#donners' company

[marcovaleyeah]

03.10.24

#Marco-Marathon | Deadpool

Film; Name: Deadpool (2016); Production Studios: Twentieth Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Donners' Company; Director by: Tim Miller; Screenwriter: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick; Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano; Genres: Action, Comedy; Running Time: 1 hour 48 minutes;

"Deadpool" (2016) is a daring superhero film with black humor and brutality, where Ryan Reynolds brilliantly plays the sarcastic anti-hero. The film is distinguished by dynamic action, jokes for an adult audience and a fresh approach to the genre.

My rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd]

ALEX WINTER

ALEX WINTER

17 July 1965

THE LOST BOYS

            Alex Winter is a British-American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for playing Marko in The Lost Boys (1987), Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) & Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey 1991).

            Alexander Winter was born in London, England, his mother a New York dancer and his father founded the first modern-dance company in London during the 1960s. His father Ross Winter is an Australian who danced with his mother’s troupe. His father has English ancestry and his mother is Jewish, of Ukrainian descent. When he was five his family moved to Missouri, US and then moved to New York City in 1978; they lived in Montclair, New Jersey. Winter trained as a dancer as a child and started acting when he moved to New York, initially performing on Broadway. He attended New York University in 1983 where he met aspiring filmmaker Tom Stern; the two collaborated on making short films. Winter dropped out of film school and Stern and himself moved to Hollywood, where they continued making films and music videos. Winter looked for work as an actor, including gaining his role in The Lost Boys.  Winter was a film student when he auditioned for The Lost Boys, casting agent Marion Dougherty introduced Winter to Joel Schumacher and Richard Donner. He met the filmmakers whilst dressed in 80s punk rock style clothing, during filming they had him wear hair extensions.

            Winter has an interest in the internet which inspired him to make the documentaries Downloaded (2012) and the Deep Web (2015).

            Winter has been married twice and has three children. In 2018, Winter revealed when he was aged 13, an older man sexually assaulted him whilst he was acting on Broadway. He has spoken publicly how it has affected him and how he has suffered from PTSD since he was a teenager.

#alexwinter #thelostboys #thelostboys1987

[bekaterrier]

For Audio Drama Sunday, I wanted to share the piece I made for the podcast I was re-listening to this week, and that kept me company for most of May: @hinaypod!

This was an audio drama that I had been wanting to listen to for a while (especially wanted to support another creator based in Canada), but I was hesitant as I am not a big horror fan. After some reassurances from several people, I gave it a shot (during the daytime)! I am so glad I did! Even with the horror (see the listening during the daytime), or maybe because of it, I was immediately invested in Mari, Laura, Donner and Murphy, and then eventually Evelyn and Ashvin, and DJ, and really everyone we meet just trying to survive the horrors. I love this found family, and the way they draw on their cultures and family history to fight for the safety of the city. I've also really been enjoying the overall mystery of the horrors and how they came to be. I can't wait to hear what happens next!

It also turns out that Mari and I have something in common. In her words, we both "consider Michael’s to be a magical place"!

[speaksleazy]

⚠︎ ⟮ Names & Titles ⟯ ... Murder_drones.mp3 ⟩ Serial Designation N

﹫ ❲ Requested by anonymous ❳

「 NAMES 」

N, En, Nathan, Nick, Nicholas, Oliver, Felix, Elliott, Elias, Buddy / Buddie / Bud, Freddy / Freddie, Finn / Finley, Cody, Captain, Pilot / Pilotte, Bentley, Bailey, Otto, Max, Cooper, Denny / Dennie, Mobile, Android ( Andy ), Remy, Paws / Pause, Goldie, Fritz, Rufus, Buzz, Buddy, Doodle, Scribble / Scribblie, Crayon / Crayonne, James, Rocky¹, Rocket, Romeo, Michael / Mikey², Bowtie, Bowie, Sam / Samuel / Samuelle / Sammie, Charlie, Zero, Benjy, Puppie / Puppy / Pup, Joshua / Josh / Joshie, Donner / Donnie, Dasher, Mickie / Mickey

¹ After Rocky Rickaby, who is voiced by the same VA as N! ² After Michael Kovach, N's VA.

「 TITLES 」

( Prn ) with a golden gaze, The pilot ( of the landing pod ), ( Prn ) who sent the landing pod in a tailspin / ( Prn ) who crashed the landing pod, The worst pilot, ( Prn ) with a love of canines, ( Prn ) who is made of stainless steel, The most ( lovable / rebellious / kind ) disassembly drone, ( Prn ) who rebels against the company / JcJenson, ( Prn ) with wings of steel, ( Prn ) vampiric / vampyric form

[demi-shoggoth]

2023 Reading Log pt 7

31. Rare Trees by Sara Oldfield and Malin Rivers. OK, so apparently that whole “less books about plants” pledge didn’t take. In my defense, this book is really pretty. It’s also very good; it’s about efforts for tree conservation around the world, and is published both as a public report and a fundraiser for the Global Trees Campaign. If you want to know what boots on the ground conservation work is like, its successes and its challenges, this is an excellent resource. And, like I said, the photographs are very pretty. The first chapter is about the overall history of forest conservation, and then future chapters discuss trees categorized by uses and by phylogeny. Honestly, I kind of wish they had picked one or the other of those organization schemes instead of splitting the difference, but that’s a quibble.

32. How To Survive History by Cody Cassidy. I’ve recommended some of Cassidy’s other books before (Who Ate the First Oyster? and …And Then You’re Dead), so I’m happy to report that this is his best yet. The theme is, what does science and the historical record tell us about how you could survive various catastrophes, or just hostile environments? I knew I was going to like it from the first chapter, How to Outrun a T. rex, which treats dinosaurs as just animals rather than kill crazy monsters. It also does an excellent job of summarizing Very Bad Times like the Donner Party expedition and the Magellan circumnavigation, and I learned a lot (like about how Magellan’s slave Enrique was the first person to actually circle the globe, having been captured by slavers in the Philippines and then being brought back around… and getting his revenge when he wasn’t freed as Magellan’s will proclaimed).

33. Snakes in American Culture: A Hisstory by Jesse C. Donahue and Conor Shaw-Draves. I didn’t expect this to be a searing indictment of the American medical profession of the early 20th century when I started the book, so that was a pleasant surprise. The first half or so is the story of how (white, upper class, male) “experts” denied that venomous snakes in the USA were really all that dangerous, while people (mostly poor, ethnic minorities and children) were dying in large numbers. Antivenin was only developed in this country as a side effect of the United Fruit Company’s desire to keep laborers from dying in the fields from snakebite, and the development of said antivenin was mostly done by volunteer labor and then marked up for tremendous profit by pharmaceutical companies! The back half, unfortunately, isn’t nearly as good, although it doesn’t go full conversion with its fairly sympathetic portrayal of snake handlers (which is something I’ve run into before). My biggest complaint is that this was written by humanities professors, and they needed a trained biologist to go over their draft. For example, they can’t format scientific names correctly, and don’t know enough about the history of science to understand that “virus” and “venom” were used interchangeably by some authors in the 19th century.

34. Marvelous Microfossils by Patrick De Wever, translated by Alison Duncan. Worst book I’ve finished this year? I think so. This book was originally written in French, but I can’t blame its problems on translation issues. It’s about plankton and other microfossils, what they can tell us about geology and how they’ve influenced art and culture. To start with the good, the book is gorgeous; each page is well organized, and it has lots of electron micrographs, photos and engravings by Ernst Haeckel. And that’s the first problem. The author seems to be a modern devotee of Haeckel’s science and philosophy, when both were full of garbage (Haeckel is the “ontogeny recapitulated phylogeny” guy, and one of the codifiers of scientific racism). His use of terminology is stuck firmly in the 19th century, and he doesn’t seem to care about modern cladistic phylogeny at all. And he has lengthy quotes from architects and philosophers instead of, you know, modern scientists, including lines specifically about how “we understand all there is to know” about plankton from like 1910. So I get huge “reject modernity, embrace tradition” vibes from this author, and that makes my skin crawl.

35. Nicole Angemi’s Anatomy Book by Nicole Angemi. Another “searing indictment of the American medical system”, only this one is more modern. The book is a loosely A-Z collection of pathologies, with case histories and photos. So this one is super gross, just a head’s up. Why I say it’s a searing indictment is that about 1/3 of the case studies talk about how the patient was ignored by their doctors initially, and had to spend time seeking second opinions taking them seriously, and how a number of things that could have been fixed more easily turned into huge, life altering (or ending) problems. The book is written by a pathologist’s assistant, and the introduction/biography would make a good “see, you can follow your dreams and get a career that you love later in life” inspirational story. I’m keeping a copy of this for my classroom, because I have plenty of students who are interested in medicine but not necessarily medical school, and because teenagers love gross pictures. Seriously, some of the descriptions of cysts and tumors made even my stomach turn.

[antigregarious]

My first impression of Mill Ave was a negative one. But, there was one thing I noticed during my walk. There was a park. I needed to come back and like that one ex give it another chance. Lol. Doing a quick Google search I found out it was a decent sized park, considered a desert oasis.

Interested in the some of the facts of this place I read on. I learned I was seven-years old when this place was built and nine-years old when it first flooded. Just a fun fact, my family was one of the first to move to Tempe, my grandfather owned and ran a gas station down the way from this park.

