#too bad I'm not an Enjolras myself

[aromantic-enjolras]

20 questions for 20 writers!

Thank you @pumpkinspice-prouvaire for the tag! Let me see what I can do with this...

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Holy fu- Fourty-four??? When did that happen????

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

122,025. One third of yours, pumpkin!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently Les Mis and Jesus Christ Superstar. I used to write for Cats a few years ago, and I wrote Sherlock and Harry Potter once upon a time. I also wrote Stranger Things once, but that was a gift for @p-trichor and I don't think I will again (writing about characters from a show you've never watched is stressful!)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Rumour Has It (Les Mis, ExR Prof AU). Good Enough To Eat (Stranger Things, vampire Steddie). Merlin (TV) according to Ao3 (Merlin, not technically a fic). Ne m'aime pas (Les Mis, aro!Enjolras). Sleepy Love (Harry Potter, Wolfstar). my beloathed, so happy it's almost out of the top 5

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to!! I love getting comments, so I do like getting back to people. Though sometimes someone leaves a comment so elaborate and so kind I freeze at how to make a good enough response and I never do. So... @buffintruder I promise I cherish every single one of your comments please don't be hurt if I don't answer!!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Uuuuuh.... I guess depends on your definition. If we're going for implications, it would be "A Kiss With a Betrayal (Is Better Than None)". Nothing that bad happens, but it's the setup of Judas' betrayal of Jesus, and shit gets daaark after that. If you go with actual sad ending, "I Wanna Ruin Our Friendship" would have to take it. Enjolras cries so much in that one.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

"Curiosity Trapped the Cat", probably. It's just so cute!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not anymore, thankfully! When I was a fandom youngster I got a very angry comment on a Jily (Harry Potter) fic from someone who was enraged Lily didn't end up with Snape, and someone who ripped me a new one for using a word that turned out to be perfectly neutral in my native language and a slur in English.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! Not often, but I have a PWP on Ao3, actually. For some reason I only do it as a collaborative effort, though: the Courfjolras PWP on Ao3 is a joint fic with @pumpkinspice-prouvaire and I have two Courfjoltaire WIPs with @shamedumpster (called "In the Middle (While you two get along)" and "Skip the awkward (come undone)" ^^).

10. Do you write crossovers?

Same as pumpkin here. I don't do crossovers, but I do love myself a good AU!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Does it count if I was the one doing it? My first fic, the Jily one I was saying, I wrote in my native language and then translated to English. The two versions are on ff.net!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yep! Apart from the aforementioned Courfjolras PWP, I wrote a cute fluffy ExR with @pumpkinspice-prouvaire for the Ace!Enjolras series. Also depending on how you see it the Jesus Christ Superstar is a joint effort with @shamedumpster, even if we are writing separately each bit.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Why don't you ask me to choose a favourite child? Might be easier!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

A rockstar AU where Courf is an aromantic Bowie stand-in and Marius is his main guitarist and fuckbuddy who gets too invested. I love it, but it's a longfic and I'm not good at sticking to those. (And also it's a Sad Ending rarepair fic. Who is going to read it?)

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm good at keeping people in their POVs and not slipping into omniscient narrators. Descriptions, too.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I get stuck on logistics. Sometimes you just have to handwave shit, you know? People don't need to know when they put the cup down or the position of every guard.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

As someone who is always reading in a language that isn't mine, if I can read an entire fic in English, you can read two sentences in another language and their translation if it works for the character. My caveat to that is in Les Mis fics: do not suddenly have characters say five words in French if they're already all French. It just breaks the illusion that they were speaking French the whole time.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

And posted? Harry Potter. In general? Percival Christopher Wren's "Beau Geste". I hated the ending so much I wrote an entire Fix-It ending.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

"Still Crazy After All These Years", a Courferre second chance romance fic I wrote last year. It's a little more involved than I usually do, with a non-linear narrative and a non-linear writing process, and I think it turned out really well. I feel like the nuance of the situation was pretty well done, too.

Tagging @buffintruder, @quillsand, @shamedumpster and @enjolraspermettendo!

[neroushalvaus]

I wanna ask you an important (not really) question, but don't feel like you have to answer.

Javert in epilogue Heaven: yes or no? Is he in hell or purgatory maybe?

Hey, as far as I am concerned, this is an important question ;D This is actually a discussion I have cared enough about to give a whole ted talk about it in my friends' musical theatre podcast (sadly the episode is in Finnish). But yeah, my opinion is a very definitive "yes".

