#there is also something to be said for the other way that i think valjean comparing himself to the bishop unfavorably is unfair because

[fluentisonus]

I've said this before but valjean's view of the bishop throughout the book gets me so bad because like. he knew him for what, a day maybe? and it absolutely had a vast & profound & positive impact on him. but then he goes on to spend the whole book comparing himself to his idealized vision of the bishop & finding himself wanting & feeling guilty and miserable about every petty or selfish thought that crosses his mind. but it's so fucked up because like we as the readers know the bishop better! we've read the whole first book and we know he came from a privileged & wealthy background, that he was a rake when he was young, it wasn't til he was in his 40s or 50s to have some sort of change of heart & become a priest (a similar age to valjean when he met him!), that he has moments that seriously shake him, that he has some dubious politics left over, that he still has moments of pettiness he has to work through on the page (his initial approach to the member of the convention, e.g.). and also he's just kind of a weird old guy (affectionate). and like this is not to criticize the bishop, I think he's a genuinely really good guy, just that while the bishop has a realistic view of himself & his past ("he described himself with a smile, an ex-sinner,"), valjean is not getting any of this except maybe like. what would be mentioned in the newspaper when the bishop died. so his whole view of him is of this one shining moment where he changed his life and he feels he doesn't live up to that. which is sad! because the bishop understood him more than he realized & wouldn't have wanted him to feel that way

[bogusbyron]

I've been thinking about the fuckin paris chase scene the WHOLE DAY to the point i had to draw something, but also went to inspect what the original french text said, because the 3 english translations i cross-referenced had a few glaring differences.

and like..... okay . there have definitely been some translations that made this wayyyyyy gayer, some in different parts than others, but theres a REASON they translated it gayly. let's inspect!

DISCLAIMER! I AM ENGLISH AND NOT NATIVE FRENCH SPEAKER!!!! i also translated this more loose & direct than cohesively, so it's real janky, sorry ...if you want a nicer translation go somewhere else ... im trying to be comprehensive here . ANYWAY!!!!!!!!

Then [Javert] began to play. He had a [ravishing/sensual/ecstatic] and infernal moment: he let his man go ahead of him, knowing that he [had/held] him, but wanting as long as possible to [delay/postpone] the moment of arrest, happy to [feel him caught but to see him free/give him the illusion of freedom], [gazing at/brooding over] him with the [voluptuousness/pleasure/lust] of the spider that lets the fly fly and the cat that lets the mouse run. The claw and the talon have a monstrous sensuality; it is the [unseen/obscure] movement of the beast imprisoned in their pincers. What a [delight/delicacy] this suffocation was! Javert was enjoying himself. The meshes of his net were firmly attached. He was sure of success; he didn’t have anything more now than to close his hand. Accompanied like he was, the very idea of resistance was impossible, no matter how energetic, vigorous and desperate Jean Valjean might be.

There's not really... much i can say. It reads a bit queer. One thing i love about french is that you can stretch it and find a gay meaning in ANYTHING.

My favourite example is on "Javert was enjoying himself". The original french is "Javert jouissait." Jouissait, from the verb jouir. Which definitely means to enjoy oneself , but...

Can be in a more literal sense.

Hugo definitely did not mean it to read like this, but with that meaning on the horizon... do what you like with it.

The rest of the words i provided a couple choices as i wasn't sure which worked best or wanted to give you an idea of the general kind of meaning or scope. I'm leaving it up to you to decide!

Additionally i translated it.. fairly literally, whereas some translations i saw gather the idea more than the way hugo wrote it - which makes total sense, " feel him caught but to see him free" makes sense in french but is a mess of a sentence in english, hence the completely different interpretation after it.

feel free to comment/give feedback! i really enjoy doing this kinda thing!!

[gayelderstourney]

OLD MAN YAOI BRACKET ROUND 1

Propaganda:

Jean Valjean/Javert:

One of the OG enemies to lovers. In the novel and musical, Valjean and Javert have complex, intertwined, and mirrored narratives which make them a fascinating ship to analyze. Also, there is a lot of hot fanfiction about them.

javert chases valjean around for at least 20 years because he broke parole and that's a big plot point. (jvj went to jail for bread theft if it matters.) considering how long that is and how much javert feels the need to do said chasing around that's kinda gay. also at one point javert is employed by valjean (except he doesn't know it's him and knows him as m. madeleine) and then asks madeleine to fire him. because he thought he was valjean and wanted to send him to jail even though he IS valjean. but some other guy got framed instead so it checks out and then WAY later on the barricades javert gets captured by a bunch of college students and valjean sets him free. this causes javert to have an existential crisis because 'OH NO HE'S A CRIMINAL BUT HE'S NICE TO ME' and then he kills himself. (also they have a very awkward carriage ride together. along with the unconscious body of valjean's future son-in-law. after valjean was in the parisian sewers and therefore covered in sewer water.)

what if i was an escaped convict and also the extremely benevolent mayor of a small jet producing town who broke into people's houses to give them money. and you were a furry cop trying to arrest me anyway. and then i save you from execution in the June rebellion and you realise that the police are not a symbol of justice but authority and being a criminal in the eyes of the law is completely separate from being a bad person. and this fucked you up so bad you killed yourself.

fuck those twinks in les mis these are the real finest gay love story victor hugo ever invented. javert literally followed valjean across france for decades because of his psychosexual obsession with recapturing him. valjean had the chance to kill him and spared his life, thus jump-starting javert's entire emotional arc. they're deranged and obsessive and they should kiss on the mouth

javert threw himself off a bridge bcs he was so mad the guy he was obsessively chasing was actually a good person depsite being a criminal theres gay ass old man yuri here

When you build your entire life around the existence of a man you despise is that still gay or do we need to invent something that transcends homosexuality. Asking for a friend.

fellas is it gay to spend your entire life chasing another man to arrest him even though all he did was steal a loaf of bread

Ravenpaw/Barley:

kitties who were outcast from previous groups they were a part of and find and live with each other. they are canonical mates even though theyre both dudes. they grow old together, but ravenpaw gets cancer and dies before barley (he lives to be considered old in warrior cats years). however ravenpaw wanted to be in the same kitty afterlife that barley will go to, so they can be together in kitty afterlife. barley is still alive though as far as we know and might be the oldest living cat in the series now. also i just think its funny to call little kitty cats "old man yaoi"

[television-bodies]

what's your favorite set design for les mis? alternatively, how would you stage it yourself?

