#and his own goals and people he openly cares about. and even in some fanon stuff i see ppl kinda erase that part of him

[yuridovewing]

As a fellow Dovewing lover, it's frustrating how the fandom watered her down into a whiny brat who never cared about Ivypool. I mean, seriously? Not only did Dovewing care about her sister (reacting in horror when Lionblaze, her own mentor and Jayfeather are willing to potentially sacrifice Ivypool's safety by employing her as her spy instead of trying to get her out of the Dark Forest's clutches, hiding a thorn in her nest to cover for her scarring from her training).

Heck, even the scene where she tries to feed Ivypool her catch during a hunting patrol was demonized because 'she was trying to make Ivypool break the code like SHE does, as if it doesn't matter' and because she got upset when Ivypool started arguing with her! But you guys said she didn't care, right? Plus, people act like being forced into a prophecy is something you should be grateful for, as if it didn't irreparably change her close relationship with her sister? As if Lionblaze and Jayfeather didn't still keep her out of the loop (and for all the fussing they made about keeping it a secret, Lionblaze confesses his power to Cinderheart and Jayfeather doesn't even care).

Meanwhile Nightheart is angry he isn't orange and hates his mom for being exiled and the whole world has to stop for him. 🤪 And Bramblestar is simply so tortured by having an evil father, the only choice is to train with him and his evil half-brother and hide this from his wife! (But remember, it's bad when that witch Squirrelflight hides the parentage of the three from him, even when Blackstar and Leopardstar were still around after being complicit in the torture and killing of halfclan cats.) Why are these male characters sympathized with, even when they actively harm people (Nightheart forcing himself into Sunbeam's life by lying to everyone about being her mate without even asking her if she would be fine with that beforehand), Bramblestar (we all know what he does), but when Dovewing or any other female character is upset, people freak out and call them whiny brats or abusive for (checks notes) asking her partner if he loves her anymore after they argued multiple times in a book. Really makes you think! (Sorry this is so long, you just have based opinions!)

dovewing being characterized as this flighty airheaded vain popular girl stereotype in fanon is like. one of those biggest "we didnt actually read the books" things in the fandom. like theres so much fanart where shes grinning and giggling over the prophecy and shes besties with the trio and shes got preferential treatment, and then in the actual books shes basically the autistic kid no one actually likes. people really, REALLY overexaggerate that one scene where she snaps at ivypaw and brags. (and i dont wanna shit on amvs but i am forever side eying how the animation community handled dove back in the day. more than one person animated her getting murdered. normal.)

i do think its gotten better recently at least. but wow does it feel like at least one person on the writing team has a bone to pick

(also awww thank you <3 no need to be sorry i love getting stuff in my inbox)

#it does also feel so insidious to me just how long the bramblesquirrel conflict was painted as ''equally kind of wrong'' #the ppl who put words in squilfs mouth sometimes which. btw ill get to that when i read the book #and tbf part of it is that sometimes abuse isnt as easy to spot if youre primed to the mainstream version of it #like. bramble isnt a born evil wifebeater everyone can see coming from a mile away. hes a complex guy with his own insecurities #and his own goals and people he openly cares about. and even in some fanon stuff i see ppl kinda erase that part of him #(which i wont pretend im above- ive been trying to walk that line myself) #and that doesnt match how abusers are usually percieved by the public. or in this very series. #like. the main excuse for clear sky is literally ''hes sad his sister died and tried to save her! no one changes THAT much'' #anyone can be an abuser. you could be an abuser. i could be an abuser. that doesnt mean that we ARE but we are capable of it #and the thing that catches ppl off guard is that abusers are really good at hiding who they are and theyre often charming #i often hear this account of abuse that goes something like ''my parent abused me but no one believed me bc theyre nice in public'' #you dont know whats going on behind closed doors. and ik this is about funny kitties at the end of the day but its quite telling #so... yeah bramble has his nice moments. hes got his GREAT moments even. i love his relationship with his mom for example #but those moments dont mean that hes not capable of being worse. of being a monster to his loved ones #its why squilf keeps getting sucked back in. hes not a one dimensional asshole. hes capable of being kind to her. #and thats what makes his disgusting moments hit so much harder #wow ok i got off topic in the tags but yknow. idk i got feelings abt this matter as someone who's experienced toxic relationships

[lurkingdoll]

Fanon Ghost VS Canon Ghost

I made an old ramble a few months ago about my opinions on Fanon Ghost but it was honestly poorly written so now I want to take the time to actually do an analysis thing on the differences between Fanon Ghost and Canon Ghost because this is one of the biggest mischaracterizations out of the MW characters and a surprisingly large amount of the fandom uses this mischaracterized version while making Ghost content.

