#especially bahorel . LIKE !!!

[pilferingapples]

OK there's definitely other things to discuss in this chapter but I gotta highlight this bit:

Courfeyrac said to Bahorel:— “Would you believe it? Marius comes home nowadays at one o’clock in the morning.” Bahorel replied:— “What do you expect? There’s always a petard in a seminary fellow.”

especially because it's a bit where some translations I otherwise love and cherish Fail Me Utterly

Because yes on the one level it's a pretty standard "it's always the quiet ones" kind of comment

but also: Bahorel is straight up saying Marius is an explosive/carrying an explosive

you know. Like a powder keg, say

this is how Marius is going to show up at the barricade

Bahorel Knows The Future

(also I very much love that everyone really DOES sit around gossiping about Marius' love life, if only because Courfeyrac won't shut up about it XD)

[a-la-sante-du-progres]

A list of Les Mis headcanons I have because of fanon characterizations. I tried to keep out things that are suggested in canon or in adaptations. So:

-Les Amis are anticapitalist and they believe there is a class war. In the novel they look like radical republican -EDIT: I mean pro Republic and obviously NOT the American Republican- and socialdemocratic more than real socialists (except for Bahorel probably) but the fandom made them totally red and I embrace this headcanon.

-Jean Valjean will be saved and will never be estranged from his daughter. His last plot doesn't exist in none of my headcanons and I'm glad the fandom ignored it as well. They have a strong and healthy relationship. Marius will respect that or he will fuck off.

-Javert can and will be saved

-Reincarnation for every character.

-R is an artist. In the brick he dumped Art but I share the fanon vision of Grantaire being very fond of every art in canon era and also doing graphic design in modern era. He can be bitter about it tho.

-R is actually helpful once in a while.

-R IS NOT a misogynist in modern AUs and is also friend with several women. Musichetta is a good match, because if his closeness with JB, but also Irma and Floreal, subverting the canon dynamics. Eponine too. He's smart and he thinks a lot about systemic oppression so I agree he would be sympathetic to women in 2023. BUT I don't overlook R's misogyny in canon era.

-Grantaire and Eponine would get along very well, especially if the age gap was eliminated in AUs.

-Jehan has a gender non conforming style. Long hair for sure but also traditionally feminine clothing in his wardrobe, like skirts.

-Enjolras cares about Grantaire. This one may seem born in adaptations but imho fanworks got to it before musical productions.

-Courferre

-Eponine, Cosette, Musichetta are relevant in modern AU ABC plots.

-I love bi Cosette! Zero hints in the novel but it would be neat.

-If the scenario hasn't to be strictly canon compliant, Les Amis survive, take a while to heal and then they reprise the struggle.

[hadleysmis]

Martial Arts headcanons of Les Misérables characters

That I forgot I made years ago

Beware, I did write it years ago, so my lingo has changed. I never meant for my notes of rambles to become public, so it might be weirdly structured:

Enjolras: He practises Kendo because he believes a right strike in the vital point is the most important element in fighting. He admires the silence in focus during chaos, and loves the feeling of the mat of the doujou, plus the smell.

Jehan: Loves Aikidou. Since it is about peace and not using much of your own energy, and about self-perfection. They love the idea of martial art being used as, as well as being observed as, art and purely art. They love peace and they love harmony and being one with nature: all features of Aikidou.

Bahorel: Tae Kwon Do. Loves the whole kicking element of it as well as the shouts you do with each powerful punch and kick. He especially loves sparring, and when he does patterns, imagines it as a dance against an opponent. He views martial arts as an art and fully embraces that belief. He just wants to jump kick as much as time as possible and use it deliver justice and patriotism. He wants to teach Tae Kwon Do class to kids.

Cosette: Aiki-juujutsu. Every reason in the Jehan section plus jyuujutsu is about actually hurting someone and Cosette as rage within her; but due to trauma, she cannot remember why.

Combeferre: Judou. It’s about grappling. Someone needs to calm Courfeyrac down when he has too much energy and ends up running around the Musain like a bumble bee.

Éponine: Only the Kendo part of the Aikido, because she loves the swishy sound of her bokken/bokutou (wooden sword) as she slices through air. She doesn’t like armour and loves the idea of learning different ways to grab a sword and kill in one blow whenever there’s an unexpected attack. Sure, it scares people, but Cosette isn’t and that’s all that matters.

^ I will add jyou with bokutou in retrospect.

In response to the Combeferre part: I genuinely have no memory of typing that. That was a different, more humourous Hadley.

[transrevolutions]

got any Marius headcanons? also I promise the college AU will be out in like a week

god this is so incredibly late I'm so sorry. with that being said:

(these are modern au, I'm in that kind of mood rn)

-marius likes classical music more than any other genre. he enjoys going to local orchestra concerts.

-marius and enjolras are actually really good friends, especially once marius has been around courfeyrac/the rest of the abc enough to get some Coherent Political Stances. they don't see eye to eye 100% of the time but they always have interesting conversations over coffee. autism-to-autism communication, etc.

-he's the sole Token Straight of the abc/abc adjacent folks (I'm sorry bi marius enjoyers, I see you, for me he just exudes confused ally token straight vibes. he has two gfs tho if that counts).

-on the subject of the two girlfriends: in my head there is a very funny dynamic where, at least to start, marius has a massive crush on cosette, who has a massive crush on eponine, who has a massive crush on... marius. this goes on for quite some time before any of them actually realize.

-he's generally a very stay-off-to-the-side, let-others-take-the-lead sort of person, except for some very specific moments where there'll be some sort of crisis and he'll just. come up with the wildest fucking idea that somehow ends up working (i.e. canon era blowing up the barricade). if enjolras has "occasional outbursts of eloquence", marius has occasional outbursts of tactical brilliance.

-he's on the prelaw track. bahorel (ex-law student from way back when, hates the subject on principle), bossuet (in a casual situationship with the idea of being a lawyer), and courfeyrac (almost did law school but last-minute switched to education and never looked back) constantly bother and tease him about it.

