les rêveries
Feb. 7th, 2023 10:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ajayinthedarkPulling up with my "I read the brick" bullshit (which I have, twice) for this one. I love you Rei, I hope you know that.
This is the first of the fan casts where I've assigned every Neo a named role; god bless Victor Hugo for being just like me for real (never knowing how to shut up, and inserting all his little side character barbie dolls with more implied backstory than the Waterloo, the sewers, and Monseigneur’s taxes tangents combined).
Valjean is obviously Johnny, not just because he has to be mega buff, really tall, shirtless for half his scenes, hot, and a tenor, but because Johnny is really really good with kids and him being a father to baby Cosette would get instant tears from the entire audience. (Me. I'm the entire audience.) Javert is Doyoung because I'm a JohnDo purist at heart and because Doyoung slays powerful, heavy heavy emotional solos (like "The Reason Why It’s Favourite"), and "Stars" would be perfect for him.
Fantine is Taeyong so we can get that sexy JohnDoTae triangulation and also because Taeyong did surgery on a fish--he's literally an angel, which pairs well with Fantine, the Virgin Mary. Monseigneur Bienvenue is Taeil because Bienvenue is just a little guy... Also, if you were a bandit and you saw Bienvenue Taeil crossing your path on his little donkey with his funny cross in hand, wouldn't you convert to Catholicism?
The big three now... you guise...
I know I keep assigning Renjun all the female principals. It's not just because Renjun is a pretty boy that is also a pretty girl, but because he's a romantic and a sweetheart. His type in men is literally guys that sweep him off his feet, he has to be Cosette. Coestte Renjun who bleeds love, Cosette Renjun who forgives the Thérnadiers despite the abuse, Cosette Renjun who longs for something greater than himself but is too scared to wish for more because he knows those around him will suffer from his gain... Cosette is also modelled after Eugène Delacroix's "La Liberté" in his painting "La Liberté guidant le peuple", and what is NCT if not a harem of guys that would throw it all down and fight for Renjun? The finale of the musical with Cosette Renjun hitting those glorious high notes that ascend us all to heaven alongside Valjean, I mean, I think I would actually cry.
I was so tempted to put Chenle as Marius, but as the world's biggest Les Misérables fan, I had to be honest to myself… so Marius is Mark. "Child" is actually just an alt rock version of "Empty Chairs and Empty Tables" if you think about it. (This is a joke, but not really. The type of emotional delivery go hand in hand.) Marius Mark not being the leader of the rebellion, but the last of them to live, the one to climb out of the rebellion to see the fruits of their labour--there’s parallels here between Mark being the first to leave dream and seeing what they achieve while he’s graduated only to return in the end... In the book, Marius finds a random handkerchief on the street and he thinks it’s Cosette’s, so he keeps it in his pocket and sniffs it at night. That should be enough to convince you that Marius is Mark.
The last leg of the triangle: Éponine is Jeno. This wasn’t picked just because I love MarkNo (though that was a heavy influencer) I just think out of everyone, Jeno is the most one-sided pining coded (aside from Jisung maybe). Jeno never gets his hand held the way Éponine never gets Marius! LOL. Éponine Jeno would blend in seamlessly with Les Amis de l'ABC. I can imagine him in the throes of the Café Musain laughing and smiling to hide his hurt during "Red and Black", because deep inside, he knows he has to care about the rebellion more than he cares about his love, more than he cares about himself. In the end, Éponine Jeno would always put himself last. Imagining the sheer tragedy of Éponine Jeno in Marius Mark’s arms during "A Little Fall of Rain", quietly humming and promising Marius Mark he won’t hurt anymore, he isn’t hurting because if Marius Mark has someone to love, then that’s good enough… yeesh.
This is the first of the fan casts where I've assigned every Neo a named role; god bless Victor Hugo for being just like me for real (never knowing how to shut up, and inserting all his little side character barbie dolls with more implied backstory than the Waterloo, the sewers, and Monseigneur’s taxes tangents combined).
Valjean is obviously Johnny, not just because he has to be mega buff, really tall, shirtless for half his scenes, hot, and a tenor, but because Johnny is really really good with kids and him being a father to baby Cosette would get instant tears from the entire audience. (Me. I'm the entire audience.) Javert is Doyoung because I'm a JohnDo purist at heart and because Doyoung slays powerful, heavy heavy emotional solos (like "The Reason Why It’s Favourite"), and "Stars" would be perfect for him.
Fantine is Taeyong so we can get that sexy JohnDoTae triangulation and also because Taeyong did surgery on a fish--he's literally an angel, which pairs well with Fantine, the Virgin Mary. Monseigneur Bienvenue is Taeil because Bienvenue is just a little guy... Also, if you were a bandit and you saw Bienvenue Taeil crossing your path on his little donkey with his funny cross in hand, wouldn't you convert to Catholicism?
The big three now... you guise...
I know I keep assigning Renjun all the female principals. It's not just because Renjun is a pretty boy that is also a pretty girl, but because he's a romantic and a sweetheart. His type in men is literally guys that sweep him off his feet, he has to be Cosette. Coestte Renjun who bleeds love, Cosette Renjun who forgives the Thérnadiers despite the abuse, Cosette Renjun who longs for something greater than himself but is too scared to wish for more because he knows those around him will suffer from his gain... Cosette is also modelled after Eugène Delacroix's "La Liberté" in his painting "La Liberté guidant le peuple", and what is NCT if not a harem of guys that would throw it all down and fight for Renjun? The finale of the musical with Cosette Renjun hitting those glorious high notes that ascend us all to heaven alongside Valjean, I mean, I think I would actually cry.
