Beautiful people of the internet greetings from the land of Morecambe.
A while ago…sometime back in late August/early September I think…I did a blog post about how cool Courfeyrac is and people really seemed to like it so I figured…
Why not run with this theme and do a post for each of the boys?
So before we get started I will put a little link right…here to that other post for anyone who wants to…refresh their memory or like…it’s your first time or something. (*By the way if it is your first time reading this blog- hey!*)
So…. Jean Prouvaire…better known as Jehan because…and get this for adorkable….he chose the name after studying Medieval history and thought it was cool. Yeah.
Actually know what? If adorkable was a word in French in the 1860s that would be how Hugo would describe Jehan.
I have fangirled about this dork for…well a long time and I think the main reason I love Jehan so much is because…I feel like he’s a sort of kindred spirit if that makes sense. Like…if he was real and…not dead…we could be friends.
I mean come ON! The man learns four different languages to read poetry in their original forms! That just…it just sounds like something I would do. I don’t know….
(In fact my beautiful muggles I DID start learning French to read Les Miserables.)
Basically I love Jehan a lot. Anyone who has me on Twitter will know I don’t tend to shut up about him. Here are just a few of the highlights…
‘Jehan is special to me because he’s a kindred spirit. He’s a bit of a dreamer and I think we’d be friends. He is a beautiful person who goes down fighting. I just love him cause he’s awesome.’
‘Hugo literally describes him as an ‘erudite’ and he just captures the ‘mad genius’ vibe of certain Ravenclaws’
‘And here is what Hugo calls Jehan before….well in THAT chapter ‘One of the dearest. One of the most valiant.’ Someone remind me to steal a TARDIS and go punch Victor Hugo will they?’
Yeah. I tweet about this character A LOT!
Jehan Prouvaire is still my favourite barricade boy. Thank you @alistairbrammer for bringing this wonderful character to life in the film. I love Jehan so much.
Hello my beautiful muggles! I haven’t posted in a month so I thought I’d drop in with a quick update before October ends tonight.
So….I have properly decided now that Jean ‘Jehan’ Prouvaire is my favourite barricade boy so that’s a good thing…
I still uber love Courfeyrac but…I don’t know. Jehan just is IT for me right now. 😀 Of course all you beautiful muggles on my Twitter account already know this since I post about Les Miz pretty much daily.
I’m slowly and painfully working through chapter six of Aden Lex. You guys should probably check out my ‘Writer’s Corner’ blog for more stuff about that. I don’t even have Writer’s Block. I’m really really productive in other areas just…Chapter six is really hard to write.
Oh and it’s Halloween which has put me in a bit of a weird mood concerning Potter and his adventures. Like I’m completely psyched for the new Fantastic Beasts film coming out in two weeks but…I dunno overall I’m in a ‘I love musicals’ mood rather than an ‘I love Harry Potter’ mood.
Which is weird because it is Halloween and of all times in the year it’s Halloween that leaves me psyched for more Wizarding world stuff.
In my ‘REAL’ life I’ve met some great new people the last couple of weeks, I’ve become more active on social media and I actually don’t have much to say this month muggles.
Of course I have one item of big news that I’m keeping close to my chest. A few people know but I don’t feel in a place to share it with the world yet. So you’ll have to stay tuned with your favourite Ravenclaw for that!
So they say ‘God speaks to all men in their own tongue’ right? Well I’m pretty sure my ‘own tongue’ is a mix of song lyrics, quotes and random trivia references. And, you know, that kind of works for me.
It helps me connect to things in ways that I don’t always get from actual real life people’s actual words.
Ok. I’m not making sense am I?
How ’bout an example?
Ok so I Sunday I was sat in sacrament meeting (Oh for you muggles who don’t know that’s what you call the big main service with everyone at my church…anyway) trying to pay attention to the talks and learn something.
