Not titling this with song lyrics; you're welcome.

[melannen]

According to my ~highly scientific~ poll in my last post, approx. 30-40% of all Dreamwidth users have had songs from Les Miserables stuck in their heads ever since the movie came out.

I don't suppose those of you who are getting more active in the fandom would consider, as a kindness, "earworm warnings" for any quotes from the lyrics (including song titles)?

//just kidding

//mostly

//although it would be nice to be able to go more than 24 hours without hearing the people sing in the background of all I do. I've kind of forgotten what that's like.

Although I have gotten quite a lot of cleaning done while unable to concentrate on anything but listening to the soundtrack on repeat, so there's that.

(I tried putting on "Once More With Feeling" instead today; it only took about half an hour before One More Day was back.

I haven't tried Cabaret yet; that's the nuclear option.)

ETA: Warning: lyrics in comments.

Comments

[melannen]

I WAITED TO REPLY, ARE YOU SAFELY IN BED YET?

The thing is, I don't think Methos actually is utter cynicism? Because he does keep falling in love with them, and he does always end up standing up for what's right in the end. In a way he's the biggest idealist of all, because he thinks it's worth it to keep living and loving despite everything.

But he plays the pure cynic, because that's what he thinks they need - when the pure idealism shatters, which it always will, they need something they can go up against that is still obviously and objectively wrong, until they build up a more durable belief system. And so he provides the wrong opinion they can keep fighting against. (also yes playing the cynic is easy and fun and safe and sometimes he almost convinces himself.)

I haven't run into any fic where Grantaire is the pure oracle of truth and they are all wrong wrong wrong, but I haven't read much and I've been sticking to the highly-rec'd stuff.

[sophia_sol]

Yes, I was safely in bed! <3

I think... here's the thing. Methos and Grantaire, although both can be shorthanded as "the cynical one", are not actually particularly similar in how they approach cynicism. Grantaire is a sceptic -- he's unconvinced by ANY worldview, including, I would argue, that of the cynic. (At least in the bookverse; I will admit that his Drink With Me verse definitely works to characterize musicalverse Grantaire as a cynic.)

Whereas Methos... I wouldn't go so far as to say he ISN'T a cynic, but -- augh, LAST TIME I HAD IN-DEPTH CONVERSATIONS ABOUT METHOS I HAD RECENTLY WATCHED ALL 20 METHOS EPISODES. That was multiple years ago now! I no longer remember all the details about what makes Methos Methos! Anyways, I don't think he's playing the cynic for the benefit of the idealists he loves. I think he plays the cynic because he wants to be cynical, because he thinks that the idealism that lurks within him is stupid and foolhardy and naive, and he's trying to convince himself of that. And part of convincing himself of that is working on convincing the idealists he loves.

So I think that in Highlander the idealist-cynic tension is fought within Methos, who has contradicting convictions, whereas in Les Mis, Grantaire no convictions at all and the idealist-cynic tension is between Enjolras and the persona that Grantaire wears.

(apparently a bunch of Enjolras/Grantaire slash goes there, with the Grantaire Was Right!!!!! thing. I'm skipping most E/R slash because imo E is ace and I dun wanna read him any other way.)

(do you have recs of good Les Mis fic to read? I'd love to read more!)