I can absolutely see how this works on paper and get why people like it! Nerds making bad puns together! But it is so not my jam.
(The one exception so far is idiopathicsmile‘s In Defiance of All Geometry which sold me on the ship for the duration of the fic.)
Part of the problem is that I don’t like Combeferre ships in general, part of it is that I don’t feel like there’s a strong canon interaction for me to work off of and that tends to be less interesting to me.
I do think there’s some interesting potential for poking around the holes in canon with them, and I have lots of thoughts about what their dynamic is like, but the shippy angle isn’t for me.
CONGRATS JAVERT you’re prominent enough in the musical to get my confused high school “this is happening in the FRev” First Impression ...actually I thought Javert was pretty easy to track at the time, he was a monarchist, he was trying to Enforce Monarchical Oppression, he was the only person besides the Revolutionaries who made SENSE
(if my grasp on French Revolutionary history at the time had been any clearer it would have only confused me more about Javert though)
Impression now
wow what a cutting commentary on authoritarianism and the way people convince themselves of their own moral righteousness while acting terrible! Middle of the 19th Century and Hugo’s already got the horror of the “doing my job” defense! That is...distressingly modern... oh hey look, Hugo had to flee from a distressingly modern dictatorship! Possibly an influence! Which makes me even more impressed that Javert is as sympathetic as he is...
Favorite moment:
hmm, i feel like there’s a few ways to take the meaning of that, with this character especially
So: moment where I found myself liking him the most: When he tries to resign for his “false accusation”. It’s one of the things I’m really glad they re-included in the movie; to me it’s so essential for making his character a noble antagonist and not a generic bullying authority! Plus it sets up the inevitability of his ending, and builds in the tragedy of it– he collapses at the end because of his best trait, because he holds himself as accountable as he’d hold any criminal, combined with his worst trait of having no understanding of how to grant compassion to anyone, even himself.
Idea for a story:
I’ve talked before about how I want Javert to fall in with Simplice post-barricades, so I’ll go with my other favorite AU– the one where Valjean takes the Bishop’s advice and goes to Pontarlier, and Javert meets Valjean as just another resident of the small towns that fall in Javert’s jurisdiction. More to the point, in this AU Javert also meets Bishop Myriel, and has several conversations with him over the years…
Unpopular opinion:
Do I have any popular opinions about Javert“Javert isn’t the villain, the villain is society” yes sure okay, I am absolutely here for saying that LM doesn’t have a standard villain/hero breakdown but also Javert is charged with reinforcing and supporting the prejudices and injustices of society, he is officially and by choice supporting Societyand there’s generally a term for characters who choose to dedicate their life to supporting the villain of the story, especially if they get a set uniform, as Javert is often supposed to have , though this is arguably ahistorical, so does this mean Javert...is the Henchman?? the sidekick?? the Dragon????
...also “villain” doesn’t necessarily mean “total monster”, sympathetic villains are a Thing, Cartoonish Disney Villains are not the only option but okay this is supposed to be about just Javert
uh also I am generally prepared to argue that Javert symbolically plants the roots of his own damnation not in how he treats Valjean but in how he treats Fantine (though only Symbolically, but like also it’s Hugo so Symbolism is a Lot)
in general I wish there was more acknowledgement of Javert’s interactions with Fantine because they are Important?
Just generally I feel like he gets boiled down to being Obsessed With and Wrong About Valjean a lot and that is so much Less than his character is --I think fandom is actually way better about this than the adaptations honestly
Favorite relationship:
I think Javert’s relationship with Concepts of Justice is very complex and layered and deserves all the ink Hugo gives it and more.
Favorite headcanon:
his sideburns are actually Trained Law Enforcement Squirrels! Loyal to the cause! And their wearer! But they still take his snacks,because they are squirrels.
lotaire replied to your post:Ohhhh what else annoys French people?:O if you...
why is everything is close on sundays in small cities?
It’s the day of rest we’ve inherited from Christian traditions. I know some English speaking countries are open 7/7 but isn’t not the case here. Some things are open on sundays in big cities, but I think it’s regulated and all, they only have half of the day or smth
There’s a law some minister is trying too pass lately that would allow work on sundays but I’m not up to date with the topic because :3
