#i think this is the first time i've used her tag :')

[aziraphales-library]

Hello there

First of all, a huge thank you for all the effort you put in for us to find stories we love.

I was just wondering if you have any stories along these lines

An "Accidentally Married AU" but not one where they get drunk and get married. More like one of them comes from a different culture/is some sort of creature and the other completes a mating ritual without realising. The closest I've found for this is here:

Don't Wake a Sleeping Bear(Dragon) - ZehWulf - Good Omens (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

But I was wondering if you knew of any others?

Your help is very much appreciated here!

Have a lovely day.

Hi! Here are some fics where they are accidentally married/bonded for reasons other than being drunk. Mind the tags on a couple of these!...

Intertwined by greygerbil (G)

After switching bodies, Aziraphale and Crowley have a matching small but persistent problem.

Vows by Bookwormgal (T)

Crowley certainly didn't do it on purpose. It wasn't something that he exactly planned. But a moment of desperation and stubbornness gave birth to the creation of something new. A bond forged of power, hope, devotion, love, and promises that he would never break. It isn't often that a demon metaphysically half-marries an angel.

Help, I Accidentally Married a Fae by fruchox (T)

Crowley hadn't meant to fall through a Faerie and into an accidental marriage with the Fae Ruler, Aziraphale. It's just that, as time passes, and as they overcome the problems that stand in front of getting Crowley home, he's not sure he wants to go back to his world after all.

The mortifying ordeal of being un-known by Gay_internet_mafia (T)

Tasked with securing a surrogate for the second coming he does not want to come, Aziraphale seeks out his demon. Only for Crowley to have no memory of him at all. Can they solve the mystery and see Crowley's memories returned? And what will he think of Aziraphale once they do?

I’m Your Landsailor by IneffableDoll (T)

In a small seaside town called Tadfield, one of the last places on Earth where humans and magic coexist, an exiled selkie and a human who ran away from her life accidentally get themselves married in the oldest, most binding sense. The two are forced to stay together until they can find a way to undo it and free the other from their accidental marriage. It sure would be complicated if they started to fall for each other in the process…

Offerings by fenrislorsrai (M)

“Come home with me then. Stay and talk.” “Are you… inviting me in?” They are nowhere near a building to go into. They are just reaching the first crossroad on a very long walk home. He is clearly asking something Anthony doesn’t quite grasp the meaning of, but can tell it is something huge and life changing. “I don’t know what that means. What does it matter if you’re everywhere and nowhere if I ask you to be somewhere?” Ế̵͇̠V̷̯̇Ĕ̷̞̬͠R̸̖̭͋Y̵̬̟̅T̶̜̺͠H̴̖͉̾I̸̦̠̽̽N̶̯̈́G̴̫͎͋ As a young man, Anthony saw Death and invited it in. Gave it a home. Gave it a life. Bought that time with the blood of others. Now he���s growing older. His last victim nearly took him. Death comes for everyone. Anthony accepts this. Knows he’ll die too. Have to leave Death alone. And Death can’t accept that. detailed notes about potentially triggering content at the start of each chapter. Rated M for graphic violence On healing from trauma and the importance of stories & rituals for dealing with that which would otherwise destroy us. On finding the words to describe what happened without those very words causing you greater pain. Also pining while married

And the one you mentioned...

Don't Wake a Sleeping Bear(Dragon) by ZehWulf (T)

Crowley's a mage on the run from goons from Lucifer's court, but a twisted ankle means he has to find a hiding spot for the night and fast. Luckily, there's a nearby, hopefully empty cave he can hide in! :D

- Mod D

[herofics]

Hello!! I found your blog and gotta say I LOVE your works!!! :D I've got a request if that's alright?

I was thinking of a Gojo x Stoic! Fem! Reader, but the reader has the same power as All Might?

She's called over to help with a serious mission, and seeing her power in action manages to impress and catch the attention of Gojo.

