I was browsing through the forums of CGFFN when I chanced upon the LelouchC.C. forums. One of their topics include anime/manga recommendations, which I thought I'd give a try (CGFFN is an intelligent fandom, no questions asked). Someone mentioned Hanatsuki Hime, and how it resembles Code Geass in such a way that it's also mainly about a contract between two people. While in Code Geass it's between a witch and a human being, in Hanatsuki Hime it's between a demon and a human being. 

Lys Lily

I've finished the first chapter of the first volume, and I have to say it's definitely promising. Lys Lily is quite a character; none too perfect or complex, but interesting enough to keep me reading. I love the flower seal on her chest; it looks so very cryptic. 

S

Siva

Siva, whom as they say is "drool-worthy", is Lys' companion, and I can honestly say I agree about the drool-worthy part, hahaha.

I'm just saddened by the fact that the manga has only two volumes; I wish it could have been longer. I just love the storyline.

If you want to download the scans, you can go here: Aerandia.Net : Hanatsuki Hime. If you'd just like to read online, drop by here: Onemanga : Hanatsuki Hime.

Don't hesitate to drop me a comment about the manga and its story; I'd love to know if you like it as well. But give no spoilers, please; I still can't finish it until after my  major exams!

Schoolwork can really be so inspiring, especially when it comes to writing fan fictions. A couple of nights ago I had this sudden flash of inspiration, partly because of Facebook and partly because of my exam yesterday. Before finishing my paper for Creative Writing class (which took more than five hours and nineteen frickin’ pages), I made an off the cuff decision to write the idea I had in mind.

It took only five minutes, and what turned out was a 600-word snippet about Narumi yet again. Since it’s painfully short and almost pointless, I decided to post it as a second part of my first Narumi-centric snippet, Oversleep. I changed its title to Odds and Ends.

Odds and Ends is a collection of snippets about Narumi and his awesomeness. Painfully short, random, and mostly pointless, everything I post for the collection will be written in five (or ten) minutes or less, like it says right there. *points below* If it takes more than that, I’ll scrap it.

Odds and Ends

Bite-sized pieces of Narumi’s awesomeness.

(Written in five minutes or less.)

Snippet #02:

Courage

“It took you ONE minute to answer the essay and you get a higher grade than I do?” Misaki snapped as he glared at Narumi. “Let me see your paper!”

Category: Anime/Manga » Gakuen Alice.
Title: Odds and Ends » Snippet #02 : Courage
Characters: Narumi, Misaki
Genre: Humor.
Rating: K+.

Status: Complete.

I didn’t mention what class exactly it is in the snippet, but let me assure you that it's definitely not English. Because if it were English or any sort of writing class, Narumi would have been so dead with his essay, haha.

Just this Wednesday I had quite the same experience, when I took my exam. (These are bonus questions, okay?)

Q: Is ‘balut’ egg or meat? Justify your answer.
My answer: Uh, egg? Because it’s inside an EGGshell?

I was so headdesk after the exam. Haha!

Q: About how many stones does the sculpture blah blah stand on?

My classmate's answer: 1k, where k is the constant that represents the number of stones that the sculpture stands on.

Pure win! :D

Eh, going back to Odds and Ends. I’m not certain how many snippets I’ll post, since I will write only when inspiration strikes. Just the same, add it to your story alert if you're interested.

Oh my gosh. I still can’t believe it, but yes, I did win the Death Note review contest on Deviantart! I snagged the FIRST prize, too! Hurrah! *happy dance*

Now I shall gloat about the wonderful prizes I’m receiving! My work is being is featured in several journals in Deviantart, including the journal of the Death Note group, the group administrator, the founder of Project Comment, and the dA super group Project Comment. And, they’re also putting my work in the About Us section of the group. Sweet!

Ah, but it doesn’t stop there! The prize donators are giving me a vector of a real Death Note sticker for my dA profile, a Death Note piece of my preference (I still don’t know what to ask for!), and a fanart of a single character from any anime/manga I like. I tell you, it’s awesome.

Many thanks to everyone who read and/or voted; I greatly appreciate it! It’s really a fantastic feeling to accomplish something like this with my first deviation. Thank you! ♥

I’m still a bit lost and confused, but I know one thing true: Code Geass is genius. Lelouch vi Britannia is one of the most amazing characters I’ve ever seen in anime. He equals Light Yagami in my heart. ♥ 

The final turn had me crying for almost thirty minutes there, and, well, I haven’t cried that much in a long time. Or over the ending of an anime. (Had to keep the tears when Light Yagami died in Death Note [but I still cried!], because my sister was watching with me and I feel kind of stupid crying when someone can see and it’s over anime.)