In Fanon, Ghost is often depicted as a coldhearted bastard who refuses to let anybody close to him and constantly pushes people away. Fanon Ghost is cold, mean, and quiet even to his loved ones. He does care about people, but he sucks at communicating it and had a slight problem with lashing out at others whenever he gets nervous or scared due to the way he was raised. There's also a version of Fanon Ghost that's rather abusive and mean, being rather selfish and fulfilling the edgy lone wolf archetype

In Canon, Ghost is rather distant to people he doesn't know well and tends to remain professional and generally mission focused. BUT once he gets use to someone, he is incredibly loyal to them and will be their ride or die. He has a more playful and humorous side that comes out the more he warms up to a person. He will even abandon the mission goal and his own safety just to make sure the people he cares about are okay (As he does with Soap in the alone mission). He isn't scared to show that he cares, he will even outright say he cares like he does to Soap in MW2. He may take time to trust and warm up to people, but once he does that person has a genuine and loyal companion for life. We also do not know if his past with his abusive father, everything with Roba, and his family dying are all Canon since that past was only mentioned for OG Ghost and has not been mentioned with Reboot Ghost yet

Canon Ghost has his flaws sure, like how he openly admits to regretting saving people because it gave Hassan time to get away in MW2 and how he has committed literal war crimes, but he's not some cold stoic asshole and he's most definitely not abusive. He's a little closed off at first, but has a fun and humorous side that will come out once he begins to trust that person.

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare 3 #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare 2 #cod #simon ghost riley #simon riley #cod simon riley #simon riley hcs #simon ghost riley headcanons #character analysis #canon vs fanon #fandom #cod simon ghost riley

[galacticnova3]

Thoughts on which Kirby villain the fandom sucks most at characterizing in your onion

Believe me if I had the energy to rant I would absolutely write you a fucking essay on how the fandom has bastardized Marx as a character, but I don’t and it’s past midnight. So you will get bullet points instead. I’ll admit I’m biased because I’ve been harassed by Marx fans in the past on here, but no I won’t apologize for my opinions <3

•Marx isn’t just a silly little crime boy, he literally tricked the sun and moon into fighting and manipulated Kirby into summoning Nova. Like that’s LITERALLY the plot of Milky Way Wishes, you can’t just ignore that and act like you’re writing Marx.

•Also worth mentioning: given how important sleep is in Dreamland, the big issue of fucking up the day-night cycle is also heavily underplayed by the majority of the fandom. Since it’s implied he lived there, this very much could have been intentional! It’d certainly make taking over easier if everyone who could resist were weakened/sleep deprived, wouldn’t it?

•Marx caused Nova’s death, temporary or not. “Well technically Kirby is the one who sent him fl–“ yeah and why was Kirby fighting Marx in the first place, huh? And who was the one who put Kirby in the position to fight Nova, huh!? Literally no matter how you look at it it’s Marx’s fault.

•Marx also tried to kill Kirby. Twice, if you count Marx Soul. I don’t think I need to elaborate on why this is an issue, but at the same time I just might considering the number of people who ship them for some reason? Which, like, fucking yikes, I don’t care what you come up with to explain it, you shouldn’t put someone in a relationship with someone who manipulated and later attempted to kill them! Refer to the first point for why you can’t just ignore that!

•His goal of ruling Popstar was guaranteed not a spur of the moment or power-tripping driven thing. Whereas Magolor is a bit more ambiguous– he definitely had been plotting his betrayal from the beginning, that much is certain, but it’s heavily implied he was not in control after putting on the Master Crown, perhaps meaning he wasn’t originally looking for universal domination– Marx very openly brags about how his plan worked, and does so AFTER his wish is granted. This means, unlike in Magolor’s case where wanting to rule could very possibly have been caused by the Master Crown, Marx very much intended Popstar’s domination from the start.

