#if lelouch and rolo were brothers

[alicent-vi-britannia]

12 characters, 12 story arcs, 1 theme

A few days ago, I tried to synthesize in a single word the narrative arcs of the Code Geass characters (at least, the ones I know they have) with the intention of extracting the theme of each one. I will briefly explain my conclusions. Or, put another way, what each theme means for each character. I'll leave Lelouch for last because he's the main character and his theme is supposed to be that of the series. We go from bottom to top.

Self-fidelity / Milly: "the girl who learned to be in touch with her own desires and chose to be true to herself to bring out her best version." I think the phrase explains it perfectly. Milly found happiness and she became more mature once she decided to stop serving her family's wishes and focus on herself and what she wanted to be and do.

Confidence / Ohgi: "the man who learned to trust himself to become the leader his organization and his country needed." Ohgi's arc is inspiring, if you take off your toxic fandom glasses and take his journey seriously. It is true that he made certain mistakes, but he always thought of the welfare of his people and his comrades. That was his main motivation and what led him to overcome his personal insecurities. I was going to make a comparison, but you guys won't like it and you'll attack me.

Happiness / Euphemia: "the girl who dreamed of a world in which all people were happy." This is the only arc that was cut short and did not come to fruition for reasons that I don't need to detail. Euphemia was a selfless princess without a purpose until she met her brother again and wanted to restore happiness to him, Nunnally and the rest of the Japanese.

Truth / Nunnally: "the girl who had to discover the truth to grow up to become the empress who could rebuild a new Britannia." She is literally blind and cannot see the world as it is, but as it should be (hence her idealism). She also can't see through her brother's and her friend's lies, until her determination and her circumstances push her to do so. It doesn't seem strange to me that the breaking of the seal coincides with the moment in which she learns the truth and decides to face it.

Justice / Nina: "the girl who had to seek justice for the murder of her beloved and her own acts and thus be a better person." Nina's arc is a revenge arc. Obviously. But the anime gives it a negative treatment, as Nina only gets worse with each new chapter. It's not until she understands all the destruction that her revenge can cause (in a literal sense) that she stops and reconsiders. The Zero Requiem gives Nina the opportunity to redeem herself and give justice to her beloved since the culprit pays for her crime. It's at this point that she begins to heal.

Honor / Jeremiah: "the man who managed to win back his honor after offering his loyalty to his enemy." The entire arc of Jeremiah revolved around honor. He believed that he had failed his empress and his prince, made a fool of himself on a live broadcast, was demoted and fell to the bottom. From there, he only lived to seek revenge. But then again, it wasn't the way. He only redeemed himself by putting himself at the service of a lord worthy of his loyalty: his enemy.

Humanity / Rolo: "the murder weapon that regained humanity from him through love." Another phrase that explains itself. Rolo had been used and manipulated his entire life as a tool. But when he created good memories and a sincere bond with Lelouch, he started to make decisions, think and feel like a human being.

Forgiveness / Shirley: "the girl who learned to forgive thanks to love." We find another arc of revenge. Like Nina, Jeremiah, Suzaku, and Lelouch, Shirley lost someone important to her, was overcome with grief and rage, and was tempted by revenge until she discovered that the killer was the man she loved. In the end, her noble feelings prevail and her love gives her the strength she needs to forgive.

Freedom / Kallen: "the girl who embraced her freedom became a hero who fought to liberate her country and the world." This is going to sound strange, but I barely realized that Kallen is who she is because she is free due to a fanfic that featured an anti-Kallen who was in many ways trapped. Kallen is a free spirit and performs as an autonomous individual. She chooses the friends she wants (be it Britannian or Japanese), she loves the man she wants, she champions the cause she wants, she has the value system she wants. However, there can be no freedom without equality, and Kallen and her people live in a society that promotes inequality. The freedom of some (the Britannians) cannot coerce that of others (the Japanese and even half-blood like her). So Kallen works to change the world to a place where everyone has full freedom. That's her motivation to grow up and become the hero her people and the world need.

Love / CC: "the girl who only until she received love from others was able to love herself." CC's arc ties directly to Lelouch's because they both express a nihilistic philosophy. In short, CC wishes to end herself and the world (through the Ragnarök Connection) because she considers her immortal existence to be meaningless and thus unimportant. Worse still, an immortal life implies eternal pain. Something she can't live with. But she wants to be loved, because all human beings cannot live without love. It is in the nature of the human being to give and receive love. Therefore, love will always prevail in the darkest moments. So, when Lelouch offers his affection to CC, she becomes more human and renews her will to live (see how her arc connects to Rolo's arc). Let's say that she transitions from a negative nihilism to an agathonism (that philosophy that it proposes that you have to enjoy life and help to live a pleasant life).

Peace / Suzaku: "the boy who was able to find peace of mind by creating a peaceful world." Without going any further, the lever that moves Suzaku throughout the series is "guilt". Suzaku feels guilty that he killed his father, he feels guilty that the Japanese are oppressed by the Britannians, he feels guilty that he failed Euphemia in his duty as a knight, he feels guilty that he can't protect everyone… Guilt, guilt, guilt. What is the opposite of guilt? We may all think of different things, but I'm leaving for peace because Suzaku didn't make peace with himself until he got the punishment from him and when did that happen? When he made sure to create a new world with Lelouch with the Zero Requiem, in which all his loved ones could live. No wars, no racism, no terrorism, no hate. In peace.

Will / Lelouch: "the boy who twisted the will of others found the value of the will of the human being and began to dream of tomorrow." It's very ironic. Lelouch's Geass is described as the power capable of bending the wills of others to the mercy of his own. As he progresses on his journey and interacts with other characters, he realizes that human beings actively seek happiness and persist despite adversity. They doesn't give up when they falls, but gets up and continues to fight. That is what it is to be human. Arthur Schopenhauer, in fact, said that the will was the essence of the human being. But I think that the approach of Lelouch and Code Geass goes more for nihilism in its most positive aspect. The one who proposes the destruction of everything to establish new values that allow the übermensch to live in freedom. "Emperor Charles searched for the past, you search for the present. But I search for the future. […]. Because no matter how much time passes, people will continue to search for happiness. People who struggle with sadness, those who seek the future. How everyone keeps wishing for happiness. Human nature is the reason I chose Geass and wearing a mask." This is the key to human survival. This is the meaning of life and what this series wants to teach you.

If you start to examine each of the arcs, you will see that they are all connected in one way or another (after all, they are concepts that appeal to the human condition). And, if you reflect carefully, you'll realize that the arcs of our two main heroes (Lelouch and Suzaku) correlate with the extremist views of Charles and Schneizel respectively (this was something I was planning to address in a discussion on CG antagonistic figures).

I hope you have learned something or found something interesting in this post. If you liked it, don't forget to support me with a comment and/or a reaction. I would really appreciate it as that will help the algorithm.

