pilferingapples:

sassygaymercutio:

some important information about a subject that has taken over my life

(art credit to peivi and xxignisxx)

…You know, I was going to say that there’s probably two main reasons nobody’s shipping Joly/Combeferre and their names are Musichetta and Bossuet

and then I realized wait, that’s pretty much exactly why this should be an open season thing. J/M/B are an open-minded bunch, Joly can have his primaries and then some. And Combeferre’s got his platonic superhusband as his MIP, and then the whole revolution thing, but a friendly ship on the side wouldn’t be a problem and then I realized I was considering shipping logistics and I cursed this Power Point to the pits of Tartar Sauce, but still this is one of the more plausible setups I’ve seen and now I’m wondering why Joly isn’t more of a little black dress (sharp black waistcoat?) in this fandom.

Possibly because every other Ami (except Lesgles, the poor guy) is already way more of a shipping little black dress than Joly. J/M/B is probably the most open relationship ever, though, so they all feel rather under-utilized. Anyway, it’s nice to see a minor ship I mentioned months ago get a bit more love than just the obvious doctor kink.

kalevala-sage:

This is intolerable; everyone who ships C/E has adopted “queerplatonic” as something of a mantra and our unequivocal Biggest Fan of Sex will refer to the pairing as “slash” but won’t ship it—my OTP wants to bone, I assure you.

Hmm, I guess it’s because I really never use terms like queerplatonic outside Tumblr, or even queer unless it’s to explain what queer theory is – most of the time just “gay” sufficient for all my practical needs. It therefore doesn’t immediately occur to me to use those terms. And I don’t oppose C/E, I’m just so busy reading Combeferre shipped with Courfeyrac/Feuilly/Prouvaire or rarely Grantaire/Bahorel (yes, these ships exist). Really, Combeferre is (almost) as flexible as Courfeyrac when it comes to Amis shipping.

And maybe I have more sex than anyone else in this fandom – even if that’s a highly dubious assertion – but that doesn’t necessarily mean I like most if not all of it, as I’ve expressed a few times in depressed rants.

thehighestpie:

brigantes-deactivated20131003:

“Enjolras, it’s because we’re together.”

Boom. Married.

I normally don’t read much Enjolras/Combeferre, but come on…they weren’t even trying to be subtle here. And then there’s that other gif set with Enjolras looking at Combeferre’s corpse, for some adaptational heartbreak to go along with this adaptational slash moment.

Obvious paired ending A/S support material here.

in reality, the elevation of man: lesverymiserables: okay let’s just talk about Combeferre for a…

kalevala-sage:

handatthelevelofyoureye:

lesverymiserables:

okay let’s just talk about Combeferre for a second

I’m not talking Brick Combeferre, I’m talking the general fandom modern au headcanon Combeferre

but like what a fucking standup guy

he’s always cleaning up when Enjolras fails to be human
and he looks after Eponine
and he gets Grantaire but doesn’t take his side because he’s gotta be there for his friend
and he doesn’t ever get shit in return

I have never read an AU where Combeferre gets laid unless it is a combeferre centered fic but like in jehan/courf fics e/r always happens and ep/parnasse or whatever, but basically everyone is always paired up except for our fucking rock, Combeferre

so I’m gonna start writing him into some cool shit, because damn I feel bad for the guy

tl;dr combeferre is a standup guy who deserves your respect

Well, this is a bit odd, seeing as from an initial take, you seem to be equating respect with getting laid. And to feel bad for him because he doesn’t have sex, wherever did that reasoning come from? I feel bad for Combeferre when he’s written as a dull, unfeeling ami who’s just “there”, but I don’t feel bad for him because he doesn’t get a romantic partner.

You can write Combeferre as the firm yet gentle pacifist pursuing progress by the side of Enjolras, and as long as the basics of his canon characterization are intact, then you would already have done him a service. This goes for any character in any story. To express gratification for a character by setting them up with someone is irrelevant and, to be honest, lazy. Is there a particular fandom rule stating that nice guys need to be attached?

In an entirely tardy response, I’m going to have to agree with you both, and call Combeferre’s newfound neglect an inevitable side effect of the rise of E/R.

To pair Enjolras together with Grantaire is in itself an erasure of Combeferre. As the voice of equality and reason, Combeferre is hardly prone to support what is ultimately an unbalanced, impossible-to-fully-reciprocate idolatry. Characteristically speaking, then, Enjolras must fall into Grantaire’s arms (for whenever is it the other way around?) without consulting his best friend, who by all means ought to argue against it if brought into the picture. At his most inclusive, we get a Ferre who’s simply “happy” that Enj has “finally found someone,” and at his most in-character we watch him see Grantaire through an astonishingly uncomplicated rehabilitation; but the first option overlooks Ferre’s analytic eye and E’s passion for whatever it is the AU has transposed politics into, and the second trivializes R’s addiction ~~along with the plethora of other reasons he should be unattractive to Enjolras~~.

