trois. Conséquences en chaîne pour l'effectif monégasque L'arrivée de Singo pourrait signifier un bouleversement dans la hiérarchie défensive de l'AS Monaco. Ruben Aguilar, jusqu'alors titulaire indiscutable, souhaiterait une aventure du côté du Stade Rennais. De plus, Vanderson, le joueur brésilien, devra redoubler d'efforts pour ne pas se faire éclipser par le talentueux ivoirien. Voir aussi : - Wissam Ben Yedder accusé de viol : une enquête est en cours ! L'AS Monaco affiche ses ambitions L'AS Monaco semble déterminé à remodeler son effectif pour la saison à venir. Si le départ de Volland est une perte, les arrivées prometteuses comme celle de Singo montrent une volonté de renouveau et d'ambition. Les supporters monégasques peuvent s'attendre à une saison riche en émotions et en rebondissements. ________ Pour retrouver toute l'actu foot, rendez-vous sur notre page Facebook ou sur notre page Twitter ! Read the full article

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omagazineparis · 2 years ago

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Un voyage aux États-Unis? Voici quelques endroits incroyables à ne pas manquer

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stillthewordgirl · 8 years ago

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LOT/CC fic: Central City Rendezvous, Ch. 11 of 14

Rip Hunter never came for the Legends. But maybe some meetings are meant to be. (Captain Canary, of course!) An AU.

Thanks to @larielromeniel for the beta. I own nothing! (*grumble*)

This one is a little shorter than some, and if it reads like the second half of chapter 10 ... well, it sort of was. :) AU takes place during events of the Flash episode “The Runaway Dinosaur.”

Also can be read here on AO3 or here on FF.net.

It's a somewhat grumpy and discouraged group that finally makes it back to S.T.A.R. Labs, engendering a wave of reactions in Cisco Ramon that would be fairly amusing, Leonard thinks, if he wasn't so goddamned annoyed.

"Mick Rory? Heatwave?" Ramon gapes at the grinning Mick as he saunters openly into the room with the rest. "Oh, nononononono... oh, hi, Ray. Kendra!? Oh, wow. Wait, what happened to..."

"Differences of opinion," the woman tells him mildly, with a smile. "Carter and I… parted ways. Ray said Central City could use some help."

"Yes! Um..." Cisco glances at Ray, who's earnestly chatting with Iris. "Right..."

The inventor notices the glance and walks back over. "So, um... we sort of need to find this zombie again. Cisco…”

Leonard snorts as he makes his way carefully into the Cortex. This is not how a Snart... this Snart... plans out operations, he thinks, collapsing into a chair. He’s gotten… well. Maybe not precisely soft. But out of practice at the precise plotting and planning a well-executed heist entails.

Working with Sara has been exhilarating in its own right. (He smirks a little, watching her cross the room, enjoying the view.) But with an enemy like this Girder, and a group that’s not just the two of them, it’s different.

Closing his eyes, he finally entertains the thought that’s been lurking in the back of his brain since he’d hit the concrete in the Big Belly Burger parking lot … and wonders again if maybe it isn’t time to leave.

Cut his losses. Let his wounds mend. Let the insanity ruling Central City shake down a bit before sniffing back around to see what opportunities are available for an enterprising crook and… and…

His mind just doesn’t want to go there.

Someone nudges his shoulder, interrupting his train of thought. Sara’s returned, holding out the ankle brace he should have been wearing. Her glare says that he better put it on, and so he accepts it without a word. She smiles a little, shakes her head at him, and then turns to perch on the arm of the chair, close enough that he could slip an arm around her waist if he wanted to.

He wants to.

He can’t leave. He can’t. Not while his city’s this open to things like this Girder, like this Zoom, who apparently killed seven cops while he and Sara had been holed up in the safe house and who seems dedicated to being a force for the type of chaos Leonard just can’t stand. If Wells is correct—and there’s no reason he wouldn’t be—eventually there will be nowhere left to run.

And not while Barry is still MIA. While his feelings on Central City’s speedster are complicated—he’ll admit that—running off while his fate’s unknown just doesn’t feel right.

And not while Sara won’t go with him.

And she won’t. There’s simply no way. Whatever fragile thing they have, it’s no match for her pure drive to be a hero, to help people. It’s who she is. He glances up at her, takes in her profile as she watches the others discussing metahuman apps and Girder’s probable whereabouts, and thinks about card games and fighting side by side and long hours in bed…

“So! If he’s probably at the West’s house, are we going to go get him?” Palmer’s voice is plaintive. And when Leonard looks over at him, the other man is looking a trifle lost, casting about the room as if looking for someone to tell him what to do.

