#fantine and having little to no love as a child

[jolys-cane]

TOUR THOUGHTS

Saw the Les Miserables Tour at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto on May 21 2024; here are my thoughts (Long read, sorry I have a lot of feelings)

Prologue/Look Down/Valjean's Soliloquy

We got like, holographic waves crashing and the men are rowing a boat LIKE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE it's awesome

Oh my god the pipes on the background actors were so good. THE SUN IS STRONG ITS HOT AS HEEELLL BELOW

I miss Javert's stupid guard hat. Was bareheaded as he gave Valjean his yellow ticket

PETIT GERVAIS?????????? Valjean steals a little boy's coin when he's roaming the countryside 😭

Randy Jeter as the Bishop blew me away. Not just his voice but his acting was FANTASTIC every single movement was like. I am an old bishop. This is how an old bishop moves. Idk idk it was really good

Nick Cartell did a great job w Valjean overall, but I totally loved him as pre-MsurM Valjean the most. He acts like a feral animal, grabbing the wine out of the nun's hands and the bread from the priest all hunched over and practically snarling - very very cool and awesome

At the End of the Day

Not a negative but when we went to At the End of the Day there was very minimal lighting and my first thought was Oh no the lighting broke hope they fix it and we don't have to have a brief intermission but then when they went 'At the end of the day there's another day dawning' the lights went up and I was like OHHHHHHHHHHHH so that's just me not understanding lighting direction

Foreman killed it, so did all of the factory workers I love all the interactions and ad-libbing in the background it makes me so happy to see

Every time I saw a tall graceful ensemble member I was like '"That's Kyle Adams" and 8/10 times I was right. Otherwise it was Daniel Gerard Bittner

I Dreamed A Dream

OKKKK VOCALS???? Haley Dortch has such a beautiful, clear, emotional sound and she left not a dry eye in the house. Literally the second intermission hit my parents and myself were like. Holy shit dude what about that Fantine

I got her autograph after the show and she was so so sweet 🥺 She accidentally messed up her signature and had to redo it and was apologising to me and I was like GIRL you brought the house down you could stab me right now and I'd be like 'Thanks have a good one'

Lovely Ladies / Fantine's Arrest

Bamatabois (David Andino) was a standout performance, really chewed the scenery and I adored every second he was on stage (Plus his costume was fantastic)

The other girls defending Fantine 🥺

I like that after the police show up and they basically arrest all of the ladies and pimps, regular well-off citizens come out to witness Valjean defending Fantine from Javert. Thought it was a nice touch

Fantine's Death

My first and only cry of the evening, Haley Dortch no one does it like you

The Confrontation

If you've heard me talk about the confrontation you'll know that I absolutely hate the new chain choreography, HOWEVER. I really really liked it this time. Preston in particular gave it a lot of physicality that I enjoyed

Nick Cartell is a little guy and I don't really believe that his Valjean managed to knock out Preston's Javert

For some reason the percussion was really loud and I could barely hear the vocals so I don't have many thoughts on them

Master of the House / Waltz of Treachery

MATT CROWLE YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS

Both Thenardiers were fantastic, not a crazy amount of ad-libbing but when they did they made it count ("BYE, BAGUETTE")

Madame in particular was hilarious

Master of the House is very busy in a good way, everywhere you look interesting things are happening. Another number where the ensemble shines and you can tell everyone is having a blast

The Bargain was funny as hell, Thenardier tells Cosette to die in his arms and she goes limp when he's saying she's 'often been ill'

Valjean gives Cosette Catherine!

Look Down / The Robbery

Gavroche was super charismatic and confident, really great child actor (Milo Maharlika)

Eponine tosses Marius' book across the stage and he goes "I like the way you always ... tease 😐" They're such cute friends together

After Enjolras and the boys are done their preaching Enjolras gets stopped by a policeman and is told off 😭

During the robbery Montparnasse keeps Marius away by brandishing his little knife at him which I thought was cute

Also! Montparnasse is the only member of Thenardier's gang to escape during the Robbery!!! Which is a nice Brick reference

After Thenardier's 'In the absense of a victim' spiel he does this exact pose

Gavroche's little 'Clear the streets' 🫡moment is so cute

Stars

God I love Preston Truman Boyd

His Javert is so stalwart and reserved and dedicated, he's kind of robocop and it really really works, and you get to see just a smidge of vulnerability peek out in this song

ABC Cafe / Red and Black

I DON'T REMEMBER A LOT bare with me

Grantaire was absolutely the standout. Slapped Marius' butt with his coat. Stuck his wine bottle dick in Enjolras' face. Offered Combeferre a sip of his wine (who reluctantly accepted). Blew a kiss at Enjolras

Kyle Adams physicality is probably my favourite aspect of his Grantaire - he moves very assuredly, like a cat, in a way that is like okay he's drunk but he's so used to being drunk that his stumbling is more like dancing. I remember reading a fic that described Grantaire's movements in a similar way and I wonder if that was one of the fics Kyle took inspiration from?

OOH they did the wine bottle keep-away thing with Grantaire and Marius which I didn't know they still did so that was exciting

J.T Wood is such a cute Joly I love his voice

In Do You Hear the People Sing Grantaire grabs a gun and holds it at arms-length like it has cooties before handing it off to another student

Combeferre waves the flag both times (Here and in One Day More) and I'm not sure if it's always Combeferre who does that or if it's because Andrew Marks Maughan is clearly the most physically strong of the Barricade Boys

In My Life / A Heart Full of Love

Delaney Guyer is a really good Cosette in that she has a gorgeous voice and also has a lot of personality and actually reacts to things going on around her

Marius (who was played by Christopher James Tamayo for this performance) is such a cute little nerd. You can see him try to figure out what he's going to do, then he throws a rock at Cosette's window and kind of cringes at the noise - he's so unsure of himself and awkward

Cosette is very excited that he's here and closes the window right away, which prompts Marius' 'I'm doing everything all wrong!' until she reappears downstairs and they get to be cute dorks in love

Attack on Rue Plumet

I don't remember a lot but I DO remember that Eponine was really good here

When Valjean is like 'Tomorrow we'll away' Cosette goes 'WHAT? NO!'

David Andino is so good as Babet he is a chronic scene stealer at this point

One Day More

If you know Another thing about me you know I hate the One Day More box-step but it actually did not bug me this time. They put Grantaire next to Enjolras for the marching portion which is cute

On My Own

Holy shit Mya Rena Hunter delivered the most heartbreaking and powerful rendition of this I've ever heard

The Barricade

Loved Feuilly in his little part

Javert is a good spy. If I didn't know the plot of Les Mis I would've been like Holy shit that's Javert? Crazy. I love him drawing the 'plans' he'd overheard into the ground with a stick

Gavroche flipping Javert off >>>>>

Buff Combeferre is one of the two to drag Javert away to be tied up lol

A Little Fall of Rain

The only version of ALFoR that actually made me feel something

Marius and Eponine get a lot of time to be cute together before the barricade actually notices that she's dying - and Gavroche is the first to notice and gets a front row seat to her death which is heartbreaking

The First Attack

Grantaire's "AND SO THE WAR WAS WON!" was sooo scathingly sarcastic

Javert waited, like, 30 seconds to leave after Valjean freed him, with his back almost against the barrel of Valjean's gun as if he were hoping to be shot

When the gun went off the entire barricade abruptly snapped their heads to look at Valjean and the audience laughed 😭

Telling Valjean 'Well done' for shooting a tied up hostage is a strange choice

Drink With Me

I still hate 'For certain as the eagle flies' I think it's the dumbest line in the entire musical

Grantaire's part was very grand - His voice has like noticeably changed at this point in the musical to give it a sort of hoarse hopeless quality to it which absolutely hits you in the feels

Enjolras comforted him and I swear Grantaire let his hand linger on his cheek for a few seconds longer than normal before pushing him away

Gavroche hugged Grantaire from behind and Grantaire couldn't even turn around at first because he was so distraught and kind of blindly reached for him 😭

Chris Tamayo's Marius is such a poor little meow meow

Bring Him Home

Absolutely jaw-dropping performance from Nick Cartell

He sings Bring Him Home like it's a lullaby - which it's supposed to be

I don't exaggerate when I say that the applause went on for about a minute straight, and was the loudest of the night by far

Death of Gavroche / The Final Battle

Oh poor thang

Grantaire near the end of Gavroche's singing was turned away facing the audience like he knew Gav was going to die and couldn't bear to watch 🥺

Later on in the final battle Grantaire spends most of the time next to Gavroche's body in like a catatonic state

The SPOTLIGHTS representing BULLETS as Les Amis died almost made me lose it

Grantaire dies last, I'm sure he said something before he started climbing the barricade but I couldn't hear it 😭He and Enjolras still have their moment over Marius' body

The Sewer

Javert comes across Enjolras' cart-carried body (Still hate the cart but I can learn to appreciate it) and looks a bit uncomfortable

Then he stumbles upon Gavroche's corpse, kneels, and does the sign of the cross over him

Almost made me cry ngl

DOG EATS DOG WAS SO GOOD I LOVED IT

Javert looked like he wanted to shoot Valjean as he walked away with Marius

Javert's Suicide

HOOOOOOLYYYY SHIIIIITTTTT

It was so good

Preston Truman Boyd you will always be famous I fully believe that Javert had completely lost his mind at this point in the play

I don't have many thoughts on the rest but I loved Marius and Cosette reading Valjean's confession as he walked away with Fantine - and the Bishop hugging him as he arrives in heaven

Also Kyle Adams as Major Domo mincing about the stage in The Wedding was an absolute delight

Am very sleepy now but overall 10/10 I love this cast so much

[kim-the-miserable-rat]

I SAW A TIKTOK WHERE A GUY SAID THAT "LES MIS" WAS JUST A THREE HOUR MUSICAL OF THE FRENCH COMPLAINING

(and I mean, he's not entirely wrong.)