-one time very early on he was at a small rally and struck up a long and cordial-ish conversation with javert. enjolras rarely gets visibly angry with marius (he saves it for The System), but he just about bit his head off that time. (for context: do not fucking talk to cops, and especially not at a protest.)

-harbored some not-so-great preconceived notions about criminals/the justice system that were leftovers from being raised by his grandfather. this ended up being a sticking point in his relationship with cosette (valjean being her dad and an ex-con) and with eponine (career criminal parents). eventually comes around on this matter, but it takes a while.

I actually had a lot of fun making these! thanks for the ask!

[dolphin1812]

We now turn to revolutionary groups like Les Amis de l’ABC!

The Faubourg Saint-Antoine was a primarily working class area known for its revolutionary sentiments. That combination of ideological motives (its revolutionary history) and economic ones (its working class inhabitants would be more affected by the financial turbulence of the early 1830s) helps explain why it would be the focus within Paris (and Paris, of course, would be the focus in France because of its history and its status as the capital). Hugo addresses this later on in the chapter as well.

Another quick historical note: some of the lines in this chapter come from actual documents! According to the notes in the Donougher translation, the section on “The passages which touched the crowd most deeply” draws heavily on a judicial inquiry into the events of April 1834 (government troops fired on the inhabitants of a building). This is also true of many of the references to committees. By mixing real quotations with documents of his own making, Hugo lends legitimacy to his historical claims as he further immerses us in the atmosphere of the time.

Part of that atmosphere was the constant fear of being caught by the authorities. The reference to “Babeuf” really being “Gisquet” is an allusion to the prefect of police; we can also see that fear in accusations of some being “spies,” and the implication that organizations kept an eye on their own members. Secrecy was necessary to operate, but it was stressful, too. Those organizing couldn’t be too lax in who they trusted with the real possibility of arrest being ever-present. This isn’t to say an atmosphere of total suspicion prevailed – Les Amis clearly all trust each other, as a “family,” and discontent was commonly spoken of in the street – but that was all combined with caution. It’s less “no one trusted each other” and more Valjean’s porter being suspicious of Marius; there was plenty of solidarity between workers especially and people disfavored by monarchy more broadly, but there was also an awareness of what could be unsafe and who looked suspicious.

We also get a better notion of the range of ideas! The man accused of being a spy is more economically radical than we’ve heard so far, and is suspicious of republicans. Of course, we don’t know if this specific man is trustworthy, but it does suggest that people were questioning the existence of private property and similar ideas, and that republicanism itself came under suspicion in some circles (probably because of the “compromise rule” of Louis Philippe). (There are also explicit references to communists later on). These groups are also very working class compared to Les Amis, who are mostly defined as students (with the notable exception of Feuilly). They could have origins in the working or middle classes (Bahorel was a student, but from a peasant background!), but these organizations are definitely of the working class. There are allusions to bourgeois joining in, but they’re not the main focus here.

Hugo’s use of the word “savage” at the end of the chapter is uncomfortable, but it’s an intentional discomfort. For being violent (and lower class), that is exactly the kind of language that would have been used to describe them in critical writings at the time. Many in Hugo’s audience, for instance, may have found their specific ideas (like greater democracy, less poverty, an end to the death penalty, etc) quite convincing, but may have disagreed with their means (rebellion). Hugo ends on a Combeferre-like note of gradual progress that is less violent, but we should keep in mind that both of them end up affiliated with republicans here on the grounds that their violence is the better option. The “civilized men of barbarism” look peaceful, but are ultimately more harmful, allowing injustices as long as they are out of sight. Hugo’s use of “savage,” then, was intended to push his audience to question who was really “barbaric”: a person rebelling because their rights were denied to them, or someone denying the rights of others?

[cliozaur]

You know what? Marius is quite an unusual character. We're deep into the fourth book of the tome called "Marius," but we still have no idea about his appearance! Hugo was usually quick in describing main characters, yet it will take him another two books before revealing some details about Marius. I wonder why.

I am surprised that it took Marius A FEW DAYS to become friends with Courfeyrac! After his miraculous rescue and adoption, he could have instantly become Courfeyrac's friend. The boy obviously has trust issues. I like how Courfeyrac served as a smooth entry point for Marius into the wider circle of Les Amis. A political stance is the criterion for belonging or potential belonging. It seems that Marius, with his "democrat-Bonapartist" position, was not beyond hope in his friend's opinion. It was worth trying to give him "entry to the revolution." In case anyone has forgotten, Les Amis are a secret society, as Hugo reminds us when Courfeyrac presents Marius as "a pupil," the initial grade in every secret society.

Marius is like plasticine in his political persuasions! He keeps changing them under the influence of people he perceives as having authority: first, his grandfather, then his father (though in this case, Marius had to educate himself), and now his new friends. And he suspects that this might not be the end. Knowing how hard he worked to adopt his previous Bonapartist persuasions (for once, "he had supposed himself fixed"), I think it's not easy for him to give them up entirely. Especially given that he was emotionally attached to them through commemorating his father's memory. The way Marius reacts to Les Amis' attitude towards "the Emperor" at the end of the chapter reveals how uneasy he still feels about it.

Hugo is very good immersing the reader in what's going on in Marius' head as he listens to the group's conversations and discussions. They are so different from what he was accustomed to in his childhood! Unlike the royalists, Les Amis do not have “consecrated things” (probably, they do – I’m sure that liberty and republic are quite “consecrated” for them). Marius' mind is "embarrassed," struggling to grasp every single issue they discuss because of their variety, and the boy still lacks “a proper perspective”, and at times it feels like a chaos, but he is trying to do his best (as “a pupil” should). However, I am not sure if it’s a painless process for him: “He almost suffered from it.”

I am certain that most of the modern readers feel as lost as Marius when Bahorel and Combeferre dispute about theatre censure and canards.

