a tribute...
Today, I’d like to dedicate this post to someone. I had wanted to write this sooner, but I didn’t have the time last week. So now that I’m finally free, I won’t hold this back any longer. This post goes to Lidia, the EPL from my previous post. Yea, she gets two posts, and damn well deserves it.
In my previous post, I confirmed that she was Evil, Psychotic, but Lesbian is yet to be seen. Here I’d like to rectify some of what I said. Lidia is not evil, possibly psychotic and oh so very lesbian. ^^
As I learned more about her, I found that she was not evil after all. She was born a noble within the Empire, and was raised with the ideals and principles of the Empire. She grew up wanting to become a most perfect swordswoman and fight for the Empire. So she isn’t a bad person. She just is ultimately loyal to the Empire and can’t stand anyone who opposes it. But psychotic is really possible. How she expressed her hate towards Octavia and how easily she went from one emotion to the other…it could be that she’s over emotional but I doubt it. Cause she is very calm and efficient in the battlefield. As for lesbian, eh-heh. ^^
Well, one of the reasons I’m writing her a tribute is because ever since her appearance, I’ve started to like her more and more, even though she’s an EPL. I guess that’s not surprising, considering I have another two EPL’s in my list of favorite anime characters of all time. Another reason I’m writing her a tribute is because in episode 11 of Tears to Tiara, she died. I’m really pissed about it, but that’s not going to achieve anything. So, I’m going do what I always do to characters I like, immortalize them through writing. I’m thinking of writing a fic for her, Lidia x Octavia centered, but um, I’ll see about that.
Which leads me to the next point, I can’t write a tribute to Lidia without at the same time paying tribute to Lidia x Octavia. Episode 11 has cemented them as almost canon to my eyes at least. Turns out, the tournament in which Lidia lost to Octavia wasn’t the first time they met. They go a long way back. How’s childhood friends added to the mix? And they also did their royal guard training together. They seemed every bit the best of friends. So what happened?
It so happened that Octavia’s father went against the Empire, and as such, her whole family save her were executed as traitors. When the senate found out, she was denied the right to become a part of the royal guard although she could still become a soldier in the military. The decision was final, and there was nothing Octavia could do about it so that is why before she left royal guard’s training, Lidia wanted a match with her to show the senate the honor of nobles. Meaning she wanted a duel to the death. I really don’t get all these death duels. Is it really so important to fight to the death in the name of honor? But then again, both of them are nobles, the cream of the crop, raised with all of the Empire’s ideals. And apparently one of the Empire’s ideals is that a swordsman must never show sympathy. It’s the worst sacrilege of swordsmanship.
Both of them having this ideal, they fought. And when Octavia gains the upper hand, she didn’t deliver the final blow. She showed mercy to Lidia, and left her there in disgrace. That was what Lidia was so damned pissed about. Anyway, since that parting, they don’t meet until present day. And it’s not a happy reunion. Although, I did quite like how it happened but lol, that’s just me. ^^
They meet again, for the last time in episode 11. Having located the Gael tribe’s hideout deep within the jungle, Lidia commands Rubrum to wait in the outskirts for an ambush. She herself wants to talk to Octavia before anything, so she lures Octavia out. They converse for a while, and Lidia reminds Octavia of the days when they were training together, and of how Octavia defiled their sacred duel by not killing her (really, I don’t know what these people think about). At that, Octavia replies that Lidia is wrong. Lidia doesn’t understand and demand an explanation but they were interrupted when Arthur appeared with the rest of the Gael warriors. They had expected the ambush and have been waiting for Rubrum. An all out fight ensue between both forces.
But both Lidia and Octavia doesn’t take part in the fight. They walk to a clearing, swords drawn. They know that it’s going to be just between the both of them, a fight to the death. Lidia demands an explanation for what Octavia said and Octavia proceeded to explain that since spending time with the Gael people who has different ideals from those of the Empire’s, she too has began to change how she thinks, albeit just a little. So that is why she decided to forgive Lidia. Lidia is confused and then Octavia stresses that it was Lidia, not her who defiled their duel. Octavia flashes back to the duel and we see that during their match, she left an opening. Lidia saw it and struck, but at the very last moment, she held back, allowing Octavia to block the blow. Octavia noticed however, and was angered which is why she did the same thing to Lidia.
Lidia doesn’t admit what she done and they fight. Their skills are equally matched for each other. Then halfway through the fight, viewers get flashbacks of Lidia’s and Octavia’s past.
Playing with wooden swords together as kids.
Having a break together from royal guard training.
