here to spread the dad bod grantaire agenda

I need you to understand that I am FERAL for your drawings of enjolras. I have him pulling on a fluffy sock permanently branded in my mind. Your most recent one?! The hair?!?!?! Surely you are trying to kill me

Anyways lots of love, your art is wonderful

Enjolras is absolutely my fav ami to draw, he made me sob the most in the book SO IF I DONT PUT MY WHOLE HEART INTO HIM IM FAILING HIM

All the students were super close and joked around with each other so much and I love them all!

sometimes I'm fine but suddenly I just go: However, this sceptic had one fanaticism. This fanaticism was neither a dogma, nor an idea, nor an art, nor a science; it was a man: Enjolras. Grantaire admired, loved, and venerated Enjolras. To whom did this anarchical scoffer unite himself in this phalanx of absolute minds? To the most absolute. In what manner had Enjolras subjugated him? By his ideas? No. By his character. A phenomenon which is often observable. A sceptic who adheres to a believer is as simple as the law of complementary colors. That which we lack attracts us. No one loves the light like the blind man. The dwarf adores the drum-major. The toad always has his eyes fixed on heaven. Why? In order to watch the bird in its flight. Grantaire, in whom writhed doubt, loved to watch faith soar in Enjolras. He had need of Enjolras. That chaste, healthy, firm, upright, hard, candid nature charmed him, without his being clearly aware of it, and without the idea of explaining it to himself having occurred to him-

To whom did this anarchical scoffer unite himself in this phalanx of absolute minds? To the most absolute. In what manner had Enjolras subjugated him? By his ideas? No. By his character. A phenomenon which is often observable. A sceptic who adheres to a believer is as simple as the law of complementary colors. That which we lack attracts us. No one loves the light like the blind man. The dwarf adores the drum-major. The toad always has his eyes fixed on heaven. Why? In order to watch the bird in its flight. Grantaire, in whom writhed doubt, loved to watch faith soar in Enjolras. He had need of Enjolras. That chaste, healthy, firm, upright, hard, candid nature charmed him, without his being clearly aware of it, and without the idea of explaining it to himself having occurred to him.

— Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

them: are you ok

me: However, this sceptic had one fanaticism. This fanaticism was neither a dogma, nor an idea, nor an art, nor a science; it was a man: Enjolras. Grantaire admired, loved, and venerated Enjolras. To whom did this anarchical scoffer unite himself in this phalanx of absolute minds? To the most absolute. In what manner had Enjolras subjugated him? By his ideas? No. By his character. A phenomenon which is often observable. A sceptic who adheres to a believer is as simple as the law of complementary colors. That which we lack attracts us. No one loves the light like the blind man. The dwarf adores the drum-major. The toad always has his eyes fixed on heaven. Why? In order to watch the bird in its flight. Grantaire, in whom writhed doubt, loved to watch faith soar in Enjolras. He had need of Enjolras. That chaste, healthy, firm, upright, hard, candid nature charmed him, without his being clearly aware of it, and without the idea of explaining it to himself having occurred to him-

Me: my heart is cold, my spirit weakened, my mind cynical. Romantic love is unimportant, it's fraudulent and the pain it brings is too immense to be worth the small spoils

Victor Hugo: Nobody loves the light like the blind man. However, this sceptic had one fanaticism. This fanaticism was neither a dogma, nor an idea, nor an art, nor a science; it was a man: Enjolras. Grantaire admired, loved, and venerated Enjolras. To whom did this anarchical scoffer unite himself in this phalanx of absolute minds? To the most absolute. In what manner had Enjolras subjugated him? By his ideas? No. By his character. A phenomenon which is often observable. A sceptic who adheres to a believer is as simple as the law of complementary colors. That which we lack attracts us. No one loves the light like the blind man. The dwarf adores the drum-major. The toad always has his eyes fixed on heaven. Why? In order to watch the bird in its flight. Grantaire, in whom writhed doubt, loved to watch faith soar in Enjolras. He had need of Enjolras. That chaste, healthy, firm, upright, hard, candid nature charmed him, without his being clearly aware of it, and without the idea of explaining it to himself having occurred to him. He admired his opposite by instinct. His soft, yielding, dislocated, sickly, shapeless ideas attached themselves to Enjolras as to a spinal column. His moral backbone leaned on that firmness. Grantaire in the presence of Enjolras became some one once more.