Now don’t get me wrong. It was a great talk and the speaker is a good friend. But… well my brain is sort of. Random. I flit from one thing to another until I get lost somewhere in my own head’s version of cyberspace. So I find it a conscious effort to pay attention to well…anything. Especially people talking to a group. Especially if I can’t see the person’s face. (*N/B this lack of attention thing isn’t actually a really recent occurrence. I just seem to have got worse at concentrating on one thing as the years have gone on.)
See. Tangential brain. Anyway. So I was listening and trying to pay attention. Then something he said sparked something in my head- something about people changing but how remembering who you were before can help you become the person you want. And bam. The final speech of the 11th Doctor (*Matt Smith’s voice and everything*) playing in my head.
Basically….this. In my head. Specifically from 1.35 minutes in.
Which I found to be a weird thing to use on me because…because I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the 11th Doctor. I started out loving him. The quirkiness and fun of his adventures, the interesting dynamic of the TARDIS with both Rory and Amy all that stuff I lapped it up. But by the end of Smith’s second series I absolutely did not like this character. Looking back I can’t quite remember why but I hated him. He just felt like not the Doctor anymore. This lasted until the Clara episodes where he redeemed himself slightly and by Time of the Doctor I was in love again. Again. Tangent. Point being that this connection in my own head linked up with what was being said and I instantly understood. And I love when that happens. Because it feels like the universe makes sense even for a minute because somebody, somewhere, somehow has bothered to talk to me in a language I understand.
Speaking of languages I am currently working on Chapter 6 of my book Aden Lex and I don’t want to give anything away but let’s just say there’s some crazy language barrier parts and I cried writing it. Yeah. I cried. I weeped like a little baby and I am the one who created these people.
Yeah…
Speaking of crying and tangents I have come up with my dream cast for les miserables (assuming human beings don’t age) which I might actually post sometime this week….
If I remember. I’m not setting an actual deadline. Because again love-hate relationship. Even a self imposed deadline gives you restriction and anxiety about getting it done ‘on time’ while juggling actual real life stuff. But at the same time it creates a structure. And I’ve found there is nothing more motivating than having someone waiting for your work.
Ok enough flaming tangents! I’m not Victor flaming Hugo am I?
Also known as ‘Why Courfeyrac is the best ever.’ This post is dedicated to the beautiful and wonderful MPHTHEATREGIRL because she is awesome and intelligent and inspiring and always comments. Yay MPHTHEATREGIRL.
So…anyway. Courfeyrac. Book play and film spoilers coming up…..
COURFEYRAC IS FREAKING AWESOME! And not just in the film.
Here’s what Hugo says about Courf when he’s introducing everyone in the book.
“Any one who had listened to Courfeyrac in 1828 would have thought he heard Tholomyès in 1817. Only, Courfeyrac was an honorable fellow. Beneath the apparent similarities of the exterior mind, the difference between him and Tholomyès was very great.”
Basically what he’s saying here is that Courf is smart, witty and vivacious. He is full of fun and doesn’t take things too seriously. I also get the feeling he’s a bit of a flirt. But he’s a gentleman. He’s a good person. And he’s the centre of the group. Hugo says he has more warmth than the others.
So the dude has already made a good impression on me in the first few paragraphs he appears in….
And it just keeps getting better and better. In the book he totally accepts Marius despite never having met him before, let’s him live in his flat and takes him to meetings. He is constantly recruiting and helping people. And he gives Marius, the adorably awkward dork that he is, some much needed love advice. (Even if the idiot doesn’t take it.)
The dude is literally described by Marius’s grandad as his ‘intimate friend’. His bestie. And Marius literally saves his life on one occasion.
Moving on to the adorable Fra Fee’s portrayal in the film….
Apart from being unbearably amazing in every second he is on screen (but I can’t show you because no-one has made an ‘only Fra Fee’ video yet 😦) what with the singing ‘Do you hear the people sing?’ and the getting people to SHUT UP so Gavroche (who isn’t even really supposed to be there?) speak, the being saved by Javert in the riot (*I mean WHAT? Come on J-man!*) and the barricade building with…this line!
(*Aww…*)
Courfeyrac literally portrays the most perfect parenting in this whole film. And he’s not even a dad. In fact he’s nothing to do with this little kid but he still carts the boy around with him and looks out for him and encourages him.
