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whollyjoly · 12 days

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i just want to take a second for the absolute legend, james earl jones, who passed away today.

the voice of darth vader himself.

you defined my childhood (and, honestly, most of my adult life) in a way that cant be put into the words. the terror and fear and power you put behind vader made him such an incredible villain, but also the pain and the loss and the love for his family you voiced made him feel so real and so human, even behind the mask. it's so amazing how voice actors are able to bring such expression, emotion, and life to a character. ESPECIALLY one that solely exists in a mask! there's no facial expression, no visible emotion that we can see. all we have is some basic movements and a voice - and your voice, sir, was what made vader into one of the most iconic characters in all of film and tv history. how you were able to show such power and anger and certainty and resignation and grief and finally, relief? when all you see is a mask? its just...mind blowing.

and your love for the character was so tangible!! voicing vader in countless projects until 2016!!! almost 40 years of such an incredible legacy!!

my favorite star wars movie of the skywalker saga is return of the jedi. in it are my favorite scenes in all of star wars - luke and vader on endor, and then the throne room scene with luke facing off against darth vader and the emperor.

we see vader as such a force for evil across most of the original trilogy. hell, even in the stuff that came out later that you voiced (revenge of the sith, rebels, rogue one) - vader is fucking terrifying.

but there's such an amazing shift in vader when we see him interact with luke for the first time since the reveal of their relationship. luke is trying to convince vader to turn, to leave with him and disobey the emperor. there is such a....weight, for lack of a better term, that you give vader's responses that stole my breath away from the moment i first heard it. you managed to take this villain, this boogeyman of the star wars universe clad in black armor and machinery, and made him feel so incredibly, beautifully human.

and when i heard vader say the line "it's too late for me, son" to luke's pleading, it changed everything for me. the amount of grief held in those words, the pain that you could feel. in that moment, vader changed from a monster of nightmare into something so tragic. it was amazing. it was heartbreaking. it was beautiful.

and i think that was the moment i think i truly fell in love with star wars. and it was because of you.

(and that's not even to mention some of the other incredible lines that made vader such an incredible character!! i think of how young you made him sound in revenge of the sith - that "where is padme?" fucking haunts me. and yes there are so many classic and amazing vader "NOOOs", but the one that really gets me is the one when he decides to save luke, to find the light again, to choose his destiny. the way you portrayed that conflict and resolve with a simple two-letter word? amazing.)

anyways, just....thank you. thank you for your gift, for your talent, for your legacy. you will, quite literally, never be forgotten.

may the force be with you, james earl jones. always.

#this news broke my heart a little today not gonna lie #he was 93 and lived a hell of a life so it wasnt a complete surprise...but still #thank you james earl jones. may the force be with you.#darth vader #james earl jones #star wars #i think im gonna go watch empire strikes back and return of the jedi now #and cry probably #em speaks #mine

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lenathesingingcat · 11 months

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So it’s the anniversary of That Scene, and obviously I’m sad! And I know I won’t be the only one, so here’s a cute crossover fic to ease our pain.

Canon compliant, afterlife, pre- Enjoltaire and Dasil (if people like this then I’ll write a part 2 where they talk to each other). Oh, and all my afterlife fics are set in the Ancient Greek Underworld, because that’s what I believe in and also why not?

Warnings: discussion of past character deaths (in the context of being in the afterlife), major spoilers for both Les Misérables and The Picture Of Dorian Gray. Seriously, if you haven’t read these books (or at least seen adaptations) then please come back and read this when you have! Major spoilers ahead, you have been warned!

Despite what people might think, Grantaire hadn’t immediately joined Les Amis again after dying hand in hand with Enjolras. He still undervalued himself, and didn’t feel that he should get to spend eternity with those brave revolutionaries. They’re probably already planning to go back and start a ghost revolution, he thought, and what do I have to offer them in that?

And he was a little scared, too. He didn’t know what he’d say if Enjolras wanted to talk about their last moments together, about what it had meant.

He didn’t think he could take it if Enjolras rejected him again.

He had no idea that Enjolras wanted him to come back, but didn’t look for him because he thought Grantaire held it against him how things ended.

So as soon as he found himself in the Underworld, which he was about as familiar with as a newly dead mortal could be from all the classics he’d read in life, he spoke to Hades, who was more than willing to help a mortal who would be spending eternity in his domain.

“Can I help you, young man?”

“…Actually… I was wondering if I could help you. Must be busy having to welcome everyone who dies around the world. Especially when most of the people who could help don’t seem to care…”

And a busy god isn’t going to turn down genuine help. So Grantaire got the job of helping to welcome souls to the Underworld, helping them to settle in and make peace with their lives.

Grantaire, as well as Les Amis, had died at the beginning of June. In the time Hades saved by letting Grantaire help him, he was able to plant a flower garden as a surprise for when Persephone returned. Now Grantaire was known as a friend to both of them.

***

It had been several decades since the revolution, Grantaire wasn’t keeping count. He had met many people who had died, some more tragically than others, and helped them to make peace with their lives and their deaths so they could be happy in the Underworld.

He tried not to think about whether he was happy.

He couldn’t, not when there were others who needed his help. Like the man in front of him, with hair as dark as his own and an expression somewhere between shock, pain, and absolute heartbreak.

“Hello, welcome to the Underworld. Please don’t panic, that’s Underworld in the Ancient Greek sense, everyone ends up here.” he said, his usual greeting. “Can you tell me your name?”

He gave a smile that Grantaire could tell wasn’t entirely genuine - not unusual for new arrivals whose last moments alive hadn’t been happy ones - and answered, “My name’s Basil. What’s yours?”

