#Jerome Bertrand

[artspaume]

Body collage, une performance d'artistes basée sur le collage / Atelier Galerie 2112 (CA)

Du 11 au 12 mai 2024 Heures: Toute la journée jusqu’à la soirée Plongez dans une expérience artistique inédite qui fusionne le monde du collage avec l’esprit du modèle vivant, incarné par les artistes Jerome Bertrand et Juliette Pottier Plaziat. La performance débutera samedi matin et devra se terminer dimanche soir. Au cours de la soirée du samedi, musique et rafraîchissements viendront…

[badlydrawndrawnings]

ASOUE Characters (The Adults)

And the Beatles Songs I Can't Help But Associate Them With

Lemony Snicket, In My Life (~All these places had their moments/With lovers and friends, I still can recall/Some are dead and some are living/In my life, I've loved them all~)

Beatrice Baudelaire, Golden Slumbers (~Golden slumbers fill your eyes/Smiles await you when you rise/Sleep pretty darling do not cry/And I will a lullaby~)

Bertrand Baudelaire, All My Loving (~All my loving, I will send to you/All my loving/Darling, I'll be true/All my loving/All my loving, Ooh/All my loving, I will send to you~)

Count Olaf, Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (~I once had a girl/Or should I say she once had me/She showed me her room/Isn't it good Norwegian Wood?~) + (~And when I awoke I was alone/This bird had flown/So I lit a fire/Isn't it good Norwegian wood?~)

Esme Squalor, Girl, being the Girl in question, not the 'singer'* (~She's the kind of girl who puts you down/When friends are there/You feel a fool/When you say she's looking good/She acts as if it's understood~)

*The 'singer' of 'Girl' is Jerome Squalor, who has strong feelings of his former marriage with Esme, more bad than good

Jacques Snicket, While My Guitar Gentle Weeps (~I look at the world and I notice it's turning/While my guitar gently weeps/With every mistake we must surely be learning/Still my guitar gently weeps~)

Kit Snicket, Help* [~When I was younger so much younger than today/I never needed anybody's help in any way/(Now) But now these are gone (These days are gone)/I'm not so self assured/(And now I find) Now I've changed my mind/And opened up the doors~]

*Despite the upbeat tone, the lyrics really do fit Kit

Dewey Denouement, A Day in the Life (~I read the news today, oh boy/About a lucky man who made the grade/And though the news was rather sad/Well, I just had to laugh/I saw the photograph~) + (~A crowd of people stood and stared/They'd seen his face before/Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords~)

Ernest Denouement, Carry That Weight (~Boy, you're gonna carry that weight/Carry that weight a long time/Boy, you're gonna carry that weight/Carry that weight a long time~)

Frank Denouement, You Never Gave Me Your Money (~You never give your money/You only give me your funny paper/And in the middle of negotiations/You break down~)

[snicketverse-fic-finder]

ASOUE characters: How popular are they on Ao3?✨📚😎😮🫢

No.of fics with each character in them

Baudelaires:

Beatrice: 417

Bertrand: 257

🔧Violet: 977 🏆

📚Klaus: 822

🍳 Sunny: 662

👶 Beatrice II: 192

Quagmires:

Mrs Quagmire: 34

Mr Quagmire: 28

🖋️Isadora: 369 🏆

🗞️ Duncan: 367

🗺️ Quigley: 332 (Surprising tbh, I thought he’d win out of the triplets at least)

Widdershins:

⚓️Captain Widdershins: 40

🍄 Fiona: 114

🪝 Fernald: 166 🏆

Olaf+his troupe:

🎭 Count Olaf: 722 🏆

🍸 Esmé Squalor: 379

Woman with hair but no beard: 30

Man with beard but no hair: 25

👓 Georgina Orwell: 143

Henchperson of indeterminate gender: 84

Bald man: 57

White-faced women: 56 (just mildly less popular than the bald man yet there’s TWO of them- that’s gotta blow 😔-)

🎪[The Freaks] 🎪

Kevin: 14 🏅

Hugo: 13

Collette: 12

Denouements:

Frank: 76

Ernest: 92

🦄: 102 🏆

Snickets: (Take this with a grain of salt bc they have a whole other series -ATWQ- going for them)

Jaques: 347

Kit: 410

Lemony: 536 🏆

Guardians+the likes:

🏦 Mr Poe: 104

🗞️ Eleanora Poe: 14

📰 Polly Poe: 1

🐑 Edgar Poe: 10

💰 Albert Poe: 6 (Why is Edgar more popular??)