(JUST ACT 1 CAUSE I UNDERESTIMATED HOW LONG THIS WOULD TAKE ME)

So here's a list of what they complain about in each song:

LOOK DOWN: the prison system sucks

PROLOGUE: the life of an exconvict sucks

VALJEAN'S SOLILOQUY: this guy is too nice how dare he? And also the prison system still sucks.

AT THE END OF THE DAY: my workplace is full of cunts

I DREAMED A DREAM: men are the worst

LOVELY LADIES: selling my necklace, hair and becoming a prostitute to help my child is something that I have all the right to be mad about (she's completely right, Fantine you deserved sooooo much better queen)

FANTINE'S ARREST: (to the bourgeoisie asshole) stop dehumanizing me I will fight you (to javert) your justice is not fair (to Jean Valjean) It's kinda your fault that im in this situation tbh

THE RUNAWAY CART: (javert) YO HOMIE WTF ARE YOU HULK? [suspecting]or are you buff because of slavery?.....

WHO AM I?: Oh poo! Now I have to choose between lying (it will make god sad) or going back to jail (hundreds of people will lose their jobs and end up living in misery by my actions) Fuck them workers, im an honest man, lets save that one innocent man.

THE TRIAL: the justice system is flawed. Look at my sick ass tattoo in my chest. Ok nvm im going to se Fantine fuck you all.

FANTINE'S DEATH: I will never see my daughter again this is so unfair (it really is)

THE CONFRONTATION: (Jean Valjean) Javert could you FUCKING WAIT A SECOND! I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO DO(Javert) Im going to drop all my lore in two lines that you will not get cause were all singing at the same time; and NO, you can't just go, WTF?

CASTLE ON A CLOUD: HELLO, CHILD SLAVERY???? SOMEBODY HELP THIS CHILD ASAP!!!

MASTER OF THE HOUSE: Madam Thenardier has a solo just to talk shit about his husband (and he deserves every bit of it)

THE BARGAIN: (Thenardiers) NO, OF COURSE YOU CAN'T TAKE OUR LITTLE TREASURE AWAY -unless you pay for her, that is-

PARIS (look down reprise): EVERYTHING IS AWFUL, WE HATE IT HERE!

THE ROBBERY: (Eponine) FUCK YOU MARIUS MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS! (Javert) Ewwww... i hate criminals! and also poor people. Same thing to me, really.

STARS: I'm so obsessed with that fugitive that it's starting to blur into an homoerotic desire. Also HOW DARE HE to be free? I will hunt him for sport

EPONINE'S ERRAND: (Eponine) So now I have to help YOU, the boy im in love with to find a random girl? ALSO WTF DON'T GIVE ME MONEY YOU ASSHOLE.

ABC CAFE: (Enjolras) STOP WHINING MARIUS, NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR NON EXISTENT LOVE LIFE, WE ARE PLANNING A REVOLUTION HERE, YOU KNOW? Also please guys can we take this thing seriously? Please please please :(

DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?: (the people, obviously) time to eat the rich or die trying!

RUE PLUMMET/IN MY LIFE: (Cosette) father, ur cool to be around and all that but.... Who the fuck are you? And why do we act like we are convicts running from the law (cause ur dad kinda is, sweetie)

A HEART FULL OF LOVE: (Eponine) It fucking sucks to have helped my crush find the girl he's in love with[who would have thought?] Guess I will look at them longingly from like five feet away while they confess their love for each other and purposefully ignore me.

THE ATTACK ON RUE PLUMMET: (Eponine) GODAMNIT they will think I'm one of those assholes I have to do something! Go away or I'll scream IM INSANE I WILL FUCKING DO IT. Also fuck you dad. (Babet) I DON'T FUCKING CARE ABOUT THE LORE, GIVE ME MY FUCKING MONEY THENARDIER (Thenardier) Im surrounded by idiots! (Jean Valjean) TIME TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, FUCK EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO SEE MY DOWNFALL.

ONE DAY MORE: (Jean Valjean) Kinda sucks to have to run from the law [yeah homie we noticed that] (Marius & Cosette) OH NO! I'LL BE SEPARATED FROM THE LOVE OF MY LIFE THAT I MET A WEEK AGO. WHAT A GREAT TRAGEDY (Eponine) Marius still doesnt care about me. (Enjolras) He's not complaining, he's having the best time of his life. Good for him. Enjoy it while it lasts, citizen! (Javert) Guess I'll go as a spy with this cool new outfit. [Again, not a complain but important to notice]

OK, THIS DESCENDED INTO MADNESS.

EXPECT ACT 2 SOON :)

[best-nun-tournament]

Round 3, Match 1

The Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb) vs Mercedes von Martritz (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Harrow is a nun of the Ninth House. She's been described as a space goth necromancer fantasy sci-fi bone nun.

Mercedes von Martritz is a nun of the Church of Saint Seiros at Garreg Mach Monastery.

The Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus

She’s great. She has so many fucking problems. She’s been running the goth space convent since she was 10. She’s puppeting her dead parents around. She doesn’t like tastes. She is extremely passionate about bones. She’s locked in a twisted bond of love and violence and devotion and sacrifice with her childhood best enemy. She lobotomized herself to preserve the best enemy’s soul. She’s been in love with the corpse of the Devil all her life. She goes around in bone jewelry and skull face paint. She’s a sad wet cat who was born in a cardboard box all alone, etc. She chopped another woman’s arm off and regrew a skeleton arm, in a sexual way. She has awkward little fireside chats with God where he makes millennia-old meme references at her and she does not drink the proffered tea. She saw God make a your mom joke and it “destroyed some cavern of her reverence”. She’s even gay. She’s everything.

Mercedes von Martritz

Mercedes was born to the fallen House Martritz and bore a minor Crest of Lamine, a special type of blood that gave it's bearer enhanced abilities. Her father died shortly afterwards and Mercedes' mother remarried into House Bartels, giving birth to Emile von Bartels, who also had a minor Crest of Lamine. Mercie's stepfather was uncaring and only married for his new wife's crest which led to said wife's departure from House Bartels. She ran away with only her eldest child to the Kingdom, where Mercedes would really start her own life as a student of Fhirdiad's Royal School of Sorcery. There, she befriended Annette Fantine Dominic and both girls would later attend Garreg Mach Monastery together. Mercedes is a kind soul with a soft voice and the ability to speak her mind. She's the eldest student attending the Officer's Accademy and takes it upon herself to be a shoulder of support for her classmates, no matter their origin. When the timeskip hits, Mercie returns in a nun's garb and expresses reinforced belief in the Church, even in the route where you fight against the Archbishop. I find her extremely fascinating due to her sub-plot with her brother, Emile. Mercedes held deep regret for leaving her brother behind in House Bartels despite not knowing that he had chosen to stay behind to protect her and her mother. Emile later returns as The Death Knight, a general under the Flame Emperor's command and his story with his sister changes depending on the player's route. Should the player oppose the Flame Emperor, Emile and Mercie can reunite briefly, with The Death Knight granting Mercedes a relic that can only be operated by their Crest before dying in her arms in a later battle, happy to be with his family once again. In the event that the player does side with the Flame Emperor, The Death Knight becomes playable alongside his sister, revealing thatthe years spent in House Bartels changed him, giving rise to two distinct personalities: Jeritza von Hyrm and The Death Knight. Jeritza had been a teacher at Garreg Mach, serving as a spy to the Flame Emperor while The Death Knight quelled his bloodlust under the Flame Emperor's orders. In this route, Mercedes reaches out to both Jeritza and The Death Knight as their elder sister and the exchanges they have are some of my favorites in Fire Emblem history. Also Mercie is bisexual and both M!player and F!player can marry her in the end, regardless of route. Love her for that

[doctorsiren]

Ace Attorney Les Miserables!