PS: Don't ask me to come up with an exhaustive analysis of the philosophies raised in this series. Although it may not seem like it, I have a hard time handling philosophy (I don't mind going overboard like I did here).

[rolotouto]

Official art #108

The 2nd Rolo in the series of monthly pictures called Small and relaxed Code Geass Life! This one is called: "Being considerate"

Here was the 1st Rolo we got, last year, which showed him under the rain. All of the pictures this year seem to match the ones which were released during 2023, and just like 2023's rainy day Rolo was followed by a rainy day Lelouch a few months ago, this month's Rolo is offering the bottle of water to last September's tired Lelouch. And I might as well also include the translations for the remaining Lost Stories monthly lines here, since Rolo thinks about giving Lelouch something to drink in one of these too:

July (both regular and dying Rolo): "Lately, the temperature and humidity have raised quite a lot. It's important to stay hydrated in order to avoid suffering summer fatigue." Why does this murder weapon know about the importance of staying hydrated... July (sailor Rolo only): "Lately, the temperature and humidity have raised quite a lot. I'll bring some sports drink for Brother so he won't get heatstroke." Tanabata (7th July - any Rolo): "A wish... As a student of Ashford Academy, perhaps "for the Academy to stay peaceful"... or something like that... Since regular!Rolo was added in July last year, the 1st of these was already available then, but I failed to record it. For now, I think I have posted every month-specific (and date-specific, like Tanabata, Halloween, etc.) line, including those which have a variation when you choose sailor!Rolo. There have been no dying!Rolo variations so far (and oddly enough he gets the same lines as regular!Rolo despite sailor!Rolo being the one who is more attached to Lelouch).

[rolorules]

How Rolo Rolls Special 6: I Saved You Because You're a Liar!

Warning: Monstrously long text and a stupid screenshot ahead under the cut.

August 17 is a good day to revisit Turn 19, particularly Rolo's dying scene and Lelouch's and Rolo's final dialogues (the first one being more of a monologue since Lelouch is always cut short by Rolo stopping the time). I already wrote about it in the respective regular instalments of How Rolo Rolls, which can be found here and here. However, I would like to go a little more into detail and add a few thoughts, particularly on the issue whether Rolo really believed that Lelouch was lying when he told him he hated him and had repeatedly tried to kill him.

So let's rewind to the scene where the two of them break up (in a manner of speaking). Rolo and Jeremiah had to seize Lelouch's Knightmare Frame because he had completely lost it (Lelouch, not the Knightmare). They are back at the Ikaruga, and Rolo has to half-carry Lelouch to his quarters. Lelouch is devastated, but Rolo does a REALLY poor job at reading the room. He takes his brother's presumed loss WAY too lightly, and when Jeremiah calls, he talks FAR too casually with him, dismissing Nunnally's supposed demise as "not a big deal". Ah well, only Rolos rush in where angels fear to tread. Or something like that.

This complete lack of empathy practically asks for an angry outburst on Lelouch's part, and all his pent-up anger and resentment about Rolo taking Nunnally's place (in different ways) comes to the fore. Lelouch spits it in Rolo's face, aiming at maximum emotional devastation (even stylistically: "I hate you, I loathe you, I despise you." climactic enumeration), and he is extremely successful. Rolo may have suspected something, but his shocked face reveals that he did not expect THAT. This row is really ugly, but, as I wrote before probably a necessary step in their relationship.

Right now, they are both hurting. Take a look at the scenes at 10:37 and 10:42, how lonely and forlorn they both look. Rolo looks at the Locket, and it is safe to assume that he is reassessing his and Lelouch's relationship, first and foremost asking himself whether he should leave Lelouch and go away. Approaching him and trying to reconcile would have been difficult, but the need to save Lelouch facilitates things in a way.

The episode is called "Betrayal", it's a story of estrangement on various levels, between Lelouch and the Black Knights (who betray him) and between Lelouch and Rolo (who remains loyal). When they confront him, Lelouch chooses not to explain himself but to be defiant. He does this to protect Kallen, but maybe also out of false pride. Why does he tell the Black Knights that he had only used them (like Rolo) and that they were only pawns in his game? Yes, he did not reveal his true identity to them and he clearly had his own agenda, but it was not just a game for him, and his goals more or less aligned with those of the Black Knights. So this seems like false bravado to me.

Anyway, Rolo comes to the rescue, and off they go. Lelouch tries to convince Rolo that saving him is a bad idea, but his appeal is permanently interrupted by Rolo's time-stopping Geass. In total, it goes like this:

"Stop it, Rolo. You've done enough. - Rolo, I have no reason to live anymore. - Using your Geass over such a large area! Rolo, it's way too much. Your heart can't take so much strain. - That's enough, Rolo, I don't want to live anymore. - Don't do... this, Rolo. Why are you still trying... to save me? You know that I... I was only usi... using you. Rolo!!! - No, stop using your Geass like that. Do you want to die?"

All in all, this is a somewhat disturbing mix of Lelouch having lost his will to live and being worried about Rolo. (The last question is probably meant to be rhetorical, but is it really? Did Rolo intend this to be a suicide mission?)

In his reply (which Lelouch can't hear), Rolo tentatively acknowledges that Lelouch has been using him, but his rationale is that despite this fact, "only the time I spent with you was real." We all know that this is not the case, much if not most of it was fake, and Rolo knows that, too. What he means is that, for the first time, he felt alive, and these experiences helped him find his own humanity. This is probably why the English dub goes for "only the time I spent with you seemed real."

(As a quick aside, the scenes that appear before Rolo's inner eye when he talks about "those memories that finally made me human" are: the two brothers riding Rivalz' bike, peeling potatoes - with Lelouch touching Rolo's hand, Rolo keeping watch by Lelouch's bedside, and finally the closet scene during the Cupid Day hunt for Lelouch, the one thing I am a hundred per cent sure Lelouch was really grateful to Rolo for doing. So Rolo enjoyed that. Figures.)

When they have finally landed, Lelouch seems to have stopped wallowing in self-pity and asks Rolo in a really gentle voice: "Rolo, why did you save me? After all I've done to you." Rolo's reply is also well known: "Because you're a liar, Big Brother." Lelouch's reaction is a kind of gasp, he really has not seen that coming. In the Japanese dub, it sounds even more like an "Eh, eh?" in the sense of "I can't believe my ears." After all, the Black Knights just tried to execute him for being exactly that.

But Rolo continues to explain that he means that Lelouch was lying when he said that he hated him and tried to kill him - but still seeks confirmation from Lelouch - and Lelouch does confirm it. Whether he really means that or just tries to comfort Rolo has been a controversial issue ever since that episode aired (and I already threw in my tuppence on it), but there is one more detail that I previously overlooked: Rolo tells Lelouch that he knows everything about him (in the English version, Spike Spencer has to say a little more to be in sync with Rolo's lip movements and fills in "I know who you really are inside your heart", once again hitting the nail on the head. Kudos to the people who made the English dub).

