#nb!grantaire

[whorejolras]

11 & 22 for any ship/character!! :D for the fandom ask game <3

thank you bb! ask game

(angel numbers nice)

11. What's your favourite piece of fanart for [ship]?

oh god FAVOURITE urgh. time to scroll the e/r tag and see what i've reblogged recently

ok i've been thinking about this by @shamedumpster since literally the moment it dropped

that grippy hand. i can't stop thinking about it.

scrolling my e/r tag i saw this one by @perplexingly again and had to stop and stare for several minutes

but this by @the-march-hair is the definitive e/R fanart to me

22. Give us a headcanon for [character]

i've been thinking a lot about enjolras playing with genderfuckery after he transes his gender. getting more comfortable in himself and wearing more feminine colours and styles and painting his nails and wearing heels and skirts and lipgloss.

i just really love cross dresser enjolras. enjolras in drag. but he's also transmasc 👏🏻

also grantaire froths at the mouth for it and gets so hard he passes out

[grantaire-lover-69]

Most peggable men/masc nb(back due to being bored):

. Enjolras

. Mr Tweak

. Bob Velseb

. Grantaire(specifically the book version😩💦)

. Pollution from Good Omens

. Joly

. Combeferre

. Courfeyrac

. König(I wanna climb him like a mountain)

. Ghost

. Crowley

. Sammy Lawrence(he's oiled up and everything 😩💦)

. PC Principle

. Stephen Stotch

Remember: if there's a hole, there's a goal🫶😘

[forcryingoutbat]



Work Is Dead and I Am Sad: An exploratory essay on Samuel Wyn Morris' portrayal of Enjolras in the 2021-2023 UK Tour

I think there's a general agreement that with Enjolras as a character, one of his defining characteristics is his passion, but that's not always portrayed in the same way. He's pasionate about justice, against corrupt systems that crush all the lower people, and bluntly speaking, about the world being way less shit.

But something that I thik shines through with Sam's portryal is how much he genuinely cares about people. Yes, people in the sense of every person who he sees he wants to help them, and also in the sense of en mass The People who deserve to be able to live happy lives. But somethin I think that really stands out, is you can see how much he cares about his friends. I am absolutely and resolutely for an Enjolras who actually seems to like the people he chooses to surround himself with.

I always love seeing it during ABC Cafe. He smiles and is amused at his friends antics even when they're joking around and teasing him, before pushing everyone back on track to the important subject at hand. It's also very clear following Gavroche's death. The moment after you see him mourning, and it never feels he's sad because Someone needlessly died, he's heartbroken because *Gavroche* died. He wasn't a just a suporter, or just a boy, he was a friend. Similarly, during the final battle, his final words ring with so much emotion, so much anger that it's come to this, that they've dared hurt the people he cares about.

On another note, I don't believe i can sufficiently put into words just how incredible his voice sounds. The range and depth absolutely astounds me every single time, and trust me, I have seen this show many, many times.

I'm sure I can add more to this, but I'm still very emotional. But yeah, give me an Enj who likes his friends.

NB: also he has rather excellent hair

NBB: he blew grantaire a kiss during Drink With Me at the muck up. That's only tangentially related, but it's important everyone knows that.

I'm bored at work, thinking about Sam Wyn Morris as Enjolras and *this close* to saying screw it to passing the time by writing an essay on why I love his version so much

[probably-enjolras]

jetaire! nb R and genderfluid jehan!

ooooh jehantaire is one of my guilty pleasures, like as much as i love exr, these two hold a special place in my heart (also jetaire autocorrects on my phone to je t’aime so it’s canon)

as i’ve said before, Grantaire gives zero shits when it comes to their gender. they have and will wear their stubble proudly while walking around in a skirt or dress

Jehan also uses they/them pronouns unless they specify otherwise. they struggled for a long time on their gender before accepting it as a fluid thing and just going with the flow

once, jehan convinced R to grow out their beard and Jehan stuck flowers into the messy hair

grantaire always leaves little fingerprints in paint when Jehan leaves the house. Jehan never washes it off and its always careful to keep it on their hand until they get home

their house is a mess. jehan goes through many outfits before settling on one in the morning and the moment R gets home, they just shed their clothes in random rooms, so the entire house is a tripping hazard

there is a wall dedicated to throwing paint at it when stressed, there are some flower petals in the paint as well

jehan once knit grantaire a blanket and it’s now sitting in the living room for cuddle sessions

(a personal favorite headcanon for me) jehan helped grantaire become sober, and r thanks them for that everyday

there is a debate going on in their house on whether coffee or tea is better

both love canon nonbinary characters and jehan totally dressed as Alex Fierro for halloween one time

grantaire is probably the only person to come close to having as messy of a fashion sense as jehan

jehan knitting a pronoun sweater for grantaire

grantaire defending jehan from bigots

JEHAN DEFENDING R FROM BIGOTS

ok i love these babes so damn much ok?

[hms-chill]

(Not a) Hugger

Summary: It's been a few years since Grantaire was hugged. Or cuddled. Or touched for any length of time.Which is fine. Really.

Except that it isn't fine, and he would very much like to be hugged, but the only thing worse than being touch-starved would be seeming needy.

OR: Grantaire communicate with your friends god damn it

Trigger warning for the mention of an eating disorder. Grantaire's mostly better, but it's mentioned a few times, as is past abuse.

Grantaire can't remember the last time he was hugged. It was probably in high school, as part of one of the big group hugs that always followed successful soccer games the one year he played, so it's been about seven or eight years. Which is fine; he just doesn't think about it. He doesn't think about it when Cosette comes into the Musain for a meeting and hugs everyone, even Enjolras, who gives in and hugs her back, and they both look more relaxed when they separate. He doesn't think about it when she gives anyone going up for a speech a hug, and they relax enough to stay put together. When he gives a speech at a rally, just to get one of those hugs and gets instead a squeeze on the arm, he doesn't think about the fact that it's been years since anyone hugged him.