A/N: Sorry this took so damn long, I got this ask at the end of June and I'm just now getting around to writing it. Thank you for liking my writing, it means a lot to me :D Also Idk what the hell this ended up being, but I hope it's okay…

You don't particularly care about the whole "exorcizing curses" gig, you just do it because you happen to be very good at it and were born a sorcerer

You'd heard of Gojo before you met him, he's pretty freaking famous in the world of jujutsu, so it would be much weirder if you hadn't heard of him

You're not really impressed by him though, because he seems kind of childish and immature, even if he is the strongest

You were assigned a mission and you were supposed to do it alone

But for some reason, Gojo decided to tag along, because apparently he was bored

He promised not to interfere with your mission, unless you really looked like you needed it

You kind of rolled your eyes at him, because you were sure you would manage just fine and you pretty much always did missions alone

Gojo took your indifference to mean that you didn't like him, which made him even more annoying, because he became very talkative while trying to figure you out

You handled your mission and Gojo was just hanging around the whole time

He was kind just observing you, and when you punched the first curse and it just disintegrated instantly it made him raise an eyebrow

Cause normally the curses wouldn't just instantly disappear, but apparently your punches were so strong and infused with so much cursed energy it just evaporated them

Gojo is of course able to do this too, but he's never seen anyone aside from himself do it without a blackflash

He's intrigued, but he's also mostly figured out how your cursed technique works

Your physical strength remind him of Toji, which is not a very pleasant memory, but it just shows how strong you are

Gojo congratulates you after a mission well done, and offers to take you to eat something

You accept, not really thinking anything off it, just a meal between colleagues, but he basically uses the meal to talk your ear off and ask you a lot of questions

Gojo found himself very interested in you and while you do seem a bit distant, you're not really that cold

[revvethasmythh]

sorry, i'm new to the fandom but i instantly fell in love with widobrave….. is the ship really that unpopular?

well first, hello, and welcome to the fandom!! (both cr and widobrave!)

second, i think it's actually difficult for me to track how popular/unpopular widobrave is right now in the fandom, and i only started shipping it in 2020 so I can't give a full historical perspective on what the shipping scene looked like at the beginning besides what i've heard (people thought nott was a child at the very beginning of the show, then it turned into "nott is caleb's mom!" after that, and i'll exempt some further details in case you don't want any potential spoilers since you're new and I don't know how much you know, but those two things did a lot to make the ship....undesirable to the masses, shall we say). from my own perspective, I remember going into the ship and feeling like it was fairly fringe back in 2020 (and it was). small group of people, usually exclusively nott stans, were like the only people you'd see shipping it and a lot of people reacted negatively to the idea of the ship. there was an undercurrent that it was bad because some found it "incestuous" due to feeling like nott was caleb's mother (a thing that it not true in either the literal or metaphorical capacity!) and this has been the most persistent pushback against the ship that i am aware of. generally, back in the day, there was a sense that nott couldn't seriously be shipped with anyone, but especially not someone she thought of as "her kid," much as that's simply a popularly proliferated misunderstanding of ONE scene in the entire show.

the current state of widobrave affairs? i honestly don't know. it's certainly still a very small ship, but there's been a LOT of lightening up about it in the years since the campaign ended. i've seen a lot more neutral-positive opinions toward it, whereas in years past...i mean, i've been blocked just for shipping it. i've seen more than one "do NOT tag this as widobrave" statement on art pieces, like...it was considered FRINGE once upon a time. but i feel like it's stopped being fringe and is now just...small? again, it's usually exclusively nott stans that ship it, so already not a big pool of people just based on that. it's certainly not mainsteam or anything, but i certainly feel more comfortable maintagging my widobrave posts these days than i used to. i think a lot of people just don't want to look at the relationship in a romantic light, despite the fact that in most circumstances their initial setup would have been a HUGE jumping off point for shipping (just look at the immediacy of imogen/laudna shipping, who share practically the same backstory/relationship setup), and generally prefer the other, bigger ships in the fandom. it would probably take a dissertation's worth of explanation to dig into all the reasons why that is, but that is generally where the ship sits in the fandom.

if anyone has more insight on the history of the ship's fandom reception/current reception, i'd love to hear it since it missed out on those founding years! and again, a hearty to welcome to the fandom! it's always nice to see an new widobraver around

[m-jelly]

Hey jelly! I hope you're having a lovely day, so I was listening a song and I got an idea! Levi and y/n are childhood friends, Levi start to develop Crush on her but too scared to confess to her, y/n loves for songs since she was child, Levi sometimes sees her with headphones bobbing her head, one day Levi was taking a walk at the forest until he heard someone singing, he sees y/n singing 'come and get your love by redbone' and doing her little dance

@ladycheesington <3

A few firsts

Levi x fem reader

Modern AU, teen romance, fluff

Levi catches you dancing in the woods as you sing along to your music. Levi's feelings bubble over and you share a few firsts.

