#fall of ile-rien

[businesstiramisu]

talking to my sister about the excellent worldbuilding side details in The Cloud Roads again

[adam-scott]

SWANN ARLAUD as Maître Vincent Renzi Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

[wormtimenow]

Tremaine Valiarde! For those who haven’t read Martha Wells’ Ile-Rien series, she’s a deeply suspicious, mentally ill writer and world-hopper who does not have the time or the fucks to fix her hair. I love her and the entire series dearly.

[mellosdrawings]

When you need to declare your love to your wife but it is so strong you can't help but revert back to french.

You know the perk of being french ? I can write Rook rambling haha !

(Though I am incapable of writing poetry, so here is the poem I used and its approximate translation:

Je respire où tu palpites,

Tu sais ; à quoi bon, hélas !

Rester là si tu me quittes,

Et vivre si tu t'en vas ?

(I breathe where you throb, you know ;

What for, alas! stay here if you leave me, and live if you go away?)

A quoi bon vivre, étant l'ombre

De cet ange qui s'enfuit ?

A quoi bon, sous le ciel sombre,

N'être plus que de la nuit ?

(What good is living, being the shadow of this fleeing angel?

What for, under the dark sky, being from the night only?)

Je suis la fleur des murailles

Dont avril est le seul bien.

Il suffit que tu t'en ailles

Pour qu'il ne reste plus rien.

(I am the flower of your walls for which April is the only good.

You only need to leave for me to be left with nothing.)

Tu m'entoures d'Auréoles;

Te voir est mon seul souci.

Il suffit que tu t'envoles

Pour que je m'envole aussi.

(You surround me with Halos;

I care only about seeing you.

You need only to take flight for me to fly too.)

Si tu pars, mon front se penche ;

Mon âme au ciel, son berceau,

Fuira, dans ta main blanche

Tu tiens ce sauvage oiseau.

(Should you leave, my front/forehead shall lean ;

My soul in the sky, its cradle, will flee,

In your white hand you hold this wild bird.)

Que veux-tu que je devienne

Si je n'entends plus ton pas ?

Est-ce ta vie ou la mienne

Qui s'en va ? Je ne sais pas.

(What would I become, should I not hear your steps anymore?

Is it your life or mine that is fleeing ?

I cannot tell?)

Quand mon orage succombe,

J'en reprends dans ton coeur pur ;

Je suis comme la colombe

Qui vient boire au lac d'azur.

(When my thunder dies down, I take some from your pure heart ;

I am like the dove that just drank in the azur lake.)

L'amour fait comprendre à l'âme

L'univers, salubre et béni ;

Et cette petite flamme

Seule éclaire l'infini

(Love makes the soul understand the universe, healthful and blessed ;

And this lonely little flame shines upon the endless)

Sans toi, toute la nature

N'est plus qu'un cachot fermé,

Où je vais à l'aventure,

Pâle et n'étant plus aimé.

(Without you, all of nature is only a closed cell where I go on an adventure,

Pale and no longer beloved.)

Sans toi, tout s'effeuille et tombe ;

L'ombre emplit mon noir sourcil ;

Une fête est une tombe,

La patrie est un exil.

(Without you, everything falls apart ;

Shadows fill my dark eyebrow ;

A feast/party is a tomb,

The homeland is an exile.)

Je t'implore et réclame ;

Ne fuis pas loin de mes maux,

O fauvette de mon âme

Qui chantes dans mes rameaux !

(I beg and demand ;

Do not flee any longer from my pain,

O warbler of my soul who sings in my twigs!)

De quoi puis-je avoir envie,

De quoi puis-je avoir effroi,

Que ferai-je de la vie

Si tu n'es plus près de moi ?

(What could I want?

What could I be afraid of?

What would I do of life without you by my side?)

Tu portes dans la lumière,

Tu portes dans les buissons,

Sur une aile ma prière,

Et sur l'autre mes chansons.

(You carry in the light,

You carry in the bushes,

On a wing my prayers,

On the other my songs.)

Que dirai-je aux champs que voile

L'inconsolable douleur ?

Que ferai-je de l'étoile ?

Que ferai-je de la fleur ?

(What will I tell to the fields that hide my inconsolable pain?

What would I do of the star?

What would I do of the flower?)

Que dirai-je au bois morose

Qu'illuminait ta douceur ?

Que répondrai-je à la rose

Disant : " Où donc est ma soeur ?"

(What will I tell to the morose forest that illuminated your softness?

What will I answer at the rose asking "Where is my sister?")

J'en mourrai ; fuis, si tu l'oses.

A quoi bon, jours révolus !

Regarder toutes ces choses

Qu'elle ne regarde plus ?

(I would die ;

Flee if you dare.

What is the point, days gone! of looking at all those she no longer looks at?)

Que ferai-je de la lyre,

De la vertu, du destin ?

Hélas ! et, sans ton sourire,

Que ferai-je du matin ?

(What would I do of the lyre, of virtue, of destiny?

Alas! And, without your smile,

What would I do of the morning?)

Que ferai-je, seul, farouche,

Sans toi, du jour et des cieux,

De mes baisers sans ta bouche,

Et de mes pleurs sans tes yeux !

(What would I do, alone, wild, without you, of days and heavens,

Of my kisses without your lips,

And of my tears without your eyes!)

