#who in Britannia is he anyway?

[slashharken]

i appreciate the fact that lelouch is given this mysterious power by an equally mysterious seemingly-dead girl and then starts ordering about a dozen people to kill themselves within two seconds of having this power, complete with gay coded villain-worthy dramatic arm movements. there is absolutely no easing into it he’s diving into the deep end and he’s doing it with flair. 

[sassmill]

My father was born the same year this book was published and I know I’m named after my great aunt but I have to wonder if my grandmother read this book and ever considered my name for if she ever had a daughter because she liked that it was the protagonist’s name and also her sister’s name and she never did end up having a daughter but maybe she carried that thought with her until she found out my mother was pregnant and suggested it for her first granddaughter

[prezaki]

Marianne's Past

I went and read the Marianne vi Britannia chapter from Mamoru Iwasa's "Knights of the Round" short story anthology that was released as a bonus volume to his Code Geass R2 novel series.

I am 80% sure that this image that is often seen floating around online was made to promote this specific short story (or maybe accompany a serialized release?), but the illustration itself is not included in the tankobon release.

I'll provide summary of the short here here, but please be aware I am reading with machine TL and there may be errors even despite the best of my double-checking. If you want these details for, idk, academic reasons please go to the source text first!

Anyway this story rules, here it is. Italics mark direct quotes.

We start off strong with Charles thinking "I had no reservations about wasting my own life." Standing in the middle of a battlefield, he laments that Britannia is a dying country structured around a bloodthirsty elite. No dreams, no hope.

"Born into such a world, why would you desperately try and such a small thing as your own life?" he thinks, but then Marianne's voice cuts through to him. Marianne waltzes into the room where Charles stands surrounded by soldiers pointing guns at him. Injured, in her bloodstained white uniform, she fights her way through to him with unbelievable competence and elegance. She beheads all the men as the narration describes the beautiful glisten of her sword and the flow of her hair.

Marianne, the Knight of Six at this point, sheathes her sword and bends the knee before Charles, in the middle of corpses and with both of them splattered over and over in blood.

"I sincerely apologize for any trouble I've caused you by being late," she says.

Marianne tells Charles to evacuate, but he remains stoic and only looks at her arm, which is rendered unmoving by her injury.

"That wound. You've killed, Knight of Six. You've killed the Empire's most powerful knight, the Knight of One."

Only he would have been able to hurt her this badly, Charles reasons.

The Knight of One turns out to be the person who staged this rebellion in the first place and Marianne did indeed kill him before coming to find Charles.

We learn that Charles' reign is being questioned by conservatives because he was such a distant candidate for the throne originally and ascended mostly due to the past emperor's insistence.

"There is external trouble, and the internal anxieties are becoming more and more serious. This a country on the verge of ruin. Don't you agree? Knight of Six," says Charles who is feeling talkative.

Marianne disagrees. After all, she's here and so is Waldstein, still Knight of Five at that time. They won't let it come to that.

"Then, will you come to my side, Marianne?" It's the first time he's ever called her by name and not title and she blushes.

(Here we briefly learn Marianne had a normal military career before being promoted to the Knights of the Round.)

Before she can ask what he means, Marianne realizes the truth for herself and blushes harder. Through a whirlwind of emotion she finds unwavering determination within herself.

"I humbly accept your offer."

He looks at her with eyes that seem almost sad.

"You might regret it."

The narration suggests he may be trying to make sure she knows he isn't going to force her.

Marianne denies the possibility. She won't come to regret this, because as long as she's by his side she will prevent all causes for regret from occurring.

"So you're saying your own happiness depends solely on yourself." Charles finally smiles faintly. "You're bragging, Marianne. Show humility."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Amidst the smell of gunpowder and blood, a man's hand was slowly held out. The girl's hand rested on top of his, a little awkwardly, but with a certain intent.

We then learn that this rebellion, the Blood Crest Incident, took place May 6th 1997 so a bit less than three years before Lelouch is born. Most of the Knights of Rounds were murdered in it or executed for being complicit.

The narration spends some time discussing whether Charles should be seen as a good or bad ruler, coming out conflicted.

Arguments for being a good ruler: Britannia was on the verge of collapsing and being divided between the other two super-powers before Charles revived it. Arguments for being a bad ruler: ... well, about that bloody conquest though.

Fun side details: leader of Charles' political opponents was his uncle the Archduke Louis. Anyway, we skip forward 5 years, and the civil war and unrest has now ended.

Marianne is the 5th Empress. We are treated to her in the Aries villa garden, sparring with three young teen girls from the military academy: Cornelia, Beatrice and Nonette.

None of the girls stand a chance and Marianne harshly critiques their swordplay, but she ends with saying they're getting better and she's looking forward to the next vacation. She winks at them.

We briefly learn that Cornelia's mom comes from a pretty traditional family and wanted her to be more of a palace lady but Cornelia's own wish was to enter the military. Whenever she has time off from school she comes to the Aries villa to let Marianne train her.

As Marianne talks to the girls about their training later, a small kid looks out from under her skirt.

Barely 3year old Lelouch enters the scene! He's entered a shy phase and has to be coaxed to say hi to Cornelia. (But he does do a proper bow and greets her as 'elder sister'!)

Cornelia mentions that Lelouch's shy phase is the total opposite of Euphy who is currently following everyone around 24/7 and being SUPER social no matter the person.

Then, Bismarck comes in. He is holding a crying baby Nunnally and is locked in a vicious circle of trying to get her to stop crying by smiling but having a smile that is too scary to comfort the poor baby. Cornelia laughs at the Knight of One in such a predicament.

Of course, Marianne was the one who forced him to hold the baby despite all his protest that he, who's not even married, would be shit at it. She appears remorseless.

Marianne says she was trying to teach him the stress of a mother who has some maternity nerves due to taking care of two kids, and he's just like. Ma'am the nannies take care of your kids, there is no way you are that exhausted. (He does not say this out loud.)

Beatrice, who has many younger siblings, saves Bismarck and calms down baby Nunnally. Nonette, who likes throwing babies in the air, is banned from approaching the bappy.

Marianne tells the girls to watch the kids for a bit and walks off to talk with Bismarck about serious matters. There's a cute paragraph about the girls helping Lelouch do his first tumble roll and him being really happy about it.

Bismarck muses that not too long ago it would have been unthinkable for there to be the laughter of children in the palace. Marianne teases him that continuing to ensure this is possible is why he's here, isn't he?

Bismarck is Knight of One and also the ONLY Knight of Rounds at this moment. Marianne left the Knights after becoming Empress and the others all died due to the Blood Crest Incident. No new ones have been appointed since.

Bismarck tells Marianne that he thinks she is more suitable to be Knight of One than him.

Marianne doesn't entertain the thought. Bismarck wants more Knights appointed but Marianne says that Charles was ambivalent to the suggestion, being not really concerned about his own safety. Also there are no promising candidates right now.

Anyway, the main reason Bismarck dropped by is because the current Chinese Emperor passed away. This unrest and uncertainty has Charles setting his sides on border expansion and conquering more territory.

Marianne grows pensive. Is Charles good or evil? She's wondered often. We launch into a flashback:

“Your Majesty--do you aspire to be a conqueror?”

Marianne asked him one day, and Charles, laughed happily, which was unusual.

"Hmm...Is that what you see, Marianne?"

"Yes. At least in my eyes."

"Conqueror, huh? If that's what you want, that's not bad either," Charles muttered, an even more amused smile appearing on his handsome face.

When Marianne heard this, her expression turned grim.

“If you are serious about such things, I will refuse to touch His Majesty from now on. Please do not enter my sleeping quarters again. I will immediately decapitate myself.

"I thought you'd say that. But, Marianne, there's one thing you forgot to mention. In that case, you would only kill yourself after beheading this emperor, right? ”

......

"Is it untrue………?"

"Mhm."

"You are a person who never compromises on yourself. Just like me. Therefore, your wings are something that even this emperor cannot control, and the way you flap your wings nobly captures his heart." Marianne couldn't help but smile crookedly as the truth was whispered to her from an unexpected source. Seeing this, Charles also laughed.