Before heading back to California I was going to give this park a visit. After saying a few goodbyes it was time. I waited a little to long before leaving, the downside of good company. There is this game people in big cities love to play its called rush hour. A game that is even more thrilling while on a freeway where the speed limit is 75-mph you come to a complete stop. And Wait.

What normally is a twenty-minute drive became a waiting game that lasted about an hour, maybe a little more. After completing the mission I finally arrived. This time around, parking was free, and I didn’t have to ping my location on the map. The adventure begins, as soon as I entered the park there was a tree, one that reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Not a specific tree in the movie. But, the house, it was a crooked old home. One line that always makes me chuckle. “Good morning star-shine, the earth says hello.”

Speaking of stars a little further down the trail I came across a bridge that looked futuristic, almost space like. That being said the reflection on the water is what caught my attention. It reminded me of home, not the futuristic part, my town is far from that. But, the bridge and the water. I was missing home a bit.

Coming across this poster of a missing dog, broke my heart. It made me miss my dog, and feel for the owner. I still wonder if Donner and his owner had a happy ending. I hope so.

Well, my walk was coming to an end. After talking to the dude that rented out the kayaks I found out that the lake receives most of its water from the Colorado River. The same river I spend most of my summers, swimming. It was a small connection.

On my way back to the truck there was a building with an infinity fountain. I tried to get a few shots with different exposure settings. A long exposure would have been nice. But, there was some trash gathered in the drain, that I didn’t want to edit out. Then again I shouldn’t have to.

We have this saying, I know sounds like an old timer talking. “pack it in, pack it out.” On that note its time for me to pack out, and hit the freeway. As soon as I seen the bridge, there was only one thing left for me to do. Park, sit, and listen to the Colorado River flow.

[lonelychicago]

Hotshot lawyer Buck!

aliii!! i'm so happy you're asking for hot shot lawyer buck!!!

i haven't really started writing the fic but i have the doc full of ideas, so!!!

buck used to be this really rich and succesful lawyer working a corporate job, with these really high profile cases for companies. but he hated every minute on it and mostly he was doing it to make his parents proud! :(((

he leaves all of that behind and opens a little office just for him. he starts taking only cases he's genuinely interested in, cases he feels passionately about. and! one of them it's for a desperate single father fighting for the custody of his son against his own family!!! they think he's not fit to take care of a kid and when buck hears him out his story breaks his heart.

he takes the case pro bono and his client eddie diaz insists on having donners with him as a compensation. strictly platonic profession client-lawyer dinners ofc!!!!

[whistle-nouveau-bah]

WAIT WAIT IM SMART WAIT

oc duo again inspired by those wolf in sheep's/sheep in wolf's clothing art? the wolf appears rugged but is the victim, n the sheep appears innocent but is the perpetrator.

🪐

Under the cut because there's two of them!!

Name: Shepherd, Conri, Lupus, Lowell, Odin, Remus, Romulus, Todd

Pronouns: They/Them, He/Him, Xe/Xem/Xeir/Xeirs/Xemself, Claw/Claw/Claws/Claws/Clawself, Woof/Woof/Woofs/Woofs/Woofself, Weird/Weird/Weirds/Weirds/Weirdself, Ro/Rot/Rots/Rots/Rotself, Crypt/Cryptid/Crypts/Cryptids/Cryptidself

Age(s): Chrono 21, Transage 13

Species: Anthro Wolf

Gender(s): Transmasculine, Wolfmonsterboyic, Lupusgender, Canisanguilunian, Abhorcoric, Horrorgender, Caninagender, Genderhoarder

Orientation(s): Greyromantic Demisexual, Bisexual

CisIDs: Anthro Wolf, AFAB, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Semi-Verbal, black fur, gray fur, red fur, red eyes

TransIDs: Transage (OtY, 21 to 13), Transsmoker, Transnicotineaddict, TransAAM, PermaAAM, Perma1980’s, TransSH, TransSHScars

Paraphilias: (Trans)AAM, Fictophilia, Autobiastophilia, Autoaptophilia, Vigiliaphilia, Hybristophilia, Apagophilia, Oplophilia, Cordophilia, Masochism, Hybriphilia

Source: Brainmade, but inspired by Cult Of The Lamb

Proxy/Signoff: [Name]:text, 🐺:text, 🚬:text, 🥩:text, 🌓:text, [Any combination of 🐺/🚬/🥩/🌓]:text

Roles: Trauma holder, Anchor

Personality: They are oftentimes silent, rarely talking while not in the company of [Sheep]. He struggles with feeling like a “complete person,” and relies on [Sheep] more than would typically be considered healthy. It goes along with xem though, so it can't be all that bad! Claw is a fan of horror movies, especially 80’s b-horror. Woof also enjoys musicals, and classic horror novels like Frankenstein and Dracula. Weird enjoys the aesthetic of smoking, but is too scared of addiction to transition. Ro also longs to be just like the victim in rot favorite movies, a strange desire ro still doesn't understand.

Appearance:

(Picrew by Melsteras, colors by us!)

Name: Dolly, Farley, Donner, Roslin, Fleur, Ram, Caoraich

Pronouns: They/them, It/It’s, Lamb/Lamb/Lambs/Lambs/Lambself, Sheep/Sheep/Sheeps/Sheeps/Sheepself, Ram/Ram/Rams/Rams/Ramself, Ba/Bah/Baa/Bahself, Fluff/Fluff/Fluffs/Fluffs/Fluffself, Swe/Sweet/Sweets/Sweets/Sweetself, Pa/Pastel/Past/Pastelself, Candy/Candy/Candies/Candies/Candyself Cake/Cake/Cakes/Cakes/Cakeself, Cu/Cute/Cutes/Cutes/Cuteself, Lae/Lace/Las/Lacey/Laceself 

Age(s): 22

Species: Anthro Sheep

Gender(s): Nonbinary, Lovecoric, Lovegoric, Deathcute, Obsesscoric, Fatalgender, Crecutian, Cutemonsteric

Orientation(s): Polyamarous Pansexual

CisIDs: Anthro Sheep, lavender wool, black skin, horns, yellow eyes, Autistic 

TransIDs: Transharmful, Transrapist, Transcultleader, Transmurderer, Transprogrammer, Transserialkiller, Transkidnapper, Transstalker, Transcuteharmful, Transabuser, Transfangs, Cakescentian, Diromanceaddict, Transcocaineaddict, Perma1960s

Paraphilias: MAP, Sadomasochism, Biastophilia, Somnophilia, Aptophila, Traumaphilia, Vigiliaphila, Apagophilia, Narkobiastophilia, Autogratiophilia

Source: Brainmade, but inspired by Cult Of The Lamb

Proxy/Signoff: [Name]:text, 🐏:text, 🩷:text, 🔪:text, 🫀:text, [any combination of 🐏/🩷/🔪/🫀]:text

Roles: Persecutor

Personality: They might appear cute and innocent, but they’re secretly a huge freak! It's favorite person is [Wolf], and it has no problems indulging in his dependency, turning it into more of a codependency. Lamb loves anything cute- Sanrio, frilly dresses, ribbons- everything! Sheeps favorite food is cake, and sheep has quite the sweet tooth. Ram also loves anything horrific, blood, gore, and every gross horror movie ram can get rams hands on- ram hides that part better. Ba also hides that ba wants to be just like the villains in bah favorite films.

Appearance:

(Picrew by Melsteras, colors by us!)

I hope you enjoy them both!!!! This was a super fun duo to work on!!!

[cozza-frenzy]

Systober Day 6 - "Problematic Alter" - Morpheus (he/it/they) So this wasn't the easiest prompt for a number of reasons... first of all, it was kind of hard to draw what Morpheus looks like. His form has been somewhat unstable since he made himself known, and it's nocturnal to boot, so half the system hasn't even met them face-to-face. But we're using systober as an excuse to do things outside our comfort zone, so me and Vivien hashed this out over the course of a couple hours. And second - we don't exactly have too many alters who'd be considered problematic. "Donner", who was an introject from a source widely considered problematic and tended to cause problems by accident, would have been the most obvious choice... but he fused with Velocity a while back, to help stabilize her existing fusion with Radeon. So, choosing Morph for this is pretty firmly tongue-in-cheek. In their own words they're "dangerously unsocialized" and "probably shouldn't be allowed in polite company", but besides one (1) incident where he was making Legion uncomfortable, he's been pretty chill. It's nice to have a "new" alter around who kind of knows us already, even if it's only through viewing our dreams. - Terry

[annabethandpercylove]

“So it’s starting again?” she says. “Like before?”

I’d like to see Sunrise of the Reaping focus on the “before” Mrs. Everdeen and Haymitch are alluding to when they talk after Gale’s whipping.

Haymitch was a significant player in the Games’ history. He used the arena to win (the second act of survival by a District 12 victor that would have sparked rebellion; he was the first victor (at least that’s what I interpreted from the text in Mockingjay) that was propositioned by Snow; and he was likely the reason for the “before” I mentioned. I’m sure propaganda and manipulating the history of the past increased after his Games, which would go along with what Collins has said about the theme of SOTR.

I never post here and I am not an experienced theorist on this platform, but I figured I would try my hand and share some possibilities that have come to my mind about how this story might play out.