Marching together in the snow.
Laughing together and having fun as kids.
And then they both deliver their final blow. For an instant, it looked like Lidia has won as Octavia kneels on the ground, but then Lidia crashes, gasping for air while Octavia finds her feet and walks over to Lidia. Lidia asks Octavia that they are true swordsmen now, right? Octavia says yes, and calls Lidia a true swordsman. With a smile, Lidia perishes.
The scenes that follow after Lidia’s death is definitely some of the most heart wrenching ones ever. I don’t think I can explain them well, no matter how hard I try, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking. Lidia is dead, so Octavia is the only one talking.
That entire scene did it for me. They’re canon. Or were canon. I don’t care whatever anyone says, this proves that Octavia loved Lidia and I’m pretty sure that Lidia felt the same way towards Octavia too. And I even have a theory over the whole Lidia claiming she hates Octavia that took place previously. So allow me to explain.
For me, the hatred Lidia feels for Octavia is because she felt that Octavia has betrayed her. These two grew up together sharing the same dream, to become perfect swordsmen and fight for the Empire. However, Octavia defected from the Empire, betraying the Empire and in extension, betraying Lidia, who as the commander of Rubrum represents the order within the military ranks. It was Rubrum’s task to enforce discipline and take out those who were against the Empire. So therefore, by defecting from the Empire, Octavia made herself on a different side from Lidia and almost ensuring that they would meet in battle. This was what angered and upset Lidia. That Octavia willingly put them on different sides so that in her steadfast loyalty to the Empire, Lidia would have to take Octavia out. And the whole psychotic-ness while Octavia was in the box? She’s expressing her disappointment.
So Octavia betrayed their dreams together. Trampled over it. And thus it sets the scene for their final duel where Octavia comes out victorious. Octavia has said it when she held Lidia’s body that they never wanted to kill each other. And I think that’s why both Lidia and Octavia held back during their first match. Despite all those honor/disgrace bullshit, I think they both just couldn’t go through with it then. They loved each other too much to do so, even if they hadn’t realized it yet then.
Which brings me to my final verdict. First up, Lidia as an EPL?
Evil? Nope. Psychotic? Possibly. Lesbian? Check. ^^
Lidia x Octavia? Check. ^^ It’s just whether you want to admit it or not. And before I check out of this entry:
Lidia dear, I'm pretty sure(in my canon fan mind anyway) you know whether or not Octavia has a good screaming voice. XD
In my previous post, I confirmed that she was Evil, Psychotic, but Lesbian is yet to be seen. Here I’d like to rectify some of what I said. Lidia is not evil, possibly psychotic and oh so very lesbian. ^^
As I learned more about her, I found that she was not evil after all. She was born a noble within the Empire, and was raised with the ideals and principles of the Empire. She grew up wanting to become a most perfect swordswoman and fight for the Empire. So she isn’t a bad person. She just is ultimately loyal to the Empire and can’t stand anyone who opposes it. But psychotic is really possible. How she expressed her hate towards Octavia and how easily she went from one emotion to the other…it could be that she’s over emotional but I doubt it. Cause she is very calm and efficient in the battlefield. As for lesbian, eh-heh. ^^
Well, one of the reasons I’m writing her a tribute is because ever since her appearance, I’ve started to like her more and more, even though she’s an EPL. I guess that’s not surprising, considering I have another two EPL’s in my list of favorite anime characters of all time. Another reason I’m writing her a tribute is because in episode 11 of Tears to Tiara, she died. I’m really pissed about it, but that’s not going to achieve anything. So, I’m going do what I always do to characters I like, immortalize them through writing. I’m thinking of writing a fic for her, Lidia x Octavia centered, but um, I’ll see about that.
Which leads me to the next point, I can’t write a tribute to Lidia without at the same time paying tribute to Lidia x Octavia. Episode 11 has cemented them as almost canon to my eyes at least. Turns out, the tournament in which Lidia lost to Octavia wasn’t the first time they met. They go a long way back. How’s childhood friends added to the mix? And they also did their royal guard training together. They seemed every bit the best of friends. So what happened?
It so happened that Octavia’s father went against the Empire, and as such, her whole family save her were executed as traitors. When the senate found out, she was denied the right to become a part of the royal guard although she could still become a soldier in the military. The decision was final, and there was nothing Octavia could do about it so that is why before she left royal guard’s training, Lidia wanted a match with her to show the senate the honor of nobles. Meaning she wanted a duel to the death. I really don’t get all these death duels. Is it really so important to fight to the death in the name of honor? But then again, both of them are nobles, the cream of the crop, raised with all of the Empire’s ideals. And apparently one of the Empire’s ideals is that a swordsman must never show sympathy. It’s the worst sacrilege of swordsmanship.