Levi kicked a small stone on the woodland path as his thoughts raced. Soon school would be over and you'd be moving on to university or working. He tried to live a life where the choices he made he'd regret the least, but he wasn't really living up to those words.

He was deeply and madly in love with you, his childhood friend, and has yet to confess. Every waking moment was spent fixated on you, all his choices were linked to you and everything he liked. He adored you and you'd become such a massive part of his life. Before he knew it, he'd fallen hard for you.

Soft singing broke his messy thoughts and made it clear. He followed the pleasurable singing until he reached the most beautiful view. You were in the middle of an opening of the trees lined with flowers and a small creek. You were dancing and singing to yourself as you enjoyed your little world.

You twirled around as you sang and noticed Levi watching. You squealed before stopping and yanking your headphones off. "Levi! Hi!" Your heart raced. "Was not expecting you." You gulped a little. "Kind of embarrassed."

He moved closer to you. "I liked it."

"R-Really?" You shifted as Levi got closer. "I-I'm not the best dancer and singer."

"It was cute."

You looked up at him. "C-Cute?"

He nodded as he played with your hair. "It was cute. You're cute."

"I ah." You felt dizzy, this was a dream coming true for you. Your childhood friend, whom you loved more than a friend, was calling you cute. "Th-thank you."

"Can I dance with you?"

"S-Sure."

He took his jacket off. "Could we use your phone for music?"

You placed your headphones on his jacket and played some softer music. "Here. This okay?"

He pulled you close and started slow dancing. "Yeah...ummm." His cheeks burned. "S-Sorry if I'm not good. I've never done this before."

"First time slow dancing?"

"Mm."

You smiled at him. "Me too." You nibbled your lip. "If it means anything, I think you're really good."

"Th-thanks." He danced with you but kept gazing at your lips. Everything within Levi was telling him to kiss you, but he wouldn't dare just do it. "Hey, um...can...could...uh." He cleared his throat as nerves prickled his body. "I want to kiss you." He looked away from you as a blush consumed him. "I want to kiss you so bad 'cause I've liked...loved you for so long. It's okay if you don't want to."

You cupped the side of Levi's face, turned his head so he looked at you and then you kissed him lightly. You pulled back and whined. "I love you too. I've wanted to kiss you for a long time. I'm sorry if that was bad, it was my first kiss."

His heart raced. "It was mine too."

You gripped his shirt and hummed. "Do you want to do it again?"

He wrapped his arms around you. "Fuck yes. I ah...I mean, yes please."

You giggled. "Don't ever change, Levi."

He tilted his head and leaned closer. "I'll do my best."

The two of you kissed in the middle of the clearing, and the world around you faded away as you shared a clumsy kiss that soon became filled with love and confidence. The kiss went from sweet and innocent to something more passionate causing your bodies to tingle with delight.

Finally, you were together.

Tags under

@ladycheesington @levisbrat25 @nyxiieluna @li-anne @galactict3a @youre-ackermine @thebobaprincess @2moth-anon2 @cypidity @nbinairyn @bts-spnlvr12 @darkstarlight82 @emilyyyy-08 @levistealeaf @pelicanpizza @hideandgopeep @notgoodforlife @demonic-bird @searriously @dreamerofthewest @abiatackerman @minminroie

[eulaliasims]

Round 3, Shep 1 / 3

Believe it or not, I've actually played the whole autumn round in Veridia since I last posted. Unfortunately, some of that was two months ago, so caption quality may be questionable on some posts. Anyway, here we go, I'm not summarizing anything this time. You probably maybe remember who these guys are. Or not, I had to go check my tags a few times to make sure I was spelling names correctly.