In the beginning I seriously wanted to bitchslap Nunnally. The girl is absolutely annoying; she was just there being her fragile, naïve self and she made things a whole lot more difficult for her brother. I didn’t appreciate her speech, and I was just too happy when Lelouch finally used his Geass on her.

Can I just say that Suzaku’s fake death had me stomping my feet on the floor? He died at such a crucial time, the bastard. But, I loved the face-off between him and Kallen, and I swear I was rooting for him and his Lancelot Albion.

C.C. was crying for Lelouch, ah, that surprised me, and made me think of how much she’s more of a human being now, after her contract with him.

For most part I wanted to strangle Lelouch for pulling off something as crazy as… being killed by Suzaku, who turned out to be alive. He could have just continued being the emperor – uh, dictator! – of the whole world and no one could have done anything about it! I (and the rest of everyone who adores him) wouldn’t have minded him as the world dictator! Well maybe we would have… but that’s not the point! That final, selfless act made him an even more interesting and delightful character to watch. Dammit, can anyone else be more endearing?

The ending was wonderful – one of the finest – all right, the finest I've ever seen.

What I like most about the conclusion is that it’s pretty vague. In the last scene we see C.C. traveling on a farmer’s cart, driven by n nameless, disguised person. A lot of people, as I’ve read so far, are convinced that this person is Lelouch, who is now immortal.

I’ve decided to consider this theory myself, and I’ve drawn several points from the previous episodes to corroborate this.

1. The Code is the power of immortality. C.C. acquired it when it was transferred to her by the nun who granted her the Geass when she was younger. Emperor Charles got his own Code from V.V.

2. The Code is only activated when its receiver dies. Once acquired, the Code vanquishes the Geass of the receiver, but makes the receiver immortal and a contractor of the Geass instead. This is shown when C.C. is killed by the nun after said nun transfers the Code to her. C.C. lives on, but is no longer in possession of the Geass.

Likewise, V.V.’s Code was transferred to Charles and was activated when Charles shot himself (as commanded by Lelouch) in the twenty-first turn of R2.

3. Charles’ Code was transferred to Lelouch (who by this time had a fully evolved Geass, which is required to acquire the Code) while the Emperor was strangling him in the twenty-first turn of R2. This transferred Code is inactivated.

Proof of the transfer of ownership is that the Geass of the emperor still works on Anya and Nunnally after he dies. When the Code is lost, the Geass vanishes with it. But since Lelouch is now in possession of the Code, the Geass still works on Anya and Nunnally.

4. Lelouch maintains his ownership of the Geass for two possible reasons:

One is because he did not get the Code and the Geass from the same contractor. The Code came from Charles, while the Geass came from C.C.

Two is because the Geass remains with the person as long as his Code is inactivated.

-

It’s actually a very interesting theory, since it also highlights the title of the series: Code Geass. Lelouch was able to possess the Code and the Geass at the same time. It’s very convincing and logical, considering it’s Lelouch who pulls it off and outsmarts the whole world yet again.

Following this, Lelouch must be the one who drives the cart in the last scene of the final turn. He’s now immortal and travels alongside C.C. in the same world that he had destroyed and created.

“The power of kings, known as Geass, brings one solitude.

Not quite accurate is it? Right, Lelouch?”

Lelouch♥C.C. to the very end.

All hail Lelouch. Code Geass is genius.

Oh, but I absolutely love this turn! We get to see Lelouch’s genius at play again! Hooray! I didn’t think Schneizel would be Geassed, but that was a good twist! Schneizel got pwned, oh yeah. Not beats that.

And I still like – okay, love Suzaku at this point. I just hope he keeps that up until the end. His character is already bad enough without pulling off another betrayal. And, for the first time, I hope he will pwn Kallen and Gino – those two are getting on my nerves. Seriously. And Kallen interrupted the LelouchC.C. moment! Damn you; who the hell do you think you are???

The suspense is killing me, but I’ll finish the series tomorrow. I have a feeling that the ending will make me cry, and I don’t want anyone disturbing me in the middle of that. (Plus, I badly need to buy some chips to munch on while I watch.)

I haaaaate Nunnally! Hate her with burning passion! She should die, that stupid bitch. Someone please kill her. For me and Lelouch and the happiness of everyone who loves Code Geass.

Yes! Finally! I thought Lelouch would falter again just because they showed him Nunnally! Well hah! He showed them! And thank gracious for Suzaku! For once in his life he said something right! It was intense, and for the first time in my life I think I actually love Suzaku in this one! Hurrah! (But only in this one. I still hate him in general. And he looks horrible wearing that cape thing.)