Because I know people have conflicting views about this, I hope you don't mind me explaining myself, I don't want to end up on people's "bad les mis takes" blocklists before I get to justify my case.

So, when we talk about Heaven in the context of Les Mis, we can't ignore the fact that Les Mis as a musical and as a book holds Christian values. If we look at the main theological themes present in the book, it preaches hospitality, grace and forgiveness (and also liberation theology even though it wasn't called that back then but we are keeping it simple). That's why "Javert can't go to Heaven because he was a bad person" doesn't work for me, even though I absolutely agree that he is. If Javert is not in Heaven, I think having Javert's Suicide mirror Valjean's Soliloquy is a bad decision. The bishop shows Valjean kindness, Valjean looks within and Valjean gets a new life; Valjean shows Javert kindness, Javert looks within... And? I think it makes narrative sense that Javert gets a new life, even if it is after death.

Another argument I have seen is "Javert wouldn't want to be in the epilogue, there is a barricade there", and I don't agree with that either. Like. I don't think it's a literal barricade, it is a metaphor for how the equal world the Amis wanted exists after death. I'm not saying it's not a bittersweet ending – I think Karl Marx would absolutely hate it –, but that's what it is. It's not a very revolutionary ending. For what it's worth, I don't think the literal character of Enjolras would actually be comfortable singing about how everyone will be equal once they're dead and that's fine. It only works if the barricade is a metaphor.

Aside from being Heaven, I think the epilogue has two purposes; to gather all the characters on the stage once more, and to give the audience some catharsis. This is why I think Javert should be there, and in fact, I think every character in the show should be there. The book and the show are called Les Misérables for a reason, every character in it is wretched and has been left behind by society. The musical is pretty vague about Javert's wretchedness, but I think he reveals just enough for the audience to see that this is a miserable bastard and if he were to sing in the end with the others, that would bring the audience some catharsis. Especially seeing him together with everyone the society he has served has harmed, and he himself has harmed. I personally would really like that. "We will walk behind the plowshare, we will put away the sword. The chain will be broken and all men will have their reward". I also like how that would prove Javert wrong. As he sings in Stars, he thinks that "those who follow the path of the righteous shall have their reward"; then he, in his own mind, fails to follow that path; and he gets in Heaven, where everyone who has suffered in their life will be rewarded, no matter the bad things they did. Not to quote the book too much, but "This door does not demand of him who enters whether he has a name, but whether he has a grief. You suffer, you are hungry and thirsty; you are welcome".

I think that would be the correct way to end this musical. The ending may not be revolutionary, but at its best it is cathartic, hopeful and gentle. So in my opinion it should be as gentle as possible.

[killingsboys]

9, 11, 13, 22, & 50 for the fic writer asks :3

omg hi thank you sm for asking!!!!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻

9. Do you comment on stories you read?

sometimes but not as much as i should honestly! i have commented on a few of my favorites but i need to go back and comment on more honestly <3

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

omg i'm gonna have to link more than three let's hope i can keep it under ten:

suckerpunch by @television-bodies — my all-time favorite. absolutely stellar characterization. i reread this at least once a week genuinely. everything a modern au should be and more <3

so willing to care for you by serinesaccade — coco sent me this one a couple days ago and it made me laugh a lot! such a fun concept

what's the problem, baby? by putorious — quite possibly the funniest fic i have ever read. i break out "are you picking up your antidepressants?" wayyyyy more than i should tbh

love is a requiem by wispie — some of the most beautiful writing i've ever read. "The knife that stabs has touched you deeper than anything else." lives in my head rent free forever and ever like actually

monkey see, monkey by anonymous — always makes me laugh. marius pontmercy i love u so so bad.

epiphany by abidatchery — amazing characterization and beautiful writing!!!

lovesickness by idiopathicsmile — made me laugh out loud so many times. love love love oblivious enjolras and i always enjoy a good POV outsider!

okay i'm cutting myself off now bc if i don't stop soon i never will.

13. what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

answered here!

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

um i don't write smut because i'm too scared to try honestly. i don't like writing in past tense either, i switched to present tense a couple years ago and enjoy it a lot more. otherwise i would say i'm amenable to most tropes and stuff if i have a good idea!

50. How long is your longest fic?

116,305 words! however i am afraid this one might end up dethroned...

get to know your fic writer!

