#honeslty i could go on for hours about why i love les mis so much and why its so important to me lol

[javerttt]

I've not seen your stuff on here before (just met your wonderful Valvert art) and I'm interested why you like drawing them so much. I'm writing a book looking at why Les Mis is so popular, and talking to a lot of fans (and Valjeans and Javerts!) and I'm trying to listen to why they characters draw people to them so much. Can you help?

Hey, thanks for your ask! sorry i took time to reply, i took the time to really think about what these characters mean to me and why i love them so much! also sorry for the english mistakes since its not my first language lol. ill try to answer your question the best i can, i hope my answer wont be too long haha

i first got into les mis in like 2014/2015, but my deep love for jean valjean and javert is actually pretty recent although i liked them and shipped them as soon as i discovered les mis (but i didnt like them enough back then to dedicate an entire blog to them lol). i did draw some fanart of valjean and javert back then, but not a lot; i was more into characters like enjolras and grantaire (and their ship). when i first explored the les mis fandom on tumblr i was at a very low point of my life, really depressed and suicidal, and i happened to stumble on lots of posts about enjolras, grantaire, and especially people’s headcanons about enjolras being a trans man which led me to the biggest epiphany of my life. i got really invested into these characters, basically living vicarously through them. i projected all my repressed thoughts about gender identity on enjolras, and related to grantaire’s cynical attitude and kinda unrequited, hopeless love for enjolras. i feel like i owe my life to les mis, because had i not had this epiphany i dont know if id still be alive today (goddd that sounds so dramatic lol). Also les mis contributed to me getting interested in politics and social justice.

my interest faded a bit as i got into other things, but i still loved les mis a lot. recently i rewatched the 2012 movie, then browsed the valvert tag and oh boy i fell hard lol. i dont really know why but this time it was javert’s character who drew me (im sure there’s a better word for this but i cant find it rip). i listened to the musical on repeat, watching many clips on youtube, and i got really interested in javert and valjean’s dynamic. i also started reading the brick, and started drawing a lot of fanarts which led me to create this blog which im so happy i have now because god people are so nice to me and my art had never met such a positive response before that. i thought a lot about what drew me to javert’s character, and i think that on some levels i can kinda relate to him. i used to be sort of cynical, with very strict views on society and stuff like justice (thinking things like ‘criminals can never be forgiven’, ‘once you do something bad its because you’re inherently bad so there’s no hope for you’, shit like that. im really ashamed of it now lol). i was bullied for years when i was younger, which led me to resent people a lot, and with my crushing dysphoria (which i didnt know was actually dysphoria back then) i felt like i had no place in the world, i couldnt project myself into the future, i hated what and who i was. but unlike javert, who, knowing that he was born ‘out’ of society, decided to stay ‘out’ of it in his job (god my wording is so bad, i hope you see what i mean), i just wanted to die. when i finally came to terms with the fact that i might be trans, i felt really hopeless, and thought about all the years i had wasted, all those years i was depressed, hating myself, hurting myself, how i thought myself unloveable, and for a brief moment i wanted to die because there was no way i was going to be able to live as i wanted to, i felt like it was too late for me. eventually things got better as i moved further in accepting myself. i feel so sad for javert because, like me, his whole perception of the world was shattered, all his beliefs and values were questioned and he couldnt find a way to go on. im sad because if things had been different i might have done like him. i love aus where he survives, where valjean saves him. speaking of valjean, what i love in him is the kindness, radiant love that emanates from him. the fact that he has seen the worst of the world, the worst of men and of society, and still decides to go on and do good and dedicate his life to other.........the Big Heart energy........ i just love and admire him so much, and i know this will sound dumb but he kinda inspires me to do better, love myself and others better, be kinder to the world. 

basically i love les mis for all the political/social commentary, i think that it is a very important book in itself, and i also love it for its characters, some of which became really important to me. i hope my answer satisfies you, and that it doesnt sound like me talking annoyingly about myself too much rip......also im afraid i sound too dramatic....honeslty im always too self conscious when i have to talk about myself asqjfd but thanks for asking me this it was really interesting to reflect on these things!!! have a nice day :D