I have no idea why Nunnally is alive. She doesn’t have a purpose anymore; anyone can frickin’ detonate the Fleia anyway. I don’t understand why she sides with Schneizel instead of Lelouch, the brother who has always been with her. She’s another big hypocrite; she doesn’t like killing people and yet she’s okay with killing her own brother. Isn’t there something obviously wrong in her logic? And don’t I remember her having a special technique of holding people’s hands and determining whether they’re lying to her or not through this? Why didn’t she do this to determine if Schneizel was lying to her or not about the Fleia and the Pendragon incident? Gosh, what an idiot.

Just drop dead, Nunnally. You are such a bother.

Here’s another first: I actually like Nina in this turn! Finally, she realized her stupid blunder and got to work and start doing something about the Fleia! I just hope she manages to come up with something to counter that very very dangerous weapon.

For the record, fuck the Black Knights. I hate them with passion for being idiots. Big frickin’ idiots at that. They don’t realize that if it weren’t for Zero/Lelouch, they never would have been organized the way they are right now. Kallen is earning my dislike, although none too much, and I just hate how Gino chose the side against Suzaku in this. (Did I just say that? Shoot.)

What I like most about this turn is how the people who were once Lelouch’s enemies are now his allies (Lloyd, Cecile, Nina, Jeremiah, Suzaku, etc) while those who used to be his allies are now his enemies (Kallen, Rakshata, Xingke, the Black Knights, etc). I find myself cheering for these new allies while disliking the Black Knights more and more.

I love how the LelouchC.C. pairing is developing; I’ve always been a fan of it, and I love that C.C. is the only one who is with Lelouch to the end. They really make a very beautiful pair.

I love pun: Knight of Zero. Knight of Seven, Knight of One, and above all of it is the Knight of Zero. Absolutely genius. If they had been gunning for that since the very beginning of the series, well they pulled it off really well. I find it very clever.

Can I just say that Lelouch looks so damn hot as the emperor? He looks fabulous being so smugly in command. I just have to squee. Yay.

Lloyd is now working under Lelouch, too! I like that very much; nothing beats having those two in one place. Lloyd is still funny as hell, and nothing seems to have changed his cheerful attitude. Jeremiah is still loyal to the emperor as well, which is rad; Lelouch needs all the allies he can have, despite his absolute power. And, I’ve grown to really like Jeremiah.

Suzaku sure is a smooth talker; he actually shattered Gino’s conviction! Just for the record, I see potential in Gino, and I hope he’ll switch sides soon. Like, yeah.

I love how C.C. is the only one with Lelouch when he goes to participate in this, uh, democracy. (Duuude, voting like that is a practice of oligarchy; not democracy. In the practice of democracy, people draw lots, in the assumption that everyone is fit to rule or whatever. Let’s get that fact straight, shall we?)

Lelouch is aiming for a world dictatorship! Brazen move, but I like it! I can’t believe Xingke says Lelouch has become the enemy of the world; I’m sure a lot of people still support him! Like, me, hahaha! He’s done good things, too, have they forgotten that already?

Screw you, Nunnally; why couldn’t you have just died and not be a nuisance to your brother? What’s Schneizel talking about; Nunnally as the emperor? Is he stupid? That’s the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard! It’s disgusting, really; Nunnally is now twenty times as annoying as Euphemia had been. I wish Rolo were back; at least he’d be perfectly supportive and loyal to his brother.

Rolo pwns Nunnally. ‘Nuff said.

First of all, let me say this:

All hail Lelouch!

This turn is just mad! Finally the truth about Marianne’s death and Charles’ researches has finally been revealed! I am… speechless from all the twists of the plot, and I admit I had to pause and read the subtitles twice or thrice so I could really grasp what the hell was going on. It’s just crazy.

I don’t know what to make of Charles’ and Marianne’s plans as well, but it’s incredible. So they wanted to kill the gods (the collective unconsciousness, apparently) and stop time. That’s so cool. And mad. I realize I don’t like Marianne as a mother; she’s too carefree and uncaring for her children. Charles isn’t so great either; although I appreciate that that he sent Lelouch and Nunnally away to protect them from V.V. And I do like how Marianne and Charles love and care for each other; that is genuinely touching.

The last five minutes of the turn is just fabulous; Lelouch’s appearance is awesome, and I’ve nothing to say but hooray for the 99th Emperor of Britannia! Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia has a very nice ring to it; I don’t know how anyone can disagree.

Suzaku Kururugi – I have no idea how I’ll understand this person. One moment he’s Lelouch’s enemy; the next minute he’s Lelouch’s knight and best friend. Like, what? Make up your mind, bastard. I still don’t like him too much; he betrays everyone too often, and there’s danger in traitors like him.

Schneizel is annoying the hell out of me. ‘Can’t he be killed or something? It’s obvious he wants to be emperor himself. Answer is: NO WAY. And why is Diethard with him? That other traitor.