[valjeans]

Ranking of all the actors who played each role in the last les mis cast then please

ok since literally one of you asked here goes:

Valjean

Chris Jacobsen Honestly, this man's Valjean is just something else entirely. His portrayal just has so much thought behind every action and I truly appreciate a Valjean that is just a little bit fucked up because he did fully spend 19 years in prison. You need to listen to his Bring Him Home to appreciate just how perfect his voice is. Not just my favourite Valjean of this cast but one of my favourite Valjean's ever.

Joseph Anthony Ok he fully got like 2 shows this entire contract but I saw one of them and was utterly amazed! He's only like 26ish but genuinely his acting was so great you'd never notice. Also it was very obvious that he started on the tour watching Dean Chisnall because his performance was very soft and nuanced like Dean's! Here's his Bring Him Home too if you're interested.

Luke McCall Always had a lovely voice but didn't exactly do much acting in his pre-pandemic era, very wooden. However, he came from the Staged Concert a changed man. His finale is genuinely heartbreaking from start to finish, I have quite often found myself in tears. He could have ended up at no. 2 but his vocals have REALLY let him down these past few months. Here's one of my fave clips of him in his vocal prime doing The Confrontation opposite Richard Carson.

Jon Robyns Look I love Jon, I really do...but his voice has just been in constant decline this year and I spend shows where he's on genuinely preparing myself for the inevitable cracks on all the big notes. His acting is really quite fantastic but god, until he takes some time to fix his vocals I honestly can't rank him any higher.

Javert

Richard Carson I wasn't sure about him to begin with but the way he grew into the role as he got more chances to go on was truly my favourite thing this cast. A fantastic, old school, PROPER BARITONE, javert. He's so perfectly cold and callous and his suicide is this perfect, unhinged breakdown at FULL SPEED (also truly incredible technique that he can do those big hyperventilating breaths and sing at the same time)

Bradley Jaden A truly extraordinary Javert on a good show, an incredibly below average one on a bad day. I think there was a point around June/July where he'd really found a perfect balance to his batshit suicide and coldness throughout the rest of the show. I also truly loved the way he embraced the valvert vibes.

Fantine

Kathy Peacock INCREDIBLE. The vintage Fantine we deserved. God I loved her. Here's her I dreamed a dream from her debut.

Jessica Joslin Another Fantine with a very classical musical theatre voice. I never really found her IDAD emotional enough though, like her acting was just never quite enough for me.

Ellie Anne Lowe ANOTHER Fantine with a very classical musical theatre voice. Only saw her once pre-shutdown but loved every single second.

Chanice Alexander-Burnett Look she was fine, a perfectly acceptable Fantine. I really never thought we got much from her acting wise though and I truly despised the riffs she sometimes did in IDAD.

Never sat Natalie Green but tbf she had literally one show and I'm sure I'll undoubtedly get a chance in the coming year!

Enjolras

Leo Miles If you've followed me long enough you'll know I was for a long time a Leo hater. However, I do not regret this. He has genuinely really improved in this past year and I love that for him! He's always had a lovely voice but he was so wooden. Now his Enjolras is absolutely heartbreaking, him and Connor's Grantaire are literally so in love with each other. Also pls listen to this note.

Joseph Anthony Just a really good Enjolras tbh.

Jordan Shaw Honestly...just all over the fucking place. Everytime I think he's maybe improved he'll just make the most bizarre choices ever. Like I've honestly gotten used to his more contemporary voice but I just can't get used to his absolutely batshit portrayal. Sometimes it can be fun to watch Chris' jaw literally clenching when he's being particularly bad. Also shoutout to Bradley who gave one of the best Enjolras' performance I've seen despite literally not knowing a single bit of the blocking. Him winging that new One Day More marching was iconic tbh. Also shoutout to Will Richardson who was fairly good but also nothing particularly special.

Eponine

Mared Williams One of the best Eponine's I've seen. A really interesting voice and such fantastic acting. The first time I've ever cried at A Little Fall of Rain. Here's her On My Own

Sha Dessi For the first half of this year she was absolutely nailing it, her On My Own felt so intimate. Unfortunately seems to have had some serious vocal issues for the past few months that have really let her down which is such a shame!

Jessie Hart To be honest she's still a fantastic Eponine. I'd definitely say the Eponine's have been the strongest all round, there's no a bad one! Her Eponine has an edge to her which I really enjoyed and her On My Own almost made me cry once. Also shoutout to Jenna Innes who I won't rank here but was an absolutely beautiful Eponine that I would have probably ranked 1st if she'd been a permanent cast member!