Strikethroughs aside, I’m probably not much less avid a consumer of E/R than the next person—I’ll certainly read it forever, though I don’t think it works as a relationship*—but it’s scarcely arguable that those two are making even JVJ irrelevant, displacing what was once the E/É camp until fandom finally caught on that it was ~~straightwashing~~ nonsensical. Which leads to the only exception to single!Ferre I’ve encountered frequently enough to dub a trend, because apparently C/É is now a thing, and as equally out of character as Third Wheel to E/R, because that only limns a straight-edge Enj and Ferre stooping down to the levels of ghetto bad boys Grantaire and Éponine—so, Trope-y Relationships in Parallel.

Not to mention that modern AU tends to paint an entirely compassionate Enjolras—not that he’s devoid of empathy, but what with Combeferre being brickwise somewhere in between Enj and Courfeyrac on the warmth scale, it’s still a little jarring that what with ~~George Blagden’s face~~ the new movie and the sympathetic, twinky Grantaire it has ushered into fandom, Enjolras can now melt at his sight into a puddle of love and bedroom eyes, shoving Courf all the way over that spectrum into sex addiction and cutting Combeferre out completely, as now apparently even Enj is more personable than bookworm he.

tl;dr I do hear your want of Ferre, but better an absence of Combeferre than a OOC one, especially an OOC one straightwashed into sex. Which, with the close of those pre-2012 years when E/R and C/E coexisted vastly more proportionately, might be the only one that crops up anymore. Or…OP, don’t ship him to ship him, as Hand said.

I have a little more to say on this particular subject, but it’s late and I regrettably have other things to write. Great meta all around, particularly for a character who’s been increasingly neglected by the fandom. There’s already been the great Bahorel and Feuilly Revolutions of 2013 (and then, perhaps coincidentally, Bahorel/Feuilly got popular); I wonder if we’ll need a Combeferre Revolution next. I might make a new text post out of it when I get the time.

In Other Bahorelic News

pilferingapples:

The LJ Kink meme has our brawler and his most obvious slashing partner in, well, a kink meme. There is Romanticism and a skull cup.(and no, I did not request or write this. I don’t Anon my Bahorel love, come on, IT’S A BIT LATE FOR THAT. But I do feel it’s rather well written. )

Unfortunately you might have to provide more exact instructions, as that link just leads to the main page of the first kink meme. In other news, at the end of page 41 (the last page) of that meme is a Bahorel/Combeferre drabble. “Pioneer material” indeed, as its author prank_writer points out.

Mein Herz ruft nach dir: eppiesue: It does feel strange that the thoroughly asexual nature of…

eppiesue:

It does feel strange that the thoroughly asexual nature of Enjolras’ character – which, I believe, is extremely emphasised in the book and true for the musical – isn’t ‘good enough’ (or possibly appreciated enough) for many aspects of the fandom… This isn’t criticism as in…

For the prevalence of E/R over Enjolras/Combeferre one need look no further than the amount of exposure: E/C has little in the way of the quotable moments or overloaded symbolism that E/R has in the Brick, and Combeferre isn’t characterized at all in the musical/movie (unless the actor wants to make the effort and the audience is specifically looking for it). I think the significance of the movie in present fanon is fairly obvious, as E/C has become even less popular than it was pre-movie, and I’ve found that modern AUs in general don’t really know what to do with Combeferre between E/R, the ever-present background ship of Lesgles/Joly(/Musichetta), and the now inexplicably popular (though still adorable) Courfeyrac/Prouvaire. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Combeferre as a character, but I still acknowledge that he could have a much more plausible and stable relationship with Enjolras than Grantaire ever could (at least without substantially changing their characters).

Enjolras’s asexuality being ignored is I think more a product of online fandom culture in general, which heavily privileges shipping. I can’t speak for all fandoms, but gen fic is in the minority in every fandom in which I’ve ever participated. Perhaps it’s the wish fulfillment or the desire for formulaic (and therefore “safe”) stories, especially if one has a dedicated OTP. Les Mis fans in particular may be hungry for happy endings, what with everyone in canon dying except the two young lovers and a scheming asshole everyone loves to hate (and either his second daughter or his wife, depending on the verse). Back to Enjolras, I think his asexuality is definitely easier to ignore in the musical/movie, where it’s not brought up at all and his sexuality therefore feels more open to interpretation. We don’t get anything like we do in the Brick, where Enjolras is a virgin, has never kissed anyone before Mabeuf (implausible though that may be), never thinks of women romantically/sexually if at all, and never entertains the possibility of thinking of men that way until possibly about a second before he dies – according to one fairly liberal reading.