Il suffit que tu t'envoles pour que je m'envoles aussi - Victor Hugo

(You need only take flight for me to fly too))

[maeslastbraincell]

Stars - Les Mis (New Châtelet french version) translation

There, in the heart of the night (Là, au coeur de la nuit)

An outlaw runs (Un hors-la-loi s'enfuit)

Under the stars (Sous les étoiles)

Under the stars (Sous les étoiles)

God be my witness, I will pursue him (Dieu m'en soit témoin, je le poursuiverai)

Until he is found and condemned (Tant qu'il ne sera pas repris et condamné)

He follows the way of the demon (Il suit la voie du démon)

And me, in the name of the Lord (Et moi au nom du Seigneur)

I make order shine under the great sky (Je fais resplendir l'ordre en plein azur) (I have been made aware that in the brick, Hugo uses azur as a way to describe the sky, so althought the direct translation is "I make order shine in full azure", I put the translation that makes the most sense)

In broad daylight (En pleine lumière)

For those who fall with Lucifer, the flames, Hell (Pour ceux qui sombrent avec Lucifer, les flammes, l'enfer)

Pure, in their multitude (Pures, dans leur multitude)

Reign the starts, soldiers of shadows (Reignent les étoiles, soldats de l'ombre)

Posted in space, you are the sentinels (Postées dans l'espace, vous êtes les sentinelles)

Watching us (Qui nous regardent)

And guarding the sky (Et qui gardent le ciel) (This can also be interpreted as "guarding Heaven")

And guarding the sky (Et qui gardent le ciel)

Each has its place in the night, each has its course in silence (Chacune sa place dans la nuit, chacune sa course en silence)

That nothing can deviate its course, its vigilance (Que rien ne peut faire dévier de sa route, de sa vigilence)

For who gives themselves to Lucifer, the flames, Hell (Pour qui s'adonne avec Lucifer, les flammes, l'enfer)

Those words written in the eternel ink on the doors to Heaven (Ces mots sont inscrits à l'encre éternelle sur les portes du Paradis)

And those who get lost, those who stumble, will pay the price (Et ceux qui s'égarent, ceux qui vacillent, payeront le prix)

Oh God of justice, show me the way (Oh Dieu de justice, montre-moi la voie)

And for your glory, I will plant myself (Et pour ta gloire, je planterai moi-même)

Your glave, I swear (Ton glaive, je le jure) (A glave is a small dagger, thanks google)

This I swear by the stars (Je le jure aux étoiles)

In the original version, instead of saying "until he is found and condemned", Javert says "until he is on his knees in front of me" and I think they should have KEPT IT GAY.

This was the HARDEST song to translate, and I still think some lyrics are coming out a bit weird (even tho french is my first language)

If you got any suggestions, feel free to tell me! :)

[smooth-perceval]

The significance of 16.

Charles Leclerc x Fem!reader

Summary: Charles was never on time, and now he only worried if he was too late for her.

Warning: Swearing, Love confessions, angst, fluff, run away bride!! Google translate, my bad writing.

Key: Y/N (your name) Michael (Fiancé name)

Word count: 2,069

A/N: somewhat a quick cute idea- hope you enjoy! I actually found this rather quick and cute- she may have jumped back to him quickly but so would I if I had Charles Leclerc.

Today was the day- I was finally getting married… finally saying I do-

Looking at myself in the mirror, I swayed side to side the dress flowing with me… it seems surreal- it doesn’t seem right-

“Y/N? Est-ce que je peux entrer?” (Am I okay to come in?)

Broken out of my trance I looked at the door- “oh oui -” (yes) moving away from the mirror, I watched as Pascale entered.

“oh chérie, regarde-toi...” (oh darling, look at you…) Smiling wide at me, she held her hands out bringing me into a warm embrace.

“tu es magnifique!” (You look beautiful)

Kissing both my cheeks, she held onto either sides of my arms. “Merci…” (thank you)

Furrowing her eyebrows she leaned in closer. “quel est le problème?” (What’s the matter?)

Shaking my head I smiled waving her off, going over to the window. “rien je vais bien.” (Nothing I’m fine.)

“quand une fille dit : je vais bien, les larmes aux yeux... elle ne va pas bien.” (When a girl says I’m fine with tears in her eyes… she is not fine.) Sitting down on the 2-seater lounger, she patted the seat next to her, smiling so warmly. “parle moi” (talk to me)

Looking out the window I took sixteen deep breaths, before taking a seat down next to her, straight away she gripped ahold of my hand comfortingly. When I finally found the courage, I looked up into her eyes, mascara slowly running down my cheeks.

“Charles est-il là?” (Is Charles here?) nodding her head slowly, her smile now faultering, I only mimicked her. The shoot of pain going through my wounded heart “j'aimerais que ton fils arrête de me briser le cœur” (I wish your son would stop breaking my heart) laughing a little, I looked down at our hands.

“je ne pouvais pas l'attendre éternellement Pascale.” (I couldn’t wait forever for him Pascale.) sighing I accepted my defeat.

I like Michael he treats me right… His there when I need… sometimes- he respects me- he never left me hanging… again sometimes.

“tu l'aime?” (Do you love him?) as if she was reading my mind, I was shocked she asked such forward questions, it cause me to stand up abruptly. “De quelle question s'agit-il ? Je l'épouse-” (What question is that? I’m marrying him-)

“je ne parlais pas de Michael chéri...” (I wasn’t talking about Michael dear…)

“Oh…” falling silent I looked down at the floor, what words was there to give? I pined over Charles for years… since we were kids I’d say, and always got turned away for being too young for him… too young my ass. His 1 year and 8 months older…

“qu'est-ce que j'ai utilisé pour te dire, hein ?” (What did I use to tell you huh?) Smiling up at me she stood up slowly.

“il y a une signification dans le nombre seize” (there's a significance in the number sixteen) smiling sadly at her I moved back over to the mirror, now wiping my mascara off my cheeks once again- this is all I done all morning… repeatedly wipe away tears.

“il est presque temps-” (it’s nearly time) re-applying some concealer and mascara, I fanned my face to calm down my red eyes and puffy lips. Moving up behind me I felt Pascale rest her head against my arm looking at me also in the mirror.

“Je t'aimerai toujours chérie, quel que soit le résultat que tu choisis” (I’ll always love you dear, whatever outcome you choose.) and just like that she left the room, my dad now making an entrance.

“You ready darling?” Looking over at him I nodded my head.

“Dad…” smiling he moved in the room, concern in his eyes. “What’s wrong-?”