Anyway, to this, Lelouch replies: That's right. (Eng. dub.) Yeah. You did. (Eng. sub) そうだよ。/Sou da yo. (Jap.) In other words, he agrees with him, probably not in the sense that Rolo can never be fooled by him, in fact, Lelouch has deceived Rolo many times, but in the sense that Rolo knows what the real Lelouch is like (like the English dub implied). The interesting thing here is that Rolo is already dead, and Lelouch has no more reason or motivation to lie. In other words: he might actually be truthful about it.

But what about Rolo? Did he really believe that Lelouch was lying? On one level, I think that Rolo believed that Lelouch meant what he said. His words may have been an exaggeration because he was agonising, but they were certainly fundamentally true, as for once, there was no reason for Lelouch to mince words or dissimulate. Rolo was able to accept the idea that Lelouch had been using him, so he was probably also able to accept his resentment (he'd had his doubts all along, after all, and maybe also a guilty conscience because of Shirley). Maybe he found it a bit harder to believe that Lelouch had tried to kill him repeatedly, as he had claimed, but that's not true anyway, at least to my knowledge. Lelouch made preparations once to blow up Rolo in the Vincent, but he did not carry out his plan. And that was that. (I'm taking this too lightly, too. Killing is just too common in this world.)

However, Rolo probably also assumed, even knew, that this was not the whole truth and that deep down, Lelouch liked and cared about him. And to all we know, he was not wrong. Should he have been more nuanced and talked things over with Lelouch? Not in this situation. He was running out of time, and his priority was to reconcile with his big brother before the end. He was able to do that, so this is fine.

I've had this lying around for ages. Finally the time has come to use it. It looks tragic and funny at the same time.

[hailarabbit281]

Official summary of Code Geass R2 as listed on various online websites for purchase of R2 dvd or blu-ray, linked directly from https://geass.jp/r2/blu-ray.html

15周年 コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ Ｒ２ Blu-ray BOX　（特装限定版）

Source website:

https://a-onstore.jp/item/item-1000228287/

Note that a-onstore is officially listed in the CG website, hence the further validity of this synopsis coming from them

Original Japanese text:

皇暦2018年。ブリタニアの皇子であり、ゼロという名で黒の騎士団を率い、ギアスの力と己の知略でブリタニアに反逆したルルーシュは、その記憶を父親であるブリタニア皇帝シャルルにより消去され、別の記憶を与えられ、学生としての日々を過ごしていた。しかし、C.C.との再会により記憶を全て取り戻した彼は、再びブリタニアに宣戦布告する。自分を裏切った親友・スザク、偽りの弟・ロロ、そして愛した少女・シャーリー…ギアスの力を他人に知られ、敵からも味方からも追われることになったルルーシュ。ついには何よりもかけがえのない大切な妹・ナナリーさえも、敵として対面することになる…！

　―これはゼロ・レクイエム。ルルーシュとスザクの約束。その為に、2人はすべての絶望と贖罪の物語に幕を下ろす。

Google Translate ver:

15th Anniversary Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 Blu-ray BOX (Special Limited Edition)

Imperial Year 2018. Lelouch, the prince of Britannia, led the Black Knights under the name Zero and rebelled against Britannia using the power of Geass and his own cunning. His memories were erased by his father, Emperor Charles of Britannia, and he was given different memories and spent his days as a student. However, after reuniting with C.C., he regained all his memories and once again declared war on Britannia. His best friend Suzaku, who betrayed him, his fake brother Rolo, and the girl he loved Shirley... Lelouch's power of Geass was discovered by others and he was pursued by both enemies and allies. In the end, even his precious and irreplaceable sister Nunnally was faced with an enemy...! This is Zero Requiem. A promise between Lelouch and Suzaku. For that, the two of them bring the curtain down on a story of all despair and redemption.

P/s: heyyyy, Lulushir is actually recognized by movies hypnosis/summary for the 15th Anniversary Blu-ray box? Thank you Sunrise, even though you broke our hearts by killing of Shirley. Our ship is valid oh yyyyyyeahhh

[codegeassfacts]

Talkin Rebellion, Code Geass R2 Side Novels // Not Canon

The Talkin Rebellion novels are quite similar to the Bokura no Hibi novels from S1 (that you can also find on this blog) They were published in the Newtype magazine each month and are meant to offer side stories from events we see in the anime;

Since Novels can once again contradict the canon, it's the same as Bokura No hibi, they can be nice headcanon but they aren't really considered as canon. There are 7 Talkin Rebellion novels that you can find summarized right below

Talkin Rebellion 1 : Kallen x C.C., Without You // Newtype May 2008

This one is meant to happen in between season 1 and R2; It's basically a scene which happens as Kallen and C.C. are roomate, as you can see in picture drama 1 of R2;

Both girls actually blame the other for the mess on each side of their room, Kallen has some dumbells, food package, clothes, the manual for her Guren Nishiki, empty bottle, etc etc, while on C.C.'s side it's most like her few clothes, ashford swimsuit, and an endless ammount of pizza box that she attempts to order for a bit, as she says at Kallen she is the type who doesn't realise things aren't in order until someone actually tells her;

C.C. regrets the days where she could just throw away her stuff and it was magically folded and put at it's own place thanks to Lelouch and C.C. then mentions about their "problem" needs fixing, ie, Lelouch needs to get freed; Kallen silently pleads for Zero to be patient to which C.C. reminds her he is actually Lelouch, much to Kallen's dismay; C.C. finally concludes that she wants Lelouch back,cause who else would put her clothes on hanger (Loved this last line lol)

Talkin Rebellion 2 : Milly x Rivalz, Backyard Fun // Newtype June 2008

This one is meant to happen in Turn 5 during Suzaku's welcome party; As people are less lively, Milly decides she can't allow it to happen as a festival without any energy isn't really a festival; As a dance is launched and everyone takes a part in it, Milly eventually leaves the dance, and as she muses about the fire that lightens the party, and goes to set herself on the side with a pair of binoculars wondering how many couple have been formed, she is contacted by Rivalz; They then began to talk about who got paired with whom, who asked who out, how many yes and no this one had, etc etc; Milly then contacts Lelouch who tells her is in on the roof with Suzaku; After some teasing about Shirley, Milly and Rivalz notices a boy who is seemingly interested by Anya; Milly is thrilled by all those love stories and events and thinks that love is something funny to observe and that might be why she doesn't take care of her own feelings as she is too busy watching everyone's else interesting stories.

Eventually Rivalz appears behind her, super serious and as he is seemingly about to tell her something, she sends him off on a mission and Rivalz being Rivalz, he obeys; Milly then ponders about how grateful she is to him for being as he is, because she can stays as she is thanks to that.

