sakura_no_miko

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Grantaire/Enjolras, background Marius/Cosette/Courfeyrac

Warnings: explicit sex (gay), background dubcon (love magic), discussion of self-harm and suicidal ideation, blasphemy, angst

Other notes: alternate universe, pagan religion, curses, supernatural, character disability, unrequited love, worldbuilding

Length: 50k

Summary: Grantaire’s life has a pattern: he pays his respects to Aphrodite, he goes to work, he loves Enjolras and provokes him because he can’t bring himself to do otherwise. That seems unlikely to change, at least until Enjolras speaks out against the gods and ends up cursed. Grantaire does his best to help him, but it turns out it’s just as hard to love Enjolras up close as it is from afar.

So, I was reading over in the Leverage fandom, and I came across this little ficlet that took place in a world where people still worshiped the Greek/Roman/Norse etc gods, and it said it was based on this fic here.

So I popped it open, saw it was Les Miserables, shrugged, and started reading. About 20 minutes later I looked at the scrollbar and thought, ah, it’s going to be a while before I sleep.

I love the worldbuilding here. I was in love within the first few paragraphs. Point of fact, I was only half paying attention to the main storyline, although that’s also because I have only passing familiarity with Les Mis. I saw the most recent movie, like once? I can’t spell anyone’s names. (Thank you copy/paste.) Also Grantaire reminds me far too much of myself as a child. First crush I had was pretty much like this–fell head-over-heels in love, decided I wasn’t good enough, never told him. I was in kindergarten, mind you, but by middle school I should have known better, and by high school I did know better, not that it helped.

I’m still stuck on this world, though. Dunno who I would worship. I’m not religious much anymore. I think Buddha probably had the best ideas, but I’m not inclined to truly follow any religion or philosophy. You’d think the pagan gods would be easier–just pick some attribute you find important, and find the God that rules over that attribute. It’s not unlike finding a Hogwarts House, when you think about it.

I love that the house of Aphrodite hands out condoms, lest they accidentally lose people to Hera’s domain. The Eros arrows thing is really unsettling, though I suppose in a world where you can get cursed by mouthing off to a God, maybe falling in love via magical arrow isn’t the worst.

This scene though:

“So,” Grantaire says when Enjolras shows no sign of lunging for his tablet. “Disparaging Courfeyrac’s taste? Too busy railing about whether arrow-shot counts as consent to sympathize with him?” Enjolras’s blush answers before his nod does. “For some people it wouldn’t. For some people, maybe, it does.”
That makes Enjolras go for his tablet. It has to be consistent.
“People aren’t consistent, why should our standards be? Look. Marius, and I am guessing Cosette, must have grown up on stories of the wonders of arrow-shot love. So they’re excited, they think it’s real. And maybe it is.”

I just enjoy how these idea are mapped onto real world things. Social justice, in this world, means not treating cursed people as victims or pariahs, it means debating if love magic is consensual.

Although… dude, even with the Eros One True Love thing, Marius and Cosette still found time for Courfeyrac, but not Éponine? She was one of the more awesome people in this world, as far as being a caring and supportive friend and having the best reaction to the pining. But she gets left out in the dark. So unfair. (True to canon, though. At least she’s not dead.)

I’m also reminded of a soul marks fic I saw a bit back, where two characters who weren’t soul mates were going to get married, and right before it happened, they found the groom’s soul mate–but ultimately both he and his soul mate decided they’d prefer to marry the person they were currently with. It was a background event, but it was still interesting. Wish I could remember the fic.

There is a second story that focuses on Enjolras’ PoV. I’ve actually–ah, well, I had a story, back when I was writing, and I kept wanting to add background characters, but I never could figure out a decent way for them to interact with the main cahracter–because we’re seeing everything through his eyes, so why would he be seeing these other characters or listening in on their conversations? So I am down for having alternate PoV fics. They are fun.

Anyway, holy crap I haven’t written this much this easily in a bit. Awesome worldbuilding.

(Looking for more fic recs?)
Originally posted on tumblr on 02/11/15