All hail Lelouch!

I'm surprised by the twist about Anya; I didn't really expect for her to be controlled by Marianne. Of course Suzaku is still an arse for trying to get a position for himself by sacrificing everyone around him. Truly, will this series of betrayal from him ever stop? He's getting boring and more hateful as the series progresses.

Lelouch trapped with his father. Eh. I wonder how he'll ever escape from the World of C.

Oh my God I'm crying! I'm really, truly crying over the death of Rolo! The poor kid just had to die saving the brother he had always believed in! Why did it have to be like that?! He loved Lelouch very much, too! I don't even care if he killed Shirley, whom I never really sympathized with; he shouldn't have died! No! I like him! I like him much, much more than I can possibly like Nunnally!

And it's just *wrong* that everyone is now turning against Zero because he turns out to be a Britannian prince! Aren't they just being racist now? It's so unfair on his part; he made them win their battles! The nerve to betray him! Don't they know that it's a GIVEN that people are sacrificed in combat? I can't believe that these same people go to war and yet can't accept that some of their people *have* to die. It's unbelievable; the hypocrisy astounds me. They think it's unjust that Zero Geassed and killed their comrades and yet they don't see anything wrong in killing him or giving him to the Britannians that he has waged war against! All they care about is that they get their country back; they can hardly care less what happens to the person who, from the very beginning, has done so much for them. They couldn't have even accomplished ANYTHING without Lelouch's help! I'm SO infuriated by all that's happening, dammit.

Kallen is the sweetest; I'm so happy she trusts Lelouch to the end. (Lelouch just had to be an arse and tell her another bunch of lies. Someone knock some sense into his head already. It's bad for his reputation to be such a liar, especially when the truth will help him out of the mess he’s in.) And C.C.! What will happen to C.C. now? I wish she were still her cool, nonchalant self; she surely would have helped Lelouch out at such a crucial time like this! Nice timing, memory loss.

I've absolutely lost respect for Toudou and Ohgi and Tamaki and Diethard and the other characters whose name aren't worth remembering. Naive fools; they only care about themselves and their own gains. The nerve. Screw them. They can just drop dead; the Japanese don't deserve to be led by traitors like themselves.

Hell, Code Geass is genius. ♥

But, I still think Rolo shouldn't have died. He didn't deserve it. (Now let me join the fanlisting for him. ♥ )

Is it wrong if I say that I was cheering for Rolo to kill Nunally already? I used to feel okay with the girl, but then she has always proved herself a nuisance to Lelouch, and she needs to be out of the way for good. Yes, I'm all for Rolo as Lelouch's sibling; at least he has some use and is actually aware of what's happening outside fairytales.

I am enraged. ENRAGED! I cannot believe Suzaku dared step on Lelouch's head! The impertinence! Just who the hell does he think he is? You don't EVER do that to Lelouch! And in the first place why did Lelouch kneel before him? Suzaku is so not worth it!

And what's with the half-arsed explanation from Lelouch? You're given the time to explain, Lelouch; the least you can do is use it wisely! Okay, maybe just the Shirley part, since the thing with Euphemia accidentally being Geassed will sound totally wrong.

Schneizel is annoying me. Okay, I just don't like him. Aside from the fact that his name is hard to spell (I confuse the letters, dammit), his calm is just aggravating.

And, I really hope Cornelia will switch sides soon, together with Guilford (does anyone know his first name? Because I don't). She'll be a fine addition to the Knightmare pilots. And it will be epic, if she battles against her own brother Schneizel (dammit; the spelling is driving me nuts!).

Sooo it's finally confirmed. C.C.'s bleeding, and it's not healing like it should; it means she's mortal now. Will she ever return to being her cool, detached self? I like her whichever personality she has, but she's more of help to Lelouch if she's like she was before. (But, she was really adorable here.)

I loved the first part of the turn; it was hilarious. And that was a pretty crazy request from Lelouch, too. He really shouldn't be asking those of someone who's just lost her memories!

Hooray for Kallen kicking Suzaku's butt! Hah, that traitor deserves it! It's good someone's finally beating the hell out of him! Yay!

Won't Cornelia join forces with Lelouch? After all, I doubt she likes the emperor that much either... And Orange, err, Jeremiah is awesome. I thought I'd hate him for the rest of the series, but I must say his character is progressing very nicely! It's a good thing he's finally on Lelouch's side now.

XingkeTianzi still owns me.

How do you get rid of immortal people? Damn, Lelouch is in big trouble.

I like this turn immensely; C.C.'s past and her exact connection with the Geass are finally revealed. I have no idea what has happened to her by the end of the turn, but it's obvious she has lost her memories. I just wonder if she also lost her immortality; it certainly seems so, since she doesn't have the symbol of Geass on her forehead anymore. Curious, curious.

