#had this with grantaire in mind

[thatisntverycombefair]

'We're going on a bear hunt' but make it a trans masc taking his t shots for the first time

[angelicenjolras]

Hey asking for no resone at all. Would anyone fw an modern/collage au enjoltaire/Marisette fic that kinda focus on twins!enjolsette with enjolras being trans, and enjolras and grantaire having once been childhood friends but had a falling out and didnt here about the other up untill collage. And also focus on marius and cosette falling in love while eponine desperately tries to not let that happen. And the fic in general is about characters trying to get away from their past but eventually is forced to face it. Would anyone fw that???

[abigmessofablog]

i love you, characters who have the explicit purpose of representing entire concepts in the narrative. i love you, characters bigger than themselves. i love you allegorical characters. i love you characters so wrapped in metaphor and the creator philosophizing through you it eclipses you as a "person," i love you characters who haunt the narrative long after you're gone. i love you characters who are doomed because the thing that they represent are doomed. i love you characters who are more lesson then character.

[monpanache]

Lawrence and Benitez are kinda Enjoltaire coded, if ya think about it

[asexualenjolras]

I have seen a lot of Enjolras and Grantaire pairings over the years, but none have ever seemed more like boyfriends than James D. Gish and Connor Jones on the Les Misérables Arena Spectacular tour, and I need to talk about it.

James' Enjolras is so confident and is so committed to the revolution, but he is also very human and very soft with Grantaire and Gavroche. Througout the show they are seen together like a little family unit, and you can see that Enjolras cares for them both. He's conflicted throughout the show, and is very protective over them both.

Connor's Grantaire (and I say this every time I see him) is another level - he is so brick accurate and he portrays Grantaire with so much care. He's the usual drunken R, but he is so gentle and he feels things so deeply. He's anxious, and emotive and cynical, but he wears a mask and pretends to be okay. He's so aware of everything going on and he cares about his friends. And he cares about Gavroche; he's like the little brother that he never had. And he is so enamoured with Enjolras - he doesn't take his eyes off him for more than 2 minutes the whole time they're on stage. Connor Jones Grantaire will always be my favourite.

During Look Down, James' Enjolras is so confident. You can see how much the cause matters to him, and you really believe in him. And he's so human in Red & Black - he's clearly a little bit nervous, but when he looks to Grantaire and sees that he is smiling at him, he gets a boost of confidence. It's really sweet, and I've never seen that before. When he sings "don't let the wine go to your brains", he's poking fun at Grantaire and offers him a cheeky smile, which makes Grantaire laugh too.

Connor's Grantaire holds his wine bottle up to the roof in reply, laughing, and is reprimanded by another student. He, playfully, stands to attention and listens to Enjolras again following that. He goes towards Enjolras once he finishes singing, but immediately stops when Marius walks in and takes to teasing him. Enjolras speaks to the other students and intervenes before they can tell Grantaire off and tells them he will sort it. But he can't help himself but laugh at him when he's teasing Marius. He pulls himself together and continues with the song, keeping his eyes on Grantaire to make sure he's listening and he looks so proud of himself when he realises he's getting through to him.

Until Grantaire and Marius start up again, and then he looks so defeated but, again, can't help but smile. He's rolling his eyes but he's laughing because he just can't help it when he's watching Grantaire. It was so sweet.

It really was as if he was torn between upsetting Grantaire, and upsetting the rest of the Amis. And it worked really well. He was so relieved at the end of the song when Grantaire stopped joking around. He verbally said "YES" when Grantaire said "give me brandy on my breath and I'll breathe them all to death".

THESE TWO. They are such boyfriends.

Grantaire looks so concerned when Gavroche tells the Amis that Lamarque has died, and he runs straight over to him to make sure he's safe as the students prepare. He takes such a big drink of his wine and forces a smile onto his face for Enjolras. Enjolras constantly looks at Grantaire during the song, and Grantaire is doing the same but with so much love and pride in his eyes. James' Enjolras is so confident in what he believes in, but he is so soft with Grantaire and I really love that choice. While Grantaire stands with Gavroche, Enjolras is constantly seen walking over to them both and they really do seem like a little family. 

As Grantaire sings "let's give them a screwing they'll never forget", Enjolras looked at him with so much pride and smiled so wide once the words processed in his mind. 

After Èponine died, Enjolras was looking behind himself like a lost puppy and Grantaire stumbled forward and offered him his hand with so much desperation to try and help the man he loves. But Enjolras pulled away from the hold when Valjean clambered onto the barricade, leaving Grantaire holding his arm out. Gavroche gave him a little nudge but R looked so broken and upset. He literally growled the "a volunteer like you" line through gritted teeth.

After Enjolras shoots down his "so the war is won" line, he shakes his head and rolls his eyes as he walks to the back of the stage. It's at this point that you can see that Grantaire is really understanding that they're all going to die. He drinks some more and sits with Gavroche as Valjean and Javert have their confrontation.

At the start of Drink With Me, Grantaire stumbles (again) to the front of the stage, looking around at his friends and taking in what they're saying. He holds his arms up and then a few of the Amis stand up and storm towards him as he sings his part (with such a broken voice). But before they can get to him, Enjolras pulls them back and pushes them away from Grantaire, and they both look at each other on the "will the world remember you when you fall?" line, with Enjolras placing a comforting hand on Grantaire's shoulder.

But Grantaire pushes him away in his hurt and frustration, and Enjolras looks so concerned and upset. He looks around at the other students to see whether they're all watching too before just staring at R with so much sadness. He tries again to comfort him, putting both of his hands on his shoulders and leading him away as Gavroche runs up to them and throws his arms around him.