Marius

Harry Apps MY ABSOLUTE BELOVED FREAK OF A MARIUS. He's so weird and awkward and just a young guy in love, it's absolutely adorable. It makes his Empty Chairs such a heartbreaking contrast. His final one had me in actual proper tears.

Danny Colligan Honestly, don't have that much to say. He was fine, just a run of the mill portrayal tbh, and his voice is a little thin for my liking.

Michael Kholwadia Genuinely seemed like he'd just walked onstage for the first time and was winging it. His voice is nice enough but very wooden.

Cosette

Claire O'Leary Honestly she's just number one cause at least she can hit the notes.

Charlie Burn You know, she isn't the best vocally, but I do enjoy her acting, especially with Valjean in In My Life!

Phoebe Williams Don't really like her voice and honestly didn't think she did much acting tbh.

I'm actually not gonna rank the Thenardiers because I didn't get to see Georgie or Matt! I've also seen pretty much every single possible combination of covers and swings for the smaller roles if you want to hear my rankings of any of those just drop me an ask specifying which!!

[television-bodies]

dropping by to say that i loveeeeed revenir it made me sob like a BABY <333 i hope you're doing well! anyways for the fic writer asks: 3, 8, 29, anddd share a sentence that you're proud of! <3

thank you so much, i'm so glad you liked it!! <3 sorry for making you cry -- but only slightly. what you're telling me is sort of an artist's dream... hope it wasn't too devastating...

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

ohohoho what a question. there are things that i like in every fic i've written mostly because i'm proud of myself for writing anything at all -- until the end of everything, for example, i had points with where i really doubted if it would get finished. i like suckerpunch for the things that other people tell me they appreciate in it -- and it may well be recency bias, but right now i think i do like revenir the best! it feels the most cohesive and consistent to me currently, and as a first attempt at canon era i don't think i did too bad of a job (?). this being said, i do like to imagine that my favourite fic of my own has not been written yet. something to spur me on

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

i have a few different things that i'm dipping in and out of semi-regularly but strangely enough i have planned out almost an entire bahorel/feuilly fic this week, borne from a prompt from the trope generator. after looking at my most recently posted fics on ao3 i thought 'wow, i think i need to do something more light-hearted next' and so i am going to Trope Central, in which bahorel and feuilly fake date as a way to try and encourage some other members of their group to Get Their Shit Together, and end up in a private and pretty intense game of chicken... its fairly ridiculous but it will make sense. i promise (i hope)

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

i think i've spoken before about the bbc race across the world AU that i had for a while and have since scrapped because i couldn't bear to write the logistics of the show/race (sad) -- anyway this was from a section in which grantaire is trying to convince eponine to spend some of their team's limited funds on a small basement gig during one leg of the race, because he's overwhelmed and needs to be moshing for his mental health. (this is something that comes up in one of my current wips too. i love a moshpit and i love to use them symbolically. i'm also projecting)

“I’m fucking tired, R.” “And I fucking need this, Ep.” He’s almost pleading, searching her eyes because she knows him, she knows that he needs this sometimes, knows that there are times he goes out in search of a crowd to throw himself into even if she doesn’t entirely understand why. “Please. I’m asking you for this, as something I need. I feel like I could claw my fucking skin off. I need to just–“ he gestures at the building, at the poster. “I need it.”

share a sentence that you're proud of!

Grantaire is cynical, and it underpins everything else Enjolras knows about him: the way he structures his arguments, his stances on philosophy, the references to mythology he drops into conversation as casually as other people talk about the weather.

from suckerpunch :D

ask game

[somethingvicked]

You know, I hate begging.

I consider myself too proud for begging.

But I beg... please my Prince Paul anon, come back!

Or Eddie anon! Enjolras anon. Tom Grant anon! Older!Eddie anon...

See, I'm begging! Then it's really bad!

[blackcatarts]

oh! nice!

[whatsaboomlakalaka]

fic writer interview!

thanks for the tag @grantairesbottle !!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

20 ! how did that happen !

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

56,068

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

5 on ao3 but really 4 bc I think Original Work + Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game) count as one (its backstory for one of my PCs)

the others are Les Miserables, Dimension 20 (specifically Fantasy High) and Life with Derek

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

What To Expect When You're Expecting A Soulmate - (Dimension 20 (Fantasy High)) - Fig/Ayda - the figayda soulmark au nobody asked for but i wrote anyway - classic first words your soulmate will say to you are written on your body somewhere, bc with their first interaction how could i NOT. 2k, oneshot!