Tears streaming down my face, my heart open and vulnerable, my body destroyed: God..... Mr Hugo I am a fool... a tired, ignorant, fool. You are so right. Love is real.

Grantaire would question whether Enjolras actually likes him even when they’re together because he has never had anyone express their attraction to him before that, which leads to certain insecurities.

And when Enjolras somehow catches wind of those insecurities, he sends Grantaire screenshots of his own multiple-paragraph-long messages to everyone else of him just ranting about how utterly obsessed he is with his cutetalentedfunny boyfriend.

In the end, Enjolras makes sure to say all of those things out loud and very loudly, which is both endearing and embarrassing, but it’s worth it to him because he not only gets to witness how lovely Grantaire looks when he’s blushing and covering his face with his hands, but he also gets to make sure Grantaire knows just how utterly adored he is.

“However, this sceptic had one fanaticism. This fanaticism was neither a dogma, nor an idea, nor an art, nor a science; it was a man: Enjolras. Grantaire admired, loved, and venerated Enjolras. To whom did this anarchical scoffer unite himself in this phalanx of absolute minds? To the most absolute. In what manner had Enjolras subjugated him? By his ideas? No. By his character. A phenomenon which is often observable. A sceptic who adheres to a believer is as simple as the law of complementary colors. That which we lack attracts us. No one loves the light like the blind man. The dwarf adores the drum-major. The toad always has his eyes fixed on heaven. Why? In order to watch the bird in its flight. Grantaire, in whom writhed doubt, loved to watch faith soar in Enjolras. He had need of Enjolras. That chaste, healthy, firm, upright, hard, candid nature charmed him, without his being clearly aware of it, and without the idea of explaining it to himself having occurred to him. He admired his opposite by instinct. His soft, yielding, dislocated, sickly, shapeless ideas attached themselves to Enjolras as to a spinal column. His moral backbone leaned on that firmness. Grantaire in the presence of Enjolras became some one once more. He was, himself, moreover, composed of two elements, which were, to all appearance, incompatible. He was ironical and cordial. His indifference loved. His mind could get along without belief, but his heart could not get along without friendship. A profound contradiction; for an affection is a conviction. His nature was thus constituted. There are men who seem to be born to be the reverse, the obverse, the wrong side. They are Pollux, Patrocles, Nisus, Eudamidas, Ephestion, Pechmeja. They only exist on condition that they are backed up with another man; their name is a sequel, and is only written preceded by the conjunction and; and their existence is not their own; it is the other side of an existence which is not theirs. Grantaire was one of these men. He was the obverse of Enjolras.

One might almost say that affinities begin with the letters of the alphabet. In the series O and P are inseparable. You can, at will, pronounce O and P or Orestes and Pylades.

Grantaire, Enjolras’ true satellite, inhabited this circle of young men; he lived there, he took no pleasure anywhere but there; he followed them everywhere. His joy was to see these forms go and come through the fumes of wine. They tolerated him on account of his good humor.

Enjolras, the believer, disdained this sceptic; and, a sober man himself, scorned this drunkard. He accorded him a little lofty pity. Grantaire was an unaccepted Pylades. Always harshly treated by Enjolras, roughly repulsed, rejected yet ever returning to the charge, he said of Enjolras: “What fine marble!””

If you even care.

current brain rot that i desperately want to write:

give me keshacore grantaire and swiftie!enjolras meeting at a gay club for the first time through mutual friends

grantaire is all mid 2000s fashion and glittery makeup and partying with his friends and comfortable with his sexuality (bonus points if he’s a dancer in this au)

enjolras is all oversized sweaters and pink blush and very new to the clubbing/partying/dating scene and only-here-because-my-friends-made-me

enjolras is absolutely enamored with grantaire and thinks he’s adorable but has no clue what to do about it. grantaire thinks enjolras is apollo on earth and wouldn’t want anything to do with him.

all the barricade boys get jean valjean one of these beauties each year. he has a mug cabinet full of these shitty little things

What is disco Enjolras day ?

