#I return again with Javert

[paindemiserables]

What if I told you that I've fallen And I like the way you say my name? My heart skips a beat when I hear you calling And I like that it won't go away

[i-dont-talk-for-days-on-end]

The Adventure of the Telltale Flower

“What happened?” I asked him again, “Who hurt you?” My mind was racing. Had it been some thug in the street? A lover? The police?!

I received nothing but an abrupt headshake in return. Holmes was still pressing his hand to his chest as if he could make the flower disappear, and in the grimace on his face, pain and mortification mingled.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandoms: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms

Relationship: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson

Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Mrs. Hudson (Sherlock Holmes)

Additional Tags: Friends to Lovers, Gay Sherlock Holmes, Bisexual John Watson, Gay John Watson, we don't actually know about Watson my friends all that counts is that he loves Holmes, Pining, Mutual Pining, Sherlock Holmes is a Mess, Sherlock Holmes is Bad at Feelings, Period-Typical Homophobia, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt Sherlock Holmes, Doctor John Watson, John Watson Takes Care of Sherlock Holmes, hints at Holmes's past, brief appearance of Mrs Hudson who is awesome, Holmes is scared of allowing himself to be happy so nothing new, He will figure it out eventually, Trust, Communication, Angst with a Happy Ending, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Getting Together

Please tell me if you no longer wish to be tagged! :)

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[sunburstsoldier]

Some modern codywan fics that I just love

I have an EXTREMELY LONG fanfic recs document and I've been meaning to make a bunch of posts for ages so here's the first one!! non-explicit Modern AU Codywans in no particular order:

HOT2GO by Saerus2665 for dontbelasagnax | 32k | Mature |

Nurse Ben & firefighter Cody. Ben is a disaster in this and i love it. also bonus Bant is there!

“Hey,” Ben calls from the back. He holds up the forms, “You missed one.” Cody latches another one of the cabinets closed then turns to him. He doesn’t seem surprised to see him. “My bad,” he says simply. He comes to the back of the wagon and takes a seat, legs hanging over the side. He glances up as Ben hands over the forms and pen. “You’d think running down signatures would be a little below your list of duties” he says, in that annoyingly pointed way of his. That’s fine. Ben’s decided he’s done walking on eggshells around him. “You’d think a Fire Captain would be better at remembering to fill out forms he’s done a hundred times,” he returns, just as pointed. Cody smiles at him, a sharp glint in his eye. Or: Nurse Ben and the bad bitch firefighter he pulls by being a complete disaster

Turn it on to a new kind of bright by rolo_rulu, Saerus2665 |41k |

Cody is a hot surfer & Ben is a biologist and also a banana stand dude. Absolutely hysterically funny.

Someone rolls him over onto his back. “Hnnngh…” Ben blinks his eyes open. There’s a man looking down at him, haloed in the bright light of the sun. He has dark eyes, and handsome features, including an interesting scar on the right side of his face. A stray dark curl hangs down in the middle of his forehead. He’s beautiful, with the sunlight behind him. Ethereal. “Are—are you an angel?” Ben finds himself saying. He doesn't know if it's the heat or his poor instinctive attempt at flirting that makes him say it. The man squints at him, brow furrowing, clearly caught off guard. “Uh—are you a banana?” The mention of it brings him back into the reality of the situation: he’s trapped in a banana suit, 10 feet from the banana stand, with the object of his recent fantasies—because yes, this is indeed Hot-Surfer-Cody— looking down at him.

Charmed On The Wayside by TapeMonkey21 | 39k Teen+ |

Lawyer Cody, farmer Obi-Wan, aka Hallmark AU! So good I read it twice in two days, it is EXACTLY like the hallmark movie I never knew I wanted.

Cody Fett's perfect big-city life falls apart when his boyfriend breaks up with him, leaving him heartbroken. A visit to the small Vermont town where his brother Rex lives has him crossing paths repeatedly with Ben, the strange, charming, handsome, flannel-wearing owner of the local cider mill and orchard. Can Cody find love again amidst the fall leaves? Or, the fall Codywan Hallmark Movie we all deserve. Written for the Codywan Comfort flash event.

*The truth that once was spoken by Jimmytiberius | 40k | Mature  | Les Mis Theater AU.

Now with several sequel mini fics, a gorgeous love letter to theater and to our favorite boys. Really cool then-and-now structure.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is a well-known actor in London's West End who's just signed a contract to make his long-awaited Broadway debut as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. There's just one small wrinkle. Broadway star Cody Fett will be playing Inspector Javert. Obi-Wan hasn't seen Cody since the summer he was nineteen, when they were in summer stock together... also in a production of Les Miserables. Their relationship ended badly. What will happen when they see each other again for the first time in nineteen years? Will they ever find a way to tell each other the truth about what happened at the end of that summer?

sourdough: flour, water, and starting over by Shortcuts_make_long_delays |19k | Teen+ | BAKERY AU. This one is very sweet!!

Did Cody need to be up at 3:50am? No, not technically. But he had graciously offered to take Fox’s Sunday morning shifts at their Uncle’s bakery. Donning Fox's red apron as part of a decade long joke, he works at the bakery as he attempts to figure out what he wants from life. The first time Obi-wan shows up to dinner at Anakin's after moving back to Coruscant, he arrives twenty minutes late with the bag of rolls in hand, and unable to stop thinking about the baker in the red apron. Fox, he's pretty sure the name tag said.

bury me beneath the tree i climbed when i was a child by stormwarnings | 33k | Teen + |

Cody is an EMT; Obi-Wan's house keeps catching fire. Absolutely hysterical setting, I love the way they raise the twins communally in this fic so much.

Obi-Wan meets Cody for the first time when his niece and nephew almost light his house on fire.  (Obi-Wan Kenobi and Cody Fett find their way into love slowly but steadily. There's broken bones, too much sooty turnout gear, late hours spent at EMT class, three kids, ten brothers and two adopted siblings, two weddings, and all number of laughs and inside jokes along the way. It's worth it, in the end. Family's always worth it.)