Llamas and Siblings and Pies, Oh my! - (Life with Derek) - Casey/Derek - texting fic! the whole family's involved! i don't know how to describe this one except ridiculous and very fun! 4k, oneshot!

Bump In The Night - (Life with Derek) - Casey/Derek - a mix of soulmark aus from a 3am prompt that i wrote in 40mins and didn't read through before i posted. wild that its this high up tbh. 600 words, ficlet!

A Pretty Good Bad Idea - (Life with Derek) - Casey/Derek - summer vibes prompt that's actually just pwp - everyone loves smut OPPPPP. 2.5k, oneshot!

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger - (Les Miserable) - Enjolras/Grantaire - again, everyone loves smut? this fic is so old omg but yeah i guess its a thing i wrong. canon-compliant pwp. 2k, oneshot!

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes! Always! I love to chat come talk to me!!

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

God, right. Do we mean angst like "everyone's about to die"? Because if so, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger, again, or Just Open Your Eyes - but they're both Les Mis and like. Is death angst in canon-era Les Mis bc idt it is???

Non-death related, I'm going with Evacuate The Dancefloor. Mostly because it was going to end happily and then the last 40 words just came out of nowhere but like. It had to. Idk. Sad wanking innit.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Hmmm I haven't written any with like crossed over characters but I like putting people in different settings. Hogwarts AUs etc. And like. My Life with Derek Tag AU, cleverly just titled "Tag".

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Writing for small fandoms is a blessing, no.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yeah but like I'm not comfortable writing it really? But sometimes I do it to challenge myself and those are always the fics with the best stats which is WILD.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of!

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, not that I'm aware of!

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nel said this too in hers lol but like. No posts fic, but RP. A lot of RP.

Also @nosybutterfly and I have the starting of a Life with Derek one but we've both been working on separate things recently - Em we should get back to it !!!

13. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

The ship that first got me into fanfiction was Harry/Ginny (Harry Potter). But I've probably read more Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Miserables) than anything else. Plus Combeferre/Courfeyrac (also Les Mis). Honourable mentions to: Beck/Johanssen (The Martian), Josh/Donna (The West Wing), Laurie/Amy (Little Women), and Casey/Derek (Life with Derek).

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Nothing has been posted of it yet but I've got this one Ballet Dancer!Casey/Photographer!Derek Long Distance AU and. Eurgh. One day.

15. What are your writing strengths?

I think I manage to get a lot of info into not a lot of words. I also think I'm funny but who knows what everyone else thinks.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I start so many things I know I'll never finish yikes

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter - I don't even remember my old username but it was on Sink Into Your Eyes, back in the day.

Also Firefly - mostly on fireflyfans.net

19. What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

A Thousand Years Go By (Love Don’t Die) - Life with Derek - Derek/Casey - the mcturi siblings are paranormal investigators checking out sam's new mansion-come-hotel. 8k, oneshot!

this fic hit me like a fever dream and i could think of nothing else until it was written. its also got just... so few hits compared to my other dasey fics and that makes me sad sometimes ngl.

Tagging anyone who wants to do it! Say I tagged you and I'll back you up!!

[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

[lesamisandlesmiserables]

So, you know Fuck Marry Kill right? I'm not a huge fan, so - Lab partner for a month, stuck in an elevator for ten hours, or trainer at your new job at mcdonalds, with Valjean, Fantine, and Javert? I know there's not a Javert there yet but. Sorry for the weird question!

Enjolras: Valjean for trainer at a new job at McDonald’s, Javert for lab partner for a month, and Fantine for stuck in an elevator for 10 hours. Valjean has a job and he is hard working. Javert because he is determined and would make a good partner in that regard, and Fantine because she is kind and would be good company.

Cosette 🌸: For my trainer at McDonald’s, Fantine, I feel she would be patient and understanding enough with that, not too harsh a boss. For stuck in an elevator with, Javert, so that I may get the hell over and done with…And have plenty of time to feed false information to him I mean what….And finally for lab partner, Valjean, I feel he wouldn’t be lazy and leave all the work to me but make it a shared effort, a good person to work alongside.