I was so tempted to put Chenle as Marius, but as the world's biggest Les Misérables fan, I had to be honest to myself… so Marius is Mark. "Child" is actually just an alt rock version of "Empty Chairs and Empty Tables" if you think about it. (This is a joke, but not really. The type of emotional delivery go hand in hand.) Marius Mark not being the leader of the rebellion, but the last of them to live, the one to climb out of the rebellion to see the fruits of their labour--there’s parallels here between Mark being the first to leave dream and seeing what they achieve while he’s graduated only to return in the end... In the book, Marius finds a random handkerchief on the street and he thinks it’s Cosette’s, so he keeps it in his pocket and sniffs it at night. That should be enough to convince you that Marius is Mark.
The last leg of the triangle: Éponine is Jeno. This wasn’t picked just because I love MarkNo (though that was a heavy influencer) I just think out of everyone, Jeno is the most one-sided pining coded (aside from Jisung maybe). Jeno never gets his hand held the way Éponine never gets Marius! LOL. Éponine Jeno would blend in seamlessly with Les Amis de l'ABC. I can imagine him in the throes of the Café Musain laughing and smiling to hide his hurt during "Red and Black", because deep inside, he knows he has to care about the rebellion more than he cares about his love, more than he cares about himself. In the end, Éponine Jeno would always put himself last. Imagining the sheer tragedy of Éponine Jeno in Marius Mark’s arms during "A Little Fall of Rain", quietly humming and promising Marius Mark he won’t hurt anymore, he isn’t hurting because if Marius Mark has someone to love, then that’s good enough… yeesh.
Yes, I assigned every one of Les Amis de l'ABC a Neo, and yes, I have reasoning for all of them.
I was talking to Bo about this a couple of days ago, and indisputably, I’m putting Enjolras as Haechan and Grantaire as Chenle. Enjolras Haechan, the Apollo, the sun, the force of the entire rebellion, the heart that beats proud and determined enough for every citizen of Paris, there was no way Haechan wasn’t going to be Enjolras. Enjolras and Haechan parallel each other in how they fucking leap off the edge of the world, flying closer to the end of the sky than anyone’s ever dared, leading the chorus. YEAH. "Do You Hear the People Sing" but it’s Enjolras Haechan with the most wicked smile, belting, shouting, singing through the streets of Paris, his passion running so deep you can feel it hotter than the warmth of the sun: I'm actually getting chills thinking about it.
Grantaire as Chenle fits because not only do Haechan and Chenle make the perfect dramatic foils to each other, but in real life, you know how much Chenle reveres Haechan despite keeping up this air of constant competition with him. Grantaire Chenle who thinks love is frivolous, who indulges himself in the present knowing that his timeline in the future is limited, who’s one of the most romantic and empathetic people in the world despite all his cynicism, they line up. George Blagden did a cover of "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" and spun the lyrics to be Enjolras/Grantaire themed, and that is absolutely something Chenle would slay. Grantaire Chenle doing his "Drink With Me" solo, singing “Will the world remember you when you fall? Could it be your death means nothing at all?” would rip me into shreds, because both are people who need their names carved into the stones that keep the world turning. They are my favourite constant competition homoerotic they-died-holding-hands couple...
Speeding through the rest of Les Amis: Combeferre is Jaemin because he was a surgeon, and also the brains of the revolts. Courfeyrac is Jisung because he’s the softest and the most naive, always offering help even though he can’t provide it very well, taking in Marius Haechan without even humouring the idea that Marius Haechan could be anything less than good, because all humans are good (unless they’re the king). Combeferre/Courfeyrac also have their awkward tender “I care about you at unspeakable amounts/I want to rail you so bad”, which is peak JaemSung. Prouvaire is Xiaojun because he loves the arts, he’s soft, shy, has terrible fashion sense, and only Xiaojun would have the sheer drama to shout, “LONG LIVE FRANCE LONG LIVE ALL OF MY FRIENDS EXCEPT YOU GUYS BECAUSE YOU GUYS SUCK” right before he gets shot.
Feuilly is Hendery because they are both goofy as hell! It is such a Hendery move to fight in a rebellion for the good of France and still shout, “For Poland!” because he has a lame obsession with Poland. Bahorel is Yangyang because they are both comeback kings (as in, they’re good at delivering comebacks and one liners) but their humour is diminished by how hot shit they think they are. Winwin has L’aigle’s quiet gravitas, Jaehyun has Joly’s unseriousness, and Jungwoo has Musichetta’s girlboss-ery; together, they make the perfect polyamorous couple that every brick reader is obsessed with for some reason. Gavroche is Shotaro because how can you NOT love a little baby menace to society Gavroche Shotaro? Only Gavroche Shotaro would say, “I’m fetching medicine for my wife who is sick because she’s pregnant” despite being literally twelve years old.
You may ask why I assigned Patron-Minette. You may ask who the fuck Patron-Minette are. The answer to both are that I have a serious disease. Montparnasse is Yuta because Yuta emanates "I carry a knife with me at all time but you don’t know where it is" energy, and Montparnasse straight up does carry a knife with him at all times. Also, Montparnasse/{rouvaire kind of have something gay going on, and Yuta/Xiaojun DEFINITELY have something gay going on. Claquesous is Kun because he’s the smartest of Minette, Babet is Ten because he’s the dark shadowy presence of Minette, and together they are in a relationship. Guelemer is Sungchan because he’s the tallest LMFAO also because they’re both all rounders and struggle with defining their positions in the world.
M. Thérnadier is LSM and Mme. Thérnadier is LSM's wife ALRIGHT I'M DONE FOR REAL this was more than 1400 words in total.