When he's at a movie night with Joly, Bossuet, and Munchetta, he doesn't think about how much he wants a hug. They'll pile onto each other, cuddling close, but that's fine. Grantaire gets the popcorn to himself, and he doesn't feel left out. He most certainly doesn't think about how much he'd like a hug when Combeferre mentions the effects of touch starvation in a meeting about prison injustice. He talks about it as a cruel and unusual effect of isolation, and Grantaire tries his hardest not to think about how his irritability and insomnia sound a lot like the evils Combeferre is upset about. He knows how it feels to be isolated, and he recognizes the feeling of being alone in a room full of people who claim to love him (and likely do, despite his infinite failures). But that's fine. He can live with all that. He just doesn't think about it.

Except that he does think about it, almost every day. He thinks about it a lot on bad days, when the eating disorder he thought he kicked out a few years ago rears its ugly head to remind him that no one would ever want to touch his body. On even worse days, he thinks about it when he hears his father's voice telling him that no one would ever touch him unless they wanted to hurt him. On the worst days, he wraps himself tightly in a blanket and pretends that's the same thing as a hug, or at least a good enough replacement. It never is, but he can pretend.

In his better moments, his rational brain reminds him that he could ask someone for a hug, but he can never bring himself to do it. If Cosette hugs everyone but him, there must be a reason, and it has to be that there is something wrong with him (the voice of the eating disorder points to the spare tire around his middle that's developed since it ruined his metabolism). If Joly cuddles with Bossuet and Munchetta all the time, it's because they're dating, and Grantaire can't disrupt their relationship any more than he already does. If Courfeyrac hugs everyone else, it's clearly only because he and Grantaire have the world's best secret handshake, and it would be a pity to miss even a single opportunity to use it. Besides, he can't impose on any of his friends. Asking them to hug him would make them uncomfortable, so he doesn't say anything, and if things get worse, he pretends not to notice.

The worst part is that he's not sure why. If he knew why his friends don't hug him, despite the fact that they all hug each other, it might be easier. 'You smell', 'I don't want to', or even just 'bad vibes' would be easier to deal with than the options his shit brain gives him. But he doesn't know, and if he asks anyone, they'll know he's upset by it and everything will be ruined. They'll either hug him out of necessity or continue to ignore him, and he's not sure which would be worse.

It all boils over after a movie night turned sleepover at Combeferre's. Grantaire wakes up before his friends to see nearly all of them cuddling someone. Feuilly's head is on Bahorel's chest, and Jehan is held under his arm. Joly is sandwiched between his partners. Enjolras is holding Combeferre's arm while Courfeyrac hugs his boyfriend from behind. Even Marius, who never wants a partner and is usually not a cuddler, is snuggled up with them, his back pressed against Courfeyrac's. Eponine and Cosette are cuddled close, Gavroche clinging to Eponine's back like a spider monkey. But Grantaire, despite being very available for cuddles, is left out of every single pile. He puts on his shoes and slips out the door. He can't do this. He can't watch from the outside as all his friends love each other; it might destroy him.

Joly finds him later, in his own apartment, sitting on the couch with his knees pulled up to his chest, staring at a dark TV screen. His hair is still damp and sweaty from the hardest run of his life, his breakfast sits untouched on the coffee table, and he's not sure if the salt on his face is from sweat or dried tears. He'd like to blame the tears on the wind, but it's a still day.

Joly sits beside him on the couch, then reaches over to squeeze his hand. That tiny touch is nearly enough for Grantaire to break down again.

"We missed you when we woke up this morning. Bossuet thought maybe you'd come back for your bag, but he had to work, so I brought it over. Do you want to talk?"

Grantaire shakes his head. It would be so easy to lean over and flop into Joly's lap. Just a simple fall, and he'd be touching his friend, and things would be, if not okay, so much better than the pressing loneliness he's used to. But he can't. Joly doesn't hug him, and there must be a reason, and he can't make his friend uncomfortable.

"Alright, well, I just wanted to let you know that we missed you. We love you, R. Do... do you mind if I stay for a bit? It looks like it's going to rain, and that means the bus will be crowded, and we both know people don't respect the handicapped seats nearly enough for me to want to deal with them right now."

"Please do. You can turn something on if you want. Sorry I smell." I'm sorry you're trapped with someone like me. I'm sorry for being a disgrace of a person. I'm sorry you worried. I'm sorry you have to know me. I'm sorry.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. How do you feel about Bake off?"

"It's not a great food day. Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for; I'm glad you told me. I'm proud of you. How about Too Cute instead?"

"That sounds good."

"Perfect."

Joly loads an episode called "Super Pups: Pint Sized", his hand never leaving Grantaire's. They watch quietly, the sounds of rain starting to fall outside complementing the show's bouncy soundtrack. But "Super Pups" autoplays into a kitten episode, and when it opens on a shot of the kittens piled up together, Grantaire feels the icy grip around his insides tighten. He swallows hard, then takes a deep breath and tells Joly he's going to the bathroom. He finds a discarded flannel there to muffle the tears he's been trying his best to ignore.

A few minutes later, there's a soft knock on the door.

"R? Can I help, Love?"

"I'm fine." His voice doesn't sound like his. He's made Joly get up and come find him, and he's made Joly worry again, and he's done everything wrong. This is why his friends don't like him enough to touch him.

"I... I want to help you, R, I do. Please know that. I'm sorry for holding your hand; I know you don't like to be touched. That was--"

Grantaire cuts him off by throwing the door open. Joly stumbles back in surprise, catching himself on the wall of the hallway.

"You... you think I don't like to be touched?"

"I know you don't. I'm sorry."

"Don't... no, don't be sorry. I loved that. It... it's not you holding my hand that made me cry, I promise."

"But you hate being touched. Bossuet tried to hug you once and you flinched so hard you tripped over a couch."