•A big thing that I never see addressed by the people who stan Marx but despise Magolor: MARX NEVER EVEN FUCKING APOLOGIZED FOR ANY OF IT. MARX HAS NOT SHOWN AN OUNCE OF REGRET FOR HIS ACTIONS. “He helped in Star Allies–“ YEAH AND DID YOU EVER LOOK AT WHY? BECAUSE THERE WAS FOOD IN IT FOR HIM. IN THE JAPANESE VERSION ITS BECAUSE OF SAFETY IN NUMBERS. He did not help out of the kindness of his own heart, or because it was right, he was in it solely for his own benefit.

•Basically just... a ton of my hatred of fanon Marx is because of the hypocrisy the fandom shows when it comes to Magolor. Magolor didn’t just apologize, he built at least two entire theme parks on top of his apology. While that obviously doesn’t undo what he did, nor mean he has to be forgiven by anyone, it is still absolutely better than the solid nothing Marx has given. That alone is enough to show that, realistically, Marx is the worse of the two, not Magolor, because at least Magolor has shown he regrets his actions. I wouldn’t put it past Marx to try again.

•Probably my least popular opinion here: I don’t like Marx’s design, and I never have. It’s not cute, but it isn’t scary either, or really all that creepy imo. It just annoys me, intentionally or not, and overall he has my least favorite Kirby final boss design. Yes I remember Dark Nebula exists, but at least Nebula has a nice color palette and a cool eye, even if the fight itself is underwhelming. Yes I also remember Dark Crafter exists, and he’s a very close second for least favorite final boss design! But at least his doesn’t outright agitate me, I just don’t like it because it wasn’t nearly as good as Drawcia’s. It’s the difference between outright disliking it vs just being disappointed. I’m not saying the design is bad, the design is great for a character like Marx! I just happen to hate Marx as well as not be a huge fan of that kind of look.

#ask to tag #ask #ask meme #rambling #I guess more like ranting in this case #literally the only thing I enjoy about him is his boss theme #but yea I hate fanon Marx so much it’s unreal! #especially when I’m then treated like shit for it #like oh I’m sooo sorry for not stanning *reads notecard* manipulative ass who attempted murder and planetary domination with no remorse #who also happens to have a design I’m not fond of

[alienheartattack]

Hello. Who’s ur comfort character? (Snk) what r ur notps for snk? And, last one, how do you write Levi and Mikasa so perfectly? Like their personalities and what they say- how do you even get good at that? I love all ur works

Hello! Thank you for reading and for taking the time to send a message!

I don't really have any comfort characters from SNK. I guess Levi? He's the only one who doesn't make me depressed about the series when I look at him lmao. Right now my comfort characters are my OCs, considering how much I enjoy brainstorming for them. (Both male leads I've written so far are masculine men with strong personalities who are also soft and kind. Now that I think about it, I tend to write Levi in a similar way in a modern AU where he's allowed to indulge his softness.)

In terms of notps, I think I've made my feelings on EM pretty clear. I'm not a fan of Levihan (love it platonically though, and I even follow some Levihan blogs) or Rivahisu either. However, I just filter everything I don't like so I barely even remember it exists.

I've been accused of writing Levi and Mikasa OOC before, so it's wonderful to hear that someone thinks I do it perfectly! I pay a lot of attention to how people talk IRL and sometimes I'll even say my dialogue out loud to make sure it flows. It's always been a big pet peeve of mine that authors who write "snappy" dialogue rarely write how people actually talk, instead they go all big and pretentious with it. I think Levi and Mikasa are relatively uncomplicated people (despite all the trauma), so their dialogue should be more straightforward. A lot of what I do is think, “How would a person who watched their parents die in front of them/was raised in a dangerous slum/is the only person they know who’s as strong as they are/etc. act in this situation?”

ETA: I rambled a lot about writing here, so I'm just gonna toss it below a read more.

In terms of Levi and Mikasa's personalities, I tend to focus on things we know canonically about the characters and then fill in the blanks from there. They're both relatively reserved people but they have a wicked sense of humor, and usually it relates to things that are scatological or taboo. I tend to focus on them being people who are stoic on the outside but very emotional on the inside, because that way I give myself an opportunity to explore their inner life, which usually involves some kind of domesticity (based upon Mikasa's desire for a family and Levi's potential career as a tea merchant).