Talking Rebellion 3 : Nunnally x Rolo, My Brother and Me // Newtype July 2008

This one is between Rolo/Nunally (it switches) and Lelouch; Rolo ponders about how much he suffers when Lelouch shuts him off and how he knows the responsible is Nunnally (so it probably happens before Turn 7, when Lelouch learnt about Nunnally being alive and governor of Area 11) so he wonders about what he might become if Nunnally was to come back before looming into a blurry territory about how Nunally shouldn' be needed and what he should do about that;

We then switches to Nunnally who now knows her brother is alive and how painful it is to her to not understand what happens or why her brother told her to pretend they didn't know each other; She then wonders about what has been going on in Lelouch's life and who might be there for him since she is not; She wonders what became of C.C. and if he made peace with Shirley and wishes he is not alone and someone is by his side.

We then go back to Rolo who knocks on Lelouch's door and calls him "oniisama" like Nunnally did, instead of "Niisan", as he usually does, even imitating Nunnally's gesture. It only leads Lelouch to grow colder.

Talkin Rebellion 4 : Lelouch x Suzaku, Mental trap // Newtype August 2008

This one is focused on Suzaku and Lelouch as both ponders about the other; We first have Suzaku, who still thinks Lelouch didn't get his memories back, and wonders about Zero's return and about how both Rolo and Viletta both said nothing's wrong with Lelouch, as well as Lelouch's reaction to Nunnally and him;

Then we switches to Lelouch who thinks about the various instances where he played the normal friend, commenting on daily things about Suzaku, in order to have him believing he isn't Zero; He also thinks about how he had to go on so many date and how unlikely it was of him all because of Sayoko. Suzaku on his side, is surprised to see Lelouch really became a Casanova, as he heard within the report, and wonders if that is the result of the geass of the emperor, as he lost his target of affection when losing Nunnally, his self esteem as he forgot he was a member of the Royals, and his main activity as Zero which kept him busy ; Lelouch's feelings for Nunnally and his twisted sense of pride would then have been a catalyst that would have led him to act decently until now (LOL)

Talkin Rebellion 5 : Lelouch x Charles, Comparing Objects // Newtype September 2008

This one is a sort of parallel C.C. is making of both Charles and Lelouch; We get to see a moment where she was in Aries Villa and had a talk with Charles, who was surprised to see her there and her being C.C. and giving him banter about how she wanted to see his harsh face (C.C. and banter should be synonym) They then talk about how he took yet another wife and Charles notices how it is natural that women are attracted to strong man, before wondering if Marianne spoke to C.C. about that; Eventually they joke a bit and when Charles proposes to C.C. to join his harem, she rebuffs him and thinks about how Marianne's taste in men are weird while she likes cuter men. After her memories of that we are back to the present where C.C. gets in communication with Lelouch as he is in Ashford; But as he is still on the phone, talking about date and cupid day, C.C. remarks it's all in the blood and decides to mess with him by speaking loudly in a suggestive voice so that the person he is on the phone with will hear and will misunderstand things; It works, Lelouch is pissed and they fight a bit as she mocks him and speaks Kaguya's line (that she also said to Charles) about how lustfulness is a hero's thing; He then snaps back about how she talks like an old person, as expected of her, which she doesn't take very well and then concludes Lelouch isn't cute.

Talkin Rebellion 6 : Anya x Gino, Conquer the Rounds // Newtype Octobre 2008

In this novel Lelouch wonders about the fact Anya has a picture of him as a child from when he used to live in Aries palace;

He wonders if she might have information about what happened when his mother was killed, and thinks of way to question her even if he doesn't want to waste his geass like that since he has only one chance and his opponent is a member of the Rounds.

He is suddenly pulled from behind and it happens to be Anya, who shows him again the picture and asks him if it's him;

Lelouch is glad of this opportunity but reminds her he already told her it's not him, to which Anya tells him she heard he liked to crossdress and wear pet costume;

Lelouch vehemently denies it and counters those were costume when she tlls him she saw pictures; She then concludes he might also be wearing a costume on this picture;

Lelouch is in disarray as he notices how hard it is to try to read in those half lidded eyes of her and they begin to speak in some riddles about how one has something to hide and the other doesn't want to say things and if Anya is actually looking for the boy in the picture when…Gino appears, but doesn't want to interrupt and ask them to go on;

He came to this school because Anya wanted to and considers himself as her guardian but allows Lelouch to go farther; Anya muses Gino is more like a watchdog; She then confirms she came because she wanted to see Lelouch and since Gino totally misunderstands the whole topic Lelouch asks him to not think too much as he is tired of being caught in misunderstanding about relationship;

Anya counters and Lelouch can't do much as Gino insists on them getting closer;

The last Talkin Rebellion novel, number 7," Light" from Newtype November 2008 which can be found translated in this post about Shirley's official material ; It kind of contradicts canon in some way but it's a really sweet story about what Lelouch's perfect world might been, the best Talkin Rebellion novel to me.

That's about it for all of the Code Geass Original anime related novels ! That was a lot of work, but we did it; I am not a big fan of novels but side stories like Bokura no Hibi and Talkin Rebellion were pretty nice to read.

Hope you enjoy ~

[jophiares]

Thank you so much for sharing your writings and arts. Also thanks for answering my ask about SuzaLulu. I'm a new fan of this fandom, and it's kinda hard for me to find those who still love this series.

Can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Code Geass? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series?

of course ^^ thank you for sharing the interest with me. ill put my rambling below:

first things first, i am omitting lelouch and suzaku because i think it is too easy. the show wouldnt be what it is without them.

i dont know if i can tier these characters (since i would have to give it much more thought than im willing to put into currently) but here we go:

kallen - kallen is the only character with an actual backbone and moral compass on this entire show. interestingly enough, i dont think shes written as well as she should be. the episode about her and her mother was one of the episodes that hit the hardest during my initial watch through. i also really like the scene where she stops lelouch from taking a hit of refrain as well as when she kisses him goodbye during the un conference. she is a mixed person that chooses to side with the side of liberation versus the side of comfort, and that was something she was always doing. she would always be japanese, she would always fight for her people and for what is right. she is easily the most honorable character of them all.

c.c. - c.c. is one, if not the, most interesting immortal character i have ever seen. what attracts me the most to her is the fact that she is Not a Good Person. her life has been full of strife from before she got her code and afterwards. she's the reason mao's existence is as fucked up as it is. the whole time shes lelouchs accomplice, she knows that marianne is alive and what her (& charles') plan was for the world. its thanks to lelouch that she remembers how to be human again. shes hypocritical. shes wise but also immature. she damned lelouch by giving him a geass but she still grieves him at the end. hell, one of the final shots of her during zero requiem was her praying in a church, the same place where she was betrayed. its still obviously a place of comfort to some level--which, i think is incredibly symbolic for her character. shes cryptic and hard to understand (both on purpose and not). shes sad. lonely. self sufficient. despite her long years, she is still human.