THEORIES

Multiple POVs: I’ve seen a lot of people suggesting that SOTR won’t be from Haymitch’s POV and I agree… to a certain extent. I am not the biggest fan of books with multiple POVs (I feel like the stories are often stretched out too far and can be a disservice to the story) and I know we haven’t seen Collins do this with a THG book, but I think it would be a useful tool to show the effect of propaganda. So here are the people I think we should hear from and why: 1. Caesar Flickerman — propaganda from the source 2. Mrs. Everdeen — propaganda witnessed by an audience member 3. Haymitch Abernathy — victor that caused a new influx of propaganda and government control

The Plot Now that I’ve introduced the POV idea, I’ll do a play-by-play for how I might make the story go: We start from Caesar’s POV. It’s Reaping Day, the first big moment for the Games. Through Caesar, we would see all (or at least ones that are most relevant to the themes of the book) the districts’ ceremonies. There would be a range in the style of the ceremonies and the audience reactions especially between Career and non-Career districts. (I don’t want to make things too cluttered so I don’t think I would do an audience perspective for the Reaping, too. If there was, I’d want Mrs. Everdeen to see her reaction to Maysilee Donner being chosen, but that’s a personal hope to see her and it may not be a service to the theme really.) Still with Caesar, we cut to the beginning of the Games. I don’t think it’s necessary to see the trains, training, or interviews, necessarily. I think things would’ve transitioned from what we saw in TBSOAS to something more akin to how things work with these things in THG. So Caesar is prepping for another Games. Maybe we hear some conversations he has with Gamemakers and sponsors in addition to his own personal dialogue. Is he still becoming the charismatic host that we know in THG? Does he have any moments where he questions what he’s doing? But he gets to work. The announcements are made, the bombs go off, and the Games begin. Disclaimer: I’ve been debating this POV since the announcement for SOTR came out. Like I said before about multiple POVs, this might stretch things too far (unless we’re lucky to get a book that’s 1,000+ pages!!), but I thought I’d put it out there. Mrs. Everdeen lives in horror watching her best friend fight for her life in a death arena. While she’s watching we could see Capitol commercials promoting sponsors, bets, and special promotions for different companies that are themed on the Games (like seeing commercials that are themed for the Super Bowl or Christmas). We would witness what an audience member would be seeing (not just the glimpses we get of Snow watching out for his tribute for his own selfish reasons). Now this might be a distraction from the plot, but I’d love to see some Mrs. Everdeen/Mr. Everdeen/Mr. Mellark moments. From what we’ve heard and seen, they’re all against the Games. But I think it would be interesting to see Mr. Everdeen’s little acts of musical rebellion, Mrs. Everdeen’s fear of his being caught and her fear for Maysilee, and maybe show a contrast between Mr. Everdeen’s behavior and Mr. Mellark’s. I think there’s a multigenerational theme that could be explored here with Katniss/Peeta/Gale and the parents. We could see how Mr. Everdeen was Seam like Gale but compassionate like Peeta; Mrs. Everdeen didn’t see a way to change things like Katniss; Mr. Mellark was content to settle with Town life and endure the Capitol’s threats but maybe lacked Peeta’s passion for the preservation of personal morality. Different responses to the earlier mentioned commercials, etc? (I’m Team Everlark/Peeta all the way, BTW!) This would happen after Mrs. Everdeen’s POV (or maybe another audience members POV from a Career district) or right after Caesar’s. Cut to Haymitch’s POV. It’s his final fight in the Games. We see him bleeding out, throwing the axe, and becoming the victor. He goes home and has to face Snow’s propositions, the deaths due to his refusals, and the resulting depression and the beginning of the jaded drunk man we meet in THG. Witness what “like before” entailed, an erasure of Haymitch’s “act of rebellion”, radical people on the Victory Tour if we go that far, etc.

I know that was a bit long-winded and not necessarily the clearest plot, but those are some thoughts I’ve had. I’m no author, just a passionate fan of The Hunger Games series and the lessons it seeks to teach its readers. Suzanne Collins will create an amazing story that will be profound and special and I can’t wait to witness it.

[pompadourpink]

Fairytale #1 - Sleeping Beauty

Once upon a time lived a king and queen who were grieved, more grieved than words can tell, because they had no children. They tried the waters of every country, made vows and pilgrimages, and did everything that could be done, but without result. At last, however, the queen found that her wishes were fulfilled, and in due course, she gave birth to a daughter. A grand christening was held, and all the fairies that could be found in the realm (they numbered seven in all) were invited to be godmothers to the little princess. This was done so that by means of the gifts which each, in turn, would bestow upon her (in accordance with the fairy custom of those days) the princess might be endowed with every imaginable perfection. When the christening ceremony was over, all the company returned to the king's palace, where a great banquet was held in honour of the fairies. Places were laid for them in magnificent style, and before each was placed a solid gold casket containing a spoon, fork, and knife of fine gold, set with diamonds and rubies.

Il était une fois un Roi et une Reine, qui étaient si fâchés de n’avoir point d’enfants, si fâchés qu’on ne saurait dire. Ils allèrent à toutes les eaux du monde ; voeux, pèlerinages, menues dévotions, tout fut mis en oeuvre, et rien n’y faisait. Enfin pourtant la Reine devint grosse, et accoucha d’une fille : on fit un beau Baptême ; on donna pour Marraines à la petite Princesse toutes les Fées qu’on pût trouver dans le Pays (il s’en trouva sept), afin que chacune d’elles lui faisant un don, comme c’était la coutume des Fées en ce temps-là, la Princesse eût par ce moyen toutes les perfections imaginables. Après les cérémonies du Baptême toute la compagnie revint au Palais du Roi, où il y avait un grand festin pour les Fées. On mit devant chacune d’elles un couvert magnifique, avec un étui d’or massif, où il y avait une cuiller une fourchette, et un couteau de fin or garni de diamants et de rubis.

But just as all were sitting down to table an aged fairy was seen to enter, whom no one had thought to invite -- the reason being that for more than fifty years she had never quitted the tower in which she lived, and people had supposed her to be dead or bewitched. By the king's orders a place was laid for her, but it was impossible to give her a golden casket like the others, for only seven had been made for the seven fairies. The old creature believed that she was intentionally slighted, and muttered threats between her teeth. She was overheard by one of the young fairies, who was seated nearby. The latter, guessing that some mischievous gift might be bestowed upon the little princess, hid behind the tapestry as soon as the company left the table. Her intention was to be the last to speak, and so to have the power of counteracting, as far as possible, any evil which the old fairy might do.

Mais comme chacun prenait sa place à table, on vit entrer une vieille Fée qu’on n’avait point priée parce qu’il y avait plus de cinquante ans qu’elle n’était sortie d’une Tour et qu’on la croyait morte, ou enchantée. Le Roi lui fit donner un couvert, mais il n’y eut pas moyen de lui donner un étui d’or massif, comme aux autres, parce que l’on n’en avait fait faire que sept pour les sept Fées. La vieille crut qu’on la méprisait, et grommela quelques menaces entre ses dents. Une des jeunes Fées qui se trouva auprès d’elle l’entendit, et jugeant qu’elle pourrait donner quelque fâcheux don à la petite Princesse, alla dès qu’on fut sorti de table se cacher derrière la tapisserie, afin de parler la dernière, et de pouvoir réparer autant qu’il lui serait possible le mal que la vieille aurait fait.

However, the fairies began to bestow their gifts upon the princess. The youngest ordained that she should be the most beautiful person in the world; the next, that she should have the temper of an angel; the third, that she should do everything with wonderful grace; the fourth, that she should dance to perfection; the fifth, that she should sing like a nightingale; and the sixth, that she should play every kind of music with the utmost skill. It was now the turn of the aged fairy. Shaking her head, in token of spite rather than of infirmity, she declared that the princess should prick her hand with a spindle, and die of it. A shudder ran through the company at this terrible gift. All eyes were filled with tears. But at this moment the young fairy stepped forth from behind the tapestry.

Cependant les Fées commencèrent à faire leurs dons à la Princesse. La plus jeune donna pour don qu’elle serait la plus belle personne du monde, celle d’après qu’elle aurait de l’esprit comme un Ange, la troisième qu’elle aurait une grâce admirable à tout ce qu’elle ferait, la quatrième qu’elle danserait parfaitement bien, la cinquième qu’elle chanterait comme un Rossignol, et la sixième qu’elle jouerait de toutes sortes d’instruments dans la dernière perfection. Le rang de la vieille Fée étant venu, elle dit, en branlant la tête encore plus de dépit que de vieillesse, que la Princesse se percerait la main d’un fuseau, et qu’elle en mourrait. Ce terrible don fit frémir toute la compagnie, et il n’y eut personne qui ne pleurât. Dans ce moment la jeune Fée sortit de derrière la tapisserie, et dit tout haut ces paroles :

"Take comfort, your Majesties," she cried in a loud voice. "Your daughter shall not die. My power, it is true, is not enough to undo all that my aged kinswoman has decreed. The princess will indeed prick her hand with a spindle. But instead of dying, she shall merely fall into a profound slumber that will last a hundred years. At the end of that time, a king's son shall come to awaken her."

— Rassurez-vous, Roi et Reine, votre fille n’en mourra pas ; il est vrai que je n’ai pas assez de puissance pour défaire entièrement ce que mon ancienne a fait. La Princesse se percera la main d’un fuseau ; mais au lieu d’en mourir elle tombera seulement dans un profond sommeil qui durera cent ans, au bout desquels le fils d’un Roi viendra la réveiller.