It's Raining, Dear by cafffine |10k | Modern AU 

This one feels like you're just catching pieces of their lives together and i love it. Leia loves rocks. Obi-Wan has anxiety. I love it.

Cody and Obi-Wan fall in love. They live together, Rex calls when he can, Anakin is just out of reach until he isn't, Luke and Leia grow up too fast, Ahsoka lives far away, the back deck needs to be fixed, life happens and it happens and it happens.

More to come !! enjoy!!

[deadgayturtles]

buckle in guys. i blew up irl’s phone with notes about act one and only stopped because act two started. then james’ enjolras fried my brain in act two and all i could remember was him. but don’t worry i put the pieces together so now i have so many notes for last night’s show.

les mis arena tour 22 may, melb/aus

made a minor attempt to sort the notes but i just had so many thoughts sorry 😭 also if you want to read my notes from saturday’s matinee and tuesday’s show they are here.

bradley as javert. i already said this but he is really such an insane javert! and i mean that literally, javert just feels like such a crazed man

bradley’s javert for most of act one is so steely and rigid in his expressions and the way he carries himself. this only falters when valjean presents him with things that make bradley’s face quite literally go what the fuck?

^ when valjean instructs him to let fantine go, i fully believe that’s the first time javert has ever felt doubt/confused. basically any time that valjean shows compassion, bradley’s javert turns from stoic, angry and rigid, to a little bewildered and confused (and then very angry again)

bradley’s stars is sooo incredible. i mean his voice, his expressions! his eyes are just so full of longing it’s crazy

and then killian as valjean was just gut-wrenching. because tell me why he is so soft when myriel gives him the candlesticks?

and all throughout him singing the first who am i, all i could think about was the contrast between the way killian performs who am i and the way bradley will perform javert’s soliloquy later. and like the two songs being technically mirror points of each others’ journeys but faced with unexpected compassion, valjean turns soft and gains a new life of freedom, and killian really sells that, but bradley’s javert faces that compassion with anger and outraged confusion so he’s left with only the option to kill himself at the end

^and the staging really mirrors itself, with the way that valjean tries to return the candlesticks to myriel but myriel pushes it back to him, and the way that javert tries to make valjean take his life but valjean tells him to go

bradley smirks quite a bit when he’s captured. really liked that. silly little cop still thinks les amis are gonna die. he’s right of course but shhh

god do i love rachelle as fantine

when fantine gets the letter about cosette you can actually see her read it and the anguish on her face

and on tuesday i only noticed how strongheaded she plays fantine but she reallyy plays it with such nuance because up close it is like a strongheaded front but you can also feel that she is a little bit scared standing up for herself

her fantine has so many moments where she reacts to other people’s comments about her with incredulity

fantine only genuinely smiles twice. the first is when she tells valjean to tell cosette she loves her, and the second is when little cosette walks past her ghost 😭

some very cute cosette moments today, like when valjean is talking to the thenardiers after she and marius bumped into one another, cosette keeps looking back at marius and giggling. so cute.

caleb as marius is also adorable. my precious little fool. and they are so flustered around cosette. so so cute

my goodness can shan ako sing.

like fantine, shan’s eponine has a little bit of fear underneath the surface when standing up against the thenardiers!! i was very impressed because she was visibly shaking as she confronted them, and yet the singing is so powerful and strong. god i love eponine

and when marius comes over her hand does a little nervous flutter back and forth like she wants to take his hand 😭 (oh my god guys i’m reading over this and thinking about how she later dies from taking a bullet to her hand for him)

shan’s on my own is breathtaking. it’s heartbroken but more than that it’s so angry? it’s like her heart is breaking for herself and she’s angry at the world for putting her in this position. i love it

in the epilogue, shan and rachelle’s voices are absolutely heavenly!!!! genuinely feel like the angels are singing. especially the way that rachelle starts, and they slowly begin to harmonise with one another, it just sounds heavenly.

idk where to put these random thoughts so here they are before we get into les amis 😭

owain williams sings the first solo line of the show and does such a good job of it. what a powerful voice. someone fill me in on whether he’s been other characters in les mis before and whether any of those were valjean. i think he’d make a great valjean

at the start of act two caleb’s mic was not turned on :/ but they reacted pretty well tbh, it was as if nothing happened

rachelle also sang come to me instead of come with me in the epilogue 😭 (same lol)

my new favourite game to play is what is michael burgen doing when he’s not grantaire?

favourite answer: he’s super fucking drunk in master of the house. man is just drunk in every life

had a slightly older gavroche today, not as spunky as i like my gavroches but a fun vibe nonetheless! his delivery of some lines is very deadpan kind of funny

i never got to mention it so mentioning it here, but michael is the children’s director and i feel like it really shows/benefits his interactions with gavroche (they are so cute oh my goodness)

i have complaints about les amis guys. who cut their lines and why. please give it back to them they already have so little. some of the lines that remain are no longer sung by the same amis that usually do too. because i am very sure that joly’s line in drink with me was given to a different ami :(

during red and black one of the amis is like really angry about marius and r??? i didn’t like that at all. it also does not make sense because it’s not like this ami doesn’t sing the second red/black with grantaire so like tf? idk i think it was unnecessary and weird

ok BUT enj and r are the ones who take turns calming this ami down sooo…

at the end of look down when enjolras is leaving the stage is stopped by the beggars in the corner and he holds each of their hands and gives them each money. i cannot explain it but it is very different from the way that marius and valjean do it centrestage. it just feels so compassionate and caring and gentle

did i mention that james’ enjolras is as gentle as he is ferocious? as idealistic as he is afraid? the dichotomies oh god.