AND THE LOOK ON ENJOLRAS' FACE. OH MY GOD. IT SAID SO MUCH.

He wanted so much to be the one to hug Grantaire, you could tell. He was trying so hard not to cry, and it was gut-wrenching. He looked so sad, and so broken, and let out such an exasperated breath (he looked like he was going to have a panic attack, I'm not exaggerating) before forcing a smile onto his face for the other students.

The death scene is staged a little differently in the Arena Spectacular, but Grantaire still holds Gavroche and he still looks around for Enjolras and Enjolras gives him a small nod before they're both killed (do you permit it? vibes).

During Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, Enjolras, Grantaire and Gavroche stand together at the top of the stage like the little family that they are, and are together at the end for the finale too.

In conclusion, I love them, your honour. James D. Gish and Connor Jones will go down in history for their ExR. I hope we get an official recording with this cast, or I hope they do a stint in London in the future.

They ARE Enjoltaire.

[aaronstveit]

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

[roguetelepaths]

gotta admit, as a certified mostly-recovered Moral OCD Haver™ who also identifies... quite a fucking lot with Enjolras, the idea of Enjolras having moral OCD doesn't sit well with me at all. Which isn't me saying people can't have that headcanon, don't get it twisted — I just know what I acted like when it was worse vs. what I act like now, and the headspace I inhabited back then was not one I would associate with strident commitment and single-minded purpose. To me, saying Enjolras has moral OCD simply because "activist" is one of his main personality traits feels like saying that activism itself is a mental illness.

(In reality, I would go as far as to say that a person with moral OCD would not be nearly as put together while engaging in activism as Enjolras is. I TRIED being involved in activism while having unmanaged moral OCD. At one point I had an hour long breakdown because I thought wearing blue jeans in April meant I was betraying the Autistic community. It wasn't even for symbolic reasons I just didn't have any other clean pants.)

You know who I can see having moral OCD, though? And who I can see a lot of my own experiences in?

Fucking Grantaire.

Grantaire who has been involved in activist efforts for a long time and is severely burnt out by the highly triggering environment that it is for him, who tried so hard to keep up with the unceasing demands his mind put on him in the name of being A Good Person™ but just can't do it anymore.

Grantaire who, at some point, figured out that heavy drinking was the only thing that could reliably shut up his ruminations.

Grantaire whose cynicism about the cause he fights for is a thought-stopping technique that worked a little too well but then became a compulsion in itself.

Grantaire who idolizes Enjolras — who seems to not just do well in that environment but thrive in it like a duck in water — but knows that spending too much time with him will make the bad thoughts creep back in and maybe this time he won't be able to stop them, so he sabotages any opportunity to actually get closer to the man he holds in such high esteem.

I don't know, man, I just got here. Maybe this is nothing.

[ghaasy]

So last night me and my girlfriend went to see Les Mis in London and we were talking about how differently every production presents Enjolras and Grantaire's dynamic — whether it is one-sided longing, reciprocated, a bit overlooked or very much back and forth, etc etc.

Let me just being to say that last night's Grantaire was absolutely perfect. I could clearly tell there was a whole characterisetion that had been established and that came out in the little details. He was a skeptical Grantaire, yes, but there was more to it— almost a frustration in the awareness of his inability to avoid what is inevitably going to come. This Grantaire — ad this was a detail I loved— was truluy part of this group, lots of students had many interactions with him in a very familiar/comfortable way, and even the scolding that happened from time to time was light, not as repetitive and insistent as I've seen it before. Grantaire was very much part of that group, he had his own established role.

With Enjolras, let me just say that there were a lot of very interesting decisions that were made in terms his and Grantaire's positions on stage. There were multiple moments when the two would stand in a diagonal way— with Enjolras always being in the highest corner of the frame (either on top of the barricade or on the stairs of the Musain) and Grantaire being on the bottom corners, always diagonal to Enjolras, always a few steps away from the other students who were naturally drawn to their leader. This was truly a beautiful composition, it really helped to oppose them but also draw a connection between them.

Then, to go back to the E and R dynamic I was talking about before, at one point, my girlfriend said to me, "They are already dating in this". And let me tell you it made so much sense.

Grantaire's bits during Red and Black were acknowledge by Enjolras, but he didn't stand there glaring at him or trying to get him to sit down/put his wine away the whole time. It almost felt like Enjolras was used to this— not to him being, well, Grantaire, because that is obvious in every single production, but to him having his opinion on the Revolution, on their ideals, on Enjolras, on their friends— in this, it felt as if Enjolras had already acknowledged Grantaire's voice, had already understood it and kept it in the back of his mind, as a "i know you, I don't agree with you, but I know where you stand, because we've talked about this". That is why the scolding didn't feel as severe, why it almost felt as Enjolras didn't acknowledge him much during Red and Black, when in reality, he was always aware of what Grantaire was doing or saying, despite him being busy discussing things with the other students. There was a familiarity, I think, with the presence of the other.

(Of course Grantaire's staring at Enjolras when Marius was raving about Cosette and about a love so strong that comes without a warning and completely takes over you didn't go unnoticed, I feel like it deserves an honourable mention.)

