melpomeneprose

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We have some unfinished business. Is that not right, Gerbino?

Virgin Territory, 2007

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Harlots - Season 3

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He is not malicious, at least not in any way that matters. No, not a villain, not a true one. Nonetheless, he cannot help but find this entire situation rather amusing if only the way one finds Greek tragedies morbidly fascinating, and sincerely disheartening. F.elix meant her no harm, not in earnest, but then, he supposed that hardly makes it better. Friends can look at one another like that. he has seen many men do it to other men before, even been the subject of it a handful of times, but… whatever is between him and F.antine, is surely worse for both of them. Still, credit where credit is due, despite her status as a libertine by necessity, a jade only because the alternative is so much worse. She, as he, is still here, despite all his attempts to vex him or seek a reaction, T.holomyes is largely unmoved save the momentary reactions that play across his face.

Instead, he replies, rather cordially considering the circumstances, "Strangers you say, yet here you are still," they are not free, both do to their actions and because no one in F.rance was ever really free, and many steps of progress made during the first r.epublic simply no longer are. He knows too well, horrendous business… the law. At least it keeps a relatively steady cheque book. Even so, he is not here to prosecute her, if only because that would mean prosecuting himself by proxy.

"What would have me do then?" he replies, "You and I are not who we were," well, yes... clearly. "But I wish you no harm, truly."

"Methods I was not privy to, Tholomyès!" Eyes flashed with anger; she couldn't tell if he was being inflammatory or simply stupid. "You knew that. You knew exactly what you were doing with me. My fault lies in not seeing you for what you were, not because I laid with you." The fault being friends that were never truly friends. Her fault in believing that love could exist, even for a grisette like her. "Do not make this appear as if your decision was born from concern regarding my lack of choice. You condemned me either way. At least if we wed, you could have continued fondling the next pretty thing that passed you by. As long as Cosette was secure, I would have let you do as you pleased."

Maybe once it would have hurt, but he was bound to show his true colours sooner or later. At least Cosette wouldn't have needed to be collateral. "Will?" she repeated, eyebrows rising with his audacity. "Do not speak of me as if you know me. You and I are no better than strangers now."

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Eloise Smyth in the trailer for Cyn (2021)

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This is how you tame a colony.

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Elphie and Sarima

One of their yap sessions 🗣️

I love their friendship so much it hurts😭

art by emmaalovesbooks!

[melpomeneprose]

He would wag his finger at her if he were in any position to do so. He is not lying -- merely telling half-truths. "Mhm," Felix replies, far too charmingly.

"And what does your father have to show for it? A son not only incompetent in mathematics, but equally so in matters of love and liberty."

It should not stir anything in him, yet here they are nonetheless. He tried running away before, only for it to fail most thoroughly. He grabs one of her gloved hands and tugs, not enough to hurt or even injure, really -- enough to make his stance abundantly clear, though.

"You cannot verify that, Madam," he sighs, "Though I will concede to not knowing liberty, no one in this country does, not that we ever did really," it was the only thing his father seemed objectively right about. "Perhaps, you require a re-education," Tholomyès says and means it far too truthfully before he can take it back.

My father always detested me because I could not understand mathematics. I understand only love and liberty.

(Félix Tholomyès ~ melpomeneprose to Fantine)

(Minimizing? My terrible, terrible choices? Maaaybe)

@meerawrites / @melpomeneprose (thank you!)

Fantine felt her lip curl with a disdain she had only felt working the streets of Montreuil. Towards the man who put snow down her back and, once upon a time, towards Valjean.

He had to be the romantic until the very end. Decry his wrongdoings by blaming everyone else but himself.

"If your father detested you so, he wouldn't have paid for your education," she snarled. An education he could have afforded for Cosette. An education that he could have afforded for Fantine. "And what does your father have to show for it? A son not only incompetent in mathematics, but equally so in matters of love and liberty."

Fantine knew the latter subjects intimately. Félix confused lust for love. He could not know liberty because he would never need liberating nor care for those who did. As much as she wasn't particularly fond of Marius, Fantine was aware the boy understood liberty better than Félix ever would.

"You understand nothing but deceit and I want no part of it."

[melpomeneprose]

[melpomeneprose]

HARLOTS (2017-2019)

created by alison newman and moira buffini

2.04

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I have my mother's eyes.