The king, in an attempt to avert the unhappy doom pronounced by the old fairy, at once published an edict forbidding all persons, under pain of death, to use a spinning wheel or keep a spindle in the house. At the end of fifteen or sixteen years, the king and queen happened one day to be away, on pleasure bent. The princess was running about the castle, and going upstairs from room to room she came at length to a garret at the top of a tower, where an old serving woman sat alone with her distaff, spinning. This good woman had never heard speak of the king's proclamation forbidding the use of spinning wheels.

Le Roi, pour tâcher d’éviter le malheur annoncé par la vieille, fit publier aussitôt un édit, par lequel il défendait à toutes personnes de filer au fuseau, ni d’avoir des fuseaux chez soi sur peine de la vie. Au bout de quinze ou seize ans, le Roi et la Reine étant allés à une de leurs Maisons de plaisance, il arriva que la jeune Princesse courant un jour dans le Château, et montant de chambre en chambre, alla jusqu’au haut d’un donjon dans un petit galetas, où une bonne Vieille était seule à filer sa quenouille. Cette bonne femme n’avait point ouï parler des défenses que le Roi avait faites de filer au fuseau.

"What are you doing, my good woman?" asked the princess.

"I am spinning, my pretty child," replied the dame, not knowing who she was.

"Oh, what fun!" rejoined the princess. "How do you do it? Let me try and see if I can do it equally well."

— Que faites-vous là, ma bonne femme ? dit la Princesse.

— Je file, ma belle enfant, lui répondit la vieille qui ne la connaissait pas.

— Ah ! que cela est joli, reprit la Princesse, comment faites-vous ? donnez-moi que je voie si j’en ferais bien autant.

Partly because she was too hasty, partly because she was a little heedless, but also because the fairy decree had ordained it, no sooner had she seized the spindle than she pricked her hand and fell down in a swoon. In great alarm, the good dame cried out for help. People came running from every quarter to the princess. They threw water on her face, chafed her with their hands, and rubbed her temples with the royal essence of Hungary. But nothing would restore her. Then the king, who had been brought upstairs by the commotion, remembered the fairy prophecy. Feeling certain that what had happened was inevitable, since the fairies had decreed it, he gave orders that the princess should be placed in the finest apartment in the palace, upon a bed embroidered in gold and silver.

Elle n’eut pas plus tôt pris le fuseau, que comme elle était fort vive, un peu étourdie, et que d’ailleurs l’Arrêt des Fées l’ordonnait ainsi, elle s’en perça la main, et tomba évanouie. La bonne Vieille, bien embarrassée, crie au secours : on vient de tous côtés, on jette de l’eau au visage de la Princesse, on la délace, on lui frappe dans les mains, on lui frotte les tempes avec de l’eau de la reine de Hongrie, mais rien ne la faisait revenir. Alors, le Roi, qui était monté au bruit, se souvint de la prédiction des Fées, et jugeant bien qu’il fallait que cela arrivât, puisque les Fées l’avaient dit, fit mettre la Princesse dans le plus bel appartement du Palais, sur un lit en broderie d’or et d’argent.

You would have thought her an angel, so fair was she to behold. The trance had not taken away the lovely colour of her complexion. Her cheeks were delicately flushed, her lips like coral. Her eyes, indeed, were closed, but her gentle breathing could be heard, and it was therefore plain that she was not dead. The king commanded that she should be left to sleep in peace until the hour of her awakening should come. When the accident happened to the princess, the good fairy who had saved her life by condemning her to sleep a hundred years was in the kingdom of Mataquin, twelve thousand leagues away. She was instantly warned of it, however, by a little dwarf who had a pair of seven-league boots, which are boots that enable one to cover seven leagues in a single step.

On eût dit d’un Ange, tant elle était belle ; car son évanouissement n’avait pas ôté les couleurs vives de son teint : ses joues étaient incarnates, et ses lèvres comme du corail ; elle avait seulement les yeux fermés, mais on l’entendait respirer doucement, ce qui faisait voir qu’elle n’était pas morte. Le Roi ordonna qu’on la laissât dormir en repos, jusqu’à ce que son heure de se réveiller fût venue. La bonne Fée qui lui avait sauvé la vie, en la condamnant à dormir cent ans, était dans le Royaume de Mataquin, à douze mille lieues de là, lorsque l’accident arriva à la Princesse ; mais elle en fut avertie en un instant par un petit Nain, qui avait des bottes de sept lieues (c’était des bottes avec lesquelles on faisait sept lieues d’une seule enjambée).

The fairy set off at once, and within an hour her chariot of fire, drawn by dragons, was seen approaching. The king handed her down from her chariot, and she approved of all that he had done. But being gifted with great powers of foresight, she bethought herself that when the princess came to be awakened, she would be much distressed to find herself all alone in the old castle. And this is what she did.

La Fée partit aussitôt, et on la vit au bout d’une heure arriver dans un chariot tout de feu, traîné par des dragons. Le Roi lui alla présenter la main à la descente du chariot. Elle approuva tout ce qu’il avait fait ; mais comme elle était grandement prévoyante, elle pensa que quand la Princesse viendrait à se réveiller elle serait bien embarrassée toute seule dans ce vieux Château : voici ce qu’elle fit.

She touched with her wand everybody (except the king and queen) who was in the castle -- governesses, maids of honour, ladies-in-waiting, gentlemen, officers, stewards, cooks, scullions, errand boys, guards, porters, pages, footmen. She touched likewise all the horses in the stables, with their grooms, the big mastiffs in the courtyard, and little Puff, the pet dog of the princess, who was lying on the bed beside his mistress. The moment she had touched them they all fell asleep, to awaken only at the same moment as their mistress. Thus they would always be ready with their service whenever she should require it. The very spits before the fire, loaded with partridges and pheasants, subsided into slumber, and the fire as well.

Elle toucha de sa baguette tout ce qui était dans ce Château (hors le Roi et la Reine), Gouvernantes, Filles d’Honneur, Femmes de Chambre, Gentilshommes, Officiers, Maîtres d’Hôtel, Cuisiniers, Marmitons, Galopins, Gardes, Suisses, Pages, Valets de pied ; elle toucha aussi tous les chevaux qui étaient dans les Écuries, avec les Palefreniers, les gros mâtins de basse-cour et la petite Pouffe, petite chienne de la Princesse, qui était auprès d’elle sur son lit. Dès qu’elle les eut touchés, ils s’endormirent tous, pour ne se réveiller qu’en même temps que leur Maîtresse, afin d’être tout prêts à la servir quand elle en aurait besoin ; les broches mêmes qui étaient au feu toutes pleines de perdrix et de faisans s’endormirent, et le feu aussi.

All was done in a moment, for the fairies do not take long over their work. Then the king and queen kissed their dear child, without waking her, and left the castle. Proclamations were issued, forbidding any approach to it, but these warnings were not needed, for within a quarter of an hour there grew up all around the park so vast a quantity of trees big and small, with interlacing brambles and thorns, that neither man nor beast could penetrate them. The tops alone of the castle towers could be seen, and these only from a distance. Thus did the fairy's magic contrive that the princess, during all the time of her slumber, should have nought whatever to fear from prying eyes.

Tout cela se fit en un moment ; les Fées n’étaient pas longues à leur besogne. Alors le Roi et la Reine, après avoir baisé leur chère enfant sans qu’elle s’éveillât, sortirent du Château, et firent publier des défenses à qui que ce soit d’en approcher. Ces défenses n’étaient pas nécessaires, car il crût dans un quart d’heure tout autour du parc une si grande quantité de grands arbres et de petits, de ronces et d’épines entrelacées les unes dans les autres, que bête ni homme n’y aurait pu passer : en sorte qu’on ne voyait plus que le haut des Tours du Château, encore n’était-ce que de bien loin. On ne douta point que la Fée n’eût encore fait là un tour de son métier afin que la Princesse, pendant qu’elle dormirait, n’eût rien à craindre des Curieux.

At the end of a hundred years, the throne had passed to another family from that of the sleeping princess. One day the king's son chanced to go a-hunting that way, and seeing in the distance some towers in the midst of a large and dense forest, he asked what they were. His attendants told him in reply the various stories which they had heard. Some said there was an old castle haunted by ghosts, others that all the witches of the neighbourhood held their revels there. The favourite tale was that in the castle lived an ogre, who carried thither all the children whom he could catch. There he devoured them at his leisure, and since he was the only person who could force a passage through the wood nobody had been able to pursue him. While the prince was wondering what to believe, an old peasant took up the tale.

Au bout de cent ans, le Fils du Roi qui régnait alors, et qui était d’une autre famille que la Princesse endormie, étant allé à la chasse de ce côté-là, demanda ce que c’était que ces Tours qu’il voyait au-dessus d’un grand bois fort épais ; chacun lui répondit selon qu’il en avait ouï parler. Les uns disaient que c’était un vieux Château où il revenait des Esprits ; les autres que tous les Sorciers de la contrée y faisaient leur sabbat. La plus commune opinion était qu’un Ogre y demeurait, et que là il emportait tous les enfants qu’il pouvait attraper, pour les pouvoir manger à son aise, et sans qu’on le pût suivre, ayant seul le pouvoir de se faire un passage au travers du bois. Le Prince ne savait qu’en croire, lorsqu’un vieux Paysan prit la parole, et lui dit :

"Your Highness," said he, "more than fifty years ago I heard my father say that in this castle lies a princess, the most beautiful that has ever been seen. It is her doom to sleep there for a hundred years, and then to be awakened by a king's son, for whose coming she waits."