“Grantaire, also known as Capital R, although I realise that doesn’t really make sense if you don’t speak French. Everyone can understand each other here because… Underworld magic, I don’t really understand, you’d have to ask Hades about that…”

“Grantaire? The Grantaire, from Les Misérables? I’m sorry, I don’t know your first name…”

“What? I mean, I have been known to be quite miserable, but - ”

“No, I mean the book! Victor Hugo, the author, wrote a book about the revolution. Has no-one told you about it yet?”

“This is the first I’ve heard of it. But if it’s about the revolution, I doubt I come out particularly well in it…”

“Don’t say that! You do!” Basil said quickly, his smile looking far more real now, as if Grantaire’s story distracted him from his own. “You rose up for a revolution you hadn’t believed in until that moment, for love as well as freedom! And I found I could relate to you, because… well, you mentioned one time in the book that you used to paint, and I paint too, and…” his expression became more serious again, but hopeful. “Enjolras. If you’re real, he must be real too. Are you together now?”

Grantaire tried to ignore the longing in his heart at the mention of the revolutionary. He put on a knowing smile and deflected. “I think there’s a reason why you mentioned him while talking about how you could relate to me. Tell me, do you have an Enjolras of your own?”

Grantaire couldn’t have known the weight of that question.

Basil sighed deeply, and Grantaire could see the pain in his eyes. After a few moments, he shook his head sadly and said “…I thought I did…”

***

Sometimes, in cases with particularly tragic deaths, it took a while for souls to settle in. After hearing Basil’s full story, Grantaire had decided it would be best to make sure he didn’t have to be alone for a while.

So he had befriended him. Basil already knew a lot of Grantaire’s story from the book, but Grantaire still found a few things to tell him that Victor Hugo hadn’t included, and he learned a lot about his new friend.

Before long, they were both welcoming newly dead souls together.

***

Where was he?

He’d destroyed it, destroyed the thing that had changed the trajectory of his life so dramatically all those years ago. He’d destroyed it, so everything should be alright now, but where was he?

He was on a boat. On a boat crossing a river. How had he been moved, without his knowledge, from his attic to a boat crossing a river?

Where was he?

There were people near the riverbank, and the boat was almost there. He could ask them, then he’d have answers.

A voice. He heard a voice coming from near the riverbank, a voice he knew. “I need to know: are the punishments here eternal, or can people be forgiven?”

And he knew that voice, he knew that voice, and he knew it was about him, he wouldn’t be asking such a question for himself who had always done good and kind things, and suddenly he was consumed by a feeling of regret, regret for what he had done, regret for ever hurting him, a feeling so strong he almost fell to his knees.

He listened.

***

“How did Victor Hugo even know half of that?” Grantaire laughed because he thought he might cry otherwise. Basil had managed to find a copy of this The Miserables book he’d told Grantaire about, and wanted to read it with him so Grantaire could hear the many stories that were linked with his own. He’d agreed to hear it because his friend had wanted to, but he didn’t know how much more one-sided romantic tension between him and Enjolras he could take hearing about.

“I don’t know, he must have done a lot of research, I imagine…” Basil answered, but he was clearly distracted. He had the same wistful look in his eyes that he’d had when he first mentioned that he felt he and Grantaire were similar, and often had when one of them mentioned Enjolras. He’s thinking about Dorian again, Grantaire realised.

“Are you alright?”

“Something’s been bothering me recently… I think I need to ask Hades something…”

It wasn’t far to the riverbank. Hades stayed near the river Styx in case any newly arrived souls needed help after crossing the river to the Underworld. Charon’s boat hadn’t come in with the newest souls yet, so Grantaire was able to get his attention easily and explain that his friend had a question.

“I need to know: are the punishments here eternal, or can people be forgiven?”

That made sense. Grantaire had guessed it would be something to do with Dorian.

“It depends if they truly regret hurting others. If they do, they can be forgiven, and get to be with the people they love, if those people forgive them. But I think I know why you’re asking me this…”

“I forgive him. I don’t know what difference that makes, but I forgive him.”

“You would forgive him so easily?” Grantaire asked, surprised.

“Why are you surprised that I forgive him, Grantaire? You forgive Enjolras, don’t you?”

“That’s different.” Grantaire suddenly felt the need to defend Enjolras from this comparison. “Enjolras did everything he did for the good of France, for freedom for the people. …Enjolras didn’t kill me!”

“Would you feel differently if he had?”

Grantaire was about to answer, but stopped short. Would he?

Basil continued. “I’ve noticed many ways we’re alike, and this is one of them. Reading the book I could tell you were in love, maybe even too in love, devoted to the point of self detriment, sometimes.” He sighed. “So am I. Of course I forgive him. I’d already forgiven him before I stepped off the boat.”

A cry of… something (Joy? Relief? Regret? All three?) caught their attention, and Grantaire did a double take because he could have sworn he saw Enjolras among the souls who had just stepped off Charon’s boat. No, it couldn’t be Enjolras because Enjolras had died at the same time as Grantaire, he wouldn’t be with the new arrivals. One of them looked a lot like him, that was all.

Not-Enjolras was moved to tears by Basil’s passionate declaration of love. He spoke, barely above a whisper, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d heard,

“Do you mean that? After everything, you forgive me?”

***

To be continued!!

Now Dorian has arrived, will he get to be reunited with Basil? Will the two of them get Enjolras and Grantaire back together? (You know it’s yes to both, I need them all to be happy! But how?) Let me know if you liked this/if you want a part 2!

Edit: Part 2 is here!!

#the picture of les mis #enjoltaire #dasil #the picture of dorian gray #les misérables #exr #writing #do I dare go through the Dasil tag?#I think it’s going to be very angsty today #since it’s the anniversary of the murder #of course i WILL go through the tag #and cry probably #anyway i hope you like this

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