Shep is having a pretty calm autumn. She checks on the bees (she's glad now her mothers insisted she bring that queen bee cell all this way to start a new hive, because the honey has been a nice little boon), chats up random passersby, and works a little bit on her weaving in the evening before it gets too dark for fine work.

When she's not weaving, she likes to spend time at the mead hall.

Xiang: Shep, you have bees, correct?

Shep: I do, in fact, have bees! I just finished a batch of honey, were you interested in buying?

Xiang: Actually, I was wondering if you would be willing to give Drustan a lesson or two about the bees. See, he's developed something of a phobia after an incident—

Shep: And you think learning about them will help?

Xiang: That's my theory. We can work out payment for you, of course, if you're interested in doing it.

Shep: Be paid to talk about bees? Sure! I could do that in my sleep.

(Reminder that Drustan actually got chased by bees three times in one round. On the other hand, I started playing Legend of Zelda: BotW for the first time and immediately got chased by bees, so maybe I am the problem.)

Elmet and Eisu are here too. Who's watching the kids, you ask? Eh, Mouse has got everything under control, I'm sure.

Helenet and Elmet's impending marriage has become the hot topic in town this week.

Helenet: What about you? Do you have your eye on anyone in particular, Shep? Oh, or if that's something you're not interested in, just ignore me, I'm a little tipsy I suppose.

Shep: I do, actually, but it's nothing serious yet.

Helenet: Well, just kissing is fun too! *giggle*

BIG NEWS! Selling off most of her honey meant Shep could finally afford that pottery wheel! She may only have 82 simoleons to her name now, but she can make plates!

That morning, Xiang brings Drustan by for his beekeeping lesson.

Shep: Rule number one about bees, bees mostly only get aggressive when they feel threatened, especially if their home is threatened. It's how they keep their hive safe from intruders trying to eat their honey and babies. Lots of beekeepers will use a smokey torch to make the bees sleepy when they collect honeycomb.

Drustan: Don't the bees get mad afterward that they don't have any honey?

Shep: You have to leave enough in the hive for them, otherwise you won't have bees anymore. It's what the baby bees eat. Anyway, my mother believes bees recognize their keepers and have people they prefer. I don't know, they do seem calmer after they've become acquainted with you.

Drustan: Hmm... does the silly hat make them bees like you more?

Shep: My hat isn't silly. I just burn easily. Do you want to look at the bees with me now?

Drustan: Maybe. From a safe distance.

[amber-jinx]

Starting out the original post I've stated that Arcane season 2 has its wins and should be celebrated for. Fortiche that's recommended more episodes shouldn't be dragged.

My bad for the Isha part then, wasn't obvious enough to piece that together, and it felt really abrupt having her introduced in a music video. Jinx and Vi's parents could very well be working in other jobs dealing with machinery and wearing the same hat. How easy is it for the audience to piece those together? They could've just shown how Isha broke free from the children's mine. The lack of run time can't be used as all excuses. Certain priorities have to be made for the audience to understand things smoothly.

Don't know how obvious the miner bit is, because that didn't occur to me at all. (And then people are gonna blame the audience for not understanding something. It's all going in circles-- how things are said vs how they're received, e.g. the dirt in your nails line, having cultural differences and different perspectives coming into play.)

Who's to say season 2 fanatics don't have confirmation biases? Just because they loved it so much, they dig for all the good and ignore valid criticisms, kinda showed through your reblogs. The whole point of my blog is simply to recognise both it's good and its flaws. If you want to defend the show against hate posts, go ahead. But that's not my intention here.

There are other valid points many and myself have made with the tag, so I don't think focusing on extremes is a good idea. The original post I made is to recognise the good and the bad of something, which is different from what you're trying to do. Arcane season 2 did not win best writing or awards related to that for a reason. It won't those Annie awards also for a reason. It's good to just recognise that, and move on.

You haven't seen ridiculous misunderstandings and nitpicking? You should see people slandering Rachel Amber from Life is Strange. People have been ignoring details and bashing on her for years, even after the fandom has died. As I mentioned in the first post, it's 2 sides of the same coin. Except I'm on the other side of it this time, but with valid points.