Well. They do need a plan. And now Sara’s looking down at him, a little smile playing about her lips, and damned if maybe she didn’t know exactly what he was thinking all along….

Leonard Snart sighs… and levers himself to his feet, resigning himself to his fate.

“That thing’s metal, more or less,” he says. “I laid out the plan before, although we didn’t get a full chance to carry it out. Mick heats it up as much as possible, then I hit it with ice. I don’t think I have to tell you what that combination does to metal.”

Palmer looks intrigued. “Makes it brittle,” he says. “So… what do Sara, Kendra and I do?”

Leonard shrugs. “Distract him. Make sure he stays in metal form. Make sure no civilians get in the way. And when I’ve cooled him down…”

“Shatter him.” Kendra’s voice is low. “It’s a good plan.”

“Of course it is.” Turning, he offers Sara a hand. She accepts it, getting to her feet, and smiles at him.

But into this silence, then, comes a new noise: the low hum of the heat gun.

Mick’s standing, primed gun in hand, and he’s sweeping it back and forth to cover them all, more or less.

"I don't know what the hell he thinks he's doing," he says, staring at Leonard. "But I'm no hero. Sure, it was fun frying zombie ass, but I’m not putting my life on the line for nothin’. There are other cities. Why would…”

"I'll pay you."

At this point, everyone, including Mick, turns to stare at Ray Palmer, who colors faintly, but looks stubborn.

"I'm rich,” he says to Mick. “Well, sort of. Not as much as I used to be. But enough to make it worth your while. What’s a good take in a heist? Hit me.”

Mick snorts, but hesitates… and then names a sizable figure, one that Leonard knows perfectly well is far more than he’d be pulling in on anything other than one of Len’s elaborately planned jewel heists, enough that he won’t have to pull anything else for months.

And Palmer nods. “Done,” he says. “But you have to see this out. After that... well... we'll renegotiate."

Mick stares at him, then lowers the gun and shakes his head.

“I’m in,” he says, “for now.”

Palmer takes a deep breath, then looks at Leonard. “And you? Is that what it’s going to take?”

He’s actually surprised at the fury that sparks momentarily. Hasn’t he been protecting the city pro bono over the past few weeks with Sara? Wasn’t he the one out there about to get flattened by a fuckin’ meta zombie? And isn’t…

A noise from Sara, though, distracts him from his own anger, and he glances at her to see utter rage in her eyes as she glares at Palmer, who, showing an ounce of self-preservation, takes a wary step back. The hawk woman steps to his side, watching Sara, and Mick watches them all, and this whole thing could go downhill really fast…

Which will serve no purpose whatsoever.

He puts a hand on Sara’s shoulder, and when she looks at him, he meets her eyes, trying to convey gratitude and understanding and…

"Got my own reasons," he says shortly to Palmer, still holding Sara's gaze. "So, they say he’s probably heading for the West residence? I just happen to already know where that is..."

It is a good plan.

They lure and herd Girder off the quiet city street to a vacant lot in an area when the resulting fallout can’t damage much, then put Leonard’s plot into motion. While Ray and Kendra and Sara herself harry the lumbering meta zombie from one side and then another, keeping him off base and in his metal form, Len and Mick move around them, alternately heating and freezing him until he finally slows to a stop, metal body stressed to the breaking point by the forces of physics.

Palmer moves into position then, readying his weapons… when what seems to be a shooting star in human form careens right through their midst, smashing into the metal form with a resounding crash and sending chunks of stressed metal everywhere.

The fiery figure loops back into the air, then comes to a rest at the spot when the animated form of a dead man once stood.

"Whoo!" it crows, with a young man’s voice. "That was awesome!”

This spectacle earns a long moment of silence, even from Ray, whom Leonard had started to suspect never really stopped talking. It's eventually Mick who, lowering his weapon, shakes his head in amazement.

"This day," he informs the fiery man, "just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

The figure tilts its head and then, with a low rush of air, glows brighter for a moment before separating into two figures who step away from each other as the flames die.

The shorter of the two, an older, bespectacled man who looks like nothing so much as an absent-minded professor, shakes his head.