And…oh his face when Gavroche dies…. I don’t usually cry in films when peeps ain’t dying but he manages to make me cry.
(*And I’ve checked. It is the reaction I am…well reacting to not the death of Gav*)
Hey my beautiful people! Another Les Mis rant for you today. (*I know! Two in a week. Lucky muggles!☺) So I was telling my friend today how I started following some of the actors from the Les Mis film on Twitter.
(*Oh. Yeah. I have Twitter now. You guys should totally follow me. I am @BoltonNelle.*)
Anyway, she asked me ‘How would you rank the “barricade boys” if you had to’ and well…..it got me thinking. I do that. And I figured….why not share my musings with my beautiful people and see if they agree or not.
So some caveats and spoiler warnings for basically all mediums of Les Mis. (Book and film primarily but also bits from the musical that didn’t make the cut….)
One: I am ranking based on personal preference only based on their representation in the book, the 2012 film and the fandom. So…Yeah my feelings about the actor may accidentally colour my ranking. Please don’t hate me! I love all these boys equally I swear. But like….if I was forced to pick my favourite.
Two: In my ranking a ‘Barricade Boy’ is an established adult member of Les Amis de l’ABC. In other words one of the following ten people: Enjolras, Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Marius Pontmercy, Jean Prouvaire, Boussett (Lesgeles), Feuilly, Joly, Bahorel and Grantaire. Basically Gavroche doesn’t count or he would win hands DOWN. Without trying.
Three: I’m going backwards just to mess with you. Ha!
Okay enough with the waffle. On with the listy thing.
10) Bahorel . Sorry bro I love you but someone has to be at the bottom. (And in the book he dies first because he picks a fight. Don’t pick fights)
9) Joly. Okay so he DOES have one of the funniest lines in the musical (see below) He is brilliant and lovely and I adore him. But like I said I adore them all and I am forcing myself to be ruthless here.
8) Boussett. Bless him. He’s just so cheerful. Even with such terrible terrible luck he never lets it get him down and you just gotta love his pure positivity. (HONESTLY HIM AND JOLY ARE EQUALLY BRILLIANT BUT I HAD TO PICK AND BOUSSETT IS ALSO THE ONE TO INTRODUCE MARIUS TO THE GUYS- WELL TO COURF-IN THE BOOK)
7) Feuilly
Feuilly is lovely isn’t he? I adore him even if he doesn’t play any major role in the story. (Which is the only reason he’s so far down.) He’s an orphan but he literally adopted France for a mum. He’s also the only person in the group whose a working man. He’s like…So inspiring. Just don’t get him started on Poland 😂
6) Jean “Jehan” Prouvaire
I have two words to justify this. Utter sweetheart. Seriously. Also one of only two characters to make me cry before their death moment.
I’m not crying! You are!
5)Marius
I mean. Come on. Marius Pontmercy is basically a cinnamon roll wrapped in awkwardness. And he’s just…he’s just adorable ok!
But he is also a bit ditzy and I don’t like the way he treats Eponine and Valjean in the book so he loses on that.
4) Enjolras
Time for a bit of honesty (not that I haven’t been honest about the others). I would follow him. I don’t like him at times. I really don’t like how he treats R. But he’s a great man. An inspirational and dynamic leader and he is attractive as a person.
3)Grantaire
R. Aww R. Sure he’s cynicaland an alcoholic but we can’t help but love him can we? He’s clever and fun and loved Enjolras enough to die for a cause he doesn’t believe in. He is also popular and sporty and artistic. And, y’know George Blagden. 😊 (*I swear the actors are to blame for 90% of these final 3.)
Just….you know. Because.
