Because shipping is often a part of fandom, mildred_of_midgard and yours truly have now finished a fanfriendly overview of just about everyone you (well, we) can ship Frederick the Great with, handily ordered by the following criteria:

Do they thave a trope?

The story in short: (And we do mean short, this is an A03 fic type of summary.)

Key quote(s):

Tell me more: (This one links anyone curious to more exposition):

Since we aim this everyone, including and especially newbies who don't know their Katte from their Keith, have a look, hopefully enjoy and tell me if something strikes you as utterly incomprehensible. The post is here.

Rare Male Slash Exchange has opened! And I received the hilarious fandom AU of my dreams. My friends, I knew Frederick the Great and Voltaire and their ridiculously over the top relationship were made to be AU'd into a couple of fic writing BNFs and moderators, but I never imagined this perfection, which had me laughing all the way through when I wasn't nodding ruefully in recognition. (Of fannish dynamics in general as well as those of these particular people.) Read and enjoy:


The Rise and Fall of the RendezvousWithFame Exchange (4405 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 18th Century CE RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Friedrich II von Preußen | Frederick the Great/Voltaire (Writer), Voltaire & Maupertuis
Characters: Voltaire (Writer), Friedrich II von Preußen | Frederick the Great
Additional Tags: Epistolary, fix-it for some minor characters because I could, internet pile-on, Humor, Alternate Universe - Fans & Fandom, AU in which everyone is a bit more functional than their canon counterparts, though this is Fritz and Voltaire so...
Summary:

A well-known exchange mod gets together with the BNF he's been chasing for a while to co-mod an exchange. Sparks fly and gossipy sensationalism abounds!... but unfortunately not just the sexy kind.

Well, I've already written a couple of times about one of my favourite diarists, James Boswell. (See link for why I like him.) The 18th century was a good age for interesting diaries in general, for what makes a historical journal fascinating to me is a mixture between the diarist being a good observer who records intriguing details of the day and also the diarist being someone whose own personality comes across vividly in the diary. It's tricky when the diarist is a professional writer, because on the one hand, it can been a more assured and compelling narration, but on the other, it can also mean too much self progaganda, in that later successful writers definitely are aware their diaries will probably end up being published after their death. (Hence also the difference between, say, Bert Brecht's journal in the early 1920s, which actually feels like a diary, or the "Arbeitsjournal", "working journal" from the 1940s, which while containing some memorably snarky entries on Los Angeles in general and Thomas Mann in particular feels way too dogmatic and wanting to get across messages to be interesting as a diary. (Speaking of Thomas Mann - his diaries are antipathetic to me not because they don't have the occasional vulnerable moment, but because the "I am Thomas Mann, future scholar of literature, be properly in awe of me" feeling seems to drip from every page.)

(Sylvia Plath in her journal is a fascinating case of both feeling spontanous and feeling like a deliberate construction of a self. And specifically one that's different from the self she offers to her mother in her letters to her. But while the diaries are compelling and vividly written and intense, they also feel a bit claustrophobic at times, in that what holds one's interest - welll, mine, this is all imo as always - is the emotional drama going on, but the journals tell you little about Britain and the US in the late 50s and early 60s, not even the specific academic-literary section of it Sylvia Plath inhabited.)

Now, last year I discovered a new-to-me historical diariest who pushed all my buttons, rather unexpectedly. I came across him when during my Frederick II & Company discussions with cahn and mildred_of_midgard I realised that several of the newer biographies kept referring one particular source for interesting eye witness quotes and descriptions, and it wasn't the Swiss Henri de Catt, whose memoirs are pobably the most famous among those written about Friedrich II. of Prussia. No, it was one Ernst Ahasverus von Lehndorff, who at age 19 in the later 1740s got the job of Chamberlain to Frederick's unloved and unwanted Queen Elisabeth Christine. ("Was Frederick the Great married?" is a trick question you can flumox people with, because these days most people don't know he was, which is understandable, since he lived with his wife only a few years until his father had died; afterwards, they lived in different palaces and while attending the occasional ceremony together essentially lived seperate lives). Young Lehndorff quickly befriended the King's three equally young brothers and hung out with them so much that if you read his journals, you sometimes wonder when he was doing his actual job (for the Queen). And then he started to crush on one brother in particular, Heinrich. (Heinrich, like big brother Friedrich, was gay. (There were other similarities, too, as well as differences, which made for an explosive and fascinatingly messed up fraternal relationship.) For Heinrich, this was a friendship with benefits thing; he kept Lehndorff as a friend, but he had many other lovers. For Lehndorff, this was the big passion of his life, through 50 years, two marriages, and years of separation (what with the 7 Years War going on in between). Quoth he: " I feel something for him I haven't felt for anyone else. Sometimes I wish he was poor, so I could give him anything I have; at other times, I would be ready to do the most humble service if only that meant I could be always with him. "