“How did you know mum was the one?”

Smiling wide he leant against the now closed door. “I looked at her, and I knew… and when she was walking down that aisle. I couldn’t see myself with anyone else.” He reached his hand out touching my cheek. “You’ll understand, now let’s get you to that aisle” taking my hand, I quickly reached over grabbing my bouquet, taking the slow walk with dad to the ceremony.

There we stood outside the closed doors, and behind there was the guy in about to stay with for the rest of my life… or so I hope. Dad quickly turned it me pulling the veil over to cover my face. Smiling at me once again.

It was real when the pianos were heard, the doors slowly opened, standing there I watched as everyone turned, scanning each person I can see in view- my stomach knotted… once again I was taking sixteen deep breaths, before my feet moved.

My hand gripped my dad’s arm tight- I felt like I was about to walk fire, or drown in a pool of judgment.

The only judgment was me on myself.

We made it half way down the aisle… then I saw him, not Michael- My Charles. His eyes were red, brimmed with tears- and even in a moment like this he still offered a tight lipped smile, his hands were clasped in front of himself- and I only silently prayed he grabbed me and pulled me away.

But he didn’t…

My hand was placed in Michael’s, as a sign that my dad was ‘giving me away’ once done Michael leaned forward moving the veil behind.

“You look lovely-” and I couldn’t help the half smile I returned him…

And now looking at him- it didn’t make sense, I don’t feel the butterflies like I do with Charles… I don’t feel giddy around him- my smile doesn’t reach my eyes, he doesn’t make me want to pull my hair out, he doesn’t scream to me the type of guy that truthfully would go to the ends of the earth and make sure I felt loved- I was more of a convenience… and even if Charles didn’t realise it- he done all that, he made me feel love without realising, wether it was ensuring I didn’t injure myself on sharp corners, or looking after me when I am sick- and beating the boys up when we was younger whenever they would make a horrible comment… But what Charles was so stupid of doing was never realising I was so in love with him while he was loving everyone else and that pained me.

I shot my shot with him fifteen times, and each time it was brushed off with a “you’re only young you’ll grow out of it.” And now? Well his standing there at my ceremony with them begging eyes- maybe I was delusional, but I could see it. I could see him asking me not to go through with it.

“Y/N?” Quickly snapping my head to the officiant with a hum and wide eyes.

“I said do you take Michael Stone to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

I didn’t mean to- but I looked back at Michael and then as always I found myself back looking at Charles.

“I do…” the defeat that I felt in my heart showed in Charles eyes, his head hung low- my eyes fell back onto Michael, welling up with tears.

“Not…” sucking in a deep breath- gasps rang out, I rose my hand to his cheek. Shock plastered on his face- “Im sorry… I love you Michael… but I’m not in love with you” the tears fell, as I watched his face turn more confused. “You don’t love me… we both know it… and I don’t want to spend my life wondering what would have happened if I didn’t do this… but I can’t marry you.” Looking down at the floor, I then looked back up at him smiling sadly. “I can’t marry you when I’m completely and incandescently in love with someone else…”

Nodding his head slowly… Michael reached his hands up resting on my arms, brushing up and down in a soothing manner. “I understand… but promise me he can love you- with love I couldn’t give…”

“I hope so-” reaching up onto my tiptoes I kissed his cheek, before grabbing my dress and speed walking back down the aisle.

Listening to the rustling behind me- someone urgently asking people to move out their way- but yet it didn’t stop me.

Whether me and Charles was meant to be or not- I knew I wasn’t meant to marry Michael… we both knew. Pushing the doors to the church open, I fled down the steps- like Cinderella leaving the ball.

“Y/N- wait!” Turning around I see him running behind practically missing steps as he ran down.

“What Charles-” tilting my head up at him I felt a sense of pride- I just walked out of my wedding- I was invincible.

“Don’t leave me now.” Breathing in heavily, his chest rising and falling catching its breath back.

“Fifteen times I’ve tried with you Charles.” Stepping away from him I titled my head back towards the floor.

“The significance of sixteen.” And before I knew it- the thing I���ve dreamed about all my life- the thing I yearned for finally happened.

His lips were crushed onto mine, one hand behind my head the other wrapped securely around my body. It didn’t take long for me to respond- kissing him back with so much adrenaline and passion. My hands made their way to his chest, as I gently pushed him back…

“Charles…” whispering his name against his lips, I pulled away slowly, looking up at him through my lashes. “What do you want from me…”

“I’m so in love with you.” Blurting out whatever made it to his lips first, my eyes widened a little- both smiling shyly at each other. A light chuckle escaping him.

“I mean- I can’t let you run out my life… not when I am in love with you…”

“I waited sixteen years to hear those words from you-” touching his cheek, I moved away from him looking around.

“I don’t know if I really need to have my hopes crushed by you once again Charles.” Picking back up my dress I glanced back at him.

“Do you know what love is Charles?”

Nodding his head, stuffing his hand in the pockets of his suit pants, trying to make himself smaller. “I felt it every day for 16years- and I nearly lost it today… please tell me there’s a part of you that still loves me” The hope in his eyes was what burned in chest.

Weighing my choices, I finally got what I wanted- I got Charles… was it worth the sixteen year wait, the fifteen failed attempts- sixteen including this one depending how it ends…

And for the 100th time today, I took sixteen deep breaths. “How about some lunch Charlie?”

“Why did I wait this long for you?” Letting out a puff of air he moved in again- kissing me somewhat rougher than before. “God I love you so.”

“You’ll have to wait to hear it from me again.” With one quick kiss and a smile at him, he smiled back so warmly- taking my hand in his pulling me down the street to his car.

Opening the door for me we both looked at my dress and at the car. “This isn’t going to work…”

“Rip the dress-” laughing a little I started tugging at the bottom of the dress the fabric ripping so effortlessly. “I was hoping the ripping clothes off would wait until later-” with a cheeky smile he crouched down infront of me ripping the dress in places I wasn’t reaching.

