I would like to take this opportunity to point folks who have not yet had the joy of reading it the tale of the lady with a cucumber in her heart
Hit him where it hurts, Cassandra! (Apollo is the WORST.)
They did not have to make Wait for Me (reprise) go so hard
What is this?! 😨 (found on pinterest to goodreads)
btw there's one thing I don't understand about Fantine (and I think this is also a problem of Hugo generally having a hard time thinking of women as whole people and not rhetorical devices, but not just): she is an "innocent", she represents a naive tenager/young woman who doesn't understand how society works or doesn't think ahead about money and assumes Tholomyes is gonna be there for her etc. you know. But she's also... an orphan raised on the streets (in Paris).
so I don't understand how she is simultaneously the picture perfect waif while also beeing hardened by the life of a gamin (or the girl equivalent) ? I'm not saying someone who was raised on the street couldn't do all she did I'm talking about how Hugo frames her as this pure little innocent who doesn't know abandonment doesn't seem to know how to survive with very little money without her neighbor to give her tips? Needs to learn how to endure the taunts on the street when presumably she's had plenty given what life with Gavroche was like.
I dunno man. What's going on there
It's worse than that - Fantine was literally born and spent 10 years as a street child in M-sur-M. Her intro says:
"She was born at M. sur M. Of what parents? Who can say? She had never known father or mother. She was called Fantine. Why Fantine? She had never borne any other name. At the epoch of her birth the Directory still existed. She had no family name; she had no family; no baptismal name; the Church no longer existed. She bore the name which pleased the first random passer-by, who had encountered her, when a very small child, running bare-legged in the street. She received the name as she received the water from the clouds upon her brow when it rained. She was called little Fantine. No one knew more than that. This human creature had entered life in just this way. At the age of ten, Fantine quitted the town and went to service with some farmers in the neighborhood. At fifteen she came to Paris “to seek her fortune.”"
So I can see a couple things going on. Realistically, I think you're right that Hugo isn't great at imagining women as people and kind of just... forgets Fantine's established history under the weight of her symbolism. I can't remember if her pre-Paris life is ever mentioned again, even. Fantine symbolically needs to be pure and innocent and naive, so she is, regardless of how that might clash with her established background.
That said, I think even in universe there could be some explanations. We're told that she goes to work on a farm at 10 and leaves for Paris at 15 - presumably on the farm she is at minimum housed and fed, and it seems like once she gets to Paris she falls into Tholomyes' orbit reasonably quickly: "The streets of the Latin quarter, filled with throngs of students and grisettes, saw the beginning of their dream. Fantine had long evaded Tholomyès in the mazes of the hill of the Pantheon, where so many adventurers twine and untwine, but in such a way as constantly to encounter him again." To me that wording implies a year on her own at most, during at least part of which she may have been being actively pursued/courted. And they stay together at least three years, since Cosette is ~2 and a half when she gets entrusted to the Thenardier family.
So it could be that Fantine as a child knew how to live with nothing. Like Gavroche, she had no possessions save the clothes on her back, which were presumably either stolen or charity - probably charity, in her case, since she doesn't seem like the type who'd be stealing. She ate when she could, slept where she could, and that was that. So she has no income, yes, but she also has no expenses, save scrounging enough money to eat every day.
Whereas when she comes back to M-sur-M she's a)an adult working woman, with a very different set of social expectations as a result and b)has expenses and debts that need to be managed and paid. I think her being inexperienced with money is actually very in character - she goes from having absolutely none to having all her expenses paid for by someone else with maybe a few months in between of needing to work to pay rent. And even in M-sur-M, she's doing okay until she loses her job, so she's not hopeless at budgeting the way we might expect her to be.
The social stuff is a little less understandable, but potentially explainable by her having been a kid. Gavroche and Eponine have very different experiences of what it means to be poor and socially outcast, and yes some of it's gender but also it's that kids perceive the world differently than adults. Kid!Fantine probably did get cursed at and kicked out of the way and splashed with dirty puddle water and such, but she may have just not been bothered by it. She kind of lives in her own world, after all. Whereas it's all a lot harder to navigate as a woman who's had the experience of being treated better and has responsibilities and an understanding of the costs of losing everything.