basically, the French Concept Album decided to have a giggle with Les Amis' introduction song, leading to the funkiest Enjolras you will ever hear in your life. He's iconic. We all adore him. He learned General Lamarque is dead and immediately got possessed by the spirit of a Bee Gee. So valid. Listen and enjoy anon

Lamarque may be dead, but disco sure isn't

Instead of working on the actual fic, I'm going to be sharing headcanons on my canon era Enjsette siblings au. I would probably mention some parts of it in the fic(s) I'll be sharing but if they never see the light of day, here are some of them! Shoutout to @pumpkinspice-prouvaire for inspiring this post <3

Fantine absolutely adored getting matching EVERYTHING for her kids: that goes for their names (Eugène and Euphrasie), their outfits, and even their hairstyles. She likes to match her hairstyles with them as well :')

Speaking of hair, since Enjolras has the same hair as her, she lets it grow out so that she can comb and style it. He may be 3 years old but he sure has a ton of hair

When they get placed with the Thenardiers, just as how Mme. Thenardier was Cosette's main tormentor, M. Thenardier would be Enjolras'

Other than the canonical heavy labour Cosette had to do, Enjolras would be sent out to pickpocket from the inn's customers and the rest of the town's inhabitants as well

Whenever Enjolras got caught, Thenardier would put on a big act and punish him in front of whoever was the victim ("My sincerest apologies, good monsieur/madame! He must have gotten his nastiness from his good-for-nothing mother.") before taking him away and just punishing him once more for getting caught

(And I'm not saying this is where Enj would get his immensely deep-rooted sense of injustice from but im NOT not saying that either :))

Cosette and Enjolras would try to take the brunt of the punishments for each other but that just became getting twice the punishment. Eventually, they learnt to just rely and comfort each other afterwards

When Valjean comes to find them, he buys Catherine for Cosette and a toy soldier for Enjolras. He named him Jacques.

Enjolras took longer than Cosette to warm up to Valjean (M. Thenardier was his tormentor after all, so his trust in male authority figures was already low), but eventually grew to trust him once his sister did

Enjolras especially loved hearing Valjean read to him. Valjean read the usual children's books and fairytales but when Enjolras began begging for more, he just gave up and started reading anything he could get his hands on: history, philosophy, etc. (which is why Enjolras turned out Like That)

When they move to the convent, while Cosette went to school, Enjolras stayed in the hut and continued being taught by Valjean (and Fauchelevent!) While Cosette was intended to become a nun, Enjolras was to take over as the convent gardener

Cosette would run up to the hut and chat with Enjolras whenever it was playtime- they would exchange whatever they had learnt during the day

Slowly, Enjolras got his hands on more and more radical books, teaching himself about the current political climate of France and devoting all his time to reading and (attempting to) write his own essays

Eventually, when the family left the convent, it was partially to allow Enjolras to pursue his new-found interest in politics as well as the canonical reason of letting Cosette explore society.

Due to their difference in interests, Enjolras and Cosette grew apart, though all 3 family members clearly still cared for one another deeply

Understanding the dangers of dabbling in politics, he decided to go by a moniker in order to keep his private family away from his public affairs. Thus, Enjolras was born.

This is where my fics begin to pick up from so I guess no more spoilers (??) Hope this made some bit of sense or at the very least, the drawings were enjoyable! :D

Saw Les Mis on West End Yesterday!!!

(Ignore how few people are in the photo. It was a full house I was just really early)

Starting with this I loved!!

- Stewart Clarke as Javert was perfect. He was perfectly austere and desperate, and he had such a powerful baritone voice that left so many in the audience dumbfounded during “Stars.” His suicide was staged in kinda a goofy way (but I’ll be honest it’s… always a little goofy)

- Though I don’t love how the musical treats the Thenardiers, both Emily Olive Boyd and Luke Kempner did a great job and were very funny.

- The ensemble killed it. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

- The costumes were a lot more period accurate than I expected. Adored the wedding costumes and the period accurate hair.

- I actually really liked Djavan van de Fliert as Enjolras. He plays him very young and very enthusiastic, leaning a lot into the boyish aspect. I was surprised to find I liked it quite a bit.

- Enjoltaire could not keep their hands off each other like damn get a room

— also those two were PARENTING Gavorche

Things I didn’t mind at all!