"Marianne. My desire is not to conquer the world. It is to strip away the lies of the world. In the process, I hope for the world. I will rid the world of lies. That is my oath. ...But let me promise you this, Marianne. The inside of your heart that you never show to others. That emptiness that cannot be wiped away. Even that, I will make up for it.”

Marianne's expression returned to normal and she fell silent.

Then she said, "If His Majesty truly thinks so, I will create a 'vessel' for His Majesty. His oath, the power to approach it. The path - an army strong enough to conquer the world."

The emperor laughed loudly this time.

"That means you're joining forces with the worst sinner in history, Marianne. Your children and grandchildren will continue to be accused of being witches who assisted the most evil king in the world."

Marianne smiled too.

"Of course, I am prepared. Your Majesty does remember what I am called, right?"

"The Flash. It sounds good, but a flashing light burns people's eyes out. Moreover, your light is by no means the halo of a saint..."

"A bloody hero's death. I have never wielded a sword for anyone other than myself.

"Even when you protected me... that's why I wanted you. Would you like to see the world together, Marianne?''

“Even if it costs me my life.”

Since then she knew.

This person was planning to spread his wings even bigger someday.

Britannia, a continental country. However, this person cannot fit into such a small container. He has to involve many countries and puts the world under its control. Even if he was called a tyrant, or the king of Hades with the sickle of death. Moreover, his motivation was never ambition. Nor was it vigor. Instead it was because of the tears of blood that this person shed when he was young. To fulfill the vow he made. In that case, what she can do after deciding to walk with this person is--

With this cut-off phrase we go back to the present.

In the evening of her meeting with Bismarck, Marianne calls the three girls to meet her. She appears wearing her old Knights of Round uniform and tells them she won't be able to accompany them in their training for a while, so they should use this opportunity to come at her like they mean it because she also won't hold back. For the first time in their sparring, she is dual wielding which was her preferred mode of combat during her active days.

We skip the combat and go right to Marianne coming back out to talk to Bismarck. He remarks that this was quick. The girls stood no chance, though Beatrice held out slightly longer than the others. Marianne asserts that a Knight of the Emperor needs no naivety or kindness so she tried to knock that out of the girls here. She expects they will be changing bit by bit from here on out. Marianne and Bismarck begin to leave for the capital.

Marianne: "Then let's go, Bismarck. To help the king commit the worst crime in history."

Bismarck: "And so it's the return of the empress general."

As they are about to leave a nanny and a crying baby Lelouch stop them. Lelouch had a scary dream during nap time and needed to see his mommy. He had a dream his mother was going very far away.

Marianne tells Lelouch that she isn't going anywhere. But her eyes are cold, as if she was looking at a wooden dummy. Bismarck has seen this expression on her many times before - it's the face she makes before cutting somebody down on the battlefield.

Bismarck is so used to this expression signifying killing intent that his body almost intuitively moves to protect Lelouch - but Marianne just hugs him.

"Lelouch and Nunnally are mother's treasures. I will always be with them and protect them. Forever and ever."

In her heart, Marianne adds: 'However, this is only true so long as you do not stand in the way of he and I.' She suddenly finds baby Nunnally staring at her - she smiles, and Nunnally suddenly trembles as if frightened.

All she can do is stare at her mother's smiling face.

Six months later the Britannian Empire starts its massive expansion campaign, with Marianne The Flash serving as Charles' greatest support.

[fictional-actors-bracket]

Round 2a.6

Propaganda under the cut:

Kniroun: "OH BOY. A fictional play based on a fictional video game series that takes Arthurian Mythology, shakes it around ‘til it’s a totally unique telling, and turns it into a full-fledged jrpg? Sign me up!!

I think there’s a lot to say about this play, but I’ll try to keep it simple; character-wise, the protagonist (Lancelot) is one character’s absolute dream role that he never knew he needed, being a huge fan of the original game series (understatement), and in the overall story it’s one of the most obvious showcases of how the in-universe theater company has grown, both in terms of acting and in terms of budget!

(Bonus points: some of the names associated with kniroun in-universe heavily imply that the game series is this universe’s Dragon Quest, which is extra points in the submitter’s book.)"

"Knights of Round (Kniroun in Japanese, KotR in English) is an RPG game series created by Hoshii Yoichi and developed by End Links. As of now, there are 9 installments in the series (I to IX), with the 10th game being highly anticipated by many fans. The series has been going on for almost 2 decades. Set in medieval Britannia, you play as Lancelot, a noble knight server under King Arthur, and are usually accompanied by the fairy Gwen. The characters in this game are inspired by characters in the Arthurian mythos.

Specifically, Knights of Round IV: The Stage is a stage adaptation of the fourth Kniroun game (which is chronologically the first game, a la Star Wars). Which, yes, means this is a stageplay of a game in a game. And there's also a real life stage play adaptation of the game (A3!), so there's a stageplay of a stageplay of a game in a game. Crazy. Anyway, actual propaganda time.

Kniroun IV: The Stage (hereafter referred to as Kniroun IV) is the lead play of character Itaru Chigasaki. Now, the focus is also on the events that surround it. In universe, the creator of the Kniroun series is super choosy about adaptations. However, they've decided to allow Mankai Company, an as of yet relatively unknown theater troupe, perform it. Why, you ask? WELL, THE HEAD OF THE PR TEAM IS ITARU'S EX. I WISH I WAS MAKING THIS UP. THEY HAD A DRAMATIC AND TRAUMATIC FALLING-OUT IN HIGH SCHOOL WHICH LEFT ITARU UNABLE TO FORM CLOSE INTERPERSONAL BONDS FOR YEARS. AND THEN HERE HE COMES, THE BASTARD, COMING TO THE THEATER TROUPE THAT ITARU'S PART OF, OFFERING THE CHANCE OF KNIROUN STAGE TO HIM KNOWING FULL WELL THAT ITARU WILL TAKE THE OFFER AND TAKE THE LEAD. YOU'VE HEARD OF CALLING YOUR EX, THIS IS LITERALLY WORSE.

Anyway, Kniroun IV is a super fun fantasy play. You follow Lancelot, and he's accompanied by Gwen. And since you can't see Gwen in the Kniroun games, she's represented by a cute little light. Lancelot has a fruity little camaraderie with Gawain, which kind of falls apart for a while because Merlin is evil and brainwashed King Arthur and Gawain swore himself to King Arthur but Lancelot cares more about the fairies who raised him so they're kind of on opposing sides, and also Gawain's little brother kind of took a hit for Lancelot and now he's dead and Gawain super blames him for that. Anyway, they're fucking TERRIBLE.

There's cool swordfighting scenes, and hot evil wizards, and hot knights, literally what's not to love!!!"

[Additional propaganda]

Nightless Night: [No propaganda submitted]

[duchessdepolignaca03]

Early tags from my loves @onthewaytosomewhere and @thinkof-england woke me up and got me all excited. So here’s something from my Royally Big Bang fic, Odalisque!

King Alexander is finally turning towards him again, holding out his hands for Henry to take. Henry does so, and Alexander gently guides him back up to his feet. The public portion of the ceremony is over, Henry realizes and he flushes with hot anticipation knowing what is going to happen next. Together, they step forward on the dais, following the Priest through a passageway on the other side of the high altar. The murmuring of the crowd reaches a crescendo then goes vanishingly quiet as the door shuts behind them.

The lights in the antechamber are dim and they are alone together for the first time.

He turns to King Alexander and is barely able to hold back a smile. Alexander looks feral, hands clasped in front of him as he considers Henry. With his stance and the way he looks at Henry like he wants to devour him, Alexander is telegraphing that he simply wants to tear Henry’s veil and clothes off, but that he is mindful of the ceremony and their responsibility to complete it.

Henry thinks if Alex is God then he must have the right to do whatever he would like, rituals be damned. But he is also enjoying simply being observed by King Alexander this way, anticipation thrumming through the both of them as they spend the last minutes - or possibly even seconds - in which Henry is shielded from Alexander’s view.

Then their happiness can truly begin.

No pressure tags for my dears @taste-thewaste @zwiazdziarka @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @priincebutt @suseagull04 @sparklepocalypse @agostobuwan @tailsbeth-writes @firenati0n @myheartalivewrites @thesleepyskipper and anyone else who might want to take advantage of this open tag!