It seems that you're also lumping season 1 and 2 as a whole when talking about the awards. Season 1 won more in certain categories that season 2 wasn't nominated for. Best video game adaptation is not won by season 2. The argument that arcane has won every category possible isn't valid because we're talking about how season 2 has declined. Yes, Amanda has done well in certain areas, but has also inserted a lot of her own wishes into a sequel, breaking the continuity without any run time to break it's fall.

People are disappointed for a reason due to the lack of nuance and the great potential this show has as a sequel, not on its own. Have you seen some of the things Christian and Amanda has been saying? They don't make any sense. I suggest you read that linked post in detail (especially one of its replies to the comments -- with quotes on what Amanda's saying in interviews), to see different viewpoints.

At the end of the day, defend or criticise it, it's just a show. Riot is gonna do riot, and people are allowed their opinions. If you're sick of something, move on. Good day.

Seriously why are some people defending Arcane S2 like their life depended on it. The music was top tier, some parts were good, Fortiche has topped their game. Marvelous job by Fortiche. While acknowledging the good we also must acknowledge the bad just to be real and so Riot can improve upon their future seasons. Incoherent writers, shitty plot, so many loose ends, the lack of showtime, Cait? Caitvi? Vi??? All the random undeveloped characters (this did not happen in s1)? The discontinuation from season 1?? Using parallels just for the sake of it without much meaning? ...

This is like a flip side to defending Rachel Amber all over again... See both sides of the coin people 😪

[licorishh]

no way she's alive ?? yea those mental health breaks because social media makes people suck are wild huh

[knifefightandchill]

RESIDENT EVIL 4 (2023)

this time... is different.

[triglycercule]

horror is so BLESSED he's the only one out of the murder time trio that has actual good people trying to influence his story 💔💔 dust and killer were both driven to INSANITY because of the choices of their respective humans but horror??? every time without FAIL the polls for horrortale's plotline have always ended in a good place for aliza (either by bettering her relationships/reputation or for her to just. not DIE)

horrortale's potential alternate timelines my beLOVEd🙏🙏 they're SO lucky that we're being kind and benevolent hehe (≧ω≦) now where are the aus based off the possible different outcomes that could've happened in horrortale HUH???? (like how aliza couldve killed toriel or chosen horror's puzzle or gone with undyne to the core........)

[ispridestillasin]

So I decided to watch a bit of Bridgerton with my mother, which I'm not really interested in (I don't really like period pieces unless it's a fanfic for a ship I like) but it's a show she enjoys so I sometimes catch her watching it and join her, and literally the only takeaway from the stuff I've seen with her is that Colin, Lord Debling, and Penelope should have all been poly

[contagious-watermelon]

it's kind of like insanely isolating that literally every aspec or "ace & aro" space I've found has been in actuality, solely for aces. perhaps arospec aces or aroaces who entirely prioritize their asexuality could also find company there, but even as an aromantic person who is also asexual, they're really not intended for me. so I can only imagine how isolating it must be if you're aromantic and allosexual

[transmascutena]

these lines hit different when you read utena as transmasc

[memento-morri-writes]

This is far from my best work, but it's 1:30am, and I needed to get this down before I slept or lost my mind. So here, take a snippet of Rook seeing Zara again for the first time in 3 years.

Trying, and failing, to keep his voice from shaking, [Rook] said “Hello, Captain.” Mouth still open in surprise, [Zara] replied “Well, hello yourself.” The reality of what she was seeing seemed to hit her as she rounded the desk. “Rook, is that really you?” He nodded. “It’s me.” Zara ran towards him, stopping just short of touching him, and said “What did she do to you?” Rook’s heart stuttered and he had to brush his fingers together to confirm Sigmar’s ring was still in place. Could she possibly see through its illusion? But then he remembered what Lanny had said. She knew where you were. His throat clenched and he choked out “Two years.” A wave of grief swept across Zara’s face as she said “I’m so, so sorry.” Rook shook his head vigorously. “It’s not your fault.” Zara ignored him. “It is my fault. I failed you. As your captain, it’s my responsibility to keep you safe, and I failed you.” Rook wanted to say something, to reassure her, but she pushed on. “She sent me letters, told me all the terrible things she was doing to you. I… I let you down.” Those words hit Rook with the force of a dozen cannonballs. Lanny had said that Zara knew Wolf had him, but knowing that Zara had been aware of what Wolf was doing to him… somehow that was more painful than any wound Wolf had ever inflicted. He barely managed to force his next words out around the lump in his throat. “Where were you?” And why didn’t you come? “She said she’d kill you if I came to get you. Or if I hired anyone to get you. You’re standing here because I stopped sailing.” 