🐍Uncle Monty: 114

🐍 Ink/The Incredibly Deadly Viper: 8

🪟 Aunt Josephine: 72

Ike Anwhistle: 26

[🚬 Sir: 30

Charles: 54

👓 Georgina Orwell: 143 🏅

😃 Phil: 10 ]

[🎻Vice Principal Nero: 37 (That’s less than the bald man who has maybe 3 lines total, take that!)

Mrs Bass: 4 (Damn.)

Ms. Tench: 2 (Double damn)

Mr Remora: 3

📚 Olivia Caliban: 237 🏅]

🍸 Jerome Squalor: 104

(✨Esmé Squalor: 379 but I put her in the Olaf’s troupe section. This is just for quick comparison to Jerome. Poor guy. Ish. I don’t actually feel that bad for him tbh.)

🦅 The Council of Elders: 4

🎈 Hector: 48

Hal: 8

Babs: 9

Phil: 10

[🍎 Ishmael: 17

🐟 Miranda Caliban: 8

🕶️ Friday Caliban: 26 🏅

🚢 Thursday: 5 ]

Miscellaneous VFD members:

😎 Jacquelyn Scieszka: 172 🏆

🎥 Gustav Sebald: 78

🐟 Larry Your-Waiter: 85

👑 Duchess R of Winnipeg: 61 or 64 (3 are under ‘Duchess R’

Uncategorised:

Ben: 4

🚲 The Paperboy: 3

💃 Carmelita Spats: 149

Top 3:

1~ Violet Baudelaire! 🔧💜 (977 fics on Ao3 are tagged ‘Violet Baudelaire’! 🎉)

2~Klaus Baudelaire!!📚💙(822 fics!)

3~ Count Olaf! 👁️ 😈 (722 fics!)

Loser:

Polly Poe (with a disappointing 1 fic!😱)

[chiropteracupola]

typical habits of the common or garden emmothy include weeping, overthinking, despairing, posting, and staring into space with a melancholy aspect.

[a-series-of-fluff-events]

Side-blog for Lemony Snicket's ASOUE (will add the other books when I read them, which is hopefully soon), centring on giving our characters a well-deserved happy ending.

Maybe angst, maybe not, but I'm going to make the Baudelaire children happy, along with a few AUs, memes and Headcanons!

Btw, Free Palestine.

[usergreenpixel]

MALMAISON MEDIA SALON SOIRÉE 15: NEEDING NAPOLEON (2020)

1. The Introduction

Hello, Neighbors! Welcome back to Malmaison Media Salon! At last we’re here and today is a bit of a special review. Why special?

Let me explain:

1. Firstly, it’s one of those cases where I stumble upon a media piece via recommendation from another community member. This time it was @suburbanbeatnik , who interviewed the author of the book and there was a contest where the first 3 users to comment would get a free ebook copy via email.

I was the first to comment because I was given the link and because I was really excited about what sounded like a promising story, considering my soft spot for the adventure genre, time travel and alternative history. So yeah, I became one of the lucky three users.

Unfortunately, the book is only available in English and has to be purchased through websites like Amazon, so those who don’t speak English too well might be out of luck for now.

2. Secondly, it’s one of the few anglophone (British, to boot!) media pieces that DO NOT paint Napoleon as a villain! How cool is that?! For newcomers, stumbling upon a gem like that is about as likely as seeing a UFO, so you can bet your asses that I HAD to check out the book!

3. Thirdly, I already mentioned that I’m a sucker for adventure, time travel, historical fiction and alternative history so that really boosted my excitement… as well as my worries. I prayed that the book would turn out to be good. Luckily, it did! More on that later though.

Anyway, before we proceed, this review is dedicated to @suburbanbeatnik and @garethwilliamsauthor . Not only is the latter, well, the author, but he also graciously gave me permission to write said review and I’m thankful for this.

Okay, with formalities out of the way, let’s begin!

2. The Summary

The novel tells the story of one Richard Davey, an ordinary schoolteacher who admires Napoleon and lives a very boring, lonely life.

However, during a fateful holiday in Paris, he gets a chance to leave his old life behind, meet his hero and maybe even change the course of history.