oh anon, you have provided me with the dream question! this is about to be a very long answer.

i fell in love with les mis via the west end production in 2014 and have not been normal about it since. i was lucky enough to see said production, with that staging, quite a few times before the theatre was renovated in 2019 (this was when the revolve was removed and the production was updated to have the same staging as (i believe) every other global production of the show). since lockdowns etc ended i have seen the updated production on the west end a few times now too, and let me scream this from the rooftops: I MISS THE OLD ONE EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE

(i never like to assume people’s knowledge so i will continue here as if you’re not familiar with the key changes, and i apologise if i’m telling you things you already know!)

something that i loved about the original production is that there were almost no set pieces. there were always props, and the odd piece of set as in a wall or something e.g. the gate at rue plumet, but the majority of the settings were created through LIGHTING. examples, i hear you cry! i shall provide. my favourite example of this was in the sewers. when valjean is carrying marius, time was shown to pass as they walked around the revolve with a spotlight illuminating them every few seconds. the actors would change carrying positions in the dark gaps between these lights, so that it acted like a time jump. none of this animated scrolling backdrop screen nonsense they do now. if you haven’t already clocked it yes i am salty about this

lighting also played a bigger part in javert’s death — another point in the show at which they now have a backdrop to act sort of in place of this — the swirling water that he falls into used to be created solely through lighting effects and it was MARVELLOUS. real take your breath away type shit.

the other big point to make is about the revolve, my beloved. it was such a central part of the production but the most important use of it (and one that i see the masses on here mourn fairly often) was that at the end of the final battle, the barricade would slowly turn around to show all of the students dead across it. it was heartbreaking and beautiful and the way they have to literally wheel enjolras’ dead body onto the stage in the current production just does not have anything close to the emotional gutpunch of how it used to be staged. :’(

all in all the original production was much more stripped back visually than the show is now, and i think this served to amplify the power of the acting and singing and the PLOT whereas now it gets me down, because as much as i hate to say this, the current production sort of just looks like everything else. les mis used to be the best thing on the west end by a fucking mile, and it seems (to me) that they have lessened that gap. i understand why other productions of the show — particularly touring ones — would have to go without the revolve, but for the one on the west end, which has been in the same theatre for twenty years, i simply do not see why they thought to change it. change it for, in my clearly strong opinion, the worse.

(i will say here — as vaguely as i can — that i do have a modicum of insider knowledge, and that i can blame this change on cameron mackintosh. but that’s hardly a surprise)

this may all be coming off as very ‘old man shouts at cloud’ of me so i feel the need to say that i do still enjoy the new production — if i didn’t, i wouldn’t have been to see it multiple times. at the end of the day (ha) it is still les mis, and les mis is les mis. it’s always brilliant. i just think it used to be more, and it makes me sad that there’s nowhere to see that original staging anymore. i mean, sure, there are bootlegs. but no proshot? *breaks skateboard* alas, we seem doomed to concert versions until the end of time

thank you so much for the ask! i’m sure you can tell that you hit a nerve with this one lmao but i greatly enjoyed answering it

[lawisnotmocked]

Catching up on Les Mis letters for this year so I thought I’d share all my thoughts on the canine imagery from volume 1 book 1 in the same post.

The first instance of canine imagery in book 1 shows up in chapter 1.1.7 when Myriel wishes to cross the mountains to visit a small community of shepherds. The mayor warns him not to leave without an escort because of the threat of bandits but Myriel refuses the escort and tells the mayor he has no reason to fear them.

“But the brigands, Monseigneur?” “Hold,” said the Bishop, “I must think of that. You are right. I may meet them. They, too, need to be told of the good God.” “But, Monseigneur, there is a band of them! A flock of wolves!” “Monsieur le maire, it may be that it is of this very flock of wolves that Jesus has constituted me the shepherd. Who knows the ways of Providence?”

Wolves in Les Mis often represent two things - their position as powerful apex predators is often used to represent that a person has dangerous, malicious or violent intentions, but they’re also contrasted with dogs, a domestic canine with close proximity to human society, to show the ways certain people are prohibited from being part of society, usually because they’re in extreme poverty or are a criminal. Wolves are canines who are not allowed to participate in human society, and dogs are canines who are. Lots of people who are both violent and criminals get assigned wolf imagery, including Thenardier and Montparnasse.

In this case Cravatte and his bandits are wolves because they’re a dangerous group of highway robbers, but Myriel is also the shepherd for a flock of wolves because he’s the kind of bishop who goes out of his way to try and offer help to people who have otherwise been abandoned or cast out by the rest of society, including people like Valjean and Cravatte who had a reputation for being dangerous.

I love the way the imagery of Myriel being the shepherd for a flock of wolves ties in to the Christian symbolism of Jesus as a shepherd too it creates such a perfect mental image for me that represents this part of Myriel’s character so well 👌

Wolf imagery also shows up in the next chapter, 1.1.8, during Myriel’s conversation with the senator.

I am not enthusiastic over your Jesus, who preaches renunciation and sacrifice to the last extremity. ’Tis the counsel of an avaricious man to beggars. Renunciation; why? Sacrifice; to what end? I do not see one wolf immolating himself for the happiness of another wolf.

The reader is supposed to dislike the senator so him specifically comparing his personal philosophy to the behaviour of wolves might just be another way for Hugo to emphasise that he’s The Wrong One in this conversation. It could also be Hugo trying to make a point that a good society requires people to act with compassion and make sacrifices for each other or we may as well just be wolves instead of men? (violent and dangerous metaphorical wolves at least, not real wolves lol) I feel like parts of this chapter are definitely going over my head because it contains so much of Hugo’s Opinion on contemporary discussions so there might be something I’m missing here too.

[nickyroethemarinebiologist]

Hello this is my presentation on what animals Les Mis characters would be except I'm only 500ish pages into the book so it's very short list at the moment

I decided almost IMMEDIATELY that Valjean would be some sort of owl, despite what I believe is the most popular interpretation being him as a lion. I was thinking of that one chapter in the book where he's referred to as an owl (the one called 'a nest for owl and wren' I think??) and decided yes absolutely that is 100% it. So then my first thought was a snowy owl, since they're pretty fucking big and also white (I'm not too bothered for hair colours and what have you in the rest of these but for Valjean it seemed pretty important) but the snowy owl look just wasn't doing it for me!! (something about their look was a little too intense, I guess??) And then! I remembered the barn owl (which is, by the way, probably my favourite owl). And yeah I might be a little biased towards them but they have a sort of gentle look while still being, y'know, owls (notoriously pretty dangerous predators). And of course, owls are nocturnal.