I’m off on vacation on Thursday, and my dream of posting a new chapter of Rule Britannia before then has died. *sniff* But please tag me in all the things anyway!

[alicent-vi-britannia]

Lelouch vi Britannia, the Prometheus of Japanese animation

Today I want to upload an analysis about Lelouch that I had saved for a long time. This analysis is very special to me because it was a university essay (I wrote it in 2021 and it was a way to reconnect with this series since I didn't want to know anything about it after I was destroyed by the canon ending, I was disappointed by the alternative universe and the fandom disgusted me). I got a good grade, but it wasn't the best and it made me very sad because I worked hard and wrote that essay with a lot of love.

Anyway, the professor was terrible and I hated with every cell of my being every one of her classes and her way of teaching (some people shouldn't be teachers), so I don't care that I gave her a spoiler for one of the best endings from the television (maybe some of you will say that she didn't give me a higher grade because of the prejudice against Japanese animation and that could be, although it would be ironic because she said that it was allowed to choose anime characters as long as we explained to her everything with luxury detail and that's what I did.)

The essay exercise consisted of choosing a fictional character and explaining what archetype it was based on. What is an archetype? They are expressions of the collective unconscious or psychic elaborations that are part of the universal common language and that help in the composition of stories. In Jungian terms, Lelouch is a "Trickster" that mythologist Campbell defines as characters who violate the principles of the natural order, destroy life as we know it and restore it as a new dynamic. Lelouch also fits the Shadow archetype with respect to Suzaku, who is the Hero archetype, since Lelouch, in a way, represents everything that he represses about himself. I decided to analyze Lelouch starting from the figure of Prometheus because I felt that I was going to do a more complete analysis within the limit of extension that I had. If you notice that I'm being a little too explanatory in some parts or I don't stop to delve into others, keep in mind that it is because the essay was directed to someone who has never seen Code Geass in her life. With that said, here we go.

"It was 2006 when one of the most important Japanese animated series in the world premiered: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. The story is about Lelouch vi Britannia, the seventeenth prince of the Holy Empire of Britannia, who at his young age was sent to Japan as a political hostage with his sister after rebuking his father, the Emperor, for failing to protect his family during an attack that left his mother dead and his sister paralyzed and blind. The series begins ten years after the tragedy when Britannia has already colonized three quarters of the world, including Japan, which is renamed Area 11. It's then that Lelouch obtains Geass, a mystical power that will allow him to dominate the will of the others, and with it he will adopt the alter ego of Zero, a masked vigilante, and will lead a rebellion in order to find answers for the murder of his mother and to give a kind world to his sister - and, in the process, destroy the empire who repudiated him. Stories about rebellions have been told many times. In his book The Rebel Man, Albert Camus observed that man rises up against the order that oppresses him when the situation has lasted so long that it is unsustainable. But the feeling of insurrection, although it is an awareness, arises from the archetypes that serve as a guide in times of crisis for societies and establish patterns for the characters in the stories we like. That being so, what archetype do we identify in Lelouch? The one from Prometheus. In this work, we will unravel Lelouch through this archetype.

The myth of Prometheus is of vast symbolic richness. Hence it lends itself to inexhaustible reinterpretations and is one of the most reworked myths. In Prometheus: myth and tragedy, Carlos García Gual traces the different materializations of Prometheus throughout the ages and declares: "all these Prometheans (...) are united by the same resistance, the same insurrection, the same voluntary suffering" (p .194). So Prometheus transcends as a benevolent rogue who disobeys the commands of Zeus in favor of humanity, emphasizing values of rebellion and progress. However, this is far from Lelouch because, while it is true that Area 11 is under the yoke of Britannia, it is not driven by a genuine desire to free the Elevens (the colonists of Area 11), but by revenge and resentment, and it disguises its selfish reasons with intentions altruistic. He does, at least initially, as, at a turning point in the second season, Lelouch realizes that his struggle extends beyond him and his sister. He also fights for the people he loves and the humanity. In this sense, we can say that Lelouch embodies the negative expression of the archetype and this, in turn, makes him similar to another mythical figure: Lucifer. Like Lelouch, Lucifer questions the supreme power of God and incites the angels to oppose him by masking his personal motivations. When the rebellion fails, he hatches a plan to corrupt man in order to get revenge on God. And the similarities don't end there. Lelouch and Lucifer were exiled and as a result they harbor a deep hatred against their creators - in God, in the Emperor of Britannia and even in Zeus we can identify the archetype of the Father. Lelouch and Satan, additionally, are manipulators and liars. Both resort to rhetoric to get what they want from others and, like evil itself, they are seductive and charismatic. We see how Lucifer deceived Eve and how Lelouch pretends to love Rolo as his brother when he is really using him. To make it more evident, in the final stretch of the series, the other characters distinguish Lelouch as "Demon Emperor" in allusion to his evil. It may seem like we are getting off topic; however, the opposite is true. Prometheus and Lucifer are more similar than it seems at first glance. In fact, Milton's Satan drinks from Prometheus and, apart from that, emerged in the Baroque, a movement that preceded Romanticism, which had an intense affinity with Prometheus. Thus, Satan, Lelouch and Prometheus have their origin in the fact that they were part of the order that they challenge and stand out for their powerful nature. Lucifer was an angel at the service of God; Prometheus was a titan with the prophetic gift who helped Zeus during the titanomachy and Lelouch was the son of the Emperor (plus he possesses mystical power and genius intellect). And, above all, all three are essentially characterized by their cunning.

Outside of his love for the human race, Prometheus is still a scoundrel who used tricks to get his way. Hesiod presents him as a challenger to the omnipotence and omnipresence of Zeus in the Theogony, highlighting his negative traits (because his attitude is contrary to the purposes of Zeus, who wants everything good). The myth of Mecona demonstrates this since Prometheus mocked the father of the gods with malicious art with the distribution of the parts of the sacrificed bull, knowing that he would choose the most appetizing one. Here Prometheus is transgressing the sacrifice between men and gods [here I open a parenthesis to tell my readers who aren't familiar with Greek mythology nor are they mythologists that the myth of Macona is the explanation and meaning that the Greeks gave to their sacrificial rituals and if we analyze it carefully, you will see that the Prometheus' trick benefited humanity since it was established that humans could eat the meat and that the burned bones would be the sacrifice for the gods; if it had been the other way around, human would have chewed the bones as if they were dogs and the gods would have eaten the meat because that was what Zeus, who "knows what is good for man", wanted (f*ck you Zeus).] Lelouch does something similar in the eighth episode of the second season. The vicereine of Area 11 decides to restore the Administrative Zone of Japan, which is a conceptual State created with the aim of returning the rights and privileges to the Elevens that were previously denied to them as colonial powers, and establishes a dialogue with Zero (Lelouch). He accepts, on behalf of the Elevens, on the condition that "Zero" be exiled and, in this way, they close the agreement. On the day of the inauguration, Lelouch, his army and the Elevens attend the ceremony dressed as Zero, forcing Britannia to let all the Zeros go and, in turn, preventing the reduction of support for his rebel group and the Elevens are subordinated to a puppet State. This situation is one of many in which Lelouch uses his cunning to benefit the people (and his own plans).