I also like to drop in random canon or fanon facts, like Levi only sleeping a few hours a night or high school AU Mikasa being a goth, and then use those as jumping off points for further characterization. For example, writing a scene with cranky Levi doesn't hit as hard as writing a scene with cranky Levi when you know he's tired from a bad night of sleep and he's running on caffeine and fumes. It's easier to characterize him and add details to your writing by drawing on your own experiences of being tired: he probably feels like shit, he's exhausted, his eyes are puffy, he's yawning, he's not paying as close attention as he normally would be.

Another thing I do that helps keep me in tune with the characters is to decide what kind of Rivamika I want to write before I start writing. I decide how they feel about each other during the story and whether I want that to change. If I write a story where they're already friends, their personalities are going to show a lot differently in a story where they openly dislike each other, although I usually write them bickering in some way to reflect their interpersonal conflicts in canon.

The way I'm able to achieve all this complexity in my writing is that I tend to write pretty mechanically: I decide what goal I want to achieve with a story, then work backwards and figure out how to get there. For example, with the assassin AU, I knew it was going to center around a scene that was violent but also very caring and maybe even loving, so I made very sure to write Levi and Mikasa as people who argue a lot and say some really terrible things to each other, but who show deep respect through their actions. If they truly hated each other, Mikasa would never agree to sleep with him in any situation, so I had to make sure to add details that infer that maybe they don't actually hate each other that much. I really fixate on making my characters' motivations believable, so I was literally sitting there thinking, "If I were in Mikasa's shoes, in what scenario would I be okay having sex with a weird coworker?" Or I'll try to imagine a similar situation in my life where I thought I disliked someone but actually realized I would be upset if I didn't see them around. Especially with fanfiction, it's all about showing how the characters feel about each other, and what events and actions can make those feelings change.

I've already written enough here, but I wanted to emphasize one of the things I stand by as a writer that I think makes for better characterization: nothing is ever black or white. People are frequently conflicted or torn by competing desires, even when it comes to relatively easy decisions. (Especially when it comes to things like food and sex.) Even if someone falls strongly on one side of an issue, they can usually see the merits of both sides. No one is ever 100% good or evil, and oftentimes bad people genuinely believe they're doing the right thing. I try to make it so that every character in a story genuinely believes that they are doing their best, so when they come into conflict it's because they have deeper issues than just a simple misunderstanding or miscommunication. For example, in Inexorable, I wanted everyone to be sympathetic to a degree, even Eren, because I think it's too simple and unrealistic for him to be a straight up villain. Plus it makes the reader really feel for Mikasa, because both she and the reader can see that even though Eren was a dick, he's also trying to make things right. It makes her final decision that much more anxiety-inducing and ultimately satisfying because she has a good reason for being with Levi and a less good but still valid reason for being with Eren, and (hopefully) you don't know which one she'll pick. These problems often take a lot of thinking and brainstorming to resolve, but I find that they make for much more satisfying characterization and plot.

I could blab on about writing forever (obviously) so I'm always down to answer asks!

#alienheartattack writes

[the-nysh]

I have noticed a big difference between fanon and canon Todoroki and Bakugou's relationship. In a lot of Fanon, there is a common perception of Todoroki being (unapologetically) shady to Bakugou or judgmental, perhaps coming from fans who don't like Bakugou too much and project Shouto as someone superior who can put him down. Whereas in canon I feel, Todoroki goes out of his way a lot to help and care for Bakugou since their match. The one time he made a observation between Kota and (pt1)

-Bakugou, when Bakugou got mad he did apologise, he went out of his way to help rescue Bakugou, in seem to feel bad Bakugou was cut from the interview, he genuinely sees Bakugou as his friend, he took note Bakugou didn’t have an internship and now on the internship he was willing to make sure his friends get the most out of the internship too. Yeah Shouto is shady to his Dad but I think some fans who see Bakugou as a Endeavour 2nd expect Shouto to be turning that onto Bakugou as well (pt2)

-when its not supported in the manga. And it’s a shame since I think Shouto relationship with Bakugou I think adds a unique layer to his character because while it still has the co-operative and  "looking out for" a class mate nature his other dynamics have it’s up against Bakugou’s less agreeable attitude when usually most other characters are admiring, complimentary, trusting, generally positive about him. I do also wonder if after the cultural festival if Shouto understands Bakugou’s (pt3)

-language more since he, along with most of 1A, misunderstood Bakugou’s harsh sentiment on the class wanting to perform for the sake of the rest of the school. Idk but I like the understated evidence that the boys have a camaraderie and consideration to each other. It’s been a while since your last meta on the relationship between the main 3 boys (last time was more to do with shipping), may I ask what your feelings are on the current relationships and character development, when you have time?