And then. Then, when they were on stage at one point, right after Do You Hear The People Sing, there was a brief moment where Enjolras was the one being playful with Grantaire, gently shoving the flag towards him, and then at one point he leaned in, both of them face to face, Enjolras' mouth already open because he was singing— let me tell you I would suspect I was gaslighting myself, but since my girlfriend had the same reaction as me (our mouths dropped open) I feel better about affirming that it looked like Enjolras was going in for a kiss, then pulled away last second. Now, whether that was intentional or not, it doesn't really matter, does it? And regardless, I wouldn't exclude the intention behind it because we have seen several instances of Enjolras kisses on stage. I'm just saying.

Finally, the barricade. Drink With Me? The way Grantaire sang the line "is your life just one more lie?" Altered my brain chemistry, because I've never heard it delivered in such an intimate, betrayed way, the sorrow was there, the awareness that Grantaire was going to lose Enjolras and everyone else, the way he whispered the word "lie", in such a resigned, tired, hurt way. Like the two of them have had that conversation before. The way Enjolras grabbed his arm, and there was no surprise from Grantaire, no pause to think "oh he's finally acknowledged me", he only shook Enjolras' hand off him and walked away, he looked broken. And this is why we said this didn't feel like an unrequited sort of longing, or like Enjolras had not acknowledged him until that point, or like Enjolras was being stern and only focused on the Revolution, on the other students' morale. No, this felt like Grantaire finally giving up to the idea that this is going to happen, it's a "I wish you could change your mind" knowing that it won't happen, not because Enjolras doesn't care, but because they have had this conversation before and they've never agreed on it and this is now inevitable. The care was there, you could see it so clearly.

When the National Guard began shooting, Grantaire didn't even flinch. When all his friends died on the barricade, he slowly made his way to the same spot where Enjolras had been shot, looked over at the National Guard, yelled to catch their attention and let them shoot him— no attempt at fighting back, no "vive la république", because that is not the reason he will be killed— only a yell to catch their attention and the awareness that this is what it was going to be all along, the moment he'd lose Enjolras, his friends, he'd lose himself too.

Rant is over now, but I just want to say one more time how perfect this whole cast was, how perfectly put together the whole show felt— every scene made sense, everything flew, every actor clearly knew their character inside out. If you do have a chance to watch it, then do so, you won't be sorry.

[idiopath-fic-smile]

If you are still taking Halloween fic requests:

Member of a monster-themed novelty band Grantaire x Actual Vampire Enjolras

oh HELL YEAHHHHHH

i'd apologize for the ensuing silliness but you can probably gather that is a hallmark of the fledgling "monster-themed novelty band x actual literal monster" genre. this is part one; i may write more tomorrow

“Grantaire,” Joly panted, “come quick, it’s a party emergency!”

Grantaire, who might as well have lived inside a glass case labeled BREAK IN CASE OF PARTY EMERGENCY, flipped himself right side up from where he’d been about to attempt a keg stand, and nodded solemnly, clapping his hands together. The blood rushed back to his head in a giddy wave.

“What do you need?” he asked.

Joly nodded at Bossuet to explain as the three of them barreled down the hallway.

“Here’s the thing,” said Bossuet, “we hired a band tonight, but the lead singer got way too high and now he thinks he needs to liberate all the notes from his guitar.”

Grantaire cocked his head to one side. “Does that explain why someone’s spent the past hour loudly and determinedly playing scales?”

“I don’t pretend to understand the inebriate’s mind!” Joly shouted, gesticulating wildly. The effect was slightly undercut by the bottle of gin in his hand.

“Point is,” said Bossuet, still walking at an almost-run, “we already rounded up Eponine and Bahorel. We need you guys to take the stage and salvage what’s left of tonight. C’mon, Bahorel says your sound is really getting there.”

“We’re not a band,” Grantaire insisted. “We’re a support group that keeps getting noise violations. We’ve never even played a gig.” He knew he probably sounded whiny but it had been a long week. His minimum possible math requirement was kicking his ass. “Besides, I had plans for tonight. I was gonna get laid.” Or at least, he was going to do his damnedest. Believe in yourself. Manifest your dreams. No I in team.

Bossuet simultaneously peered at Grantaire and pulled him through a door. “Is that why you’re dressed as…god, I don’t know, what do you call all this?”

“I thought he was an Animorph,” announced Joly. “Like, at a midpoint in the transformation to some kind of hairy animal.”

Grantaire coughed.

“Sorry,” said Joly easily. “A Sexy Mid-Transformation Animorph.”

“Shit, take in some culture once in a while, this is embarrassing,” said Grantaire. He gestured at the wolf ears on his headband, the fur glued to the cuffs of his shirtsleeves, the canine nose he’d drawn over his own with Eponine’s eyeliner pencil, the strategically ripped shirt and jeans. “I’m a Sexy Wolfman,” he said. “Obviously.”

He and Eponine, who had watched Ginger Snaps every day for the past month, had agreed to go as a pair of werewolves, but then Eponine had abandoned their pack of two to go make out with Cosette, which he really should’ve seen coming. He couldn’t even hold it against her; Eponine had been “casually” memorizing Cosette’s general weekly schedule for the past couple of semesters, when she wasn’t watching Cosette moony-eyed from the other side of the Quad. It was all probably very cute.

“Well, Wolfman,” said Bossuet, nudging Grantaire in the direction of the makeshift stage, where Bahorel was taking a seat behind the drums and Eponine was—reluctantly, by the look of it—re-tuning her borrowed bass. “You three have about thirty seconds to think of a band name.”

Grantaire picked up the electric guitar and raised his eyebrows at Eponine, whose lupine makeup was now marred by bright red lip marks, like something from a cartoon. Her own lips were smeared crimson, which was to be expected, but.

“She stopped to kiss you multiple times on the cheek?” he muttered.

