SO Tumblr is like the worst place ever for uploading fanmixes because I wanted to stick all these DEEP AND MEANINGFUL lyrics under a readmore tag but I couldn’t I could but it looked ugly so Livejournal gets it too. (Here it is on Tumblr.)
Enjolras/Grantaire is very overfanmixed as a ship but what the heck, I wanted a mix of my very own! You can listen to it on 8tracks, or I’ve stuck links to Youtube on all the songs.
IDK HOW TO FORMAT THIS POST BUT THE FOLLOWING IS???? a submission from tumblr user indigostohelit in celebration oF EVERYTHING???
i’m so fuckin happy for you man seriously
A single spotlight illuminates Grantaire at the edge of the stage. The rest of the stage is awash in a dim light; the various Amis are lost in shadow. The only clear shape visible is the silhouette of Enjolras at his post on the barricade, his gun at the ready. Grantaire sings, drunkenly and badly, without music:
GRANTAIRE
On my own.
Pretending—He takes a swig from his bottle and laughs. The lights bloom into a soft glow on Enjolras, and it becomes obvious that he is the focus of Grantaire’s thoughts, as always. The music begins, softly, and Grantaire seems to sober.
GRANTAIRE
(more sweetly)
On my own
Pretending he’s beside me.
In these streets
There’s nothing that can hide me.
I see him
And something in him stills me:
The power of his faith, and yet
That power’s what will kill me.Lights brighten suddenly on Enjolras. His solo is accompanied only by the gentle rattle of drums at a marching pace; his voice is bare and alone in the emptiness of the stage. Grantaire watches him.
ENJOLRAS
(to audience)
It is time for us all to decide who we are.
For the moment of doubt to have come and have just as soon gone.
For each citizen brave to have chosen his side;
For each man to face death with his honor and pride.
Let cowardice and fear
Depart;France be my guide.The drumbeat that accompanied Enjolras’ solo continues, but the light on him fades. The music for “On My Own” picks up again, softly.
GRANTAIRE
In the sun the flags are red as morning,
In the dark they serve as but a warning.
Tomorrow the world will surely grieve him,
I still cannot believe, and yet I find I cannot leave him.The drumbeat fades. Grantaire closes his eyes. The “On My Own” music continues, soft and gentle. We see the silhouette of Enjolras stir on the barricade. Enjolras climbs down the barricade, moving slowly, as if in a dream. He crosses the stage in the same dreamlike manner, stopping just before he reaches the pool of light in which Grantaire sits. Grantaire reaches a hand up, his eyes still closed. The audience sees Enjolras’ hand reach out to grip it tightly, their fingers tangling together. Grantaire tilts his head back, and the music swells dramatically as Enjolras’ silhouette kneels down and leans forward to—
The music stops. Enjolras freezes.
Grantaire opens his eyes. The drumbeat begins again, and the “On My Own” music continues, but fiercer, harsher, angrier. Enjolras’ silhouette retreats back into the shadows of the barricade.
GRANTAIRE
And I know it’s only in my mind!
That his heart and dreams belong to something good.
Long ago I told myself, resign
To his hate; and I thought I could.The light rises on Enjolras, back at his post on the barricade. He turns his head to look at Grantaire, and Grantaire sings straight to him, a plea.
GRANTAIRE
I love him!
And now the morning’s coming.
And his death!
AllParis hears the drumming.The light begins to brighten on the stage. One Ami, his face hidden in shadow, sings out.
AMI
One day more!
GRANTAIRE
When the day comes
What hope or faith can hide you?
My faith’s this flask, but all I ask
Is that I die beside you.Another Ami stirs on the barricade.
AMI
One day more!
The “On My Own” music is beginning to fade, and the drumbeats to grow louder. The stage brightens a little more, though not enough to clear the shadows from the barricade.
GRANTAIRE
I love him!
And more with every breath!
Will I follow
Beyond the door of death?
The barricade
Blocks off the world around me—
A world that’s full of happiness
That I have never known!Finally, the lights brighten enough for us to see Enjolras’ face. The music has faded completely, and only the drumbeat remains. He stands, lifts his gun high into the air, and sings straight to Grantaire.
ENJOLRAS
One day more!
Today each man must choose his destiny:
A life among the quiet bourgeoisie—
Or freedom’s path and France’s dream!
The sun sets Paris all agleam!
One day more!Grantaire smiles at him. It is heartbreaking. The music returns for a final few bars.
GRANTAIRE
(quietly)
I love him.
I love him;
I love him,
But only on my own.He tosses his bottle upstage into the darkness, climbs to his feet, and goes to join the rest of the Amis on the barricade.
You know what bit of Les Mis fanart I’d really like to see, but no-one (as far as I know) has done yet?