To me, the idea sounds very interesting, so let’s move onto the deeper analysis and see if the execution matches the potential.

3. The Story

Although the beginning of the story did confuse me a bit because we jump straight into action, I. Fucking. Love. This. Book. I was extremely hooked when reading and felt like I was back in my childhood, reading my favorite swashbuckling stories. The excitement is REAL.

The pacing is excellent, most loose ends get tied up in the end, the ending is satisfying yet also realistic and we don’t have the protagonist getting everything he wanted, which is awesome!

I did have a problem with the flashbacks though, mainly because they kept popping up and breaking the storyline immersion, but that’s just me.

Also, there’s a good mix of gritty artlessness (in a good way because it doesn’t gloss over war), a swashbuckling adventure, romance and down time (we can’t have action ALL the time).

The romantic subplot is very well-written and realistic, even though my asexual self still didn’t care much because I don’t normally like romance. Spoiler, it’s one of the few times where the protagonist doesn’t get the love interest in the end, for a lot of reasons.

So yeah, only minor complaints here and there.

(Oh, and tiny bonus for the Frev community: Frev isn’t demonized either!!! Yay!!!)

(P. S. Also there were a lot of moments that cracked me up, like the pun with HMS Bellerophon being called Billy Ruffian.)

4. The Characters

Richard Davey is by far one of the most relatable characters ever, since I can relate to his loneliness (me during the worse days of depression) and love for History (I’m a Frev and Napoleonic nerd). He’s flawed, reacts realistically and in his own way to situations and has a great character arc, from a man just going with the motions of life to a hero who can and does make a difference in history, just not in the way he first planned.

Emile Béraud, a soldier Richard befriends in the past, is an absolute sweetheart. Loyal to a fault, friendly and just as lonely as Richard, he takes part in the adventures and is a very compelling character.

Aunt Patricia, Richard’s only living relative, might be a minor character who doesn’t personally appear, but her presence is felt throughout the story and Richard constantly imagines what she would have to say in his position and how she would judge him.

Madame Odillet, the owner of an antique shop who helps Richard get back in time, is a mysterious woman with a troubled past, who definitely knows more than she first lets on. I like the book parallels between her and witches, even though she’s just a regular human.

Napoleon starts out as an insufferable punchable prick, but later on his portrayal becomes nuanced. He loves and misses his son, has a soft spot for kids, has a temper and at times alternates between acceptance of his fate and resolve to fight back. He’s not in a good place mentally nor physically, but he’s portrayed as someone flawed yet far from being a bad person.

Jerome is an arrogant hedonistic ass. Full stop. But he’s a minor character so I can understand why he’s not as nuanced, even if I wish there was a bit more complexity.

Gourgaud is an impulsive and arrogant bastard who is loyal to his emperor yet entitled due to having saved said emperor twice.

Bertrand and Fanny are extremely sweet.

Las Cases… I found him unpleasant and arrogant.

Murat and Caroline are mentioned and, LUCKILY, not depicted as traitors.

Ney in his cameo is his usual post-Russia reckless self (he possibly had PTSD, I believe).

Overall, the cast is memorable and I did enjoy the portrayals for the most part.

5. The Setting

The descriptions really sell the setting here, in my opinion. I particularly enjoyed the scenes at Malmaison where Napoleon essentially is Richard’s tour guide.

Always nice to see that the author really did their research and has a way with language to make immersion that much easier to achieve.

6. The Writing

Once again, the descriptions. Short, sweet, to the point.

The language is mostly easily understandable, but there are French words sprinkled in that (fortunately) can be more or less understood in context. I wish there were footnotes with translations though. Oh, and some words were unfamiliar to me as a foreigner so please keep that in mind too.

7. The Conclusion

If you can, please give the book a go. Remarkable adventures, nuanced characters and believable settings that are reminiscent of swashbuckling novels are definitely worth your money, in my humble opinion.

Of course, no work is perfect but I throughly enjoyed this one despite some flaws and I look forward to reading the sequel. It’s not every day we get an anglophone pro-Naps media piece, after all.

On that note, let us conclude today’s soirée. Please stay tuned for updates on future reviews, my dearest Neighbors.

