Feeling like doing one of those "1 like=1 opinion" but les mis related because I am bored.

1. The most important opinion: Enjolras and Grantaire have an entire arc throughout The Brick and whether you think it has any romantic undertones or not doesn't change the fact both were flawed individuals and failed each other in different ways UNTIL the moment of their deaths+

which is the culmination of an arc related to mutual acceptance and understanding.
Grantaire being sober and taking an stance changed the way Enjolras saw him and that's why he died being happy.
Grantaire didn't understand what his feelings for Enjolras meant until he knew he+

simply couldn't let him die alone and that's why he died in realization.
And because this is my thread let me say they're soulmates and the best couple ever, seeing their dynamic as romantic is not less valuable or serious than any other academic interpretation.

2. Cosette is not less good as a character because she doesn't have any "flaws".
Like I am sorry but I am GLAD to see a victim of child abuse blooming in her adult years and being kind, radiant and happy, especially one that is used as an allegory to symbolize hope in the novel.

3. Javert is CLEARLY not the villain of the story, he is just an individual that has very strong morals because he grew up having a very skewed and biased vision of the world.
He really thought he was making things right and if Valjean doesn't blame him for anything, I don't get+

why in some adaptations they want to destroy the image of a very lonely man who used to find a will to live in law and justice (yes, I am talking about BBC les mis, I am petty).

4. I hate Enj*nine, I hate it so much because I don't understand HOW it happened.
This ship destroys very key things about these characters that Victor Hugo points out repeatedly in the novel.
VH overemphasizes in the fact Enjolras doesn't like women not only once but TWICE

so contrary to e/R that has an ambiguous dynamic and specific facts about them (E not liking women, R loving and believing in him), there's nothing for Enj*nine as a potential couple.
As for Éponine, you'll be taking his love for Marius which is super important for her+

as a character, he was her only hope to escape a life surrounded by abuse and crime and also, Grantaire would be pointless in the novel? Idk I cannot wrap my head around it but if someone understands why this ship is a thing, lmk.

5. On a less serious note, Waterloo is still my favorite tangent and I had a BLAST when I read it for the first time because it is so detailed and interesting? Kudos to VH for making me care about it, I couldn't put the book down when I was going through that part.

6. Myriel as a character is so important, we don't talk enough about him and I sort of understand why but he was the first person who shown any mercy to Valjean after he was released from jail, without him Valjean would have succumbed to a life-long of revenge and hatred.

7. Credits to @Aria_mb16 for this one: we need more fix it fics with Fantine where she's actually ALIVE, raising Cosette and healing from all of her traumas.
Fantine is the best mother ever, we should all respect her more.

8. Enjolras is not a heartless monster who only cares about The Cause™ disregarding everyone's feelings in the process.
When people write Angry Enjolras I suppose they do it based on the "charming young man who was capable lf being terrible" description and that's instant OOC

because they're ignoring the charming part of it, he is multifaceted.
Yes, he was passionate and killed but it is not like he was very thrilled about it, he literally cries after he murders someone because he is empathetic and, most importantly, he LOVES humanity. He was+

terrible because he understood violence is necessary in a world where the oppressors won't listen with peaceful advances only.
He loves his friends, he is interested in what they have to say and allows them to rant about any topic they want (Grantaire included, mind you) even if+

it is not related to the cause at all.
He didn't judge Marius after the whole Napoleon rant, he was willing to give Javert back to the National Guard if that meant saving Jehan's life because he cares and he is precious.
I love him with all my heart, don't destroy his character.

9. The Les Mis manga is the BEST adaptation and it is so underrated is sad.
Not only it has one of the most accurate and precious e/R deaths out there, it is also poignant with the symbolic elements of the story (especially for Valjean).
And manga Enjolras? He gave me RIGHTS.

10. Every Enjolras headcanon is FINE by me unless you turn him into a whiny liberal or a cop, that's where I draw the line. He didn't die for this to happen, give my man the respect he deserves.

11. LGBT interpretations of The Brick deserve more respect and recognition in academia but then again, this happens with every literature classic.
It is truly tiring to see people writing meta with tons of research about Valvert and e/R dynamics and seeing judgemental folks+

making fun about it on pages like Goodreads and saying shippers are "delusional" for pushing our agenda in the canon which is bullshit because:
1. VH did it first, we're just extrapolating it
2. In several adaptations the actors were able to see the subtext and incorporated it+

into the role so, it is not only us.
LGBT les mis meta writers you're doing amazing and I promise you some of us take your work seriously.