Also, just look at them!! The vibe is perfect, I'm certain of it.

(And!! While most barn owls have that light brown colouring, there have been white ones!! So the hair colour problem is all good)

Javert was a LOT more trouble (which I wasn't anticipating, after the easy pick for Valjean). He HAD to be some sort of wolf/dog-adjacent animal, that was the one and only condition (though I did briefly consider a horse. Just because he has a horse in both the 2018 BBC series and the 2012 movie??). A hyena was my first immediate pick (yeenvert <3) but it wasn't QUITE there and I was struggling desperately for some other idea. AND THEN! I decided, if no horse, why not a vaguely horse-shaped dog? Which led to a short list of hounds (scottish deerhound, irish wolfhound, ibizan hound) which I sort of juggled in my mind for a bit before finally deciding I kind of liked the scruffy deerhound vibe. They're very sweet dogs, as far as I know, so in that respect maybe not so accurate, but they definitely have the capacity to be foreboding in the same way most hounds have. They're also pretty tall!

(And yes I KNOW I said I wasn't fussed for colours but the grey on these guys is actually perfect for my mental image of Javert so! It's a happy accident!)

I knew pretty immediately that the bishop would be some sort of rooster. I have absolutely no reason for this other than the vibe was too perfect to ignore (though I think I might have been inspired by some gif of the bishop an old Les Mis movie where there were chickens in the background). So then I went on Wikipedia and ran through a list of roosters until I found this magnificent little beast, a faverolles rooster. I found on my not-so-extensive research journey that these guys are super gentle and apparently very hilarious, which, yeah, that's absolutely him <3

The bishop's sister (Mademoiselle Baptistine?) also gets a chicken. Because yeah they're related but also I just think it really fits her. Or maybe I'm biased, idk, I do really love chickens. I don't really have much to say about her which I am so so sorry for because I do really like her!! But she's a swedish flower hen

And Madame Magloire was going to be a chicken (before I gave that to the bishop's sister instead) but I later landed on some sort of donkey. Again, I haven't got much reason for this but the vibe is there!! I promise you!! I switched between a bunch of different donkey breeds (all of which I had never heard of before but I absolutely love, by the way. Go check out a provence donkey) and then i found the bourbonnais donkey, which is just perfect to me. If I have ever been certain of anything it's this.

(There's a disappointing amount of donkey photos on the internet. Where are they all!!)

I was going to save Fauchelevent for a different post but i really like him so he's here too. I was pretty sold on him as a sheep at first, and I very nearly left it at that but then!! I learned of a cashmere goat, which was not only a lot closer to how I imagine him but also they look cool as hell!! So I thought, okay, that was easy, but something still wasn't sitting quite right. The goat idea was absolutely perfect, but the cashmere goat was too far in the direction away from the sheep idea (which I'm still very attached to). So instead I went for an angora goat! Which apparently do something pretty close to gardening for a goat (eating/destroying nuisance plants and improving pastures) so it was almost too perfect to pass up. Also their horns are pretty awesome

(It's very funny to me personally that Valjean is an owl while Fauchelevent is a goat. Yes, we are brothers, the bird and the goat. Makes perfect sense)

I was going to give Cosette one in this post too but I'm not 100% sure of hers yet!! So she'll have to wait. I apologise deeply.

[lesmissocials-fuckedup]

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

Rules

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

Propaganda :

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

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

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

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

The Wimbledon one - source : Twitter - July 15

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

Cosette celebrating Thanksgiving - source : Twitter - November 23

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

Christmas Eve - source : Twitter - December 24

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

[secretmellowblog]

Valjean is SO FUNNY in the Thenardier/Gorbeau House ambush scene. Thenardier keeps going on these long incoherent rants about revenge while Valjean just stands there calmly and tells Thenardier bald-faced lies with a straight face as he tries to Gaslight his way right out of the whole situation. Valjean is described as tranquil and serene as he continues to politely pretend “I don’t know you :). I’m just a random poor gentleman. :)” And Thenardier tries to act unbothered by this but (as a proud petty man desperate for recognition) he’s clearly losing his mind over it.

Anyway here are some of my Top Favorite Funny Valjean Lying Moments

“So you do not recognize me?”

M. Leblanc looked him full in the face, and replied:—

“No.”

Then Jondrette advanced to the table. He leaned across the candle, crossing his arms, putting his angular and ferocious jaw close to M. Leblanc’s calm face, and advancing as far as possible without forcing M. Leblanc to retreat, and, in this posture of a wild beast who is about to bite, he exclaimed:—

“My name is not Fabantou, my name is not Jondrette, my name is Thénardier. I am the inn-keeper of Montfermeil! Do you understand? Thénardier! Now do you know me?”

An almost imperceptible flush crossed M. Leblanc’s brow, and he replied with a voice which neither trembled nor rose above its ordinary level, with his accustomed placidity:—

“No more than before.”

10/10

M. Leblanc did not interrupt him, but said to him when he paused:—

“I do not know what you mean to say. You are mistaken in me. I am a very poor man, and anything but a millionnaire. I do not know you. You are mistaking me for some other person.”

“Ah!” roared Thénardier hoarsely, “a pretty lie! You stick to that pleasantry, do you! You’re floundering, my old buck! Ah! You don’t remember! You don’t see who I am?”

“Excuse me, sir,” said M. Leblanc with a politeness of accent, which at that moment seemed peculiarly strange and powerful, “I see that you are a villain!”

I love how he finds a way to insult him “politely.”

“Who?” asked M. Leblanc.

“Parbleu!” cried Thénardier, “the little one, the Lark.”

M. Leblanc replied without the slightest apparent emotion:—

“I do not know what you mean.”

But my absolute favorite small detail is that the false address Valjean gives the Thenardiers takes them to

“Rue Saint-Dominique-D’Enfer, No. 17.”

“Enfer” means “hell”— Valjean found a way to politely tell them all to go to hell XD.

I also love how, throughout the scene, Marius seems to fall for every one of Valjean’s lies; he seems to genuinely think he’s telling the truth when he behaves confused about “The Lark.” What a noodle.