Now I'm completely, totally, absolutely for LelouchC.C., and nothing can change my mind.

On another note, Nunnally has some spine! Great to see her assert herself for once; she's usually just, well, helpless where she is despite being the governor of Area 11.

Suzaku is getting worse and worse. Honestly, the use of Refrain is just too low, even for someone like himself. I thought that was a bit too dramatic, and I didn't appreciate it.

I like how the plot thickens, especially with V.V. playing a rather big part in the episode. I just really don't like Suzaku at this point. Lelouch should definitely find a way to get rid of him soon.

Jeremiah has finally joined Lelouch! Yay! With a Geass nullifier at Lelouch's disposal, he's at the best position to take down anyone - including the emperor himself! Hah!

Rolo killed Shirley. Eh. Not that I liked her or anything, so I feel nothing about it.

Funny episode, despite how most people seem to call it a filler. I don't agree; I think a lot of things are established in just one turn, and I appreciate that. Lelouch as a playboy is hilarious; and yes, he definitely isn't athletic. I love the bit about him getting Sayoko to attend his P.E. classes after that day. 

Oh noes; Shirley got her memory back. I'm very sure that's not a good thing...

I can't figure out how Sayoko managed to play Lelouch, but it's hilarious. Hahaha! I didn't think you could duplicate Lelouch and keep his awesomeness intact. Yeah.

I still love XingkeTianzi. For real.

Will it be wrong if I say that I’m all for TianziXingke now? Like, for real. I know that Tianzi is only thirteen (hell I thought she was only seven!) and Xingke is twenty-four, and that the relationship between them is somewhat… strange, but I do love them together. As Sumeragi says it, “It’s so romantic!”

Lloyd hiding behind Milly in the church was hilarious.

‘Nice to see Lelouch having a face-off with someone almost his equal. I don’t like him losing, but it was a fabulous play between him and Xingke.

Is it me or is C.C. jealous of Lelouch’s concern for Kallen’s safety?

How come Lelouch is in two different places at the same time? What’s happening? How could they have duplicated him in his full glory?! :P

This episode didn’t have such a lot of fight scenes, but it won me over. I found it very, very delightful, indeed. :D

The KallenLelouch moments were funny; I’ve seen that somewhere in the Net before, but it made me grin nonetheless. Then I had to really laugh out loud when C.C. suddenly appeared out of nowhere and cut their conversation short. Ho-ho, that was hilarious; I had to watch it all over again and laugh.

How old exactly is Tianzi? She’s… what, seven? Goodness gracious, what are those Eunuch Generals thinking??? I know she’s an empress, but man… Worse, her fiancé looks like a dirty old geezer! How old is that first prince, anyway? Forty?!

I love the LloydMilly scenes. Hah, so it seems Milly is still engaged with Lloyd, huh. Awesome. I rather like them together.

Xing-Ke’s bond with Tianzi is so adorable. The promise is so sweet of him.

Can I just say that *shudders* Nina is still as psycho as she had been in the last season? Good grief, that creepy girl should be pushed off a building or something. Like, PRONTO. Her obsession with Euphemia is scary enough without her tirade against Milly. Milly has been perfectly kind to her, too; she’s just bitter she’s not as pretty and not as *normal* as Milly is. UGH. What a psycho.

And is Suzaku a MORON? He says, “This is another tragedy that Zero created” while he’s stopping Nina’s psychotic outburst. Duuude, Nina has been a nutcase since she was like, born. It’s not Zero’s fault, fool.

Surely, Zero won’t kill Tianzi? Tianzi is Sumeragi’s friend, and the last thing Zero would want is to displease Sumeragi. I just wish they’d give Xing-Ke and Tianzi a chance to talk and have time for themselves.

I still can't figure out how they managed to make one million versions of the Zero outfit. Like... yeah. :P Otherwise, it was genius, and I can't believe some people can doubt Lelouch/Zero's capability at producing results. Hasn't he shown them enough already? Psh.

Even Suzaku had to shut up. Hah, showed that bastard who's boss.

Is it wrong that I’m beginning to dislike Nunnally now? I don’t dislike her as much as I disliked Euphemia, but she’s starting her descent to that level, I’m not sure. I have a thing against characters with, uh, hearts of gold, simply because they’re not realistic. And dull, too, and annoying.

This turn is pretty boring for my taste, although I realize its necessity to highlight Lelouch’s emotions and yay character development. It shows that he’s still very human, despite the fact that he has the Geass now. What was his promise to C.C. in the first season again? That he won’t fall to the Geass. Personally, I think he’s doing really well at keeping that promise.