shirley - shirley represents love (not romantic love specifically, but all kinds of love) in code geass. going from her crush on lelouch, to losing her father, to learning lelouch is zero, to SAVING him from being captured--then following up after she regains her memories and how despite everything, she still wants to be by lelouch's side because she realizes that he is alone. she tells suzaku that she loves lelouch when suzaku uses past tense. she tells him that shes forgiven lelouch--which is Much easier said than done on shirley's end vs suzaku's end, but i digress. she is then murdered because of rolo's own twisted love. shes' an interesting point of view into the story because shes very much a civilian in comparison to the other major characters. there are a lot of shots of everyday people throughout cg, but shirley being a main character in this sense puts her up there for me, though id argue that shes more of a writing device versus an actual character, too.

v.v. - (smt3 hell rider voice) here we go. the person reading this might be thinking--huh? v.v.? and yes, i say. my interest in v.v. comes more from things that were implied more than they were shown, as most of said things are recalled by other characters. like Every character i am interested in, he is a hypocrite. he is as conniving as his brother, their wish being one of truth while they were surrounded by lies. they would always have each other. but then came marianne, the lady knight, the flash. neither charles nor v.v. couldve ever predicted her, nor how much she changed charles--regardless if that is true or not. what really intrigues me is that it was implied that v.v. also loved marianne. v.v., an immortal stuck in a childs body, their only true tether to the world (his brother) and the part of the world he must have desired the most (marianne). i actually am planning to write a fic about this premise because it interests me so deeply. dont hold your breath for it tho, haha.

ive been working on this for longer than id like to admit so ill just do a little rapid round for other characters i really like.

honorable mentions:

-ROLO

-ohgi

-mao

truthfully i think every character is very complex in their own way, especially by the end of code geass. im not a fan of nina, but the final scene with her and emperor lelouch before they use the anti-fleija spear (lance of longinus, cough) is another moment i really like.

tldr; code geass has some great character writing sometimes. keyword sometimes.

[sweet-evie]

Alien Smiley Faces >:D

*Rolo and Marianne Texting*

Marianne: How was your day, Rolo? 8======D

Rolo: WTF? WHY ARE YOU SENDING ME PENIS EMOTICONS?

Marianne: ? 8======D is an alien smiley face 8======D

Rolo: Mom, STOP! it's a penis. Who told you it's a smiley?

Marianne: Well, I saw Lelouch texting this smiley to C.C. the other day. When I asked, he told me it was an alien smiley face.

Rolo: *puking in the bathroom*

Marianne: Wait... So 8======D~ {()} isn't an alien going into a spaceship?

Rolo: *still puking*

[acedumbb]

Could I request a Lelouch x Sleepy!Child! Reader? Platonic of course, I’d love to see what you do with the idea

ooooh, sure, I didn't know what format you preferred, so I took the creative liberty of writing it as a one-shot, I hope you don't mind.

((This post still contains several misspellings, sorry for the inconvenience.))

Every day it was more difficult to cope with the double life that Lelouch was forced to live, slowly the young man had become a two-sided coin, a coin that did not stop rotating on itself, it was becoming more and more difficult for him to bear the emotional weight that came with being Zero, CC was only there if he put his own life at risk, but the exiled prince knew perfectly well that if he broke down emotionally no one would care.

Well, that was until you showed up in his life.

He didn't know what he felt for you, he wanted to believe that you were what Rolo never managed to be, he wanted to believe that he finally got used to the idea of a little brother who didn't compete with what Nunnally was, but nothing could be further from the truth. Actually, the feeling I had towards you was something unique, which I could not describe exactly.

Despite being a classmate of Nunnally's, there were not a few times that he was alone with you, you often used to visit the boy's paralyzed sister, at first you were just someone deep down, someone Lelouch easily lost sight of. seen on many occasions, but little by little, you ended up being what occupied the teenager's mind most of the time.

It all started when he was forced to use his geass on you, you had discovered that it was Zero by accident, you alarmed Lelouch quite a bit, luckily with his power it was easy to make you forget about the event easily, but because of certain unfortunate events for him you discovered it again, and the poor boy had no way out, of course he tried to get you out of the way, but any plan that his mind formulated was full of "errors", or so he wanted to believe, right at that moment, he was still on his laptop, playing with the little sound recorder he had, you had seen that mask in his room due to the continuous times you stayed to sleep in the club house, sleepovers with Nunnally were normal for everyone in that building, even C.C. began to see It's common to see you roam the halls at night.

That night, where the tired boy did nothing but worry because of you, you were also in that house, it was quite late, and Lelouch had lost hope that you would appear in his room at that time, his head ached, praying for finding a solution where he could still be sure of his identity, and you could still be happy around him.

Of course, when you entered the room so silently, dragging your feet due to sleep, there was no way that Lelouch realized that you were behind him, he had closed his eyes, seeking to see his own thoughts more clearly, wishing for a few seconds that you were there with him, knowing that ironically, the cause of his worries always calmed him down at the end of the day.

— Lulu..?

His wish had been fulfilled, when he opened his eyes he knew he couldn't have wished for something better, you rubbed your tired eyes with a hand, looking at the elder with some difficulty due to the sudden light he saw because of the laptop, Lelouch hurried to turn the chair a little, you were finally in front of him, your calm and sleepy expression contrasted with the worried face of the boy, who after a couple of seconds was finally able to react to your call.

— (y/n).. It's late, why aren't you in your sleeping bag?

— I'm sorry Lulu, it's just that... I stopped by to go to the bathroom, and noticed that you were still awake...

— Go to sleep, you have to get up early tomorrow.

The brown-haired man hated worrying about things as small as the minor's schedules but he couldn't help it, he began to worry a little more when he noticed that the minor climbed onto his lap, hugging his chest in search of warmth, from the perspective of Lelouch, the boy it seemed extremely fragile, as if it was going to break into millions of pieces if it wasn't well taken care of, when (y/n) stopped moving, the pale boy didn't hesitate for a second to hug him, becoming aware of what he was doing a few minutes later, In that silent room, he could really appreciate the pretty boy, could feel his heartbeat with one hand, listen to you breathe peacefully, completely asleep, you were totally at his mercy, in both body and mind, it would have been a perfect opportunity to "get you out of the way", but from Lelouch's point of view, that plan had a big flaw, and that is that he wanted to keep hugging you until morning.

[littlestpetship]

i love rolo so much... he deserved so so much better it makes me sad... i wish lelouch didnt snap at him before he died :,( but when he was dying he was like "you were just lying, right?" and lelouch was like "yes, you got it right. your big brother is just a liar." FFFDDTHFGGNN 😢😢😢 i dont think ive ever cried harder than that... i was sobbing SO HARD into a pillow and my sister had to calm me down we had to pause like 4 times because i couldnt stop crying ☹️ i was really really heartbroken and sad......