“I’ll pretend to not hear that.” Blushy faced, I pulled at fabrics to make the dress not so puffy.

“Good thing you don’t need ears to be shown something.” His hand grazed my calf as he stood back up.

“Now- let me take you away Mrs.Leclerc.” Furrowing my brows at him tilting my head slightly. “I don’t plan on another attempt down the aisle any time soon-”

“Your fate was sealed with me 16 years ago.” Kissing my lips gently, I smiled more to myself sliding into his car.

“God the significance of sixteen.”

“The best number chèrie” (darling)shutting the door behind me, it was then I see Pascale and my parents at the top steps of the church smiling down on us, he was right fortunately our fate was sealed.

God I hate loving you Charles Leclerc.

Masterlist

[ninadove]

— Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo [Ch. 17]

For Feligami February 2025 — Day 20: Disobedience! 💜🦚❤️🐉

Alt text under the cut!

Line 1:

🇫🇷 — Qu’eussiez-vous donc fait libre ?

🇬🇧 “What would you not have accomplished, had you only been free?”

Line 2:

🇫🇷 — Rien, peut-être: ce trop plein de mon cerveau se fût évaporé en futilités.

🇬🇧 “Possibly nothing at all; the overflow of my brain would have, in a state of freedom, evaporated in a thousand follies;

-> Emilie frolicking (black and white)

-> The twins holding their newborns (darkened)

-> Gabemilie on their bed (black and white)

Line 3:

🇫🇷 Il faut le malheur pour creuser certaines mines mystérieuses cachées dans l’intelligence humaine ;

🇬🇧 misfortune is needed to bring to light the treasures of the human intellect.

-> Young Amelie reads a book (black and white)

-> Felix and Amelie join hands (darkened)

-> Colt balls his fist around Amelie’s baby bump (black and white)

Line 4:

🇫🇷 il faut la pression pour faire éclater la poudre.

🇬🇧 Compression is needed to explode gunpowder.

-> Gabriel threatens to snap Felix away (black and white)

-> Felix tells Shadow Moth to fuck off (darkened)

-> An akuma nestles in Felix’s fake ring (black and white)

Line 5:

🇫🇷 La captivité a réuni sur un seul point toutes mes facultés flottantes çà et là ; elles se sont heurtées dans un espace étroit ;

🇬🇧 Captivity has brought my mental faculties to a focus, and knocked thoughts against each other;

-> Felix’s amok breaks (black and white)

-> Felix opens his eyes after the amok incident (darkened)

-> Felix’s torn-up rabbit plushie (black and white)

Line 6:

🇫🇷 et, vous le savez, du choc des nuages résulte l’électricité,

🇬🇧 and you are well aware that from the collision of clouds electricity is produced —

-> Strikeback and its clones fall into the sun (black and white)

-> Flairmidable fetches Ladybug’s yoyo (darkened)

-> Shadow Moth addresses the city of Paris (black and white)

Line 7:

🇫🇷 de l’électricité l’éclair,

🇬🇧 from electricity, lightning,

-> Felix holds Kagami’s hand during the dance (black and white)

-> Felix breaks his fan to protect Kagami (darkened)

-> Argos prepares to snap Red Moon away (black and white)

Line 8:

🇫🇷 de l’éclair la lumière.

🇬🇧 from light, illumination.”

-> Kagami giggles after Argos draws a heart on her window (brightly coloured)

-> Felix puts his mask on, preparing to tell his story (brightly coloured)

-> After the play, Argos and Kagami kiss in front of the sunrise (GIF, brightly coloured)

[adarkrainbow]

On the subject of easily-missed details in Perrault's text of "Cinderella," I once heard someone point out that Perrault never says that Cinderella lost her slipper by accident. He says she "let [it] fall." Might this imply that she lost it on purpose, to give the Prince a way to find her?

That's me! X) I'm the person you heard it from as I posted about it before :p

Indeed, despite the common popular idea that Cinderella simply lost her shoe because she was in a hurry (which is something that happens with the Grimm Cinderella if I am not wrong, as well with alternate Cinderellas like madame d'Aulnoy Cunning Cinders), Perrault's text has an ambiguous phrasing.

"Le prince la suivit, mais il ne put l'attraper ; elle laissa tomber une de ses pantoufles de verre" [...] "rien ne lui étant resté de toute sa magnificence qu'une de ses petites pantoufles, la pareille de celle qu'elle avait laissée tomber".

The expression used is "laisser tomber". Figuratively and commonly, it just means "dropping" something - literaly however it means to "let fall" or "let go" of something. And it has all the ambiguities that a word like "dropping". You can read it in the figurative sense, she just lost her shoe while in a hurry, but you can also read it literaly "she let the shoes fall while the prince was pursuing her".

Now people might think "It is quite a stretch", but Perrault's Cinderella is definitively shown as someone who is clever enough to manipulate others. I mean, I know it clashes with the whole idea of this naive and kind Cinderella just coming up to her sister as the ball and chatting with them while peeling oranges as the stepsisters go "Who the heck is this person and why is she talking to us like best friends?. But remember that when her stepsisters go back from the ball, Cinderella pretends to yawn and rubs her eyes to pretend she had been sleeping all this time. Constance Cagnat did talk about this in the analysis post I sent before - and she pointed out other details like how when asked to find a pumpkin, just any pumpkin, Cinderella purposefully chooses the "most beautiful of them all" ; and how she also carries the other glass slipper in her pocket when the trying of the shoe occurs.

All sorts of little details that play on the ambiguity of how much naive and simple Cinderella is, and how much of it all she prepared in advance. As several analysist of the fairytale highlighted, Cinderella's enduring the mockeries and abuse of her step-family is talked about in the story in terms of her being a good and virtuous person who won't do bad things to her family even if they are not good to her... But it also presents this vision of a girl who knows when to await the right occasion, who knows how to "put up a face", of a young woman who is clever enough to realize lashing out won't do her no good and is bidding her time, cleverly submitting until she can get back at them in one way or another...