james’ enjolras is sooo full of hope you just can’t not agree to follow him into battle

also such a smiley enjolras. everyone cheering loudly and he smiles quietly to himself. his friends are being nuisances and disrupting his meeting but he smiles to himself before quietly stepping away to talk to other people

especially such fond smiles for grantaire. even when grantaire begins his heckling. and i swear the smiles are bigger for r than for marius

and the heckling sort of stops and starts but each time it starts he has a bigger smile while shaking his head in a what can you do kinda smile

grantaire is also the only ami to enter the stage/musain after enjolras (other than marius obvs) like he was literally trailing behind him

side note: after grantaire comes on stage for red and black he has a very funny moment where he passes the bottle from hand to hand behind his back in a like i’m not drinking kinda joke which absolutely everyone ignores HAHHSHSHS

when lamarque’s death is announced, grantaire looks at enj

and he gets sad while everyone else gets hyped up by enjolras, then drinks and distracts himself with gavroche, as in calls him over and they hang out, very cute.

both enj and r’s first instinct is always to protect gavroche, several times when the barricade is being fired at or when javert’s identity is revealed, either one of them or both of them immediately shield gav with their whole body! there is one shot at the barricade where the two of them both cover gav and i need the image seared into my brain, like gav is already next to grantaire so he tucks gav in, and enj is a little bit away but jumps over to also have gav tucked into him so the two of them are sheltering him together and i love my little family unit 😭😭😭

also when gav starts to reveal javert’s identity, james’ mic is turned off but i could hear him yell gavroche’s name worriedly

the thing that sold me on james being my new favourite/definitive enjolras is the fear that he clearly feels after eponine dies. like up till this point he’s been very confident and unafraid. but during little fall of rain he sits in the back and his head hangs low and from where i was sitting you could see him in distress

he shakes as he sings the next few lines/songs, but still putting on that brave idealistic leader for the amis

continues to sit by the barricades looking very despondent during drink with me

but before grantaire goes to sing his lines he stops by enj and does a cute little bow/curtsey thing, and at this enj looks up and smiles/laughs, and waves him on (i’m gonna die)

today’s enjolras was just so gentle. maybe because i was so close i could really see it idk.

marius goes to confront/stop r and enj practically wrestles marius away. but then the way he puts his hands on grantaire’s shoulders trying to comfort him is just so gentle

and grantaire violently shrugs him off then turns to look at him

and his anger just turns into this desperate look, and he kind of collapses into enj’s arms. except that enj also kind of grabs him and pulls him into the hug.

and the hug is so gentle, with r’s head like snuggled in enjolras’ chest, and enj leans his own head on top of grantaire’s

and they stay like this craddling each other for a bit

but then grantaire pushes out of the hug, and stumbles backwards. gavroche comes to hug him and grantaire hugs gav for a bit before gav leaves

and as grantaire and gav are hugging, enj is just standing there looking at r

and after gav leaves, r sort of sways toward enj again before he really turns to leave. at this point, another ami who’s next to enj talks to enj, and another one comes to stand with him, and only then does enj stop looking towards r leaving T-T

after les amis die, enjolras does not immediately go to the balcony with r and gav. he walks to the top of the seats before the balcony and stays standing there for most of the interlude. then he sits there amongst the amis for quite awhile, up until the line in turning where they sing nothing ever changes. only then does he get up and join r and gav on the balcony. when marius sings phantom faces, all of les amis stand up but enj is the last to sit down (by at least a good 15 seconds i’d say). it was like his soul refused to leave and was stubbornly lingering on.

[asexualenjolras]

It's been a few days since I went to see the current Les Misérables London cast at the Sondheim Theatre, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about Djavan Van De Fliert's Enjolras and Tom Hext's Grantaire. Here is an overview of their portrayals:

Grantaire isn't overly present during Paris/Look Down, as usual, but he can be seen at the back of the stage reading a leaflet that Enjolras and Marius drop on the street - and he watches as Enjolras runs off of the stage.

During ABC Café/Red & Black, Grantaire is separate to the rest of Les Amis. He sit with his drink in his hand, watching as his fellow students listen to Enjolras speak. Tom Hext portrayed Grantaire as drunker than most other Grantaires I've seen on stage: he had slurred speech and really did stumble around the Musain.

As Marius comes on the stage, Grantaire's focus is entirely on Enjolras' reaction and you can see the cogs start to get to work in his brain; he thinks deeply about how he can gain Enjolras' attention. As he does, Djavan's Enjolras looks so defeated and frustrated, but there's a softness in the way he directs Grantaire back onto their cause. Initially, Grantaire laughs off Enjolras' words and continues joking around, desperately looking to see if Enjolras was watching him.

When he realises he isn't, he walks right up to Enjolras (who had returned to his table) and grabs his face, turning him to look at him with a laugh. He only starts to be serious when Enjolras raises his eyebrows and silently pleads for him to stop.

After Gavroche announces that Lamarque is dead, Grantaire's whole body drops. As everyone else rallies around Enjolras, he grabs Gavroche and moves to the side of the group, watching in horror as the realisation sinks in that this was really happening. Enjolras notices that Grantaire is standing away from everyone else, cradling Gavroche, and stands by him during Do You Hear the People Sing? Grantaire offers him a smile in response, and Enjolras smiles back, believing he's won Grantaire round.

BUT the moment Enjolras looks away, Grantaire's smile drops again. And he looks on the verge of tears as he joins in with the marching.

During One Day More, Enjolras looks back to Grantaire and Gavroche and offers them a nod, which they both reciprocate.

When the barricade is built, Grantaire stumbles around the stage following Enjolras and making sure Gavroche is safe. When Éponine is shot, he runs onto the stage with the rest of the students and stands in utter disbelief, cradling Gavroche and staring at Enjolras with the saddest expression on his face. Enjolras walks in from being with Javert wiping his hands of the Inspector's blood. Grantaire looks at him with such a bland look on his face. After Éponine dies in Marius' arms, you can really see that Grantaire has accepted this is going to be their fate. Enjolras tries to reach out for him, grabbing at his arm to try and explain and console him, but Grantaire pulls away from him and leads Gavroche away.