Rousseau with his lousy and unpractical pedagogical ideas and inability to take care of his own children – is one more topic of discussion. But, of course, as the most passionate defender of republic, he is still a hero for Enjolras!

[aromantic-enjolras]

Only the good die young AU

So, this is an AU of an AU that @shamedumpster and I brainrotted for a good while a long time ago. I was reminded of it by the Friends to Lovers poll, and I thought I might as well share. And hey, if enough of you ask for it, maybe we’ll write it!

Marius is a Catholic church boy. He helps around during mass, and he’s very involved in the church. Among his duties, there’s serving coffee and cookies to the parishioners after Sunday Mass.

One day, there’s a guy at the potluck. He doesn’t recognize him from mass and he’s wearing a leather jacket and strutting around with a slightly cocky gait, and all Marius can think of is that he is so beautiful.

Courfeyrac beelines for him (the reason he’s here is that he saw him on campus and thought he wanted that boy), and immediately starts flirting. And Marius doesn’t know how he’s feeling (he does,  but he can’t acknowledge that, he can’t be gay, he can’t), so he just tells him “I’m sorry, I don’t... do that”.

The hesitation is enough to make Courf pivot. This is not a boy that needs to get laid, he’s a boy who needs a friend to help him get over his internalized homophobia. So he changes tactics, smiles his best smile and asks “do you not do friends? Because that’s all I’m asking.”

That’s how he ends up going out (as friends!!) with Courfeyrac. They hang around, and he calls him “beautiful” and “handsome” and he’s tactile and flirty, but he doesn’t push, and he finds himself feeling more and more comfortable. And he’s so interesting! He has done so much Marius would never dare to!

The Amis own a gay bar downtown, and at one point Courfeyrac manages to convince Marius to come for a drag show. That’s how Marius gets introduced to the rest of the Amis, and in particular to Bahorel in full drag. The poor boy is very confused. Especially once Bahorel tells him they’re “not a man”.

After that, Marius goes occasionally to the Musain. One time, Courf tells him he has a surprise and leaves him with the other Amis; when the next drag queen starts, Marius is startled to realise the gorgeous woman in skintight leather dancing to “Cherry Bomb” is actually Courfeyrac. Surprisingly, that gives him a certain amount of reprieve: he has been thinking that Courf was attractive for a while, and now he looks like a woman. It’s not gay if he’s attracted to someone that looks so much like a woman, right?

He’s still riding that excuse when he kisses Courf after the show. He’s not thinking. He doesn’t want to think. The kiss feels right, more right than any kiss has ever felt, and he doesn’t want to think about how it is Courf exciting those reactions. He just wants to lose himself and not think.

Courf responds at first (he is into this guy, okay?), but he quickly regains his bearings and realises that Marius will hate himself in the morning if he lets him do this. So even though Marius insists that he “wants this, Courf, please, he promises”, he makes him stop, takes him to his apartment next to the Musain and puts him to bed with the promise that if Marius still wants this in the morning, he will be his.

In the morning, Marius is wracked with guilt. The realisation he had been trying to outrun the night before has caught up with him and he can’t take it. So when Courfeyrac asks how he’s feeling, he just says “Thank you for stopping me yesterday. You did good. God bless you.” and runs.

After that, Marius tries to get back to his old routine. He confesses to having almost succumbed to the sin of lust, and the severity of the penitence makes him know that the Father was aware of what was going on, and he doesn’t approve. On the other hand, Courf has disappeared, and Marius latches to anger to keep him going. Of course he’s gone. Haven’t they warned him that gay men only wanted sex? Probably now that sex is no longer on the table, Courf wants nothing to do with him anymore.

(He tries not to think about how he offered himself to Courf, that night, and Courf didn’t take him up on it. Courf is sinful, he’s evil, and he has every right to be angry. That’s the only thing that keeps him going.)

Meanwhile, Courfeyrac is trying to give him space. It might not have been said in so many words, but it definitely felt like he was being told Marius didn’t want anything to do with him. He’s also belatedly realising that he had fallen harder than he had thought. He’s moody, snappy, and if he had never liked the Church much, he now gets a level of vitriolic that even Bahorel finds uncomfortable to listen to.

At the end, it’s Bahorel who goes to find Marius. They find him at the Sunday coffee, the same as Courfeyrac had done so many months ago. Their original plan was to make Marius apologize for whatever he had done to make Courf seem so down, but when they see how downcast Marius looks, they ask him for an explanation.

Bahorel’s bluntness is exactly what he needs. “Dude”, they say, “if all he wanted was sex, he would have gotten it from someone easier. Have you seen Courfeyrac? All he has to do is come to the Musain and flutter his eyelashes and he has five dudes at his feet. And he doesn’t look like he didn’t get laid. He looks like he got his heart broken.”

It’s a few weeks later, and Courf is bartending and trying not to show how much his heart is bleeding, when the amateur drag night starts, and the first person on stage looks stiff and uncomfortable, and... starts singing “Take Me To Church”?? And then the drag queen meets his eyes and stays there, and Courfeyrac realises it’s Marius.

After the show he goes backstage, and his heart is hammering, and Marius looks nervous but determined, and Courf can’t believe he’s really here. “Tell me if I’m reading too much into this..?” he whispers, and Marius shakes his head. So he crosses the room, takes his face in his hands, and goes in for a kiss. Right before he does, a last survival instinct kicks in. “Are you going to change your mind?” he asks, and Marius laughs softly and shakes his head, stronger this time. “Not in a hundred years.”

Hope you enjoyed it! This post is already very very long, but believe me, it is still a summary! So if you liked it, please say something and you might get more!

[wilwywaylan]

Next installement of my "Les Mis characters cleaning because I don't want to clean" series !

... After, like, ten years or something. This is so long to do ! But honestly, those are my favourite. I try not to go overboard with details so the amount is more or less consistent, but I may be a little carried away when drawing Jehan or Bahorel. Especially Jehan.