— Mon Prince, il y a plus de cinquante ans que j’ai ouï dire à mon père qu’il y avait dans ce Château une Princesse, la plus belle du monde ; qu’elle y devait dormir cent ans, et qu’elle serait réveillée par le fils d’un Roi, à qui elle était réservée.

This story fired the young prince. He jumped immediately to the conclusion that it was for him to see so gay an adventure through, and impelled alike by the wish for love and glory, he resolved to set about it on the spot. Hardly had he taken a step towards the wood when the tall trees, the brambles and the thorns, separated and made a path for him. He turned in the direction of the castle, and espied it at the end of a long avenue. This avenue he entered, and was surprised to notice that the trees closed up again as soon as he had passed, so that none of his people were able to follow him.

Le jeune Prince, à ce discours, se sentit tout de feu ; il crut sans balancer qu’il mettrait fin à une si belle aventure ; et poussé par l’amour et par la gloire, il résolut de voir sur-le-champ ce qui en était. À peine s’avança-t-il vers le bois, que tous ces grands arbres, ces ronces et ces épines s’écartèrent d’elles-mêmes pour le laisser passer : il marche vers le Château qu’il voyait au bout d’une grande avenue où il entra, et ce qui le surprit un peu, il vit que personne de ses gens ne l’avait pu suivre, parce que les arbres s’étaient rapprochés dès qu’il avait été passé.

A young and gallant prince is always brave, however; so he continued on his way, and presently reached a large forecourt. The sight that now met his gaze was enough to fill him with an icy fear. The silence of the place was dreadful, and death seemed all about him. The recumbent figures of men and animals had all the appearance of being lifeless, until he perceived by the pimply noses and ruddy faces of the porters, that they merely slept. It was plain, too, from their glasses, in which were still some dregs of wine, that they had fallen asleep while drinking. The prince made his way into a great courtyard, paved with marble, and mounting the staircase entered the guardroom. Here the guards were lined up on either side in two ranks, their muskets on their shoulders, snoring their hardest.

Il ne laissa pas de continuer son chemin : un Prince jeune et amoureux est toujours vaillant. Il entra dans une grande avant-cour où tout ce qu’il vit d’abord était capable de le glacer de crainte : c’était un silence affreux, l’image de la mort s’y présentait partout, et ce n’était que des corps étendus d’hommes et d’animaux, qui paraissaient morts. Il reconnut pourtant bien au nez bourgeonné et à la face vermeille des Suisses, qu’ils n’étaient qu’endormis, et leurs tasses où il y avait encore quelques gouttes de vin montraient assez qu’ils s’étaient endormis en buvant. Il passe une grande cour pavée de marbre, il monte l’escalier il entre dans la salle des Gardes qui étaient rangés en haie, la carabine sur l’épaule, et ronflants de leur mieux.

Through several apartments crowded with ladies and gentlemen in waiting, some seated, some standing, but all asleep, he pushed on, and so came at last to a chamber which was decked all over with gold. There he encountered the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Reclining upon a bed, the curtains of which on every side were drawn back, was a princess of seemingly some fifteen or sixteen summers, whose radiant beauty had an almost unearthly luster. Trembling in his admiration he drew near and went on his knees beside her. At the same moment, the hour of disenchantment having come, the princess awoke, and bestowed upon him a look more tender than a first glance might seem to warrant.

Il traverse plusieurs chambres pleines de Gentilshommes et de Dames, dormant tous, les uns debout, les autres assis, il entre dans une chambre toute dorée, et il vit sur un lit, dont les rideaux étaient ouverts de tous côtés, le plus beau spectacle qu’il eût jamais vu : une Princesse qui paraissait avoir quinze ou seize ans, et dont l’éclat resplendissant avait quelque chose de lumineux et de divin. Il s’approcha en tremblant et en admirant, et se mit à genoux auprès d’elle. Alors comme la fin de l’enchantement était venue, la Princesse s’éveilla ; et le regardant avec des yeux plus tendres qu’une première vue ne semblait le permettre :

"Is it you, dear prince?" she said. "You have been long in coming!"

— Est-ce vous, mon Prince ? lui dit-elle, vous vous êtes bien fait attendre.

Charmed by these words, and especially by the manner in which they were said, the prince scarcely knew how to express his delight and gratification. He declared that he loved her better than he loved himself. His words were faltering, but they pleased the more for that. The less there is of eloquence, the more there is love. Her embarrassment was less than his, and that is not to be wondered at, since she had had time to think of what she would say to him. It seems (although the story says nothing about it) that the good fairy had beguiled her long slumber with pleasant dreams. To be brief, after four hours of talking, they had not succeeded in uttering one-half of the things they had to say to each other.

Le Prince charmé de ces paroles, et plus encore de la manière dont elles étaient dites, ne savait comment lui témoigner sa joie et sa reconnaissance ; il l’assura qu’il l’aimait plus que lui-même. Ses discours furent mal rangés ; ils en plurent davantage ; peu d’éloquence, beaucoup d’amour. Il était plus embarrassé qu’elle, et l’on ne doit pas s’en étonner ; elle avait eu le temps de songer à ce qu’elle aurait à lui dire, car il y a apparence (l’Histoire n’en dit pourtant rien) que la bonne Fée, pendant un si long sommeil, lui avait procuré le plaisir des songes agréables. Enfin il y avait quatre heures qu’ils se parlaient, et ils ne s’étaient pas encore dit la moitié des choses qu’ils avaient à se dire.

Now the whole palace had awakened with the princess. Everyone went about his business, and since they were not all in love they presently began to feel mortally hungry. The lady-in-waiting, who was suffering like the rest, at length lost patience, and in a loud voice called out to the princess that supper was served. The princess was already fully dressed, and in the most magnificent style. As he helped her to rise, the prince refrained from telling her that her clothes, with the straight collar that she wore, were like those to which his grandmother had been accustomed. And in truth, they in no way detracted from her beauty. They passed into an apartment hung with mirrors, and were there served supper by the stewards of the household, while the fiddles and oboes played some old music and played it remarkably well, considering they had not played at all for just a hundred years. A little later, when supper was over, the chaplain married them in the castle chapel, and in due course, attended by the courtiers in waiting, they retired to rest. They slept but little, however. The princess, indeed, had not much need of sleep, and as soon as morning came the prince took his leave of her. He returned to the city, and told his father, who was awaiting him with some anxiety, that he had lost himself while hunting in the forest, but had obtained some black bread and cheese from a charcoal burner, in whose hovel he had passed the night.

Cependant tout le Palais s’était réveillé avec la Princesse, chacun songeait à faire sa charge, et comme ils n’étaient pas tous amoureux, ils mouraient de faim ; la Dame d’Honneur, pressée comme les autres, s’impatienta, et dit tout haut à la Princesse que la viande était servie. Le Prince aida à la Princesse à se lever ; elle était tout habillée et fort magnifiquement ; mais il se garda bien de lui dire qu’elle était habillée comme ma mère grand, et qu’elle avait un collet monté, elle n’en était pas moins belle. Ils passèrent dans un Salon de miroirs, et y soupèrent, servis par les Officiers de la Princesse, les Volons et les Hautbois jouèrent de vieilles pièces, mais excellentes, quoiqu’il y eût près de cent ans qu’on ne les jouât plus ; et après souper, sans perdre de temps, le grand Aumônier les maria dans la Chapelle du Château et la Dame d’Honneur leur tira le rideau ; ils dormirent peu, la Princesse n’en avait pas grand besoin, et le Prince la quitta dès le matin pour retourner à la Ville, où son Père devait être en peine de lui. Le Prince lui dit qu’en chassant il s’était perdu dans la forêt, et qu’il avait couché dans la hutte d’un Charbonnier, qui lui avait fait manger du pain noir et du fromage.

His royal father, being of an easygoing nature, believed the tale, but his mother was not so easily hoodwinked. She noticed that he now went hunting every day, and that he always had an excuse handy when he had slept two or three nights from home. She felt certain, therefore, that he had some love affair. Two whole years passed since the marriage of the prince and princess, and during that time they had two children. The first, a daughter, was called "Dawn," while the second, a boy, was named "Day," because he seemed even more beautiful than his sister.

Le Roi son père, qui était bon homme, le crut, mais sa Mère n’en fut pas bien persuadée, et voyant qu’il allait presque tous les jours à la chasse, et qu’il avait toujours une raison en main pour s’excuser, quand il avait couché deux ou trois nuits dehors, elle ne douta plus qu’il n’eût quelque amourette : car il vécut avec la Princesse plus de deux ans entiers et en eut deux enfants, dont le premier qui fut une fille, fut nommée l’Aurore, et le second un fils, qu’on nomma le Jour, parce qu’il paraissait encore plus beau que sa sœur.

Many a time the queen told her son that he ought to settle down in life. She tried in this way to make him confide in her, but he did not dare to trust her with his secret. Despite the affection which he bore her, he was afraid of his mother, for she came from a race of ogres, and the king had only married her for her wealth. It was whispered at the court that she had ogrish instincts, and that when little children were near her she had the greatest difficulty in the world keeping herself from pouncing on them. No wonder the prince was reluctant to say a word. But at the end of two years the king died, and the prince found himself on the throne. He then made a public announcement of his marriage, and went ceremoniously to fetch his royal consort from her castle. With her two children beside her, she made a triumphal entry into the capital of her husband's realm.