Babet: Fantine as my lab partner for a month, she’d definitely do her share of the work. Valjean as a trainer at my new job because he’d probably be pretty decent at explaining things. Which leaves me stuck in an elevator for ten hours with Javert, and if he doesn’t make it out unharmed, that’s not my problem. :)

Fantine: Alone in the elevator with myself. I haven’t had a moment to breath in so long that it would be delightful. Maybe sneak in a nap. Valjean as a trainer. He would be understanding if I was late. Sometimes the buses are slow and I am a teeny bit late. Javert as my lab partner wouldn’t be too bad. He would be decisive and get what needed to be done, done.

Musichetta: How forgiving do you think Javert would be about mistakes? Uh… Javert as Lab Partner, Stuck in the lift with Fantine, and Valjean as the trainer at Mcdonalds. Fantine and I could just chat and Valjean seems like a good teacher. Bit concerned that I’d make mistakes in class and get in big trouble with Javert though!

Eponine:  Tough question. Fantine for lab partner, she’s probably the sort of person you wouldn’t mind working with, who would do her share of the work. Javert for trainer, he’d make sure you knew how to do everything right. Probably wouldn’t be as forgiving of mistakes but as soon as you learned how to do things you wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. Plus, they don’t exactly train you for long at McDonalds, they give you the bare minimum. Valjean for stuck in an elevator, he seems like he’d be calm at handling it and able to deal with it.

Marius: I agree with Cosette: Lab partner with Valjean, because let’s be honest- he’s a criminal genius. He’d be able to do the work in the most creative way without getting in trouble. Stuck in an elevator for 10 hours with Javert, because he would probably be able to get us out or at least keep us alive while we’re in there. Lastly, Fantine for McDonald’s trainer because she’s sweet and patient and probably won’t kill me if I do everything wrong. 

[eirenical]

hm, trying to find something I'm not sure if you've ever written... AND YOU'VE WRITTEN A LOT OF MY FAVOURITE TROPES ;) hm, maybe... apocalypse AU? you might have already written that too and it just slipped my mind ahh

oh! or role reversal!

*laughs*  Yeah, I couldn’t think of any I liked that you hadn’t written, either.  Then again, this is a good problem to have, so I’m not complaining.  ^_~

OK, so apocalypse AU...

I confess, I do actually like apocalypse AUs.  ^_^  I’m not really a big zombie fan, but there’s something about stripping away all the creature comforts from your favorite characters and forcing them to survive by relying on each other that’s kind of appealing to me?  (Probably because the way I like it written, it skirts hurt/comfort territory, tbh.  ;D)  That being said, it’s never really occurred to me to write it before?  Not that I have anything against it, it just never occurred to me.

...is it kind of bad that now I DO kind of want to write it?  XD

OH WAIT.  I KIND OF DID, DIDN’T I??  One could argue that that Joly & Combeferre Post-Purges Jedi Healer AU ficlet I wrote is an apocalypse story, couldn’t one?  ;D

As for characters/pairings I’d most likely write it for, the one that springs most quickly to mind is the triumvirate--Enjolras, Combeferre, and Courfeyrac, but that could be because I’ve seen them written in that kind of AU most often.  I’d also love to just see ALL of Les Amis in that kind of AU.  Because it would be hard to just pick one set.  ^____^

...so, I’ve had Jeremiah on the brain since Yuletide and now this is making me want a Les Mis x Jeremiah fusion.  XD

And Role Reversal...

Again, not one I’ve ever really thought of writing before?  I suppose I could?  To me that particular trope is most effective when you have two characters of really disparate circumstances or conflicting POVs (i.e., a prince and a peasant, as an extreme example), but a lot of the fandoms I’m in and the characters I like are products of their circumstances and backgrounds in such a way that swapping those circumstances with another character would make them an entirely different character.  Which is a challenge I could appreciate -- trying to keep a character recognizable while changing them so completely -- so, when it’s done well, I really enjoying reading it (i.e., Killing Time by Delia Van Hise, one of my favorite Star Trek TOS novels in which time travel aftermath leaves us with Ensign Kirk and Captain Spock ^_^), but I don’t know that I’d ever personally want to write it.

That being said, if I DID write it... I don’t think I’d write it for Les Mis.  It feels more like a Star Wars trope to me.  Like... I don’t know... swapping Luke and Leia?  So, Luke grows up a Prince of Alderaan and Leia grows up the niece of Owen and Beru on Tatooine.

...ok, I think I’m about to eat my words, because suddenly THERE IS SO MUCH THAT IS INTERESTING ABOUT THAT IDEA TO ME, AND YES, I COULD SEE MYSELF WRITING IT.  *_*