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no homo but the deer in headlights look you got going on is doing it for me

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and later -

Pharsalus haunts Philippi haunts Pharsalus haunts Philippi (Carrhae is also there)

all i can say is that the roman matron in book 1 of pharsalia crying out that she sees philippi broke something open in my brain and i have since then been obsessed with the ghosts of battles haunting each other both forwards and backwards in time

lucan civil war (trans. braund) I.693-694 || lucan pharsalia (trans. wilson joyce) introduction to VII || lucan pharsalia (trans. wilson joyce) footnotes to IX || lucan civil war (trans. braund) notes to VII || lucan civil war (trans. braund) VII.591-592 || shakespeare julius caesar V.1.81-83 || lucan pharsalia (trans. wilson joyce) glossary || manilius astronomica I.898-919 || welch magnus pius: sextus pius and the transformation of the roman republic || lucan civil war (trans. braund) notes to book IX || lucan civil war (trans. braund) IX.271-272 || lucan civil war (trans. braund) VII.847-848 || lucan pharsalia (trans. wilson joyce) footnotes to VI || masters poetry and civil war in lucan's bellum civile || tempest brutus the noble conspirator || shakespeare julius caesar V.3.38-39

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 the attack on the capital devastated this nation. our nation was shaken, but we will persevere and we will be better. i made that promise to you then and i make it to you now, years after the end of my presidency.  // an independent and highly selective original character of a fictional memoir. written by sunny. credit 

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❝ PAUSE A MOMENT, AS YOU PASS BY. AS YOU ARE NOW, SO ONCE WERE WE. AS WE ARE NOW, SO SHALL YOU BE. ❞ an independent and selective oc only multimuse. prev. @pulpyfiction.

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“Glinda is a lesbian, Elphaba is bisexual, Nessarose is bisexual, Fiyero is bisexual, Boq is questioning but queer in some way, Doctor Dillamond GAY.” - Marissa Bode

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I see a lot of people claim that “Thenardier is the real villain of Les mis and not Javert” and my hot take is that this is completely wrong and fundamentally misses the point of the source material. Thenardier is a crucial character foil to Jean Valjean, and it’s very important that Jean Valjean sees Thenardier as the person he could’ve become in different circumstances. Jean Valjean uses some of his last words on his deathbed to urge pity and forgiveness for Thenardier, because he identifies so strongly with his poverty, criminality, and desperate misplaced rage. Les Miserables is not a novel about how a single evil criminal is the cause of all society’s problems, and in fact that’s antithetical to the entire point.

Thenardier is dangerous specifically because he’s able to take advantage of existing social structures-—like exploiting Fantine’s poverty, abusing the wife and daughters who are under his thumb as a patriarch, weaponizing the threat of the police against Jean Valjean.Thenardier correctly identifies he lives in a bigoted unequal society, but instead of trying to eliminate inequality, he dreams of being the person on top who gets to crush everyone beneath him. He’s cruel, greedy, and evil— But the things that make him powerful aren’t things that he created.

Thenardier and Javert are equally “evil” characters and equally important as character foils to Jean Valjean. The main difference is that Thenardier never has the catastrophic change of heart that Javert does, so people find him less sympathetic. If thenardier tragically repented instead of becoming worse and even more bigoted, he WOULD be a tumblr sexyman, but nobody is ready for that conversation. XD

And, to be really spicy, I think people are also far more quick to excuse violence committed “in service of the law” vs violence committed “criminally,” even if they have the same result? Thenardier and Javert both enthusiastically participate in abusing and killing Fantine, but I’ve never seen people downplay Thenardier’s role the way they do with Javert. Thenardier nearly kills Jean Valjean in the gorbeau ambush, but Javert kills or nearly kills lots of characters (including Jean Valjean) throughout the story, by sending them to prison where they’re given harsh inhumane sentences. Javert and Thenardier are both described as bigots who enthusiastically crush people who are on the lower rungs of society, and who feel comfortable abusing those people because they believe they’re inherently lesser. And I think part of why people say “thenardier is the real villain” is because Javert’s abuse is done in the service of Enforcing the Law and Social Hierarchies, which people consider an inherently a more noble/selfless motivation— even as Hugo repeatedly describes it as horrible, petty,& pathetic.

TLDR: Whenever I’m back on the Les Mis fanfic grind, I’ll finally deliver the toxic Valjean/Thenardier/Javert love triangle the world needs —

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i get what people mean when they say jean valjean was unjustly or unfairly put in prison but i feel like it's missing the point to say his sentence was an injustice. legally, his 19 years were 100% justified. he stole a loaf of bread and received the appropriate punishment of 5 years. he tried to escape and received the corresponding number of years each time. his total of 19 years was perfectly valid under the law. and that's hugo's point. the justice system is institutionally flawed. what is fair in the eyes of the law is not fair in the eyes of morality.