La Reine dit plusieurs fois à son fils, pour le faire expliquer, qu’il fallait se contenter dans la vie, mais il n’osa jamais se fier à elle de son secret ; il la craignait quoiqu’il l’aimât, car elle était de race Ogresse, et le Roi ne l’avait épousée qu’à cause de ses grands biens, on disait même tout bas à la Cour qu’elle avait les inclinations des Ogres et qu’en voyant passer de petits enfants, elle avait toutes les peines du monde à se retenir de se jeter sur eux, ainsi le Prince ne voulut jamais rien dire. Mais quand le Roi fut mort, ce qui arriva au bout de deux ans, et qu’il se vit maître, il déclara publiquement son Mariage, et alla en grande cérémonie quérir la Reine sa femme dans son Château. On lui fit une entrée magnifique dans la Ville Capitale, où elle entra au milieu de ses deux enfants.

Some time afterwards the king declared war on his neighbour, the Emperor Cantalabutte. He appointed the queen mother as regent in his absence, and entrusted his wife and children to her care. He expected to be away at the war for the whole of the summer, and as soon as he was gone the queen mother sent her daughter-in-law and the two children to a country mansion in the forest. This she did that she might be able the more easily to gratify her horrible longings. A few days later she went there and in the evening summoned the chief steward.

Quelque temps après le Roi alla faire la guerre à l’Empereur Cantalabutte son voisin. Il laissa la Régence du Royaume à la Reine sa mère, et lui recommanda sa femme et ses enfants : il devait être à la guerre tout l’Été, et dès qu’il fut parti, la Reine Mère envoya sa Bru et ses enfants à une maison de campagne dans les bois, pour pouvoir plus aisément assouvir son horrible envie. Elle y alla quelques jours après, et dit un soir à son Maître d’Hôtel :

"For my dinner tomorrow," she told him, "I will eat little Dawn."

"Oh, Madam!" exclaimed the steward.

"That is my will," said the queen; and she spoke in the tones of an ogre who longs for raw meat.

"You will serve her with piquant sauce," she added.

— Je veux manger demain à mon dîner la petite Aurore.

— Ah ! Madame, dit le Maître d’Hôtel.

— Je le veux, dit la Reine (et elle le dit d’un ton d’Ogresse qui a envie de manger de la chair fraîche), et je la veux manger à la Sauce-robert.

The poor man, seeing plainly that it was useless to trifle with an ogress, took his big knife and went up to little Dawn's chamber. She was at that time four years old, and when she came running with a smile to greet him, flinging her arms around his neck and coaxing him to give her some sweets, he burst into tears, and let the knife fall from his hand. Presently he went down to the yard behind the house, and slaughtered a young lamb. For this, he made so delicious a sauce that his mistress declared she had never eaten anything so good. At the same time, the steward carried little Dawn to his wife, and bade the latter hide her in the quarters which they had below the yard.

Ce pauvre homme voyant bien qu’il ne fallait pas se jouer à une Ogresse, prit son grand couteau, et monta à la chambre de la petite Aurore : elle avait pour lors quatre ans, et vint en sautant et riant se jeter à son col, et lui demander du bon du bon. Il se mit à pleurer, le couteau lui tomba des mains et il alla dans la basse-cour couper la gorge à un petit agneau, et il lui fit une si bonne sauce que sa Maîtresse l’assura qu’elle n’avait jamais rien mangé de si bon. Il avait emporté en même temps la petite Aurore, et l’avait donnée à sa femme pour la cacher dans le logement qu’elle avait au fond de la basse-cour.

Eight days later the wicked queen summoned her steward again.

"For my supper," she announced, "I will eat little Day."

The steward made no answer, being determined to trick her as he had done previously. He went in search of little Day, whom he found with a tiny foil in his hand, making brave passes -- though he was but three years old -- at a big monkey. He carried him off to his wife, who stowed him away in hiding with little Dawn. To the ogress, the steward served up, in place of Day, a young kid so tender that she found it surpassingly delicious.

Huit jours après la méchante Reine dit à son Maître d’Hôtel :

— Je veux manger à mon souper le petit Jour.

Il ne répliqua pas, résolu de la tromper comme l’autre fois ; il alla chercher le petit Jour, et le trouva avec un petit fleuret à la main, dont il faisait des armes avec un gros Singe ; il n’avait pourtant que trois ans. Il le porta à sa femme qui le cacha avec la petite Aurore, et donna à la place du petit Jour un petit chevreau fort tendre, que l’Ogresse trouva admirablement bon.

So far, so good. But there came an evening when this evil queen again addressed the steward.

"I want to eat the queen with the same sauce as you served with her children."

This time the poor steward despaired of being able to practice another deception. The young queen was twenty years old, without counting the hundred years she had been asleep. Her skin, though white and beautiful, had become a little tough, and what animal could he possibly find that would correspond to her? He made up his mind that if he would save his own life he must kill the queen, and went upstairs to her apartment determined to do the deed once and for all. Goading himself into a rage he drew his knife and entered the young queen's chamber, but a reluctance to give her no moment of grace made him repeat respectfully the command which he had received from the queen mother.

Cela était fort bien allé jusque-là ; mais un soir cette méchante Reine dit au Maître d’Hôtel :

— Je veux manger la Reine à la même sauce que ses enfants.

Ce fut alors que le pauvre Maître d’Hôtel désespéra de la pouvoir encore tromper. La jeune Reine avait vingt ans passés, sans compter les cent ans qu’elle avait dormi : sa peau était un peu dure, quoique belle et blanche ; et le moyen de trouver dans la Ménagerie une bête aussi dure que cela ? Il prit la résolution, pour sauver sa vie, de couper la gorge à la Reine, et monta dans sa chambre, dans l’intention de n’en pas faire à deux fois ; il s’excitait à la furet et entra le poignard à la main dans la chambre de la jeune Reine. Il ne voulut pourtant point la surprendre, et il lui dit avec beaucoup de respect l’ordre qu’il avait reçu de la Reine Mère.

"Do it! do it!" she cried, baring her neck to him; "carry out the order you have been given! Then once more I shall see my children, my poor children that I loved so much!" Nothing had been said to her when the children were stolen away, and she believed them to be dead.

The poor steward was overcome by compassion. "No, no, Madam," he declared. "You shall not die, but you shall certainly see your children again. That will be in my quarters, where I have hidden them. I shall make the queen eat a young hind in place of you, and thus trick her once more."

— Faites votre devoir, lui dit-elle, en lui tendant le col, exécutez l’ordre qu’on vous a donné ; j’irai revoir mes enfants, mes pauvres enfants que j’ai tant aimés ; car elle les croyait morts depuis qu’on les avait enlevés sans lui rien dire.

— Non, non, Madame, lui répondit le pauvre Maître d’Hôtel tout attendri, vous ne mourrez point, et vous ne laisserez pas d’aller revoir vos chers enfants, mais ce sera chez moi où je les ai cachés, et je tromperai encore la Reine, en lui faisant manger une jeune biche en votre place.

Without more ado he led her to his quarters, and leaving her there to embrace and weep over her children, proceeded to cook a hind with such art that the queen mother ate it for her supper with as much appetite as if it had indeed been the young queen. The queen mother felt well satisfied with her cruel deeds, and planned to tell the king, on his return, that savage wolves had devoured his consort and his children.

Il la mena aussitôt à sa chambre, où la laissant embrasser ses enfants et pleurer avec eux, il alla accommoder une biche, que la Reine mangea à son souper, avec le même appétit que si c’eût été la jeune Reine. Elle était bien contente de sa cruauté, et elle se préparait à dire au Roi, à son retour, que les loups enragés avaient mangé la Reine sa femme et ses deux enfants.

It was her habit, however, to prowl often about the courts and alleys of the mansion, in the hope of scenting raw meat, and one evening she heard the little boy Day crying in a basement cellar. The child was weeping because his mother had threatened to whip him for some naughtiness, and she heard at the same time the voice of Dawn begging for mercy for her brother. The ogress recognized the voices of the queen and her children, and was enraged to find she had been tricked. The next morning, in tones so affrighting that all trembled, she ordered a huge vat to be brought into the middle of the courtyard. This she filled with vipers and toads, with snakes and serpents of every kind, intending to cast into it the queen and her children, and the steward with his wife and serving girl. By her command these were brought forward, with their hands tied behind their backs.

Un soir qu’elle rôdait à son ordinaire dans les cours et basses-cours du Château pour y halener quelque viande fraîche, elle entendit dans une salle basse le petit Jour qui pleurait, parce que la Reine sa mère le voulait faire fouetter, à cause qu’il avait été méchant, et elle entendit aussi la petite Aurore qui demandait pardon pour son frère. L’Ogresse reconnut la voix de la Reine et de ses enfants, et furieuse d’avoir été trompée, elle commande dès le lendemain au matin, avec une voix épouvantable qui faisait trembler tout le monde, qu’on apportât au milieu de la cour une grande cuve, qu’elle fit remplir de crapauds, de vipères, de couleuvres et de serpents, pour y faire jeter la Reine et ses enfants, le Maître d’Hôtel, sa femme et sa servante : elle avait donné l’ordre de les amener les mains liées derrière le dos.

There they were, and her minions were making ready to cast them into the vat, when into the courtyard rode the king! Nobody had expected him so soon, but he had travelled posthaste. Filled with amazement, he demanded to know what this horrible spectacle meant. None dared tell him, and at that moment the ogress, enraged at what confronted her, threw herself head foremost into the vat, and was devoured on the instant by the hideous creatures she had placed in it. The king could not but be sorry, for after all, she was his mother; but it was not long before he found ample consolation in his beautiful wife and children.