"Was that," he says, distaste dripping from his voice as he scans the group, "a zombie?"

The other man, much younger and with the build of an athlete, laughs out loud and stretches, looking around at the startled faces around him.

"Like I said," he adds with a grin, "awesome."

The fiery man, it turns out, is two people in one superhuman form: Martin Stein (the older man, who is indeed a professor) and Jefferson “call me Jax” Jackson, who takes his older counterpart’s lectures with a combination of fond exasperation and annoyed frustration. They’d apparently also been among the help Cisco’d called in when Barry’d vanished, although Leonard, listening to the two sides of “Firestorm” bicker as they all head back to S.T.A.R. Labs, thinks to himself to perhaps they have some issues to work out as a bit more of a priority.

But then, don’t they all.

The members of their little group, flush with the success of the operation, are chattering amongst themselves as they head down the corridor toward the Cortex. Leonard, bringing up the rear side by side (and hand in hand) with Sara, shakes his head in amusement—but then frowns as he notices the silence falling the moment each of them reaches the Cortex. He slows, squeezing Sara's fingers in warning, then lets his other hand drift down to rest on his gun...

… and stops dead in his tracks as they emerge into the room.

Barry Allen, grinning, stands there with Joe and Iris, Cisco and Wells and Henry Allen, still wearing his ridiculous red costume and taking in the group with a smile that just grows wider when he sees Leonard and Sara.

“Hi, guys,” he says, spreading his hands out in front of him. “Thanks for the assist. But I’m back!”

Leonard stares at him a long moment... and then snorts.

"Whatever," he tosses over his shoulder as he steps around the bemused speedster and heads for the elevator. "I need a shower."

Barry, as it happens, has returned from an experience with what he seems to believe is the Speed Force itself. He’s woken Jessie Wells with a mere touch of his hand, and he seems to have a renewed store of faith that he’s meant, destined even, to defeat Zoom and bring balance to the force… or something like that.

But Leonard just can’t seem to shake the feeling that something’s about to go sideways. He stands in the Cortex and watches the impromptu welcome-home celebration, frowning, until Sara shakes her head, makes him take a drink, and insinuates herself under his arm, leaning against him in a way that once would have had him running, but honestly just feels right.

“What’s bugging you?” she asks finally. “And don’t tell me ‘nothing.’ ”

He owes her the courtesy of honesty. "Barry seems to think everything's sunshine and rainbows now," he says slowly. "But...”

“It just doesn’t work that way,” Sara finishes. “So, what are you thinking?"

He exchanges a long look with her, then turns again to look at the group. Mick is regarding Palmer with an expression that seems to be equal parts amusement and bewilderment as the armored man jabbers on at him about dwarf star alloy and astrophysics. The hawk woman... Kendra... is speaking with some animation to the professor (whom he thinks he's met at one point, though he can't recall precisely how) while the kid is watching her with an expression of great appreciation.

A motley crew, to be sure, but... he's worked with worse.

And he can work with this. He can work with them.

"If Barry's not going to be ready for the worst," he says slowly. "We will be."

#captain canary #fanfic #legends of tomorrow #the flash #central city rendezous

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seneweb · 4 years ago

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des enjeux à tous les niveaux pour cette nouvelle saison 2020/2021

Premier League : des enjeux à tous les niveaux pour cette nouvelle saison 2020/2021

Alors que la saison 2020/2021 commence ce week-end, l’occasion est idéale pour faire le point sur les forces en présence et la lutte à tous les niveaux. Focus.

La course au titre

Champion d’Angleterre pour la première fois en 30 ans la saison dernière, Liverpool essayera de conserver son titre. Figurant dans les favoris, les Reds ont su garder un effectif qui a prouvé sa valeur depuis quelques années et met davantage en valeur les jeunes à l’image de Neco Williams et Curtis Jones qui sont amenés à jouer plus cette saison. Sinon peu de mouvements sont à noter avec les départs de Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana et Nathaniel Clyne. Konstantinos Tsimikas est arrivé en provenance de l’Olympiakos. Le départ de Georginio Wijnaldum pour le FC Barcelone est en bonne voie, mais Thiago Alcantara pourrait arriver du Bayern Munich. Le plus important pour Jürgen Klopp – qui conserve un groupe de qualité – sera surtout de garder la motivation au sein d’une équipe qui a gagné la Premier League et la Ligue des Champions sur les deux dernières saisons. Si Liverpool a été sacré champion, Manchester City est tombé de son trône la saison dernière après deux sacres de rang. Un échec qui devra être oublié lors de l’exercice 2020/2021. Et pour répondre aux attentes, Manchester City a fait des efforts. Si Leroy Sané, David Silva et Claudio Bravo ont quitté le club anglais, les Sky Blues ont ramené plusieurs éléments intéressants.