The memory floods in: Grantaire, freshly at college on an art scholarship and still trying to believe that no one here wanted to hurt him, clinging to his one shot at a life away from his father. Bossuet, who'd taken two gap years and was bigger than Grantaire by a sizeable amount, coming toward him after a game night in the lounge with an arm raised in a position that Grantaire only knew as one of anger. Grantaire stumbling back, cowering, falling onto one of the lounge couches, and excusing himself to go hide under a blanket in the room he shared with Joly.

"That's... that's not... I thought he was going to hit me. I... He was so big, and so much stronger than I was, and I was just starting therapy and still trying to make myself eat a full meal sometimes instead of just going hungry, and if he'd wanted to hurt me I couldn't have stopped him. You remember how tiny I was; he could have snapped me in half, and after my dad, I wasn't at a point where I trusted him not to want to. I thought everyone hated me, and that they'd all want to hurt me, and that's what was scary. It wasn't about the hug. It was never about the hug."

"So you don't hate hugs?"

"You... you don't hug me because you thought I didn't like them?"

"We told the others, too. When we first dragged you to a meeting, Chetta told the group chat you didn't like hugs so that no one would scare you off. But you don't mind?"

"Not... ot at all. I mean, it's been... it's been a long time, but I don't think I mind hugs at all."

Joly comes back across the hallway slowly, like he's approaching a wild animal, and he wraps his arms around Grantaire and squeezes. Grantaire lets out a sob as his own arms come up to hold Joly close.

"I love you. I've got you. I'm sorry," Joly says softly, letting them sink to the floor together. "I love you, and I'll give you as many hugs as you want from now until forever."

Grantaire's not sure how long they stay there, in a pile outside his bathroom while he cries and Joly promises not to let go. It's at least until the sobs stop, but that's really no measure of time at all. When he's pulled himself together a bit, Joly pulls back just a touch and reaches up to cup his face, but Grantaire pulls back on instinct. Someone's hand near his face has never been a good thing. Joly pulls his hand away and squeezes Grantaire's arm instead.

"So your face isn't a place you're comfortable with me touching. I'm sorry. I should have asked. But I... R, I'm sorry about this, but my leg doesn't like being on the floor very much. Is it okay if we move this hug to the couch?"

Grantaire nods, trying his best not to be embarrassed of his flinch. Or his tears. Or the fact that he'd just broken down completely at a simple hug from a friend. There are a lot of things for him to be embarrassed of from the last hour, ever since Joly found him staring at a blank TV.

"Is it okay if I take your hand?" Joly asks, and Grantaire nods, so Joly holds his hand and leads the way to the couch. Too Cute is paused on the image of a kitten wobbling across a blanket.

"I'm going to go make some popcorn, and then I'm going to come back and cuddle the hell out of you while you eat it for breakfast," Joly says. "If you want to, when I get back, we... we could do something called green-yellow-red that Cosette taught me. It'll help us make sure we're both comfortable while we're cuddling, so for example, today, I'm... my chest and arms are green, and so's my back and shoulders, really anything from the waist up. So go for it with hugs there. My face I'm going to say yellow, and same with my hips and my good leg, so just ask and I'll let you know in the moment. My bad leg's red, so I'd rather you didn't touch it. Oh, and the top of my head is green. Does that make sense?"

Grantaire nods, doing his best to remember. He can't mess this up. If he ruins cuddling with Joly now, he might never get a second chance.

"And it's alright if you make a mistake; I can let you know if I'm ever uncomfortable. I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me on purpose; you'd never hurt anyone. Is it alright if I kiss the top of your head?"

"It's... it's nasty. I haven't been great at showering recently, and I went for a run."

"I don't mind, but do you?"

Grantaire thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. A few weeks ago, Cosette had taught everyone a game she used in consent workshops where they practiced saying yes or no, and she'd pushed them to make the choice in that moment however they felt. Grantaire is trying his hardest to make her proud.

Joly brings over a blanket and presses a kiss to the top of Grantaire's greasy, sweaty head before disappearing into the kitchen. As he hears popcorn start to pop, Grantaire takes stock of his body, trying to decide if it would help or hurt to have Joly cuddle the parts of it he (especially) hates. He's got some semblance of an answer by the time the popcorn's done, and he gives Joly an assessment that includes a green 'spare tire' (a phrase that makes Joly frown) and a red face. Joly repeats Grantaire's requests, asking about parts he forgot and referring to the spare tire as a stomach, which is probably the kindest thing anyone's called it since it developed. Then he hands Grantaire the popcorn and cuddles up next to him, stealing pieces from the bowl and always keeping at least one arm firmly around Grantaire.

When Bossuet gets off work, he joins them with pizza, and they play green-yellow-red again before Bossuet joins their pile. If Grantaire has the best nap he's had in years with Joly's arms around his waist and Bossuet's chin on his head, well, he tries not to envy Munchetta when he wakes up.

The next time he sees Cosette, she asks if she can hug him, beaming. He agrees, and she holds him so close and so tightly that he forgets to see his body as a disgusting mass of fat and acne for the rest of the day. She tells him he gives wonderful hugs, and he tells her that that quote will be his next tattoo. It makes her laugh, and he can't help but grin back. He and Courfeyrac add a hug to the end of their elaborate handshake, one that involves Grantaire supporting most of Courf's weight and not caring at all. His body may not be as thin as it once was, but now it can lift his friends in the air, which is clearly a good trade. At the next rally, when Joly's leg gets sore and Bossuet has already slipped twice, Grantaire pulls his friend onto his back. Joly's arms wrap around Grantaire's neck, and Grantaire becomes the hottest mobility aide at the protest.

In short, the floodgates are open. Once it's established that Grantaire enjoys hugs, he starts getting them regularly, and he eventually starts giving them, too. He starts spending evenings squished into a chair with Joly, often with the other man in his lap and occasionally with Jehan, Chetta, Bossuet, or a combination of the three leaning against him. He carries Joly when his leg gets bad or Gavroche when he's too short to see or exhausted but too proud to admit it. He hugs Eponine, something he hasn't done since puberty, and she nearly cries telling him how proud of him she is. He does cry, and that sets her off, and Gavroche finds them crying and brings them a carton of ice cream and two spoons and leaves them be.