“Shut up,” said Eponine, visibly blushing. “How’s your quest for a meaningless hookup?”

Grantaire let out a long breath. “Not even the furries are biting,” he admitted as Eponine snickered.

“Band names, people,” said Bahorel. He adjusted a cymbal. “I don’t have all night.”

“Hello,” Grantaire intoned into the microphone. “We are Not Even the Furries Are Biting! This first song—”

“Gonna kill you and make it look like an accident,” Eponine crooned low in his ear. “The embarrassing kind. Toilet-related.”

The thing was, in their capacity as a very loud sort-of group therapy session, with October 31st on the horizon, they had actually been talking about the appeal of wolves as a metaphor for the parts of oneself that felt wild or lonely or unlovable. To that effect, they’d been toying with a couple songs.

Maybe, thought Grantaire, this would not be a complete and total clusterfuck.

They played “I was a Teenage Werewolf” by The Cramps. They played “I’m The Wolf Man” by Round Robin. They played “Werewolf” by The Frantics. Any time he, Bahorel, or Eponine ran into a snag—a fumbled note, a missed beat, a patch that wasn’t perfectly memorized—Grantaire attempted to cover for them by throwing back his head and wailing, as if he was losing more and more of his grip on his humanity.

They were just finishing the first verse of The Black Keys’ “Howling for You” when Grantaire saw him: a tall, handsome stranger lingering at the back edge of the room, with intense eyes and an even more intense air of stone-cold sobriety. He wasn’t smiling, wasn’t frowning, just—looking. Disapprovingly? Apathetically? Saddled with a bad case of heartburn? It was hard to tell.

The chorus started up, and Grantaire sang along with Eponine and Bahorel:

“Da da da da da, da da da da da da—”

Grantaire grinned as more and more of the crowd joined in—pulled along less by the band’s general prowess or charisma and more by a drunk college student’s inherent love of an easy earworm, but Grantaire wasn’t splitting hairs at this point.

“Da da da da da, da da da da da—”

A sea of bobbing, singing partygoers, and there on the fringes, Offensively Sober Guy stood perfectly still, watching Grantaire so intently that Grantaire almost forgot the words to the refrain.

Or rather, the word.

Or rather, the single repeating syllable.

To Offensively Sober’s left, two guys attempted to clink their beer bottles together and somehow lost their balance, careening into him. He maintained his impeccable posture as if they weren’t even in the room, never breaking his stare. It was honestly a little creepy.

For reasons Grantaire would later not be able to fully reconstruct, he decided the funniest thing to do would be to wink and smirk and generally pretend like Sober was really, really into him.

[maeslastbraincell]

Red and Black translation from the new french Châtelet version of Les Mis

(Combeferre)

Enjolras!

At the pont au change all sections are ready (Au pont au change toutes les sections sont prêtes)

(Feuilly)

We're gathering at the Barrière du Maine (On se rassemble à la Barrière du Maine)

(Courfeyrac)

Sculptors, marble workers burn to walk alongside us (Les sculpteurs, les marbriers, brûlent de marcher avec nous)

And the masons of Montreuil will all be there (Et les maçons de Montreuil seront tous au rendez-vous)

(Enjolras)

Friends, it's time (Amis, c'est l'heure)

So near, the enemy is the one worrying (Si proche que c'est l'ennemi qui s'inquiète)

We shall not let (Ne laissons pas)

The wine go to our heads (Le vin nous monter à la tête)

It is easy to shoot from a cafe's stage (C'est facile de tirer de l'estrade d'un café)

But the national guards have real pistols (Mais les gardes nationaux ont de vrais pistolets)

The furnace heating up our minds (Il faut que la fournaise qui chauffe dans les esprits)

Needs to spread like powder in the streets of Paris (Se répande comme la poudre dans les rues de Paris)

We need a sign (Il faut un signe)

So the people will rise and take arms (Pour que le peuple se lève et qu'il prennent les armes)

And share the flame (Et qu'il partage la flamme) (*See footnote)

Marius, you're late (Marius [tu es] t'es en retard)

(Joly)

What's happening with you? (Qu'est-ce qu'il t'arrive?)

Marius, you look weird (*see footnote) (Marius [tu as] t'as l'air bizarre)

(Grantaire)

You're not saying anything and you smile to angels! (Tu [ne] dis rien et tu souris aux anges!)

(Marius)

An angel maybe, an angel you say (Un ange peut-être, un ange dis-tu)

It was an angel, that is why (C'était un ange voilà pourquoi)

Her light carries my soul to the skies (Sa lumière porte mon âme aux nues)

(Grantaire)

I'm on the arse of my bottle (*see footnote) (Chui [Je suis] sur le cul de ma bouteille)

Marius got a sunburn (Marius a pris un coup de soleil)

He pulls out the violins, oh la la! (Il nous sort les violons, ouh, la la!)

We prepare to fight (Nous on se prépare à l'attaque)

And there comes Don Juan (Et voilà Don Juan qui débarque)

We're better here than at the Opera! (On est mieux ici qu'à l'Opéra!)