Si Lionel Messi n’arrivera pas en Angleterre, le club mancunien a accueilli Nathan Aké en provenance de Bournemouth pour renforcer la défense et l’ailier espagnol de Valence Ferran Torres. Le défenseur central napolitain Kalidou Koulibaly pourrait aussi suivre afin de renforcer une arrière-garde trop friable cette saison. Si Pep Guardiola retrouve un équilibre défensif comme lors des précédentes saisons, Manchester City sera clairement capable de soulever le titre. Un peu derrière les deux grands, Chelsea a de moins en moins à rougir. Intéressants la saison dernière sous les ordres de Frank Lampard, les Blues ont cependant beaucoup souffert à domicile et ont rencontré de gros problèmes défensifs. Pour y remédier, Thiago Silva (ex-PSG), Ben Chilwell (ex-Leicester) et Malang Sarr (ex-OGC Nice) sont arrivés tandis que le Rennais Édouard Mendy pourrait débarquer contre 20 millions d’euros. Sur le plan offensif, trois gros renforts apporteront sûrement leur lot de buts, à savoir Hakim Ziyech (Ajax Amsterdam), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) et Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen). Le principal doute qui entoure le club londonien, c’est la faculté à vite intégrer ses recrues.

La course à l’Europe

Pouvant aussi se présenter comme un candidat pour le titre en cas de bon début de saison, Manchester United semble néanmoins légèrement derrière les trois gros. Dotés d’une belle force de frappe avec Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford et Mason Greenwood dans le secteur offensif, les Red Devils peuvent aussi s’avancer confiants au milieu de terrain avec Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Donny van de Beek ou encore Fred. Si le recrutement d’un Jadon Sancho apporterait encore plus de puissance au club mancunien, les limites sont plutôt défensives avec le frêle Brandon Williams ou Luke Shaw côté gauche et une charnière Maguire-Lindelöf solide, mais qui manque d’un véritable patron. Cinquième l’an passé, Leicester a réalisé une saison folle avant de craquer dans la dernière ligne droite et de manquer la qualification en Ligue des Champions. Avec un effectif assez identique mis à part le départ de Ben Chilwell à Chelsea et l’arrivée de Timothy Castagne en provenance de l’Atalanta, les Foxes risquent bien d’être au rendez-vous. Une seconde qualification européenne de rang n’aurait rien d’ ubuesque bien au contraire. Cependant, la concurrence risque d’être relevée avec notamment Arsenal. Vainqueur de la FA Cup, le club coaché par Mikel Arteta semble avoir trouvé la bonne formule et a renforcé sa défense avec les arrivées définitives de Pablo Mari, Cedric Soares et William Saliba ainsi que le transfert de Gabriel. Willian offre lui une solution supplémentaire en attaque, en attendant un nouveau prêt de Dani Ceballos. Si la mayonnaise continue de prendre, Arsenal sera dans la course à l’Europe et peut-être même à la Ligue des Champions.

Pas qualifié en Ligue des Champions suite à sa sixième place de l’an passé, Tottenham va pouvoir s’appuyer sur ses stars Harry Kane et Heung-min Son qui ont connu des pépins physiques l’an passé. Malgré le départ de Jan Vertonghen, qui n’a pas été remplacé en défense, les Spurs ont apporté quelques touches avec la venue du latéral droit irlandais Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton), le milieu danois Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Southampton) et le vétéran anglais Joe Hart (Burnley) en doublure ou numéro 3. Des ajouts utiles qui vont élargir le groupe du club londonien pour la saison prochaine. Surtout que les recrues hivernales Gedson Fernandes et Steven Bergwijn seront davantage adaptées au jeu de Tottenham. Septième comme l’an passé, mais absent de la Ligue Europa, Wolverhampton tentera de retrouver l’Europe. L’effectif reste de grande qualité, surtout si le buteur mexicain Raul Jimenez reste en place tout comme l’ailier Adama Traoré. Avec sa colonie portugaise (Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence, Diogo Jota, João Moutinho, Ruben Neves, Ruben Vinagre …) qui s’est agrandie avec l’arrivée de Fabio Silva (18 ans), venu contre 40 millions d’euros du FC Porto, ainsi que l’ajout de Fernando Marçal, les Wolves misent sur la continuité. Cela fonctionne parfaitement depuis deux ans. Douzième la saison passée, Everton a mis les moyens pour satisfaire son coach Carlo Ancelotti en renforçant son milieu de terrain assez nettement avec les arrivées d’Allan (Napoli), James Rodriguez (Napoli) et Abdoulaye Doucouré (Watford). Sans bouleverser totalement son groupe, le coach italien va pouvoir travailler sereinement et tentera de qualifier Everton en Coupe d’Europe.