As such you can place Cinderella in this long row of ambiguously cunning women of Perrault's fairytales - from the good sister of "Diamonds and Toads" to the last wife of "Bluebeard". Characters that seem just like kind sweet little girls at first glance, but when you start looking more into the text proper, you start realizing maybe they knew what they doing, and were more careful than what one thinks...

[girafeduvexin]

L'AU de Gravity Falls (Fraternité Falls ?) avec Ford et Stan en vieux militants de gauche français, ça va me faire ma semaine.

D'un côté, t'as Ford qui était militant au PCF dans les années 70, ancien soixante-huitard (il a tellement fait ses études à Nanterre), limite trotskiste, le gars expert en théorie marxiste, tu débats avec lui et il te sort 45 textes de Marx ou Benjamin qui te contredisent, l'intello de gauche avec ses pulls troués et ses millions de feuilles volantes, mais qui, contrairement à tous ses camarades, ne fait pas de la socio mais de la physique ! Étonnamment, il a cru au programme commun en 81, il a voté pour Mitterrand, et paf en 82, Stan le pousse dans le portail. Il revient en 2012, sous la présidence de Hollande "ah mais le PCF est encore là?" "C'est mort" "c'est à cause du PS, ces sales social-traitres !", il apprend a posteriori la trahison de Mitterand et le tournant de la rigueur "on peut vraiment pas faire confiance à un socialiste", il fume des clopes en rageant devant le Mystery Shack à chaque intervention télévisée de Hollande et il cotise toujours au PCF, malgré tout.

De l'autre, t'as Stan, peu politisé dans son adolescence, et qui passe à côté de mai 68 parce qu'à la rue à ce moment là, qui vit de débrouille, de galère, qui ne vote pas, ne s'intéresse pas à tout ça pendant longtemps parce que bah, ce qu'il veut c'est survivre jusqu'au lendemain et c'est tout. Et puis, il pousse par accident Ford dans un portail, et le voilà bien malgré lui installé à Gravity Falls. Et maintenant que la survie n'est plus un enjeu, sa conscience politique s'éveille et elle est évidemment marquée par ses années de galère. Ces hommes politiques qui parlent d"assistanat", qu'est-ce qu'ils connaissent à la misère ? Stan est pas très cultivé politiquement et il a pas le temps pour ça, il a un portail à réparer et un frère à sauver, mais les mecs en cravate qui parlent sans rien connaître, ça l'enrage. Et ils ont le culot de dire que c'est à cause de l'immigration qu'il y a du chômage en France ! Stan vote LO, NPA, il vote pour des gens du peuple sans jamais adhérer à un parti (mais il a quand même failli être sur une liste électorale locale !) et il emmerde les fachos, par principe, sans vraiment trop creuser derrière. Il entarte des politicards, il fait des manifs sauvages et il tabasse des fachos dès qu'il peut. Au Mystery Shack, à certaines heures, on peut entendre les Béruriers Noirs gueuler "LA JEUNESSE EMMERDE LE FRONT NATIONAL" et Stan corrige "la VIEILLESSE emmerde le front national".

En 2012, Ford revient, Stan et lui se disputent etc, y a l'apocalypse, ils se réconcilient. Ils discutent de tout, de rien, mais pas de politique, parce qu'il y a tellement plus important à ce moment là.

Et puis un soir, alors qu'ils regardent la télé, on annonce au 20h que Hollande va faire une intervention ce soir. Les deux frères sifflent entre leurs dents, sans se concerter :

"Sale traître"

Regards surpris l'un sur l'autre, puis sourires : évidemment. Évidemment.

Stan fume des roulées avec Ford devant le Mystery Shack. Il râle en disant que les hommes politiques ne comprennent pas le peuple, Ford l'accuse en souriant d'être populiste, Stan rétorque que Ford est un "sale coco de merde". Ils rigolent. La vie est belle.

[fdelopera]

Welcome to the 22nd installment of 15 Weeks of Phantom, where I post all 68 sections of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, as they were first printed in Le Gaulois newspaper 115 yeas ago.

In today’s installment, we have Part I of Chapter 9, “Le mystérieux coupé” (“The Mysterious Carriage”).

This section was first printed on Wednesday, 27 October, 1909.

For anyone following along in David Coward's translation of the First Edition of Phantom of the Opera (either in paperback, or Kindle, or from another vendor -- the ISBN-13 is: 978-0199694570), the text starts at the beginning of Chapter 9, "That fatal night turned out badly for all concerned," and goes to, "But now he suddenly understood the mind of a young woman raised by a superstitious fiddler and this lady who believed in mumbo-jumbo. He shuddered to think of the consequences."

There are some differences between the Gaulois text and the First Edition. In this section, these include (highlighted in red above):

1) Chapter IX was misprinted as Chapter X. This numbering error was made in Chapter VII, and was not corrected, so it was propagated throughout the Gaulois publication.

2) Compare the Gaulois text:

Quant à Christine Daaé, elle avait disparu.

Translation:

As for Christine Daaé, she had disappeared.

To the First Edition (indicated by the 1st Red Arrow above):

Quant à Christine Daaé, elle avait disparu après la représantation.

Translation:

As for Christine Daaé, she had disappeared after the performance.

3) This section was added to the First Edition, and does not appear in the Gaulois (indicated by the 2nd Red Arrow above):

Il ne faut pas confondre cette première disparition, qui se passa sans scandale, avec le fameux enlèvement qui, à quelque temps de là, devait se produire dans des conditions si inexplicables et si tragiques.

Raoul fut le premier, naturellement, à ne rien comprendre à l’absence de la diva.

Translation:

One must not confuse this first disappearance, which went by without scandal, with the well-known abduction which, only a short while later, would occur under such inexplicable and tragic circumstances.