Love,

Citizen Green Pixel

[beatricebidelaire]

-- the penultimate peril

“No,” Olaf said with another frown. “There was some argument about his name, actually, as a baby adopted by his orphaned children also bore the same name.” “Bertrand,” Omeros said. “No,” Olaf said, and frowned yet another time. “The adoption papers were hidden in the hat of a banker who had been promoted to Vice President in Charge of Orphan Affairs.” “Mr. Poe?” asked Sadie. “Yes,” Olaf said with a scowl, “although at the time he was better known under his stage name. But I’m not here to discuss the past. I’m here to discuss the future. Your mutineering islanders let me out of this cage, Ishmael, to force you off the island and crown me as king!”

-- the end

[volunteerfelinedetectives]

Finally starting Woevember!!

My Baudelaire Fire theory:

Following Esmé’s marriage to Jerome, the Baudelaire parents considered calling a temporary truce with the other side of the schism. They invited her over to negotiate (this was why they sent their children away). They were sitting round the table drinking brandy, and Esmé, being a firestarter, didn’t use a coaster. Little did they know that she had placed some sort of device outside intended to set the building on fire, which didn’t work due to the weather. She got angry, which made the Baudelaire parents suspicious. Esmé excused herself, left the room, and set fire to the building from the inside. She then left via the secret passageway. The Baudelaire parents, smelling smoke, go to investigate, but only Beatrice manages to get out before the passageway is blocked (somebody later removes whatever fell on it). Beatrice hides in the fountain. Lemony does not actually believe that she is dead, but pretends she is in order to protect her. VFD faking her death is the reason Lemony is ‘forbidden to speak to her’ like he mentions in TAA.

[when-we-drive-away-in-secret]

ASOUE Dynamic Playlists

You can find the list of character playlists here

Unfortunate Gen

The Firefighters

The Firestarters

Olaf/Esmé

Beatrice/Bertrand

Kit/Olaf

Lemony/Beatrice

Olaf/Georgina

Beatrice/Esmé

Georgina/Esmé

Olaf & Beatrice

Kit/Beatrice

Esmé/Kit

Jacques/Olivia (Show!Verse)

Esmé/Olivia (Show!Verse)

Jacques/Esmé

Beatrice & Jerome

I am constantly editing/changing these, most of them aren't really in a coherent order yet and some of them are currently ridiculously short because I haven't really found the right niche of songs for their dynamic yet, but here you go ^.^ (also I will be making and linking a masterpost for each one explaining why I chose all the songs, but if anyone ever has any song recommendations or wants to know about a specific song that's already on there, feel free to send me an ask!)

[overthestars-and-offtoneverland]

Fuck it. V.F.D but make it Magical

So, I've made some posts where I make AUs that kick V.F.D's cult levels up to 11, but woe is you I thought about something for too long again.

The Mythological Creatures AU

V.F.D is a secret organization where nonhumans hide in plain sight using magic and other methods to pass themselves off as humans.

The Eye Tattoo is now a magical seal used to help them hide their true forms. This can either be achieved through an actual mark on the skin or through a pendant/trinket worn somewhere on the body. Humans are aware of the existence of nonhumans, but typically fear them.

(Gonna split this in two Sugar Bowl Gen and Unfortunate Gen)

Sugar Bowl Gen:

Olaf: Changeling/Shapeshifter (His disguises are still see-through because something always looks viscerally wrong about him. Very Uncanny Valley)

Olaf’s Troupe:

Bald Man With Warts – Human (Not Everyone is Nonhuman)

Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender (Orlando) – Human (Not Everyone is Nonhuman)

The White-Faced Women – Ghosts (Haunted Olaf’s Theater, Now haunting Olaf until they leave in-story)

Fernald – Gillman (Think Creature From The Black Lagoon because I’ll get rid of the fishhooks joke over my dead body)

The Snicket Siblings: Algea (Often mistaken for angels due to their vulture wings, these are creatures that are the physical personification of sorrow.)

Beatrice: Angel (Fallen, taking a bit of inspiration from Dante’s Inferno. Feels thematically appropriate)

Bertrand: Sirin (Often mistaken for angels due to their owl wings, these are creatures that are the physical personification of joy)

Monty: Naga (Because of course I’m gonna make snake uncle a snake!)