Also Mary Shelley is helping.... somehow.

The Fluffster is not.

Part 1 is here !

[image ID : three super-deformed, lineless drawings. The first one : Feuilly, a white man with orange curls, yellow eyes and a lot of freckles, is sweeping the floor. He’s wearing a way too big black shirt with a stop sign on it and “don’t” and “me now” written around it. The shirt is tied on the side. He’s wearing jeans and blue flip flops. He’s holding a broom that causes dust clouds to rise, and he’s smoking a cigarette. There’s a small trashcan beside him. The background is solid blue. The second one : Jehan, a white man with a long, orange braid, mismatched eyes (green and gold), and many freckles, is crouching and watering a large plant. He’s wearing a black tanktop, denim overall short shorts and a purple bandana. There are several bead bracelets around his wrists, and his nails are painted mint green. He has two tattoos : roses of different colors on his arm, and a koi fish on his leg. One one hand, he’s holding a watering can, and he’s holding a small white cat with the other. The plant has large green leaves, and there’s a sticker that says “I am a triffid” on the flowerpot. The background is a very dark blue circle. The third one : Bahorel, a tall, buff man with brown skin, black, long hair, beard and eyes, is lifting makeshift dumbbells made by tying garbage bags at the ends of two brooms. He’s wearing a neon pink crop top and purple cutoffs. There are several geometric, tribal-looking tattoos on both his arms. He’s looking up and smiling. The background is a light, sandy circle. The fourth one : a large cat with brown, golden brown, black and white fur is sitting on a robot vacuum. He’s looking over his shoulder and sticking his tongue out. end ID]

[pilferingapples]

Actually it's tumblr and i can ramble on about this as often and as much as I like and it's making me happy today, so :

A theatre poster presented itself, adorned with the title of a tragedy from the ancient repertory called classic: "Down with tragedy dear to the bourgeois!" cried Bahorel. And Marius heard Combeferre reply:-- "You are wrong, Bahorel. The bourgeoisie loves tragedy, and the bourgeoisie must be left at peace on that score. Bewigged tragedy has a reason for its existence, and I am not one of those who, by order of AEschylus, contest its right to existence. There are rough outlines in nature; there are, in creation, ready-made parodies; a beak which is not a beak, wings which are not wings, gills which are not gills, paws which are not paws, a cry of pain which arouses a desire to laugh, there is the duck. Now, since poultry exists by the side of the bird, I do not see why classic tragedy should not exist in the face of antique tragedy." (LM 3.4.3, Hapgood)

A vital note : " classic" tragedy means Neoclassical-- the old, formalized style of French plays , then still very much in control of the art scene. The Neoclassicals were the Dire Foes of the up and coming Romantic movement. So Bahorel's side of this is very direct: he's calling for the end of Neoclassical theater, like the scarlet Romantic theater kid he is. Combeferre is being more roundabout, but possibly even more insulting! The word Combeferre uses for " duck" is " canard" (because that's the French word for duck). But it was also the term for a certain kind of trashy pulp journal , especially ones claiming to be " true crime" type stories. " The Shocking Murder of So and So" kind of stuff.

So Combeferre is (a) equating the neoclassical repertoire, held up at the time as the pinnacle of classy good taste, to these cheap journals the Neoclassical fans would surely have loathed (or at least claimed to loathe; plenty were definitely buying them) , and (b) calling the Neoclassical repertoire the " poultry" in this summary-- something domesticated and made consumable and ridiculous , distorted out of shape with its original (c) saying it can't even do what it's supposed to do -- " a cry of pain which arouses a desire to laugh" is a big problem for a tragedy! So unlike Courfeyrac and Enjolras in the next passage, Bahorel and Combeferre aren't disagreeing; Bahorel has just gone " those fuckin' assholes" and Combeferre has responded by going all in on the WAYS they are assholes . This is Theater Nerd Solidarity XD

--It's also absurdly complicated, good grief, I don't blame Marius for being confused by this one at ALL :P

[kjack89]

Heart Tattoo

For Day 3 of @themiserablesmonth: Heart.

ExR, modern AU. CW: discussions of suicide ideation and depression.

Read on AO3.

Enjolras made a contented noise, nuzzling Grantaire’s back before pressing a kiss to the tattoo of the Tree of Gondor on Grantaire’s shoulder blade. Grantaire shifted in bed next to him. “You’re obsessed with my tattoos,” he said languidly, sounding sleepy and blissful as he rolled over onto his other side to face Enjolras.

“That’s not true,” Enjolras said, defying his own statement by ducking to kiss the Captain America shield on Grantaire’s arm. “Though if I was, you really can’t blame me, can you?”

Grantaire reached out to cup Enjolras’s cheek. “I can’t blame you for most things,” he said with a chuckle, leaning in to kiss him.

Enjolras turned his head to brush his lips against the heart outline tattooed on Grantaire’s left wrist. “This one’s probably my favorite, though.”

Grantaire made a face. “Why?”

Enjolras shrugged. “Probably because it’s the most mysterious,” he said. “You’ve never told me about that one.”

“I’m sure I have other tattoos I haven’t told you about.”

“Like the tattoo of Crash Bandicoot on your left calf that you had to get because you lost a bet to Bahorel?” Enjolras said dryly.

Grantaire laughed. “Fair point.” He rolled onto his back, reaching over with his right hand to rub absently at the tattoo heart. “I don’t know, I don’t think about this one much. It was my very first tattoo, you know, from when I was 16.”

“And is there a story behind it?” Enjolras asked, though he hastened to add, “Not that there needs to be a story behind a tattoo to make it valuable.”

Grantaire half-smiled. “Good boy,” he said approvingly, though he paused before answering further, his smile fading as he stared at the ceiling. “There’s not a good story,” he said finally. “I got it because I was clinically depressed, and suicidal, and thought pretty regularly about slicing my wrist open and bleeding to death.”