He hugs Enjolras last. Enjolras isn't a hugger. Even after spending most of his life with Courfeyrac, he'll lean into hugs good-naturedly, but he won't initiate. Between that lack of initiation and Grantaire's overwhelming self-doubt, it's really a miracle that they hug at all. It finally happens at Courfeyrac's birthday party, and he maintains that it is the best gift he could ever get. Enjolras has just gotten into his top choice for law school, and he doesn't want to upstage Courf, but he's so excited he has to tell someone, and Grantaire is nearby. And Grantaire is thrilled, and he's so excited that hugging Enjolras feels like the most natural thing in the world. That, of course, tips their friends off to something major, which ends up stealing the moment for a bit as Grantaire and Enjolras find themselves in the middle of a giant group hug. But when Grantaire looks up to see Enjolras's grin, everything feels just right.

On AO3

Notes:

You know when you're just minding your own business, then suddenly your brain goes "hey, when was Grantaire hugged last?" and you have a mild crisis about your beautiful touch-starved son? Yeah. - To make things worse, I like to think of physical touch as one of Grantaire's main love languages, so he's just been casually not believing his friends love him for like seven years. - The consent games mentioned are ones we've done for the play I'm working on! Green-Yellow-Red is pretty explained, but for the other (yes/no), you all stand in a circle. You say someone else's name, and they say either 'yes' or 'no'. If they say 'yes', you walk to stand by them and it's their turn. If they say 'no', you ask someone else. It's super simple but I love it and think it's super important.

[bedazzledstrider]

I’m cute sometimes

[jackieparty]

How I Described the Amis to My Friends

there's 9 of them and no i am not counting marius bc marius can suck my cock and balls he’s not an amis. they’re also known as the “barricade boys” specifically in the musical, all of them die spoiler alert, modern au versions of them (very popular in les mis fandom) are queer 

ENJOLRAS - the leader, probably gay (real brick quote "it did not seem as though [Enjolras] were aware there was on earth a thing called woman") usually blonde and sexy as fuck, i personally go with the hc that he's trans bc in the brick he's described as feminine all the mf time "slab of marble" my ass (oh i kin him), “the leader” in the triumvirate 

COMBEFERRE - enjolras's second in command technically, wears glasses and associated with the color blue, he's known as a sexy scholar and the voice of reason within the group, aka group dad, i refuse to believe he's straight or white, “the guide” in the triumvirate

COURFEYRAC -  the other one in the triumvirate “the centre”, primary color yellow, everyone's best friend and marius's canon roomie (marius is bi for him and cosette we know this), he's known to be really flirty, but he keeps the group sane and together

JEHAN - everyone in the fandom hcs them as nb so they are nb because i say so, the poet of the group very indie vibes and horribly adorable sense of fashion, plant parent hippie bs 

FEUILLY - enjolras def favors him over everyone else, he canonically makes fans for a living and is really well-versed, interested in different parts of the world and really wants to travel, he’s precious and i adore him 

BAHOREL - BEAR MAN, gets into brawls all the mf time and also associated with the color red like enj, def a fruity gym bro, but he studies law despite not wanting to be a lawyer so what's the point even 

BOSSUET/LESGLES - name literally means eagle (lesgles) but i refer to him as bossuet bc its easier to remember, canonically bald all versions of him are bald, he is the clumsiest most unlucky mf in the entire world, unlucky is his personality trait, def in a relationship with musichetta (cafe worker) and joly 

JOLY - doctor man basically raddle from animal crossing bc he's always convinced that he's sick or that there's something wrong with him, therefore always carries around a cane and canonically lays in his bed so that hes aligned with the earth's poles, bf of bossuet and musichetta, hes the litol one in the poly couple

GRANTAIRE - also referred to as the letter "r", drunk as fuck all the time and believes in absolutely nothing except for CANONICALLY enjolras, his description in the brick is literally simping over enjolras and how beautiful he is, hes hced as an artist who paints enj all the mf time which i believe, canonically dies holding enjolras's hand, associated with the color green, in love with enjolras did i mention that hes in love with enj

[mysunfreckle]

Cooking for a Jamboree

Nonbinary R (he/they) making friends with J/B/M, modern AU, 1k

Musichetta is in the kitchen when she hears the front door open and she feels a small spark of happiness fizz at the back of her mind. It’s been almost two months since Bossuet and Joly both have a key and the spark isn’t as all-consuming as it was in the beginning, but it’s still there. The idea of them using their key and coming in on their own is still special.

“Chetta?” Bossuet’s voice calls out. “Is there room for one more at dinner?”

“Is the one more Bahorel?” she calls back suspiciously. “Cause if it is we need more potatoes and in that case some else can peel them.”

There’s a burst of laughter that clearly contains three voices and Musichetta walks into the living room to inspect this new guest who is clearly not Bahorel.

“Chetta this is Grantaire,” Joly says cheerfully. “They were running with a cop and tripped over Bossuet.”

“Tripped over Bossuet?” Musichetta echoes, giving Joly a kiss.

“I was tying my shoelace,” Bossuet explains, leaning down to receive his share of welcome-home affection.

“I’d make a joke about feeling left out,” Grantaire quips. “But fifty seconds into an acquaintance seems a little early to make demands of the hostess.”

“Hm,” Musichetta hums and she gives them an amused look. Grantaire looks scruffy and friendly. They have paint on their clothes and brightly coloured socks. Musichetta files both of these away under ‘endearing until proven otherwise’. “Better place to start is to explain how you were running with a cop,” she points out. “Boss and Jo’s friends are usually running from them.”

“Likewise,” Grantaire grins. “This was an exception.”

Joly and Bossuet are standing side by side, watching their girlfriend size up their new friend with twin grins on their faces.

Musichetta throws them a smiling glance before turning back to Grantaire. “Important question-” she says, narrowing her eyes a little.

“Hit me,” Grantaire says with a crooked grin.

“Can you cook?”