[and-it-will-flower-in-may]

To be 100% honest, I don’t necessarily want a season 3 of Code Geass, but what I want is for CG to get a remake where it fleshes out the story even more. I love what we got, but rewatching it makes it clear to me that there was a lot of build up to something that wasn’t given enough time to be properly expanded upon in season 2. Can you imagine a season 2 of Code Geass that WAS 50 episodes long? Seeing everything slowly spiral out of hand, seeing Lelouch being pushed further and further to the point of no return? Seeing more emotional turmoil from the different characters? Imagine seeing Rolo get more development, where we see him get more and more obsessed with a twisted idea of “family,” that Lelouch doesn’t need anyone other than his little brother. Imagine a world where we see more of Jeremiah, and seeing him fight on Lelouch’s behalf with the Black Knights. Imagine seeing more of Cornelia and the Geass cult. Imagine seeing Suzaku just stewing in his anger, and seeing how that makes him into a bitter and jaded person. Personally, I would have loved if there was more development on Ashford Academy as well, especially for the student council! Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley were all characters I would have loved to see more of! Also, I would have been interested to see if Clovis was expanded upon a little, especially because it seemed that he was the only one of the royal children to know about the Ragnorak connection. There’s just so much untapped potential in this whole show.

Basically, I want Code Geass but longer.

[toryinnismoved]

nightmare of nunnally is like a bad fanfiction. the idea of lelouchs fate being unknown and nunnally getting geass instead sounds really interesting but NoN is so. bad. and weird

[alicent-vi-britannia]

Why was Lelouch's manipulation effective on Rolo?

One of this year's "resolutions" I set for my Code Geass page was that I was going to give more space to Rolo. Rolo is my favorite secondary character in Code Geass, even above Shirley and Euphemia, but I haven't talked about him much and I wanted to rectify that. This Monday I published a survey to my followers in which I invited them to vote for the analysis of Rolo that they were most interested in me doing. There were three options:

⭐Why was Lelouch's manipulation effective on Rolo? ⭐Why did Rolo kill Shirley? ⭐The parallels between V.V. and Rolo

There was a close competition between the second and the winner, which is what you can read in the title of the publication. Don't worry if you didn't win the analysis you wanted because those analyzes will come gradually. Furthermore, there is an important point in common that we must take into consideration in the two most requested analyzes: Rolo's background.

So who the fuck is Rolo? He is a trained assassin who works for the O.S.I. which, in turn, is in connection with the Geass Order and both organizations answer to the Emperor and V.V. (the devilish brothers). Episode 3 of R2 gives us an overview of him and how he normally acts if Lelouch is not with him (yes, being Lelouch's shy and devoted brother is Rolo's mask, but, as a professor told me in a class a while ago, masks are not necessarily fake and this mask is actually a side of him that not even Rolo himself knew). At the same time, episode 3 drops some seeds (problems) that will bloom over the course of the season:

His extreme loneliness: Rivalz casually comments that Rolo does not talk to anyone at school and, additionally, we see that it is difficult for him to work as a team (there is a scene with Villetta in which the members of the O.S.I. complain to her because Rolo has killed some of them for stupid reasons). All of this results in his poor social skills and him distrusting everyone (and himself). I won't use the enneagram right now, but Rolo is undoubtedly a 6w5 one-to-one subtype and with that information, a connoisseur of this tool can get a general idea of the motivations behind Rolo's strange behaviors.

His budding interest and need to understand the meanings of "having a family" and "birthdays," which tie into the heart-shaped locket that Lelouch gave him (and for which he killed a member of the O.S.I. just for touching it). It isn't until we reach episode 4 of R2 that we are introduced to Rolo's past that we understand this curiosity he has.

Rolo and Mao are similar in several ways. They are both orphans, given a Geass that was too powerful for them at a very young age, and are amoral as a result of their particular lives. Specifically, Rolo wasn't raised as a human, but rather he was trained from birth to be a killing machine. Therefore, he has no social skills or moral codes, he has no notion of what is right and wrong, he has never had a family, he doesn't know how to make friends and, of course, he has no idea what love is nor does he know how to love (this last part is important because that's what his narrative arc is about, by the way).

Rolo was taught to follow orders, solve problems and repress his social, emotional and affective needs. Rolo has convinced himself that it was okay for him to live as he has been because he has focused on the present by completing the missions assigned to him. It's Lelouch who motivates him to think about the future and find meaning in life: "Rolo, what is the future? The future is hope. Without hope, your life is empty. And you have no hope beyond your mission. Rolo, if you capture C.C., what kind of future will it open up for you? Things will remain as they are and nothing will change." It's more or less the same situation that Kallen goes through in the first season since she also has to define her objectives and motivations and, in fact, the mental breakdown that Rolo suffers is similar to the one that Kallen had on Kaminejima Island because both they see how the lie that they believed to be true crumbles before their eyes. In Rolo's case, after all, Lelouch does care more than the mission (or, in other words, that his emotional ties are real).

The difference between the two is that Rolo isn't mentally healthy and here we find other parallels with Mao. Both are, first and foremost, victims of child abuse by people who should have protected them, but decided to use them for their benefit (C.C. in the case of Mao and V.V. in the case of Rolo) and both are hungry for love for their loved ones (C.C. and Lelouch respectively). I would add that they are also children who didn't grow up well. That's why Rolo's locket is shaped like a heart: it symbolizes the love (of Lelouch) that Rolo desperately wants.

Even if Rolo sees himself as a weapon because he has been dehumanized by the Geass Order, he is human and, like every person, wants to be loved (C.C. literally wants to die because she believes there is no love in her life). This need combined with Lelouch's search for meaning based on his agenda (being his little brother) leads Rolo to turn such meaning into his reason for living. "I made you a promise. I promised you a new future. Your future is with me" (or, what is the same, "your future is me").

Of course, there is a difference between Mao and Rolo (which is the same difference between V.V. and him) that I won't reveal now. I will say that, although the relationship between Rolo and Lelouch will evolve into a dependency on the boy's part that will aggravate his mental state, it constitutes a turning point in his narrative arc since, in addition to giving him a goal and motivation, this is the first time that Rolo thinks about himself and what he wants for himself, which is good for Rolo since he begins to value his life and Lelouch won't face consequences for manipulating, lying and using an amoral young murderer with strong emotional deficiencies who has been indoctrinated by a malevolent organization, right? RIGHT?!

No, forget it. Shirley dies.

But I'll reserve that for the next analysis. Honestly, I'm glad this analysis came out first because when I release Shirley's I'll be more direct in touching on Rolo's background and focus on Rolo's fears and feelings and explaining something nonsense called "anxious attachment." React and share, if you want to see it soon, as well as other analyzes of Rolo (I need to analyze his death scene because it is heartbreakingly beautiful and meaningful, even more so with the music).