Prometheus' other trick is the theft of fire. Against the will of Zeus, Prometheus steals the fire from the gods and gives it to men. The myth of the creation of humanity tells that Prometheus decided to give man fire to elevate him to a higher category than the animal and guarantee his survival; but what does fire symbolize in this context? David Fontana answers, in The Secret Language of Symbols, that it is "a symbol of the wisdom that differentiates men from gods" (p.111). Fire is the light that allows us to see through the shadows. It's the knowledge that constitutes the central axis in the progress of civilizations. And isn't knowledge what Lucifer offers to man in Genesis? Just in case you have any doubts, the etymology reveals it: Lucifer comes from Latin and is made up of lux (light) and ferre (carry). Therefore, Lucifer means "bringer of light." Several literary critics will compare Lucifer to Prometheus, among other aspects, for this. Paolo Astorgo, in his essay "The myth of Prometheus and human knowledge", points out in relation to this: "[Prometheus] favors humanity by providing it with certain means by which it not only systematizes its activities more quickly (... ), but it creates the first ideas about technology” (para. 5). With fire, man can create weapons and instruments. For this reason, Astorgo talks about technological advancement and this brings us back to Code Geass. In the preamble to the first episode they explain to us that Britannia conquered Japan (and many other nations) because they had "Knightmares" at their disposal, which are large armed robots. No matter how hard the Japanese tried to get their land back, they were always outmatched. It's Lelouch who obtains several Knightmares and bestows them on the rebels. Thanks to its resources and tricks, the group establishes itself as a kind of organization that soon gains the sympathy of the people and the patronage of the Japanese plutocrats. Under Lelouch's leadership, the organization grows exponentially, becoming an army that rivals that of Britannia and, consequently, is capable of fighting for the freedom of Japan. Astorgo shows that men find themselves in the need to depend on the divinities because they have fire that they also use to subdue them. By giving them fire, Prometheus not only makes man rebel against the oppressive divinities, he also provides him with tools to free himself from them. Likewise, Lelouch provides the Elevens with the same power with which Britannia bends them to become independent. And, to this, Astorgo adds: "This almost dialectical relationship God-Humanity, revolves in the myth as a constant closely linked to the fact of necessity and rebellion, which is what regularizes all the acts of “deception” that Prometheus uses before Zeus. , to steal power, with the sole objective of providing freedom to humanity" (para. 13). Here one of the values that Prometheus represents comes into play: freedom.

Satan, Prometheus and Lelouch affirm themselves as rebels against the tyranny of the powerful, but humanity suffers the consequences. Adam and Eve are expelled from Paradise; Zeus takes fire from man and grants him a new evil, and in his obsession with revenge, Lelouch unintentionally drags down innocent lives and his loved ones. But while Lucifer is apathetic; Lelouch and Prometheus suffer. In his work "Prometheus: Human Existence in Greek Interpretation", Karl Kerényi says that the nature of this archetype pushes the Prometheans to think deviously, which brings misfortune for humanity and for themselves. He alleges: “in their devious (ankyios) way of thinking (…) they are caught in their own web (ankyie): (…). And all kinds of devious paths correspond to it, from lies and deceptions to the most ingenious inventions, whose precondition, however, is always representative of a lack in the way of existing of the clever" (p.45). This is the imperfection that Kerényi reiterates throughout the text. Even though they are "titanic", Lelouch and Prometheus are imperfect because they suffer and that pain humanizes them. From there, Kerényi stipulates that suffering is part of the human condition. Lelouch, in particular, is aware of the damage that his actions have on those close to him and the innocent and lives with remorse. An example is episode thirteen of the first season: the father of one of his love interests dies due to a landslide that he causes in a confrontation with Britannia. Lelouch never forgave himself. Of course, if there was an event whose guilt always tormented him, it was the massacre of the Administrative Zone of Japan, of which he was the indirect author. The sum of the tragedies in his life leads Lelouch towards the positive side of him as an archetype and, eventually, makes him make the decision to pay for his sins, but not before leaving behind him a kind world as he had proposed.

Both Prometheus and Lelouch end up succumbing to divine justice for their misdeeds. Prometheus is tied with strong chains to a rock where an eagle devours his liver and remains there for a long time until Heracles appears and shoots the animal. Lelouch's punishment, on the other hand, takes the form of the Zero Requiem; which is a plan that he develops with Suzaku, his best friend, with the aim of ending all wars and ushering in an era of peace and, in unison, answering for their crimes. After killing the Emperor and usurping the throne, Lelouch quells the insurrections against him, imposes a cruel dictatorship and establishes himself as the enemy of the world by kidnapping the leaders of the United Nations Federation (a coalition of states equivalent to the ONU), which forces the world to confront him, giving way to a war that culminates in Lelouch's victory. During the public execution of the fallen, Suzaku, dressed as Zero, appears and kills Lelouch. With his death, Lelouch accepts his punishment and takes all the hatred with him, leaving a peaceful world. Kerényi stops to analyze the tetralogy of tragedies dedicated to Prometheus by Aeschylus and observes that the cunning titan's hardships will not cease until a divinity takes charge, since Prometheus' suffering is inherent to existence. In such circumstances one could speak of a "redemption." Who replaces Prometheus is Chiron, since longed to die after being wounded by a poisoned arrow. In Lelouch's case it is Suzaku. Suzaku is a knight in the service of Britannia. Like Lelouch, he aspires to a better world, only he doesn't believe a rebellion is the key. In him we recognize, as in Heracles, the archetype of the hero. And he, like Chiron, wanted to die. However, in the end, Lelouch, who longed to live with his sister, is the one who dies and he, who wanted to die in order to purge his guilt, is the one who lives at the cost of giving up his own happiness for the good of humanity by existing. just like Zero. Thus, the two friends atone for his sins and Lelouch, who proclaimed himself as the Messiah, achieves his redemption by becoming what he preached so much (although a few know that). There is no doubt that this sacrifice for love of humanity makes us think of Jesus Christ.

Literary critics also often compare him to Prometheus and, by extension, we could compare him to Lelouch. The three are united by their closeness to men, for whom they endure a via crucis and the three are saviors of humanity. And this brings us back to Joseph Campbell's words about the definition of "hero." In simple terms, a hero is one who gives his life for something greater than himself or different from him. It is likely that there will be those who resist considering Christ as a hero. Lelouch, for his part, certainly falls within the category of tragic hero. Regarding Prometheus, García Gual attributes his heroic character to Aeschylus stating that it was his work that immortalized in tragedy for posterity the myth of an old trickster.

Either way, Lelouch is an excellent example that archetypes are rooted in the collective imagination and are binary, universal, and ahistorical in nature. Despite the enormous time gap and the difference between cultures, the archetypes represent the same values that they once had and are still capable of continuing to captivate us with wonderful narratives that have a lot to teach us."

And, well, that's how I concluded my essay. The truth is, I think I could have gone deeper since the approach has enough potential to develop a thesis, but I couldn't go on for five pages and the proffesor complained that some of my classmates decided to ignore the rule and, therefore, exceed the limit. It seems that she is one of those proffesors who doesn't want to read shit (did I mention that I despise her?). So I apologize for so little and I will allow you to hate me for this horrible English (I didn't put the quotes in their original language and then translate them, I know, I deserve you to hate me for that too).

But, if you don't hate me and you liked my work, I invite you to give me a like. If you've never thought about what archetype Lelouch is based on, give me a like. If you found the association between Jesus Christ, Satan, Prometheus and Lelouch fascinating, give me a like. If my essay made you think, give me a like. If you want to make me happy or would like my humble essay to be more widely disseminated, share it. This way I will take into account that you like me to analyze Code Geass characters through archetypes and I can bring more similar content. I would like to talk soon about a part of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey in particular that is very easy to identify in Lelouch's journey (how the hell can Lelouch be an antihero, if he has the word HERO tattooed all over his forehead?). Well, there are a lot of things I want to discuss! It's just that my life and time are not enough for me to do everything I want. Anyway, have a nice night and don't forget to eat meat to piss off Zeus.

[bunji-enthusiast]

Could you do poly Tristan and Lancelot hc with a fem s/o?

Haha, hope this was okay anon! It’s always nice to write for either of them to be honest.

Its the wholesomeness I got in spades with these two!

Individually they are very great partners on their own, but both of them? Oh wow, you got real lucky! You are the most well-protected girl in the expanse of Britannia against any opponent. They can be a bit of clashing in terms of personality, but you can tell they always mean well for not just for yourself, but each other too. It's a working circle the three of you had managed, albeit perfectly.

Lancelot is full of worries most of the time, and he worries a lot. Even if he doesn't express it, he's come to care way too much about you and Tristan alike. You both stole a place in his heart and won't move out, and that almost scares him.

Tristan sometimes is stuck between a rock and hard-place, usually trying to be the one to amend things when going through bouts of agreements or difficulties that brought out very big emotions. But still, he could understand too, the idea that you could just suddenly lose your life and leave the other two in the process can be rather terrifying.