Grantaire snorts. “Well, I haven’t starved yet, so sure, I can cook,” they say.

“Promising,” Musichetta nods. “Well, how about you help me finish dinner and tell me about this exceptional running with cops session.”

“That means you can stay,” Joly whispers helpfully.

“I can do cooking and talking,” Grantaire agrees, shrugging off their bulky sweater.

They follow Musichetta to the kitchen, with Joly and Bossuet close behind. The kitchen is already on the small side for three people, let alone four.

“I’ll get out of your way,” Bossuet says, sitting down on the stool they keep in one of the corners (mostly for Joly to climb on when he can’t reach something).

“Good idea,” Joly says and he sits down on Bossuet’s lap.

“That’s nice,” Musichetta chides amusedly. “Grantaire is going to think you brought him over solely for the free labour.”

“I’m just keeping Bossuet out of harm’s way,” Joly says, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. “He already got tripped over today.”

“Yeah, how did that happen again?” Musichetta asks, looking at Grantaire.

“He was on the ground,” Grantaire explains. “I was running. I didn’t see him.”

“Running with a cop,” Musichetta says, handing them a bell pepper and a cutting board.

“No, the cop had left by then,” they correct, grabbing a knife out of the knife block with a level of confidence that Musichetta can’t help but approve of.

She begins preparing the rest of the stir-fry while Grantaire tells her how they were spray painting a mural on a shabby wall and got caught by a young cop who was going to tell them off, but honestly agreed that it was actually an improvement. The running had only come into it when two of his colleagues happened to drive by as well.

Musichetta has to put down her knife several times because she’s laughing too hard. Grantaire sure knows how to ham up a story for comedic effect.

Joly and Bossuet helpfully add colourful descriptions of Grantaire coming flying round a corner with a bag of spray cans slung over their shoulder and landing flat-out on the pavement as soon as they ran into Bossuet.

“Bossuet insisted it was his fault,” Grantaire says. “Which it wasn’t. And Joly insisted I must have gotten hurt. Which I hadn’t.”

“But you could have,” Joly says seriously.

“And if you had, it would have been my fault,” Bossuet adds.

“And your place was much closer than theirs, Chetta,” Joly explains. “And we know you don’t like it when we’re late for dinner.”

“Very true,” Musichetta nods. “You clearly had no choice but to force him to come home with you.” She twinkles her eyes at Grantaire, who grins.

“Worse things have happened to me on Friday nights,” they say.

Somehow Musichetta has no problem whatsoever believing that. But she hasn’t had this much fun talking to someone she only just met since…well, since she met Bossuet and Joly.

By the time they’re all seated around the table, loading their plates with food, Musichetta has found out that Grantaire laughs at Bossuet’s puns, appreciates Joly’s gross medical facts and has elevated making sarcastic observations to a damn art form. Speaking of art, turns out they’re an art student.

“I’m clearing the table before any of you ask me to draw you,” they declare after the first interrogation about what it is they do exactly.

“We wouldn’t dare,” Joly calls after them laughingly.

“I’d say yes, of course,” Grantaire call back. “I’d just also be suffering and resentful about it.”

Musichetta laughs and Bossuet beams at her.

“Aren’t they fun?” he says, lowering his voice.

“Yes,” she agrees. “They can stay.”

There’s a loud crash from the kitchen that sounds worryingly like a pan ending up on the floor. Musichetta, Bossuet and Joly wince in unison. They can just hear Grantaire’s muttered: “Fuck.”

“Too late to change your mind,” Bossuet grins.

“Honey, if accidentally destroying stuff was a deal breaker for me we’d have very different problems,” Musichetta teases and she drops a kiss on his forehead.

[moved-to-in-love-and-liberty]

This is for all the people who enabled me, including but not limited to @enjolras-would-bang-that and @wellhellothereitscassidy

This is how it starts. 

Grantaire standing in a corner store holding a tube of concealer. concealer, well isn't that just perfect, something to cover me, something to hide me, maybe if I use enough I can disappear. 

He buys it.

Next, comes foundation, bought hidden among milk and eggs and too much wine. maybe I can conceal myself and begin again, build a foundation that can bear the weight of the world. The clerk doesn’t say anything, only stares and when Grantaire gets back to his apartment he starts crying for no real reason

Products build up, a colorless collection of self-hate, designed to hide and conceal and destroy and oh god what if someone notices, what if they see that I’m wearing makeup. Boys don’t wear makeup.

Then, begrudgingly pulled along to pride-- it's okay, I’m okay, being bi is okay --he stops inside a corner store and a boy with glitter on his cheeks stops him and says -

“Cutie you would look amazing with winged eyeliner. you totally have the eyes for it.” and then, with a wink, the boy is gone, out into the swirl of colors and Grantaire is left alone clutching a bottle of water and an eyeliner pen.

He buys it. It was pride.

It takes a while, but hands that hold brushes, that box and dance are steady and gently pull wings out of the creases of his eyes. and when he looks his face is still colorless concealed disgusting-- but his eyes. 

His eyes are beautiful, they look big now, they fit his face now, and for the first time ever Grantaire can’t tear his eyes away from his reflection.

The next time he goes to buy condoms he lingers in front of the makeup case, what would mascara look like?

The time after that he buys some-- and finds out it makes him feel soft and coy, blinking at the mirror. 