I had this idea like a month ago, and it was the same day I began my “Javert’s Soliloquy” animatic with Miles Edgeworth (which I still need to finish, but school and other work has been in the way)

Les Mis was the first musical I listened to back around 2015 and I became OBSESSED. I would listen to different CD recordings of it from my public library using a CD player because I didn’t have a phone at all. Les Mis introduced me to loving musical theatre, so it is Very Special to me 💖

Anyways! I have two different scenarios based on which act you look at. The assigned characters for act 1 can’t easily just go into act 2 UNLESS you continue to focus specifically on the dynamic between Valjean and Javert. If you focus on the dynamic between Marius and Cosette, then I’d go with my Act 2 assignments because it just fits better for an act 2-specific focus.

Act 1!

I drew this about a month ago, but I never posted it bc I hadn’t gotten around to the act 2 doodles. Here are the characters:

Phoenix Wright is Jean Valjean

Miles Edgeworth is Javert

Mia Fey is the priest / bishop

Thalassa Gramarye is Fantine

Trucy Wright is Cosette

And I’m thinking about the Confrontation between Valjean and Javert…like dude what it fits where Javert is like “You know nothing of Javert! I was born inside a jail! I was born with scum like you! I am from the gutter too!” But instead of jail and such, it’s Edgeworth talking about how his father was a defense attorney, which he sees (now that he is a prosecutor) as “scum”

If we continue to focus on the dynamic between Valjean and Javert into Act 2, then Javert’s Soliloquy,,,don’t worry guys I’m doing a full animatic (it’s with normal AA, not with this AU, but it’s still using the song)

Act 2!

If focusing solely on Act 2, it’s easier to reassign characters than to continue on with what there was because dynamics. So the new character assignments are:

Phoenix Wright is Marius

Miles Edgeworth is Cosette

Iris Fey is Eponine

Gregory Edgeworth is Jean Valjean

Manfred von Karma is Javert

Pearl Fey is Gavroche

Mia and Maya Fey are the other Barricade Boys

So in this version, I guess Valjean wouldn’t have adopted Cosette?? Unless we wanna make Gregory be the adopted father of Miles and not his actual father. But hey uhh weirdly a von Karma redemption? Very very very rare to see that from me

Also!! I was assigning characters and was like “hm well ofc Iris would be Eponine if Phoenix is Marius bc 😭 she loves him” and then as a separate thought was like “well Pearl would obviously be Gavroche bc little child” AND THEN I WAS HIT WITH THE REALIZATION THAT IT WAS PERFECT?? Because Gavroche and Eponine are siblings!!!! IT WAS UNINTENTIONAL

Anyways I’m just super big brain

Oh yeah and that uh

Means all the Feys die :(

[pyromaniacbibliophile]

Bricktober day 15- Voices

@lesmis-prompts

What people hear through the years

___________________________

Have you heard about our new mayor and monsieur l’inspecteur?

Did you hear about Fantine? 

Oh, you know monsieur Madeleine has fled the town?

Those Thenardiers, nasty pieces of work. You heard they stole a girl? 

Stole a little kid they did, use her to do their chores

Would've thought they’ve enough kids already, with the two girls and boy and two more on the way…

I’ve seen her, poor little mite. Looks like she hadn’t eaten for a month

Get to work

Do the chores

Greedy brat

Je t’adore, ma chere Euphrasie

Your mother never wanted you

I’m sorry for how they treat you, ‘sette

Did’ya hear about the man who took the little girl from the Thenardiers? 

He bought her a doll from my shop, didn’t he

Deserves some luck I reckon, poor thing.

.  .  .  

Have you heard the news? The Pontmercy boy’s in love with Cosette Fauchelevent!

You know there’s a revolution soon?

Les Amis, that student group, stirring up trouble again

The people will rise, they say. I don’t believe it, the bourgeois won’t lose power that easily

Lemarque sickens, have you heard? 

Monsieur Fauchelevent’s daughter is marrying that Pontmercy boy, you know?

Where did you hear that? Everyone says he’ll marry the Thenardiers' daughter

I heard Marius Pontmercy was leading a revolution? 

What, Marius lead a revolution? That would be Enjolras, Marius is to soft for leadership.

Lemarque is dead? 

Where did you hear that?

A gamin, just now. Said to spread the word. Reckon it’s Thenardier’s son?

They want riots in the streets and a barricade at rue Saint-Denis!

Who?

The revolutionaries, of course!

Will you join the revolution?

Can’t be any worse than now. You?

Please, I’ll praise the king before I go to a child’s barricade

I don’t know, they have some good ideals

. . .

Have you heard of the revolution? How goes it?

They caught a police spy, you’ll never believe?

They might last the night, but they can’t win

Don’t be so cynical, they have a shot, surely?

It’s over now. They shot the leader last. Even now he lies dead on the top floor of the Musain.

Did you hear the cynic Grantaire died with the leader? 

They loved, I reckon. 

They were too young to die. Maybe we should have helped? 

We have families. They didn’t.

 

Do you know Pontmercy was rescued? 

By who?

You’ll never believe, but they say Fauchelevent! 

I was made to clean the streets with other women. Washing away the revolution. It’ll have to just be stories now. 

But there’s bloody handprints at the Cafe Musain, didn’t you hear?

 

Have you heard, they dragged the body of an inspector from the Seine this morn?

They say it was the police spy from the barricades, but he was shot. Wasn’t he? 

You know, I feel sorry for Azelma Thenardier. 

Both her brother and sister died, didn’t they? 

Heroes, at least. 

Small comfort, a dead hero can’t help their siblings. All know the Thenardiers’ reputation? 

Someone should arrest them. Them and that damned Patron-Minette.

I heard the leader of the Patron-Minette was in love with someone from the barricades..

Doesn’t change a thing though, does it? 

Nothing changes. 

Nothing changes?

Nothing changes...

Nothing changes.

Rien ne change

Non cambia nulla

Nichts ändert sich

Nothing changes. 

(Tourne, tourne, tourne du même côté)

[bogusbyron]

Notes from 24th august matinee. Sorry this is 2 weeks late ive been busy . Heres the cast to keep in mind when reading

Note: if you want examples of certain line deliveries let me know, ill send a snippet from the audio

1) as SOON as the lights came up i was RAKING the ensemble for harry lake  and there he was

2) jordan as tall and commanding in his presence as ever. Spoke "ticket" VERRRRRY fast. Strong "law" on Meaning of the law. Harsh "yes" , on Yes, 24601, and obviously on Javert when he tells Valjean his name. Also held onto the yellow slip which uhhhhh classic

3) Valjean harsh-growl on "lord" in "lord forgive them"

4) Harry lake was hangin out by the stairs in the parole scene. He was also the one to throw the bag at Valjean. Lmfao

5) understudy bishop again! As last time, quite stern rather than gentle like Adam Pearce

6) Valjean spitting "good" in Done a bit of good.

7) bishop harsh on "that is right", as well as Quite loud and harsh on "passion", then quiet on the next line

8) valjean sobbing when bishop hands him his bag back :-((

9) during valjean's soliloquy, slight pause for stolen time after "so far" in Fallen so far, growled "if theres another", entire "gave me a number and murdered valjean" was spoken. "Soul" in Touched my soul verrrry upset-like . Growled "hate" in Hate the world. He also wiped his face on "i'll be back". He was doing a lot of sniffling from this point in the song as well which i liked . Voice crack on "soul" on Touched my soul which i fw. Pause on Reaching like "Reach. Ing". Upset on "Reaching but I fall", and a VERY strong final note.

10) At the end of the day as per an absolute banger - tom hext is the MOST visible ensemble member during this number, its great . Harry was being elusive but I ended up spotting him with tom in the factory . On the topic of Tom, he apparently did the hugest bitchiest eye roll ever when fantine says "and i pay for the child, what's the matter with that?" Which is so funny

11) katie hall AS USUALLLL TEARING UP DA STAGE🗣🗣🗣 delectable performance , lovely little suspended pause on "Life...... worth living". More goosebumps than usual too ohmy god this song is so good live. Also some sobbing between "autumn came" and "still i dream" .... HOLY SCHMOLY what a voice

12) tom and harry were the 2nd and third dudes at the start of lovely ladies . Not important but it is to me . As usual harry gets his arse slapped after "take all year" as he stumbles offstage LMFAOOO

13) for some reason i thought the foreman and the pimp were played by the same guy , only realised they werent when they BOTH came onstage. For context they look identical . Long hair with a beard. How was i supposed to know

14) fantine stumbles a bit after belting "already dead" . Also lots of weeping again for the bambatabois sequence :-( (also like last time he was like a screaming toddler)

15) javert low on "monsieur" in Rest assured, Monsieur . Which i liked

16) HEARTBREAKING "no" as fantine reaches for javert and he steps away before "i have heard such protestations" UUGHHHH

17) YOUPIEE! Breaking: My Ship Touched Each Other. Valjean puts a hand on Javert's shoulder to hold him back from Fantine .