Life with them can tend to either swing from complete peace or complete and utter chaos, you can never truly tell what to expect. But that was only part of it, and you still chose to stick with them regardless.

Bathing together is a complete and utter rarity, many do it privately for very valid reasons. But in spa's? It is very much going to be all three of you, it's nice to be content and speak about the simple things of life.

Regardless if you are as about as strong as they are, or even weaker, they will both still very much express worry over you.

Lot's of private and domestic moments, especially during cuddle sessions. You're mostly kind of squeezed in between them or even other times your spooning Tristan or Lancelot from behind while the former holds the other.

Tristan is mainly the wounds taking care of wounds, he always insist anyway, and you couldn't say otherwise - having goddess powers really did come in handy often. Yet it was the intimacy of it whenever you or Lancelot would do it for any or all three of you, it was personal, but refreshing in a way.

Between the three of you, silent rage is truly something personal if either of you got injured. You all vow for each other and protect each other, so god help the person that injured even you, Lancelot or Tristan. If it's you alone that would have gotten injured, it's two very angry and powerful boys that the opponent would have to deal with.

Your smile and laughter? Absolutely knocks them both out (not literally), its the way the lines are so ingrained, the way the light frames your face perfectly when you smile and throw your head back to laugh. Its in the way that you have stolen their hearts so completely that they look at you like you're everything to them.

When you have your days of peace, without carrying out duties or patrol, you have dates. Which most of the time you usually suggest or bring up, other times it would be Tristan marking up the idea. However, whoever actually plans is usually a flip of coin. Though between the three of you, it's surprisingly Lancelot who plans the best kinds of dates and takes both of you into consideration about what you're comfortable with.

Hand-holding, absolutely. While it is rare for Lancelot to actually take your hand or his, he does admire it from a safe distance when you and Tristan hold hands. but when it happens to be hand-holding with him, you quite literally have to hold back the urge to scream. He's an absolute dork when this happens, and it's frankly adorable.

Sometimes, though also rare, you accidentally end up mix-matching clothes. Tristan could have your shirt, and you could have one of Lancelot's many sweatshirts (listen I know he constantly wears that outfit, which he looks good in but still).

Practice and training lessons together! Perfectly ordered in actions, and the clashing of swords and magic. usually is more so one on one, but when the three of you all together want to really practice and work at it, you all train and go against each other.

Lancelot is protective of you both, but he knows better to overstep, he's got manners after all. He just can't help but worry at times if there is some bad even that is occurring, he worries about both of you and your health. Eventually breaths thats sigh of relief when he hears one or the other's mind, through the ability of his heart-reading.

In the dense sparseness of the castle hallways, you could be seen with Tristan, just simply having a delight by dancing together. There is another pair of eyes watching you thoughtfully, not a sight he expected to wake up to and find, but nonetheless a welcome one.

The shimmering rays of the sun dawned on the still-awakening land, leaving the bustling liveliness of Liones to begin airing. Filling each and every sleeping person who begins their day with a renewed sense of emotions and a new motivation to take on the day, be it quick or sluggish. Particularly in this case, it was you and Tristan who'd awoken way earlier then Lancelot had. This was a rare case, but either of you didn't want to awaken the sleeping wild prince. So the two of you had opted to simply leave him alone and not disturb his sleep.

You chuckled as you pulled along the beautiful white-haired nephilim, who was questioning at each turn where you were taking him too. You just told him to be patient and wait till you had gotten to your desired destination. Which didn't take very long to reach fortunately.

Tentatively letting go of your hold on his wrist, you stepped into the empty yet large room. it was the dining hall only used for balls and the celebrations of birthdays alike. Tristan slowed down to a stop, watching your movements as you walked around, hearing the bountiful echos of your footstep clack against the cold-hard stone. A small smile tugged on his lips, such a simple act, yet he couldn't help but find the beauty of the chastity in it all.

Like the haunting howls of a weeping ghost, yet it was such a wonderful and tearful cry. With all the stories interwoven, and one could tell, with the scratches indented into stone from numerous footsteps made in the vast expanse of the space. One could tell, he could tell, that it wasn't the ordinary everyday thing to set off such a wonderful morning.

"What'd you bring me here for?" He asked, whence finally daring to break the uniqueness of the silence, though he was dearly endowed in wanting it to last even longer. You turned your head, the flowing locks of your hair following along. Just a small smile, a barely noticeable grin as you clasped your hands tightly behind your back.

The windows were wide, and towering, leaving the light to spill in. Casting such an ethereal glow upon the colors that made up your appearance, Tristan almost seemed to be ashamed for allowing himself to set eyes upon such a sight.

It was certainly a far cry from what he was used to, and he wasn't sure if he was prepared for it. But akin to obstacles, he would push through it and succeed.

"I was wondering," You began, walking forward toward the prince of Liones. "If you wanted to share a dance?"

"A dance?" His eyes widened, though not in disgust or reprise. It was something else entirely, you weren't sure.

You let out a hum of affirmation, cheeks colored bashfully.

"I-I uh," he stammered, before shaking his head and pulling himself together. "That sounds nice, but i'm kinda a bad dancer though." He laughed, scratching the back of his head, cheeks dusted pink with embarrassment. Oh it was a wonderful, vociferous sight to see such a bashful expression on the prince.

You had contemplated your thoughts for a moment, and the current situation of circumstances. But you decided once and for all--

"Come on anyway!" You grinned, holding out your hand for him to take. "I'll help you, promise."

He seems to be turning within himself, eyes swimming with stout doubt. One blue, one green, both colors you had almost envied him for being born with. They fit him so perfectly, like a glove. You'd stare at them for eternity if you could, for it was in eternity that you had been born with the blessing to encounter not just him, but the grumpy blonde prince as well.

It was that you had been snapped out of your daydream that Tristan took your hand, so you respond immediately, pulling him close and swimmingly performing ornate moves, and even the silliest ones. Causing to elicit laughter from both of you when either of you mess up a move.

One stamp on the foot or on the other.

"Ow!" You wince, and Tristan's expression immediately turn to concern as an apology spills out of his mouth.

"Sorry, sorry!" He said, almost frowning as he held your waist, stepping somewhat backward as he waited for you to re-adjust yourself. Tristan didn't mean to make another mistake again.

You shook your head with a giggle, pulling him close again, and holding both his hands, removing them from your waist. "I like this, it's nice compared to the stuffy royal ball kind of dancing."

His brows turned, A small smile tugging at his lips, "Oddly specific, don't you think?" You shrugged your shoulders, a knowing expression betraying the notion.

Lancelot let out a groan, noticing immediately that two bodies of warmth had disappeared from the bed. He shifts onto his elbows, raising his brows in confusion as his sight had been wrought with bleariness. He got up, shifting the blankets, but he had folded them back rather neatly. His eyes shifting, somewhat sensing the way you two had left the room. Didn't even bother to wake him up as well, he almost groans bitterly at the thought, but it was immediately replaced with some appreciation for being allowed to sleep longer.

So he finally got up, and began his quest of finding the two of you.

Which honestly didn't take very long, considering the laughter and the barely noticeable echo of steps that seemed to repeated, song and dance, he didn't even need to use his ability to read thoughts. Lancelot wasn't necessarily sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't you and Tristan dancing together.

He let out a low hum as he encountered the sight, it was somehow in a way, refreshing. It tugged at his heartstring in a way he didn't realize they could be, as he leaned against the large doorway, hands in the comfort of his pockets.

Lancelot could notice the clear smile on your face, and Tristan's face. It was a certain he was almost sure he didn't deserve to lay his eyes on. But he was content, nonetheless in drinking in the sight of beauty and laughter.

The drawled scent of petrichor and the comforting air drafted the once musty hallways, spilling in from the vast expanse of the empty ballroom naught for the two bodies making it sing so lively. It was one spin, then another step then two steps, that he was sure that he was so, so lucky to find such a sight.

Lancelot's head was tilted in thought, the energy imbuing him with a sense of rejuvenation he never had felt before, the assurance of living as long as your partners. The excitement of memories to come, and surely he was sorely going to imbed this to memory for as-long as he lived, and Lancelot sure as hell didn't mind the thought of that.