In Drink With Me, he's physically shaking. The moment Grantaire starts to sing, Enjolras turns around and walks towards him with the most solemn look on his face. He pulls him into an embrace but Grantaire pulls out of it and walks towards Gavroche, who hugs him this time. He sinks down onto the floor and looks so heartbroken.

Because Grantaire does believe in Enjolras, but he's cynical. And he knows how this is going to end. And he's trying desperately to be there for Gavroche and make sure he's safe.

When Gavroche is killed, he breaks down completely and Enjolras tries to comfort him but Grantaire shakes him away. It's a really haunting scene. During their final battle, Grantaire doesn't pick up a weapon once. He watches from the sidelines, and offers Enjolras a small nod when Enjolras smiles at him from the top of the barricade.

And when Enjolras is shot dead, falling off of the barricade, Grantaire races to the top to be with him, screaming the most blood-curdling "you bastards!" I've ever heard. He dies running to the man he loves because, although he doesn't believe in the cause, he believes in Enjolras.

During Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, Grantaire and Enjolras are stood side by side - which has been the staging since they changed it in 2019.

Djavan's Enjolras is so passionate about everything he believes in. But he's also the softest Enjolras I've seen: you can see his confusion about why Grantaire hangs around, but he's empathetic and kind to him even through his frustration.

And Tom's Grantaire cares so deeply for Enjolras, and he's so desperate for him to see him. It's all so beautiful. The relationship between Enjolras and Grantaire is so poetically, and delicately, portrayed. And Djavan and Tom both understand their characters on such deep, personal levels. They're the perfect ExR combination. And I will never, ever get over them.

[jessaerys]

valjean at last we see each other plain monsieur le mayor you'll wear a different chain before you say another word javert before you chain me up like a slave again listen to me there is something i must do this woman leaves behind a suffering child there is none but me who can intercede in mercy's name three days are all i need then i'll return i pledge my word then i'll retutnyou must think me mad i've hunted you across the years men like you can never changea man such as youuuu

[nicki0kaye]

OK no, every Kallus fangirl(gender neutral), PBS Les Misérables where David Oyelowo plays Javert is required viewing

I finished it last night and when I tell you the finale is just fantastic scene after fantastic scene of Single Minded Cop repeatedly having his world rocked by his self-appointed rival

where David spends 90% of his performance growling about how ValJean is the scum of the earth and secretly behind every single petty crime in Paris, only to owe that man his life and return to his police HQ to have an existential crisis in front of his underling and in that moment AND ONLY THAT MOMENT, he has to force his voice down out of a higher register--

also crying? He cries???? please go watch it, oh my god, the whole mini series is phenomenal and I'm in love with Les Mis all over again, but Javert in that last episode is everything

[cliozaur]

The chapter in which Inspector Javert returns presents an improved version of our dear inspector—now with a sense of humour. I will never be normal about this brilliant exchange:

“The matter is very private.” “Then speak.” “And great haste is required.” “Then speak quickly.”

And it’s always amusing to read how he describes individual members of Patron-Minette and the whole band in general, using theatrical metaphors: “Impossible to conceal ourselves inside it without the artists seeing us, and then they will get off simply by countermanding the vaudeville. They are so modest! An audience embarrasses them.”

His controversial nature is once again emphasized: he is both calm and abrupt, terrifying and reassuring, inspiring both fear and confidence. And as a dog, he is well endowed (being ferocious and terrible) to oppose such a wolf as ‘Jondertte.’

Javert clearly has vivid memories of his last encounter with Valjean in the Gorbeau house: the address speaks volumes to him, and he can recollect the inner plan of the house and its rooms excellently.

Marius is a surprisingly good informant: he effectively, clearly, and briefly provides the facts from which Javert can immediately draw conclusions. In turn, the inspector is a master of brief and efficient instructions: I like his sparing manner of expression and curt sentences. However, giving Marius two pistols was such a failure on his part! It’s so out of character, to be honest (but we know the pistols are a plot device and Marius needs them for the barricade).

“Courage does not fear crime, and honesty does not fear authority” can be Javert’s motto and credo. (And a point in the never-ending argument about his ability to defy authority.)

[bogusbyron]

Just got mad at the fairly inaccurate translation of the french version of javert's suicide and translated it myself with my own personal choices and like, owch. the last verse hits harder than the english version....

sorry if this has already been discussed by someone else and it probably has but. argh

(From my translation so take this with a grain of salt):

I hold him but he escapes me, the stars laugh in the dark They mock the victory of the forces of evil over me. I prefer to leave this world that tolerates Jean Valjean, All my life was a mistake, I return it to nothing!

The whole version from what i gathered gives javert a bit more of a . more positive , almost , opinion of valjean.. with lines like "But it was my life he offered me as a gift!" and "How can I [allow] this man to sully me with his kindness?" giving me the impression he recognises valjean to be kind rather than malicious. again i might be misinterpreting from the original lyrics but especially the mention of his life being offered "en cadeau" makes me think javert knows it was an act of kindness. which i like a lot!

he doesnt praise valjean really , almost like he doesnt consciously know it. but again it could be me misinterpreting it this way because it aligns with how i view them, lol.

regardless . feel free to give feedback or thoughts or whatever cause i looooooooooove translation choices <333333

[jelepermets]

Today, as a treat, I am going to walk on well-tread ground and rant about how Grantaire symbolizes the People of France. And how it is this that makes this chapter so sublime.

Three chapters before this one, Hugo speaks about how Revolution does not always find a welcome audience. How, without the People. an emeute is just that. It may have loft ideals attached to it, but it must fail. If the people aren't ready, if they lock their doors and rail at the revolutionaries outside in fear and apathy and anger, then nothing can be done.

Hugo admits that this is natural. We must let humans care about their own lives and not just the future. All of this can be handled, as long as in the end Progress continues.

"A people, like a star, has the right of eclipse. And all is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not degenerate into night. Dawn and resurrection are synonyms. The reappearance of the light is identical with the persistence of the self." [5.1.20]

This is reflective of Grantaire's apathy, his defining trait as a nihilist. It also reflects Hugo's implication that this is not Grantaire's natural state of being. Remember:

"Besides Enjolras, Grantaire became someone again." [3.4.1]

Not only does this tie Grantaire's existence inextricably with the Revolution, but it implies that this existence is superior, is more natural than his current one.