That he wanted to have a dose of Refrain is a bit overdone, though; I don’t think he’d be that desperate. (Although I don’t really know; I’m not carrying the burden of the world on my shoulders now, am I?)

The Lelouch-Rolo moment was a bit awkward; I feel that Rolo was standing a tad too close to his brother. Eh. I do like the fact that he’s getting jealous of the real sibling Nunnally; I just hope he doesn’t get too jealous, because that just won’t work.

I’m so thankful Kallen slapped the hell out of Lelouch. He deserves it so, me thinks.

Suzaku is fail at the natural sciences. How terribly embarrassing for him.

I sense that Lelouch is planning something. When doesn’t he anyway. :P

Oh my God, but the utter genius of this turn literally makes me cry. I've never seen anything like it before! I doubt the word marvelous even begins to cover it, but it's really marvelously, beautifully done!

I thought it was really sweet of Rolo to have used Geass to help out Lelouch in such a crucial time like that. He's beginning to grow on me; what a sweet guy. Yeah, I guess I like him now. (He should just make sure he doesn't turn against Lelouch.)

Rakshata is so easygoing and yet so devious all the time; I like how she has long planned how things would be against the Lancelot. Having her always pwning Lloyd is too awesome to resist; actually, I like her more than I like Lloyd now. Yay for this machine genius. Woot. Lloyd is just fail against her, and it's so funny.

Kallen is pure win, too! Her loyalty to Zero is remarkable, but it's not too much to the point of being annoying to me. Overall I think she has developed into a likeable character who can kick ass, and of course, pilot the Guren efficiently.

I dislike that Anya person. I see neither personality nor depth in her.

Lelouch didn't have too many frames in this turn, but I guess it's just well, since it focused more on the fight. What I don't like is how Nunnally's character is turning out; does it mean she'll be against her own brother in this? It sucks that she doesn't know how much he's been doing for her sake; I guess she's never really realized how unsatisfied Lelouch is with how their lives have turned out. I hate it that she chose to be with Suzaku, but I hope she changes her mind soon. Seriously, I'm even crept out that I ever considered the SuzakuNunnally pairing before, as Suzaku is a hypocritical bastard who should never be with anyone whom Lelouch holds so dear.

Lelouch can be pretty annoying, too, sometimes. It's great how he's shown to still have feelings and not some crazed psycho who kills people for the heck of it; the proof of which can be seen in how much he values his sister, as well as his friends. It just frustrates me that he crumbles too easily; he's very intelligent and yet he can't keep his emotions bottled up so he can think straight. I know it can be argued that it's his sister that's of main concern here, but I think there could have been less dramatic (and more Lelouch-ish) manner through which they pulled off his sentiments like these.

To be very honest, I found the first half of the turn rather boring. Or is it because Suzaku just had to get some frames and waste my time? Huh. Anyway, it all picked up as soon as C.C. showed up for the - surprise! - giant pizza. Man she is unstoppable when it comes to pizza.

Can I just say that I dislike being introduced to new characters? I get it that they're supposed to make things more interesting, but those Anya and whoever else people bore, if not irritate, the hell out of me. I feel like Code Geass can proceed without needing too many of them. They don't look very interesting anyway.

I wonder what the weakness to Rolo's Geass is...

It was just hilarious when Lelouch put a paper bag over C.C.'s head. Hahaha! After that he pushes her into a truck full of tomatoes! It was too funny for me, especially since Lelouch did everything oh so casually; you'd have to give it to him for pulling those off without trouble.

Although... running just isn't his thing, which makes it doubly funny. How ironic that someone who can possibly take down the biggest empire in the world can't run after a cat. :P

So it's official that Rolo is on Lelouch's side. Great! I'm starting to like him for this!

Suzaku hasn't changed much; he's still an a-hole as he has always been. Someone bash him with a stone tablet already. Lelouch has to gather himself and pretend like he doesn't know Nunnally. He's supposed to have only a brother, right?

The end was such a cliffhanger. How cruel! Gotta watch the next episode. Like, now.

I have to say, Lelouch Lamperouge must be a sort of Napoleon Bonaparte. Getting a cold-blooded assassin to listen to him? Hah; what charm must he have! :D

Someone get C.C. away from armaments. :P

I absolutely love how Lelouch used the tactic he had once used during the previous Black Rebellion; it shows how he knows that the Britannians haven't learned from their past mistake. Which is rather embarrassing for them, considering they should be well-informed about things like this. In any case, I found it hilarious when Lelouch suddenly went, "Now they've crossed our territory; kill 'em!" Now *that* was an excellent move. I don't even care that he lied flat-out to Guilford about fighting one-on-one, since a prince like him should break his promises in case the necessity arises. (Thank you, Machiavelli.) It was really just genius.