He said it bluntly, without any sugarcoating of hedging, and Enjolras swallowed, hard. As many times as he had heard Grantaire talk about this before, he would never get used to it, would never fully be able to tamp down the protective instinct that rose automatically in him, even if what he was trying to protect him from was the ghosts of his past. “But you got a heart tattoo instead.”

“Yeah,” Grantaire said softly. He snorted and ran a hand across his face. “It was my desperate attempt at ‘it gets better’-ing myself. I told myself that if I just held on, maybe someone would one day love me enough that I wouldn’t want to kill myself anymore.” He jerked a shrug. “And so I got the tattoo so that I would see it every single day and remember it.”

Enjolras stared at the small black outline stark against Grantaire’s wrist. “That’s—”

“Bullshit,” Grantaire supplied, with a a wry twist to his smile. “Unhealthy, codependent, irresponsible, even.”

Enjolras shook his head. “I don’t know that I’d say that.”

“I do,” Grantaire said. “Waiting for someone to rescue you might be romantic in the movies, but in real life? In real life, it’s just pathetic.” His tone turned bitter. “Especially when what they’re rescuing you from is your own mental illness.” He sighed and shook his head. “No one can love you into wanting to live. That’s just not how it works.”

Enjolras hesitated before asking, “What did your therapist say about it?”

Grantaire made a face. “My therapist said that there are worse coping mechanisms. That if it worked short-term enough to stop me from doing something stupid while I figured out other, better coping mechanisms, that it was fine.” He huffed something that might have been an attempt at a laugh. “Then we had a long and involved conversation about my mindset when it came to seeing love as something that would save me, et cetera ad nauseum.”

He waved a dismissive hand, and Enjolras caught his wrist in his hand, running his thumb over the tattoo before asking softly, “Did it work, though?”

Grantaire rolled over onto his side so that he was again facing Enjolras. “It stopped me from slitting my wrist,” he said dryly. “It didn’t exactly stop me from doing other stupid things that could very easily have killed me.”

“But were you trying to kill yourself when you were doing those other stupid things?” Enjolras asked.

Grantaire took a long moment before hedging, “That’s a hard question to answer.”

“Is it?”

Grantaire sighed. “It was less about actively trying to kill myself and more about not caring if I lived or died,” he said carefully. “But the latter doesn’t mean I wasn’t at least tacitly undertaking the idiocy I did while thinking it might one day kill me, and being ok with that.”

Enjolras knew that the idiocy he was referring to mostly involved drugs and related poor life choices, and he nodded slowly. “And now?” he asked, his words sticking in his throat just slightly.

Grantaire’s eyes flew to his. “I haven’t felt that way in a very long time. You know that.”

Enjolras did. But still— “I do. But it doesn’t hurt to hear it.”

Grantaire’s expression softened, and he tugged his wrist out of Enjolras’s grip so that he could take his hand instead. “No, it doesn’t.” He took a deep breath. “There will always be a tiny little voice in my head that tells me every time something bad happens, or I fuck up, or when absolutely everything is going right because my brain is just plain wired incorrectly, that I should just kill myself.” He twisted their hands so that he could brush a kiss against Enjolras’s knuckles. “But it’s a very, very tiny voice, like the voice that tells me when I look at the opossum that sometimes wanders into our yard that I should pet his belly.”

Enjolras barked a laugh and shook his head. “Please do not pet the opossum, or I will make Joly give you his lecture on rabies.”

Grantaire smiled slightly. “I won’t. And I won’t kill myself either. I have my meds, and I have a great therapist, and I have a lot healthier coping mechanisms than inane tattoos.” 

Enjolras managed a smile as well. “That is true.”

“Plus I have you,” Grantaire said simply. “And while you’re not a solution to my many, many problems, you’re still pretty fucking great.”

Enjolras leaned in and kissed him before resting his forehead against Grantaire’s. “I love you.”

“I know,” Grantaire whispered, kissing him as well. “Now let’s go to bed because I’m getting too fucking old for these post-sex heart-to-hearts.”

Enjolras laughed lightly and both men shifted so that Enjolras was in his usual position, his head resting on Grantaire’s chest instead of his pillow, Grantaire lightly stroking his hair. Both men were quiet for a long moment before Enjolras lifted his head to tell Grantaire, a little stubbornly, “I still think it worked, though.”

Grantaire sighed. “Enjolras—”

“It did make you hold on long enough so that someone would love enough that you didn’t want to kill yourself anymore.”

Grantaire’s hand stilled. “If you’re referring to yourself—”

“I’m not,” Enjolras said quickly. “I’m referring to you.”

“What?”

“Maybe the someone who loved you enough so that you didn’t want to kill yourself anymore was you,” Enjolras said.

Grantaire was quiet for so long that Enjolras almost sat up to make sure he hadn’t fallen asleep on him. But then Grantaire whispered, “Maybe.”

Enjolras traced a finger across Grantaire’s stomach. “You don’t sound convinced.”

“When am I ever?” Grantaire asked, a smile in his voice. “But it’s something to discuss with my therapist, at least.”

Now Enjolras did sit up, just enough so that he could kiss Grantaire once more before telling him, “For what it’s worth, whatever made you decide to stick around, I’m really glad you did. Because even if me loving you was never the solution, it’s been pretty fucking great.”

Grantaire wrapped his arms around him, holding him close. Enjolras ducked his head to rest it once more on Grantaire’s chest, and Grantaire bent to kiss the top of his head. “Yeah,” he said. “It sure has.”

[ofpd]

14 20 25 cosette?