- Harry Lake stepped in for Marius last night. I’m usually harsher to Marius than any other character. But he was boyish and I was like “yeah okay goofy man 🙄” and he did genuinely play him like a clueless boy trying his best, which was very endearing. And he and Amena El-Kindy were amazing in A Little Fall of Rain.

- Amena El-Kindy as Eponine was very good technically. And I liked it, but I prefer more depressed and resigned Eponines and it was very desperate and frantic, which isn’t wrong, just not what I prefer.

- Tom Hext as Grantaire. He did great! but again he played his part in Drink With Me as more angry than depressed, which I didn’t prefer.

Things I didn’t like (but knew I wasn’t gonna like):

- Lovely Ladies.

- No Azelma and they don’t acknowledge Eponine and Gavorche as siblings.

- Patron Minette as Thenardier’s Gang. Also why was Babet better dressed than Montparnasse? (Did like that Montparnasse was played to acknowledge or care about Eponine in a throwaway line. That was nice.)

- Love Brujon. I don’t know why he has there though.

- Could not keep track of Les Amis.

- How the musical treats Cosette as helpless when she’s perfectly capable. Lulu Mae Pears did a great job but like… I can’t stand that.

Things I didn’t like (and expected to like)

- I didn’t like Peter Jöback as Jean Valjean. I’m sorry I don’t really know how to explain it, I just didn’t.

- I was expecting a moving set. THANK YOU TO THE TECH, but there was no spinning barricade 😔.

Anyway, I overall had a lot of fun seeing it!!! And met some of the crew after and it was cool!

"Les Misérables" musical character interpretations: Marius

I love comparing different portrayals of the same characters, whether in different adaptations of a story, or in different performances of the same play, musical, opera, or ballet.

I'd like to take some time to do this with the characters in Les Mis. In different performances of the musical, I've seen some very interesting different portrayals of the characters, and I'd like to write about them.

I'll start with Victor Hugo's own self-insert, Marius Pontmercy.

These three possible characterizations of musical-Marius are the three I've seen most often. None of them are quite true to the novel's Marius, because that would be impossible: to bring Hugo's Marius into the musical, we'd need to bring back not only Gillenormand, but Colonel Pontmercy too, and heavily rewrite several other parts of the libretto. But within the musical, each of these portrayals are effective in their own ways.

They can also be combined with each other. For example, Adam Jacobs' excellent Marius in the 2006/07 Broadway revival was a cross between "the Schoolboy" and "the Revolutionary," and while I'm using a picture of Eddie Redmayne's 2012 film Marius to personify "the Revolutionary" because it looks good, he's actually a cross between "the Revolutionary" and "the Gentleman."

The Schoolboy

         This very youthful, sweet, innocent Marius is the one whose journey most clearly revolves around growing up. A wide-eyed idealist and a cheerful dreamer, he seems to be the youngest of the students (regardless of the actor’s age) and is very much a “little brother” figure to Enjolras and his lieutenants. His love for Cosette has him almost walking on air, giddy and overwhelmed by his first romantic passion, and he makes an adorable fool of himself with his clumsy attempts to play a gallant suitor. But his innocence sometimes means painful obliviousness too, as he has no inkling that Éponine loves him. Still, it’s hard to hold it against him, because his instinctive warmth makes him treat her as a treasured friend, social class be damned. To this Marius, the world is a song, and the song is exciting… but then, at the barricade, it all goes wrong. First, he’s utterly distraught by Éponine’s death; then comes the gradual, terrible realization that the victory he thought was certain isn’t to be after all; and finally, he faces his own near-death and the brutal deaths of all his friends. This Marius reaches “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” as a broken shadow of his former self, especially heartrending because he was once so naïve and happy. But against all odds, through his love for Cosette, he finds the strength to survive, to heal, and to ultimately be Cosette’s support and comfort after her father’s death. Thus, the boy becomes a man, and while it’s bittersweet to see him lose his innocence, it’s more than gratifying to see the stronger, wiser, and still hopeful man he becomes.