But yeah, it’s fascinating how Valjean uses polite lies as a weapon for self-defense. As I mentioned before, Thenardier wants to have the skills that Valjean has, and one of his most valuable skills is his ability to politely lie his way around violent authority figures. This ability was clearly something he needed to adopt to survive nineteen years in prison, and years on the run; it’s an ability he’s cultivated for a long time. Meanwhile Thenardier also tries to “act polite” and lie in order to manipulate Valjean, but the difference is that Thenardier is generally pretty awful at it. He needs to take notes bc this is what real lying looks like.

[dolphin1812]

@eleancrvances has pointed out the heartbreaking similarities between Georges Pontmercy’s death and Fantine’s, with his last cry reflecting his wish to see his child and him dying as he lost hope. The tear is really devastating. Marius’ reaction, though, is interesting to contrast with Cosette’s. Age is certainly part of it. Cosette’s mother died when she was young, whereas Marius was almost an adult; neither one of them really knew their parents, but Marius’ awkwardness here and his attempt to adhere to some social norm for grief reflects his comparative awareness of these standards as an almost-adult, whereas Cosette simply repeated the fact of her mother’s death to a doll in distress. That being said, what these parents represent to each character is distinct. For one thing, Georges Pontmercy’s death is very physical to Marius in a way that Fantine’s wasn’t to Cosette. Fantine’s death was gruesome, but Cosette wasn’t there. She doesn’t even remember her mother:

“"Then you have not a mother?"

"I do not know," the child answered.

Before the man had time to speak, she continued,—

"I do not think so; other girls have one, but I have not."

And after a silence, she added,—"I believe that I never had one.”“ (LM 2.3.7)

At the same time, the idea of a mother means more to Cosette than it does to Marius. Although Mme Thénardier suggests that Cosette’s mother abandoned her, we don’t see Cosette repeat this idea, focusing instead on her mother being dead (or nonexistent, as seen in the earlier exchange with Jean Valjean above). She seems to believe that she suffers because she has no mother, not because her mother doesn’t love her. Marius explicitly feels abandoned by his father, though, making the relationship between them tense in a way Cosette and Fantine’s isn’t. 

To be fair, Cosette may not have complained of abandonment because of the narrative place in which we learn about her perspective on her mother: when Valjean finds her and adopts her. Hugo stresses that both her and Valjean were searching for someone to love, and that when they found each other, they were both able to express this wish and finally rejoice in caring for someone. Consequently, their love takes precedence over Cosette’s grief and/or confusion. Marius, on the other hand, is still on his own and doesn’t really love anyone. He didn’t love his father because he felt he abandoned him, but he also doesn’t love Gillenormand. Whereas Cosette’s story then was at a place of hope, Marius’ is one of resentment and isolation, allowing us to sit with that feeling of abandonment.

That lack of love is sad given that we know Georges Pontmercy did love his son, but it also allows Marius to figure out that something’s off. The scene he steps into is full of grief:

“Anguish, poignant anguish, was in that chamber. The servant-woman was lamenting in a corner, the curé was praying, and his sobs were audible, the doctor was wiping his eyes; the corpse itself was weeping.”

The dead can weep, but Marius can’t. It’s understandable that he isn’t exactly sad, of course, but it’s notable that Marius sees his father as an ordinary person who failed him here (he’s sad to see a corpse in general), not as the “brigand” his grandfather paints him as. This isn’t to say that Marius has changed his political views (he doesn’t really mourn him afterward), but this scene of death and grief humanizes his father to an extent, allowing Marius to process his lack of grief and his moment of guilt for that. 

Still, understanding Marius’ feelings doesn’t remove the pain of seeing Georges Pontmercy die in despair and then have every trace of his life erased. His garden isn’t just overgrown with weeds; everything in it dies, a final reminder of his isolation.

[piracytheorist]

So I just watched the 2012 version of Les Misérables, and I've got to say, I've never felt so conflicted over crying for a film. Because it's not a fucking good film. It's an adaptation of a stage musical but it looks like there was nearly zero effort to adapt from stage to cinema.

In different mediums, the audience works differently in order to connect with the story and characters. A book doesn't provide visual scenes, but can be detailed enough for one's imagination to do the job. A comic has no movement, but if it's staged well enough the audience can connect point A to point B. Animation doesn't aim for realistic depictions (and Disney can kiss my ass on that) but suspension of disbelief can connect the comical reactions to the equivalent real-life reactions. Theater has excessive makeup and the actors act with bigger movements with placements that may make no sense in real life (as they have to face the audience, sometimes turning their backs on their co-stars during a dialogue) but if it's placed well you're engrossed enough in it that it shouldn't bother you. And also, theater has set changes.

In stage work, musical or not, you stare at the same scene the whole time. How one creates a set design and changes it during the performance is an entire art and section of study when it comes to theater. And two of the results of good set change is that the viewer 1) doesn't lose focus and immersion and 2) gets prepared for the next scene.

And then this film fucking forgot that theater and cinema need different transitions from one to the other. As I was watching it and felt shocked by the sudden changes - like, Valjean starts as a prisoner. Oh now he's free. Now he's on the streets being beaten up. Now he's taken in by the church. NOW HE'S STEALING FROM THEM?? Oh now he's caught by the cops. AM I WATCHING A FUCKING MONTAGE?? - I eventually started thinking how it would be like if these sudden changes were happening on a stage, and I realized that, if they're good enough set changes, I wouldn't have a single issue because hey, there's a reason it's cool to see the set changes. They prepare you. Because when I see Valjean in a prison and then he's on the road then he's on the streets then he's in a church, all within the manner of like, three minutes, it's fucking jarring on a screen, where the changes are radical and sudden.

And it was like that in the entire film. It was especially jarring between the scenes of Marius asking Eponine to go find Cosette and then BAM it's night and we're on the rebel base and Enjolras chastises Marius for choosing love over the rebellion. It's too sudden, man! And I know that the original book is fucking long but that is not an excuse. When you make an adaptation you have to make sure that what you create can stand on its own, that not everyone will have read the book/watched the stage play/seen other films inspired by it in order to like your creation. You're making an adaptation for the screen. Adapt! Improvise overcome etc etc

And another way the adaptation was poor? In stage musicals it's common to have the actors make small reactions to things happening or being said. Things like "It cannot be!" or "Is it true?" or even "Dear Lord!" are small phrases that a character sings/says to draw the audience's attention and show their reaction. Do you know how cinema does that? BY SHOWING THE CHARACTER ON THE SCREEN. On the stage, you have a wide scene, with the actors spread around it, and when they react to something they need to say something so that the audience will turn their eyes to them. On cinema you don't need to "manipulate" the audience's view, because you control it fully via the cameras. If the director wants the audience to notice something, they simply focus the cameras on it. So having both those "small" reactions and focusing on the actors' face during it is redundant and also fucking ridiculous.