Les outsiders

Surprise de la dernière saison de Premier League, Sheffield United tentera encore d’animer les débats. Les Blades, qui avaient terminé neuvièmes, tenteront encore de s’intercaler dans le top 10, même si l’objectif reste le maintien. Si Dean Henderson (Manchester United) est parti, il a été bien remplacé par Aaron Ramsdale, révélation du côté de Bournemouth. Les arrivées de Max Lowe, Jayden Bogle, Ethan Ampadu et Oliver Burke offriront plus de solutions à Chris Wilder cette saison. Après vécu sa première saison complète à Southampton, Ralph Hasenhüttl accélère son projet. L’ancien coach du RB Leipzig peut compter sur les renforts de Kyle Walker-Peters et de Mohamed Salisu pour renforcer son arrière-garde. Onzièmes l’an passé, les Saints essayeront cette fois de se hisser dans le top 10.

Objectif équivalent pour Newcastle, qui n’a pas été racheté par l’Arabie Saoudite. Actifs, les Magpies ont bien composé les manques avec des joueurs offensifs habitués à la Premier League, comme Callum Wilson et Ryan Fraser ainsi que le jeune espoir Jamal Lewis au poste de latéral gauche. L’arrivée de Jeff Hendrick vient aussi renforcer le groupe. Souvent ambitieux, mais habitué à déchanter, West Ham n’a pas encore fait de folie sur le mercato, mais dispose de belles individualités dans l’équipe. Peut-être que le fait de ne pas chambouler le groupe permettra aux Hammers d’atteindre leur vrai potentiel. Promu mené par Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds United semble avoir les moyens de faire de belles choses. Avec un collectif solide renforcé par les arrivées de Robin Koch et Rodrigo tout en attendant Rodrigo De Paul, annoncé avec assistance en provenance de l’Udinese, les Peacocks seront à suivre. Attention cependant à ne pas louper le coche et se retrouver à jouer le maintien malgré de gros investissements.

La course au maintien

Les clubs promis à lutter pour le maintien peuvent espérer plus avec un bon départ, mais concrètement, il sera difficile pour eux de se retrouver dans le top 10. Néanmoins, Burnley et Crystal Palace peuvent s’avancer confiants. Sans grandes individualités, les premiers ont terminé 10es la saison dernière et se maintiennent souvent avec de la marge. Ils ont gardé la même colonne vertébrale et ont conservé leur coach Sean Dyche. Les seconds vont également pouvoir s’appuyer sur un groupe assez similaire avec le renfort du milieu offensif anglais Eberechi Eze. Le maintien a de bonnes chances d’être obtenu, mais ce sera compliqué d’atteindre le top 10. Derrière, les quatre autres équipes semblent un peu moins fortes même si elles peuvent déjouer les pronostics. Souvent promis à la relégation depuis sa montée en 2017, Brighton & Hove Albion va vivre une quatrième année de suite en Premier League. Les Seagulls ont perdu l’Australien Aaron Mooy, mais ont recruté le joueur de l’Ajax Amsterdam Joël Veltman. Devant souvent s’accrocher jusqu’au bout, le club de Neal Maupay aura du mal à espérer mieux que le maintien.