14: assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

i love when ppl translate her wearing black in canon to being goth in modern au. i mean idk enough about goth music/culture to know how much she'd actually vibe with it but it's neat 👍

20: which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

one thing about cosette is that she does not have friends :( she should have friends :(. i do think she'd get along well with les amis in general but one thing i've been thinking about recently is that courfiusette like actually makes sense to me? i'd seen it in fics before and just though of it as people using polyamory to resolve a love triangle they made up but thinking about it more, i do think it could actually work so well. but regardless of that i think she and courfeyrac could be great friends, i think he could help her break out of the shell she's put herself in bc of [guestures vaguely]. oh also i love her totally canon relationship w her canon stepdad bahorel

25: what was your first impression of this character? how about now?

going back to first impressions of major les mis characters is hard bc i was 10 years old but i was hooked. my father played the musical soundtrack and explained the plot to me on a road trip in august 2013 (really funny time for les mis fandom. little did i know) and i was like damn thats crazy!! anyway. and proceeded to not think about it for several years. but i remember castle on a cloud absolutely devastating me

now she's not one of the characters i tend to think the most about, but she is in fact the whole point of this whole story. and i think that she has way more depth than people (especially musical-only fans) give her credit for

[subsequentibis]

2, 7, 9 and 10 for laz, sal and john?

wooo let's put this one under a cut!

2. Why does your oc look the way they do? What are your reasons for their appearance?

sal is pretty heavily inspired by most of the tall gangly awkward sweaty weirdo scientist/researcher characters i recall fondly from a lot of media i liked growing up, plus hair that's fun to draw and that mimics the fungus's tendril shapes. she started out looking fairly different as my vtm character, but then i fell a little in love with dev patel (and this was also when i was still drawing her as a man) so she ended up closer to his look in david copperfield. purple is a color that doesn't exist much in nature, or so i've heard, so it can have a mystical/spooky/unnatural feeling to it, especially i think a kind of paler ghostly purple, which is why i chose it for her sweater. similarly i gave her grey eyes because i feel like they give off a slightly unusual or unnatural vibe while also being very beautiful. she gets a turtleneck because i gave her my fear of/discomfort with having my neck touched to an extreme degree, she doesn't even like feeling the wind on it. the rest of her clothes are brown/dark tones to give her an earthy and grounded feel. i'm not very good at thinking of outfits so i made her like a cartoon character that only has one set of clothing but just gave her sensory issues so she has a whole wardrobe of nearly identical sweaters, pants, and jackets for comfort. originally i was going to have the fungus able to chameleon-esque shift color so it would be mimicking her hand and eye almost exactly except for almost imperceptible lines where the tendrils meet, but i ended up not liking that idea so much and gave her gloves & a glass eye to hide the bits that she loses over the course of the story. she's long and spindly because i tend to think of her hunched up and curling in on herself, like she's always felt just a little bit too big and is trying to compensate for it, and also because that's very fun to draw.

lazarus is pretty heavily inspired by john constantine, sam vimes, columbo, hellboy, any cigar/cigarette-chomping long coat-wearing detective or investigator with a dry sense of humor. he's gone through a couple versions actually, he was my character in several different ttrpgs until i settled on him as a detective npc for an urban shadows campaign i ran and that really nailed down a lot for him looks and attitude-wise. grey raincoat to help him blend in a little more with the city, i like to think he could lean against a concrete wall and almost disappear. big stompy boots or heeled shoes because he's short as hell and wants to look taller. red as an accent color for blood/fire/etc. actually i debated red eyes as well for a bit and finally settled on orange because, of all things, pilferingapples drew bahorel with these really lovely orangey whiskey colored eyes and that always struck me as gorgeous. i just cranked up the orange to make them obviously not natural and as a connection to lava. he's a bit of wish fulfillment for me as a trans man - short but with a broader build, fairly strong shoulders and hips but a bit of stomach to fill out between so he's not really hourglass-y at all. hairy all over, big obvious top surgery scars that will get an update to probably look like flames or claw marks soon, and covered in interesting scars. i always wanted to come up with a story behind all of them but i only ever figured out ones for two, one on his knee and the brand on his chest that ties him to his demonic patron. he had a shitty tiny ponytail for a long time because i love getting my hair just long enough to have a tiny shitty ponytail, but his hair started getting longer over time and now i like him with long hair. cringefail facial hair. he cannot grow a mustache to save his life but that's not gonna stop him.

ok so john. john was originally a hotel podcast oc, as in like i had this idea that the owner might have once been a human guy and got yoinked and twisted to fit the hotel's needs. so john was just my design for the owner but a little more saturated, like he goes semi-greyscale when he gets got. i ditched the turquoise bolo tie when i decided i wanted him in underbelly and i'm trying to fill his wardrobe out a little more with clothes that a divorced dad trying to find his feet again after a painful break up might pick for 'fun'. where laz was my wish fulfillment as a trans man back in college, when i was barely beginning to believe i could possibly be genderweird, john is my wish fulfillment as a trans man now. tall, beefy, hairy, big shaggy sideburns. he's got less thought put into him than the others because he's not been around as long, give him a few years to mature in the soup and i'm sure he'll develop.

7. Does your oc have any notable skills or good personality traits? Why did you give them those traits? Why do they exist in-universe?

see prev answer for sal!

lazarus is somewhat similar to sal in that he's quick to pick up on tiny details, but i would call him more street smart than book smart. i wanted the two of them to have a bit of a battle of the minds going on, not quite like death note levels but more like your average columbo episode. laz is in total control of himself at pretty much all times, as well - he is driven primarily by anger, but he's had enough time to figure out how to use anger instead of being used by it. sometimes he loses control but it's rare. he has a good relationship with a lot of people in the underbelly, he makes a point to help out where he can and engages in a lot of favor-swapping. i really want him to be a pillar of the community sort of guy, someone really intensely invested in the space they've helped to build because he's been aimless and wandering in the past and it's no way to live. he's a bit world weary and can come across as cynical, but deep down even if he doesn't believe in the inherent goodness of man, he thinks man can be dragged kicking and screaming towards some kind of goodness.

john is a good natured and good hearted kind of guy, despite his flaws he has a fairly strong sense of right and wrong and he's really fiercely loyal and protective of his loved ones. frankly see that one post that's like 'character that's submissive in the way a guard dog is submissive'. he's lost people and relationships in the past for various reasons so when he finds something that sticks he's desperate to keep them close and safe and intact.