That's not even mentioning the atrocious choice of recording the actors live. Whatever you want to say about "realism" in the singing (it's a musical it's not fucking realistic to burst into song irl what the fuck shut up!!) the biggest issue with it is that it has piss poor audio mixing. Long notes that would be belted out and stand out in the stage play or a decent mixing are now lost and covered by the orchestra. It's a waste of their talent!

And since I'm on the topic... what the fuck did they do with Russel Crowe. What the fuck. Because the man can obviously sing. He has some wonderful long notes and vocal control... and then they either coached him completely wrong for Javert's songs, or they made a huge miscast. I cannot judge him as an actor, I think he was good for the acting role, but the singing oh my god it doesn't fit his voice. Javert does that thing where he sings in the same note then jumps to a higher note for emphasis, and Crowe fucking sucked at that it was painful. Why. Why did they do both the character and the actor dirty. Who greenlit this. Who allowed this. Javert is a fucking main character and they made a whole mess of him I am going to crawl up a wall and scream

And then I had the audacity to fucking cry at the end because Hugh Jackman acted his soul out in the final scene and then the ending number pulled at my heartstrings. I hate it here.

[needabetternamelater]

It's not a brick wall to continue to ask you a question you have not yet answered which is: What is the prison abolitionists' proposed solution?

"I ain't seen you since the last time I had to explain to you how the systems set in place in American™ prison complex is because it is a system set up on literal slavery and thus is working quite as intended." I mean, prisons unfortunately do do that. They also seperate murderers and rapists from the general population when they're convicted. Which, yes, having the trial first is a good thing. Obviously. Prisons aren't special to any country; they're older than the earliest known legal code. What is your point? I didn't say prisons were special to America If you told me rape happens in every prison, I'd just ask if you know what the word 'largely' means. Hint: it is not in fact a synonym of uniquely, only, or any of those words. Again, we're just back to 'largely does not mean 'only', 'uniquely' or 'is confined in its totality to'. And back to: . Read what I actually said and stop inserting your bullshit into it. Maybe in type and order but the name comes from penance. As in taking accountability? Which I thought prison abolitionists were all for? And well, do you think a reward is the correct response to someone doing some non-Jean-Valjean crime? I certainly don't. If you go into a prison and are like 'this has a bad effect on the prisoners' then...okay? Maybe some quakers thought it would cause reform in a soul-elevating way or penitatries causing penance or something but for the most part, the idea has always been that the benefits of having prisoners in society accrues to people not in prison. "Asking for 'nicer prisons' is like asking for a ICEE made of molten fucking lava 'but make that cold'." What do you want to do? So far, you still haven't answered the question. And no, it isn't. Like I don't think this is the correct answer because there are other rights to be balanced but if it came to it: stick everyone in Brevvik-style-solitary for the entirety of their sentence is one potential way to avoid intra-prison rape. I'm not a massive fan of this either but I don't know what other solution there could be. "There. I didn't dodge your question even though I'm pretty sure I didn't the first time are you gonna explain to me why you feel like 'harden criminals' don't deserve rehabilitation and do deserve to get raped and suffer a lifetime of emotional trauma?" You still haven't yet explained what you actually want to happen. And stop conflating prison conditions with the existence of prisons. As for rehab, yes, they deserve rehab but not at the expense of victims. I don't think they deserve to get raped. (That would be prison conditions). As for a lifetime of emotional trauma, I don't think they deserve that either. What I do think is that if we're given the choice between them suffering a lifetime of emotional trauma and innocent people suffering a lifetime of emotional trauma....I'll pick the ones causing the problem. They are the ones nominating themselves for the short end of the tradeoff, after all.

[shadowsong26fic]

An Imperfect Memory

Author: shadowsong26

Rating: PG

Fandom: Les Mis

Characters: Javert, Cosette

Warnings: References to canonical character death (Fantine’s)

Disclaimer: All characters are the property of their respective creators.

Notes: So, my roommate has dragged me (not entirely unwillingly XD) down a Valjean/Javert rabbit hole; and then I wandered off into another corner of the warren that is Javert & Cosette and how that stepparent relationship might work and to stretch this metaphor to the breaking point I got hopelessly lost so I guess I live here now lol.

Anyway, I have this headcanon that Cosette likes to draw/paint; Roommate informed me that in the novel (which I read abridged years ago but only remember so much of), Javert also draws. And that’s where this came from (along with another Super Secret Project I’m working on alongside other things for other fandoms).

This is, obviously, a canon-divergent AU where both Javert and Valjean survive and...again. Rabbit hole, lol. I may continue to tweak this (especially the last couple lines) but it wouldn’t leave my head until I shared it, so here we are.

Javert paused for a moment, hesitating before tapping on the half-open door.

Mme. Pontmercy was just where he’d expected her to be, settled in a chair by the window where the light was good, sketching something he couldn’t see from this angle.

It was that pastime of hers that had made him think of…well. That had brought to mind the purpose for this particular conversation. Once he took that step and began it.

Well. He was here now, and he had committed to this. No sense in delaying.

He raised his hand to knock, but then she looked up, beating him to it.

“Oh!” she said, half-rising. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Are you looking for papa? I think he’s--”

“He’s out in the garden,” he said. “I know. No, I was…I was actually looking for you.”

She blinked. “For me?”

“Yes,” he said, then hesitated, the folded paper tucked up his sleeve burning against his skin. “May I?”

“Of course,” she said, rising fully and moving over to sit on the couch instead, where he could have her full attention. ���Please, come in.”

He inclined his head, and took a step into the room, then another. He remained standing.

A long moment of silence stretched between the two of them.

Damn it. “I…apologize, madame, if I am overstepping,” he began, breaking it. “But I…I am aware that you have…questions. About your mother.”

“Ah,” she said, lowering her eyes. “Yes, I…I still feel like I know so little about her.” She looked up again, tilting her head. “Did you know her, monsieur?”

“I only met her once,” he said. “Very briefly. And I was…unkind.” He closed his eyes for the barest of moments, then locked that--feeling away before continuing on. “In any case, I am sure your father has told you about her, more than I possibly could. But for all his many talents, your father is not…he is not an artist.” He winced a little. “I am not, either, not particularly, but from time to time, I…”

“I didn’t know,” she said, after another long and increasingly awkward silence.