(honorary one-time tag for @space-writes bc I remember you enjoyed my other bits about Rook and Zara.)

[longagoitwastuesday]

So so indebted to u for posting those lovely illustrations from Cyrano <333 & even more so for yr tags!! I'm completely in love w yr analysis, please feel free to ramble as long as u wish! Browsing through yr Cyrano de Bergerac tag has given me glimpses of so many adaptations & translations I'd never heard of before! I'll be watching the Solès version next, which I have only discovered today through u ^_^ As for translations, have u read many/all of them? I've only encountered the Renauld & Burgess translations in the wild, & I was curious to hear yr translation thoughts that they might guide my decision on which one I buy first (not necessarily Renauld or Burgess ofc). Have a splendid day & sorry for the likespam! 💙

Sorry for the delay. Don't mind the likespam, I'm glad you enjoyed my tags about Cyrano, and that they could contribute a bit to a further appreciation of the play. I loved it a lot, I got obsessed with it for months. It's always nice to know other people deeply love too that which is loved haha I hope you enjoy the Solès version, it may well be my favourite one!

About translations, I'm touched you're asking me, but I don't really know whether mine is the best opinion to ask. I have read... four or five English translations iirc, the ones I could find online, and I do (and especially did, back when I was reading them) have a lot of opinions about them. However, nor English nor French are my first languages (they are third and fourth respectively, so not even close). I just read and compare translations because that's one of my favourite things to do.

The fact is that no translation is perfect, of course. I barely remember Renauld's, but I think it was quite literal; that's good for understanding the basics of the text, concepts and characters, but form is subject, and there's always something that escapes too literal translations. Thomas and Guillemard's if I recall correctly is similar to Hooker's in cadence. It had some beautiful fragments, some I preferred over Hooker's, but overall I think to recall I liked Hooker's more. If memory serves, Hooker's was the most traditionally poetic and beautiful in my opinion. Burgess' is a whole different thing, with its perks and drawbacks.

Something noticeable in the other translations is that they are too... "epic". They do well the poetic, sorrowful, grief stricken, crushed by regrets aspects of Cyrano and the play in general, but they fall quite short in the funny and even pathetic aspects, and that too is key in Cyrano, both character and play. Given the characteristics of both languages, following the cadence of the French too literally, with those long verses, makes an English version sound far too solemn at times when the French text isn't. Thus Burgess changes the very cadence of the text, adapting it more to the English language. This translation is the one that best sets the different moods in the play, and as I said before form is subject, and that too is key: after all, the poetic aspect of Cyrano is as much true as his angry facet and his goofy one. If Cyrano isn't funny he isn't Cyrano, just as he wouldn't be Cyrano without his devotion to Roxane or his insecurities; Cyrano is who he is precisely because he has all these facets, because one side covers the other, because one trait is born from another, because one facet is used as weapon to protect the others, like a game of mirrors and smoke. We see them at different points through the play, often converging. Burgess' enhances that. He plays with the language itself in form and musicality, with words and absences, with truths masking other truths, with things stated but untold, much like Cyrano does. And the stage directions, poetic and with literary value in their own right in a way that reminded me of Valle Inclán and Oscar Wilde, interact with the text at times in an almost metatextual dimension that enhances that bond Cyrano has with words, giving them a sort of liminal air and strengthening that constant in the play: that words both conceal and unveil Cyrano, that in words he hides and words give him away.