2) Combeferre
Ok this man is practically perfect. He is crazily smart for one thing. And I swear that is super attractive. He is just the epitome of Ravenclaw and I see that and love him for it. He’s also anything but weak. He’s a good soldier but he doesn’t WANT violence. He wants light. Education for everyone. He also once literally drew a moth from memory which is just….I can’t even how cool that was. I think he controls and directs Enj’s fire and come on he dies TRYING TO SAVE SOMEONE ELSE. (In the film it’s Joly. In the book it’s just ‘a soldier’ which seems to me like one of his enemies. Which is just….this amazing sensitive clever man who hates violence dies in the most violent way while trying to help a man who was trying to kill him and I just….can’t.)
Also um Killian Donnelly. mean…lookee this face! Lookee!
1) Courfeyrac
He’s basically the biggest softest Hufflepuff in the history of everything. I swear without Courf this thing would just fall to pieces because he is like the most friendly person in the world. And I guarantee that at least half the people fighting are fighting for Courfeyrac individually. He’s just so cheerful and adorable you can’t help but love him can you? And he’s Marius’s bestie. And he literally knew the boy for two minutes before deciding to adopt him like a puppy or something.
And I think Fra Fee is the perfect casting for this because he is as adorable and great in real life as Courf is. He is the second actor I mentioned who made me cry without them dying. (Course I cry on that bit too but…. oh you know what I mean. I just didn’t stop in that scene.)
Oh also…..this. This! He’s so…Courf!
So. Yeah. That is my ranking list of the Barricade Boys. And thus, I think, I have got all my Les Mis feels out. But no promises.
Two things to say before the main post. (WARNING THERE WILL BE LES MIS SPOILER FURTHER DOWN. NOTHING MAJOR BUT STILL….)
One: I have been off the radar for more than three months. Sorry. I can’t even blame my life because it’s been anything but hectic. I was just in a complete creativity wipeout. It turns out that begging your muse to abandon you is not a good move. But good news! I am back with more random philosophising for your mocking pleasure.
Two. Oh yeah. I am currently writing a modern universe Les Miserables fanfic. I know right?! It focuses on Eponine and her relationships with each of the ‘Barricade Boys’ and I have got randomly excited by it. I’ve written the first two chapters and am currently working on the third. (Well not….you know right this second but you know what I mean. I hope.) Go check it out. Not to blow my own trumpet. *which would be quite difficult because I don’t own one* but it’s actually quite good. The link is: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13018675/1/Eponine-Thenardier-and-the-Barricade-Boys
On with the post……
And today we have a lovely rant about Javert.
If there is one moment in the whole of Les Miserables (the film this time) that just leaves me stumped it is the moment that Javert saves Courfeyrac. Momentarily. I mean… it doesn’t change his fate or anything but still. I just find it weird. It’s such a random moment of….humanity from Javert. For those who don’t know what I mean it happens roughly 2 and a half minutes in to this clip.
And it’s definitely Javert because that’s Russell Crowe.
Thing is….Javert could have made it look like an accident. Without Courfeyrac I am pretty sure the whole thing would flounder before it began. He is described in the book as the ‘heart’, the ‘centre’ after all. But Javert choses to let him live, or more accurately to save him.
The thing about Javert is….I can’t help but LIKE him. Because I understand him. I don’t approve of his actions. He makes Valjean miserable and he is at least indirectly responsible for the deaths of some of my new favourite people. (even if they ‘aren’t real’) But. I understand him. His actions make sense according to his character. And then they just have to throw THAT in the mix. And suddenly the character you are supposed to hate and fight against because he is almost inhuman in his terrible meticulousness does something like save his enemy’s life. And not just any enemy. Courfeyrac. The centre. The loveable one. The dude who seals Marius Pontmercy’s fate as ‘person who confuses me most in the world even including the real ones.’ FRA FEE. (Ok I know for everyone but Enjolras (and maybe Cosette) they’re cuteness or lack of cuteness is not a relevant character trait but…..Well it doesn’t hurt.
Ok….we good?…..I think we’re good….
Oh wait one last thing.
GRANTAIRE! GENERAL LAMARQUE’S HEARSE IS NOT A TAXI! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING NOT HITCHING A LIFT TO THE BAR! *If you watch the clip closely you can see him sat up front with the hearse driver. You can tell it’s him because he’s got that gorgeous green waistcoat on. But he’s like barely visible. You have to watch really close.*
Sorry someone needed to say it and Enj looks a bit busy. 😂😂
Also….best moment in this film (language warning):
Lumos!