“Yes, well,” he said, then pulled the paper out of his sleeve and offered it to her. “I thought…I thought perhaps you might like to have this.”

She tilted her head again, giving him another of those quiet, questioning looks, and then reached out to take the paper. She unfolded it carefully, and then froze for a moment before looking up at him, eyes wide. “Is…is this…?”

He nodded. “Based on my imperfect memory,” he said, softly. “Yes. That is…to the best of my recollection, that is your mother.”

“Oh,” she breathed, looking back down at the sketch.

He had tried to soften some of the…harsher edges of the circumstances, while still doing the dead woman justice--so to speak. In a way he had been incapable of all those years ago. It had been some time since he had focused so much on a drawing, rather than using it as a tool, or as a way to keep his mind and hands occupied between more important tasks.

But this--this attempt at…amends, perhaps…

Nothing had felt quite so important when he was working at it.

He wasn’t entirely sure how successful he had been. He hadn’t shown the drawing to Valjean, who was the only person who could have judged the likeness. He had considered it, but that had felt…no, this was something for the daughter alone.

And then a very strange thing happened.

Before he even realized she was moving, Mme. Pontmercy had risen from the sofa, taken a few quick steps across the room to him, and--

And flung her arms around him.

He drew in a startled breath and froze, unable to move or think. He could feel something wet on his shoulder--she was crying?

And then her voice, soft, in his ear. “Thank you,” she said, before pulling away.

Yes, her eyes were shining, and she had his drawing clutched tight in her hand.

“I…ah.”

“I cannot tell you how much this means to me, monsieur,” she went on. “Thank you.”

He bowed his head again. “You’re…you’re welcome, madame.”

She smiled at him, brightly, through her tears. “Would you…would you like to join me?” she then asked. “Drawing, I mean. There’s plenty of room at the window, and I think…I would like that, very much.”

“Some…some other time, perhaps,” he said. “But thank you, for the…for the invitation.”

“Some other time,” she agreed, still smiling.

[abrahamvanhelsings]

me when i send in a les mis ask to your fire emblem blog 👍

but fuck yeah!!! fellow russell crowe appreciator!!! could i get your thoughts on 'the confrontation' from the 2012 movie by any chance??

oh don't worry about it ill answer les mis asks anywhere lmao. and Especially if they're about this song because it is genuinely one of my favourite ones in the entire film, and that's not an exaggeration. it's fundamental to the audience's understanding of their characters, and in particular javert's: through the confrontation with javert we get an insight in his beliefs and troubles, and suddenly his motivations and his tension with valjean make so much more sense. the film version in particular i think recognises what this song can and is supposed to do and manages to enhance it.

first of all, what i really like about this version is the difference between valjean's/hugh jackman's and javert's/russell crowe's voices and their singing style. hugh jackman's voice is very polished, very clear, and relatively high in tone. it fits the character of valjean/madeleine, who is refined and learned and of good standing. in contrast, russell crowe's voice is of a much darker timbre, his singing a little brittle at the edges (good though!). their voices reflect their positions in the story and society: the convict turned gentleman and the ambitious policeman who came from nothing. their voices also compliment each other very well, and i also enjoy that, because they are so different, the characters' respective lines are easily distinguishable from one another.

the build-up is also insanely good. valjean pleading with javert at the beginning to give him more time sounds genuine and desperate - kudos to hugh jackman for adding a lot of subtlety there! then javert counters, ruthless and forbidding, and from there they launch into the 'duet' part of the song. i think that part is amazing just because of the way the two different melodies run counter to each other, but in the film version it's enhanced by the difference in their voices (as i said) and because the crescendo of the orchestra is really well-done. and most importantly, you can hear their singing get more emotional the nearer they get towards the end of the song, too - it really feels as if we're listening to them, all layers stripped and their souls bared at the end there.

and think leaving out valjean's last few lines so that javert's lines wherein he reveals his background stand alone was a great decision! they're put completely centre-stage, you can't miss them, and they're so important to crowe's characterisation of javert in this film that they need that attention. up to this point javert has been the cruel policeman dogging valjean's steps, but with this the audience suddenly understands why he acts and think the way he does, and why he has so little compassion for the poor and deprived (and valjean). he was born among the lowest of the low, and with hard work he managed to distance himself from that disgrace, to climb up to a respectful position in society without ever resorting to crime. he lives strictly according to the law and the word of the lord as he understands it. but nonetheless he can't ever change where he came from, and it haunts him. russell crowe puts a lot of anger and indignation in his voice (and face) here, which lets the message land very well, and then it's paired with good visuals too: javert telling valjean that he knows nothing of javert as he parries his weapon and redirects the blow, as if to imply that his background taught him tricks and strengths of a different kind than valjean's pure beast-like power.

anyway, finally, i think that the film has something that broadway can miss at times, which is more subtlety in the performance of the songs. the media of film lends itself to a lot more small details that simply won't work out well in a big theatre where the singer's voice has to reach all the corners of the room, and that's fine! but i absolutely prefer the fast-paced intensity of the film version of confrontation to the broader, more refined way it's often performed on stage, even if that is the original way to do it (tbf i have only seen vids, never had the privilege to go to a live show). this is going to make people want to crucify me, but for example i don't like the way peter qu/ast sings javert's songs. it's technically outstanding, of course, he is a good singer, but i personally just don't like his timbre or the way he sings/interprets javert's songs much. what can you do.

most importantly though im a huge valvert shipper and well the confrontation is their homoerotic bit and hugh jackman and russell crowe make great valvert material.

[tookishcombeferre]

Okay. I’m so glad I’m not the only person who thinks of “Suddenly” as like one of the most those two songs on the planet. Because, I absolutely do. It’s so them. The only other song I thought might fit them better is the song “Let Her Be a Child” from the “Tale of Two Cities” Musical - which I found either in a Valjean and Cosette fic title or in a tribute video.

(I shall link a video at the bottom. I believe, plot wise, the song is sung by the French father, who is on death row, to his young daughter before the lawyer who looks like his body double steps in and dies for him - this being the plot of “A Tale of Two Cities.” I know the Dad sings it to his daughter. I just can’t remember where in the plot it falls.)

Anyway, I like the AU! However, if I were to go the route of a Les Miserables AU, I’d love to play it more from the revolution/ barricade angle. I too am a huge Les Miserables fan. And, I love the novel. I read it when I was in high school. And, I think there are some *great* characters who would fill the roles of the revolutionaries in fun ways.