I think I went a little overboard with this response, heh. I always write too much…

Mein Herz ruft nach dir: eppiesue: It does feel strange that the thoroughly asexual nature of…

pilferingapples:

edwarddespard:

ask-enjolras-and-grantaire:

We Have Met The Enemy, and He Is Nice.

For more on Combeferre and how he’s stupid and perfect, see here, or Les Miserables: A Group That Nearly Became Historic ^^

I love this one 🙂 I think it’s sometimes forgotten that there is someone who “completes and corrects” Enjolras, and it’s not Grantaire.

I do wonder sometimes about the dynamics between R and Combeferre…we don’t really see much interaction between the two (as in, at all). But R seems to have been with everyone else when they walked out with Combeferre following the Bonaparte Smackdown Scene. As with the others, I’d love to know what he makes of Grantaire’s fixation.

The Combeferre-Is-Awesome comic linked to above is one of the Best Things Ever Created.

Awww thank you! I love poor Grantaire, but the E/C friend!ship is a darn juggernaut. And hilariously cute.

And while this may have been slightly influenced by the Los Miserables videos where Enjolras and Combeferre are all OVER each other like puppies in a box (and yet somehow still totally platonic, good grief, they are acting up a storm over there and WHY CAN’T I HAVE A VIDEO) I think the musical is largely at fault for putting E/R as the lead ship in the Amis armada. It makes sense adaptationally to give Grantaire more lines; the other Amis are pretty united and his dissent adds more drama than ‘slight variations in basic agreement’, but still I weep for the multiple relationships that end up lost in adaptation, or at least depending on the actors for their translation (seriously the Los Mis thing, WATCH IT) with no real lines.

As for the interaction between these two, I’d imagine Combeferre basically being polite but disinterested. I mean that must have been a weird introductory period while everyone got used to each other, and Grantaire was, well, Grantaire. I can imagine Combeferre trying to figure out the deal there—“You clearly don’t believe in anything we’re doing. Why are you here? Are you a spy? …You’re a really drunk spy. Oh, you’re just skeeving on my best friend. Well…good luck with that, stalker #1793. Try not to drink yourself sick.” Like you say elsewhere, Enjolras hardly needs his friends to get protective of him socially, and the idea of there even being a rivalry for second-in-command/Enjolras’ platonic affections is just ludicrous.

Speaking as someone who’s read entirely too many fics and therefore feels qualified to keep commenting on general fanon trends, I’m sort of surprised that this dynamic rarely appears as a love triangle. One can say that’s a testament to how much we all love friendshipping E/C (though romantic E/C certainly exists), but wouldn’t it make sense given his character for R to assume something was going on and get jealous (even when he’s still just Stalker #1793)? Just throwing that out there for anyone interested in fic ideas…

squishgurl:

i know that everyone ships Courf and JP but I ship Combeferre and Jehan. I feel like they would sit up all night and have philosophical discussions about the inherent goodness in humanity and the beauty of the world #andthenfucklikebunnies #soulmates #comeonguys

Don’t feel bad about shipping any of the Amis. They’re all so close to one another that, in my opinion, no matter how you slash them it can be reasonably accomplished. I’m partial to Combeferre/Coufeyrac and Bahorel/Prouvaire as far as those Amis are concerned, but I like reading them in all sorts of other combinations if the writing is good enough. If you haven’t already, I think there’s a few nice Combeferre/Prouvaire fics on FF.net that are worth looking into.

edwarddespard:

pilferingapples:

edwarddespard:

pilferingapples:

…So it was trying this out that I realized I’m really not capable of slashing Enjolras at all. I mean E/C makes SENSE, it’s practically canon, but Iiiii can’t do it.

Anyway that does make some sense, since I’m not generally the most lowercase-r romantic type anyway and I generally do not live in my pants and I am sort of crazy happy when fictional characters aren’t centered around their romantic obsessions. Way weirder is that it seems like no one else ships them either, or if they do it’s one-sided. How did that happen?

Anyway I’m glad! Because these two are pretty much my favorite friendShip in the ABC and that’s like nothing but a broship armada so wow. Maybe I’m just a sucker for friends who can tag-team sass battle.

They are just general buckets of adorable (as is this pic – love how they’re mirroring each other). It’s interesting that there really is a canonical match for Enjolras – someone who corrects and completes him – and it’s Combeferre. They are actually set up to two halves of a whole – the mountain peak and the sky. Plus one has the wings of an eagle and one the wings of a swan…and why this doesn’t encourage more wingfic, I don’t know.

Seriously, the line about ‘correcting and rectifying’ alone— which I’ve seen translated various ways but never one that couldn’t raise some eyebrows with the right inflection— seems like it should be getting these two slashed to ribbons. And I hadn’t even *considered* the potential wingfic, oh nooo…

I can only assume Grantaire is drawing the headcanon fire on nigh all Enjolras shipping. For which, thank goodness. I’ll have to draw him with a kitten or something.

But it does sort of make me gnash teeth that so many fics just seem to forget Combeferre exists. They’re so perfect!

I agree – they’re just a natural fit. Hapgood goes with “complemented and rectified”…the Wordsworth translation (which I think is Wilbour?) goes with “completed and corrected”. The original is “Combeferre complétait et rectifiait Enjolras” for which “complemented and rectified” is a possible direct translation…but complétait is the third person singular imperfect indicative of the verb compléter, or “complete”…so I think either works (er…happy to have someone, perhaps even one of my French friends who follows this, weigh in on the best translation). The sense is clear that he both corrects and either complements or completes Enjolras…so yes, that seems like very obvious potential for slashing.

I think it has the most potential (along with Courfeyrac) for being the most functional relationship, romantic or otherwise. Combeferre seems to “get” Enjolras more than just about anyone, declares that they will share Enjolras’ fate, works almost like a tag-team with him at certain points (e.g. the Bonaparte scene), and is so close to him that Enjolras is able to communicate with him with just a touch on the arm.

The pic is adorably sweet, and I’m not even really an E/C shipper. For some reason, I especially love the reference to Combeferre’s moth-collecting. As for the translation, I’ll point out that “completed” is a perfectly valid choice; compléter is used abstractly in French more so than its English counterpart, probably because there’s a bigger distinction between compléter and finir/terminer (to finish/end).

edwarddespard:

amarguerite:

edwarddespard:

xixthesun:

horacia:

This gave me so many feelings, because often when male actors are playing grief they angrily push away anyone trying to comfort them, but he just sinks into it, and clings to him.

I hate that a moment like this has to stand out as something “different” because our culture has become so backwards with all the fear of homosexuality, both of homosexual individuals and of “seeming” homosexual oneself, which has resulted in the “macho” portrayals of grief that saturate current media. My favorite thing about the brick is all the touching and caring and hand-holding that doesn’t have even the vaguest trace of stigma between all the members of Les Amis, so it’s lovely to see it in the film. I just hate that it has to be something “unique” when it really shouldn’t be and it’s so unfortunate that it is.

Very 19th Century – the Amis get to be tactile. Enjolras is tactile – when he wants to communicate with Combeferre he touches him on the arm, and Combeferre understands (not to mention putting a hand on Marius’ shoulder, grasping R’s hand at the end…). Courfeyrac is happy to throw his arms around Marius when Marius saves him (yup, Courfeyrac tackle glomps him). Prouvaire and Combeferre hold hands to comfort each other. Courfeyrac and R are both perfectly happy to whisper things in Enjolras’ ear (no, not those kind of things…at least, not in Courfeyrac’s case…in R’s, well…)…

Hey, in fanfic it can be Courfeyrac too. 😉

That is one of the things that I really do love about nineteenth century notions of gender— same sex friendships were much more tactile, and Romantic friendships were just all the rage. Disclaimer: nineteenth century gender roles were often pretty terrible, as, indeed, are most gender roles when they are forced on you, gender is a performed social construct, etc.

And I, for one, welcome those fics where Courfeyrac is whispering saucy suggestions in Enjolras’ ear, rather than telling him that the old man who just died really wasn’t a Conventionel, but one doesn’t want to dampen the general enthusiasm etc…

Romantic friendships and other instances of casual same-sex intimacy are such delightful oddities from a contemporary perspective, and it’s quite a shame that the conceptualisation of sexual orientation toward the end of the 19th century and the gradually increasing public visibility of homosexuals over the first half of the 20th century effectively killed all that off, at least for men. It’s been replaced with the obsessive need to preserve an artificially fragile sense of masculinity. That idea, which I shall label rather broadly as “bromance,” is so thoroughly obnoxious to me in everything it represents (translation: an awful lot) that had I time and convenient access to Tumblr I would gladly rail against it quite wholeheartedly.

…Who am I kidding? Of course I’ll get around to that – I love a good rant.

(I’d also like to find some C/C now, not so much for their interaction in the movie but because I like the ship and it’s a bit underrepresented. See, I made it relevant to the original post after all, ha!)