Fanfiction - "Grudges of the Past" - On Fake Armies

"Grudges of the Past" is a fanfiction based on the Durarara!! series. Namie Yagiri returns as a major villain, with a plot to unleash a nuclear attack on Ikebukuro and the surrounding Tokyo prefectures. The story is one that I personally wrote, under the pseudonym HumanKnotGirl.

Without giving too much away, I wish to discuss a major element of the fanfic's plot, taken straight from the second World War. Many people are unaware, but multiple "battles" that the United States military partook in were actually fake events. Now, before I get a slew of hate mail, allow me to explain.

In January 1944, the US Army established the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, a task force of 1100 men. Their orders were quite simple: design and build an armada of inflatable tanks, place them on the battlefield, and get on the radio to announce that the Americans were about to bring Hell itself to the German line. It was a longshot, but it managed to fool the Germans not once or twice, but nearly two dozen times. Notable battles where this strategy was used include the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge.

It's a fascinating and inspiring tale of brilliant military and civilian tactics; I greatly enjoyed emulating it with the Death March on Kyoto, a major event in "Grudges of the Past." In this case, it stands as an example of art imitating life, but I felt it deserved special mention because perhaps, one day, such tactics will be used again in our world.

The principle here is mass intimidation for a grand effect, a characteristic often perpetrated by criminal groups, activist groups, and even the general public in times of tension. The Death March on Kyoto is a more optimistic example, channeling intimidation into a voice for human rights.

But if you want to know more about that, you'll just have to read it for yourself.

FanFiction - "Lelouch of Britannia" - On Real-World Media

"Lelouch of Britannia" is a fanfiction created by the author Cal Reflector, taking the events from the Code Geass series and creating an alternate timeline. In this series, instead of forging a Japanese liberation movement, Lelouch fights for the Britannians in order to take down the monarchy from the inside. To that end, he is aided by many of the Britannian notables from the series; including Jeremiah Gottwald, Viletta Nu, Kewell Soresi, Andreas Darlton, and sister Cornelia li Britannia.

The story opens in the year 2010 of the Imperial calendar, following the death of Lady Marianne. The original series had Lelouch renounce his right to the Britannian throne, while in the fanfiction he composes himself, allowing him to retain certain privileges. These privileges become his tools for advancing in reputation and rank, with the goal of one day reconvening with the Emperor to exact revenge on him. That is the premise, at any rate.

To create a truly immersive reading experience, Cal Reflector crafts a variety of allusions to real-life elements while still keeping intact the historical timeline of the original series. The reader will find references to real-world institutions, journalism groups, and political events all neatly wrapped up in the canonical Britannia-EU conflict. Notable examples include the BBC, University of California - Berkeley Campus, Virginia Military Institute, and the Associated Press; as well as publishers such as HarperCollins, Harvard University Press, and Random House.

At first glance these may look like insignificant details, but further inspection reveals an interesting set of phenomena at work: