In Defiance of all Geometry
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | In Defiance of all Geometry |
| Author(s): | idiopathicsmile |
| Date(s): | 21 December 2013 |
| Length: | 51,417 words |
| Genre: | College AU, Threesome |
| Fandom: | Les Misérables |
| External Links: | on AO3 |
 Cover art by Mazsoland (2014) | |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
In Defiance of all Geometry is a College AU Combeferre/Enjolras/Grantaire fanfiction by idiopathicsmile. It was written for lionsjaw as part of the Miserable Holidays fic exchange.
Author's Summary
Amis House might not be the biggest student co-op, or the fanciest, but it's got something all its own. Specifically, smoke damage on the kitchen ceiling from that time Courfeyrac lit a political pamphlet on fire.
In which there are secrets, pining, pancakes, and revelations, and sometimes the shortest distance between three points is not a triangle but a circle.
Related Ficlets
Starting 7 June 2020, idiopathicsmile volunteered to write at least 250 words of fic for $25 USD donations to any Black Lives Matter-related cause.[1] She wrote a short ficlet for In Defiance of all Geometry on Tumblr as part of that campaign. For the ten year anniversary of idiopathicsmile's AO3 account, 1001paperboxes suggested a coda for In Defiance of all Geometry relating to tin, the ten-year anniversary gift, resulting in the 2023 ficlet Tin on AO3.
Comments by the Author
IDOAG was the first fic I ever posted, and I had been lurking in the fanfiction space for so long (a literal decade), I didn’t really know what to expect. People were so so lovely. Someone made fanart? Someone recorded a podfic?? Absolutely wild.[2]
Reactions and Reviews
I stayed up till 3am last night to read this through to the end. This is seriously amazing, I love it to pieces, and I'm going to try and spread the message because this definitely needs to be read.I'm not one to spontaneously fall in love with secondary characters but YOUR FEUILLY. I WANT TO BE HIM. Or maybe I want to meet him and hug him. He's amazing, good job on that! And your whole writing style, I think this story is right up there with samyazaz' more heartwarming ones, if you happen to know her - it's funny and warm and friendly and it makes me want to squish something because of how cute it is. Your characters are so ALIVE, and I think a huge part of why I love this story is that they all love each other so much. And a part of it is probably the undestroyable Combeferre-Enjolras friendship that you've got going on, complete with Make it Interesting and puns and grounding each other. But it's not just that. The built-in arguments are some of my favourite ones in the whole fandom, because you definitely know what you're talking about, and it shows. Plus R's arguments are the perfect mix of I really don't care and devil's advocate and pessimist. Okay, I'm going to squish my pillow some more. This is all your doing. You're amazing.
EDIT and the way you managed to avoid using pronouns with Jehan was very impressive; it didn't stop the reading flow nor did it sound repetitive, I imagine you either put a lot of thought in this or you're just that good, which, either way, I'm impressed.[3]
Student co-op AU (yeah yeah dirty hippies; contain your eyerolls, Weeds) where Grantaire the new guy’s move-in causes him, Enjolras, and Combeferre to reevaluate themselves. The warmth of everyone’s friendship is astounding, and it has some absolutely killer banter. The strength of this fic is how perfectly casual about some awful things these characters are, because it’s just stuff in their life that happens to them, and it sucks, but we go on. SOME OF US ARE STILL IN THE REMEDIAL SOCIAL STORIES CLASS.[4]
There isn’t a ton of action in the story—most of the plot movement is about the budding romance between the three guys, and the character development that goes along with that. But it’s fantastic romance and excellent character development, and sometimes ya girl wants a love story between three oblivious dweebs without any other complications. While I was hesitant going in about the poly dynamic, purely out of a proprietary love of the E/R ship rather than any dislike of OT3s, I was very invested in the relationship between the three of them by the end of the story. The negotiation and discussion between the three that led to all three dating was thoughtful and fascinating, and if I had one complaint it would just be that I don’t remember college boys being so mature when I was in school.
Furthermore, idiopathicsmile does a great job at writing a generally inclusive story. I appreciate the general trend in modern Les Mis AUs to characterize the Amis as both diverse and super-intersectional, especially since the original Amis were a bunch of rich white boy activists (with all the potential fail that entails). The co-op house is racially diverse, and includes queer and gender-variant people, people from a variety of religions and economic backgrounds, and people with various disabilities. Even in our main trio, Combeferre has Native American heritage and Grantaire is Jewish, twisting the usual tendency to racebend everyone but the main characters.
Lady Saika, Fanfiction Fridays: In Defiance of All Geometry by idiopathicsmile, Archived version
This is a classic in its own right, so maybe you know it, but if you don’t, now’s your chance. A more truly coral work than most, this fic is like the best part of college life: friendships are deep, survival is communal, and cooking is an adventure. If you like clever characters, well-thought-out dialogue and verosimile political disagreements you can’t go wrong with this one. Also Bahorel, the love of my life, shines as a supporting character.[5]
i know people always talk about war (which i love) but in defiance of all geometry is my fave fix [sic] of yours. i’ve read it.....way too often and every time i’m hungover or sick i think of grantaire’s “how can anyone who’s thrown up believe in god?” and it never fails to lift my mood, even if it’s just by a little <3[6]
Amis House is a co-op at a college. Super funny, super soft, super “Grantaire is oblivious”, super… yeah, honestly I wasn’t going to give it a shot and then I did and I’ve read it like five times.[7]
Inspired Fanworks
Fanart
- Fanart for In Defiance of All Gravity, Archived version by saltkettle
- This is a brilliant fic, I promise you!, Archived version by caroll-in
- Snuggle pile Yay!!, Archived version by hatnhousejacket
- Grantaire from In Defiance of all Geometry by @idiopathicsmile, Archived version by iwishiwaschaotic
Podfic
- [Podfic] In Defiance of all Geometry by delabaissé (missyay)
References
- ^ for as long as i can keep this going, i’ll write 250 words of fic on the topic of your choosing..., Archived version Posted 7 June 2020, archived 27 March 2023.
- ^ adventures-in-asexuality asked..., Archived version Posted 27 February 2023.
- ^ Comment by missyay on AO3, Archived version Posted 27 November 2014.
- ^ Tell Me Quickly What’s the Story: Les Miserables Fic Recs!, Archived version Posted 27 November 2014.
- ^ Mood Fic Rec #1: Escapist fantasies for when you’re twenty-something and wish your life was functional and comfortable, Archived version Posted 10 April 2020.
- ^ Anonymous sent a message, Archived version Posted 16 March 2019.
- ^ OKAY THESE ARE THE FIC RECS I PROMISED @undesirableno394, Archived version Posted 10 April 2020.