Suddenly it becomes something he puts on every morning; do your makeup, make breakfast, put together your bag for the day, make lunch, go back to the bathroom and takes off your eye makeup because boys don’t wear makeup go to work

When Jehan asks him to try this new lipstick he doesn’t even flinch before saying ‘no’ because boys don’t wear makeup.

 but at home it is different, he starts to experiment,  all his extra money funneled to the drug store aisle, he starts to wear colors; lipstick, blush and eye shadow. he buys a highlight and cries because this is what the boy at pride was wearing, 

but the thing he buys most of is makeup remover because not in public not in publicnot in public notinpublic

and it is an untold secret among the amis, that Grantaire wears makeup, seen only in traces of color on his lips and cotton pads in the sink

It is Enjolras who breaks the silence, of course,  it is Enjolras who breaks the silence, giving Grantaire a collection of brushes, 36, and staring him down “Well you’ll need to show us some time” 

So then he wears makeup at home and at amis meetings, where he is met with love everyone gushes over his skills, the colors he uses, how happy he looks

Then he wears it to the store, and to the studio, and to parties- with each place he goes with bright lipstick and bold lashes it’s like a tie being undone, he is able to be him and if that comes with blush and bronzer than that's okay

Then Enjolras always Enjolras comes to him with a blush, and a stammer, and a credit card ‘for my birthday I want to make you happy’ and leads Grantaire to a kind of store he had only seen from the outside, dedicated entirely to makeup, rows and rows, with things Grantaire could never afford but Enjolras just blushes deeper at the wide eyes and slack jaw and says ‘go ahead’.

When Grantaire kisses Enjolras for the first time he leaves a blood red mark on his mouth and a smear of gold on his cheeks.

[jules-of-the-sea]

I would love to see a Blorbo ranking for your blorbos from Les Mis, if you are willing to share :)

so i made a character tierlist, i dont actually hate thenardier but its funny to hate him. for side characters: m mabeuf would be guy!!!, fauchlevent would be eh (although the graveyard scene was funny), and marius's relations would all be in eh/mildly annoying because i have no strong feelings about them.

you did say blorbo ranking though and i have no idea what exactly that entails so im just going to do everything i can think of. so heres a list of everyone on the tierlist and a few thoughts on each of them

enjolras 12/10 love of my life, top kin, red <3, hes literally just a guy god i wish i was him its all i ever want hes so !!!!!

grantaire 10/10 love him, probably more like me than enj lmao, jaded, alcoholic, cynic, ao3 always makes him an artist but i dont remember them saying that in the book??? maybe i missed it though, it did say that he knows all the best spots in paris though so thats pretty cool

feuilly 10/10 self taught king, he makes fans, he wants to deliver the world and i support him. we all need a feuilly in our lives

combeferre 10/10 (these ratings are a little redundant at this point) fan interpretation always makes him a bookworm nerdy guy (which i have also done) which i understand bc in the book hugo talks abt how he wants to learn everything and he loves progress and education, but honestly i feel like hes a lot warmer and more social than people characterize him. like they talk about how compassionate he is and how he focuses on the actual people in the revolution more than the movement as a whole

gavroche literally just a little guy, hes got his two children in his wooden elephant what more could a street urchin want

courfeyrac party guy, literally tholomyes but if he wasnt a dick, love him for it. actually thinking abt it, tholomyes was a poet right?? and hugo compares him w courf so,,, poet courf???

bossuet unlucky, actually named lesgle, bald, in a poly relationship w joly and musichetta

eponine bro she was not that close with marius in the book, and i dont think she even knew the amis. its fun to pretend she did though. also the musical makes marius actually care that she dies which is sweet i guess. also i love every queer eponine interpretation.

jehan jean provaire, medieval enthusiast, just a little guy i guess. trans/nb jehan is one of my favorite things actually

joly happy guy, apparently nicknamed jolly because of that, doctor(?), likes self diagnosing, must suck being a germaphobe in 1832

bahorel tbh i forgot like everything the book said abt him. im pretty sure he was the guy who saved marius from being kicked out of law school though?? and also visibly expresses disgust when he passes by law school??? king.

javert single-minded policeman, love the themes and internal struggle, javerts soliloquy and stars are some of my favorite songs in the musical

jean valjean all around a good guy, white bread personality but like,, nice. so i guess hes more like the pre-made pound cake you can get at the store. certified girlboss tho

cosette pretty? i like the cottagecore interpretations but also shes literally just a lonely child from 1832 so i guess its just by default. she seems like the type of girl who would be a pleasure to have in class

fantine sad lady, cosettes mom, i wish she had just gotten cosette back from the thenardiers when she had her job but oh well.

marius annoying little bitch boy mf i swear to god he deserves very little of what he gets. also isnt he like 10 years older than both cosette and eponine??? 1832 moment i guess. anyways hes not that bad but its funny to hate on him.

madame thenardier me when child abuse, kinda a girlboss in the musical but in the book shes just kinda there

monsieur thenardier little rat bitch man, fuck that guy, but also hes literally a cartoon villain and its funny

also the tierlist is made in mspaint, i would have found pictures for everyone but a lot of them arent in the 2012 movie long enough for anyone (me) to know whos who so. crunchy mspaint version

[fixaidea]

ugh. yeah. les mis. i got so tired of enjolras in particular being completely out of character. like everyone collectively forgot that he's canonically CHARMING. he's not a dick, he's not socially incompetent. and just... idk. it all just got so fucking tropey, with courf being quintessential flaming gay, and jehan being NB, and feuilly being trans, etc. and of course if you dare to point out that there are problems in those stereotypes, then YOU'RE the problem.

Same. Enjolras’s fanon presentation was the worst offence for me too. Like...? BBC Sherlock/Feuilly But Depressed sounds like it could be an interesting ship, but WHY call it Enjolras/Grantaire?

Also while everyone’s entitled to their headcanons, however stereotypical, the line for me is crossed when they go out of their way to police others who don’t share them. Like... some of my friends got anon hate over not using they/them for Jehan. Anon hate for not sharing a headcanon. The hell?