(Alternatively she has trauma amnesia like Cosette, which explains why we literally never hear about any details of her childhood.)
the last bishounen tragically died of old age in captivity today. bishounen once thrived in the 80's-90's but were slowly outcompeted by invasive femboys and twinks. if you know any 40 year old fujoshi who have had a username with "sephiroth" in it since the 90's or a tgirl with a Griffith icon, please reach out and offer support as this news may weigh heavy on them.
Stardew Valley, void chickens
Look, you know how sometimes a relationship isn't toxic, isn't unhappy, actually you're pretty comfortable where you're at, but looking forwards you can tell that it's not going to be healthy or fulfulling long term and that it would be better to call it quits now and stay amicable exes, rather than letting it go on and actually become toxic and miserable? And how making that adult, rational, objectively correct choice still kind of feels like shit and for years later you look back at that relationship and go, "yeah, but what if?"
That's me with academia. I broke up with the Academy on purpose, but fuck if I don't miss it desperately every goddamn day of my life.
I desperately need a new phone (in the "my current one is increasingly unable to function" kind of way) but I'm mad about it and deeply resentful of how short phone lifetimes are so I booked a tattoo appointment instead.
How I join skeins
Cleeeeeveeer!
It's good to learn, remember, and share stuff like this.
When my mom or her sisters did crochet growing up, their dickhead older brothers thought it was hilarious to snip the yarn somewhere in the middle of the bundle. I suspect mom would've found a trick like this really handy.
Oh, this is a modified Russian join!
Here’s a full one:
1) find the end of both pieces. I’m using an off-white and a variegated green so you can easily see what I’m doing, but this can be used to join any two pieces of yarn that are the same weight as each other whether they’re the same color or not.
2) wrap the ends around each other like this. You don’t actually have to lay them down, I did it for clarity in the photos.
3) you’ll need a needle like this. They’re sold under the names “tapestry needle” or “yarn needle.” If you ever manage to find them made out of bamboo or wood, PLEASE TELL ME.
4) thread the yarn through itself as shown in the video above. HOWEVER, where that video shows strand #1 being threaded into strand #2, with the Russian join you’ll thread strand #1 back into itself, using the wrap around strand #2 as an anchor point. I use my toes as a “third hand” when doing stuff like this, but I’ve also seen people use the heel of their hand or a convenient paperweight or even nothing at all. Whatever will let you create a tight join is what you want to use.
Make sure you get this loop as small as you can.
5) repeat on strand #2. Trim the remaining ends.
6) you’re done! This is one of the strongest joins in crochet and knitting. It’s virtually undetectable in a finished project, and because of the wraparound shown in step #2 it can’t pull apart like a knot will.
Actually, wait…
7) don’t forget to put away your needle! “I’ll just stick it in the ball for later” is a comforting lie. The needle will disappear into the ball and you will never see it again, unless your foot finds it later. Don’t do it to yourself. PUT IT AWAY.
Writing Patterns
Thank you for the tag @mollywog
Rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!
Mortal Trust and Fairy Dust (Kilmeny of the Orchard)
For three and a half terms, Larry West has been master of the Lindsay school.
Ties That Bind, Bonds That Strengthen (Blue Castle)
"Have you heard? Cecilia Gay is with child!"
A Princess comes to Deerwood (Blue Castle)
In the middle of Valancy Stirling's fourteenth year, a great excitement came to Deerwood.
One of the Deerwood Stirlings (Blue Castle)
Cecilia Stirling Smith was hastily and scandalously married at 17.
Spend the winters by my side (Hadestown/Les Miserables)
Fantine arrived in Hadestown wild and cynical, already broken down enough by life up Top that she accepted the worst Hadestown had to offer with a bitter laugh that emphasized her missing teeth, as if to say, ‘this is no worse than what I had to endure up there.’
Promises (Hadestown not!fic)
That said, someone other than me should write the story of Eurydice and Persephone, after everything’s said and done, two women who’ve been let down by the men they love, orbiting each other with wary fascination.
In the darkest time of year (Hadestown)
Hades is waiting at the station when Orpheus dies.
Never go anywhere, never see anyone (War and Peace/Les Miserables)
“And so, Madame, you shall be attentive and obedient as though receiving directions from me personally, or I shall be forced to discipline you in a manner which will displease both of us, do you understand me?”