"You're pretty silly sometimes, I swear Tristan," You comment, sticking out your tongue as you looked at him, quite a wide grin.

The whiter-haired prince shook his head at your remark, letting out a small scoff as he pulled you close. Enrapturing you in a surprise hug, then pulled back.

"I believe you are... sillier than I." He punctuates with a goofy expression, as he pats your head, and you just smile, features softening almost impossibly.

"Could be me, but there's enough of that goin' around."

You and Tristan's heads had turned to the source of the voice, finding Lancelot to be the source. You jumped in surprise, almost stammering, "What? how long have you been there?"

"Long enough to see you two prancing around." He shot back, you could almost see the expression of fatigue slowly wearing out from existence on his face, you assume he had recently awoken.

Tristan just laughs, crossing his arms, "You wanna join us? It's pretty fun." He said, a remarkably kind smile on his own face. Your eyes flit between him and Lancelot, and yet then, only you and Tristan burst out in laughter. While the blonde just scoffed, pressing forward to join you both in the room.

But, he really couldn't deny it, always enjoyed the sights of beauty.

[teablogreal]

Code Geass: Roze of the Recapture Episode 1 thoughts

Okay so like, although I wasn't big on Akito the Exiled or the creative choices made with the compilation films, I was actually really looking forwards to this one. Unlike most people, I genuinely don't mind them doing more with Code Geass. Like we have the og anime just there, its out and people can watch it (except they cant because r2 is jailed on crunchyroll auughhhhh). They even made it clear that the new Code Geass stuff from Akito onwards are in their own continuity. Genuinely I don't mind them just expanding more on their already established concepts, though I do have a preference for when they do newer things with them. So like, yeah. Roze of the Recapture is my favorite thing to come from this series in a good while.

So for those who don't know, Roze of the Recapture is a sequel not to the original series, but instead the compilation films that recapped the original series with minor changes to the events that took place in there. It also follows up on the corresponding movie that conveyed what happened afterwards, but basically all you need to know is that after Resurrection, we have a 5 year timeskip. There is a new cast of characters who so far don't tread over where the original cast stood, however they do pay homage and parallel some of the characters from the original series. Honestly, I think this is the only part that has me worried, as I'd love to see them play around more with new concepts. However I feel like after the end of the first episode, those concerns are pretty much quelled.

Okay so I'm not gonna skirt around the spoilers any further beyond this point.

Okay. I want to talk about that fucking twist??? Because like??????????? I did not fucking see that one coming but its such a fucking great way differentiate your protagonist from just being lelouch again while also playing with parallels. We effectively have somebody who's a figure of importance who is thought to be dead, however lives on to take revenge on Britannia as they have wronged this person. Key difference is that our character kinda strays away from this idea. I know a lot of people here are referring to Roze/Sakuya as our first female protag for a code geass anime and I'm sure thats probably what they're going for. However my brain just sees Sakuya being legally declared dead and then proceeding to taking the identity of not an entirely different girl, but rather this whimsical boy twink named Roze. Idk, kinda transmasc swag but also I absolutely love how we've all been played for fools prior to release. Like all the marketing had led us to believe this was going to be a story about two brothers doing shit but WOW did they have everybody fooled (including me). A shame that the trailers for the later movies kinda spoil this twist but I will fight to keep this a secret as much as possible from my friends until I get them to watch this.

Roze as a whole is a lot of fun as a character, big twist aside. I love how he feels a lot more like a trickster compared to Lelouch. Even though Lelouch had a bit of emphasis on him playing with people (the orange incident comes to mind), Roze steps that up with his geass. I'm so glad that its not just Lelouch's geass again. They do something fun with it, like conceptually after thinking about it for a while its actually crueler than Lelouch's geass. Theoretically Roze could force you into doing something without brainwashing you, you could do those things while being entirely conscious. If you say no? Then whatever you're told to do otherwise happens no matter what. I think thats just insane, it really opens the doors for so many things to be done with it in the same way that we saw Lelouch's geass being used to torment Suzaku.

Anyways I think its really funny how people are realizing this one has Ichiro Okouchi coming back to write for it not through the writing returning to its unsubtle "no shits given" attitude from the original series, but by them having yet another chess game that failed to understand the rules of chess. Its a tradition at this point.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Arthur and anglo saxon poetry fucks me up. We call it the Dark Ages because of a dearth of sources, but we have a melancholy poem describing the ruins of Aqua Sulis, or Bath, in the centuries after the Roman Collapse. I might make this into a fic someday, but Arthur is only a boy half-grown and roaming through the anglo-saxon heptarchy, a world he still can't quite wrap his head around, Cumbrian, a Celtic language, still first to cross his lips as he stares up at a ruined city. But more and more of what will one day be English rolling around in his mind, two languages with so few loan words there is nothing in English we can use to construct his mother tongue. Walking through a city, what was once a real and robust city and now lays dead and decaying, he wonders.

Who's bones are these broken beams? His own? Were he and Alasdair and Rhys something once called Britannia, now faded? Are they Rome's, who died thousands of miles away in a place Arthur hasn't seen for centuries? His mother's? She ruled and represented nebulous things, these borders shifting and flexing. Rome made a desert and called it peace, but she ruled it anyway, lady of the waters and the north. Maybe. He's unsure. He touches fallen tile and broken stone and knows what he knew when she drew her last. The end of a world that began failing long before. He'll never be able to sort the losses out; the words he may have once used to describe them are dead and gone by the time there are experts enough to study it. All that once made sense has been forgotten under the weight of a thousand years.

This masonry is wondrous; fates broke it courtyard pavements were smashed; the work of giants is decaying. Roofs are fallen, ruinous towers, the frosty gate with frost on cement is ravaged, chipped roofs are torn, fallen, undermined by old age. The grasp of the earth possesses the mighty builders, perished and fallen, the hard grasp of earth, until a hundred generations of people have departed. Often this wall, lichen-grey and stained with red, experienced one reign after another, remained standing under storms; the high wide gate has collapsed.

and

Far and wide the slain perished, days of pestilence came, death took all the brave men away their places of war became deserted places, the city decayed. The rebuilders perished, the armies to earth. And so these buildings grow desolate, and this red-curved roof parts from its tiles of the ceiling-vault. The ruin has fallen to the ground broken into mounds, where at one time many a warrior, joyous and ornamented with gold-bright splendour, proud and flushed with wine shone in war-trappings; looked at treasure, at silver, at precious stones, at wealth, at prosperity, at jewellery, at this bright castle of a broad kingdom.

[doueverwonder]

so anyway Germania and Scandia were best friends who got married bc of unhealthy codependency and a little thing called convenience. They had Denmark, Sweden, and Norway mostly bc enough people asked if they were going to have kids. They said why not? and had 3.

eventually they figured out at least some of the codependency stuff, and decided it'd be best to spend some time apart. (they decided they didn't want to be married anymore but didn't get divorced cause it sounded like too much work :\)

Germania meandered off, got v short term girlfriend Aestii and they had Prussia. Left that relationship without even knowing Prussia existed. Dated Noricum for awhile (terrible decision on both parts they were so bad for each other) and had Austria, who just kinda got left with mom.

Germania and Gaul then got forced to be around each other for months, thought what would one night hurt? and then she got pregnant with Holy Rome, then they got married for the express purpose of 'we're stuck with each other so why not'. (Second time in his life man would do that) they had HRE, Switzerland, Netherlands & Belgium. Gaul would pass away when Belgium was still very small (about 3)

years later he would have a bordering 1 night stand short thing with Britannia and that’s where England would come from and that’s one a v short summary of hws Germania’s relationships.

[hazel-of-sodor]

So small headcanon: Gordon keeps accidentally adopting pacifics. He's the oldest one in Britain (since the Great Bear was rebuilt into a 4-6-0 anyway) and they all look to him at the first. The A1/3s at first all looked to him as the big brother they loved to tease...until modernization. Suddenly their days were numbered, but he was safe on Sodor. They all agreed to not tell him, to spare him as long as they could. Gordon would learn in late 1967 that he and Flying Scotsman were the last of their siblings left, having never had the chance to say goodbye to any of the others.