Josephine: Banshee (Think of the fact that her anxiety is heightened because she can’t tell if her screams are because she’s scared or because someone’s going to die, and it could be her this time. Like the scream that happened the day Ike died)

Georgina Orwell: Samodiva (A type of fairy known for hypnotizing men and driving them insane)

Sir: Smoke/Smog Monster (Born from the lumbermill’s smoke production. His cigars help him keep a physical form)

Charles: Warlock (Human born with magical ability and connection. Magically bound to Sir)

(The Lumbermill Workers are all humans, which makes them easier to control and manipulate)

Esme: Pixie (Passes herself off as a regular fairy to hide her true nature)

Jerome: Satyr (No specific reason, but Satyr’s are known for being docile and made a fool of in theatrical productions if you want to stretch)

Hector: Human (Not everyone can be nonhuman. I like to think nonhumans are actually not allowed in the Village of Foul Devotees unless they are a type of bird creature. So, if he were a nonhuman, Hector would be a Harpy. Alternatively, he is a Harpy, but he’s hiding his true form like V.F.D associates do to avoid persecution)

Olivia Caliban (Miranda Caliban by Extension): Oracle (Human born with magical abilities and the gift of prophecy. Ishmael often dismisses Miranda’s prophecies. Kind of a Cassandra situation)

Captain Widdershins: Tannin (Sea Serpent, think a Water Naga. Some sources refer to this creature as “The Whale” because they are sometimes presented with the head of a boar and the body of the whale. It’s a Moby Dick reference!)

The Denouement Triplets: Shadow Creatures (They morph and move through shadows, sometimes even blending together. This makes it even harder to tell Ernest and Frank apart, and nearly impossible to find Dewey. They can morph into shadows to prevent harm to their physical form… If they’re fast enough.)

Ishmael: Poltergeist (A malevolent spirit haunting the island and its residents. Keeps his physical form by stealing the life force and free will of those who allow him to. His powers do not work on the unwilling.)

(Olaf’s Mentors are both Demons.)

(Mr. Poe and family are humans)

I'm open for suggestions for any characters I missed.

Like, what was Ike before he died?

Gustav? Sally? R?

How about our Netflix Originals? I'd love your opinions on Jacqueline, Larry, and Babs.

See you in Part Two to discuss the kids!

[cygninae]

So this is really random, and no one asked for this, but have my nationality headcanons for a whole load of asoue/atwq characters.?? No real explanation for these hcs, it's just how I imagine the characters ! :) (might throw in some extra hcs along the way because why not.)

P.S I'm quite fascinated by the history of the colonisation of America and the patterns of immigration that occurred thereafter, which is partially why I'm making this post. However, I'm not American and have never received actual American education so I'm sorry if I am miseducated in any regard.

Sugar bowl gen

Esmé Squalor is British/Syrian

HC: she is a first generation immigrant to the USA when the events of the books take place. Her mother was Syrian and her father British. She has a twin brother who disagreed with her involvement in VFD and left the USA to go back to England once they were of age. She hasn't seen him since they were teenagers.

Jerome Squalor is British-American

HC: His parents immigrated to the USA from England before he was born.

Bertrand Baudelaire is French

HC: He is a first-generation immigrant and went to the USA on his own after the death of his parents.

Beatrice Baudelaire is American

HC: By the time she was born, her family had been in the USA for many generations. Some British and Irish ancestry.

The Snicket siblings are Chinese-American

HC: the Snicket siblings are second-generation immigrants to the USA. Both of their parents were Chinese.

Mrs (headcanoned first name Marzia) Quagmire is Italian-American

HC: she is a second generation immigrant. She grew up in a household that primarily spoke Italian.

Mr (headcanoned first name William) Quagmire is American

HC: like Bea, his family had been in the USA for many generations before his birth. British and Dutch ancestry.

Count Olaf is German-American

HC: Olaf is a second or third generation immigrant. His family were very wealthy but went to ruin and ran away to the USA. He still insists on keeping his ancestral title despite this.

Montgomery Montgomery is Pakistani-American

HC: Monty is a second-gen immigrant. He had three siblings who all moved across the USA once of age, but he made an effort to keep in touch with them and their extended family in Pakistan.

Ellington Feint is Chinese-American

HC: Ellington is a second-gen immigrant. Her father was American with British ancestry and her mother was a first-gen Chinese immigrant.

Captain (headcanoned first name Rory) Widdershins is Irish-American

HC: a third-gen immigrant who grew up very disconnected from his heritage due to being in the foster system.

Fernald "Widdershins" is Moroccan/American

HC: him and his sister Fiona (and theorised sister Friday) had an American mother and Moroccan father. Their father left before they were born and mother left when Fiona was young, so they were raised by Widdershins. They know very little about their heritage.