Passé tout proche de la relégation la saison dernière, Aston Villa espère se donner plus d’air cette année. Le club basé à Birmingham pourra compter sur un effectif bien moins bouleversé qu’à l’été 2019 et aussi sur les arrivés d’Ollie Watkins (avant-centre, Brentford) et Matty Cash (latéral droit, Nottingham Forrest) contre 30,8 et 15,75 millions d’euros pour compenser les manques à leurs postes respectifs. Promu, West Bromwich Albion devra tenter de rester dans l’élite après l’avoir quitté en 2018. Porté par Matheus Pereira, Kamil Grosicki ou encore Charlie Austin, WBA s’avance avec un effectif qui semble limité, mais dont le collectif semble uni. Il faudra bien cela pour se maintenir. Fulham a un peu plus de garanties avec l’arrivée de Mario Lemina. Anthony Knockaert est resté après son prêt tandis que le buteur Aleksandar Mitrovic sera essentiel en vue du maintien. Contrairement à 2018, où le club londonien avait dépensé 116,5 millions d’euros pour descendre en Championship, ce mercato est moins claquant, mais davantage basé sur la continuité.

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davidmturnbull · 8 years ago

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The first ‘event’

It is one of the smallest places in Paris, with the biggest reputation. At least that is how it should be. It isn’t. It is very old, and is close to the oldest tree in the city. That much every tourist and tour guide will know…I checked. In an hour I heard about a 13th century church that has never been completed, and that very nice tree. Impressive enough but nothing compared to the story that I am about to tell - based on very little evidence, no trace that could become a central figure, hardly any photographs, and only a few witnesses who are long gone and didn’t say very much. It is possible that whatever happened was entirely fictional but I am sure that it was not, is not. I am equally sure that as a ‘remedy for the incompetence of guides’ whatever happened there was a success and continues to have consequences.

I went at 3.00 p.m, on time but 96 years, 3 months and 9 days late…Then, it was raining. Today the sun shone, it was ordinary in every way, that afternoon was…the first ‘event’ of the ‘1921 Dada Season’ held at Saint Julien-le-Pauvre on Rue Galande. It was billed as an excursion, a visit to a ‘deliberately derisory place’ that ‘had no reason to exist’. The public were invited to a rendez-vous in what a flyer or poster called the garden of the Church. This had been used as a dump for years. Their guides would include Louis Aragon, Andre Breton, Paul Eluard, Francis Picabia, Philippe Soupault and Tristan Tzara.

‘La première visite’, the first in a series of planned Dada excursions, was held a few weeks after the Paris Conference on post-war reparations, 9 months after a crippling general strike, and it was still only 22 months since the Treaty of Versailles had been signed. 1921 was also the first year of a wild, creative decade and a period of exceptional economic growth. Breton was bored, Picabia frustrated, Tzara disenchanted. Tactics that had worked in Zurich in 1917, even in Paris the year before could not bear repetition, everyone knew this. The event didn’t last very long. It was not scandalous like the ‘artificial hell’ of earlier Dada events. It was new, conceptually rigorous and fecund - the beginning of the end for Dada in Paris, but what a beginning.

#architecture #paris #dada

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freelance-informatique · 2 years ago

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Ismail Jakobs : ce club anglais risque de ravir le défenseur de l'AS Monaco à tous

L'été s'annonce chaud sur le front des transferts, et Ismail Jakobs, la pépite de l'AS Monaco, se retrouve au cœur de toutes les convoitises. Plusieurs équipes anglaises ont déjà manifesté un intérêt marqué pour le jeune talent, et les discussions s'intensifient. On vous propose une analyse détaillée de la situation. Transfert d'Ismail Jakobs : profil d'un joueur en ascension Transfert d'Ismail Jakobs depuis l'AS Monaco... Né en 1999 en Allemagne, Ismail Jakobs a choisi de porter les couleurs du Sénégal sur la scène internationale. https://twitter.com/Eurosports_Live/status/1688659285188734976 Lire aussi : L'AS Monaco veut débaucher un défenseur central de Man City ! Une décision qui a porté ses fruits puisqu'il a été convoqué pour la première fois en équipe nationale du Sénégal le 16 septembre 2022 et sélectionné pour participer à la Coupe du monde la même année. Ismail Jakobs : le transfert d’un joueur polyvalent Ismail Jakobs est un joueur international qui peut jouer comme ailier gauche ou arrière gauche. À seulement 23 ans, sa polyvalence et son talent font de lui une cible privilégiée pour les grands clubs. Malgré un contrat avec l'AS Monaco jusqu'en 2026, son futur avec le club est incertain. Les clubs anglais ciblent le jeune joueur pour renforcer leur équipe pour la prochaine saison, et Monaco pourrait être tenté de le laisser partir. Intérêt Initial d'Union Berlin L'intérêt pour Ismail Jakobs ne date pas d'hier. Union Berlin avait été le premier à montrer une intention claire de l'acquérir. La situation s'est complexifiée avec l'entrée de nouveaux acteurs. Fulham et Nottingham Forest sont désormais activement en lice pour l'acquisition du jeune talent. Marco Silva, l'entraîneur de Fulham, a particulièrement besoin d'un joueur à la défense, ce qui pourrait influencer la décision de Ismail Jakobs, lui qui est un ailier gauche / arrière gauche. Voir eegalement : Isco parle de son parcours au Réal Madrid et de bien d’autres choses Transfert d'Ismail Jakobs : l'impact potentiel des négociations L'issue de ces négociations pourrait avoir un impact significatif sur la carrière du jeune joueur et les équipes impliquées. La décision de Ismail Jakobs sera également cruciale et très attendue. Selon les informations révélées par le Daily Mail, la situation est en cours et sera mise à jour régulièrement. Le marché des transferts est toujours imprévisible, et le destin d'Ismail Jakobs semble avoir plusieurs options possibles. Ismail Jakobs, associé à l'AS Monaco depuis l'été 2021, se trouve donc à un carrefour décisif de sa jeune carrière. Les prétendants ne manquent pas, et les semaines à venir pourraient être déterminantes pour son avenir. ________ Pour retrouver toute l'actu foot, rendez-vous sur notre page Facebook ou sur notre page Twitter ! Read the full article