9. In a group dynamic, what kind of role does the oc usually fill? Are they a worry wart? A troublemaker? The straight man?

sal is the worrier for sure and the one who goes home early because she's not having fun. laz is the one you think is the straight man until a third act subversion and then he's either covered in other people's blood or has challenged the biggest guy in the bar to a drinking contest that he will win and then make out with said guy. john is the designated driver.

10. What is your favorite trait regarding your oc?

i love sal's cowardice. it's really meaningful and special to me how little she wants to do with anything happening to her and how she figures out how to deal with it anyway and succeed while never really getting over how much she wants to just go home and get in bed.

my favorite lazarus trait is his anger, because i love a character who lets their rage bubble and boil under the surface while appearing completely calm until they just explode, but like a controlled demolition.

i love john's ability to adapt. when he ends up in the underbelly it's not long at all before he's got a stable job & a place to live & people who call him friend because he just goes with the flow and makes it work. yeah he's got goat eyes and horns and he sleeps on a pile of hay now bc he's too big for his bed most nights but hey, could be worse!

[grantwilson]

🌻🌻!

two emojis means two random tangents

when i was in ninth grade i had a history teacher named mr klein. he was a big fan of showing us movies instead of actually teaching. one such film was les miserables, starring liam neeson and uma thurman. around this time there was a new version of the same story being made, this one starring hugh jackman and anne hathaway. for some reason i decided to go see it. from there i found and joined the surprisingly active les mis fandom. i got into other musicals (mainly well-known ones like wicked/rent/phantom of the opera, but i also liked next to normal and catch me if you can because of aaron tveit, who played enjolras in les mis, gabe in n2n, and the main guy in cmiyc. frank abagnale jr? im almost positive that's his name) but les mis has a special place in my heart. i've decided that instead of two topics, im just gonna keep talking about les mis for a while. so the main reason why so many young people (such as tiny baby 14 year old me) like it so much is. well ok the main reason is bc it's very good. the other big reason is les amis de l'abc (enjolras, grantaire, combeferre, courfeyrac, jean "jehan" prouvaire, joly, bossuet/l'aigle/lesgles, bahorel, and feuilly. marius gets included sometimes but he doesnt count). are they minor characters? yes. are they prettyboys? yes. and enjolras and grantaire are like, not canon in the sense of "they are explicitly in a relationship in the book or its adaptations", but it was 18something and victor hugo couldnt just tell us that these dudes were in love. what he could do was compare them to achilles/patroclus and orestes/pylades, "you believe in nothing" "i believe in you", they DIED HOLDING HANDS, etc. also im almost positive that he literally says that grantaire loved enjolras, at least. the other amis are all queer as well but especially enjolras and grantaire. i have like 6 different versions of that book. i should read one again. that sounds like a great idea and i bet i would be totally normal. if you've read all of this i am platonically kissing you on the mouth

[schattenwerfenkeineschatten]

@troublesomecousin continued from x

Kevin had been eyeing him from across the room, debating whether of not he wanted to make a move. Sure, this guy was cute enough, but he was here with friends, and Kevin wasn't sure he was in the mood to deal with a whole flock in pursuit of just one person. Not that he hadn't done that before, but it required more effort and energy than he felt like investing that evening. Looking was free and easy, and as long as he had a good view he was going to enjoy it. He'd just about decided to search for an easier target when he met the other's gaze. The object of his attention had turned for a moment, their eyes seemingly to immediately find one another. A rookie mistake if there ever was one when you were trying to discretely check someone out. Not wanting to be rude, or at least, not wanting to come off that way, Kevin smiled and given a wink. He hoped that would spare him any awkwardness, hoped the other would just take the wordless compliment and move on. But fortunately or unfortunately, it had gone over even better than that. Kevin couldn't remember the last time, if ever, someone had blown a kiss at him, and he wasn't even sure it was serious, but was harm was there in taking an opportunity was it was so graciously placed right in front of him? They weren't close enough to speak, and Kevin had no intention of getting up from his seat, but he did move over a bit, placing his hand on the spot next to him in the booth he'd been occupying. He hoped the gesture would be inviting. If he could draw this guy away from his friends then maybe he'd make more of an effort, but for now a smile and a slight tilt of his head was all he was going to invest into this pretty face.

Bahorel made a point of never being entirely serious, and this was no exception. He had noticed him right away. The man was hard to miss, with his bright red jacket and intense demeanour. And, of course, he had noticed the way he was looking at him... Though it seemed looking was all he was after.

Was he shy? He didn't look it. No, Bahorel recognised that mischievous glint in his eyes, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't intrigue him.

So, when he caught the other's smile and wink, of course he made sure to smile right back. He even did him one better. But even his lovely, theatrical blown kiss was not enough to draw him out of his seat. Bahorel should have been offended. Especially since the man proceeded to call him over like a dog with a casualness that bordered on insolence.

But, well... he found he didn't terribly mind the lack of respect just so long as he kept looking at him like that.

As it stood, Bahorel could either pout over being so easy that that move had worked on him, or he could embrace the mood of the moment.

It didn't take much deliberation, his mind already made up. He quickly excused himself from his friends and strutted over to where Kevin was sitting.

"You always this brazen, or am I just lucky?" he smirked before making himself comfortable next to him.

[fillsta]

How to explain Les Mis characters to your friends

Enjolras 'Enjy dearest', 'Enj':

Angry blond boy. "Eat the rich". Either gay or aroace. His celebrity crush is Robespierre. He may or may not have a crush on a specific wine lover. Also Aaron Tveit. That's it

Combeferre 'Ferre':

The 'hot' scholar. Rly likes moths I guess. Wears glasses bc he's smart and smart ppl wear glasses. Has done nothing wrong, ever. We love him .