(I went ahead and grabbed the official translation for their latest interactions.)

I don’t get much chance to talk about Todo, but it’s very true that a lot of fanon interpretations are either exaggerated or inaccurate to what’s actually canon (esp if they don’t read the manga). It helps to be very aware of this when consuming fan content, including for other popular characters too.

The Todo that I see has both ‘chilled’ and ‘warmed’ in areas where he’s actually more responsible and now looking at the bigger picture. His priorities have shifted; he’s weighed his future as a hero more important than his personal beef with his father that’s held him back. He’s chilled in the sense that his seething resentment for his father has eased (matured), and he can think more clearly and less selfishly without that anger clouding his best judgments. Todo now realizes he can use (and sway) his father’s influence to both his own benefit and for his classmates’ (as we can see with his 3-way internship idea). Todo has also warmed in the sense that he’s more open-minded, cooperative, considerate, and supportive to his other classmates. Kacchan included.

I’m honestly not on top of the td/bk parts of the fandom (so you’ve probably written a better assessment here than me), but of the fanon interactions I do happen to see from time to time, they often have Todo making these snide offhand comments at the expense of Kacchan, which….:// aren’t funny (and I can sense those misplaced character projections coming from miles away…) Instead, Todo is blunt yes (with a mouth that can come off as rude), but he also cares, even when that bluntness comes off in his caring. So when he’s supportive and earnest with suggestions, consideration, and concern all openly in front of Kacchan’s face, then that’s when Kacchan’s irritated reactions to him are funny. Todo’s goal is also not to be the best hero either, so he’s not even in Kacchan’s ‘way,’ and simply no-sells whatever attitude Kacchan throws back at him too. His interactions do add another fun layer to Kacchan’s classmate dynamics, and that extra variety (getting Kacchan to interact with more people, instead of getting stuck with a certain fanon one) is something I’m actually really grateful for. (So thx Hori!) 

As for the 3 boys’ current interactions (as in the pic above) Todo comes off as a genuinely supportive friend/classmate who’s aware of when they’re in need (like when he saw Kacchan and Deku no longer had a place to intern), so he knows when to step in and be on top of things to help out. And he knows when to step back too, to let Kacchan and Deku do their thing (like when they charged in to assist Endeavor before Hawks literally swooped in, and Todo stayed back with his ice). This arc has only just begun though, so there’s bound to be plenty more of their group’s dynamics to come, which I’m definitely looking forward to.

#Anonymous #replies #bnha #todoroki #kacchan #manga spoilers #meta #long post #i think that's the most i can reasonably say #this arc's only just started anyhow (which i'm really looking forward to) #plus most of the time i'm already talking about kacchan and deku anyway so this gave me the chance to focus on todo

[starberry-cupcake]

Extensive Les Mis fanon character interpretation Discourse under the cut, read at your own risk

I’ve been thinking about this for an embarrassingly long while and I know I’m not the best person to discuss this, because talking about Les Mis is like opening this huge box of things which you need to be a scholar to be prepared to back up fully. That’s why this is under ‘read more’, because I am aware and accept my own ignorance and limitations BUT I also think this is an interesting topic, so here we go. 

One thing that has been increasingly bothering me in what we can call “the current fanon interpretation” of Les Mis, namely the fanon interpretation that arose/became popular post 2012 movie and through tumblr/ao3, is this idea that Enjolras is a toxic person and he tramples selfishly over people’s feelings. 

This is something that escalates sometimes a lot, even to a point in which I had to one time witness someone on tumblr dot com saying that Montparnasse was a better person and preferable ship partner than Enjolras which made me just stop and stare at the screen for a long moment trying to comprehend where this was coming from. 

There was an escalating fandom acceptance of Enjolras being incredibly selfish towards people in the benefit of “his cause”, which makes him a sort of childish persona who is unable to take care of himself and who doesn’t understand people’s feelings in the slightest. 

This is 99.999999% of the time paired with Grantaire’s interpretation, which I think is a key to understanding why this happened in the first place and why it evolved into turning Enjolras into an unfeeling person who understands nothing of human emotions. 

