#mostly ... also Tréville's kids

[dans-le-vif]

I got a bit further with the rewatch of The Musketeers (1x02, 1x03 and 1x04) Still skipped some bits here and there, but definately actually *watched* more than before, trying to screencap good refs for the characters - Tréville and his desk - a love story gotta pay attention if it mirrors Richelieu and his desk even more as the show progresses. Also, why do I get the feeling that Tréville has the better desk?! I’m increasingly frustrated about Richelieu’s tiny desk in the big empty room  :c - the musketeers got red-guarded  XD  a.k.a. plot related incompetence as they were supposed to accompany the Queen to the prison and she got taken hostage. Poor Tréville, wouldn’t want to swap places with him when he had to report to the King, especially since him moving away from the Queen exposed her ... Richelieu probably sent him a fruit basket for almost getting the Queen killed though - Aramis throwing himself at Queens and bombs ... - my love/hate relationship with the red poncho is still strong - AU where Emile Bonnaire always sets out on some venture or other that he fails miserably and then has to report back to the Cardinal at the end of every episode (after credits scene) ‘explaining himself as if his life depended on it’ - DON’T YOU CARE ABOUT PORTHOS?!?!?! - is it just me or does Athos come off as disconnected to Porthos’ actual problem with Bonnaire and slavery? Like I don’t think he really grasps it despite talking about Portos getting justice or something ... - AU where Aramis becomes a seamstress ... seamstrer?! at court to be closer to his son in S2 ... - ove/hate relationship with the red poncho continued ... and it might be even worse?! the cut of the thing in 1x02 might have been better, though we don’t see enough to properly judge it ... - what’s with Tréville’s face when the Duke’s carriage finally arrives and they can move on with procedure? - I feel sorry for Tréville in 1x04, some good scenes though. However, my favs are probably still the ones with Richelieu. “The roles we play” and the one walking and talking about (the inconvenience and stupidity of) honour. Pity they only locked steps in one angle, but always were out of sync in the other. - killer on the lose, but at least little D’Artagnan didn’t get a bruise  XD - rain and those hats are not going well together, RIP Tréville’s hat as he walks towards his office when the Musketeers are waiting for him, pity he only took it off as he enters, nice throw though  ;) - how did I miss that clap?! What is up with that clap Armand? Richelieu being nice at official court stuff is kind of unnerving ... also did we ever see that room again?

[vapaus-ystavyys-tasaarvo]

This was supposed to be a post about T3M chapter 2.......

It occurred to me that the current Saint-Sulpice church probably isn’t actually that old and so I had to go check and sure enough, the Saint-Sulpice church of d’Artagnan’s time was not the same building as the one Marius went to as a kid. This one above is the old medieval Saint-Sulpice church. Same place, same name but this one was much much much smaller. The new Saint-Sulpice church (the construction of which would begin in 1646) is this big baroque behemoth, only slightly smaller than Notre Dame.

^ That’s the new one for comparison. (This drawing is probably roughly mid-19th century based on the streetlights.)

That earlier picture of the old church is also nice to have to get a sense of what the neighbourhood looked like in d’Artagnan’s time. The date is a bit vague (just “17th century”) but at least it IS the right century. And it looks so small and rural!

The other way to get a sense of the place is to check out some of those good old maps :p

Yeah, you all knew this was coming.

^ I hope you guys can read this lol

Rue des Fossoyeurs -> d’Artagnan’s first garret apartment was here somewhere. Much later, Marius would spend his childhood here, but by then this street would be a lot fancier and part of the urban centre of the city. (on this map it’s actually spelled Foßoieu which is cute.)

Hôtel de Luxembourg -> later Petit Luxembourg. This was the queen mother’s residence at the time! D’Artagnan had fancy neighbours! Marie de Médicis bought it in 1612 and started building the much bigger Luxembourg Palace next to it. (I mean obviously she didn’t build it, she had it built for her.) This project was all about trying to recreate her childhood in Florence so it was going to be a very Italian style palace and garden. Cardinal Richelieu moved to Petit Luxembourg in 1627 (two years from where we’re at in the book) while waiting for his own palace near Louvre to be constructed. Marie had also already gotten started on the Luxembourg Garden by this point but you can’t really see much of it on the map. Partly because it’s a slightly older map (1618) and partly because of the isometric perspective making things wonky; there’s much more open space behind the hotel than it looks like there is.

Funny how all of those places come up in Les Mis too, isn’t it? (Although I guess it’s not really a surprise.)

You can see the garden and the area in general better on this map from 1609 (before Marie bought the place but what can you do):

Rue du Vieux-Colombier -> Tréville’s street. I have no idea if this IS where the historical Troisville’s hotel was? But if so, I think the only building that fits the description is the one I highlighted. All the other buildings seem far too small.

Note by the way that this part of the city was actually still outside of the city walls. This is on the left bank which was difficult land to build on (mostly because the groundwater was too deep, making well-building a real ordeal, and you need a LOT of drinking water to maintain an urban area) but the city was spreading, as cities do. And the water problem had pretty much been solved by 1623 thanks to Marie de Médicis (who I just talked about) who had an aqueduct built to supply the left bank with drinking water while she was still the queen regent.