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mastcomm · 5 years ago

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Last Call for a Beloved Fixture of the Marais District

PARIS — On a recent evening, Amar Sitayeb squeezed behind a tiny counter at the minimart that he and his older brother Ali have run for more than 35 years in the Marais district of central Paris. A plump gray tabby cat prowled the floor, and faded photos of neighborhood babies, many now grown-ups, were taped to an old cash register.

A stream of regulars filed in, grabbing potato chips, gum and soda, and lingering to exchange gossip and pleasantries. One neighbor with the sniffles bought honey and tea. Mr. Sitayeb fished mint for her from a refrigerator. “This should help,” he said.

Ten minutes later, she returned and asked for rum. “That’ll attack the cold quicker!” he laughed, pulling a bottle from the shelf.

The purchases were mainly an excuse to spend precious moments bantering with the Sitayeb brothers, known to residents around the rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, a boutique-studded Marais street, as the eyes, ears and unofficial mayors of the area.

For soon, the unthinkable is set to happen: On Jan. 31, their store, Au Marché du Marais, will close, swept away in a tide of moneyed gentrification, like nearly every other independent shop and cafe around them.

“We know everyone here, we’ve lived our lives with them and we’re sad to leave,” said Ali Sitayeb, a fatherly figure who recently turned 70, but exuded a much younger energy. In place of the daily necessities that his store offers, like toilet paper and freshly-squeezed orange juice, he announced, a Princesse Tam Tam lingerie chain would be installed.

When I first heard the news, I was stunned. I had settled near the épicerie after moving to Paris in 2000. Since then, an incursion of designer boutiques had accelerated, turning the area into an outdoor shopping arena that draws thousands of visitors.

The brothers, who originally came from Morocco, remained steady fixtures throughout, greeting me on my way to work, dispensing witticisms and advice, and peppering me with questions about a succession of American presidents.

My neighbors were in mourning. The épicerie was a rare gathering spot, and the brothers, with alert eyes and sunny mustachioed faces, kept vigil over everyone. They held people’s keys and knew all the latest news on marriages, divorces, children, thefts, rivalries, real estate deals — the list goes on.

Theirs, however, is a tale of a rapidly changing Paris. And the closure of their shop, on a street where boutiques now sell 585 euro designer sneakers, has sparked angst among residents who see a warning in how big money-backed luxury brands aimed at wealthy tourists are consuming neighborhoods and eroding cultural identity.

“This changes everything,” said Eva Beau, a doctor who has lived near the shop for 20 years. “I feel like breaking all of this — it’s too sad,” Dr. Beau added, her eyes brimming with tears as she scrutinized the luxury storefronts.

Dr. Beau used to lower a basket with a rope from her fourth-floor apartment, into which the brothers would place coffee and other orders. “The neighborhood doesn’t need more boutiques,” she said. “We need the human contact of people like Ali and Amar.”

The brothers had long debated when to retire. When an electrical fire ravaged the shop five years ago, support from neighbors was so strong that they decided to keep going. But then the lingerie chain, run by Fast Retailing, a Japanese retail giant that owns Uniqlo, Theory and Comptoir des Cotonniers, made an advantageous offer for the space.