And I think it’s a fascinating thing to think about and deconstruct, even if I’m not fond of the interpretation. 

I think that Grantaire is, to the current Les Mis fandom (more so than ever before, but I’ll talk about that in a bit), what Éponine was to the musical fandom (and creators) in the 80s/90s. 

A big problem I have with Éponine’s interpretation in the musical (and again, I’m in no way the most qualified person to talk about this and my word should be taken with a bucket of salt) is that she was taken as the victim in a made up “love triangle” that never was. The musical uses Éponine as a tragic figure whose love for Marius is depicted as wholesome and romanticized, whereas Cosette is reduced to a Cinderella story and a very shallow characterization once she becomes an adult (let’s remember her storyline is reduced to being an object to Fantine’s hope, Valejan’s salvation and Marius’s survival without much of an own agency since her entire plot and growth and storyline are cut after she’s rescued by Valjean). So the musical puts the two against each other as the two “options” Marius has, but doesn’t focus on Marius and Cosette’s relationship aside from a couple songs and moments, instead gives Éponine a solo on how much she’s unrequited and a death scene where the entire plot point of her wanting Marius to go to the barricade is erased. 

Éponine’s character complexity is reduced to the character people is meant to feel for and women are meant to root for because she is “the underdog”. And, most often that not, that’s what love triangles do, the underdog is the one people root for because they’re meant to identify with their unfair situation and their tough luck. 

This is a disservice to Éponine and to Cosette, who are much more complex than this and it’s something most people tend to let pass because the musical didn’t have as much time to expand, but it isn’t a matter of amount of content depicted but on which perspective to focus and what lens to see the story through. 

Ask anyone who was a fan of the musical in the 80s and who hasn’t read the book or seen any other adaptation who they prefer between Éponine and Cosette, if you don’t believe me. I mean, On My Own was adopted as the “anthem of the female friendzone” as cringe-y as hell as that sounds. 

Anyway, what does that have to do with Grantaire, you ask me? Well, first of, it’s very easy to see how modern fandom tends to interpret Grantaire and Éponine as friends, really really close to one another. This is a very common occurrence that results from the comparison of their situations and strengthens my point, but it’s not where I’m going with exactly.  

What I think that has happened with Grantaire, and here is the anthropological/sociological hypothesis nobody asked for, is that he became the embraced character for the current tumblr/ao3 fandom as Éponine was for that 80s/90s musical fandom, due to the interpretation he is given, to satisfy certain fandom needs that are current. Which isn’t wrong in itself, it’s what happens with archetypes all the time (and a subject of study for me, which is why this interests me specifically, I’m currently writing two projects that involve literary archetypes, but I digress). 

Grantaire’s drunkenness and confrontational nature were turned into coping mechanisms for a battle with severe depression, in most cases, or other underlying mental illnesses. Which isn’t that much of a long shot in itself, all things considered, it has a canon basis to stand on, but creates a complex case when it comes to the consequences of the things he does. 

Fanon transformed Grantaire’s confrontational nature into a constant cry for help, one which Enjolras most often, if not almost always, ignores. Sometimes out of being oblivious, sometimes out of selfishness, sometimes out of derision and contempt. Sometimes all of them at once. 

And one consequence of this was that it started becoming more and more often for Grantaire’s actions to be fully embraced by fandom because he was starting to be conceived as a vessel for a lot of self-reflection. It isn’t completely random that Grantaire’s characterization became more inclined towards the narrative of mental illness and conflicting coping mechanisms, because they are all subjects we talk about more openly now than ever before, especially in the platforms where this interpretation is more often seen, namely tumblr and ao3. Not that they didn’t exist before, but that they’re discussed more freely now, especially through the idea of safe zones that social media and the internet in general allow. 

What Éponine’s character was for the female fandom of the 80s looking for an underdog to root for, in a market filled with products about the female underdog who was unrequited and deserved to be loved, Grantaire somewhat became to a fandom needing to express this idea of existential emptiness and overall doubt about not only one’s state of mind but also where one is going with their life when others seem so certain about it. 

And talking about being certain about a life goal, what’s going in with Enjolras, meanwhile? I believe that, much like Grantaire’s fandom characterization having somewhere canon to stand on, Enjolras’s severity has some places where it came from which we can all clearly see. I am a little bit tired of how many times people use the “capable of being terrible” phrase at this point, and then there was the whole thing with Saint Just which I’m not getting into because this is already too long. 