Rolo, Rolo. Hm, I'm not too sure about him; I really don't feel strongly for or against him. For now, he's just, well, there. It sucks for him that Lelouch will only be using him to get to Nunnally, but that's how it's supposed to go.

I know I shouldn't compare, but I was screaming "Light Yagami!" in my head when Lelouch started sweet-talking Rolo and saying stuff about their being brothers and all that glitz. It sounded pretty unLelouch to me, but very much Light Yagami indeed. Ah, evil geniuses. They're both so awesome.

Suzaku is going back to Ashford Academy. How curious. Even though I don't like him, I admit I look forward to how he and Lelouch would interact. Lelouch would make it very interesting, indeed, since he's playing the memory-less Lelouch Lamperouge.

Another amazing episode! I must admit, R2 is definitely more exciting than the first season. I love this one; it's so intense.

I was a bit confused when I thought it really was Lelouch in front of the camera, then I saw him in the gym with Viletta the next second. He threw me off guard, just like Rolo, and I had to squee like mad when I realized the trick. C.C. is a wonderful partner in crime, hahaha; Lelouch must be so thankful he has her with him. :D

I don't find Rolo's character too difficult to figure out, based on this episode. It seems to me like he really wants to have a brother, whether it's Lelouch or someone else. It actually appears like he's grown rather fond of Lelouch, and the way he reacted when his brother was about to take away the locket was a giveaway. I'm thinking he grew up alone - most probably an orphan who yearns for a family. All right, maybe not orphan, since it appears he doesn't have a birthday. :O (But I'll leave it at that for now.) I can't find it in myself to dislike him at this point, but I'll see in the next turns.

I love the trick that Lelouch pulled off when he made his way out of the boutique. It gave me the same feeling that I had when it was Light Yagami (from Death Note) figuring his way out of trouble that was Misora Naomi/Ray Penbar/L Lawliet/etc. Creating discord like that was absolutely genius; it made me smile and grin and, well, squee for him.

Kallen is pretty funny, too. I really like her now. And I hope I don't change my mind soon.

I love this turn, but at the same time I hate it because it ended in a cliffhanger. I have school tomorrow; I can't keep watching! D:

The second episode is wonderfully done; I believe I had to squee and cheer for Lelouch at several places (or the entire episode? Hmm...). It's awesome how he's back in his game; I'm sure everyone missed Zero. Even losing his memories hadn't rusted his genius. I love how he's so arrogant, so confident of himself and his ability; he really is back.

Oh, and I love his entrance as well. Trust him to be always have a grand arrival.

The Lelouch and Kallen conversation was pure win as well. Actually, Kallen isn't as bad as I first thought she would be. I like her more now, I think.

On another note, I don't know when Suzaku will die, but I promise I'll throw a party and treat myself to a chocolate cake when he does. That hypocritical bastard is still as terrible as the last season, if not worse, and he's even on the emperor's side now. I don't know how he's able to look at himself in the mirror; gracious, he still wants to change the world from within? He can't even start by changing himself to begin with. I'm more than embarrassed for him and his supposed principles.

And did Suzaku really think that erasing Lelouch's memories will do anything of value? Gosh, what an idiot. 'Seems like he didn't learn anything in Lelouch's one-year break.

I'm so happy that Diethard and Rakshata are still alive. Yay for those people who are willing to lend Zero a hand. Sayoko is there, too, which is fab!

And I think I have an idea what Rolo's Geass is. Or maybe not.

How come it seems like the emperor can still turn off his Geass, even when he has it in both eyes? And why do the others not remember that Lelouch has a sister Nunnally and not a brother Rolo? Surely it would have been improbable for the emperor to, well, have mass-Geassed everyone - including Shirley, since he couldn't have known that she knew about Lelouch, too, right?

Oh well. I guess those will be answered in the next turns.

At least it's established that Lelouch and Suzaku are both crap shot. XD

Is it me or does Lelouch's laugh remind me of Light's from Death Note? Hell yeah.

The beginning felt oddly like an alternate universe, especially with Lelouch having a brother Rolo. Whatever happened to Nunnally? :O Nonetheless, I really can't express how happy I am just by seeing Lelouch alive and smiling and all. I knew he couldn't have died in the last season, but still, I had to cheer for him as I watched the turn.

I love how they easily picked up from the conclusion of the first season and how Lelouch regains his memories quickly. C.C. was awesome, and I love how she and Lelouch see each other again after one year in their timeline. I also like how the first turn mirrored the first stage of the first season; the parallelism worked well, like it's reminding the audience how exactly Code Geass started.

Rolo has me curious; so he is working for the Emperor? And, I haaate Suzaku more than I can say. Will he really never die in the series? That should be so unfortunate. Hmp.