Moxie Mallahan is American

HC: her family had been in the USA for many generations before her birth. Distant British and Dutch ancestry.

Arthur Poe is American

HC: Poe and his wife both had generations of family in the USA. He has some Dutch ancestry.

Josephine Anwhistle is American

HC: her family had also been in the USA for many generations. She had distant Irish ancestry. She made effort to reconnect with her ancestry in some regards.

Ike Anwhistle is American

HC: Ike, too, had family for generations in the USA. Canonically in the books, he is the second cousin of one of the Baudelaire parents (I hc him on Bea's side of the family) so in my headcanon, his ancestry is British/Irish. His brother, Gregor, is obviously the same.

The Denouement triplets are American

HC: the triplets are third-generation immigrants with British and Dutch ancestry. Mother's side British and father's side Dutch. There had been plans to raise the triplets in England, but a mysterious friend of their mother convinced them to stay in the USA for reasons unknown...

Unfortunate Gen

The Baudelaire children are French-American

HC: Bea is American and Bertrand French, as stated above. They grew up speaking both languages fluently.

The Quagmire triplets are Italian-American

HC: their mother is Italian and their father American. Their mother and her parents made sure they grew up speaking Italian.

Fiona Widdershins is American/Moroccan

HC: As stated with Fernald above, her biological father was Moroccan, although her and Fernald never knew him nor that they were Moroccan.

Carmelita Spats is Dutch-American

HC: Carmelita is a fourth-generation immigrant and she has little connection to her ancestry due to not being in contact with her family anymore.

Beatrice Baudelaire II is Chinese-American

HC: as Kit is her mother, she has her ancestry, of course. I am personally a fan of the theory that Olaf is her father, not Dewey, so in this post, we'll say that his ancestry plays here too...

Ben (Violet's friend) is American

HC: Ben is American with British and Native American ancestry.

Well, I've probably missed about a million characters, but there it is ! This is a super random post but I just felt like I might as well post some headcanons for the hell of it. Always love to hear other people's headcanons for Snicketverse characters. Thanks if you read all the way to the end, I love you

[louisetaylor]

The novel we all need:

Beatrice's 200-page novel/letter to Lemony containing all of the many reasons why she can't marry him. The darkly elegant turn-of-the-century opera/ballet/high-society vibes of Lemony, Beatrice, Esme, Jerome, Kit, Jacques, and perhaps Olaf, all scheming and murdering and flirting in The Unnamed Big City.

Cab rides fraught with menace and apprehension, with Jacques whistling up in front as he drives. Beatrice narrating everything with a grief (and loquacity) similar to Lemony's, but looking toward the future rather than the past. Sometimes she writes "a word which here means" because Lemony says it so often. Food and fire as recurring themes. Beatrice might have an unnerving attraction to fire...and one instance of intentional fire-setting because she knows two instances would legally make her a pyromaniac.

Her uncertainty between Lemony and Bertrand, two very different men who are equally pretentious in different ways (and subtly fight over her in Clever Verbal Skirmishes, which she loves). The whole story taking place in the melodramatic atmosphere of the opera, perhaps divided into acts. Brief arias of soliloquy from Beatrice, letters from Lemony (!!!) and her friendship with the mysterious Duchess R of Winnipeg. GORGEOUS clothes on absolutely everyone.

Lemony and Beatrice bonding over their love of root beer floats, not to mention questioning the whole system of V.F.D. thinking violence is never acceptable and the world should always be quiet. I've always wondered why Beatrice chose Bertrand over Lemony, and if she really loved Lemony more. LEMONY COOKING FOR BEATRICE AT 2 AM IN HER APARTMENT AFTER A SHOW. Lemony crying on her shoulder at the bitterness of the world, disapproving of her preference for sweet milky tea. Bertrand symbolizing fire (candles, chandeliers in operas and restaurants), and Lemony symbolizing water (rain, the sea, lunch at Briny Beach, splashing with her in the fountain).

The fated tea party, the friendship turned simmering rivalry between Esme and Beatrice, the theft of the sugar bowl when Beatrice finally turns her back on Esme. Kit's subtle glances at Olaf, who's still young and kind and handsome and full of hope and mischief, even though he's a bit of a jerk. Kit believes in him. Everyone else just believes in Kit. Jacques flirting with anything in a skirt just because he likes making people blush and giggle.