^ You can see the wall and two of the gates right there on the left.

Anyway yeah this area was still semi-rural, but in the process of being developed rather quickly (mostly by Marie de Médicis, I guess)

Oh yeah, for reference, this is where we’re at in modern Paris:

Well, roughly that area anyway. And note that these old maps face east instead of north! And they have a weird angle and a weird perspective.

Also, I didn’t mention the portraits of the different classes of Frenchmen and Frenchwomen in the margins of the 1618 map yet and I just wanna point out that looking at the clothes from this era makes this novel extra hilarious because then you remember how aside from the peasants, everybody in this book is likely just walking around wearing your grandma’s living room decor as if it were high fashion.

[dans-le-vif]

concerning ideas/prompts/AUs, I’ll be more clear in the future to avoid miscommunication on my part ... I’m sorry if this all seems melodramatic, it’s mostly because I'm overly protective of the modern!Armand and my version of a modern AU. In most cases it’s just me throwing some random idea out there, they rarely every go anywhere beyond some quick thought, but this is different. It’s funny that the modern!AU of all things developed such a life of its own considering that it started with one weird idea: what if the Court went to the beach? so, here’s some of the stuff that’s been on my mind to some degree or other ... modern!Dans le Vif weird AU where The Court somehow operates in our times, Musketeers and Louis are kids, Tréville is an adoptive Dad and Richelieu tries to run the state (despite the incompetence around him - oh, he does have a Sam in this AU, so at least someone else knows how to do their job ...) very Trevilieu-baity, joking about tropes, but nothing happens (please don’t hate me ...) Probably shouldn’t have turned Armand into this charismatic and charming person, that way too many people consider flirty and the rumours of his conquests are numerous, though not true. A nat 20 with everything he does ... and the world at his feet for the most part, though he does face opposition at times. The level of power he has and the strings he can pull would be scary, but luckily in this AU he is way more kinder because he can afford it. But be warned, never get on his bad side, he gets scary in that The Doctor kind of way, where you get one warning, that’s it ... Most of his ailments are gone due to treatments in the past, though he requires medication for his heart and mind ... and he hates it, but those are issues to be addressed later ... > please leave this little corner with this specific Richelieu to me, but if it inspires your own modern!AU (in the world of politics or elsewhere) by all means write/draw your hearts out  :D Muskeweeres/Musketweeres (the ‘t’ is silent) the Musketeers are werewolves and the Red Guards are Vampires An old feud with some breaking of the common rules concerning werewolves and vampires (what kills them etc.) It started as a fun idea with some dracula!Richelieu using alpha!Tréville’s doggy traits against him, but there is also a dark version of it inspired by a prompt somewhere (by Tatzelwyrm I think, but correct me if I’m wrong): why should Richelieu always be the damsel in distress? It kind of spiraled way beyond that ... with Richelieu as a tired immortal who sees Tréville as the closest thing to a friend or ‘travel companion’ he might have despite their rivalling nature and he ultimately comes to the rescue, but at what cost ... If I find the time to do this, I want to do it with a Mignola-ish style ... > if Musketeers meets Underworld sounds like your cup of tea, go ahead and have some  :) roleswap - Captain Richelieu and Cardinal Tréville basically Tréville used to be Louis’ father confessor. And since Louis needed someone he can trust, he kept showering him with gifts and positions until Tréville became Cardinal and ultimately First Minister of France. Meanwhile Richelieu continued his original career (since his brother became Bishop of Luçon as intended) and rose through the ranks until he became Captain of the Musketeers. Tréville keeps his hands clean, but he knows full well that when Richelieu accompanies him to the chapel when he prays for guidance and aid on how to deal with some troublesome noble or other people, things will be taken care of. Richelieu is haunted by the things he does to ensure the safety of the King and the State; while he is a superb and ruthless fighter in the moment, he has to battle his demons in the quiet hours. For presentation and normal missions Richelieu uses Athos, Porthos and Aramis, but for the missions no one should know about he’s usually accompanied by Rochefort, LaBarge and Milady. > if you like the sad feels and tormented Richelieu or of you can come up with a better use for Captain Richelieu and Cardinal Tréville knock yourselves out  ;) swordsman Richelieu probably somewhat inspired by the roleswap AU, but mainly by Waltzilieu practising fencing and well, Richelieu originally training to become a soldier and I would assume knowing how to fight even if he had to pursue a clerical career later. In this AU he just never stopped honing his - assumed already superb - fencing skills. He still hates duelling because that’s how his brother died, hence the law that forbids duels, but if someone is stupid enough to still challenge someone, they’re in for a painful surprise. He may not even kill his opponents, but he’s toying with them, just to let them know he could kill them. Leading the fight, being in charge, enjoying the other’s attempt to best him though they never stood a chance. He may leave an ‘R’ shaped mark on them, preferrably on the cheek ... just as a reminder. > all for one and free for all  :D