I once read a poster that said something like “If you can read this you are more privileged than 80% (or something) of the world.”
It went on a bit about the different things we are privileged with.
It’s supposed to inspire gratitude for our circumstances. In me it just inspired guilt. Like I am better off than so many people but I still struggle with things that should be easy to deal with.
This has been a recurring problem all my life. This feeling of guilt for being good at something or able to do something. Like the stories they used to tell you in school about the people who had massively struggled academically and then gone on to become massively successful? I suppose it was their way of making the less academically inclined kids feel better about themselves.
But speaking honestly stories like this always made me think: ‘oh…right….well I’m never going to amount to anything special then. I’m really good at school. I don’t struggle at all.
I’m just gonna leave high school and fail at everything….’
I am the kid who railed against not having dyslexia because all over the walls of my school there were inspiring posters about all the great people in the world who had dyslexia and how great they turned out. People like Leonardo Da Vinci who was a personal hero of mine at one point (until I discovered Van Gogh’s “Starry Starry Night” and haven’t looked back but that’s another story)
I recognized the immense difficulty and struggle that people with dyslexia go through on a daily basis but part of me WANTED that struggle knowing that struggle fuels art sometimes.
Luckily I am now older and, I hope, wiser though some people, namely my dad, have their doubts. And I know that everyone has their talents and their challenges and their outlook on their life and nobody is born with the same struggle or the same talent.
Even twins have massively differing personalitiesand outlooks (I speak from family experience having been born the daughter of a twin[fraternal] who was the son of a twin [identical].
But I digress slightly. On the topic of digressions quick shout out to make.
I know I mentioned them in “Families We Build” but I really need to start hanging out with Manny more. He is full of insights like this that fuel my blog posts so if you’re reading this and have guessed I’m talking about you (which I completely doubt unless I were to blatantly point it out) hi! and thanks for being my part-time muse and inspiring me to write (even if said writing phase comes at 2am. hem hem😪😪😔)
Stupid Muse thing person whatever. Yeah. I could be sleeping right now if you stopped giving me ideas (please please don’t stop!) instead of rambling like a person who’s gone from happy-spendy-drunk to telling-their-life-story-drunk. Not that I’ve ever even been drunk but yeah… I’ll just stop now.
Where was I? Oh yes different people have different talents thing…
Erm….
I guess all that is what makes us human. Humanity is my latest obsession. Well that, Les Mis and the voice of the ineffebilly beautiful and brilliant voice of one Monsieur George Blagden. (Which are kinda tied together anyway since I discoveredone through the other)
So in this beauteous month of May all you will get from me is a load of philosophical ramblings about humans and community and the nature of this that or the other.
Oh and on the topic of May.
BEST BANK HOLIDAY EVER!
I walked….Yes walked… from Lancaster City to Halton village on Monday for the sheer fun of it cause it was so warm.
I have pictures and everything to prove it.
Personally I wouldn’t recommend the walk on your own but hey I had fun!
I honestly think this is one of the longest blog posts I’ve ever written.
To finish: a question that has been bugging me. I would just like to ask people this one (especially if you know me)…
If someone has never read your work how do they know you are talented? Are they just being nice or is there another context going on?
Anyway some thinking homework for you to do as if you beautiful people haven’t got enough to do…
Drop me a comment (or a message if you prefer) and let me know your thoughts. Oh and house points for the first person to find the hidden Harry Potter reference in there and tell me about it. I think I’ll say 20. As long as you tell me what Hogwarts house you’re in I”ll even start mentioning names in my next post. (Or Ilvermony. I could work with that)
For now my beauties
Nellie out!
Nox!
Updating three months later: Wow I ramble. A lot. And my spelling was atrocious. See 2am……Also maybe don’t beg your muse to leave you alone because he just might listen.
Okay bear with me on this one. I promise that there is a point….
