Twenty Things About Enjolras
Jun. 11th, 2006 12:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
patria_ou_mort1. Enjolras does not sing. Despite the quality of his speaking voice, he's actually rather tone deaf. It's a good thing, then, that he doesn't want to sing, because otherwise, anyone who heard him wouldn't be able to look at him the same way again. (He also isn't very good at whistling.)
2. When Enjolras was a child, he would often be accused of not paying attention. Such accusations were false. He was always paying attention. Sometimes he just didn't pay much attention. It wasn't his fault if people weren't being interesting enough to engage him fully. People eventually stopped trying to call him on it, because he would be able to repeat back to them exactly what they had been saying or tell them precisely what it was they had been doing, even if he had looked like he had been daydreaming.
3. He rarely makes promises. He can remember every one of the few promises that he hasn't kept, and they all bother him -- even the one that he made to the family dog when he was nine years old.
4. When he was younger, he would occasionally have panic attacks where he felt as though time was running out, like his life was rushing toward its ending. These began to subside when he was around thirteen. By the time he was sixteen, they had stopped completely.
5. Enjolras has gotten drunk once. He was seventeen and new to Paris. He would have gotten into a fight, had not the person who had been raising his ire been, as he learned the next day, Bossuet, whom he has never known to fight with anyone. Occasionally, Enjolras contemplates how close he had come to talking to Bahorel that night. Were he not disdainful of drunkeness in general, that thought alone would probably be enough to keep him from ever drinking too much ever again.
6. He hasn't seen his parents since Christmas before last. He's certain that no one feels any particular sadness or surprise regarding this.
7. Enjolras has never envied Courfeyrac. Once, a few months after they had first met, he thought he did, thought that he was jealous of the easy way that Courfeyrac seemed to draw people to himself. But then he took a moment to think about it. The truth was that Courfeyrac invited people to him -- people came expecting something and Courfeyrac gave it to them. Enjolras knew that he couldn't give to people like that, couldn't be friendly and open and joyful like Courfeyrac -- nor did he particularly want to. No use in being jealous of something that he didn't really want, he decided.
8. Enjolras believes in God. He doesn't give Him much thought, though.
9. It doesn't bother him when his friends talk about him as if he isn't there. His parents have been making comments to each other in front of him about how strange their son is for as long as he can remember, so it's nothing new.
10. Despite his friends' teasing to the contrary, he does not like to make girls cry or actually try to do so. In all of the six cases of which he is aware, it was completely not his fault. Not to mention that the sixth instance turned out to be quite fortunate, as it came to involve an angry, protective brother -- normally not a good thing, but this brother happened to be Feuilly, who has been attending the meetings of Les Amis de l'ABC whenever possible since that incident. What a thing, Courfeyrac had laughed, to have spurned the sister only to woo the brother!
11. Having to listen to people reading poetry aloud annoys him. He does enjoy hearing Combeferre sing, though (providing that he can only hear him and can't see him). It's just... comfortable.
12. He's sensitive about people touching him. It's not always that he doesn't like it (though most of the time, he doesn't). He's just not a naturally touchy person, so when other people touch him, he wonders why, and it irritates him when he cannot figure out the answer. Fortunately, people rarely touch him.
13. Combeferre once told him that people were drawn to him because his every word was a promise. "If you say something, you do it." People were always searching for promises that they could trust, he said, they liked being able to have faith.
14. When he was seven, one of his obnoxious cousins thought it would be funny to put the quiet, girly-looking boy in a dress. Said cousin ended up with a black eye and a bloody nose. It wasn't so much that he minded the dress itself -- it was only a piece of clothing, after all. He just hated being pushed around and told what to do.
15. He couldn't care less about Poland. (Actually, not much outside of France interests him, save for how it might affect France. In truth, all of this time at camp is making him feel vaguely adulterous.)
16. Enjolras used to believe that logic and rationality were paramount. Then, Combeferre went through a spell of disagreeing with almost everything he said and refusing to give any justification beyond "Because." After about a week of not speaking to each other, they were sitting together in the back room of the Café Musain, Enjolras reading the newspaper and Combeferre was doodling what he could remember of some machine he'd seen that day, when Enjolras said, "Your point has been made. Are you prepared to stop being so difficult?" "Why should I do that?" "Because I want you to."
17. Enjolras will stay in the CFUD hospital for as long as he is allowed to. People don't live in hospital rooms. That's the main reason that he stays there -- because it's only temporary.
18.Despite Grantaire's snide comments to the contrary, Enjolras does not actively avoid getting dirty. Dirt just seems to avoid him. (Grantaire being the one exception.)
19. He never wonders why Combeferre supports him the way that he does. For one thing, he knows that their forces are stronger combined; together, they can accomplish things of which they would not be capable alone. For another thing, even sources of inspiration need something in which they can have faith.
20. One of the greatest dangers in life, he has decided, is how easily people can get used to things and become comfortable with things they shouldn't. For instance, after over four months in camp, he's gotten used to being painfully homesick. He's gotten used to using zombies for target practice. He's gotten used to hanging around with elf girls and imaginary bird-owning artists and tennis players and pilots from the future and people who use magic and florists. At home, Enjolras is happy. At camp, he is content. It scares him a little, sometimes. But then someone will turn into a bunny or pink monsters will materialize or the moon will fall, and he'll be busy again. And really, the people here aren't so bad to be busy with.