Ils étaient là, et les bourreaux se préparaient à les jeter dans la cuve, lorsque le Roi, qu’on n’attendait pas si tôt, entra dans la cour à cheval ; il était venu en poste, et demanda tout étonné ce que voulait dire cet horrible spectacle ; personne n’osait l’en instruire, quand l’Ogresse, enragée de voir ce qu’elle voyait, se jeta elle-même la tête la première dans la cuve, et fut dévorée en un instant par les vilaines bêtes qu’elle y avait fait mettre. Le Roi ne laissa pas d’en être fâché ; elle était sa mère ; mais il s’en consola bientôt avec sa belle femme et ses enfants.

Fanmail - masterlist (2016-) - archives - hire me - reviews (2020-) - Drive

[chic-a-gigot]

La Mode nationale, specimen, 1 decembre 1885, Paris. No. 1. — Toilette de dîner. Modèle de la maison de l'Opéra, 20, avenue de l'Opéra. Bibliothèque nationale de France

No. 1. Robe de dîner en broché grenat de Syrie. Le corselet lacé à l'Agnès Sorel et les parements de la manche en velours grenat tréflé d'or, avec bordure de grosses perles d'or en ourlet. La guimpe froncée est en satin et colletée de velours.

No. 1. Syrian garnet paperback dinner dress. The Agnès Sorel laced corselet and the sleeve cuffs in gold-trefoiled garnet velvet, with a border of large gold pearls at the hem. The gathered wimple is satin and trimmed with velvet.

Notre Programme

En prenant pour titre: La Mode nationale, nous avons voulu affirmer hautement nos intentions de ne donner place dans nos colonnes qu'aux modes vraiment françaises. Sans vouloir faire ici de politique et sans témoigner d'un chauvinsime exagéré, nous ne pouvons pourtant nous empêcher de constater les prétentions de nos voisins, qui, surtout depuis 1870, se sont mis à nous disputer le privilège de la mode, lequel nous a appartenu, sans conteste, pendant des siècles.

Certains gravure de modes nous viennent de l'étranger, sous prétexte que la main-d'œuvre est là-bas meilleur marché que chez nous: de là un tort réel apporté au commerce national, parce que ces gravures sont la reproduction de modèles qui ne sont pas les nôtres.

La Mode nationale maintiendra très haut le drapeau de l'industrie française. Notre journal, confié à nos meilleurs artistes, n'empruntera rien aux étrangers. C'est dire qu'il est destiné à devenir le modèle du bon ton et l'organe accrédité de la bonne compagnie.

La Mode nationale paraîtra réguilièrement le 1er et le 15 de chaque mois, à dater du 1er janvier 1886.

La Rédaction.

—

By taking the title: La Mode nationale, we wanted to strongly assert our intentions to only give space in our columns to truly French fashions. Without wanting to get political here and without showing exaggerated chauvinism, we cannot help but note the pretensions of our neighbors, who, especially since 1870, have begun to dispute with us the privilege of fashion, which has belonged to us, without question, for centuries.

Some fashion engravings come to us from abroad, under the pretext that labor is cheaper there than at home: hence a real harm to national trade, because these engravings are the reproduction of models which are not ours.

La Mode nationale will keep the flag of French industry very high. Our newspaper, entrusted to our best artists, will borrow nothing from foreigners. This means that it is destined to become the model of good tone and the accredited organ of good company.

La Mode nationale will appear regularly on the 1st and 15th of each month, starting from January 1, 1886.

La Rédaction.

[mousemannation]

How did you get into fashion and what things do you want to design for like. Your career?

thank u for this question!!! hmm, when i was in primary school i did a little sewing with a friend's mum, and also my mum had to sew my costumes for my dance class end of year concert; so there's been sewing around me my whole life. We had a sewing class in year 7 too where I tie dyed and embroidered a pillow. I didn't take sewing elective though.

I properly started to get into it once I started watching historical sewing youtubers! People like Bernadette Banner, Morgan Donner, Bella Mae etc etc. I just found it so fascinating seeing the whole process of making clothes.

I also really enjoy cosplay and early on in my sewing journey my friend asked to do a Wicked the Musical joint cosplay as Elphaba and Glinda. My Elphaba dress remains my biggest ever sewing project despite technically being my first??? (technically bc I first wore it in 2020 after a year of making it but I've worked on it in the years since).

I'll also say, as someone who's always had issues with body image and gender, being able to make my own clothes massively helped me become more confident.

Gosh I keep having more points ejiejejej the next one is that I'm really invested in environmentalism and the fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters. Between overconsumption, overproduction, unsustainable materials AND massive issues with slavery there is a LOT of change that needs to happen within the industry. Some of that happens with the general public, a lot of it must happen from the inside, and if I can be a part of that I would love it.

On to the second part of ur question (finally) well the real answer is I don't know kwkeksksksk. After I finished my certificate in fashion I had the choice to pursue a diploma in fashion (think commercial production, designing for brands, focus on clothing that gets reproduced and sold in large numbers) or in costume (specifically for live production like TV and film, theatre, ballet, dance). I didn't much enjoy the commercial side of fashion, stuff like sourcing materials in bulk, creating and organising patterns to maximise number of garments made- so I decided I'd prefer to do costume. I find the idea of creating one off garments to represent a character, using fashion to enhance a narrative really really enticing.

Do I really believe I want to pursue costume design as a career? I don't know. That question is a little more difficult for me since my disability has prevented me from getting a job. I don't have any working experience and already my job prospects are on shaky ground. The idea of having people rely on my is scary... but I don't think I'd be totally opposed. I'd probably prefer to work in theatre out of the options. Ballet is far too serious i could not handle the pressure, and I don't really like sewing other styles of dance costumes (like leotards or kind of anything Lycra lol). If I can find a local theatre company that's relatively low-pressure that could be fun.

I do also like the idea of making clothes on a small scale. One offs or small batch that I would sell locally. I enjoy the freedom of just letting myself create without restraints! Starting without an end goal!

I am STILL yapping but my final point is i have so many interests that i don't think I'll ever settle into one career. Even if i did get a job making costumes I'd almost certainly still be pursuing other things at the same time. It's a long term goal of mine to (eventually) go to university and get a degree in pure mathematics!!! I also want to do exchange at some point, find some three month program and go kskskwk. I want to travel, i want to write poems and books and songs, I want to draw more, paint more, learn to sculpt! I have always been a very ambitious person and this is not at all what u asked about so I will leave it here 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[this-has-returned]

Part 2 of my Deep Rock Galactic vs Dwarf Fortress idea...

Urist travelled over the catwalk, near the great windows of the "Space Rig". He wanted to get a better view of the incredible sky outside, but was too scared to stand directly on the glass.

Up here, though, he was transfixed by the looming shape of Hoxxes, the name of the large rock that the miners here seemed to visit.

One day, he would go there for himself, once Klaus at "mission control" would allow it. This mysterious, unseen ruler was apparently a local manager for the company. It unsettled Urist to think that someone would boss other dwarves around without ever appearing in person. If Urist only received orders via parchment, he would soon toss it into the nearest lava lake, and be done with such displays of arrogance.

Something else caught his attention, though. A little firelight blinked at regular intervals from a metal panel to Urist's right. He approached it slowly, hoping he wouldn't scare it away.

However, it was neither sprite nor spirit, but a strange arrangement of metal plate and...cut gems? The craftdwarfship was of the highest precision, but the overall design was quite plain. One of the dull gems blinked, which seemed to be what drew his attention.

Some kind of text glowed, like phosphorescent ink. He understood the language, but it was written in the strangest of styles, with even stranger spellings.

"Recalibrate gravity..." Urist pronounced aloud.

He wasn't sure what "gravity" meant, but he understood "recalibrate". It was something that bankers, brokers, and traders did, to ensure their weighing scales had no unfair biases.

It seemed important. Was this a command from Klaus? A "to-do" list of sorts?

"Oi," Urist called. "There is a strange message in glowing ink up here. It looks like someone encased it behind a glass pane. What a strange use of such fine glass... Anyway, it says 'recalibrate gravity'."

Almost like an alarm had sounded, two of the four dwarves came scrambling out of the Abyss Bar, waving their arms in terror.

"No no no," shouted Ulla. She was the local engineer, and her blond beard glistened from a mug spilled in haste. "Do not push that button!! Our drinks would go everywhere!"

Urist tilted his head. "I don't understand. Why would I push a button? My buttons keep my shirt around my chest; they aren't for pushing."

"No, you oaf!" she shouted. "The, uh... The little rectangular stones on the panel!"

"The blinking gemstones?" ask Urist.

"Yes!!" she confirmed. "Those are called buttons! If you push them inward—no, don't actually do it!! If you push them inward, the machine in the panel understands it as a command!"

She was grasping at the air, trying to figure out how to describe it.

"Reiner, you're a poet," she said, calling to the team's scout.

Urist rather liked Reiner's company, most of all; he seemed to understand Urist's upbringing the best.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Reiner demanded, jogging into view.

"It means," began Donner's booming voice, "that while the rest of us learn new ways to move stone and corpse, you learn new ways to churn butter."

"Oh, come now, driller," protested Reiner. "The old ways should be cherished, even if modern technology is more efficient!"