Grantaire also has more interactions with the People than the rest of les Amis do. See when he was meant to stir up revolutionary ideals and instead went to play dominoes. Yes he failed, but he also reflects the prevailing thought. France was not ready for a revolution. Enjolras ignored this. Lofty ideas could not reconcile themselves to the reality.

‌

All this paints a very bleak picture of course. And yet, in Grantaire's death we get that undeniable hope, which makes it all so beautiful.

We, as real people reading this book, understand that Grantaire is probably still drunk. Yet Hugo impressing upon, insisting upon Grantaire's clarity is so crucial. This, at the moment of his death, is the most lucid Grantaire has been.

Another thing that strikes me, is that thought Grantaire asks permission to die with Enjolras, he seals his own death warrant before doing so, by crying out 'Vive la Republique.' He doesn't actually ask permission to join the movement.

When the People rise, they will do so spontaneously. That crucial ingredient that is missing amongst the population has been lit in Grantaire, and it is a sign of what is to come, it is hope. He's leading the pack with his singular death, and like he measured the mood beforehead, his death can be (and to me is) read as an omen of what is to come. The eclipse - in Hugo's words - will end.

Of course, asking permission to die with Enjolras is also crucial. Not only because of the poetry of them being narrative foils, but because it works as a surrogate for the people of Paris acknowledging the bravery of those who push forward towards Progress while they refuse to budge. Again, as Hugo writes:

"However that may be, even when fallen, particularly when fallen, august are the ones who, all around the world, with eyes fixed on France, struggle for the great work with the inflexible logic of the ideal; they give their life as a pure fit for progress; they accomplish the will of Providence; they perform a religious act." [5.1.20]

Through Grantaire's death, the People come out of their fear and recognize this. Not literally, but in spirit. And if not to all of us, then to Enjolras.

Because Enjolras is, of course, crucial to this reading. Speaking of Grantaire as the People when he is merely one of many characters who are the People, it's important to ask for whom is he? Because he's certainly not for Valjean. Or Marius. Or Cosette. Or Javert. Or even the National Guards or the King or perhaps not even to the audience (if you think I'm overdoing it I respect it). But he is to Enjolras.

Enjolras is stoic throughout the whole ordeal. He speaks of glory in death. He is still devoted to his mistress, Patria. And yet his ideals have been shattered. The People were not ready. The Revolution will not come. He will die bravely, but he will have failed.

But then Grantaire stands up and says he's with them and requests permission to die by Enjolras' side.

And in that moment Enjolras' convictions are justified. If someone who has been the object of scorn, who has been apathetic, who has done little at all except annoy Enjolras and fail to stir up revolutionary thought; if Grantaire can rise up and die with him, then others will too. Perhaps not now, but in the future.

Grantaire becomes someone again when he dies next to Enjolras. And someday the people will rise.

[lenievi]

I continue with a rough translation of the Czech version of some LM songs. This time

Valvert on the barricade!

[Do You Hear The People Sing?], [Stars], [Javert’s Suicide]

---

Valjean: You and me again.

Javert: The encounter came in handy for you You have a knife now, so what's preventing it from stabbing

Valjean: Only my fist… that returned freedom to you.

Javert: How should I understand…

Valjean: So go (very formal way is used)

Javert: I'm warning you. You've overstepped the mark

Valjean: You should have gone already

Javert: A thief before and a thief even now he stole from everyone what he wanted to steal he would take off the heads from the nooses so he would have profit and bargain from them so rather shoot your gun if you let me go on credit Javert will take advantage of the chance

Valjean: I've never held a grudge against you I'm not going to wash away the wrongs now with revenge by my will, you're free as others what they accuse you of here let only God judge, not us. You honoured your duties. And if I make it out alive I can be found where I could always be found on Rue Plumet and now, adieu

---

both of them use the equivalent of "vous" throughout

original lyricist: Zdeněk Borovec

[lesmisletters-daily]

Javert Satisfied

Les Mis Letters reading club explores one chapter of Les Misérables every day. Join us on Discord, Substack - or share your thoughts right here on tumblr - today's tag is #lm 1.8.3

This is what had taken place.

The half-hour after midnight had just struck when M. Madeleine quitted the Hall of Assizes in Arras. He regained his inn just in time to set out again by the mail-wagon, in which he had engaged his place. A little before six o’clock in the morning he had arrived at M. sur M., and his first care had been to post a letter to M. Laffitte, then to enter the infirmary and see Fantine.

However, he had hardly quitted the audience hall of the Court of Assizes, when the district-attorney, recovering from his first shock, had taken the word to deplore the mad deed of the honorable mayor of M. sur M., to declare that his convictions had not been in the least modified by that curious incident, which would be explained thereafter, and to demand, in the meantime, the condemnation of that Champmathieu, who was evidently the real Jean Valjean. The district-attorney’s persistence was visibly at variance with the sentiments of every one, of the public, of the court, and of the jury. The counsel for the defence had some difficulty in refuting this harangue and in establishing that, in consequence of the revelations of M. Madeleine, that is to say, of the real Jean Valjean, the aspect of the matter had been thoroughly altered, and that the jury had before their eyes now only an innocent man. Thence the lawyer had drawn some epiphonemas, not very fresh, unfortunately, upon judicial errors, etc., etc.; the President, in his summing up, had joined the counsel for the defence, and in a few minutes the jury had thrown Champmathieu out of the case.

Nevertheless, the district-attorney was bent on having a Jean Valjean; and as he had no longer Champmathieu, he took Madeleine.