When Great Northern escaped to Sodor in 68, D5701 was part of the team set to retrieve the escaped pacific. Gordon did not take kindly to the class 28's attempt to lung at his little sister, and bashed the diesel backwards. It would be discovered several months later that he had hit D5701 hard enough to cause a crack in the diesel's frames, leading to the engine's withdrawal.

Over the next decade, it would be revealed several of the A3's had escaped the cutter's torch, and their big brother would move heaven and earth to keep it that way.this culminated in late 1979, when Gordon and North Western's numbers 2, 3, and 5 stormed a British Railways owned scrapyard to save 60066 Merry Hampton, who had been discovered forgotten in a siding. While BR officials had tried to prevent 60066's rescue, they quickly found that they were no match for a furious locomotive.

Following this incident, BR put out a notice that any LNER Pacifics found were to be dumped in the NWR yard at Barrow in Furness for the safety of their workers.

But what of other Pacific's?

The first Pacific Gordon adopted was Battle of Britain 34090. Gordon met the bullied pacific during the 1949 exchange trials when she was new from the factory. He would take the young Pacific under his wing, and teach her the ins and outs of express work, as well as what he knew of goods work. By the end of the trials, he considered Rebecca his little sister. In 1967, following his discovery of the loss of his siblings, the North Western purchased 34090, and Gordon would collect her personally.

Later that year, Peppercorn A2 60532 Blue Peter, would visit Sodor. Gordon welcomed the fellow LNER pacific as his sister, even offering the Peppercorn a chance to haul Wild Nor'Wester, even though it meant he had to pull goods trains for the day.

Gordon was already cordial with his A4 cousins, but following 1967, he made concerted efforts to bond with his remaining LNER family. 2509 Spencer, Sir Robert Noramby's private engine, would become a dear confidant for Gordon over the years.

In the 1950s, LMS 6202 had been purchased by the NWR. A steam turbine, Gordon had known her from his rebuild at Crewe. They had been friendly, but their schedules had kept them from becoming closer. Gordon would request chances to run with her in 1968, in order to get to know her better.

The dying days of steam saw the Britannia class siblings Ariel, Arrow, and Lightning come to the Island. They were awed to be working with the first (successful) British pacific. Gordon saw their grief at the loss of their siblings. When Scotsman visited the NWR in the lead up to his American tour, Gordon, Great Northern, and Scotsman, they offered the Britannia's chance to join their little family. Pacific's had to stay together.

[demonprincezeldris]

What if, instead of Meliodas being the one who betrayed the demon clan, it was Zeldris in his place?

Not a whole role reversal au, just Meliodas and Zeldris switching roles.

Like how would Elizabeth convince Zeldris? Why would Zeldris switch sides? How would be Zeldris relationship with Drole, Gloxinia and Elizabeth? The Archangels (Ludociel)? Rou?

How would he be as captain of the seven deadly sins?

How would Meliodas and Gelda interact, if we assume she didn't go with him?

This has been in my mind for quite sometime and I wanted to share with someone, sorry it was so out of nowhere (;v;)

Anyways, thank you for your attention (^^)/.

This is a very interesting topic. Thank you so much for sharing this idea with me.

I personally feel like if Zeldris were to leave the demon clan with Elizabeth (assuming this isn't a boyfriend-reversal type scenario) then Gelda wouldn't blame him at all. I feel like she would be upset of course, but not hold him back if he really wanted to leave the Demon Clan.

We saw Zeldris and Gelda meet in the woods in the anime, so maybe they'd have some meetups in the night in Britannia and catch up with each other.

As for his relationship with the other people of Stigma, I'm honestly unsure of how he'd be around them. Ludociel I know he'd butt heads with all the time.

Thank you again for this interesting ask.

[isekai-crow]

Doctor Elise Ep 2

So much for trying to do individual episode posts every week! We gonna do them in clumps and queue-away instead because life gets in the way some times! Trying to still break them up by episode though~

If episode 1 was the introduction to how the reincarnation stuff works and her previous life, episode 2 is the introduction to Fantasy Britannia/Germany/Russia before the Fantasy Crimean War, and setting up the premise of the show. The royal family are the de Romanoffs but they're blond haired and blue eyed, and the world feels more German than British, so FANTASY EUROPE IT IS YALL.

BY THE WAY Elise is from the de Clorance family which is hiLARIous play of FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE!!!

Also. We get a character that WAS NOT IN THE MANHWA and LOOKS LIKE HAKU FROM SPIRITED AWAY. I didn't completely forget this man from the manhwa did I???? It's been a year or two since I read it but I wouldn't forget a long haired man.

Spoilers and Pictures below the cut

HELLO WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU??? THE SNARKY KING'S GUARD??? (IS THIS GOING TO BE A RARE PAIR SHIP because I'm here for it. A guard who demands that everyone respects the king but keeps interrupting the man himself??? yes, hello, thank you lmfao)

MAN I wish I had hair as gorgeous as this king. (Who is voiced by Inoue, Kazuhiko who plays Kakashi (Naruto), Madara(Natsume), and fricken YUKI FROM GRAVITATION BTW LMFAO)

and HERE he is.. Prince Sparkly Himself!!! Prince Linden de Romanoff.

He looks like he's going to be your typical Ice Prince, but this man blushes SO DAMN MUCH ITS REALLY CUTE.

I was trying to figure out why he has two voice actors and... Well. His main voice actor is Azakami, Youhei who plays a ton of supporting characters, including a dozen of small roles in Aggretsukko which is hilarious to think about.

Anyways, we get a lot of set-up about who Elise was before she died in her first life, and a declaration that she no longer wants to marry the crown prince and instead wants to be a doctor, setting up the stakes for the story, and gives us some fun Doctor flavored power fantasy tidbits, with a fairly accurate(?) diabetes diagnosis!

She's not trying to hide her knowledge at all, including knowledge about what's to come like war tactics, but the hand waving of (OH, I read about it in a book! Oh, I was just thinking about the topic very hard!) is very powerful magic in this world it seems.

Elise makes a wager with the King that if she can pass the medical exam, she gets to call of the engagement. Everyone thinks she's craycray, but this girl has a one track mind that has jumped of the rails of PrincePrincePrince and on to ScalpelScalpelScalpel.

But also. This girl legit smiles at him while thinking about surgery and doctor stuff, and has him blushing. This man has zero interest or experience with women up until now, and it shows, or will show in later episodes.

ELISE is also oblivious to this as she apologizes for everything she's done up until now, and everything she hasn't dont yet in this time line. And is like.. "I know you don't want this engagement, so sorry for forcing you and always stepping over your boundaries."

YOU DID BRUH. IN YOUR PAST LIFE.

It feels like your typical self sacrificing female protag in a shojo. BUT. She's self-sacrificing for the selfish (positive) sake of CUTTING PEOPLE OPEN!!! It's cute to know the romance will have a base to build off of though, and hopefully be realistic.

My favorite take from this episode, and in the series so far though is...

Capybara: THERE IS NO CULTURAL TOUCH STONE IN THIS WORLD FOR MOTHER TERESA!!! Crow: YOU DON'T KNOW THAT. Capybara: ...I don't know that. But there's no Christianity in this world!!! Crow: You don't know that. Capybara: ...I don't know that. NO CHRISTIANITY IN MY ISEKAI PLEASE!!!

Moral of the story: Anything goes in an Isekai. Just don't look to closely or you'll break it. lolol

[ampedupkaon]

August Writing Challenge Day 17: Arthur/Nanashi

AN: This was one of the specific days too. The seventeenth of August is Arthur's birthday. Set the first night Arthur and Nanashi are in the bunker in Camelot.

Nanashi hadn't been surprised to discover that there wasn't enough beds. It was a hastily cobbled together shelter; of course there wasn't enough beds. What did surprise him...

“Won't you join me, Sir Nanashi?” Was that Arthur... King Arthur wanted to share a bed with him. Surely the boy king shouldn't have to share a bed? Surely he shouldn't be sharing with a man either; who knew how his subjects would take that?

“Surely it is not proper for you and I to share a bed?” Nanashi told him. Arthur laughed.

“There aren't enough beds for everyone to have one each. And that includes there not being one for me. You're my ally, what's strange about it?”