Something stuck in my head the other day. As a Ravenclaw I get my most inspiring thoughts around my Slytherin brothers and my most grounding ones around my Hufflepuff sisters.
Except none of my siblings are (*confirmed*) Slytherins. And my little sister is too young to go to Hogwarts. Which means she’s too young to do the Sorting Hat quiz.
So what the heck are you blabbing Nelle? I hear you ask.
Well let me explain with a quote from Les Miserable (the book not the musical). In one part at the barricade Combeferre says to Enjolras “He could be your brother.”
To which Enj (who by the way is an only son) replies “He is.”
Now to the point. (See I told you…) which is that we human beings are, ultimately, pack animals. And sometimes, in fact quite often, we make our own families with the people we feel most comfortable around. One may even say our own packs.
Stil not got to the point I hear you call. To which I say… Rude!
I find it cool the way that people come together and form units, families, packs even whatever they are and whatever they look like. Okay enough philosophical nonsense. ON WITH THE NAME-DROPPING! Without names of course…Let me know if you spot yourself…(unless you share my blood. I have a separate post all about the people in my ACTUAL family.)
(NB if you don’t know me this is the point you can stop reading folks)
So. My pack. Who do I count as the people I trust. And- you know…like.
Well there’s the absolutely amazing Slytherin “Stargirl” who I’ve been friends with since like the second day of uni. We don’t see each other much cause she lives MILES away but she is the person I tell ALL my secrets to. She is the most awesome friend a girl could wish for and is so cool I literally named one of my characters after her without even noticing it. No seriously. I did. It was hilarious when I found out. And she is most certainly the best Slytherin in the world EVER! (Dont blame me I didn’t make her)
Next we have the most kind and sweet Hufflepuff imaginable. (Literally not making it up she’s awesome) She is always there for everyone and I can talk to her about pretty much anything. She is also about as big a Potterhead as me so it’s lovely to actually talk to someone who gets the complex and often mindnumbing (to other people anyway) points I can make sometimes about the most tiny details. She also keeps me sane and grounded at times mainly by reminding me that other people have different ideas about certain things or just like “What you’re writing makes no sense”. Usually actually by just existing in the same place as me….
Remember I said no names? Well she has a blog that literally helps me every time she posts. It’s called ‘nametag on my heart’ and you guys should really check it out. If you’re still reading that is.
R is the best friend a girl could ever need. He’s a Hufflepuff and a Whovian and a bunch of other stuff… And I could hang round with him all day and not get bored cause there’d be SOMETHING to do. Something to rant about. I call him R because he is like Ron Weasley and Grantaire from Les Mis all at once.
Manny is one of the smartest people I know. I can quite literally talk to him about almost anything and he will have something to say. We don’t always agree… but friends don’t have to. Thankfully.
Remember what I said about being most inspired around my ‘Slytherin bros’? This guy. Honestly apart from Stargirl he is probably the person I talk to about my writing more than most. Because talking actually really does help when I’m in a rut and I know he cares and respects me enough to take my work seriously so….yeah.
And the Manny thing? 😁
Well lets just say this person reminds me of Manny out of A Bug’s Life and leave it at that. (Google it.)
So……yeah. Ok now well 4 of my friends know what I think of them I am out of here before I embarrass myself. 😄 (WELL ASSUMING THEY READ THIS HINT)
And Happy New Year people. Welcome to 2018! We made it.
So with New Year come many new beginnings for lots of people. It’s the time people decide on all sorts of projects from losing weight to writing more regularly. But with everyone stressing about the ‘new me’ all I want to ask is:
What was wrong with the old you?
Honestly. What is it that makes people think they have to change themselves so much?
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for improving. I am. But can I just quote a very special person. (10 House points if you can tell me who)
“You are unique in the universe. There is only one…(insert name here)”
In other words you are amazing. Whoever you are you are amazing. You are unique and beautiful and amazing and special.
So remember who you are. And don’t be so hard on yourself if you’re not perfect. Just be the special you that you are.
Accio... Muse! 