The denouement is the grand opera where Beatrice's performance is followed by the death of Olaf's father and the breaking of the fellowship.

Notes in the margins written by Lemony and punctuated by tear stains.

At the end of the book, she quotes Robert Frost. "Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire."

After the quotation, Lemony writes "She burned too bright for this world" from Wuthering Heights, which she loved.

Perhaps the overall meaning of the book could be that Beatrice (a name which here means "she who brings happiness") loves Lemony, and always will, because he symbolizes grief and lost love and wishing for the safe childhood that none of them ever had. But Lemony is the past, and Bertrand is the future. Beatrice has always been surrounded by people who wrote and spoke and sang of the beauty of grief, the glory of sadness. But Beatrice couldn't help holding a happiness as deep as grief. She loves dark stories and art as much as anyone (she's an opera singer, after all) but she's hungry for happiness.

And she had happiness with Lemony when he gave her food, when he hugged her and told her all the ways he would love her, when he played the accordion so well it made her cry. The manuscript is stained with her tears too. She needs to make people happy, and as much as Lemony loved her, she could never make him happy. He saw and adored her deep capacity for happiness, but he couldn't receive it. Like Dante, he admired Beatrice's glow from afar. Now he descends into the inferno, where his angel can't go with him.

The novel is perhaps named A Series of Fortunate Events. Because they all happened with him at her side. Although she has to leave him, she mourns for him, for his endless wandering on the run, and never regrets the time she spent with him. She finally learned to see herself as he always saw her--a beacon of light and warmth who held all the friends together, even as the times grew dark and the force of destiny worked on them all.

Perhaps it was really Beatrice who symbolized fire all the time, not Bertrand. Lemony was water, and water smothers fire and dims its light. But Bertrand might symbolize air. Bertrand might be a fresh breath of air on Mount Fraught, liking the outdoors more than Lemony, making mischievous jokes with Olaf, slurping loudly from a straw while Lemony does a Dramatic Philosophical Monologue, meeting her on windy streets with newspapers (articles written by Lemony) blowing around their feet. Bertrand pining in the background as Lemony kisses Beatrice's hand. She feels more alive and awake with Bertrand. Water reflects fire, but air feeds it.

The whole novel contains foreshadowing of all the unfortunate events to come, some of the references quite clever and amusing even as they break your heart. But one comes away from the book with a sense that though Beatrice was always doomed to die...she LIVED. The book must be warm and full of life, contrasting the books about her children in a world that is often too cold and too quiet. The world is too quiet without her. But it's not a sad ending. Because she left a legacy of warmth and hope and love. Lemony wrote the children's stories for her sake, because he loved her and remembered her.

He loved her for her fiery happiness, even as she loved him for his grief and vulnerability. In the scene where Lemony confesses his love for Beatrice, a moth flies into the candle on the table between them, symbolic of Lemony wishing his heart out to be with her warmth, even as it doomed him to exile in a cold and quiet world.

But even this is not the end. Because someday, after Beatrice and Lemony have had their say, young Beatrice Baudelaire II will drop a note through the ceiling of Lemony's office, and the old Beatrice somehow gave Lemony a child to love and take care of, in a strange and roundabout way.

Edit: Allusions to heaven and hell throughout the work, hell being the arson perpetrated by the Bad Guys, and purgatory being the wide empty hinterlands that lie outside the city. Lemony chooses to stay in hell to help the unfortunate people in it, making him a bit of a Christ figure. Bertrand climbing his way up out of hell and reaching for the heaven of a safe home and family. Beatrice symbolizing an angel who fell, or was pushed, from heaven a long time ago and being a bit of a Christ figure herself for going deep into Lemony's sadness and understanding him, thus saving him even as he saves her.

[chiropteracupola]

realizing I have two flavors of character I keep inventing that are as follows: world's smallest most autistic little guy (polite and charming) and world's smallest most autistic little guy (abrasive and awful to be around)

[constancecontraire]

welcome to the sugar bowl gen showdown!

this is a bracketed tournament to determine who is THE sugar bowl gen blorbo of the asoue tumblr fandom!! i’ve included 28 members of the sbg, and 24 of them will be matched up in the first round.

(lemony, esmé, beatrice, and kit all get a pass to round 2 because i say so, and because they would obliterate the round 1 competition anyway.)

links to the polls are below the cut, and this post will be updated as new rounds are posted. may the best chef’s salad win!!