“We are both men.” Nanashi informed him, as though that was news to the boy king. Again, he got an incredulous look.

“So? Sir Gilthunder and Sir Howzer shared a bed in the Boar Hat. So did Sir Slader and Sir Gowther. Two men can share a bed and it not mean anything. I don't sleep in the nude but... even if I did and you did... it doesn't mean we have to do anything... adult.” A slight smile crossed Nanashi's face. Arthur was wise beyond his years it seemed. Though, Nanashi wasn't going to take any clothes off. He wasn't willing to show the scars on his back, the remnants of his wings. He feared questions about that. He'd saved Arthur with his healing magic a few times in the past; all done on the sly. The boy was important. He would unite Britannia, Nanashi was sure of that.

“Then shall we go to bed?” Arthur grinned before leading the way. It turned out the beds were only just big enough for one person to lie in. Getting two people in would involve... a lot of squeezing and squashing together.

“I thought the beds might be a little wider than that...” Nanashi swallowed. He was thankful he wasn't removing any clothes. Arthur started to remove his armour, what remained of it at any rate. His top quickly followed, then his trousers. Arthur might not sleep in the nude, but he didn't sleep in much.

“Are you not bothered about people seeing you like that?” Nanashi asked. Arthur giggled.

“Eh... they can look. Not much to look at anyway. Some of the men sleep in the nude. Some of the women do too; I've saw them if I've got up through the night.” Arthur climbed on the bed, lying dangerously close to the edge furthest away from him.

“They know we're friends. Some of the other men are sharing a bed with their friends; having to lie close together and cuddle. They don't care.” Nanashi was a bit more bothered about it than Arthur was. Perhaps because it was frowned upon for goddesses to cuddle if they were both male. Pats to shoulders was allowed. Proper cuddles weren't. And what goddesses got up to in privacy of their own chambers was never discussed openly; so if two male goddesses did cuddle he knew nothing of it.

“Are you nervous, Sir Nanashi?” Arthur asked, shaking him from his musings.

“I admit I have never shared a bed with someone else before.” He wasn't nervous of the act. Nervous of how others might view it, but not nervous of the act.

“It's fine. We just need to shuffle together and slip our arms around each other.” Nanashi made his way over, climbing on the bed. He and Arthur were quite close together already, but Arthur shuffled closer. He felt the boy king's arms sliding around to his back and stiffened a little.

“It's alright. Nobody is going to judge. We're friends and friends cuddle.” He forced himself to relax. The scars were just that; scars. There was no trace of his wings, not even a stub. Arthur wouldn't be able to tell. He let his arms slide around the boy king, pulling him a tiny bit closer.

“It's a little cosy... but we'll be alright.” It was warm, even without a blanket. He got as comfortable as he could, which wasn't very; knowing he couldn't move very much without falling out of bed. Arthur yawned, tired out by fighting demons all day it seemed.

“Night Nanashi.” His eyes fluttered shut and he found sleep easily. Nanashi himself was a little jealous. He closed his own eyes, hoping that sleep found him as quickly as it found Arthur.

“Sleep well, Arthur.” He whispered, aware the boy king was probably asleep. A soft grumble answered him before sleep dragged him under.

AN: Arthur wakes up first and scrambles backwards when he realises he's in bed with someone else. He ends up landing on the floor, which wakes up Nanashi. He apologises for waking Nanashi, but is told by Nanashi that he would have done the same thing had he woke up first.

[fictional-actors-bracket]

Fictional media bracket, Round 1B.3

Propaganda under the cut:

Praying Mantis Joe: [No propaganda submitted]

Kniroun: "OH BOY. A fictional play based on a fictional video game series that takes Arthurian Mythology, shakes it around ‘til it’s a totally unique telling, and turns it into a full-fledged jrpg? Sign me up!!

I think there’s a lot to say about this play, but I’ll try to keep it simple; character-wise, the protagonist (Lancelot) is one character’s absolute dream role that he never knew he needed, being a huge fan of the original game series (understatement), and in the overall story it’s one of the most obvious showcases of how the in-universe theater company has grown, both in terms of acting and in terms of budget!

(Bonus points: some of the names associated with kniroun in-universe heavily imply that the game series is this universe’s Dragon Quest, which is extra points in the submitter’s book.)"

"Knights of Round (Kniroun in Japanese, KotR in English) is an RPG game series created by Hoshii Yoichi and developed by End Links. As of now, there are 9 installments in the series (I to IX), with the 10th game being highly anticipated by many fans. The series has been going on for almost 2 decades. Set in medieval Britannia, you play as Lancelot, a noble knight server under King Arthur, and are usually accompanied by the fairy Gwen. The characters in this game are inspired by characters in the Arthurian mythos.

Specifically, Knights of Round IV: The Stage is a stage adaptation of the fourth Kniroun game (which is chronologically the first game, a la Star Wars). Which, yes, means this is a stageplay of a game in a game. And there's also a real life stage play adaptation of the game (A3!), so there's a stageplay of a stageplay of a game in a game. Crazy. Anyway, actual propaganda time.

Kniroun IV: The Stage (hereafter referred to as Kniroun IV) is the lead play of character Itaru Chigasaki. Now, the focus is also on the events that surround it. In universe, the creator of the Kniroun series is super choosy about adaptations. However, they've decided to allow Mankai Company, an as of yet relatively unknown theater troupe, perform it. Why, you ask? WELL, THE HEAD OF THE PR TEAM IS ITARU'S EX. I WISH I WAS MAKING THIS UP. THEY HAD A DRAMATIC AND TRAUMATIC FALLING-OUT IN HIGH SCHOOL WHICH LEFT ITARU UNABLE TO FORM CLOSE INTERPERSONAL BONDS FOR YEARS. AND THEN HERE HE COMES, THE BASTARD, COMING TO THE THEATER TROUPE THAT ITARU'S PART OF, OFFERING THE CHANCE OF KNIROUN STAGE TO HIM KNOWING FULL WELL THAT ITARU WILL TAKE THE OFFER AND TAKE THE LEAD. YOU'VE HEARD OF CALLING YOUR EX, THIS IS LITERALLY WORSE.

Anyway, Kniroun IV is a super fun fantasy play. You follow Lancelot, and he's accompanied by Gwen. And since you can't see Gwen in the Kniroun games, she's represented by a cute little light. Lancelot has a fruity little camaraderie with Gawain, which kind of falls apart for a while because Merlin is evil and brainwashed King Arthur and Gawain swore himself to King Arthur but Lancelot cares more about the fairies who raised him so they're kind of on opposing sides, and also Gawain's little brother kind of took a hit for Lancelot and now he's dead and Gawain super blames him for that. Anyway, they're fucking TERRIBLE.

There's cool swordfighting scenes, and hot evil wizards, and hot knights, literally what's not to love!!!"

[duchessdepolignaca03]

Thanks for the tags @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @sparklepocalypse @taste-thewaste @bigassbowlingballhead @onthewaytosomewhere @tailsbeth-writes @priincebutt and @firenati0n

I don’t have a lot to share and my brain is eating me. I’m torn between FOMO and feeling like this whole business is futile. But I remain as always grateful for those who think of me in these tagging games ❤️

So here’s some paragraph from Rule Britannia that I’ve already decided to delete and will therefore never see the light of day anyway.

Research was what Alex did best.

But whether out of respect for Henry, or because of the depths of his denial and fears of the truths he might uncover if he persistently dug, Alex had never properly utilised his best skills to help him unravel the mysteries of Henry’s life.

He was also acutely aware of how incomplete a picture the public record painted of the inner lives of public figures, having been one for the majority of his life. He knew that even when there was a mountain of information about a person from relatively trustworthy and less-biased sources, the information could still be misleading. He pictured Nora crossing her arms and reminding him that not all data was useful, and that some of it was just noise obfuscating the truth.

But Henry was a noisy fuck (in every sense of the word) and in the absence of any straightforward answers from the arseholes in Henry’s orbit, Alex felt as if he had no choice but to give in to his most curious impulses. With a few fortifying shots of liquid courage, Alex set about researching the trail of dead men left in Henry’s wake, and the living shadows that haunted him.

Open tag, if anyone still hasn’t done theirs!