Immediately after Champmathieu had been set at liberty, the district-attorney shut himself up with the President. They conferred “as to the necessity of seizing the person of M. le Maire of M. sur M.” This phrase, in which there was a great deal of <i>of</i>, is the district-attorney’s, written with his own hand, on the minutes of his report to the attorney-general. His first emotion having passed off, the President did not offer many objections. Justice must, after all, take its course. And then, when all was said, although the President was a kindly and a tolerably intelligent man, he was, at the same time, a devoted and almost an ardent royalist, and he had been shocked to hear the Mayor of M. sur M. say the <i>Emperor</i>, and not <i>Bonaparte</i>, when alluding to the landing at Cannes.

The order for his arrest was accordingly despatched. The district-attorney forwarded it to M. sur M. by a special messenger, at full speed, and entrusted its execution to Police Inspector Javert.

The reader knows that Javert had returned to M. sur M. immediately after having given his deposition.

Javert was just getting out of bed when the messenger handed him the order of arrest and the command to produce the prisoner.

The messenger himself was a very clever member of the police, who, in two words, informed Javert of what had taken place at Arras. The order of arrest, signed by the district-attorney, was couched in these words: “Inspector Javert will apprehend the body of the Sieur Madeleine, mayor of M. sur M., who, in this day’s session of the court, was recognized as the liberated convict, Jean Valjean.”

Any one who did not know Javert, and who had chanced to see him at the moment when he penetrated the antechamber of the infirmary, could have divined nothing of what had taken place, and would have thought his air the most ordinary in the world. He was cool, calm, grave, his gray hair was perfectly smooth upon his temples, and he had just mounted the stairs with his habitual deliberation. Any one who was thoroughly acquainted with him, and who had examined him attentively at the moment, would have shuddered. The buckle of his leather stock was under his left ear instead of at the nape of his neck. This betrayed unwonted agitation.

Javert was a complete character, who never had a wrinkle in his duty or in his uniform; methodical with malefactors, rigid with the buttons of his coat.

That he should have set the buckle of his stock awry, it was indispensable that there should have taken place in him one of those emotions which may be designated as internal earthquakes.

He had come in a simple way, had made a requisition on the neighboring post for a corporal and four soldiers, had left the soldiers in the courtyard, had had Fantine’s room pointed out to him by the portress, who was utterly unsuspicious, accustomed as she was to seeing armed men inquiring for the mayor.

On arriving at Fantine’s chamber, Javert turned the handle, pushed the door open with the gentleness of a sick-nurse or a police spy, and entered.

Properly speaking, he did not enter. He stood erect in the half-open door, his hat on his head and his left hand thrust into his coat, which was buttoned up to the chin. In the bend of his elbow the leaden head of his enormous cane, which was hidden behind him, could be seen.

Thus he remained for nearly a minute, without his presence being perceived. All at once Fantine raised her eyes, saw him, and made M. Madeleine turn round.

The instant that Madeleine’s glance encountered Javert’s glance, Javert, without stirring, without moving from his post, without approaching him, became terrible. No human sentiment can be as terrible as joy.

It was the visage of a demon who has just found his damned soul.

The satisfaction of at last getting hold of Jean Valjean caused all that was in his soul to appear in his countenance. The depths having been stirred up, mounted to the surface. The humiliation of having, in some slight degree, lost the scent, and of having indulged, for a few moments, in an error with regard to Champmathieu, was effaced by pride at having so well and accurately divined in the first place, and of having for so long cherished a just instinct. Javert’s content shone forth in his sovereign attitude. The deformity of triumph overspread that narrow brow. All the demonstrations of horror which a satisfied face can afford were there.

Javert was in heaven at that moment. Without putting the thing clearly to himself, but with a confused intuition of the necessity of his presence and of his success, he, Javert, personified justice, light, and truth in their celestial function of crushing out evil. Behind him and around him, at an infinite distance, he had authority, reason, the case judged, the legal conscience, the public prosecution, all the stars; he was protecting order, he was causing the law to yield up its thunders, he was avenging society, he was lending a helping hand to the absolute, he was standing erect in the midst of a glory. There existed in his victory a remnant of defiance and of combat. Erect, haughty, brilliant, he flaunted abroad in open day the superhuman bestiality of a ferocious archangel. The terrible shadow of the action which he was accomplishing caused the vague flash of the social sword to be visible in his clenched fist; happy and indignant, he held his heel upon crime, vice, rebellion, perdition, hell; he was radiant, he exterminated, he smiled, and there was an incontestable grandeur in this monstrous Saint Michael.

Javert, though frightful, had nothing ignoble about him.

Probity, sincerity, candor, conviction, the sense of duty, are things which may become hideous when wrongly directed; but which, even when hideous, remain grand: their majesty, the majesty peculiar to the human conscience, clings to them in the midst of horror; they are virtues which have one vice,—error. The honest, pitiless joy of a fanatic in the full flood of his atrocity preserves a certain lugubriously venerable radiance. Without himself suspecting the fact, Javert in his formidable happiness was to be pitied, as is every ignorant man who triumphs. Nothing could be so poignant and so terrible as this face, wherein was displayed all that may be designated as the evil of the good.

[i-dont-talk-for-days-on-end]

I had dreamed of London day and night, and now I had returned, but I was not home yet. It would not be until Moran was caught and I could finally reveal myself to my old friend Watson that I would be able to find a modicum of peace.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandoms: Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV), Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms

Relationship: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson

Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson

Additional Tags: POV Sherlock Holmes, Story: The Adventure of the Empty House, Sherlock Holmes is a Mess, Sherlock Holmes is Bad at Feelings, John Watson is a Saint, Mild Hurt/Comfort, actually stay tuned for more comfort in the next parts of this series, Forgiveness

A conversation I had with @amypihcs almost a year ago gave me this idea, and this post by @fruitviking inspired me enough to finally pull myself together and write it down. Now I just have to finish the other two parts aaaaahhh ...