(Enjolras)

The Opera is closed, but from the darkness (L'Opéra est fermé, mais venues des ténèbres)

Other voices will sing the song of a country burning up (D'autres voix vont chanter le grand air d'un pays qui s'enfièvre)

Those who aren't ready to pay the price of their lives (Celui qui n'est pas prêt à payer de sa vie)

Can go back to get pampered by their family (Peut retourner se faire choyer dans sa famille)

Friends, the time has come to tale back the Bastille (Amis l'heure a sonné de reprendre la Bastille)

Red, the flame of anger (Rouge, la flamme de la colère)

Black, the night of ignorance (Noire, la nuit de l'ignorance)

Red, a world about to be born (Rouge, un monde en train de naître)

Black, the death of innocence (Noire, la mort de l'innocence)

(Marius)

Ah, if you had seen her, you would know the softness (Ah si vous l'aviez vu, vous sauriez la douceur) (* See footnote)

To be struck to the heart and to bless your wound within the hour (D'être atteint en plein coeur et sur l'heure de chérir sa blessure)

Ah, if you had seen her, when she looked at me (Ah si vous l'aviez vu, quand elle m'a regardé)

You would know that the ember of a lighting of passion (Vous sauriez que la braise d'un éclair de passion)

Can ignite the world like a revolution (Peut enflammer le monde comme une révolution)

(Grantaire)

Red! (Rouge!)

(Marius)

A flame burns in my heart (Une flamme brûle dans mon coeur)

(Grantaire)

Black! (Noir!)

(Marius)

The hell of an hour without her (L'enfer d'une heure sans elle)

(Everyone)

Red! (Rouge!)

(Marius)

A love being born (L'amour en train de naître)

(Everyone)

Black! (Noir!)

(Marius)

The death of a spark (La mort d'une étincelle)

(Enjolras)

Marius, get down from your cloud, put away your gift that fell from the sky (Marius, descends de ton nuage, range ton cadeau tombé du ciel)

Listen to the voice calling us (Écoute la voix qui nous appelle)

Make your little heart wait, it is for a bigger cause that we fight (Fait patienter ton petit coeur, c'est pour une grande cause qu'on se bat)

And our little lives don't count at all (Et nos petites vies ne comptent pas)

(Everyone)

Red, the flame of anger (Rouge, la flamme de la colère)

Black, the night of ignorance (Noire, la nuit de l'ignorance)

Red, a world being born (Rouge, un monde en train de naître)

Black, the death of hope (Noire, la mort de l'espérance)

*I cannot make out clearly what Enjolras is singing here, so I went with the most likely. It is different from the original version, so the lyrics aren't found online. If you know the real lyric, please comment!!

*I am not kidding, this is hilarious

*Who came up with this

*It's unclear here if Marius is talking to all of the students or only to Enjolras but with a polite speech (vous instead of tu)

Any comment/suggestions to improve the translation is very welcome!

[transrevolutions]

I know thematically Grantaire standing up with Enjolras is supposed to be the middle class rising up but I’m confused to how he got there. Can you point out the chapter where Grantaire changes his mind and embraces revolution? I thought he just rants, falls asleep and wakes up in time to die with Enjolras.

That's the thing! Grantaire doesn't join in the fighting, or help with the barricade during the battle. He does just rant, fall asleep, and wake up in time to die with Enjolras. But Enjolras isn't the only moving piece here, so to speak.

Him waking up in time to die with Enjolras is him embracing revolution. But it's not just (or even primarily) because "oh Enjolras was there and Grantaire is in love with Enjolras and has an innate brain buzzer that goes off whenever Enjolras is in danger near him".

(Explanation under the cut for length)

When Grantaire falls asleep, he says "let me sleep here- until I die". This is another expression of his characteristic cynicism about the whole thing- at this point, the barricade is not in immediate danger and things are actually going quite well with its construction. There's no solid reason to assume any of them are definitely going to die... unless you're Grantaire, who thinks revolution is just doomed.

When he wakes up, things are entirely different. The barricade has been overrun. Many of the insurgents are dead. The government has not been toppled and the soldiers have breached the tavern. When Grantaire awakens, he is explicitly described as immediately perceiving what has occurred ("the drunkard... is aware of how things stand"). All at once, he comes to the realization that the government has just killed his very close friends.

Another quote in the OFPD sequence goes "The fuddle of drunkenness, a kind of vapour that blinds the brain, dissipates and gives way to the clear, obsessive, sharply defined claims of reality". This is about literal drunkenness, of course, but I believe also about the nature of Grantaire's philosophy. All of a sudden, the man who previously "had no strong feelings against this government" is seeing and acknowledging just how horrible it is, and how standing against it is a necessity, not merely foolishness.

Grantaire has every selfish reason (which Hugo has earlier derided as being a flaw of the same non-revolutionary inactive subsect of the populace that Grantaire is posited to represent) to just. continue not to act! He could quite possibly fake sleep and save himself and twist these circumstances to prove his worldview correct and justified (that revolution will always fail, that it's not worth the sacrifice, that nothing can change, etc.)

But he doesn't.

He stands up and says "Long live the Republic". Not long live Enjolras. Not even long live the ABC Society, or long live my friends, or anything referencing solely the 'personal' losses he's just incurred. No, he says "Long live the Republic"- the greater cause. The ideological cause. The abstract principle which the others fought for, and which he'd so frequently mocked. He's not even purely reactive to his circumstances in this instance! He has an actual political conviction!

And then he goes and stands and dies beside Enjolras (who, for his part, has been fully on board with this cause since his introduction). This is the scion of the apathetic, self-serving, mind-your-own-business portion of the populace, and he is standing beside the representative of the involved, committed, politically engaged, revolutionary portion of the populace. It's foreshadowing of a possible- probable- inevitable future in which all gain conviction and take a stand for the freedom and equality of humanity.

[rstarsk]

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-

[prouvairesverse]

my les mis fan fic recommendations :3

these are all my fav les mis fics that i wanna share!! most of it is between enjoltaire or jehanparnasse (though there is other ships too), definitely make sure to check out any warnings but i would recommend all of these!! i love them a lot <3

if any authors want to be untagged lmk!

