Les Mis Big Supernaturals #2

Les Mis Big Supernaturals #2

Joly as a vampire. The one who started this whole thing:

Bossuet, former familiar now vampire. He still wears the same coat:

Enjolras, the old testament Angel:

Grantaire, gargoyle:

Combeferre, dragon: (PLEASE do yourself a favor and read Ursula K Le Guin's short story 'The Rule Of Names')

Courfeyrac, a fairy:

Feuilly, an elf (with a phrygian cap):

Jehan, witch and amateur-alchemist on the side

Bahorel in his furry werewolf form

valjean: read ✔️

The porter’s murder is terrifying and graphic; he couldn’t see what was happening, and Hugo tells us how the bullet passed through him. The barricade now has an element of horror that can’t be forgotten.

I shouldn’t have used the word “terrifying” for Le Cabuc’s act, because Enjolras is terrifying, too. He just forces this man down! And he kills him so calmly! This what “capable of being terrible” really means – he’s caring to his friends and loves the people, but he’s willing to do dark things for his cause, and he’s resolute in doing so (and he even says “terrible” to describe his actions in some translations!).

When Enjolras told Grantaire to leave because he was “dishonoring” the barricade, he was operating the same way he is here. Le Cabuc sullied the barricade’s integrity with murder, so he was executed. But Enjolras condemns himself as executioner, too, because he believes violence is abhorrent (“Death, I make use of thee, but I abhor thee”). His act is just in his eyes, yes, but it’s just in an “old” order that yields to “necessity.” He wants none of that to exist! And so he thinks he must die, too, because now he is tainted by the violence of the old world. His speech is moving, but it’s tragic. The hopeful side is one he excludes himself from entirely. 

Combeferre is the first to say he’ll join him, which is moving for two reasons. One (and most generally), it’s a sign of how much they care about each other. Enjolras hadn’t said what his fate would be, but Combeferre offers to share it immediately, regardless of how bad it is! Secondly, Enjolras’ view of justice here has likely been influenced by Combeferre: “the good must be innocent,” and Enjolras can’t see himself as “innocent” after what he did. Therefore, he is no longer “good,” and cannot see himself in that perfect world. And Combeferre isn’t the only influence! He says “the human race,” not “France,” suggesting that Feuilly’s broader perspective may have gotten to him. But Combeferre’s influence is the one that condemns him.

This may sound like a critique of Combeferre (that sort of life-long punishment wasn’t his intention – it resembles the prison system), but it’s also important to keep in mind that while these are beloved characters to us, they’re also symbols. To those who despised protests for being messy and violent, what could be more appealing than someone who rejects that aspect so entirely that he disciplines the barricade and condemns himself for what he’s done? It’s difficult to say the barricade is full of “troublemakers” in the face of Enjolras’ principles, and it encourages those who simply want peace to sympathize with him (a revolutionary) most of all. 

And Le Cabuc was probably Claquesous! It would make sense with how he was a stranger to those who supposedly knew him, maintaining his air of mystery. And it means there really were a lot of police spies, with two known (possible) ones at just one barricade! Claquesous’ violence may have even been intentional if he was there as a spy, trying to turn the people against the barricade by making it needlessly violent.

i….. is the book like this?

For @thebanguette, June 5th prompt!

A Little Fall of Rain. Grief, loss, and the emptiness left behind by those we love when they depart.

heyyyy first of the single-sentence deaths! hope you didn't get too attached!