I do think we could have Cedric adopting Sofia in this AU and the two of them trying to just live in relative peace until they sort of get swept up in the crazy that is what is about to happen. I like to think of him and Miranda in sort of a partnership (mostly because I really just can’t kill Miranda off!!)

So, the three of them are trying to evade the, potentially, increasingly oppressive rule of Roland under the assistance of Cordelia (because she’s the Royal Sorcerer in this AU.)

Meanwhile, Carol of the Arrow in this AU is Enjolras. She’s a natural leader. She commands space, and she’s tired. So, she starts riling people up. Following her are a few fed up knights, several villagers, and a handful of others.

I like to think she’s actually managed to amass a few people from other countries/kingdoms as well. She’s making a show of how well this is going to go. (I haven’t thought like explicitly about who all is with her.)

However, over time, her sort of second, the person who grounds her and gives her humanity, is Tilly. My user name is based of (the best) my favorite of the Amis. Combeferre. Who, according to Victor Hugo, really would have rather negotiated than fought. But, also knew how important freedom was. He just loved humanity more than anything and couldn’t see a way other than revolution so he revolts. So, this is the role I see Tilly filling for Carol in the AU.

Anyway, like I said, I have a really hard time killing my anyone off because I like them all too much. So, let’s just say the revolution is successful because they use something non lethal to make everyone slow down long enough to negotiate with them. The end! Everyone is happy! Yay!! The everyone lives nobody dies AU we all loved and wanted. XD

So, I'm a huge fan of Les Miserables, and I've always adored the father-daughter relationship between Jean Valjean and Cosette after he adopted her.

In some ways, it reminds me of the relationship between Cedric and Sofia. Both men had lives full of demons, trauma, being treated unjustly and misunderstood, and bitterness/hate for the world as a result. But then this sweet girl comes into their lives, changing them for the better and bringing much-needed light and joy into their lives, and they realize how deeply they care about the child and that they would do anything for her.

I keep thinking about a Les Mis au of StF I'd love to write with Cedric as Jean Valjean and Sofia as Cosette. And Miranda as Fantine (Cosette's dead mother who sacrificed everything for her child, inspiring Jean Valjean to take care of Cosette for her), Roland as Inspector Javert (who always thought the absolute worst of Jean just like Roland always had a narrow-minded view of Cedric, and Javert's one lyric to Jean "Men like you can never change / A man such as you!" reminds me of when Roland had a hard time trusting Cedric after he betrayed him), and Amber as Eponine (the girl who grew up with Cosette).

The song "Suddenly" (which isn't from the musical, but was made specifically for the 2012 film adaptation) reminds me of how Cedric feels about Sofia:

@cedric-my-beloved @moonypears-blog @bettathanyou @fantadym @sweetmariihs2 @crucifiedclergyman @tookishcombeferre

[thechaoticfanartist]

Find The Word Tag Game:

I was tagged by @ninjasawakenedmystar

Tagging: @jedi-valjean @purgetrooperfox and anyone who wants to!

My words: tumble, angrily, free, natural, well

Your words: cried, attacked, laughed, smiled, snapped

Tumble:

 The galaxy stopped. 

 She had failed. 

 She turned to look at Cody, paralized in fear. 

 He had his blaster aimed at her. 

Grim gripped her lightsaber, and began to run as fast as she could, even just to make an escape plan. Cody ordered a missile shot at Obi-Wan, Grim stopped running as she watched her master tumble into the lake below. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t now all the clones' eyes were on her, now she was the Jedi they targeted.

-The Clone Wars Gets A New Victim, Part IV: The Storm, Chapter 37: And A Million Voices Cried Out

This was the only time I used tumble in The Clone Wars Gets A New Victim across Part III and IV. I only searched those parts as Parts I & II are already posted. Also this is how Chapter 37 starts, just a fun fact!

Angrily:

"I will advise the Jedi Council of this development," Obi-Wan said instead. He turned to do just that. "There's no time!" snapped Bo-Katan. Obi-Wan turned around as Bo-Katan continued. "Maul's influence on Mandalore is destroying my people! He murdered their ruler, my sister!" Before Bo-Katan could continue, Grim snapped. "Who put him in that position? Who allowed him into Mandalore? Because it sure as hell wasn't us, if I remember correctly you were part of that. And don't give the bullshit of Maul murdering Satine, how long were you trying to do that same shit? Your argument is invalid, Kryze." "That's all in the past now," Bo-Katan replied, angrily. "It doesn't erase the truth," replied Grim.

-The Clone Wars Gets A New Victim, Part III: The Rain, Chapter 30: A Reunion

My other option was Anakin in Chapter 35 but I feel like I talk about that chapter enough (and Grim & Anakin) so have Grim ten seconds away from punching Bo-Katan instead.

Free:

Grim leapt up over him. Grievous turned around and hit Grim with his electrostaff. Grim cried out before grabbing the weapon herself. Before Grim could yank the weapon free of Grievous’s grip however, he pulled upwards causing Grim to meet his face. “Oh wow, have you looked at getting something for your eyes?” she asked him.

-The Clone Wars Gets A New Victim, Part IV: The Storm, Chapter 36: The Day Before Night

Grim will regret this is t-minus 5 seconds. Also you can guess how Chapter 36 ends now since I shared the very start of Chapter 37

Natural:

Everything came to an end eventually, and everything one day dies, but the way things would unfold in the night was not in the way that was natural. It would be a crime that this universe would never recover from. For even when the Jedi came back, it would not be the same. For so much will have been lost. Grim looked at her Master. "How do you let go of something that is gone, when it isn't yet gone?" she asked him.

-The Clone Wars Gets A New Victim, Part IV: The Storm, Chapter 36: The Day Before Night

Oh hello this chapter is back but this time it's sad. Also the only time I use natural in tcwganv so that's fun.

Well:

Obi-Wan turned around and saw her. “Grim? What are you doing here?” He asked her, surprised. Savage ran at the two Jedi, one half of his saberstaff ignited. Grim and Obi-Wan both blocked, but the force of the blow shoved them back. “What do you think? I’m saving you Kenobi,” she remarked. Maul jumped down behind them. “Behind you,” she told him, moving around to face Maul. “I believe I told you not to follow me,” Obi-Wan replied, as he defended himself from Savage’s attacks. “And you thought I would listen? Come on, how long have you known me now, Master?” Grim asked, a playful smile on her face. Maul had ignited his lightsaber because of Grim. “You should have listened to him,” Maul remarked. Grim shrugged and twirled her lightsaber, preparing for Maul’s attack. “Oh well, too late now,” she replied. Maul went to attack and Grim blocked, being pushed back with the force behind it. Grim and Obi-Wan were touching backs now, as they tried to defend against the Sith they battled against. “I was supposed to do this alone,” he told her. “What, was I supposed to let you have all of the fun?” Grim asked him.