Courfeyrac 'Courf':

Everybody's friend. Flirty, fruity bitch. Round and lovable. Possibly in a relationship with either Combeferre or Jehan. Marius' own personal extrovert. Keeps the group together. Portrayed by the Mighty, the Fruity Fra Fee.

Grantaire 'R':

Likes to drink. A lot. Bi bitch, hopelessly in love with a certain blondie. Hold-hands-before-getting-shot-to-death kind of crush. Rly good at history and philosophy. Cynic. Also, fandom decided that he draws<3. Big hobo energy. Ask the fandom about the actor in the 2012 musical and they'll shed tears

Jean Prouvaire 'Jehan':

Ah yes, the softie. Love poetry and playing the flute. Most likely smoke weed. Plant parent. Gender unknown. We love their hippie bullshit. I don't remember the actor's name but he was kinda cute

Bahorel 'Baho':

The fruity gym bro. Enjoys fistfighting. Possibly Feuilly's bf. Man bun and beard. Studies law but doesn't want to be a lawyer. Doodles instead. Gavroche's idol. His celebrity crush is probably Dwayne Johnson or sth.

Feuilly:

IwbavajsbJzkabzjsvs. We love him. He's pure and innocent. Orphan. Makes fans for a living. Really loves the countries of the world. Headcannoned as Polish. Enjolras' fav ho. Wears flannels. I'll stop here because oh boi I can go on for ages

Bossuet/Lesgles:

Bald guy. Wholesome. He's also extremely unlucky and Victor made sure that's his only personality trait. Polyamoryyyy. His bf is Joly, his gf is Musichetta. It's just... Bossuet, you know?

Joly:

Doctor? Yeah, did I mention he's a germaphobe? Poor guy. Eccentric asf. Carries a cane everywhere. Will wake up in the middle of the night to align his bed according to the earth's poles and shit. Yes, he has a bf and gf, as previously mentioned.

Gavroche 'Gav':

Best boiiii. Smol, like, 10-12 yrs old. Savage. Absolutely destroyed Enjolras when in an argument. Also managed to trick a skilled criminal once. Rip, he would have loved Minecraft. Eponine and Azelma's brother. Courfeyrac's instant son. Looks up to Bahorel.

Marius Pontmercy:

The Most Awkward Human Being. Like, fr. Courfeyrac's emotional support introvert. Possibly the only straight here but who knows??? Idk he's kinda close with Courf. Anyway Enj amd Ferre scare him. Especially Ferre. He somehow gets a gf??? Survived

Eponine 'Ponine' Thenardieur

Marius' side ho. Has a crush on him. Bit I think she's gayyyy. Or bi. There's no way she's interested in men only. Anyway, poor. Terrible household situation :(. Feminist. I hope she gets a gf in her second life. R had a smol crush on her but that was just a phase. She deserved better, like everyone.

Cosette Fauchelevent/Valjean:

Marius' main ho (how this guy manages to get bitches is beyond me). Cottagecore goth (is that a thing?). Adopted. Such a sweet gal. Eponine could also be her gf <3.

Montparnasse 'Parnasse':

Ah him. Okay this guy. He is s narcissistic but a good one. One day he looked in the mirror and said 'Wow im hot lets murder people' and so he did exactly that. Said criminal tricked by Gavroche. 'Dandy'. He's so cool I love him sm.

Azelma Thenardieur:

Poor girl doesn't get any development. She's just there. Survived. Is rly cool tho, trust me.

Jean Valjean:

Stole bread and went to jail for 19 years. Villain origin story. Then he stole from a child (which may or may not have been Feuilly but that's another story for another post) and he instantly went good. Became mayor and businessman. One of his employees died so he found her daughter and raised her. Survived for a while. Is supposed to be the protagonist lol. Wholesome grandpa

Inspector Javert 'Jav jav man':

Is his life's goal to arrest Valjean. I say enemies to lovers trope. Starts off as a bitch, tbh.

Fantine:

My poor girl deserved the world. Her bf got her pregnant and fled :(. She gave Cosette over to some strangers to raise her while she worked in a nearby town, sending them money for Cosette's expenses. That's a no no there but ok. Gets fired, becomes a prostitute, dies. So of any of you out there shame sex workers I'll choke u while u sleep.

[justgayrevolutionnaries]

Why les amis are definitely not straight : a thread

Aka the essay nobody needed but I made anyway bc it was 3am and I couldn't sleep (also obv it's humor like don't take it seriously and come at me bc you disagree)

Aka the "they are gay and it's canon" essay

"It did not seem as though [Enjolras] were aware there was on earth a thing called woman"

Grantaire's whole introduction paragraph

Hugo constantly saying "Enjolras was [insert name of a gay ancient greek character]"

+ Hugo comparing Grantaire's relationship to Enjolras to more greek characters which were very obviously gay

"Be easy"

"I believe in you"

"Permets-tu ?"

Actually any Enjolras and Grantaire interaction

And they died holding hands

Courfeyrac seing Marius and immediately being like "come to my house ! I'll give you anything you need :)" aka pretty privilege™

Said Marius leaving Courfeyrac and then coming back three years later like

"I come to sleep with you"

" Sure man come in you can take my mattress"

Bossuet living with Joly and sharing everything with him

"Bossuet was a gay fellow"

"he (Joly) was the gayest of them all"

(I mean the english translation just made everything 50% gayer)

Courfeyrac and Bossuet seing Marius following Thenardier and going "he is following a man he needs intimacy let's leave him alone that may be his chance to date"

Everyone (especially Courfeyrac but also Bahorel and others) making fun of Marius bc he is in love with a woman

Jehan is a poet. Have you ever met a cishet poet ? No you haven't they don't exist.

Combeferre seing the man Enjolras is about to shoot and basically saying "why do you wanna shoot him he is pretty :( "

Also Combeferre and Jehan holding hands and leaning against each other while watching Enjolras after he killed Le Cabuc

Enjolras making an emotional speech and going out of his way to mention how awesome Feuilly is

"everyone should be like Feuilly he is the best I love you Feuilly"