It’s Not The Same Anymore - Enjolras/Grantaire | 173k words | my all time favourite fic out of any fandom i’ve read, it’s so so sweet <3 i reread it this a lot and recommend it everywhere LOL. i love everything about this fic!!!! | author -> @shamedumpster

Of Growth And Decay - Montparnasse/Jehan | 27k words | hades x persephone au | absolutely adore this fic i think about it so much <33 i reread this so often as well!! jehanparnasse being compared to hades/persephone is my favourite thing ever | author -> @just-french-me-up

Le Conte de Café - Montparnasse/Jehan | 45k words | faerie jehan owns a lil cafe <3 soso sweet i love it !! | author -> @mysunfreckle

Liberté, Egalité, Demi-plié - Enjolras/Grantaire | 71k words | ballet au!!! i love the concept of this fic a lot it was so interesting!! ballet au’s have my heart | author -> @darrenjolras

The Bug Collector - Combeferre/Enjolras | 812 words | can i just talk about how much i love everything stevie writes? perfect every time. ly @thatisntverycombefair

[series] At The Shrine Of Friendship Never Say Die - collection of sick!one shots surrounding the triumvirate

Even If There Are Monsters - Cosette/Marius | Enjolras/Grantaire | 38k words | DRACULA AU. i’m so obsessed with this. 2 of my biggest interests mixed i love it <333 | author -> @syrupsyche

Geraniums - Enjolras/Grantaire/Combeferre | 3k words | lil flower shop au <3 | author -> @putoriius

I’ve Seen Sinking Ships Go Down With More Grace Than You - Combeferre/Courfeyrac | 25k words | courfeyrac gets temporary amnesia. chaos ensues! i love this fic a lot

Beyond Time And Possibility - Enjolras/Grantaire | 16k words | when i say this fic lingers in the back of my mind constantly I MEAN IT. enjoltaire sort of time travel au with canon era enjolras x modern grantaire. the ending ruined me. | author -> @bittersweet-skylines

Beautiful & Good - Enjolras/Grantaire | 200k words | this was the first les mis fic i ever read!!!! i love it so so so much. i love the writing of this so much & the ending <333 so so good. | author -> @riotstarruika

Oillet Rouge - Montparnasse/Jehan | 4k words | canon era unrequited jehanparnasse . this made me cry and i haven’t stopped thinking about it since i read it </3

The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine - Montparnasse/Jehan | 5k words | one of the first fics i read of these two and it’s stuck with me i love it so much <33 | author -> @television-bodies

Oh It’s What You Do To Me - Enjolras/Grantaire | 7k words | long distance exr <3

16 Lies And Counting - Montparnasse/Jehan | 85k words | UGHHHHHH i love this fic so much. another one by sunfreckle and let me say, all of their fics are honestly so so good. i had to really hold back from not putting more

Everything Changes - Cosette/Marius | 1.1k words | cute lil marisette story <3

Magical Museums - 648 words | short natm au where feuilly works at a museum!!! i love it. i am obsessed with this concept as well

Something Telling (Between Then And Now) - Enjolras/Grantaire | 99k words | time travel au! canon era enjolras is transported to the future with modern era grantaire!! love this one. | author -> @dannypuro

Demiromantic - Montparnasse/Jehan | 1.7k words | i project heavily onto jehan & believe he’s demi so seeing this made me sob. i love it so much <3 it’s so cute

[ronanlynchian]

we need something to hold us (during and after)

Suddenly, everything had gone to shit. Grantaire had been distracted— someone had snagged his attention, maybe they were trying to get him to take a picture of them or something, but the next thing he knew, he was hearing screams. A crowd was rushing past him, violent and fervent in their urge to scatter; all Grantaire could see was Enjolras. He reached for him, grabbed his arm, and held on tightly, keeping both of them in place. He tugged at Enjolras’s sleeve, pulling him close, wrapping his arms around him in the way he was allowed only in disasters such as these; Enjolras permitted it, sinking his face into Grantaire’s chest, breathing in the sweat of his t-shirt, finding the things that made Grantaire human— the fast, yet steady, thrum of his heartbeat, the pulsing of his biceps against Enjolras’s skin, all of it. Enjolras held back a shaky sob and looked at Grantaire with something unfamiliar in his eyes: fear. Enjolras had never looked at him with that much fear written all over his face— typically, Enjolras looked at him with disdain, something fierce, but the way he looked at him in that crowd was, to say the least, distressing.

(aka, my first ever barricade day fic, even tho ive been here for 9 years)

early posting for barricade day 2025 💃🏼 ao3 linking wasn’t working, check and mind the tags before you read!! modern au, canon-typical angst-ridden hurt comfort (or, grantaire takes a dazed enjolras out a crowd crush and then nurses him back to health like a baby bird; austenian love confessions follow)

[enjolraspermettendo]

I finally saw Les Miserables live in Milan yesterday so obligatory yap:

Okay first of all: KILLIAN DONNELLY?!?!?!? I was already excited that I was going to see him as Valjean but god that man's voice is just so beautiful. He played a spectacular Valjean, he dominated the stage and the crowd went wild every time he sang. I have no words. Just. What an experience. The whole cast was amazing but jesus, this man could do a one man show of Les mis and id give my first born to see it. Also, he carried around Marius's actor like he weighed nothing, that's so Valjean of him. Also, his soliloquy broke me, how he tried to give back the candlesticks after the bishop gave them to him, how he let the bag fall on the floor and picked it up only later. The emotion he put into his singing constantly brought tears to my eyes. What a voice. Indescribable