The Gentleman

         This Marius might be no older in years than the Schoolboy, but he comes across as more mature. His general demeanor is calm, serious, intelligent, and characterized by gentle dignity that suits his social class. While a Schoolboy Marius’s favorite books are most likely Romantic novels and poetry, this Marius probably prefers to study philosophy and politics, and he probably has little or no thought of love until Cosette upends his world. Even then, while his romantic passion is powerfully felt, he expresses it in a gentle, reserved way, and while his awkwardness in “A Heart Full of Love” might earn a few chuckles, it never becomes broad comedy. While he’s fond of Éponine, he’s slightly more aloof from her than other Marii, with awkwardness and/or mild exasperation at her teasing. Nor is he fully blind to her attraction to him; he tries to politely evade it. After her death, he doesn’t weep inconsolably the way a Schoolboy Marius usually does, but just sits in silent, sad thought. His calm temperament shows in battle too, as he typically joins Enjolras and Combeferre in stopping the others from shooting Javert, and later gently tries to reason Enjolras into letting him go to collect bullets. None of this means he lacks emotion, however. His ardor for Cosette, his utter anguish at his friends’ deaths, and his ultimate healing through love are all very clear and moving. But they come from a character who’s arguably more believable as a 19th century bourgeois student than other musical Marii are, and whose air of dignity and thoughtfulness make him likable in a unique way.

The Revolutionary

         This is the “manliest” Marius. He’s a self-assured, strong-willed young man, passionately dedicated to socio-political justice. This Marius, more than any other, is usually portrayed as Enjolras’s best friend: he relates to him as a kindred spirit, not just as a leader to follow, and is constantly by his side at the barricade. Cosette turns his world upside-down even more than she does for other Marii, because he never dreamed that something other than his friends and their cause could matter so much. But the passion and vigor he shows in battle applies to his romantic love as well, as he eagerly proclaims it for all to hear, and most likely punches Montparnasse to the ground in Cosette’s defense during “The Robbery.” Still, it’s no surprise that he ultimately chooses to join his friends on the barricade rather than follow Cosette across the sea. Since both friendship and justice for the poor mean the world to this Marius, we can expect him to be warm and kind to Éponine, and though he’ll likely hold back his tears at her death, his grief will still be deeply felt. Yet his fiery temperament also makes him more likely to quarrel with his friends than other Marii: his short debate with Enjolras about going to collect bullets may threaten to become a full-blown fight. His “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" will also be angry as well as despairing, and we’ll wonder how he can live when everyone and everything he lived for is gone. But of course, love gives him a new “cause”: protecting, comforting, and building a new life with Cosette. With her by his side, the flames of hope and courage will always survive in this young soldier’s heart.

More comparisons are coming soon!

I’m watching this German production of Les Mis (I do not speak nearly enough German to be able to translate) and I think I really like it, so I’ll write down some of my thoughts so far. I’m about halfway through. I’ll watch the rest tomorrow. Anyway, my thoughts on this production in mostly chronological order:

I like this set. The extra staircases and platforms make for interesting visuals.

This Valjean was kinda funny. I don’t think there was anything wrong with his voice, but the high notes sounded strange to me. I like his acting though. He also kinda looks like a magician for some reason.

Fantine! My favorite lady, Fantine! This actress was pretty good I think, but I always love Fantine, so I might not be the best judge.

Have I ever mentioned that I dislike Lovely Ladies? I just don’t like it as a song. That has very little to do with this particular production though.

Some of these ensemble members are doing the most and I love them for it.

I have so many thoughts on this Javert (of course I do). He looks like a mad scientist, he’s kinda bitchy, at some point he wears a really tall hat, his facial expressions are fantastic, he gave one of the best performances of Stars I’ve ever seen. Truly a magnificent performance, but I just can’t quite get past the mad scientist thing.

They didn’t switch the set during Who Am I, so Valjean is just singing the final verse to no one. He then proceeds to SEND A LETTER TO JAVERT?!?!?! This is what leads to the confrontation.

Valjean looked especially magician-y when he met little Cosette.

I think they did a pretty good job with Les Amis in this, but I’m not an expert like some of y’all. They all felt like distinct characters which was nice. I loved this Enjolras.

Eponine! When I first got a clear look at her face, I paused the video because she was so pretty. I love her voice too, especially in Heart Full of Love.

This Cosette is adorable but her voice is so strikingly classical, it’s a little funny.

Marius is alright so far. Not much to say about him.