‘Posted a new one-shot just now.

Oversleep

“No wonder half of your students hate you,” Misaki commented. 

Narumi elevated an eyebrow. “Because I get more sleep than they do?”

Fandom: Gakuen Alice.
Title: Oversleep.
Characters: Narumi, Misaki
Genre: General/Humor
Rating: K+.
Chapter(s:( 1.
Status: Complete.

I got the concept of Oversleep from the first chapter of my favorite fan fiction, Mischief Equals Mayhem. I meant to make edits to it (as an unhealthy distraction from a writing homework), but I only succeeded at crafting a spin-off from it. But I still think it’s great, so yay me.

I kept thinking of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest while writing this. Really, Narumi sounds so much like Algernon.

One reason it’s utterly random is because I hadn’t intended to post it, and I just wrote what came to mind. Hooray for a flash of genius.

Narumi needs more love.

'Joined a Death Note contest in Deviantart. The requirement is to write a review of Death Note and its awesomeness. I took the chance and participated. The following is my lovely entry.

By the Whims of the Death Gods
a Death Note review
(spoilers ahead)

Death Note tells the story of Light (Raito) Yagami, a seventeen-year-old genius whose life drastically changes when he chances upon the Death Note. The black notebook, despite its unassuming appearance, has the deadly ability to kill, requiring only a name and a face. Dropped in the human world by the bored death god (shinigami) called Ryuk, the Death Note proves itself a most destructive weapon when Light decides to use it to kill criminals, intending for himself to be the god of the new world he will create – a world purged of evil.

Distinguishing itself from the run-of-the-mill stories of heroes who possess hearts of gold, Death Note introduces Light Yagami, the cunning young man who will stop at nothing to make the world a better place. Light is intelligent, disgusted with how the world is turning out, and bored out of his mind. That he seeks to punish the wicked using the Death Note is a noble intention by itself, but his method of passing judgment is hardly orthodox, and gains the sympathy of neither the police nor his adversary, L.

Playing opposite Light (at this point dubbed Kira by the public), L is the mysterious detective in charge of the Kira investigation. World-renowned for his unparalleled ability in solving cases (and taking only those that interest him), L takes Kira head-on, and challenges the latter to a mind duel – a clash where the one who is found first pays with his life.

Fast-paced, suspenseful and gripping, Death Note sets the bar high for the anime of the generation. With its compelling characters and well-contrived plot, Death Note keeps its viewers on the edge of their seats each time Light tries to draw the suspicion away from himself while trying to find out just who exactly L is. Light, despite the terrible things he has done to get away with what he's doing, doesn't fail to deliver with his strategic mind and measured smiles. L, despite his peculiar, deceptive appearance, never lets down with his likewise brilliant counter-offensive. Both manipulative, cold and calculating - Light and L dare each other with an almost childish, egotistical desire to win. It's the striking combination of similarities and differences between them that makes their characters believable and interesting.

Yet, without this already compelling rivalry between Light and L, Death Note still manages to fascinate. Through the development of Light's character alone and the presentation of his choices when he takes possession of the Death Note, the series shows the ultimate peril of having the Death Note: It can destroy the one who holds it.

The realistic portrayal of Light and his descent to madness in search of justice is an interesting perspective to consider. That Light begins as an innocent and virtuous young man illustrates that some evil come forth through good intentions; and that some good, through bad. Those same virtues and ideals, no matter how good they are, ultimately caused Light to choose the path he treaded and take the course of actions that he did.

The death god Ryuk, with his odd sense of humor and obsession with apples, does not fail to make light of the grim atmosphere in the series. In a direct contrast to his considerably good nature, he fittingly ends the series by writing Light's name in his notebook. With this, he keeps his promise that he will take Light's life when the time comes.

Death Note ends in a cruel loop; Kira was born because of a death god's whim, and Kira dies because of the same god's whim. While not intended to symbolize anything, these circumstances underscore Light's unsuccessful attempt to become a god himself - because from the very beginning, his fate has been in the hands of the same god he wished to equal.

What he wished to change changed him, and ultimately, Light Yagami lost himself to the Death Note.

Death Note is a remarkable glimpse at the human folly, a look at the nature of man and a twisted concept of justice that sprung from the righteous ideals. Prompting its audience not only to choose sides, it also initiates one to think and reason with himself for or against the alternatives that face the characters in the series. Thought-provoking and a very intelligent watch, Death Note is undoubtedly genius at its finest, and while it does not answer its questions about morality and murder point-blank, it imparts with its audience a message worth thinking about:

Absolute power corrupts - absolutely.

~

I do hope I win something. Preferably the first prize. Mwahahaha.