18) hm, gayest cart scene ive seen so far . First we got the classic extended bicep touch as they make eye contact ("a memory stirs"). Javert harsh delivery on "broke" in Broke his parole. Half spoken "Of course" in Of course he now denies it. Harsh on "he couldnt run forever". Back to the gay shit, he walks RIGHT up to valjean, then once theyre basically cock to cock he glances down at his tits, then back up in time to push his face into valjean's for "this time there is no mistake", making sure to spit that T in mistake. Im taking they were inches away from each other. Insane.

19) milan was kinda looking down for Who Am I and all i could think about were how good his brows looked from this angle . Only note i took for who am i , other than mentioning how javert took his cravat after he takes it off in the courtroom. You can hear on the audio i took me saying "he's gonna sniff that tonight"

20) katie hall as always unreal as mentioned but shes seriously so good during this scene, her notes are still so strong despite being also so convincingly frail, duuude. Insane. Her and milan are such a heartbreaking duo its FAB

21) confrontation SWEEP🗣 valjean's spoken "listen to me". Javert kinda snaps "you must" very suddenly which is hilarious . Additional note but jordan's figure works so well for the confrontation and javert in general, or at least the way i view him so is it any wonder im so fond of him . Dude's hench . Makes him all the more imposing in all of javert's layers and coats .. delectable. All that grunting and groaning during the fight though Also his mouth wipe after he gets strangled Helloooo get out. At this point i wrote "shit punch" cause valjean's last punch at the end of the scene kinda sucked .

22) i forgot the actress but little cosette is sooo sweet shes lovely bless. Castle on a cloud is underrated i love that song .

23) 6th time seeing the show, 2nd tjme seeing luke thenardier.😭😭😭😭😭😭 LMFAOOOO tom sweep anyway

24) i like that Tall Jean (aka Willy Wonka as jordan told me he's called) is clearly an important character cause they still have him even when Jordan isnr ensemble, same fit and everything just with a diff waistcoat. Like hey Fake Jean. If youre reading this and dont know who this is you're a fake fan.

25) i like luke's french accent on "best inkeeper in down" .. mix it up a bit.

26) the gentleman guest cackling like a madman when both thenardiers flash him at the start of the song LMFAOAO

27) tom plays the blind guy if you didnt know. Anyway harry like, crawls? Up the stairs at the back of the set and when he gets to the top hes faced with a woman lifting her skirt in front of him . He then proceeds to stand up and play bongos on her boobs.?? Then later Fake Jean passes him a drink so thats nice

28) thenardier shouting "window shut"

29) here i wrote "jordan should play all the roles" who cheered

30) UGGHHHH valjean taking cosette's hands when asking her name in the forest scene brugh

31) luke is great as thenardier but i prefer the way Tom does the "i will pay" gag , cause luke just sorta jolts awake but tom does a whole snort which works better cause it draws more attention WHATEVERRR.

32) thenardier puttinf his leg up on the table when hes trying to impress valjean?? 😭😭😭😭

33) dude how is this show gonna cope w/o Claire Machin when the cast changes shes seriously so good . When the thenardiers are stood together to the side after valjean sits down at the table she like keeps gesturing as if telling thenardier to speak properly which is so funny . (As a guy with a regional english accent this was #felt.). She also fixes his cravat and then he taps her nose which was fire. However luke did fuck up  and said "shared each bone" twice OOPS oh well. He makes up for it with his classic shoulder touch-clap-stamp instead of doing the christian cross

34) valjean as last time grabbing thenardier's lapels to intimidate him before he leaves LOL

35) Will as marius i noticed moves around a LOT . ADHD who

36) harry as one of the policemen  who accompany javert in The Robbery YAY❤

37) for javert's bit in the Robbery - harsh on "hunted", growled "jean valjean". YUM! Plus spitting "feet" at thenardier. Very strong for the whole thing in general which i love to see of course

38) STARS INFLECTION, unfortunately nothing too interesting to note - not a bad thing cause Jordan's voice is gorgeous it just makes for Boring note readingLOL. Anyway..... Harsh start ("there, out in the darkness"). Very toothy (snarling expression) which i love to see thankyou jordan. Smile on first "stars", little smile on "counted" on Scarce to be counted. Held out arms a bit on "darkness" in Filling the darkness, then soft on "and light" which was luurvely. Had his arms out from "place in the sky" to "and your aim". The 2nd crescendo was VERY strong.. just wow ... additionally , Jordan was pointin riiiight at us at the end and he was thrilled to hear this when we met him stage door LMFAOA

39) Looked like marius almost walked into a beam when he enters the stage after Stars.  He also does a little giggle when he leaves . That whole scene he did not stop moving , girl slow DOWN

40) fake Gérard - he has the halfmoon glasses but wore a red coat instead of the greyish-blue one

41) Marius is so hype to be in love its so good, like hes a boy who's read romances all his life and hes finally like , able to experience it himself. Its so good. Hes thrilled. Grantaire gives him a kiss on the cheek❤

42) When marius, on the stairs, opens his arms a bit when he sings "burst of light", grantaire does the same while watching him from the floor. So good

43) when the students all gather round to listen to enjolras, grantaire like, drags him away from the crowd LMFOAA at the start of do you hear the people sing

44) noticed harry picking up and spinning one of the women as he exits after dyhtps. Also at this point i wrote "too many fair-haired white boys in this damn musical"

45) Cosette did a little swoop up into a high note on "love" in Do people really fall in love so fast. I love phoebe's voice!

46) Marius VERY excited on "music OFANgels" which was funny. Soft, near whisper on following "in my life". He did a little spin on "that is new, that is free". Bro does not stop. Also he does a really nice accent i cant quite place properly but it works for his marius i think.

47) He LOBS the stone at the window as compared to the other two mariuses ive seen who just kinda ... toss it. Hes so awkward though. And here i wrote "he feels mature but in the coddled autistic boy way. I fw him" that about sums it up

48) amena soft on "dagger in me" which she usually doesnt do . Interesting !

49) also for some reason there was like too long a pause after heart full of love like nobody clapped. Lmfao?

50) claquesous being used as a step stool again by thenardier during the attack on rue plumet. Always hysterical

51) Didn't hold the final "somebody's here" which i dont think ive ever heard. Strange! But regardless. Will callan has quite a unique voice which i WAS fond of , i liked him a lot .

52) STILL NO JAVERT BAKER BOY FOR ONE DAY MORE👎 anyway he was harsh on "wet" in They will wet themselves with blood. So, yay!

ACT 2

53) baker boy. Cheered

54) milan's "bitch expression" as i referred to it returns when he reads Now that i knlw

55) there were so many minor backstage noises . Btw like urm someones in trouble lmfoaa

56) AMENA BLOWING ME AWAY AS USUALLLLL gooooosebumps . What a voice god shes awesome

57) loudhailer harsh on "you" and short on "this"  for You at the barricade listen to this

58) djavanjolras being taller than jordanvert will never not be funny. Hes the only one bruh

59) javert's smile just FALLING when gavroche shouts LIAR is so fucking funny

60) Will callan's voice was SOOOOOOO good for A Little Fall of Rain ohhmy god its like , gentle , smooth. Delectable. He hit that shit And the heartstrings, amen. Great combo of like, disbelief and almost defeat which was heartbreaking okhhhmy gah.

61) Grantaire stopping enjolras from going to Marius after eponine dies

62) grantaire sits down and talks to javert after javert is brought out to sit on the bench which i think is hilarious . Like they were just chatting

63) valjean's gun didnt go off when he shoots the sniper in the first attack😭😭😭😭

64) javert harsh on "upside-down" in The world is upside-down

65) BARRICADE SCEEEEEENE we were fed. Javert shoved to his knees. Pause "between once a thief. Forever a thief." Harsh, growl on "if you let me go beware, you'll still answer to javert". Lapel grab AS PERRRRRR but thistime javert was struggling a bit and kept jerking away to break free . He put his hand on his chest when valjean let go. He took a couple steps towards valjean before he says "go" which was CRAZY

66) the "pretty girls" line in Drink With Me was harry 😁😁

67) grantaire and gavroche's hug after grantaires verse is always fire

68) milan very soft on all the "him"s during bring him home. VERY strong on the crescendo though as usual .. wowzers

69) 2nd attack - grantaire kinda collapses onto a barrel instead of fighting, facing the audience the whole time. After gavroche's death when he takes his body hes sniffling the whole time WHATEVERRR RR BRUH

70) enjoltaire was fed too . Hug and forehead touch before the final attack .