Naturally, Raoul was the first to find the diva's absence baffling.

4) This section was added to the First Edition, and does not appear in the Gaulois (indicated by the 3rd Red Arrow above):

Leurs amis eux-mêmes ne les reconnaissaient plus : ils avaient perdu toute joie et tout entrain. On les voyait traverser le théâtre, tête basse, le front soucieux, et les joues pâles comme s’ils étaient poursuivis par quelque abominable pensée, ou en proie à quelque malice du destin qui vous prend son homme et ne le lâche plus.

La chute du lustre avait entraîné bien des responsabilités, mais il était difficile de faire s’expliquer MM. les directeurs à ce sujet.

Translation:

Even their friends no longer recognized them; they had lost all their enthusiasm and good cheer. They could be seen crisscrossing the theatre, heads bowed, brows furrowed, and faces pale, as if they were pursued by some horrible thought, or prey to some evil trick of fate which takes hold of a man and never lets him go.

The chandelier's fall had incurred them numerous liabilities, but it was difficult to get the Managers to discuss the subject.

In the Gaulois, the text reads:

Il trouva des directeurs fort préoccupés, sans doute à cause des responsabilités qu'avait entraînées pour eux la chute de la lustre.

Translation:

He found the Managers quite distressed, no doubt because of the liabilities that they had incurred due to the chandelier's fall.

5) This section was added to the First Edition, and does not appear in the Gaulois (indicated by the 4th Red Arrow above):

Et il me faut bien dire que MM. Richard et Moncharmin apparurent à cette époque si changés, si lointains… si mystérieux… si incompréhensibles, qu’il y eut beaucoup d’abonnés pour imaginer que quelque événement plus affreux encore que la chute du lustre, avait modifié l’état d’âme de MM. les directeurs.

Dans leurs relations quotidiennes, ils se montraient fort impatients, excepté cependant avec Mme Giry qui avait été réintégrée dans ses fonctions. On se doute de la façon dont ils reçurent le vicomte de Chagny quand celui-ci vint leur demander des nouvelles de Christine.

Translation:

And I must say that at that time, MM. Richard and Moncharmin seemed so changed, so remote ... so mysterious ... so unfathomable, that many of the subscribers imagined that some event even more horrible than the fall of the chandelier had altered the Managers' state of mind.

In their daily interactions, they seemed to be exceedingly impatient, except with Mme Giry, who had been reinstated in her duties. One can guess the manner in which they received the Vicomte de Chagny when he came to ask them for news of Christine.

In the Gaulois, the text reads:

Ils firent à Raoul mauvaise mine quand il leur parla de Christine Daaé...

Translation:

They gave Raoul an unpleasant look when he spoke to them of Christine Daaé...

6) Compare the Gaulois text (highlighted in red above):

Il en tremblait en sonnant à sa porte, la porte d’un petit appartement de la rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires.

Translation:

He was trembling as he rang at her door, the door of a small flat on the Rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires.

To the First Edition:

Il en tremblait en sonnant à la porte d’un petit appartement de la rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires.

Translation:

He was trembling as he rang at the door of a small flat on the Rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires.

7) Here in the Gaulois text, Mme Valérius refers to Erik as the "génie de la musique" (the "Spirit of Music") instead of the "Ange de la musique" (the "Angel of Music"), as in the First Edition. (I have highlighted both instances in red above.)

Note that in French, "génie" means both "spirit" and "genius"; however, in this context, it refers to a spirit and not to someone of great intellectual prowess. Mistranslating “génie” as “genius” instead of “spirit” was one of Alexander Teixeira de Mattos' favorite errors in his 1911 abridged English translation of Phantom's First Edition. Thus Erik's statement to Christine in Apollo's Lyre should read, "It is true, Christine!… I am neither angel, nor spirit, nor phantom… I am Erik!" (Though I'm pretty sure that Erik would approve of de Mattos’ mistranslation in this case. ;-P)

8) Minor differences in punctuation and capitalization.

Click here to see the entire edition of Le Gaulois from 27 October, 1909. This link brings you to page 3 of the newspaper — Le Fantôme is at the bottom of the page in the feuilleton section. Click on the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen to turn the pages of the newspaper, and click on the Zoom button at the bottom left to magnify the text.

[kilfeur]

Je m'ennuie un peu donc voici mes rayllum headcanons :

Ces deux là se sont entraînés ensemble quand ils avaient enfin du temps libre. Mais souvent leurs combats avaient aussi un petit côté flirt. Donc même les chevaliers de Katolis se demandaient si ils flirtaient ou s'entraînaient.

Rayla apprécie plus ses bains quand Callum est avec elle depuis qu'ils s'entraînent ensemble.

Quand Callum était petit, il adorait jouer avec les cheveux de sa mère. Donc sa mère lui a apprit comment coiffer ses cheveux lui disant qu'un jour ça servirait. Et parfois, Callum coiffe et tresse les cheveux de Rayla. Il ignore que dans la culture des elfes de la lune que tresser les cheveux d'une elfe est intime. Mais elle lui dit rien pour l'instant car elle aime bien leurs petits moments ensemble.

Depuis qu'elle vit à Katolis, Callum lui a fait aussi visiter la ville aux alentours du château. Et elle aime beaucoup le marché de Katolis bien que ça lui a valu de se faire charier par Soren quand il l'a apprit.

Avec Barius, Rayla a enfin pu préparer quelques pâtisseries du bosquet d'argent à faire goûter à ses amis. Et Callum a enfin pu goûter au fameux moonberries et apprécie les petites douceurs que Rayla lui prépare.

Quand Callum a du mal à dormir ou a des cauchemars, Rayla lui chante sa berceuse pour l'aider à s'endormir et ça l'apaise pouvant se rendormir paisiblement.

Ils se donnent tout deux des massages quand ils sont trop fatigués ou stressés.

