#brutus X caesar

[a-sparrows-melody]

Disclaimer: this is what I learnt in school. I have no idea if what we read was abridged or not but it seemed pretty legit. also I love English Literature so this is based on both my character sketches and the analysis provided by the school. If you got a problem, tell me respectfully and I will listen. If you want to complain, get the hell out of my life. Also this is my opinion.

Okay this is probably off-topic but I need to say this.

BRUTUS AND CASSIUS' FIGHT IN ACT 4 SCENE 3 WAS NOT A LOVER'S QUARREL. SMH.

Okay, look at it this way.

Imagine there's a hero who's a product of a flawed system. He, too, is the most arrogant, flawed, imperfect character ever (he's human) but he's more good than bad and actually has the right ideals to correct it. He's strong and true and just.

In fact, he's so kind that he saves a man from the tyrannical rule (I know Pompey wasn't tyrannical, this is just a figure of speech) of his rival, takes him as a war prisoner or something and literally falls in love with him and gives him the highest position in the new government - except his own, of course.

THEY ARE IN LOVE. AS IN THE MUSHY ROMANTIC LOVE THAT HISTORIANS WILL CALL "BEST FRIENDS" (they actually did) AND WILL CLAIM THEY ARE JUST "ROOMMATES". THEY ARE GAY FOR EACH OTHER. THEY ARE HAPPILY IN LOVE.

BUT

BUT

Another antagonist comes in.

This guy, he's jealous of our hero because his promised position on the council was given to the hero's boyfriend and he wants that power. He's ambitious. So obviously, he plans an assassination scheme against the hero.

And who does he target for his stabby-plan first?

That's right.

THE HERO'S LOVER.

And the hero's lover is weak. He is kind and just and perfect and stoic and sexy and the greatest Roman of all time but he is weak and he is easily swayed by other people's opinions. He is a people pleaser and wants the best for them, not realizing the price he has to pay (which is himself, his relationships, his sense of justice).

This guy, the antagonist manipulates the hero's lover (who is our new protagonist from now on) and plays on his civic sense and strong sense of duty (his ancestors stopped tyrannical rule and he feels that he too must do the same; the antagonist manipulates him into believing that his hero, his lover is a fool trying to establish a dictatorship WHEN HE IS JUST FLAWED. AND THE PROTAGONIST LOVED HIS BOYFRIEND FOR THOSE FLAWS. HE ACCEPTED HIM. AND THEY'RE BEING USED AGAINST HIM NOW. HE'S A WEAK, WEAK MAN WITH A WEIRD-ASS SENSE OF JUSTICE OR KARMA. THAT'S HIS FLAW.)

Okay, I feel like I don't need to stress more on their flaws, surely the people reading this realize this and understand what I am saying... right? Right?

Anyway, this guy gets caught up in the stabby festivities (makes a bunch of mistakes too because he's an idealist but we're not getting into that) and ends up killing his lover for "the good of Rome".

AND YOU TELL ME THAT THIS ISN'T A POETIC TRAGEDY???? YOU TELL ME THAT THE NOW-PROTAGONIST'S LOVER KEPT HOLDING ON AFTER 22 STABS WITH A KNIFE AND ONLY GAVE UP WITH HIS LOVERS NAME ON HIS LIPS, STILL KNOWING THAT HE LOVES HIM AND WOULD LOVE HIM WHATEVER HE DOES, BUT HE COULDN'T HANDLE TO LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE HIS LOVER IS WEAK AND A TRAITOR.

YOU TELL ME THIS.

AND EXPECT ME TO SOMEHOW BELIEVE THAT THE PROTAGONIST FELL IN LOVE WITH THE ANTAGONIST.

WHEN THE LOVER HELD ON FOR HIS PROTAGONIST. WHEN THEY WERE GAY. WHEN THEIR LOVE WAS SO FIERY LIKE SUPERNOVAS THAT THEY COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT EACH OTHER??????????

Anyway, the protagonist is reeling with guilt now. He's killed his lover. He did it for the good of Rome but maybe, just maybe... he thinks he would have accepted his lover being tyrannical if only it meant that he could be with him.

But he's the protagonist, he's just and good and perfect. He needs to deal with his actions, and he takes complete responsibility of them. If you read the text properly, you realize that even after the death of his lover, when he should be happy that he saved Rome and made his ancestors proud, even when his fellow conspirators are out and about yelling, "Peace! Freedom! Liberty!" and other weird slogans, he's trying to calm the crowd down. He did this for the mob, not to make them run away.

He's guilty and he knows it.

Anyway now he has to give a speech explaining why the hell he killed his lover. In the speech, he gives factual reasons as to why he did that thing. Sure, yes, he loved the guy but he needed to kill him. In the speech, we see him faltering. He's trying to convince himself, he's still guilty and he's scared. He's in mourning. He gives factual reasons and he expects that his mind will listen and this is why he did that deed but obviously he can't get over it.

And when the other guy gives the speech, his lover's precious friend or something, he's rightfully angry on behalf of the guy's lover. He appeals to the mob's emotions while the protag appeal's to the mob's facts.

Obviously the mob likes the emotional speech. This isn't an important part in what I'm trying to explain, it's just that this guy's still not able to convince himself. This is where the war starts.

We skip the ruthlessness bit all the way to Act 4 Scene 3.

Our antagonist (antag) is a realist. He knows shit about war. He's turned into some sort of bribing corrupt idiot and he's also somehow fallen in love the the protag.

The protag doesn't care. He's still reeling under the shock and guilt of killing his lover, he's on edge because his best friend (let's just say Portia is his best friend, she did not play a farther role in Brutus' life and honestly he just didn't even care about her) killed herself because of his lover's other best friend (Antony) who's now started killing everyone on his side. He has a lot on his mind and by nitpicking at the antag's corrupted side, he's trying to hid behind what he knows best - justice. He wants something in life to go correct and he can't deal. He's still guilty.

Ultimately he dies, yada-yada unimportant for my post.

BRUTUS DOESN'T CARE. HE JUST DOESN'T CARE ABOUT CASSIUS OR HIS NONSENSE. HE MIGHT TAKE HIM FOR A REBOUND OR SOMETHING BUT HIS HEART LIES WITH CAESAR.

OKAY, NOW YOU TELL ME.

THAT ABSOLUTE TRAGEDY OF A GAY LOVE STORY, BETWEEN BRUTUS AND CAESAR, WHICH I HAVE CHARTED OUT ABOVE OR THE STUPID REBOUND BETWEEN A GUILTY BRUTUS AND A CASSIUS WHO MANIPULATED HIM AND FORCED HIM BY USING HIS WEAKNESSES AGAINST HIM TO KILL HIS LOVER.

I HOPE I HAVE MADE MYSELF CLEAR ENOUGH.

SO, NO. I WILL NOT AND CANNOT HANDLE ANYONE SAYING THAT BRUTUS AND CASSIUS HAD A "LOVER'S QUARREL". BRUTUS SUBCONSCIOUSLY HATED CASSIUS. ALWAYS CONTRADICTED HIM. THEY WERE TOXIC AS HELL TOGETHER. THIS IS A WEIRD MENTAL KIDNAPPING CASE OF STOCKHOLM SYNDROME.

BRUTUS AND CASSIUS WERE NOT IN LOVE. THEY DID NOT FIGHT AS LOVERS. THEY FOUGHT AS A MANIPULATOR AND MANIPULATED. THAT SCENE WAS PURELY THERE TO SHOW THAT IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRUTUS AND CASSIUS, TO FORESHADOW THE ULTIMATE DOWNFALL OF THE CONSPIRATORS.

BRUTUS AND CAESAR LOVED EACH OTHER.

AND I THINK THAT BRUTUS AND CAESAR HAD A MUCH GAYER AND SADDER AND HEART-WRENCHING GAY STORY THAT ANYONE ELSE IN THIS WORLD EVER COULD.

Thank you <3

[little-ghostgirl-31]

"Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more"

SO YOURE ADMITING YOU LOVED JULIUS!? 😭😭😭😭😭😭 ( a win is a win is a win )

[aabadirani]

Some in desi societies will claim being gay is a 'crime'(like aunties pls 🙄) and then pay no heed when their children read the classic(not you romeo and juliet) play about two forbidden lovers, Caesar and Brutus.

Like when brutus does it, it's fine, but when i want to murder my lover with a dagger (for the greater good, your honor 🗣), society frowns upon me?😔🎀

[dreamsofarachne]

Chapters: 1/2 Fandom: Julius Caesar - Shakespeare, Classical Greece and Rome History & Literature RPF Rating: Explicit Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger/Julius Caesar, Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger/Gaius Cassius Longinus Characters: Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger, Julius Caesar, Gaius Cassius Longinus (d. 42 BCE), Marcus Antonius | Mark Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Additional Tags: Mildly Dubious Consent, Julius Caesar - Shakespeare References Summary:

CASSIUS: Strike, as thou didst at Caesar; for I know, when thou didst hate him worst, thou lov'dst him better than ever thou lov'dst Cassius.

Brutus gets caught between Caesar and Cassius.

[marcus-junius-brutus15]

I did it. They're going to drive me out of Rome for it and I know that. I need to pack up. I need to leave.

[auduux]

I love how we can ship historical figures on here and no one calls us weird

[bewaretheidiotsofmarch]

I couldn't resist this meme😌 common Cassius and Brutus interaction tbh.

Original created by @ sweepswoop_ on twitter/X

[pinep-ne]

dumping these here cause tumblr folk don't care

[castielsprostate]

what do you think julius ceasar's final thoughts were? do you think he felt regret, or sorrow as he fell to the ground? do you think he felt hatred? deep seeping hatred for those that claimed they were his friends, maybe a lover even, driving blades into him over and over and over? do you think he begged for mercy, praying to a greater power in his mind as everything stained red? do you think ceasar's eyes searched for brutus as he took his final breath and all he could see was brutus' hands penetrating him with another knife

[continuedreverie]

Girls when the homoerotic friendship ends with a stab wound.

[apple-cider-vinegarrr]

Lowkey forgot I made this but umm if any brutecass mfs need it, it’s here ☝️🤓

Lowest of quality ofc

(royal shakespeare company cast)

[fridaywormteeth]

I love Shakespeare, does he ever write friendships where they don’t sound like lovers

“Brutus, I do observe you now of late. I have not from your eyes that gentleness and show of love as I was won’t to have.

You bear too stubborn and strange a hand over your friend that loves you.”

LIKEEE???!!! What is that. What IS that.

gagged

[eatcoals]

A treat because it's nearly the ides 🗡

I'm so proud of myself for FINALLY cleaning this one up it's been sitting there for days

[lotties-ashwagandha]

the senate when caesar

[dreamsofarachne]

I'm actually very interested in the general opinion on this... I need to know for science!

[marcus-junius-brutus15]

Ok senators, relationship update. I'm dating Cassius. Turns out the feelings I had towards him weren't platonic, which explains why I wanted to buy a villa for us and only us to live in. Anyway, poison daggers are allowed for Ceasar's stabbing, but they won't be useful because there's like 60 of us.