71) HIGHLY inconvenient death pose for grantaire . Kinda sat on the barricade and his coat mustve caught as he slid down cause itbwas basically halfway off up his arms as he kinda hung from a plank or something LMFOAAOAO

72) javert looking genuinely quite distressed over gavroche's body which is crazy  mane fuck off jordan with your expressions

73) thenardier playing with the body's arm kinda shaking it after first verse of Dog Eat Dog. Harsh on "kill" in Where they kill for the bones in the street. Where tomarsier steps on marius' arse like a stool  during the song's climax luke steps over him instead

74) Javert heavy breathing when he sees Valjean in the sewers . Harsh on "talks of justice". More heavy breathing before the soliloquy. Also put his gun down and clenches his fist on "take him, valjean"

75) as with stars, inflection was typical so nothing to note. jordan's expressions were EVERYWHEEEERE during the soliloquy and i love it . Eyes bulge and eyebrows up on "flick of his knife", which was delightfully harsh. Almost worried on "vengence was his". Harsh on "debt" in debt of a thief, almost shout on "damned" in damned if i yield. Arms out on "i am the law". Harsh on "valjean" and "or" but sings "Javert". 2nd verse hes CLUTCHING that parapet  which was crazyyyy this man is going mental for SURE. Desperate "to hold dominion" and "it was his right". Growled "can this man". VERY strong "reprieved" by the way, holy shit. Desperate as usual on "and must i now begin to doubt". Points to the sky on "heaven" In is he from heaven or from hell. Yells "killed me" in This man has killed me. Shaky, almost sobbing breaths as he steps onto the bridge. Growls "jean valjean". Additional note, i noticed it looked as if he was muttering to himself a little towards the end before the lights fade to black . Which like , mane fuck of whagever bro

76) Very nice limp on Marius. Weird comment i just liked it. Thank god  post barricade marius limp

77) Quick start on "theres a grief". Small, humourless laugh after "talked of revolution". Held "tomorrow" in Tomorrow never came for a bit longer than usual. He hit that shit on the first crescendo though HOLY moly, what a voice . Harsh on "faces" and "shadows", VERY angry on "don't ask me", and remains harsh on "what your sacrifice was for".

78) He Does wipe his tears! (Cosette entrance). (Bonus note from mossy hi: marius tries to sit down, cosette attempts to help him but he refuses and struggles to continue instead) Also for thst whole scene he was kinda facing away from cosette with a very upset expression which made me ughhhhhh:-((((. Seemed better when he looked back at cosette though YAY

79) valjean kinda hunched as he walks off after the confession. Tiny inconsequential note but i liked it

80) i love watching the ensemble for this scene SO much its so good . Tom hext with his wild hair gelled back is great, obviously And apparently was staring at thenardier's arse for most of it . Generally just a fun watch the whole scene i highly recommend

81) marius pulls thenardier by the shoulder when he tells him to go away lmfao. Also there was a dude in the back clapping when he punched thenardier and is like "whaat?" when nobody else claps with him LMFAO

82) Luke does his usual coy wave @ the lord at the start of beggars at the feast

83) i really recommend looking at everyone dancing offstage at the end of beggars - harry did a little hip wiggle dance . A few do variations of a conga line dance . Djavan"s servant character usually kicks his legs up as he wheels the table offstage . SO much fun (additional nlte: djavan's character in that scene in my top 3 ensemble characters)

84) gentle yet gorgeous climb from milan for the Epilogue . Nods on "Bring. Me. Home" URGHHHHHHH....... AND he rests his face in cosette's hair and doesnt move until "i'll obey". Nods at cosette on "i will try" who nods back. MANE FJCK OFF

85) very cozy hug between valjean and the bishop . Faces in shoulders and everything . AS USUAL HARMONY ATTHE END INSAAAAANE they are, as i wrote on my notebook, nut-busting

[black-rabbit-razumikhin]

Raz Reads Les Mis (I)

Fantine - An Upright Man

Hugo really did decide to start his book basically saying "none of this exposition matters" huh

For 50 pages we're following a bishop, the incredibly humble, generous and kind Charles Francois-Bienvenu Myriel

And one of the first things we learn to show how generous he is, is he trades his state-sanctioned mansion for the smaller hospital building

So the patients are more comfy

And then he gives them milk from his cows that now live in the old hospital kitchen

Women in his life? Love him. Do not love his whole open-door policy

Because who knows where the poor have been or something?

There are two interesting conversations between our bishop Charlie and men who are critical of (a) God and (b) the concept of bishops

Which I assume is a metaphor for pre- and post-republican France

Except that the man who is bishop-critical - Monsieur G - is very on the nose about not liking French kings

He makes a statement that it's unforgivable for a child to be hanged, but if it's a child of royalty you're killing Ignorance so that the child will be saved

I can see why Charlie bishop was not fully on the same wavelength as him initially

Though he does make a funny comment about how red is hated on a bishop but adored on a revolutionary

The chapter ends with us reading through bishop Charlie's little reflections on philosophers; he is not a philosopher bishop

This was an opening 50 pages of character study, and honestly a little funnier than I expected from a book called 'Miserable'. I am looking forward to getting to the rest of what I have seen be affectionately referred to as The Brick.

On to the next chapter!

[nortism]

Nor's Les Mis Fic Recommendations

I've been scouring les mis ao3 for a few months now so here are my fav fics I've found. I've tried my best to tag tumblrs where I can but let me know if you are the author of any of these and I'll tag you!

Three Days (or The One Where Javert and Valjean Take a Road Trip Through France and Raise a Child) by zamwessel

Rating: E

Ships: Javert/Jean Valjean

Summary:

Javert calls what he thinks is Valjean's bluff about needing three days to find the child Cosette and intercede for her. The Inspector comes along for the ride -- and gets much more than he bargained for, in the process.

Notes: First Les Mis fic I ever read and its an absolute banger. It's pretty much exactly what it says on the tin and I'm a sucker for a kid fic so I absolutely adored it.

A Change of Bizarre Kind by M_Moonshade

Rating: E

Ships: Javert/Jean Valjean

Summary:

Six months ago, Doctor Henry Jekyll sought to escape the dramatics of London by coming to M-sur-M. Tonight his murderer pays a visit to the Mayor Madeline. (Being the Curious Case of Inspector Javert and Mister Hyde)

Notes: Criminally underrated. Jekyll and Hyde AU but I went in knowing very little about that book and I could understand what was going on. Each chapter contains bits from the past and present day until the timelines eventually add up which makes the main mystery all the more compelling. Also Fantine is alive and well which is always nice.

Our Souls Still in Fetters by Cinaed

Rating: E

Ships: Javert/Jean Valjean

Summary:

After Javert is assigned to discover a blackmailer within a public-house that caters to men who prefer other men, Valjean is unexpectedly drawn into the case. Together they must stop the blackmailer before any lives can be ruined...including their own.

Notes: This author has so many great Valvert fics but this one is probably my favourite. There's the classic "undercover as a couple" trope as well as old timey gay bars. Also a huge fan of how this author portrays Cosette and Valjean's relationship.

In Defiance of all Geometry by idiopathicsmile

Rating: T

Ships: Combeferre/Enjolras/Grantaire

Summary:

Amis House might not be the biggest student co-op, or the fanciest, but it's got something all its own. Specifically, smoke damage on the kitchen ceiling from that time Courfeyrac lit a political pamphlet on fire. In which there are secrets, pining, pancakes, and revelations, and sometimes the shortest distance between three points is not a triangle but a circle.

Notes: I love a good poly fic and this is one of the best. Also just a generally fun and wholesome friendship fic. Definitely a nice comforting read after all the old man angst I've got on here.

Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) by Need_To_Comment_Rising (@aromantic-enjolras)

Rating: T

Ships: Courfeyrac/Enjolras, Combeferre/Courfeyrac (Its complicated)

Summary:

Enjolras takes a swig of his drink with everyone else, and then smirks at Courfeyrac over the rim of his glass. "You didn't seem to mind much me being bossy yesterday night when I had you in my bed..." At his side, Grantaire chokes on his drink and starts coughing. But how did we get here, you might ask? Well, let’s rewind. ------- Enjolras and Courfeyrac have had a friends with benefits arrangement for a while. But when Coureyrac starts dating Combeferre, Enjolras is left with the question of where he fits in the new status quo...

Notes: Another poly fic with aromantic!Enjolras. I love fics with unconventional relationship dynamics as well as people actually communciating with each other (though not before there's been some hijinks ofc). Criminally underrated.