"By the beard, Reiner," said Thorn, still at the bar. "You use wooden tools. Who the fuck brings wood out here? You wanna get elven attention?"

Reiner blushed.

"Reiner, you were about to explain the...buttons?" Urist interrupted, unwilling to watch his friend get ridiculed.

"Yes, yes," Reiner nodded, thankful for the subject change. "Not all the machines are creatures, like Molly, Bosco, or Lloyd. Some of them are more like the levers and gearboxes of your world. Those gemstones are like very tiny levers, and they switch when you push them in. The glowing words you see there are supposed to indicate what they do."

Urist looked back to examine the strange, blinking panel. "Like a signpost beside a floodgate's lever?"

"Exactly," said Reiner.

"Yeah," called Ulla, "and do not push anything on that panel, ever! Klaus can't prevent anything that panel does; it's one of the few things we have total control over. It'll make all of our beer go everywhere."

"And you'll be pulled to the ceiling," added Reiner, "as though a spirit has lifted you."

Urist understood that perfectly well, and slowly walked away from the panel, showing it due respect and caution.

Donner shook his head, and walked back into the Abyss Bar. "Wooden tools, indeed," he muttered.

See the infopage here!

[periwinckles]

Please tell me you have a middle name - chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

“Happy birthday, Katniss.”

Madge’s voice is soft and neutral, trying not to draw Miss Smoak’s attention to us. It still startled me, because I wasn’t really expecting her to remember my birthday. We’re friends, but we’re not really that close, are we? She never acknowledged my birthday before, but I suppose an eighteenth birthday is more noteworthy than the rest. 

“Thank you.” I answer back, keeping my eyes in our assignment. 

The morning goes by in comfortable silence. I’m not really that interested in school, I much rather be outside. But given that we’re in our last months of school before heading for real adult life, most teachers are lenient with school work as long as we’re still in attendance. I still haven't figured out what I’ll do once I graduate. I need to have an official employment and “huntress” doesn't bode well with the Capitol. The morning provides itself to be a good occasion to try to sort out my options. The mines will be my last resort. I don’t really need a job, just a cover up, actually. Maybe Sae can register me as an employee.

When we sit down for lunch, Madge speaks up again. 

“Do you have any plans for the afternoon?” 

All students have Wednesday afternoons off, which means I usually have a habit of going to the woods. Not that I need to. We’re well stocked, with what I hunt in the mornings. But sometimes I like to go there just to watch everything else around me. Other times I take my knife and I make some arrows, while enjoying the sun. That’s probably what I will be doing today, but I can’t really admit it out loud to Madge. She knows about my illegal escaping and hunting, but who knows who might be listening?

“No plans.” I say, instead. “Why?”

She gives me a sheepish look as if she wants to ask me something but is afraid to do so. “My cousin Reese, he’s competing in the wrestling semifinals, this afternoon. He asked me to stay and watch… you know, to show him some support?” 

I nod, in recognition, both of her cousin and the wrestling tournament. I may be a little oblivious to the school’s extracurricular activities, but the wrestling tournament is a big thing, kind of hard to miss. 

“I don’t even know why he’s so adamant that I should be there. We all know he’s not winning. Anyway… do you by any chance… want to stay with me to watch the semifinals?”

I don’t pay that much attention to wrestling to know who has a better shot to go to the finals, but Reese Donner is a tall boy, he appears to be fit and from what I remember from previous years, quite fast too. 

“That’s a bit harsh. He could very well advance to the finals.”

“No way!” She says, with a shake of her head. ”He’s facing Peeta today.`` 

I inhale sharply, and I hope it goes unnoticed.

“Peeta?”

“Peeta Mellark, from the bakery? He sits next to Reese in class.” 

“Yeah, I… I think I know who it is.” 

Who am I kidding? I know very well who Peeta Mellark is. The baker’s youngest son is the reason my family didn’t starve to death when my father died in a mine explosion. To this day my greatest shame is that I was never able to thank him for his kindness and bravery.  

“Peeta won last year, and he’ll probably win this year too. But it might still be fun to watch even if the outcome is somewhat predictable…” 

I guess keeping Madge company isn’t that difficult and at least I’ll be able to root for Peeta, even if in secrecy. As far as “thank yous” go, it’s a lousy one , I know. But it might give me some assurance and peace of mind.

“I know it’s your birthday…”

“How long do we have to stay?” I ask

Her face visibly lightens with a smile. “It starts at three. I’m not sure if Reese and Peeta are the first match or the second one, but either way we should be done by four.”

I suppose I could spare an afternoon. I let my eyes wander through the school cafeteria until I spot Prim, chatting with her friends. When I tell her I’m staying for the wrestling tournament, she is ecstatic. If I’m staying that means she’s staying too. Not that she needs my permission to do so; she’s fourteen years old, and it’s been a while since I had any say in her daily life. But it’s my birthday and I know she wouldn’t be staying unless I did too. I guess it is a good decision, me staying. I’ll be making two people happy. 

When we get to the gym, the bleachers are already at full capacity. I don’t think we’ll be able to find an empty spot, but Reese Donner spots us from the first row.

“Madge! MADGE!”

He gets up and waves her forward, and I follow suit.

“You came!” He says with a bright smile and a one armed hug. He’s already in his wrestling attire and somewhat itchy with excitement. “Hi!” He says, turning to me. “Katniss, right?”

I nod in a tight lipped smile. I don’t think we ever exchanged words before today.

“Full house, huh?” Madge says as she looks around. “Sorry Reese, but I don't think my cousinly affection is enough to make me stand for two hours.”

“No need to stand, you can take my seat, I need to warm up, anyway.”

“What about Katniss?”

He turns to inspect us both and gives a shrug of approval.

“You’re both skinny, you’ll fit. Rye, scoot over.”

Peeta’s brother (Rye?) is sitting in the front row, next to Reese’s vacant seat. I remember him being a couple of years older than us and he used to be a wrestler as well. He moves a bit to his left leaving enough space for the both of us to sit, Madge next to him and me next to Madge. It’s a tight fit. We’re literally squeezed against each other, to the point where the girl sitting to my right gives me an annoyed look when she feels my shoulder pressed against hers.

“Is your girlfriend joining you?” Reese asks him.

“We broke up.” Rye says, shaking his head. “Enjoy it while you can Donner, dating is so much easier when you’re still underage.”

“So she got your shirt off, huh? Caught a glimpse of your chest? That’s precisely why I’m waiting for my soulmark to appear next month. Not worth the hassle, if you ask me.”

I try to look around, so it doesn't appear like I’m eavesdropping. Not that they are making too much effort to keep their conversation private. Reese shows no indication of wanting to warm up as he ends up sitting on the floor in front of Madge and Peeta’s brother. The three of them engage in conversation as I look around.

That’s when I spot Peeta, a few yards away from us, next to the wrestling mat. He’s warming up and, like Reese, he’s sporting a wrestling suit. It’s not a shocker that wrestling is usually dominated by the merchant class. Most merchants have more food than Seam folks, and one look at Peeta would be enough to understand why he’s a crowd favorite. He’s not as tall as Reese, or even his brother, but he’s broad shouldered and visibly strong. As I watch him stretching I notice the white bandage around his bare leg, just beneath his left knee.

“Is Peeta hurt?” I ask out loud before I can stop myself.

Read the rest on AO3

[demons]

Love your blog and your work so much. Which books would you recommend for studying War in general? And how to start studying History? I mean, which books should I search for.

look, y'all, I'm not dead; I am simply working on another degree and teaching full-time (and coaching!! I am a coach!!) so I am no longer so active as I am reading and writing all the time.

anyway, to answer your question anon: what are you interested in?

If you don't know the answer to that question, go directly to a library and start looking. Or open up Wikipedia and do a deep dive. You gotta find your interest and then follow the line down to your niche.

I found quickly that I was not as interested in the maps and movements of troops as I was in the actual people. Can I explain, in detail, the events leading up to the Battle of Midway like a military textbook? Yes, but I'm more interested in individual perspectives of that event. Generals and big moves are exciting and crucial to study, but I am more interested in reading memoirs or books on individuals who were cogs in the machine. History is human.

But, if you're interested in the 20th century (and mainly WWII because that's my bread and butter) here are some books I've been able to read recently or reread:

All The Frequent Troubles of Our Days, Rebecca Donner

Tennozan: The Battle of Okinawa and the Atomic Bomb, George Feifer

Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS, Johanna Voss

Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Killing Fields, Wendy Lower

Rape of Nanking, Iris Chang

The Forgotten Soldier, Guy Sager

The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt

Brave Men, Ernie Pyle

Parachute Infantry, David K. Webster

The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II, Svetlana Alexievich

Band of Brothers, Stephen E. Ambrose

Easy Company Soldier, Don Malarkey

Ordinary Men, Christopher R. Browning

The Light of Days, Judy Batalion

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, Laura Hillenbrand

All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel, Erich Maria Remarque

Sergeant York: His Own Life Story and War Diary, Alvin York

The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler’s Men, Eric Lichtblau

Donner's book was the most recent, and I can't recommend it enough. She is the great-niece of one of the Red Orchestra founders and does a great job weaving a narrative that has been disjointed for such a time with a human touch an ordinary researcher probably would have never found. I knew where the story ended; there are few, if any, happy endings in wartime, but I had to finish it. It's stuck with me.

Find something like that, a piece of history you can carry with you, and you'll know when you've found your niche. You won't stop then.