2. When Enjolras was a child, he would often be accused of not paying attention. Such accusations were false. He was always paying attention. Sometimes he just didn't pay much attention. It wasn't his fault if people weren't being interesting enough to engage him fully. People eventually stopped trying to call him on it, because he would be able to repeat back to them exactly what they had been saying or tell them precisely what it was they had been doing, even if he had looked like he had been daydreaming.
3. He rarely makes promises. He can remember every one of the few promises that he hasn't kept, and they all bother him -- even the one that he made to the family dog when he was nine years old.
4. When he was younger, he would occasionally have panic attacks where he felt as though time was running out, like his life was rushing toward its ending. These began to subside when he was around thirteen. By the time he was sixteen, they had stopped completely.
5. Enjolras has gotten drunk once. He was seventeen and new to Paris. He would have gotten into a fight, had not the person who had been raising his ire been, as he learned the next day, Bossuet, whom he has never known to fight with anyone. Occasionally, Enjolras contemplates how close he had come to talking to Bahorel that night. Were he not disdainful of drunkeness in general, that thought alone would probably be enough to keep him from ever drinking too much ever again.
6. He hasn't seen his parents since Christmas before last. He's certain that no one feels any particular sadness or surprise regarding this.
7. Enjolras has never envied Courfeyrac. Once, a few months after they had first met, he thought he did, thought that he was jealous of the easy way that Courfeyrac seemed to draw people to himself. But then he took a moment to think about it. The truth was that Courfeyrac invited people to him -- people came expecting something and Courfeyrac gave it to them. Enjolras knew that he couldn't give to people like that, couldn't be friendly and open and joyful like Courfeyrac -- nor did he particularly want to. No use in being jealous of something that he didn't really want, he decided.
8. Enjolras believes in God. He doesn't give Him much thought, though.
9. It doesn't bother him when his friends talk about him as if he isn't there. His parents have been making comments to each other in front of him about how strange their son is for as long as he can remember, so it's nothing new.
10. Despite his friends' teasing to the contrary, he does not like to make girls cry or actually try to do so. In all of the six cases of which he is aware, it was completely not his fault. Not to mention that the sixth instance turned out to be quite fortunate, as it came to involve an angry, protective brother -- normally not a good thing, but this brother happened to be Feuilly, who has been attending the meetings of Les Amis de l'ABC whenever possible since that incident. What a thing, Courfeyrac had laughed, to have spurned the sister only to woo the brother!
11. Having to listen to people reading poetry aloud annoys him. He does enjoy hearing Combeferre sing, though (providing that he can only hear him and can't see him). It's just... comfortable.
12. He's sensitive about people touching him. It's not always that he doesn't like it (though most of the time, he doesn't). He's just not a naturally touchy person, so when other people touch him, he wonders why, and it irritates him when he cannot figure out the answer. Fortunately, people rarely touch him.
13. Combeferre once told him that people were drawn to him because his every word was a promise. "If you say something, you do it." People were always searching for promises that they could trust, he said, they liked being able to have faith.
14. When he was seven, one of his obnoxious cousins thought it would be funny to put the quiet, girly-looking boy in a dress. Said cousin ended up with a black eye and a bloody nose. It wasn't so much that he minded the dress itself -- it was only a piece of clothing, after all. He just hated being pushed around and told what to do.
15. He couldn't care less about Poland. (Actually, not much outside of France interests him, save for how it might affect France. In truth, all of this time at camp is making him feel vaguely adulterous.)
16. Enjolras used to believe that logic and rationality were paramount. Then, Combeferre went through a spell of disagreeing with almost everything he said and refusing to give any justification beyond "Because." After about a week of not speaking to each other, they were sitting together in the back room of the Café Musain, Enjolras reading the newspaper and Combeferre was doodling what he could remember of some machine he'd seen that day, when Enjolras said, "Your point has been made. Are you prepared to stop being so difficult?" "Why should I do that?" "Because I want you to."
17. Enjolras will stay in the CFUD hospital for as long as he is allowed to. People don't live in hospital rooms. That's the main reason that he stays there -- because it's only temporary.
18.Despite Grantaire's snide comments to the contrary, Enjolras does not actively avoid getting dirty. Dirt just seems to avoid him. (Grantaire being the one exception.)
19. He never wonders why Combeferre supports him the way that he does. For one thing, he knows that their forces are stronger combined; together, they can accomplish things of which they would not be capable alone. For another thing, even sources of inspiration need something in which they can have faith.
20. One of the greatest dangers in life, he has decided, is how easily people can get used to things and become comfortable with things they shouldn't. For instance, after over four months in camp, he's gotten used to being painfully homesick. He's gotten used to using zombies for target practice. He's gotten used to hanging around with elf girls and imaginary bird-owning artists and tennis players and pilots from the future and people who use magic and florists. At home, Enjolras is happy. At camp, he is content. It scares him a little, sometimes. But then someone will turn into a bunny or pink monsters will materialize or the moon will fall, and he'll be busy again. And really, the people here aren't so bad to be busy with.