How Marius (Painstakingly) Won the Hand of Mlle. Fauchelevent by writingsyrup (@syrupsyche)

Rating: G

Ships: Cosette/Marius

Summary:

When setting out to woo his beloved Cosette, Marius had never imagined that it would bring him to this: sitting at a dining table next to her grim-faced father, and staring at the marble that was Enjolras picking at his peas. Or; Enjolras and Cosette are siblings in 19th century France. Marius has to deal with the consequences of this.

Notes: Probably the best Marius characterisation I've ever read, he's just so awkward and weird bless him. I love a good awkward "meeting the parents" and this filled that hole in my heart. Is part of a wider series but can be read as a standalone.

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit by Apathy and saltedpin

Rating: M

Ships: Javert/Jean Valjean, Cosette/Marius Pontmercy

Summary:

Valjean's panting breath does not belong to him. He scrambles out of the bed and stumbles on too-light feet to the mirror in the corner, although he already knows what he will see. Peering back at him from behind a curtain of dark hair, wide-eyed, is Éponine Thénardier. Jean Valjean awakens one morning from uneasy dreams to find that something quite unexpected has happened during the night.

Notes: Cosette and Javert get bodyswapped and Marius is weirdly into it, if that's not enough to convince you to read this fic then idk how to help you. Not normally a huge body swap fan but this was absolutely hilarious as well as having some genuinely sweet moments. Also Theodule is there which means something to some people.

It's Not the Same Anymore by ShameDumpster (@shamedumpster)

Rating: T

Ships: Enjolras/Grantaire

Summary:

Grantaire is a bookstore clerk in his late twenties, and to everyone’s eternal disbelief, a father. It’s been years since he’s seen anyone from his former group of friends, after a falling out cleaved him from the ABC, but everything changes when Enjolras walks into his bookstore. Can they rekindle their friendship, or something more, while they both come to terms with how their lives have changed over the past decade?

Notes: SO SO GOODDD!! Top tier slowburn kid fic, I could wax poetic about it for days. Had me gripped from start to finish.

Acts of Mercy by cruisedirector and Dementordelta

Rating: M

Ships: Javert/Jean Valjean

Summary:

After witnessing and reporting a murder, Javert is dismissed from the police and takes a job protecting the women in a brothel, where many of his long-held ideas about justice are challenged.

Notes: Breaking, man from the 1800s finds out that life for women is hard. Such a solid redemption arc fic with some really memorable ocs.

Lynx's Claws and Wolf's Mane by Kaleran

Rating: T

Ships: None

Summary:

When he is older, when he is a prison guard, he thinks back to his childhood and realizes he had been considerably fortunate. "Prison is no place for a girl like you," his mother told him often, usually fussing with what rags they could use for clothing. "Forgive me for this, draga mea." And so, instead of a daughter, she pretended to have a son.

Notes: Completely canon compliant except Javert is trans and the impact that has on the story really adds an extra layer to his character that I find really compelling. Warning, it is very depressing bc canon.

[breadvidence]

Today, in cope: finally put some words on the page for the fic I affectionately call "Platypus", which is an eclectic blend of off-hand ideas combined not because they fit together but because I'm not adequately invested in any singular one to make an entire piece of it. At its core is the Gavroche-and-Cosette swap plot (the Thénardiers pawn off Gavroche on Valjean because he's the less economically useful child, which is made possible by Fantine's lack of clarity on the age of her child and Cosette being a trans woman in this AU), but it includes such fun asides as "Grantaire Lives and fucks Jean Valjean, for some reason, and so does Javert", related to which:

“I will train you to bolt up this apartment,” Grantaire cried from the other side of the door, “but first I will ask that you open it, latched or no. My arms are full.”

Jean Valjean stood from his armchair where it sat at an angle to the window which allowed him to look out on the street but none to look in upon him and, with a slow and limping step, crossed the room. The lines of sorrow which webbed from the corner of his eyes and lips furrowed deeper in an expression that all those well-acquainted with him—that very small number—would have found quite peculiar. A stranger might have found it obscure, severe, serene, like the paths worked out by a stream disturbed by a stone. 

Grantaire, being a connoisseur of a thousand annoyances, recognized it as peevishness at once, before the door had swung open far enough for him to cross the threshold. “Mon père! You are radiant today. Here, I’ve brought chicken and libations. Where are your glasses? Do I need to call for the— Portress! Portress! Glasses, sweet madame, it’s eleven o’ clock and we dine and we drink and we drink some more.”

The portress no longer responded with confusion.

“And where is your other devotee, then? I don’t smell wet dog.”

“He does not come by so often. I tell him there’s no need.”

“And for consequences of your independence you will see him wash his coat in the Seine again.” He fended off the old man’s effort to take the baskets. “This one’s too heavy for you, and I’ll weep upon your lap like an angel on the gravestone of her love should the bottles break and their spirits go to waste. —The beard becomes you; it’s quite romantic; do you plan to begin writing for the theater?” With which he leaned down, and deposited upon his lips a kiss altogether too insistent to be familial. “Here’s an aperitif for you. Having tasted my affections, do you not want at least a bite of bread to clear the flavor? Oh, I’m gleeful, there’s a little fire in the ashes at the tangled bush’s feet.” With which he laid his lips smackingly upon one lowered white brow.

Jean Valjean endured him, and consented with a sort of weary dignity to be ushered into a seat. “I wonder,” he said, his voice kind, “whether you speak so much about Javert and the river out of concerns of your own.”

“I’m pleased, I’m chagrined, I don’t know whether I ought to ask the dramaturge’s assistant to hang the mask of comedy or the mask of tragedy on my brow.” He rushed to the door and startled the portress by flinging it open in the very moment she reached for the handle. Had she been a woman more given to frights, the wildness about his face might have seen her summon her husband, but her faith in the goodness of the old man was greater than her fear of the jolly mourner who visited him. She gave over the glasses and retreated. Grantaire resumed, as he returned to the table and made to pour himself brandy, “That you perceive my heart and speak up on the matter delights me. Your temerity to call attention to my dreadful failure of honor and bravery? Should I be less bewitched, I might challenge you to a duel. No, mon père.” He drank deeply “I am altogether an animal, with an animal desperation to live—and what a terrible thing that can be! The rat should let itself drown rather than suffer clawing at the slimed walls of the sewer it’s fallen into. Yet he claws on, believing there’s an upwards, and uses excrement as his life-raft in the meanwhile. Not, mon père, to mean any judgment of your own past adventures. You understand, don’t you, how awful it can be to live? Well, so does your inspector. There’s a man with a far smaller portion of love than you, and a greater portion of respect than I: he’ll turn himself in to the final authority out of obligation, and I’d pity him for it were he not so pitiless.”

Jean Valjean tapped the tabletop with one finger, and after a long moment of consideration, said, “I might send for him. This is too much food for two.”

“Ach! Whatever you must do, so do, but write that he must bring his own wine. If I’m to break bread with a spy, I claim every drop that I’ve brought for myself.”

[pilferingapples]

LM 4.8.5 : Things of the Night

 A black figure barring the way stops the wild beast short. That which emerges from the cemetery intimidates and disconcerts that which emerges from the cave; the ferocious fear the sinister; wolves recoil when they encounter a ghoul.

RIGHT so with that summary of yesterday's chapter--

I've written before on how I think Les Miserables is not a realistic novel , and adaptations that treat it as such are making a mistake ; it's a Romantic novel, and that means that a certain level of magic is allowed and in, the case of Les Mis , explicit.

This book is full of ghosts-- there's Fantine's spirit, always close to Cosette, showing up first in the woods of Monterfermeil:

... she was a child of eight: no one but God saw that sad thing at the moment. And her mother, no doubt, alas! For there are things that make the dead open their eyes in their graves. - The Little One All Alone

and lingers partly -seen at times at times in the text:

The more sacred this shade was to him, the more did it seem that it was to be feared. He thought of Fantine, and felt himself overwhelmed with silence. Through the darkness, he vaguely perceived something which appeared to have its finger on its lips... Was Jean Valjean unconsciously submitting to the pressure? We who believe in death, are not among the number who will reject this mysterious explanation. - Change of Gate

even , it seems, sometimes actually touching Cosette:

Cosette was meditating; an objectless sadness was taking possession of her little by little, that invincible sadness evoked by the evening, and which arises, perhaps, who knows, from the mystery of the tomb which is ajar at that hour. Perhaps Fantine was within that shadow. - Enriched with Commentaries By Toussaint

There's also Myriel's ghost looking on at Valjean at his death, Valjean's brother (if you believe he really had a brother) visiting in his dream ...

Les Miserables is a haunted novel. The convent is a ghost, even in its introduction; Paris of the past is a ghost. The narrative acknowledges it. And for people in the book, there are more ways than dying of entering the uncanny. The Amis may not exactly be ghosts (except , perhaps, Prouvaire and Bahorel) but they're walking under a prophecy from their introduction. Gavroche has some sort of spiritual avatar connection with Paris. Cosette and Eponine are both fairy creatures in their turn, when they're slipping through the cracks of the human world-- but then Cosette is pulled back to humanity by Valjean's intervention and love, and Eponine...