@tyrannosaurusnacks@friday411@keirgreeneyes@crowleyholmes@sirensongster@rainbow-person@yamy-brett@itsnotlupus@its-notlupus@angryducktimemachine@anmaje@emmahasadhd@sarahthecoat@geeoharee@theantichris@hell-and-pepsi@neverquiteeden@rudbeckiasunflower@weast-of-eden@ohgodwhatwasthat@the-doggo-of-baskervilles@benrybenrybenry-chr@fuckyeahfreeimmortal@loki-lock@holmes-ness@louieclamlent@bestnoncannonship@forever-1895@loreleilee @jabbage @somethingintheforest @wohnjatson @crowleyholmes @zouex @wemightliveinasociety @sammalinensiirtolohkare @zouex @wohnjatson @tremendousdetectivetheorist @tremendously-crazy @darkhorse-javert @marta-bee @calculated-waywardness @sirensongster @imlostatau @noisykingdomreview @emmahasadhd @yamy-brett @anmaje @skyriderwednesday @transholmes @53rdcenturyhero @randomwholocker @plaidadder @huamirly

Okay, Idk why only half of the tags work grrrrrr, but I'm tired of troubleshooting :D

[thebrickinbrick]

Jean Valjean Takes His Revenge

When Jean Valjean was left alone with Javert, he untied the rope which fastened the prisoner across the middle of the body, and the knot of which was under the table. After this he made him a sign to rise.

Javert obeyed with that indefinable smile in which the supremacy of enchained authority is condensed.

Jean Valjean took Javert by the martingale, as one would take a beast of burden by the breast-band, and, dragging the latter after him, emerged from the wine-shop slowly, because Javert, with his impeded limbs, could take only very short steps.

Jean Valjean had the pistol in his hand.

In this manner they crossed the inner trapezium of the barricade. The insurgents, all intent on the attack, which was imminent, had their backs turned to these two.

Marius alone, stationed on one side, at the extreme left of the barricade, saw them pass. This group of victim and executioner was illuminated by the sepulchral light which he bore in his own soul.

Jean Valjean with some difficulty, but without relaxing his hold for a single instant, made Javert, pinioned as he was, scale the little entrenchment in the Mondétour lane.

When they had crossed this barrier, they found themselves alone in the lane. No one saw them. Among the heap they could distinguish a livid face, streaming hair, a pierced hand and the half nude breast of a woman. It was Éponine. The corner of the houses hid them from the insurgents. The corpses carried away from the barricade formed a terrible pile a few paces distant.

Javert gazed askance at this body, and, profoundly calm, said in a low tone:

“It strikes me that I know that girl.”

Then he turned to Jean Valjean.

Jean Valjean thrust the pistol under his arm and fixed on Javert a look which it required no words to interpret: “Javert, it is I.”

Javert replied:

“Take your revenge.”

Jean Valjean drew from his pocket a knife, and opened it.

“A clasp-knife!” exclaimed Javert, “you are right. That suits you better.”

Jean Valjean cut the martingale which Javert had about his neck, then he cut the cords on his wrists, then, stooping down, he cut the cord on his feet; and, straightening himself up, he said to him:

“You are free.”

Javert was not easily astonished. Still, master of himself though he was, he could not repress a start. He remained open-mouthed and motionless.

Jean Valjean continued:

“I do not think that I shall escape from this place. But if, by chance, I do, I live, under the name of Fauchelevent, in the Rue de l’Homme Armé, No. 7.”

Javert snarled like a tiger, which made him half open one corner of his mouth, and he muttered between his teeth:

“Have a care.”

“Go,” said Jean Valjean.

Javert began again:

“Thou saidst Fauchelevent, Rue de l’Homme Armé?”

“Number 7.”

Javert repeated in a low voice:—“Number 7.”

He buttoned up his coat once more, resumed the military stiffness between his shoulders, made a half turn, folded his arms and, supporting his chin on one of his hands, he set out in the direction of the Halles. Jean Valjean followed him with his eyes:

A few minutes later, Javert turned round and shouted to Jean Valjean:

“You annoy me. Kill me, rather.”

Javert himself did not notice that he no longer addressed Jean Valjean as “thou.”

“Be off with you,” said Jean Valjean.

Javert retreated slowly. A moment later he turned the corner of the Rue des Prêcheurs.

When Javert had disappeared, Jean Valjean fired his pistol in the air.

Then he returned to the barricade and said:

“It is done.”

In the meanwhile, this is what had taken place.

Marius, more intent on the outside than on the interior, had not, up to that time, taken a good look at the pinioned spy in the dark background of the tap-room.

When he beheld him in broad daylight, striding over the barricade in order to proceed to his death, he recognized him. Something suddenly recurred to his mind. He recalled the inspector of the Rue de Pontoise, and the two pistols which the latter had handed to him and which he, Marius, had used in this very barricade, and not only did he recall his face, but his name as well.

This recollection was misty and troubled, however, like all his ideas.

It was not an affirmation that he made, but a question which he put to himself:

“Is not that the inspector of police who told me that his name was Javert?”

Perhaps there was still time to intervene in behalf of that man. But, in the first place, he must know whether this was Javert.

Marius called to Enjolras, who had just stationed himself at the other extremity of the barricade:

“Enjolras!”

“What?”

“What is the name of yonder man?”

“What man?”

“The police agent. Do you know his name?”

“Of course. He told us.”

“What is it?”

“Javert.”

Marius sprang to his feet.

At that moment, they heard the report of the pistol.

Jean Valjean reappeared and cried: “It is done.”

A gloomy chill traversed Marius’ heart.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Les Misérables 5.4 - Javert Off the Track

I have to say again how well I think the musical expresses the core of this chapter despite having far fewer lines to work with.

Book: Give up Jean Valjean, that was wrong; leave Jean Valjean free, that was wrong. In the first case, the man of authority would fall lower than the man of the galley; in the second, a convict rose higher than the law and set his foot upon it.

Musical: Damned if I live in the debt of a thief! Damned if I yield at the end of the chase!

Book: Javert felt that something horrible was penetrating his soul, admiration for a convict. Respect for a galley-slave, can that be possible? He shuddered at it, yet could not shake it off. It was useless to struggle, he was reduced to confess before his own inner tribunal the sublimity of this wretch. That was hateful.