The pattern is playing out in cities across France. From Aix-en-Provence to Reims, Tours and Strasbourg, bakeries, cafes and shops are increasingly being taken over by retail conglomerates with vast financial resources. The stores look like quaint boutiques, yet the money behind them is formidable.

Near the Sitayebs’ shop, the Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot clothing chains expanded under the ownership of the American private equity firm KKR before being taken over by the Chinese textile giant Shandong Ruyi.

Lacoste and Kooples, which replaced a bakery and bookstore, belong to Maus Frères, Switzerland’s largest privately held retail group. Chanel and LVMH Moët Hennessy opened perfume and makeup stores, intensifying a surge in Marais real estate prices.

Adding to the pressure is the rise of late-night convenience stores backed by the supermarket giants Casino Groupe and Carrefour. The increased competition has shuttered scores of corner shops in Paris, many run by immigrants from North Africa.

“It’s money that makes the laws,” said Ali Sitayeb’s son, Tariq, 34, who helps run the épicerie but no longer counts on taking over.

The Sitayebs left Morocco in the 1970s as teenagers to earn a living as waiters and dishwashers in Parisian restaurants. But they found they could prosper more by operating a convenience mart well past the traditional 7 p.m. closing time of French retailers.

When the brothers opened the shop in 1984, François Mitterrand was president, prices were in French francs and the Marais, the historic Jewish quarter of Paris, was evolving from a gritty working-class textile and metal factory district. Butchers and boulangeries honeycombed the area. Yiddish was heard everywhere along the rue des Rosiers.

As cafes, bars and artisanal boutiques moved in, the Marais became the center for Paris’s L.G.B.T. community, drawing more visitors and prompting an ever more vibrant makeover.

While the Marais had already developed when I arrived, the influx of luxury storefronts has exploded since Europe’s economic and debt crisis ended in 2012, squeezing out residential and L.G.B.T. commerce, and taking over the historic Jewish center.

“This used to be a real neighborhood, with families and kids,” Amar Sitayeb said, as crowds of tourists strolled past on a recent weekend. “Now all that’s disappeared”

Jean Luc Rouillard, 67, a denizen since 1980, chimed in.

“The Marais has lost its soul,” he declared.

“That’s closing,” Mr. Rouillard said, pointing to a 45-year old antique shop being dismantled for a luxury hotel. “And that’s closing,” he added, eyeing Au Rendez-Vous des Amis, a neighborhood cafe that had just shuttered to make way for a hamburger joint.

“That too,” he continued, nodding to Les Mots à la Bouche, the oldest L.G.B.T. bookseller in the Marais, rumored to be converted soon to a Doc Martins shoe store after the lease became unaffordable. “It’s dramatic,” he concluded.

As locals contemplated the end of an era, they arranged a surprise party for the brothers on a recent weekday at Le Point Virgule, a small comedy theater next to the shop.

Neighbors filed in silently: Dr. Beau and her daughter Manon, 21; Vincent Douget, a former chef at the cafe; Henriette Delyfer, an art boutique owner who knew the brothers since she was a child; local police officers who had dropped in regularly to chat over orange juice.

At last the brothers arrived. They were speechless at the surprise. Tears misted their eyes. While they were looking forward to spending time with their families, “it’s very hard for us to go,” Amar Sitayeb said.

“They were the heart of this area,” said George Fischer, a retiree who has lived next to the shop for two decades.

Back at the épicerie, Tariq Sitayeb had prepared a potent rum punch and Moroccan pastries to welcome a growing crowd.

Ariel Weil, the mayor of Paris’s 4th arrondissement, appeared and shook Ali Sitayeb’s hand. A circle formed as neighbors lamented the Marais’ latest transformation.

“It’s just clothes, clothes, clothes,” Mr. Fischer said. “How is a bra going to replace my orange juice?”

“On a personal level I’m sad,” Mr. Weil said. “And as mayor, I’m worried that we can’t find a solution to keep small businesses from leaving.”

Ali Sitayeb looked at his watch and sighed. It was his brother’s turn to man the register, and he had to get home to rest. Tomorrow, they would continue the sobering task of winding down the store.

“People don’t want things to change,” said Tariq Sitayeb, as his father faded into the dark night.

“But a page is turning.”

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#Event

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biofunmy · 5 years ago