Eponine becomes this.

There's a line about magic I've seen a few places that goes something like: you can't make magic with someone else's heart. You have to give it yours, and you have to mean it.

I think that's what Eponine did when she faced down her father and the Patron Minette. She offered up her life for the power to change how things were going; and something accepted. She may not have died on the spot, but her life is not life anymore; now it's This. She certainly will have the power to change how the story goes from now on, but she's changed states of being now. (Could she still become human again, without her physical death? I think so; but it's no longer as easy as it would have been in Mabeuf's garden.)

I think modern readers (including the ones who make adaptations) struggle with acknowledging the fantastic as the fantastic in stories that aren't expressly fantasy (or maybe Magical Realism). But Hugo isn't dealing with those expectations; he's a writer who fully believed in the invisible and supernatural world , inextricable from the real one. There's no contradiction, only a thin separation.

And Eponine is standing in both of them now.

[lesmissocials-fuckedup]

Les Mis socials : 2023 hall of shame tournament - Round 2

Rules

Links to the posts and propaganda can be found under the cut !

Propaganda :

The "Who should Marius choose ?" question - source : Twitter - January 29

For many, many years, this fandom has been arguing that neither Cosette nor Eponine could be reduced to simply being love interests for Marius, that we shouldn't call their relationship a rivalry and that the Marius x Eponine relationship was way too toxic to be defined by love. Well, the musical's social media managers seem to disagree, no to mention that the picture is made to make it seem like Eponine is the only thing keeping the two lovers apart. Featuring an uncanny use of emojis you can find in every single one of their posts.

Mother's day post - source : Twitter - March 19

The one thing to be said in favor of this post is that they actually meant it as a joke and understood that Madame Thénardier was not a good mother. On the other hand, why not simply go along with the concept of Mother's Day and post a picture of Fantine, a mother who cared deeply about her child ? But they gave us an abusive mother instead. Again, very uncanny use of the laughing emoji.

The Wimbledon one - source : Twitter - July 15

Have you ever seen a post in which everything is wrong ? well this one is for you. Starting with the words they chose because no, there should not be a Cosette for every occasion. Putting a tennis racket in the hands of a starved and abused child ? To promote rich people's sports ? They also edited her arms to make her look more muscular. Also I know nothing about english sports but there is a strawberry emoji ? And finally, cherry on top of the cake... they messed up the colors of the french flag. Which, let's be honest, is an easy one to get right.

Cosette celebrating Thanksgiving - source : Twitter - November 23

Our only contestant left for the US team ! And... it's a bad one. Without even going into what is wrong with the concept of Thanksgiving itself and promoting it, why would you ever put Cosette in front of a Thanksgiving meal ? The gril who is famous as an icon of starved and abused children ? Not to mention how disturbing it is that there is so little to eat in the pate in front of her. And finally, on a purely cultural level : 1- Thanksgiving became a federal holiday years after Les Misérables was published and 2- most french people could not care less about when Thanksgiving is celebrated.

Christmas Eve - source : Twitter - December 24

To be honest, this one might by far not be the worst they have done, but it is undeniably very disturbing. And the way the edited the "One day more" quote may be the least uncanny thing here. They also edited snowflakes in the picture, a Christmas tree on the barricade and a Christmas hat on (I think ?) Enjolras's head... knowing that the men on this barricade are throwing a revolution. In which all of them will die painfully. What's more, this revolution canonically and historically takes place at the beginning of June. Which means this picture is the worst thing they could possibly have chose to illustrate the Christmas spirit. Also, as many people have mentionned, this year was the 200th anniversary of Valjean meeting Cosette in the woods, so... perhaps they could have done something about that instead ?

[libbys-braincell-loss]

hear me out yall

les mis. as muppets

jean valjean and javert are the humans but like everyone else is a muppet

and yknow what fuck it, fantines a human too

Kermit is Marius, Miss Piggy is Cosette, and for a bit i struggled to decide but i decided that Eponine would be played by Denise (idk shit abt denise i just know she was kermits love interest when he and piggy broke up for a bit, and i find it so funny cuz. Another pig)

The student gang would be Gonzo as Enjolras, and Fozzie as Grantaire.

Who would be the other students, you ask?

The rats.

Rizzo can be whoever he wishes to be, but the rest of the student gang are all the rats.

If the rats arent your fancy, then instead we could have Sam the Eagle as Feuilly, Rowlf as Joly, Scooter as Lesgles, Pepe the King Prawn as Courfeyrac, Animal as Combeferre, Walter as Prouvaire

But the student gang being all rats is insanely funny to me

Gavroche would either be Robin the frog, Bean the rabbit, or a human child. All would be equally heartbreaking i think

The little girls representing Young Cosette and Young Eponine would have to be like. miss piggy's nieces that are shown in muppet christmas carol. Or a muppet specifically made to be young Denise/Eponine

The Thenardiers would obvi be Statler and Waldorf. Idk who is representing Monsier or Madame, but it doesnt matter. They should also be able to rob corpses together

The Thenardier gang could be Electric Mayhem, but i also see the Electric Mayhem playing the music for the show off to the side

Beauregard the janitor is the old man who gets run over by a cart

Dr. Honeydew can be the Bishop (and Beaker can provide background vocals to his music)

if theres any other characters i missed lmk but these are all the ones i believe are most significant

The visual makes me chuckle so hard, jim henson studios hire me please

[wanderinghedgehog]

Another high school Les Mis. Live reaction:

Oooo they got actors in the aisles. I like that.

Good singing so far.

This Javert seems oddly timid. Like even as a prison guard, he’s not especially scary. He does seems to be rather tall though.

Valjean seems good. I wish they let him sing that one verse from his soliloquy but, alas, it’s cut from the school versions.

This ensemble seems more coordinated than others I’ve seen. That might be because there’s not quite so many of them. This doesn’t seem like a very large cast for a Les Mis production.

Fantine is very sweet and her voice is lovely.

I like that her dress is decently period accurate. They gave her a modesty cloth and everything.

She also doesn’t seem to have a jarringly awful wig like usual.

I think they brought Javert in a little early during Fantine’s arrest. It was a little odd.

There’s some guy in the ensemble with a lovely red waistcoat.

Amazing runaway cart scene. Javert was so embarrassed on “forgive me sir I would dare” that he tried to just leave. He did skip a line though. But I’ll forgive :)

Valjean putting his heart and soul into Who Am I.

Awwwww they gave Champmathieu a friend or something who gave him a hug when he was let go. I like that they didn’t just leave him to stand there.

FANTIIIIIIINE 😭😭😭😭😭😭

HOLY SHIT THE CONFRONTATION WAS AMAZING!!!!! Okay the last fight section was a bit disappointing, but the rest of it was fucking phenomenal. I’m screaming! Javert was such a fucking drama queen too. Fantastic.

Lil’ Cosette :)

I think this Madame T could do to spice up her vocals a little. She sounds a little too pretty maybe. Go nuts, babe!

Red waistcoat guy is back!!!!

This Thenardier couple is kinda all over each other. It’s goofy

Don’t throw the child!!!!!

I love this stage setup. Very versatile.

Living for these background actors.

Eponine should keep Marius’s hat. It’s a good look.

They need to stop making Javert show up from one of the side entrances. It’s awkward staging.

Thernardier gets all obnoxious during “in the absence of a victim…” and Javert just lightly shoved him. I’m dead. You really just have to see it.

This Javert is kinda… doing to much I guess. He just doesn’t show quite enough restraint in my opinion.

Stars was cute. He could’ve done more on the line “and so it must be.” But it was good otherwise.

This Grantaire has stolen my heart. Adorable guy.

I can’t see very clearly, but there’s a pattern on the front of Enjolras’s waistcoat and I thought it was leopard print for a second.

IS THAT FANTINE’S ACTOR AGAIN??????? Or does Cosette just look something like her?

Marius should’ve hopped over the gate. It’s really low anyway.

This Marius is so damn pale. Ghost fella

Eponine pushed three people consecutively. Go girl!

THENARDIERS IN THE FLOOR

This Gavroche is absolutely adorable. I just know I’m gonna go catatonic when he’s killed.

Still no “shoot me now or shoot me later.” I like that line :(

EPONINE NOOO

Bestie Valjean has returned to the plot :)

Damn look at all that smoke.

Javert is back to being oddly timid. I feel kinda bad for him this time. He has such a sad look.

Nice little Drink With Me moment :)

Bring him hooooooooooooooome

AAAAAAAAAA GAVROCHE NOOOOOO

Seriously that kid was fantastic

That’s a nice tablueo

Go in the floor

Really dragging Marius around. Ouch.

two four six oh ooooooooone

Little line fuck up BUT WE FORGIVE AND MOVE ON

That jump was pretty smooth. I approve.