Orestes Fasting And Pylades Drunk but with all the other Amis standing behind them, waiting to catch them in the afterlife. Combeferre with his hand on Enjolras’s shoulder- someone taking Grantaire’s other hand- Bahorel and Jehan being more transparent than the others because they died first-
I wish I could draw. I’d draw it.
bettiebloodshed commissioned me for a space au, so here’s orestes fasting and pylades drunk in SPACE
Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
Vol 4, Book 12
#TO MAKE THIS SADDER #it is after this moment that he switches from wine to that jug #(the Nightmare Cocktail of brandy + beer + absinthe) #which is like ALCOHOL POISONING INCARNATE and my liver is recoiling as I type this #so if you were wondering how he ended up in an alcoholic coma for multiple days…
oh christ
Drink With Me [x]
#WOW PLEASE#P L E A S E#THE REVERENCE IN HIS TOUCH IN THE LAST TWO GIFS#AND HOW HE JUST GRABS ONTO HIM AND DOESN’T WANT TO LET GO (via queenofeden)
well well well that sounds like a cue to make it even worse
To begin on a slightly happier note, Marius starts singing about Cosette and Grantaire touches his knee as if to say, “yep, been there, sucks doesn’t it.”
Then he picks up his bottle and heads off after Enjolras (no idea if he catches up with him or not, I couldn’t see it on the video, woe)
AND THEN (at the final battle) THINGS GET AWFUL
Grantaire gets rather roughly shoved away when Marius does his near-death-experience thing
Enjolras seems rather busy trying to save Marius, but Grantaire grabs his sleeve like he’s trying to stop him going
All to no avail, alas. (Why, look, you can just about see Grantaire’s hand leave his sleeve. And him crumple into darkness. What fun.)
Thentheydietheend. BUT THE REVERENT HAND-HOLDING BROKE ME, argh.
well I’m awake at one in the morning anyway so I MIGHT AS WELL TALK ABOUT MY E/R FEELS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE BOOK AND MUSICAL.
The musical is, obviously, not exactly the same as the book, and their deaths represent different things in both. In the book, the major theme of the story is society’s ills and how these ills prevent people from attaining a good or happy life. A subthread of the book is how pure, hardline ideals can’t be sustained because they can’t function in the world as it exists. In this sense, Javert and Enjolras serve as mirrors to each other: both are unable to resign their beliefs to the world they live in, and both die because they try to uphold them anyway. The big difference is, of course, that Javert dies at his own hand; his sense of purpose is so utterly shaken by Valjean’s existence that he can no longer bear to live. Enjolras dies at the hands of the National Guard, but he dies smiling; he dies at peace. Why?
Well, because of Grantaire. In a book that’s all about people being held up as archetypical examples, Grantaire is the hopelessness to Enjolras’ faith. He loves Enjolras ardently because he wants to be able to believe, but he also lives in the world as it exists; he drinks, he gambles, he jokes. Enjolras is disgusted by him because Grantaire represents to him the worst thing in the world- cynicism. But that’s not entirely true. Grantaire wants to believe, but also lives in the world and sees what it is. Enjolras is emphasized over and over as being chaste and pure and untouched. He lifts himself above it.
But at the end- when they die hand in hand- their worldviews meet, and instead of driving either one to destruction, it saves them in their moment of death. They smile. Enjolras lets himself touch the world; he touches Grantaire. And Grantaire, who believed in nothing, dies for something. This is what the revolution lacked- this combination of high-flown belief and earthy knowledge- and what they two represent together. When they die, they die together, and their mingled blood gives hope for the future.
In the musical, it’s a bit different. The musical- although it does have a strong social justice message- focuses more on the question of love and its power of redemption. Valjean is saved because the Bishop offers him God’s love. Marius and Cosette are the survivors who love each other. Fantine dies for the love of her daughter. Eponine dies for the love of Marius. And what do Enjolras and Grantaire die for?
Obviously the choice on Tom Hooper’s part to include the bookverse’s death scene isn’t one that’s replicated on stage often, if at all. But as always, there is a purpose to their existence, and their brief shared moment during “Drink With Me.” Love is redemption. Love is the face of God. And love, in this musical, is the most powerful force, the one force that transcends even death- as we see when Fantine and Eponine appear to carry Valjean to heaven. Love is a force for good. Love is the revolution. (I’m going to set aside my feelings about queer relationships and their existence as a political act because god this is getting too long and it’s not explicit in the musical BUT REST ASSURED I HAVE FEELINGS) Enjolras and Grantaire love each other, the Amis love each other, and that is what makes the revolution worth something. Enjolras scoffs at Marius’s “lonely soul,” but as in the book, love is a transforming force that carries weight even in the face of death. Love is what will bring tomorrow.
I want to put a reaction gif in here, but I don’t think there is one to properly convey HOW GOOD THIS IS