WINNER: LEMONY SNICKET

final round:

lemony snicket vs. kit snicket

esmé squalor vs. beatrice baudelaire (third place)

semifinal round:

lemony snicket vs. esmé squalor

beatrice baudelaire vs. kit snicket

quarterfinal round:

josephine anwhistle vs. esmé squalor

beatrice baudelaire vs. jacques snicket

bertrand baudelaire vs. kit snicket

jacquelyn scieszka vs. lemony snicket vs. dewey denouement

round 2:

lemony snicket vs. gustav sebald

jacquelyn scieszka vs. dewey denouement (tie)

olivia caliban (netflix) vs. josephine anwhistle

larry your-waiter vs. esmé squalor

beatrice baudelaire vs. frank denouement

duchess r vs. jacques snicket

bertrand baudelaire vs. hector

monty montgomery vs. kit snicket

round 1:

gustav sebald vs. georgina orwell

jacquelyn sciezska vs. sally sebald

gregor anwhistle vs. dewey denouement

olivia caliban (netflix) vs. captain widdershins

josephine anwhistle vs. ernest denouement

larry your-waiter vs. olivia caliban (books)

mrs. quagmire vs. frank denouement

duchess r vs. mr. quagmire

miranda caliban vs. jacques snicket

bertrand baudelaire vs. ike anwhistle

hector vs. count olaf

monty montgomery vs. jerome squalor

[asouefanworkevent]

and that's a wrap on the wicked way exchange!! always a little sad the day after an exchange ends, isn't it? everything is over now. no more working and editing and waiting and getting in last minute details and everything. but now there's so much exciting fanwork to see! look at it all!!! we all did this!!!!!

thank you all again for participating!!!!!! i'm so happy and so proud of you all. ⭐⭐



@lesbianscieszka: Interesting (esme and jerome), for @gray-zelle

@library-child: Associates (beatrice and olaf), for @hitsuzenhusbands

@gray-zelle: Hearts & Hives (jacquelyn/esme, jacques/jerome, olaf/esme), for @archangelsunited

@accidentallylita: Jacques and Olivia fic, for @snicketbae

@acacia-may: Good Things Find Their Way Back (baudelaires and quagmires post-canon), for @junowritesstuff

@memento-fugaces: Jacques and Quigley fic, for @nothing-to-see-here-bye-yall

@snicketbae: Jacques and Olivia art, for @accidentallylita

@volunteerfelinedetectives: SBTS Associates fic, for @cherrycokeisnice

@nothing-to-see-here-bye-yall: Snicket siblings art, for @bittersbetter

@hitsuzenhusbands: The Shattering of Thalia and Melpomene (beatrice and olaf), for @virginian-wolfsnake

@bittersbetter: SBTS Associates art, for @miriel-therindes

@virginian-wolfsnake: death of an enemy (esme after beatrice dies), for @navree

@navree: Two Scoops (lemony and babybea), for @acacia-may

@littlestsnicket: All the News in Fits of Print (moxie and geraldine), for @whoslaurapalmer

@miriel-therindes: Sugar Bowl Gen Class Photo art, for @larryy0urwaiter

@larryy0urwaiter: Bertrand and Lemony art, for @odd-kid-42

@snckt: Denouement edit, for @lyeekha

@lyeekha: Beatrice/Bertrand/Lemony) Lion Tamer art, for @littlestsnicket

@somewhat-bored: Late Night Thoughts (ellington/cleo), for @volunteerfelinedetectives

@whoslaurapalmer: sweetest things (pre-canon baudelaire family), for @snckt

@junowritesstuff: A Chance Encounter (violet/quigley post-canon), for @noodle-the-queen

@noodle-the-queen: Jacquelyn and Esme art, for @lesbianscieszka

@jacobsnicket: anyway, don't be a stranger (lemony returning to stain'd-by-the-sea), for @missingmae

@cherrycokeisnice: Two Years After "Why Is This Night Different Than All Other Nights?" (ellington and cleo), for @somewhat-bored

@odd-kid-42: Non-restrictive Clause to Some (lemony and moxie talk about asoue), for @library-child

@archangelsunited: On That Account (dewey in vfd), for @memento-fugaces

@missingmae: the misadventures of a very kind editor (lemony and the editor), for @jacobsnicket