-The Clone Wars Gets A New Victim, Part III: The Rain, Chapter 22: The Dark's Return

And here we have Obi-Wan and Grim's favorite bonding activity bickering while in the middle of combat with actual Sith Lords.

[secretmellowblog]

Valjean + 7 & 8 (game ask)

For this ask meme: #7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like? And #8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Thanks for the ask!!

#7: a thing fandom does with this character that you like:

I love fix-its (I just want him to live!) it’s great when Jean Valjean gets to have a happier ending than his bleak passive suicide.  

Fics that explore Jean Valjean interacting with Other Characters (outside of Cosette) are also  great. He has such a narrow social circle in canon — he has basically no friends outside of his daughter— so playing him off other characters is really fun. It’s especially fun if (as is canonically accurate) he struggles very hard to interact with people and comes across as deeply weird. Jean Valjean tends to get “trapped in his own head” a lot, and exploring the relationships he could have with other characters– or just how other characters would be utterly baffled by him, while viewing him from the outside– is always great.

I also love fandom stuff that acknowledges how deeply strange he is. Any fandom stuff that features Jean Valjean breaking into people’s houses to give them money is always chefs kiss.

#8: A thing fandom does with this character that you despise:

I  was originally going to answer this with a whole passionate overlong essay about fandom tropes around Jean Valjean that bother me, but…I’ll keep it short lol because it's not really a big deal, haha. Like, I don’t want to be mean or unfair, and I like being in a fandom so large I can afford to be picky about characterization. I don’t like holding fanfic  to a higher moral standard than big “professional” media properties that are doing far worse. The most popular Les Mis fanfic on ao3 has maybe a couple thousand readers; BBC 2019, which is an utterly vile horrible conservative take on Les Mis and on Jean Valjean in particular, had millions of viewers. Fanfic writers have no budget and often no editors, so we don’t deserve to be held to the same level of scrutiny as massive projects like a tv show . Like I don’t want to overstate harm– fanfic is fine! Les mis fanfic is a tiny niche of a niche, and so small no one’s really being hurt by it. If I don’t like something, I don’t read it, and all that. I'm not here to be the fandom police XD.

And I really don’t like ever positioning myself as an “authority” on these characters or the person who does them “correctly,” because I’m not. 

That being said, if I were to be petty and summarize my personal Problems with the way Jean Valjean is often handled in fandom really briefly–

My core "pain" is that I feel like a lot of fans miss that the police are the villains of Les Mis. The police are the villains of Jean Valjean’s story and they’re the villains of Javert’s. Prison is evil. The carceral system is cruel and unjust, as a system. It is not a problem of Javert “not being nice enough to Valjean,” the entire system is fundamentally violent and vile and needs to be burned to the ground.  acab, and all.

I think part of why that gets missed is that many fans are laser-focused only on Javert–  and often on a highly specific musical-inspired fanon reading of Javert where he Did Nothing Wrong. (I'm not throwing shade, this was kinda also me when I was 13 lolllll.) And then they don’t analyze Jean Valjean anywhere near as deeply, if they analyze him at all, and don't pick up on the larger themes of the novel. And that's a shame, because Javert’s characterization will also suffer if you don’t have that wider context! I think the “problem” is just that if you acknowledge the complexity of Jean Valjean's character and his trauma, if you recognize how deeply Jean Valjean was ripped apart by prison,  how he has not recovered from his imprisonment and never will, and how he doesn’t view the criminal justice system with ‘total forgiveness’ but actually does have complicated overwrought repressed useless grief and rage over the system that abused him and the injustices he’s undergone, how he actually doesn’t like Javert on a personal level and only saved his life out of the same pity he would’ve shown to any other person in Javert's position–  it is much harder to see Javert as a Good Person and the police as a Good Institution. So as a result fanfic!Jean Valjean often  kinda has to be written as a bland saint patiently agreeing that Cops Are Great and Prison is Fine and Javert Did Nothing Wrong...because if he isn’t, the author has to acknowledge Javert has hurt Jean Valjean in ways he will never heal from, and question the morality of both  Javert and the police. 

 I think lots of people take the line “there’s nothing that I blame you for/you’ve done your duty nothing more” from the musical, interpret it as a sincere compliment, and then graft that interpretation onto the book— to the point of making it the entire core of Jean Valjean’s character. But Jean Valjean complimenting Javert with the Nuremberg defense (“it was all fine because you were doing your job”), and this being portrayed as Correct and Wise, is just not a compelling take on the character to me XD. I do not like it all. So I just don’t read fics that head in that direction. I'm not gonna content-police people, I just don't read it, haha.

I’ve been recommended multiple fics where Jean Valjean becomes Javert’s cop partner, or enthusiastically encourages him to return to the police, and it’s always a big “He Would Not Say That.” XD Jean Valjean, the most well-known victim of police brutality in the history of fiction, the character whose entire personality is built on the trauma of surviving incarceration and attempting to save others from his hellish fate, would never enthusiastically participate in incarcerating people–not even if they were  ‘bad’ people! It’s literally the core of his whole weird little Deal. it’s his whole schtick. 

And it's not that I hate Valvert either. I actually think Valvert can be very compelling-- and also funny, which is the most important thing. But part of the reason I’ve often stayed away from the valvert  fandom despite enjoying the Funky Weird Little Relationship is that I’ve had lots of trouble finding fic that gives Jean Valjean an actual life or character outside of Javert, or that also acknowledges the anti-police anti-prison themes of the novel.  But! There are a tiny handful of people who do it occasionally! And that's enough.

And again, this isn’t like the biggest deal or anything! I’m not a fandom cop trying to police what people write, especially because most people are just extrapolating from the musical/lots of people change their minds on characterizations over time/it’s hard to write without a team of editors to help you navigate things. These are just some fandom trends I personally don’t like, that I personally avoid,  and that I hope change over time….so that I have more fanfic to read that lines up with my own feelings on the characters XD.

But yeah those are my (abbreviated) years of spicy fanon Jean Valjean hot takes!!!