Maintenant que Rayla a des ailes grâce à son bracelet, Callum lui donne des leçons de vol. Même si ça tourne souvent en vol romantique pendant leurs sessions.

Même si Rayla sait danser, elle sait pas valser donc Callum lui a aussi donné des leçons de danse sur la valse.

J'aime à penser qu'ils auraient deux mariages, une au château de Katolis et une autre au Nexus de la lune basé sur la culture des elfes de la lune. Mais ce serait plus une petite cérémonie avec des amis proches invités.

Après s'être enfin pleinement installée à Katolis et à la fin de l'histoire, j'aime à penser qu'elle se fasse un peu plus plaisir concernant les tenues qu'elle porte. Bien que ça la dérange pas quand Callum lui choisit quelques tenues pour elle et vice versa.

I'm a little bored so here are my rayllum headcanons:

These two trained together when they finally had some free time. But often their fights also had a flirtatious side. So even the Katolis knights wondered whether they were flirting or fighting.

Rayla enjoys her baths more when Callum is with her, now that they were training together.

When Callum was little, he loved to play with his mother's hair. So his mother taught him how to style her hair, telling him it would come in handy one day. And sometimes Callum styles and braids Rayla's hair. He doesn't know that in moonshadow elf culture, braiding an elf's hair is intimate. But she doesn't tell him yet, because she likes their little moments together.

Since she's been living in Katolis, Callum has also shown her around the town around the castle. And she loves the Katolis market, even though Soren teased her about it when he found out.

With Barius, Rayla was finally able to prepare some pastries from Silvergrove for her friends to taste. And Callum has finally had a taste of the famous moonberries and is enjoying the little treats Rayla prepares for him.

When Callum has trouble sleeping or nightmares, Rayla sings him her lullaby to help him fall asleep, so he can drift off peacefully.

They both give each other massages when they're too tired or stressed.

Now that Rayla has wings thanks to her bracelet, Callum gives her flying lessons. Even though it often turns into a romantic flight during their sessions.

Even though Rayla can dance, she can't waltz, so Callum has been giving her waltz lessons too.

I'd like to think they'd have two weddings, one at Katolis Castle and another at the Moon Nexus based on moonshadow elf culture. But it would be more of a small ceremony with close friends invited.

After she's finally fully settled in Katolis, and at the end of the story, I'd like to think she'll indulge herself a little more in the outfits she wears. Although she doesn't mind when Callum chooses a few outfits for her and vice versa.

[rjalker]

aww darn it. realization.

[ID: The "Same hat" meme, of a black and white comic panel showing two people wearing the same hat, waving happily at eachother from a distance. The one closer to the camera is labled, "Tremaine", and is saying "aw fuck", the one further away is labeled "Murderbot" and is saying "damn it". End ID.]

Martha Wells' refusal to let characters be disabled includes Serious™ forms of mental illness. they're just not allowed. They will only exist for drama and then immediately get fixed.

god damn it.

hi would you all like to know one of the main plot points of The Fall of Ile-Rien? Trigger warning for mentions of suicidal ideation below the cut.

(Archived read-more link)

We are introduced to the story while our protagonist, Tremaine, is plotting out the best way to kill herself.

Because, we are led to believe, she's been traumatized by the horrific war being waged against her people. She has spent almost all her free time volunteering to pull bodies out of collapsed buildings.

But then the story progresses.

And it gets revealed that actually, she's not depressed at all, and not actually suicidal, it was all...because of magic. And now that the magical item has been removed she's no longer suicidal, because she wasn't ever actually suicidal to begin with. She's not actually mentally ill, it was literally all just magic. The trauma of the war does not impact her in any way.

And now in System Collapse we get strung along for literally 100 pages being told that something horrible happened to Murderbot off screen and then it's the most terribly written and meaningless reveal ever, and then at the end of the book we're just supposed to pretend that the problem is fucking magically solved now because uh...it knows what the word flashback is...so we're pretending this solves everything and it's not gonna be a problem anymore :|

And again with the continued lack of any permanent damage to any of the traumatic injuries these people are constantly suffering.

But yeah it looks like this clickbait bullshit """system collapse""" is gonna be just as cheap and shallow and magically cured as Tremaine wanting to kill herself.

Because writing a character who's actually depressed and traumatized and suicidal from what she's gone through would be too much effort I guess.

[praise-the-lord-im-dead]

11, 20, and 25 for the reads in review asks?

11. Favorite non-fiction of the year?

The Black Count by Tom Reiss! It's the story of Alexandre Dumas' father, and a fascinating new angle to view both the French Revolution and Europe's relationship with its colonies. The author did a good job mentioning how he researched his subject, where he was drawing different parts of the narrative from, and any inconsistencies in different reports/opinions, which I really look for in any kind of nonfiction. He also never seemed to downplay actual historical tragedy in order to make a more cohesive or heroic narrative. Also, Alex Dumas was just a fantastic man who deserves many accolades.

(I actually have many favorite non-fictions this year, but this is the one I've been thinking about the longest).

20. Did you re-read any books? Were they what you expected?

I re-read The Murderbot Diaries on a regular basis as a matter of course and they're always wonderful, but this year I think I read The Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy...3 times? 4? They get richer every time I dive back in.

25. What's on the top of your list for 2025?

I'm halfway through Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson, and deeply enjoying it! After I finish that, I'm most looking forward to The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett <3

[transparentgentlemenmarker]

Affiche de la clôture des jeux olympiques le 11 août ❔

Bref la similitude de ce que nous avons vécu me mets à penser que les symboles ont une signification. Je vois une évocation du falling man du 11 septembre 2001.