Musical: How can I now allow this man / To hold dominion over me

Book: “This convict, this desperate man, whom I have pursued even to persecution, and who had me beneath his feet and could have avenged himself, and who ought to have done so as well for his revenge as for his security, in granting me my life, in sparing me, what has he done? His duty? No. Something more.

Musical: This desperate man who I have hunted / He gave me his life, he gave me freedom / I should have perished by his hand / It was his right

Book: But also why had he permitted this man to let him live? He had, in that barricade, the right to be killed. He should have availed himself of that right. To have called the other insurgents to hus aid against Jean Valjean, to have secured a shot by force, that would have been better. His supreme anguish was the loss of all certainty.

Musical: It was my right to die as well / Instead I live, but live in hell!

Book: acts of violence committed by pity upon austerity, respect of person, no more final condemnation, no more damnation, the possibility of a tear in the eye of the law, a mysterious justice according to God going counter to justice according to men. [Note: this is one area where I think the musical errs with Javert - it roots his inflexibility in a (rather Calvinist, for a majority Catholic nation) view of Christianity. That is not the case in the book, where Javert’s religion is the law, the state, order, and in the end that worldview breaks upon the rocks of Christianity.]

Musical: Shall his sins be forgiven? Shall his crimes be reprieved?

Book: He saw before him two roads, both equally straight; but he saw two; and that terrified him - him, who had never in his life known but one straight line.

Musical: And must I now begin to doubt? / Who never doubted all those years

Book: To be granite, and to doubt! to be the statue of penalty cast in a single piece in the mould of the law, and to suddenly percieve that you have under your breast of bronze something preposterous and disobedient which almost resembles a heart!

Musical: My heart is stone and yet it trembles!

Book: To have the unknown over his head, he was not accustomed to that…Now Javert was thrown over backward, and he was abruptly startled by this monstrous apparaition: a gulf on high…

The darkness was complete…A ceiling of cloud concealed the stars. The sky was only an ominous depth

Musical: The world I have known is lost in shadow!…I am reaching, but I fall / And the stars are black and cold / As I stare into the void / Of a world that cannot hold

Book: But how to manage to send in his resignation to God?…

Unnatural state, if ever there was one. There were only two ways to get out of it. One, to go resolutely to Jean Valjean, and to return the man if the galleys to the dungeon. The other –

Musical: I’ll escape now from that world / From the world of Jean Valjean

Book: Could that be endurable? No.

Musical: There is nowhere I can turn / There is no way to go on!

[maryasmorevna]

Ehy Val! How was the return from Milan? Any interesting anecdotes to tell about the experience of Les Miserables?

oh hi, love!!

yes, milan was amazing! obviously i already visited it last year for phantom (..... i still can't elaborate that i've actually seen it. and with THEE ramin karimloo too!), but this trip was also special.

1. i met @mircallaruthven - first time i've ever met a mutual irl in over ten years on tumblr lmao. she was as smart and lovely as i'd expected, of course - can't wait to see each other again ❤️

2. les mis was great! soooo, these are my impressions of the show:

the cast was VERY solid! unfortunately it was the staged concert, and i was far away enough from the stage so i could see perfectly the scenography (bare as it was. the lighting was great tho!) but very little of the actors' faces lol. the acoustic was flawless tho.

daniel koek was a very classic, somewhat old-school jean valjean, with beautiful singing and a strong, operatic voice. i enjoyed him very, very much.

my brother and i were absolutely floored by bradley jaden's javert (our favorite character, to no one's surprise). great voice, and a heartbreaking javert's soliloquy. on a more shallow note, he's also very handsome sjdjhdhf (#hotjavert agenda keeps winning!)

channah hewitt was such an emotional fantine - all the feelings poured down from her body, from her voice, like water. i couldn't see it that well from the gallery (thanks astigmatism i guess lol) but her wig (and cosette's) was glorious.

i think enjolras was harry grant smith - and he sounded and acted exactly as i imagine enjolras would. powerful baritone voice, but still with a boyish, youthful note. commanding, "charming but capable of being terrible", charismatic but also somehow an introvert. he was really good.

the thénardiers (gavin lee & linzi hateley) were a highlight of the show! they were hilarious. it helped that the italian audience didn't laugh at inappropriate times (when madame is verbally abusing little cosette, for example) like the english-speaking audiences usually do for... some reason i guess. we all laughed at their funny antics and ad-libs - like, when he said "i should have married her sister" and madame replied "i wish you had" lmao.

but the real star of the show (besides the leading man and javert, of course) was nathania ong's éponine. such a pure timbre, vaguely reminiscent of frances ruffelle, and sheer power - i wasn't the only one to think she was mind-blowingly good: my dad (and considering the audience's reaction to her on my own, probably everyone else too) thought the same. she also had a childish quality to her acting that i found very interesting. you could see her éponine was only a young girl, after all.

it was a staged concert so there's not much to say about the scenography, but imo they compensated for the absence of the barricade with... some kind of huge barricade-looking contraption, red-colored and illuminated, that came down from the ceiling during the second act. it was really cool to see, tho i imagine not as much as the real deal from the staged show.

the cast added some new, interesting touches and details here and there that would delight every long-time fan. the first that comes to mind are little gavroche hugging grantaire in drink with me, after the latter's pessimistic outburst. in the epilogue - for the joy of my fellow enjonine fans - i noticed enjolras and éponine standing side by side, stroking each other's arm in a really cute, friendly but surprisingly ic (at least for musical-verse!e&e) gesture. that melt my heart ngl

as it was expected, i cried and sobbed like a baby throughout all the epilogue scene, as per usual lmao. it was a miracle my painstakingly applied make-up didn't melt all over my face and turn me into a scary clown lol

tl;dr: it was really good! unfortunately for personal reasons i was a bit distracted during the show (i had some kind of minor relapse... nothing worrying, it was more annoying than anything else) but in the end it was worth the whole trip. if you want to ask me for more details you can also dm me, don't worry!! ❤️