JAVERT!!!! Bradley Jaden was amazing. I love how much rage he gave to his character, it felt very true to the novel, on how he's compared to a wolf. In stars he's so devoted but the part that literally shook me was after he let Valjean and Marius go: he literally lost his mind and shouted "WHO IS THIS MAN" with such a wild air I literally gasped. He was unhinged during that song, so outraged and bitter and I loved it. It almost felt like he was killing himself to take Valjean's act of mercy away from him instead of his internal turmoil and honestly? I loved it. He had such a presence on stage it literally felt like he was the law. Also let's be honest, he rocked the coat

I LOVED Channa Hewitt as Fantine, She had such a warm and soft voice it felt like a mother's embrace. I cried 4 times during the show and 2 of those were Fantine's death and Fantine's part during the finale. She was perfect

Nathania Ong as Eponine????? I don't think I've ever heard someone sing her parts as perfectly as her. What a voice. Honestly I think the applauses for her were some of the longest and they were completely deserved. She made me cry. Amazing. Spectacular. I fell a little bit a lot in love. Unfortunately she missed the "He was never mine to lose" line but I think it was because her microphone wasn't connected?? Never mind she was perfect.

I know you all want to know about our boys Enjolras and Grantaire so. There wasn't much enjoltaire going on tbh but I didn't mind, I still think the actors (James D. Gish and Raymond Walsh) were perfect and I love their performance. Enjolras was completely focused on the revolution and keeping the others on track, while Grantaire mainly stuck with Gavroche all throughout. Enjolras's most positive reaction to grantaire was ironically clapping with the others at R's jokes once during Red and Black, but apart from that he was fairly hostile to him. During Drink With Me he tried to stop R from singing and bringing down morale by getting close to him and roughly saying "That's enough!" into the same microphone; after he stopped singing and everyone started moving away Enjolras tried to stop Grantaire or talk to him, he seemed kind of apologetic, but R Simply raised his bottle to him in a mock toast and then turned his back to him and I loved that, I love a bitter and petty Grantaire. Grantaire at the beginning was very amused by the whole situation and the excitement of the others, during red and black and the building of the barricade he kept hyping Gavroche up and parting his shoulder, nudging him towards the others as if it was all a game. When the first shots sounded he seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and started nudging Gavroche away and motioning for him to go away; later when the shooting for the fall of the barricade started sounding he lifted Gavroche in his arms and held him as the others started to fall until only them and Enjolras stood; then Gavroche went limp and R died with him, Enjolras died last. For the rest of the show and for Empty Chairs at Empty Tables Enjolras, Grantaire and Gavroche were on the small balcony/platform over the centre of the stage and to be honest it had a very "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" vibe in my opinion.

One Day More was absurd, it gave me chills all throughout.

When Valjean died and the bishop came in the hugged each other very hard, Valjean basically fell into the bishop's arms and that hit me hard.

Gavroche was so sassy I loved him.

Honestly everyone was perfect I literally have nothing bad to say. I think Enjolras's actor lost controls of his voice on a sillable but who cares, it was all amazing.

I also got merch! (It was all so expensive????? But I couldn't help myself). I got a tote bag with Cosette's famous illustration, a magnet and a brochure with the history of Lea Miserables and information and interviews of the World Tour cast. I also got 2 of the paper bags (they were cute okay) and my mum grabbed a literal handful of the bookmarks they were giving away lmao.

I'm sure I had something else I wanted to say but after these last 3 days my brain is completely scrambled. If any of you were at the show yesterday or are going in these days feel free to hit me up so we can go crazy together lmao

[enjolrasoftheday]

Hello!! Do you know any good Enjolras/Grantaire fics ? Asking for scientific purposes only, naturally

Well, if it's in the name of science...

I do have some recommendation lists in my fic rec tag, and I absolutely still stand by those. But! Here are some more recent fics, in no particular order, that I've enjoyed (and may or may not have speed-read in the last week since receiving this ask, I swear I wasn't ignoring you, I was just conducting important research lol). I’m not going to include the tags/warnings for each fic, so remember to take a look at those on ao3!

Also if anyone else has any recs, feel free to add them in the comment or reblogs!

Happy reading!!

Seek and Destroy by pumpkinspiceprouvaire (27,102 words)

Because Grantaire doesn’t feel that way about him. Grantaire is his friend, and Enjolras will love him from a distance, and that’s the way it’s always been, the way it’s always going to be. Enjolras’ blood freezes in his veins. It’s so obvious. This isn’t Grantaire.

restoring the balance by televisionbodies (14,427 words)

“How long are you stuck here?” He thinks for a moment. “The next train is in about five hours time. And then I’ve got work again, tomorrow.” “No wonder you wanted a coffee,” the bartender murmurs. “Well, then. You’ve got plenty of time to let me show you around.” — It’s 12:36am on a Wednesday and Enjolras, consumed with his work, has missed the last train home.

Les beaux cheveux que voilà by GayAvocado (9,184 words)

One should always have a hair tie around their wrist. If not for their own hair, for others’, or for the multitude of mundane situations that require a hair tie. So of course Grantaire has a hair tie around his wrist tonight. A pink one that might have belonged to Jehan or Azelma or both at some point. The neon colour will look lovely in the middle of Enjolras' golden curls. Or: For some reason, Grantaire finds himself braiding Enjolras’ hair way more often than he thought he ever would. Things change between them.