[actualbird]

irt your post about writing; i’ve thoroughly enjoyed every single time i’ve ever read your dragon grantaire fic. every time. i read it at least once a year, and always pick a new sentence from it to really savor. ‘“I’m starting to,” Grantaine says.’ is my current one. it’s simple, yet with the context before and after it, it allows me, the reader, to yknow. read deeper into it; to fill in what i believe grantaire is truly feeling and thinking in that moment. have you ever done that with your writing? picked out a single sentence or detail you really like, and acknowledging that yes, you wrote it, and yes, it’s actually good? i feel like imposter syndrome forces you to look at the entire picture and not the little details; whatever made you excitedly clap your hands together when you come up with /just/ the right phrasing, whatever sentence made you angry because you could never get the wording right, whatever little snippet of dialogue you came up with in the middle of the night and blearily typed into your phone’s notes before rolling over and passing out again: all these things pale in comparison when considering how badly you hate the entire piece. they get glossed over, overlooked, forgotten. i felt that way all the time until i slowed down and picked just one thing from my art i liked. it could’ve been the shading, or the line work, or simply that i actually just made some art that week; anything helps to make your brain acknowledge that yeah, you are good at the things you practice. and trust me, you really are good at writing. i havent been in any of your fandoms since be more chill (despite desperately attempting to like genshin because i swear thats half of what i see on social media nowadays) but whenever i get an ao3 email about your account posting, i check it out and leave kudos. i enjoy your writing. i really, truly enjoyed your article on figuring out you were a trans guy instead of nb: i experienced the same exact thing and could never put it into words, and yet you did it! in a fun, casual tone i read about an experience i couldn’t accurately describe myself. it helped me explain to my parents, actually, about myself. i dont know if any of this helped, but i did want to send something because even if you can’t like your writing, some dude out there does and has for years.

hi anon, i. i dont know how to put into words what this ask made me feel, my heart feels all fragile and legitimately i started crying as i read this. im overwhelmed by the kindness in this message, and it just means so so much to me

thank you. from the bottom of my heart, thank you for this

[the-butter-churner]

I am so sorry for the last one. Your writing broke my heart, it was so good. As a apology, Riordanverse as Les Mis?

I’m actually wroking on a set of Les Amis at Camp Half-Blood right now so this’ll be the inverse, I guess! 

Riordanverse as Les Mis:

Enjolras: Jason Grace or Will Solace- This dude was the hardest. I honestly can’t find someone as passionate as Enj here. But Jason has the biggest morals out of almost any half-blood and 

Grantaire: Nico di Angelo- c’mon, that’s kind of a given

Combeferre: Carter Kane- ‘Ferre isn’t as awkward as Carter, but they care about a lot of the same things and are both fiercely loyal. Also, my boy Carter does not get nearly as much love as he deserves

Courfeyrac: Leo Valdez- OKAY OKAY OKAY I take no criticism for this.  They are both FABULOUS and I can definitely picture Courf going up to the nymphs and just fucking over Narcissus because he is the Super McShizzle-Man Bad-Boy Supreme

Feuilly: Rachel Elizabeth Dare or Jake Mason- I dare you to contradict me.

Bahorel: Charles Beckendorf- Again, I dare you to contradict me.

Jehan: Silena Beauregard or Alex Fierro- Silena died a hero. She touched hearts and helped others see the beauty inside themselves and she still picked up a spear and charged a drakon. Jehan energy. RIght there. Also Alex Fierro bc NB representation :))

Joly: Grover Underwood- Joly is a pretty anxious person all around, but he really cares about people and their health! He just wants to keep the people he loves safe and healthy, and he’s really passionate and sweet-- just like Grover.

Bossuet: Amos Kane- Kind, means well, sometimes fucks shit up, but overall just a really sweet person.

Gavroche: Magnus Chase- I feel like people are going to fight me on this but Gavroche, like Magnus, has lived on the street for a large portion of his life and still came out to be spirited, sarcastic, and an overall amazing person. He’s brave and sometimes a little reckless, which ends up killing him, but he and Magnus share a lot of the same values.

Eponine: (Queen) Reyna- Maybe I’m projecting because ‘Ponine is one of my all-time favorite Les Mis characters and Reyna is one of my all-time favorite PJO characters... and they’ve both been rejected by dudes who DID NOT deserve them. They are strong, yet emotionally traumatized and are willing to sacrifice anything for the people they care about.

Marius: Frank Zhang, pre-HoH- Hear me out, Frank was the awkward noodle of the Seven before the House of Hades-- just like Marius. Case closed. 

Cosette: Hazel Levesque- If Marius is Frank, Cosette is Hazel and now that I think about it, it works so well! They complete each other perfectly with their brick personalities just like Frank and Hazel do. Both Cosette and Hazel have childhood trauma that changed them into a sweet, loving, compassionate person and allowed them to bring about the best in others.

Montparnasse: Apollo- If you wanna fight me on this, fine. But I will stand by this until I the day I die, baby. Tell me to my face that everything Lester does in ToA Montparnasse would not react similarly if he was in that situation. Go on, I’m waiting.

Valjean: Chiron or Jason Grace- I think most people could get Chiron, but I see Valjean as Jason because of his morals and righteousness. He does good, simply because it’s the right thing to do. He feels guilt and shame and kindness on a daily basis, which, despite all his flaws, we can say for Jason.

Javert: Octavian or Bryce Lawrence- Okay I didn’t want to have to do this... because I love Javert... but... if you’re going to be that obsessed with this one criminal who stole bread like, twenty years ago... you are just like Octavian obsessed with destroying the Greeks. Sorry. Also Bryce was obsessed with punishment and a warped kind of justice, just like Javert.

Fantine: Sally Jackson, hands down. I take no criticism.

Thenardiers (ew): all the monsters every half-blood has ever killed :)

Note: These are my own opinions. I’d be happy to hear your thoughts on this. I hope you like them! Les Mis at Camp Half-Blood coming soon

[probably-enjolras]

what would grantaire do when ferre is feeling dysphoric?

i’m glad you asked cause I shit you not, i had a dream about this recently! (nb grantaire btw)

Grantaire is very big on destroying gender rolls, but when Ferre feels dysphoric, all that shit is out the window. If Combeferre wants to do all the typically manly things, he can

this means the two of them walking around in boxers. only boxers. Combeferre sometimes wears a shirt, but normally he wears a binder with his boxers 

Grantaire goes overboard with the nicknames. for example: “Hey baby boy, you want some food?” “mcmanly, what movie do you wanna watch?” “how’s the most handsome man on planet earth doing’

Combeferre doesn’t feel like he has a low enough voice, so Grantaire keeps his voice as high as he can to put it in comparison

The two of them go out an get hair cuts, it’s really therapeutic and helps Ferre feel more masculine

Grantaire shaves their beard because Ferre struggles to grow one so they show him you don’t need a beard

they also wear a lot of feminine things to put ferre’s masculinity in contrast

Grantaire makes sure that Ferre binds safely, and gives him extra attention when he has to take the binder off

they try to distract ferre with movies and just fun things to keep his mind off of it

at the end of the day, Grantaire cuddles up to their boyfriend and holds his boyfriend in his arms as they fall asleep

cute R and ferre are cute

[gemsofthegalaxy]

Jehan for the character thing!