Thanks for reading me.

[rolotouto]

More translations (June)

Translations and opinions, too.

・Rolo: I will (protect) Brother! Kallen: The one from that time at Babel Tower? ・V.V.: You were a failed product, you know? Rolo: I'm not a tool! I really like seeing Rolo defending himself before V.V.. For a 63 year old, V.V. sure doesn't have many intelligent things to say other than throwing the same insult over and over:

V.V.: Rolo was a failed product. For his life to be shortened whenever he uses his Geass... "defective" is putting it mildly. Well, guess he can be used for assassinations at least. Is it that Rolo's life was shortened each time he used his Geass, or that each time he used his Geass for too long he could die? Because, if it's the latter, then provided that he was careful, arguably using his Geass didn't affect his health long term, but if it's the former, Lelouch sure didn't mind making Rolo have to sacrifice his life span for trivial things like protecting him from girls during Turn 12... Opinion time: Even though I want to believe that Lelouch wouldn't actually knowingly allow Rolo to shorten his life span, as I'm convinced that he cared about Rolo during all that time he told himself that he hated him, I wish Rolo acknowledged that it was very cruel of Lelouch to manipulate his emotions, and that Rolo's only reference to how Lelouch hurt him wasn't just a vague 'Brother used me' (which is always quickly followed by 'but he made me human' so that the audience doesn't have to think much about how Lelouch did wrong). His Home or Trust lines in Lost Stories would have been the perfect place for Rolo to show us more of his point of view, but instead, as I complained last time, he sounds a little too repetitive with the 'Brother made me human' and 'I will protect Brother' lines. In the anime, because there's no time for more, proportionately Rolo gets much more focus, as in a few minutes he: -Rescues Lelouch against Lelouch's demands -Monologues out loud despite having no listeners -When Lelouch wants to know 'Why did you save me?', he makes Lelouch have to change that lamenting tone and join him in pretending that everything is okay by giving Lelouch an answer that Lelouch didn't expect Rolo is the one in control during those scenes, while Lelouch temporarily becomes a "secondary" (passive) character. And because we don't see what he was thinking between Lelouch yelling at him and him deciding to save Lelouch, it's possible to interpret that Rolo *was* in fact hurt and resentful that Lelouch never even attempted to give him (<-a child who had only known abuse throughout his life) that future he promised, and that Rolo giving up his life to save him was, partially, his own way of forcing Lelouch to always remember him (plus he also called Lelouch a liar, which, even though at first glance he only does to protect Lelouch from feeling guilt, could also be an accusation Rolo wanted to make and get off his chest). Lost Stories even depicted Rolo still asking Lelouch to keep his promise around Turn 16, but then we see Turn19!Rolo's thoughts and there's no hint of shock or anger after Lelouch reveals he was manipulating Rolo from the start? I think that is too selfless to the point where it becomes lack of self-respect... Well, back to the video: ・Rolo: I won't let them kill (Brother)! No matter what! Lelouch: Please stop! Do you want to die? Battle interaction between Turn5!Shirley and regular!Rolo (not Turn19!Rolo): ・Shirley: Hey, do you know where Lulu is? Rolo: You are going around wearing that...? ?! Why would someone like Rolo care what she wears... How does he even have a concept of what kind of clothing is appropriate or not?! Love his formal Japanese though. A different login bonus line: ・Rolo: Excuse me, did you see Brother? He left without me realizing it... And teacher Villetta was looking for him. Yet another Home line that I'd never seen before, but that he started using around a couple weeks ago (used by any of the 3 Rolos): ・Rolo: There are still things I don't understand (lit. "can't read") about you. I wonder if I'll end up understanding them if more time goes by. June line (any of the 3 Rolos): ・Rolo: Come to think of it, I have not ridden the motorcycle lately. It's probably the same for you, right? You know, seeing as it won't stop raining...

Yes!! Thank you for remembering Rolo's life contains more activities than just thinking about niisan!! I did not translate that as "my" motorcycle because I think he only ever drives Rivalz's and doesn't own one... Home line that isn't part of the in-game archive (Turn19!Rolo only): ・Rolo: This locket... It's okay if I keep it until the end, right...?

😢

[rolorules]

I knew that.

It's painful.

I wonder how much longer I can last.

Please, just a little longer.

Just a little longer...

You wish for death.

I'm trying to keep you alive at the risk of my life.

Am I stupid, am I an idiot?

I knew, that you hated me.

I knew it.

That you were trying to kill me.

That I can't take Nunnally's place.

That I'm just a fake brother.

But...

Just now...

You were a little worried about me.

I know.

Lelouch: "I see. You've completely seen through me. Just as you'd expect of my younger brother."

Rolo: "That's... right... When it comes to my brother..."

You're still lying.

Live!

Rolo: "I know everything..."

Live!

Live!

That's what makes me happy.

Thank you for the kind lie.

(Google translation)

Geass Episode 19 Self-Completion by Mizuna.

Food for thought.

The story is just one image in the original (see the source link), but Tumblr would have rendered it in really poor quality, so I split it up. This also helped with placing the translations.

There is also something like a second part, adding Lelouch's perspective.

[cynthiaandsamus]

Custom Toonami Block Week 77 Rundown!

Code Geass: So since Shirley’s dead, Lelouch has a similar thought to Cornelia and blames the power of Geass itself instead of her actual murderer. So instead of using the Geass Order like he planned he decides to say fuck it and burn it all to the ground, completing his Darth Vader transformation by not only killing the men, but the women AND THE CHILDREN AND THE SCIENTISTS (Science is the fourth gender, look it up, it’s in Dr. Stone). But yeah half of this episode is just murdering scientist who granted were making child supersoldiers but also don’t have any weapons, like they have zero security no wonder Cornelia was able to walk right up to V.V. And the Black Knights are pissed about killing civilians but I feel like once the horde of children starts making them shoot each other they should get the picture. Rolo murders all his friends, C.C. murders all her former supports, Dietard puts a ninja hit out on Ohgi and Viletta also wants to kill Ohgi, poor Ohgi the dude has like nothing going for him and just ended up in this fucked up chess game and he’s just some dude that fell in love when he saw Viletta naked (didn’t we all)  but anyway V.V. pilots Jeremiah’s Pumpkin Battleship and before Lelouch can make Rolo kamikaze himself for killing Shirley, Cornelia wipes him out anyway in probably her most badass moment in the series, using the Pumpkin Battleship’s Byakugan Blindspot to bring it down. V.V. is dead like five times over but Charles comes out to drag Lelouch into the Spear of Longinus so he can do Human Instrumentality or whatever.