But not all is good, at all. Unlike Hooker, Burgess reads to me as not entirely understanding every facet of the characters, and as if he didn't even like the play all that much, as if he had a bit of a disdainful attitude towards it, and found it too mushy. Which I can understand, but then why do you translate it? In my opinion the Burgess' translation does well bending English to transmit the different moods the French text does, and does pretty well understanding the more solemn, cool, funny, angry, poetic aspects of Cyrano, but less so his devotion, vulnerability, insecurities and his pathetism. It doesn't seem to get Roxane at all, how similar she is to Cyrano, nor why she has so many admirers. It does a very poor job at understanding Christian and his value, and writes him off as stupid imo. While I enjoyed the language aspect of the Burgess translation, I remember being quite angry at certain points reading it because of what it did to the characters and some changes he introduces. I think he did something very questionable with Le Bret and Castel-Jaloux, and I remember being incensed because of Roxane at times (for instance, she doesn't go to Arras in his version, which is a key scene to show just how much fire Roxane has, and that establishes several parallels with Cyrano, in attitude and words, but even in act since she does a bit what Cyrano later does with the nuns in the last act), and being very angry at several choices about Christian too. While not explicitly stated, I think the McAvoy production and the musical both follow this translation, because they too introduce these changes, and they make Christian as a character, and to an extent the entire play, not make sense.

For instance, once such change is that Christian is afraid that Roxane will be cultured (McAvoy's version has that infamous "shit"/"fuck" that I detest), when in the original French it's literally the opposite. He is not afraid she will be cultured, he is afraid she won't, because he does love and appreciate and admires those aspects of her, as he appreciates and admires them in Cyrano. That's key! Just as Cyrano longs to have what Christian has, Christian wants the same! That words escape him doesn't mean he doesn't understand or appreciate them. The dynamics make no sense without this aspect, and Burgess (and the productions that directly or indirectly follow him) constantly erases this core trait of Christian.

Another key moment of Christian Burgess butchers is the scene in Arras in which Christian discovers the truth. Burgess writes their discussion masterfully in form, it's both funny and poignant, but it falls short in concept: when Cyrano tells him the whole discussion about who does Roxane love and what will happen, what they'll do, is academic because they're both going to die, Christian states that dying is his role now. This destroys entirely the thing with Christian wanting Roxane to have the right to know, and the freedom to choose, or to refuse them both. As much as Cyrano proclaims his love for truth and not mincing words even in the face of authority, Cyrano is constantly drunk on lies and mirages, masks and metaphors. It's Christian who wants it all to end, the one who wants real things, the one who wants to risk his own happiness for the chance of his friend's, as well as for the woman he loves to stop living in a lie. That is a very interesting aspect of Christian, and another aspect in which he is written as both paralleling and contrasting Cyrano. It's interesting from a moral perspective and how that works with the characters, but it's also interesting from a conceptual point of view, both in text and metatextually: what they hold most dear, what they most want, what most fulfills them, what they most fear, their different approaches to life, but also metatextually another instance of that tears/blood motif and its ramifications constant through the whole text. Erasing that climatic decision and making him just simply suicidal erases those aspects of Christian and his place in the Christian/Cyrano/Roxane dynamic, all for plain superficial angst, that perhaps hits more in the moment, but holds less meaning.

Being more literal, and more solemn, Hooker's translation (or any of the others, but Hooker's seems to love the characters and understand them) doesn't make these conceptual mistakes. Now, would I not recommend reading Burgess' translation? I can't also say that. I had a lot of fun reading it, despite the occasional anger and indignation haha Would I recommend buying it? I recommend you give an eye to it first, if you're tempted and can initially only buy one.

You can read Burgess' translation entirely in archive.com. You can also find online the complete translations of Renauld, Hooker and Thomas and Guillemard. I also found a fifth one, iirc, but I can't recall it right now (I could give a look). You could read them before choosing, or read your favourite scenes and fragments in the different translations, and choose the one in which you like them better. That's often what I do.

Edit: I've checked to make sure and Roxane does appear in Arras in the translation. It's in the introduction in which it is stated that she doesn't appear in the production for which the translation was made. The conceptualisation of Roxane I criticise and that in my opinion is constant through the text does stay, though.

[creatediana]

"Wow, bitch. Who tf are you?" - a free verse poem written 12/22/2023

[marigraphia]

Happy new year! I've finally made a proper banner for my socials ☺️