Les frites

Ennemi je le suis, pas en ville, je me fout de ces jeux, en rien clôturé. Je suis l'ennemi, parce que je pense, parce que j'aime lire, parce que je suis pour la liberté d'expression et la liberté de choix, je suis le genre de mec qui aime aller dans un bon resto et qui se demande si il va prendre une côte de boeuf ou un pavé de rumsteck géant avec ces frites mayonnaise. Je veux faire du cholestérol, je veux bouffer du lard, du beurre, des montagnes de fromage, je veux fumer un bon cigare de la taille de la tour Eiffel dans un coin non fumeur, je veux courir nu dans les rues le corps couvert de ketchup en lisant playboy. Pourquoi ? Parce que j'en aurai eu envie tout d'un coup, ouais mec !

[maisouvontlespoussieres]

2024 - Please, do not fall in love

Il est trop tôt, je suis perdu. Malgré les multiples injonctions, je refuse d’obéir. Frôlant l’indécence, risquant la phrase de trop ou le geste déplacé, je m’élance et puis je recule.

Rien ne devrait se passer ainsi et je me demande : Quel temps fait-il à Paris ?

Ce qui me donne une raison de partir, me donne une raison de rester. Mais l’heure joue à ma place et déjà résonne le bruit métallique du train sur les rails.

[raphohwell]

This song is one of the most influential songs about climate change in my home province of Quebec. I hope you will enjoy it, and take the opportunity to spend time thinking about the issues currently faced by our planet due to climate change.

Cette chanson est l'une des plus importantes dans le discours des changements climatiques dans ma province natale du Québec. J'espère en vous la montrant que vous l'apprécierez et prendrez du temps pour réfléchir aux bouleversements auxquels nous faisons face durant ces changements climatiques.

Lyrics - Paroles

[English]

There are only a few minutes left in my life At most a few hours, I feel myself weakening My brother died yesterday in the middle of the desert I am now the last human on Earth

They once described to me, when I was a child What the world looked like a very long time ago When my great-grandfather's parents were alive And snow still fell in winter

In those times, we lived according to the seasons And the end of summers brought the harvest Pure and limpid water flowed in the streams Where deer and moose came to drink

But I have only seen a desolate planet Lunar landscapes and suffocating heat And all my friends dying of thirst or hunger Like flies falling, until there was nothing left Nothing left Nothing left

There are only a few minutes left in my life At most a few hours, I feel myself weakening My brother died yesterday in the middle of the desert I am now the last human on Earth

It all started several years ago When my ancestors were obsessed By pieces of paper called money That made some men truly rich and powerful

And these new gods, stopping at nothing Were ready to do anything to achieve their goals To get even richer, they razed the earth Polluted the air and dried up the rivers

But after a hundred years, people rose up And warned them that everything had to stop But they did not understand this wise prophecy These men only spoke in terms of profits

It was years later that they saw the nonsense In panic, they declared a state of emergency When all the oceans swallowed the islands And floods hit the big cities

And then for a whole decade There were hurricanes and then fires Earthquakes and great drought Everywhere on faces, you could read distress

People had to fight against pandemics Decimated by millions by dreadful diseases Then others died of thirst or hunger Like flies falling, until there was nothing left Nothing left Nothing left

My brother died yesterday in the middle of the desert I am now the last human on Earth In the end, the intelligence we were given Will have been nothing but a beautiful, poisoned gift Because there are only a few minutes left in life At most a few hours, I feel myself weakening I can't walk anymore, I struggle to breathe Farewell humanity, Farewell humanity

[Français]

Il ne reste que quelques minutes à ma vie Tout au plus quelques heures, je sens que je faiblis Mon frère est mort hier au milieu du désert Je suis maintenant le dernier humain de la terre

On m'a décrit jadis, quand j'étais un enfant Ce qu'avait l'air le monde il y a très très longtemps Quand vivaient les parents de mon arrière-grand-père Et qu'il tombait encore de la neige en hiver

En ces temps, on vivait au rythme des saisons Et la fin des étés apportait la moisson Une eau pure et limpide coulait dans les ruisseaux Où venaient s'abreuver chevreuils et orignaux

Mais moi, je n'ai vu qu'une planète désolante Paysages lunaires et chaleur suffocante Et tous mes amis mourir par la soif ou la faim Comme tombent les mouches, jusqu'à ce qu'il n'y ait plus rien Plus rien Plus rien

Il ne reste que quelques minutes à ma vie Tout au plus quelques heures, je sens que je faiblis Mon frère est mort hier au milieu du désert Je suis maintenant le dernier humain de la terre

Tout ça a commencé il y a plusieurs années Alors que mes ancêtres étaient obnubilés Par des bouts de papier que l'on appelait argent Qui rendaient certains hommes vraiment riches et puissants

Et ces nouveaux dieux ne reculant devant rien Étaient prêts à tout pour arriver à leurs fins Pour s'enrichir encore, ils ont rasé la terre Pollué l'air ambiant et tari les rivières

Mais au bout de cent ans, des gens se sont levés Et les ont avertis qu'il fallait tout stopper Mais ils n'ont pas compris cette sage prophétie Ces hommes-là ne parlaient qu'en termes de profits

C'est des années plus tard qu'ils ont vu le non-sens Dans la panique ont déclaré l'état d'urgence Quand tous les océans ont englouti les îles Et que les inondations ont frappé les grandes villes

Et par la suite pendant toute une décennie Ce furent les ouragans et puis les incendies Les tremblements de terre et la grande sécheresse Partout sur les visages, on lisait la détresse

Les gens ont dû se battre contre les pandémies Décimés par millions par d'atroces maladies Puis les autres sont morts par la soif ou la faim Comme tombent les mouches, jusqu'à ce qu'il n'y ait plus rien Plus rien Plus rien

Mon frère est mort hier au milieu du désert Je suis maintenant le dernier humain de la terre Au fond, l'intelligence qu'on nous avait donnée N'aura été qu'un beau cadeau empoisonné Car il ne reste que quelques minutes à la vie Tout au plus quelques heures, je sens que je faiblis Je ne peux plus marcher, j'ai peine à respirer Adieu l'humanité, adieu l'humanité