And Pages To Go by femmebingley (5,441 words)

Grantaire loses his sketchbook. /// “You’ve had it this whole time?” Grantaire couldn’t even find enough indignation to cover his growing terror. “Did you open it?” Enjolras sighed, and that was it. Grantaire’s life was over.

Lost in All of Our Vices by cx_shhhh (11,220 words)

“You will be banished for an indeterminate amount of time and stripped of your godly abilities,” Javert announces, voice booming in the echoing hall, not unlike the thunder he represents. “Until you learn that order is necessary for the gods to stay in power, that the respect of mortals is valuable to us, and until you learn to love them wholeheartedly, you will live like one.” Basically, Enjolras is banished from the heavens, and he learns that a god can, indeed, fall in love.

The Worst First Date by kjack89 (3,443 words)

Enjolras sat down at his desk, fresh mug of coffee in front of him, and took a moment to adjust the ring light behind his cellphone before taking a deep breath and pushing record. “So, um, I hope no one minds but we are taking a break today from our usually scheduled ranting at various governmental institutions because one of my best friends wants me to do a TikTok that’s part of this viral trend.” Or, the one where Enjolras makes a TikTok about his first date with Grantaire.

Green Rushes by loverism (6,043 words)

The mermaid, Enjolras, bites his lip, glaring at Grantaire like he's trying to determine whether he's serious. Grantaire supposes he was probably raised on stories of how evil the cave-witches are, how deceitful; how they mock everything they speak of; how they're driven only by profit; and above all, how striking a bargain with one of them is never, ever worth it. Grantaire can't exactly call those stories inaccurate. or: grantaire is a sea witch chilling in a cave, mixing potions and trying to mind his own business. enjolras has other ideas.

Love is Blind by kjack89 (32,982 words)

Enjolras sat down in front of the camera, and the producer just off-screen gave him a reassuring smile. “Nothing to it,” the producer promised. “Just introduce yourself and tell everyone why you’re here.” Enjolras jerked a nod before looking into the camera. “My name is Enjolras,” he said. “I’m 31 years old, and I’m here because this is the first season that this show has been open to queer contestants.” The producer cleared his throat. “So do you believe Love is Blind?” he prompted. Enjolras gave the camera a smile. “Well,” he said. “That’s what we’re here to find out.”

Love Bites by ShameDumpster (9,557 words)

"What—" Enjolras says, breath hitching at the sight, “What are you doing?” Grantaire immediately freezes, and then pulls back, slightly. Even still, it’s closer than they’ve ever actually been, barely a foot between their faces. "I…need to bite you?" he says, managing to sound both wry and nervous at the same time, "How exactly did you think this worked?" In which Grantaire has recently been turned into a vampire, and Enjolras offers to help him. For the Same-Prompt Fic Challenge 2022

Tell Me Why (Ain’t Nothin but a Heartache by cs_shhhh (3,281 words)

It starts slowly, of course. Grantaire already pays too much attention to Enjolras, so it’s easy to spot the white petals, no matter how hard he tries to hide it. Enjolras seems to grow angrier and angrier when the coughing starts interrupting his speeches, so much that Combeferre has to take over after pushing a glass of water towards him, and he casts the flowers to the ground, glaring at them.

anything you want, boy (i can make it happen) by thewalrus_said (3,545 words)

As he’d been falling asleep, he’d expected to feel devastated, or heartbroken, or something negative after a clearly one-off night with the object of his long-held desires, but instead he just feels...satisfied, almost content. Enjolras clearly finds him at least physically desirable, and he’s apparently in Enjolras’ head at least a little bit, and that turns out to be enough for him. He’s finally had sex with Enjolras, and while it hadn’t been what he’d secretly hoped for, it had still been good, and so the memory doesn’t drag him down like he’d feared it might. So when he answers a knock on his door a week later to find a breathless Enjolras, who immediately pushes his way into Grantaire’s apartment and says, “I think we should have sex again,” he’s more than a little taken aback.

The Arms of the Ocean, so Sweet and so Cold by ShameDumpster (11,867 words)

Sirens attack the crew of the dreaded pirate ship, the Musain. They send out Enjolras to deal with it, as in the past, he’s proven himself to be unaffected by their song. Unfortunately for him, as he’s told Grantaire many times, things can (and do) change. And this change may leave his life, and heart, in the balance.

It Only Takes a Meow-ment by cx_shhhh (7,158 words)

“The prince is finally putting out a challenge for his hand. He has a very loyal cat, you see. Whichever suitor, man or woman, can obtain the ring attached to the bow around its neck will be given the time of day.” Or Enjolras is oblivious, and it impacts everyone around him in the best way possible.

neon loneliness by dyhtps (4,345 words)

He lets his gaze fall around the kitchen. A coffee mug left out on the side, a tea-towel hung over the oven handle, even one of those awful kiss the cook aprons that he figures must belong to Enjolras’ boyfriend. Grantaire blames the concussion for the sudden, awful sinking feeling in his stomach. He decided he hates the mystery boyfriend, maybe he's been an arse to future Grantaire before and it's just his subconscious warning him to get away from the guy as quick as he can. or Grantaire loses his memory, is jealous of Enjolras' mystery boyfriend and finally realises that's actually him.

visiting hours by televisionbodies (5,731 words)

”I guess I’m just surprised you’re still in here at all.” “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Enjolras says smoothly, knowing exactly what Grantaire means. “Two months?” One side of Grantaire’s mouth is turning upwards. “I didn’t think you were capable of sitting still that long.” — 5 times grantaire visits enjolras in prison, and 1 time he doesn’t have to.