That was a damn good rendition.

Good harmonies in Turning.

Damn. They really put people in those empty chairs at the empty tables and then took them away again.

Cane time for Valjean.

Bishop actor spotted at the wedding.

Saddest onstage punch ever. Sorry Marius.

Is Madame T holding a real little dog? I can’t see very well.

Old man Valjean.

I think that wicker wheelchair he’s in is being loud.

Oh my god they are different actresses. Do they just have the same hairstyle? I might be a little face blind.

Yes! Actors in the aisles!

I think that’s a Javert in the finale!

Final thoughts:

Standout performance was a Gavroche. That child was brilliant so very cute. I hope he keeps doing theater.

All the singing was wonderful.

Things ran very smoothly which is impressive for any high school production.

As always, the show suffers from the amount of lines that are cut. But that’s definitely not the fault of this production.

In some ways, it was too good. Maybe it was just too traditional. I often watch school productions for the weirdness and interesting choices, but they just didn’t really take anything all that far in this production.

I loved that they had an extra bit of stage in front of the orchestra pit. That really gave a set some extra pizzazz.

I called this Javert “cute” too many times. Not sure why. I just thought this actor looked oddly sweet. Not especially intimidating I guess.

Valjean really put his all into this and he gave a fantastic performance. I just need him to get weirder with it.

I’m so sorry to Fantine and Cosette’s actors for thinking they were the same person.

[jelepermets]

I think how little of Eponine we see in the novel really contributes to how devastating her death is. I was not prepared for how much I cried.

Firstly, there's the fact that besides maybe Fantine, her death is the one that feels the most lonely. Sure, Marius is there. But only through chance. As Eponine says:

"I waited for you, I said, So, he won't come? Oh! If you knew, I bit on my blouse, I was suffering so!"

This isn't just a delirious person's imaginings. Marius doesn't even recognize her at first. She has to tell him her name. He almost walks away from her, leaving her to drag her body after his. At this little corner of the barricade which no one else is thinking of.

Her loneliness is further contrasted and made more explicit by Gavroche's little appearance. Though Eponine recognizes Gavroche as her brother, there is no point where Gavroche sees his sister. Eponine dies with her family close by but not looking.

Secondly, though we may have suspected that Eponine likes Marius, we only now see it explicitly. She confesses, but only right before she dies, and by then she uses past tense.

"I believe I was a little in love with you."

There have been hundreds of words spilled about how Eponine only loves Marius because she's experienced so little kindness in the world (which I agree with) so I won't dwell on it. I will say that how little Eponine demands even in death is heartbreaking. Only a kiss on the forehead and that she may rest her head against his knee.

Lastly - for this post at least - there's the contrast between her death and the little moments of relief, her words of contentment. The relief she gets from seeing Marius, the way that her conversation with him genuinely draws her away from her pains ("Oh! That's so much better! How comfortable this is! That's it! I'm not suffering anymore!") is contrasted with the most visceral descriptions of her wound.

Which really fits in with Eponine's character. As surrounded by misery, as being miserable herself, but also bearing it in a way that I think is often missed. Eponine is an incredibly resilient character. And we see this all the way to the end.

But she's still a child. She's still dying a horrible death, a bullet through her, on the cold street. Her last action - trying to smile - is thwarted by her death. Eponine's goodness (because she is full of goodness, even if I don't think she's remembered for that as much as she ought to be) is thwarted by her misery.

And that is her tragedy. That we see so little of her only emphasizes this. Only at the moment of Eponine's death do we understand the depth of her character explicitly. And by then it's too late

[cloud-makers-make-pollution]

we're moots lol

okay this is gonna be a lot cuz he's like the main character or whatever

he was born uhh somewhere and he had a sister with a kid but their parents died so he and his sister had to take care of the kid. jean was a tree pruner but it wasn't enough so blud was like "screw it" and tried to steal some bread but was (of course caught and sentenced to 5 years for violent robbery but he was like "hell nah" and tried to escape like three times so he ended up with 19 years total and now the police (cough cough javert) hate him

so anywhizzle he does his 19 years and javerts like "ugh ig we have to let you go on parole or whatever" so jean valjean is like "yippee" and he's like wandering around tryna find a place to stay but ppl are like "nah ur a convict im not fuckin w dat" so now he doesn't have a place to stay but some dudes like "go ask the bishop he's really kind (WHICH THERE IS AN ENTIRE FUCKING SECTION ABOUT IN THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK)" so jean 👖 goes to talk to the bishop and the bishops like "yeah come stay with us" but the two nuns in there are like "ew he's a convict he's gonna rob us" but the bishop dgaf so 👖 stays the night but he wakes up at midnight-ish and is like paralyzed with the decision of whether or not to rob the bishop cuz bro's got a lotta silver so...

spoiler alert

he robs him

so 👖 is like running around at 3 in the frickin morning and the police catch him and take him to the bishop like "sir this dude just robbed u" and the bishops like "yeah ik also here take the candlesticks and become a better person" so the police let him go and 👖 is like "omg he just like gave me all this free silver and he also said that i need to become a good guy" so 👖 breaks parole (omg lawbreaker 😨) and goes back to his hometown (which is also where fantine lives lol haha coinkydink hahaha) and he sells all the silver (except the candlesticks those are like a reminder of the scene with the bishop) and gets an alias which was like "pere madeleine" or smth idk and we don't see much of him cuz victor chooses to tell us about fantine

when we come back tho, "pere madeleine" has become "monsieur le maire" and he's the mayor of the town and owner of the factory where fantine works. as the mayor he's like a really good guy and he brings the town prosperity!! yippee!! and all the ppl love him but they're kinda sus of him like "who's this dude and why's he so nice" cuz they're a little paranoid ig but anywhizzle he's walking around or smth and he sees fantine being assaulted and stuff and javert taking her in and he's like "hell nah not on my watch" so he heroically bursts in and is like "she did nothing wrong let her go" and he and javert go thru their old man yaoi but fantine is eventually released. javert is NOT happy bout it tho

one day, javert comes into the mayor's office and he's like "bro i messed up i thought u were a former prisoner who broke parole lmaooo anyways we caught the guy and his name is jean valjean (DRAMATIC GASP) and we're holding his court soon anyways have a nice day lolol" but the mayor (COUGH COUGH JEAN VALJEAN) is having this identity crisis about whether or not to go fess up and free the guy but he ends up doing it and there's a buncha detailed chapters about his trek to the town where the court is being held but we don't care abt that

so he shows up and everyone's like "oh that's the mayor or smth ig" they drc and he sits in on this random guy's court session and there's a buncha evidence about how this guys is actually jean valjean but the ACTUAL jean valjean is like "NUH UH BITCH ITS ME" and everyone's like "GASP!??!!??!" and so javert is pissed and tries to get him arrested but 👖 escapes cuz he's gotta get fantines child to her and that's about where i am in the book lol

i hope you enjoyed my rambling about jean valjean and sorry for the long read lol

– ⚜️

this may be even more beautiful that the fantine one

“anywhizzle”

new word alert motherfuckers this is awesome

I feel like maybe you should rewrite the brick once you’ve finished it just your version and see how well it does because damn this shit it great

also

… @k-is-for-potassium ?

is this you??

[secretmellowblog]

I love how Fantine is introduced the way that Valjean is introduced— as an “Everyman,” as an anonymous stranger who accepts whatever name is given to them.

She bore on her brow the sign of the anonymous and the unknown. She was born at M. sur M. Of what parents? Who can say? She had never known father or mother. She was called Fantine. Why Fantine? She had never borne any other name. At the epoch of her birth the Directory still existed. She had no family name; she had no family; no baptismal name; the Church no longer existed. She bore the name which pleased the first random passer-by, who had encountered her, when a very small child, running bare-legged in the street. She received the name as she received the water from the clouds upon her brow when it rained.

Later her friend group nicknames her “the Blonde,” and she accepts that nickname the same way she accepted “Fantine.”

The fact that Fantine grew up in desperate poverty/anonymity also adds a layer of meaning to her relationship with Tholomyes. Fantine has never lived like a “lady”— she has spent her entire life fighting and working to survive. She lived as a gamin, then worked on a farm, and then worked in the city— but she’s always had to work.

So Tholomyes is just…..a mediocre rich man who’s able to take advantage of his wealth to manipulate her. He can give Fantine tiny luxuries that he can afford without a problem, or give her the opportunity to take rest and have leisure time….and these are things that, for someone like Fantine, would seem like acts of love! They would seem rare and special! But for him they mean very little and cost him very little to do. And so between them there’s just ….this massive horrible power imbalance, both financially and emotionally.