Both of them having this ideal, they fought. And when Octavia gains the upper hand, she didn’t deliver the final blow. She showed mercy to Lidia, and left her there in disgrace. That was what Lidia was so damned pissed about. Anyway, since that parting, they don’t meet until present day. And it’s not a happy reunion. Although, I did quite like how it happened but lol, that’s just me. ^^
They meet again, for the last time in episode 11. Having located the Gael tribe’s hideout deep within the jungle, Lidia commands Rubrum to wait in the outskirts for an ambush. She herself wants to talk to Octavia before anything, so she lures Octavia out. They converse for a while, and Lidia reminds Octavia of the days when they were training together, and of how Octavia defiled their sacred duel by not killing her (really, I don’t know what these people think about). At that, Octavia replies that Lidia is wrong. Lidia doesn’t understand and demand an explanation but they were interrupted when Arthur appeared with the rest of the Gael warriors. They had expected the ambush and have been waiting for Rubrum. An all out fight ensue between both forces.
But both Lidia and Octavia doesn’t take part in the fight. They walk to a clearing, swords drawn. They know that it’s going to be just between the both of them, a fight to the death. Lidia demands an explanation for what Octavia said and Octavia proceeded to explain that since spending time with the Gael people who has different ideals from those of the Empire’s, she too has began to change how she thinks, albeit just a little. So that is why she decided to forgive Lidia. Lidia is confused and then Octavia stresses that it was Lidia, not her who defiled their duel. Octavia flashes back to the duel and we see that during their match, she left an opening. Lidia saw it and struck, but at the very last moment, she held back, allowing Octavia to block the blow. Octavia noticed however, and was angered which is why she did the same thing to Lidia.
Lidia doesn’t admit what she done and they fight. Their skills are equally matched for each other. Then halfway through the fight, viewers get flashbacks of Lidia’s and Octavia’s past.
Playing with wooden swords together as kids.
Having a break together from royal guard training.
Marching together in the snow.
Laughing together and having fun as kids.
And then they both deliver their final blow. For an instant, it looked like Lidia has won as Octavia kneels on the ground, but then Lidia crashes, gasping for air while Octavia finds her feet and walks over to Lidia. Lidia asks Octavia that they are true swordsmen now, right? Octavia says yes, and calls Lidia a true swordsman. With a smile, Lidia perishes.
The scenes that follow after Lidia’s death is definitely some of the most heart wrenching ones ever. I don’t think I can explain them well, no matter how hard I try, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking. Lidia is dead, so Octavia is the only one talking.
That entire scene did it for me. They’re canon. Or were canon. I don’t care whatever anyone says, this proves that Octavia loved Lidia and I’m pretty sure that Lidia felt the same way towards Octavia too. And I even have a theory over the whole Lidia claiming she hates Octavia that took place previously. So allow me to explain.
For me, the hatred Lidia feels for Octavia is because she felt that Octavia has betrayed her. These two grew up together sharing the same dream, to become perfect swordsmen and fight for the Empire. However, Octavia defected from the Empire, betraying the Empire and in extension, betraying Lidia, who as the commander of Rubrum represents the order within the military ranks. It was Rubrum’s task to enforce discipline and take out those who were against the Empire. So therefore, by defecting from the Empire, Octavia made herself on a different side from Lidia and almost ensuring that they would meet in battle. This was what angered and upset Lidia. That Octavia willingly put them on different sides so that in her steadfast loyalty to the Empire, Lidia would have to take Octavia out. And the whole psychotic-ness while Octavia was in the box? She’s expressing her disappointment.
So Octavia betrayed their dreams together. Trampled over it. And thus it sets the scene for their final duel where Octavia comes out victorious. Octavia has said it when she held Lidia’s body that they never wanted to kill each other. And I think that’s why both Lidia and Octavia held back during their first match. Despite all those honor/disgrace bullshit, I think they both just couldn’t go through with it then. They loved each other too much to do so, even if they hadn’t realized it yet then.
Which brings me to my final verdict. First up, Lidia as an EPL?
Evil? Nope. Psychotic? Possibly. Lesbian? Check. ^^
Lidia x Octavia? Check. ^^ It’s just whether you want to admit it or not. And before I check out of this entry:
Lidia dear, I'm pretty sure(in my canon fan mind anyway) you know whether or not Octavia has a good screaming voice. XD