But, much like characters written to be two sides of the same coin, Enjolras and Grantaire tend to be connected to each other’s characterization. They were like that in canon, they were written to be a pair which influenced, directly or indirectly, the other, so it isn’t strange to see that in fanon interpretations, the two also go hand in hand. Pun very much intended. 

The issue I have with Grantaire’s interpretation isn’t that his perspective is more directly viewed, or that fandom goes more in-depth with his underlying issues, but the fact that sometimes identification turns into idealization. It happens very frequently in writing (and not only in fic) that authors who see themselves reflected in a character tend to try to erase any blame from them in a way to channel a sense of embrace for their own actions, and that can be counterproductive to the character’s complexity. 

Because it isn’t really the problems and hardship what make a character relatable, it is their growth which comes from learning, which, in turn, comes from making mistakes. 

When Grantaire’s mistakes are characterized as reactions to things that are outside his capability to control, when they are seen as mechanisms of what anyone would do if they were in his place, Enjolras’s reactions to them turn not severe but unfair. 

Suddenly, all of Grantaire’s mistakes, jokes, derision and his unfavorable actions are seen as a product of an inescapable situation, out of his control, which, in turn makes Enjolras’s anger unjust and an over-reaction. Which, paired with the fact that Enjolras’s “cause” varies from interpretation to interpretation (especially in modern contexts, which are the most popular among this generation of fandom, where the “cause” has to be determined from social and political contexts that tend to be very vague out of the global state of the world and the intersectionality of issues, which overlay in every one of them), makes him unfairly distant and overall incapable of feeling empathy. 

Something that can be seen very clearly in the way in which, when it’s written as a ship, Enjolras often has to “choose” between Grantaire and “his cause”, whatever that is in each specific narrative. 

More so than making Enjolras too severe, my problem is with his desensitization. I feel that making Grantaire a constant victim (out of fandom willingness to grab onto him as a vessel of current issues of the generation he represents due to his canon-ish age) makes Enjolras desensitized to human emotion, especially because, most often than not, it is only him who is represented as oblivious or uncaring, while the rest of the group understands and sometimes even defends Grantaire, in stances even turning their backs on Enjolras for that reason, which always baffles me, truly. 

Enjolras is a very complex character and his actions are matter of many essays and interpretations, but one thing I don’t think he can be seen as is uncaring. Even less so uncaring towards human emotion. His constant inner turmoil during the barricade is something to behold and I always turn to his decision to execute Le Cabuc/Claquesous as one of my favorite parts in the entire thing, and the fact that he grieves his decision in the way he does is a proof of his emotional complexity and empathy. 

I don’t have a problem with Enjolras’s severity or Grantaire’s motives, I have a problem with the simplification of their narratives into a judge and a victim, which I think is what leads to these conversations of toxicity among them, opening another bag of complications. 

But even if it’s something that bothers me, it also fascinates me to see how these interpretations shift so much and how they change according to the audience that embraces the text at a certain point in time. How we charge it with additional symbolic value as we go, transforming it a bit with each read. 

I want to clarify, very strongly and vehemently, that these ramblings are IN NO WAY meant as derision of fandom interpretation or anyone’s particular writing. I too have written Les Mis fics and have fallen into interpretative conundrums that now, with experience, I judge unfitting to my current views, some which I have deleted, others which are still around. So this is in no way a call out of any form, not at all. 

It is also not to criticize Grantaire’s interpretation, as someone who suffers from mental illness myself, I find it not only positive but necessary the inclusion of these topics in writing, whether it is in fic form or in any other type. 

I find this a fascinating topic because, like Tournier said: “In some masterpieces - and that is why they are first among universal literature - there is an incentive to create, an infection of the creative verb, a way to put in motion the creative process of readers. I confess that, for me, that is the peak of art”. That is the magic of works like Les Mis, that we can use them to see ourselves, no matter how much time has passed, and if these characters still help to see ourselves and our reality in a way in which we can observe it better, I think Hugo would be glad. 

#les miserables #luly rambles #i was gonna be brief about this and I ended writing an essay whoops #i know i'm not the best person to talk about this but I have thoughts to share i guess idk #les mis #essay posts