Inuyasha: Naraku’s kidnapped Rin so Sesshomaru will kill Inuyasha for him and Sesshomaru hates two things more than anything: being implied he likes humans, and being told what to do, so he tells Naraku to fuck off and goes to fuck him up. This being one of Naraku’s plans of course Sesshomaru doesn’t actually have a choice in this and the battle is a farce so he can spread bits of himself all over and absorb Sesshomaru like Super Buu did to Mystic Gohan. However Inuyasha’s new powerup lets him throw a wrench in that by breaking his barrier and Kagura has to pretend to fight him even though she just wants the doggy brothers to fuck Naraku up. Also Kohaku and Rin have a cute little interaction while he’s holding her captive and Kohaku sees Sango again which triggers his selective amnesia shit. Like you get the feeling Kagura probably would’ve been a better guard for Rin but Naraku only has so many named demons and Kanna isn’t allowed to do anything so might as well throw Kohaku in there to get bonus mental damage to Sango which only works out if you know they’re going to split up like that. But again, this is one of Naraku’s plans so it’s like 50% torture, 50% just trolling people to fuck with their heads.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Younger Toguro faked his death and ambushes Yusuke’s date with Keiko because the plot just doesn’t want this relationship to happen. Toguro pulls up on a motorcycle which is just kind of weird to see and he takes Yusuke somewhere, idk if they walked or if Yusuke got on the back of the motorcycle but Toguro either tossing his motorcycle away to go walk to a car park with Yusuke or Yusuke holding onto Toguro’s waist while they ride are equally hilarious images. Anyway Toguro demolishes the parking garage while still breaking all the rocks that are about to crush Yusuke just to literally flex on him how much stronger he was than when they fought. It’s weird because Toguro seems to kinda be mad about having to fake a loss but also respect Yusuke as a fighter which is strange since Kuwabara was the one that put in the effort for that fake win. That doesn’t matter though cause it’s DARK TOURNAMENT TIME BABY! One of the most iconic anime arcs ever is about to begin and it’s kinda funny they yadda yadda over a two month training arc like there’s like three minutes of Kuwabara training with Hiei and Kurama (where Kurama is the bad cop ironically enough) and Yusuke training with Genkai again before it’s like “Okay let’s just get to the tournament” like I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anime where they announce the tournament and then go sign up for it in the same episode, usually they milk that shit to really sell the preparation but they go with “Here’s a few scene and Yusuke’s a lot stronger now, take our word for it” which is a funny way to start one of the most epic tournament arcs ever.

Fate Zero: This is an episode I’ve heard a lot about, Iskandar, Saber and Gilgamesh fuck around drinking, the whole thing kinda reads like a fanfiction or a Ghost in the Shell episode since 75% of it is just talking. Gilgamesh is basically like “Yo, see that shit? All that shit is my shit, even if I don’t know what it is, it’s mine, so fuck off.” Iskandar’s like “What could the man who once conquered the whole world want? To conquer the whole world TWICE!” and Saber’s like “Hey my whole country got destroyed cause I was thrown into a role I was grossly underqualified for so, maybe not that?” and this pisses Iskandar off because her regret and martyrdom isolates and enfeebles her, he sees the downfall of nations as inevitable and leadership as something to form a community that emulates their leader, not to isolate the ruler as some lone pillar. Also Kirei’s Assassins jump them and Iskandar uses Unlimited Dude Works to stomp them all. Basically it’s the whole Ling/Bradley discussion from FMA but with more nuance, rulers have to benefit their people but they can’t be so dragged down by it that it destroys everyone involved once that pillar collapses. So Iskandar’s like “Yeah you have a really toxic way of looking at things Saber, I’m out. Stop beating yourself up about what’s already happened.” And Gilgamesh is like “No, let her keep beating herself up, this fun, I’m having fun.” So Saber has the admiration of the villain and the disdain of the hero which is an odd situation to be in.

Konosuba: So this one is an OVA or something I think so we don’t get closure on the whole “Kazuma is going to jail for horny and non-horny crimes alike” subplot but we do get a cute little story about Kazuma slowly getting murdered while basically doing the Higurashi Punishment Games on everyone. Ironically he’s not pervy enough for Darkness or Aqua because he’s just a voyeur for Darkness and Aqua he apparently has no sexual attraction to whatsoever. It’s kind of interesting because a few times one or two of them heavily imply they’d just straight up take his virginity if it’d help and he doesn’t go for it, I don’t know if that’s better or worse than what he actually does but once again the ‘principled scumbag’ archetype comes into play and it’s always fun to see what Kazuma will or won’t do, it tends to be just enough that we’re willing to see him punished but not enough to make us hate him, it’s a surprisingly good balance. Anyway, Darkness is boobs, Kazuma may be a lolicon for Megumin, Yunyun and Wiz are also boobs, Aqua is boner repellant and Kazuma dies anyway because the real wish was the friends we made along the way but real friends are the ones that murder you when you’re a scumbag… or something. On to Season 2 next week!

Sailor Moon Crystal: I’m kind of  loving the Evil Tuxedo Mask aesthetic, like the bishie face with the red eyes and the suit is really cool-looking. Anyway Tuxedo Mask is evil now and seduces Usagi all over again with the power of evil and video games. There’s probably a message here about girls falling for toxic boys but that’s the subtext over a lot of Sailor Moon that there’s lots of bullshit out to get teen girls and they shouldn’t waste their energy on it. Usagi’s kind of having an existential crisis over evil Tuxedo Mask and Luna’s feeling bad about calling him evil before and now that he actually is evil she doesn’t know what to do. Anyway he finds Zordon’s Tower by hypnotizing Makoto and we do the full transformation scene and speech for four of the scouts so you really know they were stretching the plot with this one. Usagi gets over herself but it’s too late, Evil Mask has the crystal and summons Queen Beryl by… flapping his cape, guess calling her was that easy, man you’d think they coulda just stomped these guys a long time ago but oh well.

Durarara!!: We leave off where Shizuo just crushed someone with a car door, good times. Celty takes the knife they had, believing it to be Saika but is so superstitious about it she doesn’t even see it’s a crappy Pampered Chef knife that’s like two years old max. Then Haruna, the reporter’s daughter reveals not only did she have a weird relationship with the teacher hitting on Anri but she’s also controlling all the Saika zombies around the city because to swords cutting people is loving them like how sharks bite things to see what they are. She sics her army on Anri and Shizuo separately and goes after her teacher who was just coming to sexually harass Anri again so… yay? Anyway Shizuo says fuck you to being in a polyamorous relationship with hundreds of sword zombies and Anri reveals that Haruna’s Saika isn’t the real Saika because HER Saika is the real Saika, we got katana school girls here folks, it really is an anime after all.

[fictionkinfessions]

@ The recent Rolo.

I am unsure if you are willing to hear this from a fictive and not a kin, but I did consider you a brother. Not a replacement. My emotions towards you were.. Difficult, at first. Angry and upset, but I did not despise you. I do care for you as a brother.

- Lelouch. (Fictive.)