Oooooo thank you! I love Jehan this will be fun Sexuality Headcanon: Yknow, I’m not sure if I’ve thought of it?? but most likely bisexual or pansexual. Definitely queer in some way. probably polyam Gender Headcanon: When my partner introduced me to les mis they were like “some people make Jehan non-binary” and I went ahead and took that as entirely canon. In particular I conceptualize them as sort of femme-leaning non-binary so there’s that!  A ship I have with said character: Okay so, when i very first got into Les Mis it was through reading my partner’s fics with 0 context because I refused to (re)watch the musical. I was drawn to their specific depiction of Montparnasse/Jehan as a very fun, tough jerk/quirky nb dynamic. I also like Courfeyrac/Jehan on the basis that I adore the both of them a lot and I also think they would be fun. A BROTP I have with said character: I love Jehan and Grantaire as Good Friends. I think they have great vibes and a super fun dynamic. Their personalities are different but very complementary A NOTP I have with said character: Uh.. i don’t really have any that I strictly dislike Jehan with? I feel like Jehan and Combeferre would be a weird ship but, like. A random headcanon: I love a Jehan with a Fun Whacky Fashion Sense. in fairness I don’t know how much of it is canon or not canon because I don’t plan to read the novel so maybe it’s canon that they’re outlandish in their dress? regardless I love it. General Opinion over said character: I adore Jehan, they are fantastic. I don’t often like.. focus on them as a central character because I have Enjoltaire brainrot but I love seeing them so much, they’re always delightful

Thank you again! i love talking about characters and sharing my opinions lmao

Send me a character and I’ll fill out the list :P

[shitpostingfromthebarricade]

hi i sent the ask about wondering how the hc of jehan being nb began, and i’m not always so great with words, so i think it may have come off a lil bit wrong. i was asking bc i just keep seeing people portraying jehan in dresses and skirts and small and skinny and going “uwu my lil nb baby” and it just felt kind of wrong to me. i’m not arguing against the hc or anything i see absolutely nothing wrong with it i just felt like it was really wrong and i get really upset over these things cuz (1/2)

i’ve always struggled with my gender identity and i don’t really know who i am or where i fit and idk what i’m saying really but seeing things like that just make me so uncomfortable and they feel almost like someone came up and slapped me in the face themselves. tbh idk what i’m saying anymore but ya i just wanted to clear things up because i felt like i was a little harsh/ignorant with my original ask. (2/2)

So first things first: you weren’t harsh or arrogant, and especially when you are stepping into the waters of advocating for yourself it can feel really uncomfortable.  I am so proud of you for speaking up for yourself and how you feel represented.  Gender is such a difficult topic to grapple, and I think a lot of people who don’t comfortably identify within the binary find peace in accepting that gender is both a construct and a journey, and your answer and feelings may change throughout your life, and that’s okay.

What you describe here is a really complex topic: woobifying trans people is an enormous problem in the trans community (even the queer community, if we also want to consider the trend of commodifying “gay best friends” and other objectifying stereotypes), as is falling into the trap of often presenting nb people as looking a particular way or another (frequently as you describe: skinny and androgynous--nothing wrong with presenting this way, but the nb representation that does exist often weighs inordinately in this direction).  

I think another issue here is, though, that there is a common headcanon for Jehan’s appearance that exists entirely independent of eir gender identity, y’feel?  Jehan is frequently presented as nb and androgynous, but I’ve seen plenty of situations where ey’re still presented as a man...and look the same.  I think it’s hard to separate the character and the gender identity because, well, a character is a personality that we then assign labels to that we feel do or do not fit.  Were they real, it would be up to them to determine what labels they find accurate or inaccurate.  Unfortunately, neither Jehan nor Vicky are available to provide clarification in this particular case.

Consider Enjolras, or Grantaire, or Bahorel: most of the fandom have a pretty particular idea of how they look, right?  And that appearance often remains the same regardless of gender headcanons (for example, I HC that Bahorel is he/him nb, and I also HC that he looks like Jason Momoa: they’re not mutually exclusive).  Nonbinary in particular has extraordinary potential for diversity given that it’s any presentation that does not fall strictly into the narrow categories of “man” and “woman.”  

Regarding clothing: I think that also goes along with bucking gender norms.  One does not have to wear clothing traditionally reserved for one gender or the other to be nonbinary (read: you are still valid if you are AMAB and not interested in wearing skirts or dresses, or AFAB and want to continue to wear them), but it’s also not something off-limits.  It is also not something reserved for trans people: cis people who want to also frequently break these gender norms.  The example that comes to mind most immediately is this super-fly look, but also I want you to please consider that I personally currently live in a culture where men frequently have long hair and wear hot pink sarongs anytime that they’re not working in the fields, and no one would ever doubt their masculinity: gender is a cultural concept, as are the performative acts that represent it.  As such, I don’t see the portrayal of Jehan wearing a skirt or a dress as being inherently infantilizing or femininizing.

I agree that I would love to see more diversity in appearance and representation, and I agree that we as a society should be more cautious about how we discuss trans people and characters (I remember this being a major topic of discussion during Druck too).  I also believe, however, that people are allowed to present however they want, regardless of their gender identity.

I wish you the best of luck on your journey of self-discovery, and I invite you to please reach out to me if you ever want to discuss this further!