Refueling (Les Miserables)
Feuilly scrubbed a hand over his eyes, trying to will them to stay open just a little while longer.
In defense of roses (Les Miserables)
“...and the power structure itself leads to a slow but steady deterioration of power for the people as it gets accumulated by the wealthy and influential who milk the economic desperation and petty xenophobia of the common citizens as a way to keep from being held accountable by the very people who should be most incensed by the rampant corruption of their leaders. It's awful! It's obscene! And no one even notices, which is incredible to me. Have we as a society grown so complacent that criminals only need to put on a suit and a microphone and be seen as heroes instead? Have the ordinary people of this system become so accustomed to being oppressed that they don't even notice the reality of their own oppression?”
Pattern analysis: I don't actually start with dialog as often as I thought I did. I tend to prefer a concise opening sentence - reading through these again a lot of the longer ones feel clunky and like things I would do differently if I was writing that fic today. (Except the last one. Jean Prouvaire is allowed to monologue about art for as long as he wants.) I like an opening line that grabs the attention, but I don't always manage to craft one.
Tagging, uh, @kehlana-wolhamonao3, @no-where-new-hero, @batrachised, @ohhgingersnaps and anyone else who wants to play.
Tagged by @no-where-new-hero for the flip side of this game, i.e. posting the last lines. I'm adding them to this post so I can look at both first and last lines together. I'm skipping the two WiPs from the first list, since they don't have last lines yet.
Mortal Trust and Fairy Dust (Kilmeny of the Orchard)
Larry leans over to scratch his head, and feels a warmth inside of him that has nothing to do with magic at all.
One of the Deerwood Stirlings (Blue Castle)
Valancy thinks it’s the funniest thing she’s ever seen.
Spend the winters by my side (Hadestown/Les Miserables)
Spring, it seemed, had come at last.
Promises (Hadestown not!fic)
Persephone tastes like a thunderstorm.
In the darkest time of year (Hadestown)
Let me sing you a song. [In italics in the original, because that was how I stylized the dialog in that fic.]
Never go anywhere, never see anyone (War and Peace/Les Miserables)
She closed the distance between them and, gently, pulled Mlle Gillenormand into an embrace while, in the background, Pierre slipped away to buy two more tickets for the journey home.
Refueling (Les Miserables)
Before he fell asleep completely he found himself thinking that, all things considered, it had not been that trying of a day after all.
In defense of roses (Les Miserables)
With a slight smile of his own, he began to write.
And two extra ones, since this is now only 8:
And yet they persist (Les Miserables)
First line: For a while, nothing really changes.
Last line: They live.
By the letter (Les Miserables)
First line: “So far you have collected 120 cases of black dirt, 115 vials of silver river liquid, 145 individual and unique leaves, a similar number of flowers, filled an entire sketchpad with bark rubbings, waxed lyrical about the shadows filtering through the leaves at least 6 times, threatened to never return to civilization more times than I care to count, and been accosted by 57 different varieties of flying creatures, 14 scurrying ones, and nearly eviscerated by a large predator.
Last line: “Yes, Director,” Feuilly said, and left the room.
Patterns: I like me a short closing sentence. A lot of them are future-facing, either some sweeping statement about the rest of these characters' lives or a statement about what they will do immediately following the story.
Thanks for the tag! I've fully lost track of who's been tagged by now, so, uh, @batrachised, @thesweetnessofspring, @lizardrosen, @thespacelizard. For either first or last lines, whatever strikes your fancy!
I'm sorry what the fuck did you just say ??? This has to be fake.
Invading other countries and violating their soverignty has been what constituted the majority of french history for at least the past 500 years
Far as I can tell this is fake. The only sources I can find are one unsourced twitter video and a forum thread discussing this same unsourced twitter video.
I'm open to correction if someone can find an actual source, but until then I'm gonna say it's fake. Especially because he's openly acknowledged France's colonization of Algeria, albeit in a 'we did it and I'm not sorry' context.
It is *remarkably* disoblidging on the part of the English language that the word "back" comes before "front", alphabetically. How come my linguistic forefathers didn't predict that one day we'd have to scan documents and label the individual image files, hmm?
pls reblog for sample size etc
follow for more occasional useless polls :)