*holds your hand* can this be true? I don’t believe what I see…*stares deeply into your eyes* a man your age…to be as strong as you are…*slides an arm around your waist* a memory stirs…..
in profound sympathy with Valjean here as I, too, am unable to take my eyes off Javert’s face, with his intense stare and his immensely satisfied enunciation that reveals all his teeth…
I am in awe of the sheer warmth of this both in color and emotion. And of the easy mastery of form, which gives these lines an intimately familiar character, like the gestures between Javert and Valjean themselves…every artistic element contributing to the story at the heart of the image. The unreserved happiness in Javert’s face makes my heart ache. <3
a) Standard Ponytail: Bless Philip Quast for popularizing this look. Historical inaccuracy aside, it’s become his signature both onstage and in fanworks. Bonus points if he ties it with a ribbon!
b) Braid!vert: Rumored to be a Bradley exclusive..
c) Wrapped ponytail: I’ve only seen this style on a couple Javert’s, namely Tam Mutu and Arai’s manga-vert. Jeremy Secomb also rocked it in the 2015 London production^^
d) Loose hair: Another common look for post-barricade Javert. Michael Ball had the front pulled back with a cute little bow, so I went with that style!
e) Curly!vert: So far I’ve only seen these pretty ringlets on the likes of Jérôme Pradon and Hayden Tee, but there could be other examples. Sebastiao Saramago (French Javert) also had very nice natural curls (ꈍᴗꈍ)
f) Bun!vert: Bun-vert needs no introduction. I’ve seen a range, from high messy buns to half-updos. So far I only know of Bradley’s, PLEASE contact me if there’s info on any others!
Don’t get me wrong, I am quite partial to clean-cut Javerts with shorter hair (here’s looking at you, Earl). I grew up more accustomed to this style, having grown up with Crowe!vert and a handful of well-kempt Javerts at my local theatre (good ol’ Utah) before I was introduced to the glory of Philip Quast and the West End. I’ve also seen some hott mulletverts, and Roland Karl (French concert Javert) made bald!vert EXTREMELY sexy. Let me know which look is your favorite!
When I imagine Dallas Les Mis as set in actual Dallas, my pet headcanon is that Valjean is Iranian. Due to some monster-Les-Mis inspiration, Dallas Valjean as a Persian monster was born. Manticore Valjean is mostly lion, partly scorpion, internally kitten, and does not eat humans—although Javert originally thought he did, understandably, since that is what “manticore” means.
[ID: a digital drawing of javert from les miserables. he is standing, wearing a scarf, fingerless gloves, and his coat. he has one hand in front of him and the other in his coat. He looks concerned. end ID]
someone get this man in front of valjean’s fireplace
[ID: a digital drawing of Javert from Les Miserables. He is looking intently into the flame of a lit candle, his left hand at his chin. He has a tormented expression. His left hand is holding a burnt match that is emitting smoke. Handwritten text in the bottom left reads, “it mentions light for a reason.” end ID.]
Javert having his reverence for light violently reconfigured in a post-seine scenario is among my favorite things <3
[ID: a black-and-white digital drawing of javert from les miserables. He is drawn from the waist up. he wears his coat and is leaning forward or to our left with a frustrated expression. The space around him is colored black, with scribbled white stars. a small piece of blue handwritten text reads “javert” with an exclamation point. end ID.]
so my brain seized on the “javert!” and turned it into a parallel of valjean hearing a myriel-inspired voice calling his name when he was about to do the Wrong Thing, see, here, javert is about to destroy himself (the way valjean was about to destroy all trace of his identity), and he hears a valjean-inspired voice calling his name…and obviously he Doesn’t Do It. yes. that is what hugo meant to write
I love the emphasis on the reach—it is exquisitely painful, to focus on a part of Javert that fights his decision and cries out for help and a way to survive