Lehndorff's diaries aren't just interesting because they offer a Prussian Rococo Queer as Folk AU, mind you. The reason why he keeps getting quoted from in various biographies is because he either met or knew most interesting people in Frederick's Prussia, and he was able to describe them vividly (and immensely quotably), even if he usually had only a long distance view on the King himself. (Much to his frustration. He'd rather have worked for the King than the Queen, whom he found boring, poor woman.) Then there are the big set pieces, like the time the court evacuates from Berlin because the Austrians are coming mid war. ("The entire court stops at the palace in Potsdam. The Queen has never been here before, and I cannot help but marvel at the strange stroke of fate that the Queen of Hungary must send an army to Berlin in order for the Queen of Prussia to be allowed to see her husband's residence." )

(The Queen of Hungary = how Friedrich and thus also most of his subjects refered to his arch nemesis Maria Theresia. Technically correct, but meant as a diss, as opposed to referring to her as the Empress, or the Empress-Queen.)

Rounding this off, there's Lehndorff's personality. Rare for a Prussian nobleman of his time, he has no military background, due to having been mishandled as a small child which resulted in a never properly healed broken foot, which resulted in a life long lame leg. (It does come up now and then, especially in war time.) Otherwise, he's very much a child of his very emotive era; when he's enthusiastic about something, he's practically gushing, when he's depressed, it's the worst day ever. This applies both when he doesn't get the inheritance which as a younger son he'd hoped for from a distant uncle, and when his beloved Prince has to attend Older Brother in Potsdam for the next ten days as opposed to being with Lehndorff in Berlin. Living in a pre- 19th century world, masculinity isn't yet tied to not expressing emotion, so Lehndorff cries and raves easily and feely. Generally, he comes across as adorkable.

At the same time, he's absolutely capable of delivering the occasional burn about people he doesn't like. ("I travel with my wife to Wolmirstedt where we've been invited by Obermarschall Wallenrodt. There is a great celebration apropos the wedding of one old General Katt with a Fräulein v. Möllendorf. I mention the age of the newly wedded because his wife the day after the wedding told him: "You haven't heard me come up last night, you were too soundly asleep.")

He has all the scandalous gossip you won't find in pre 20th century biographies of Frederick the Great, because Lehndorff's diaries weren't publically available until from 1907 onwards:

I renew my acquaitance with a man I had not seen since the year 1749. It is a young Marwitz, who started his career as page with the King, and who became a favourite with him as well as with Prince Heinrich. This affection went so far that the two royal brothers turned incredibly furious on each other for his sake. The young page was sent away, but due to urgent pleadings on Prince Heinrich's side, he got a commission in the guard. Some time later, the Prince accused him of falsehood and bad manners, and banished him completely from his company. Since then, the King has occasionally favoured him with his grace, but in the next moment sends him to guard duty and treats him like a criminal. This man now resurfaces on the horizon; the Prince tells me that he is quite amiable, that he invites him to his parties again, and the King has made him his batman. He posseses wit and is somewhat strongly fantastical; I consider him malicious.

And he's able to get across the various personalities of his era very vividly, whether he knows them well - i.e. members of the royal family - or meets them just a few times, or even just once, as with Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf (think Madame de Pompadour, Prussian edition), in the last year of Fredersdorf's life:

I make only one more visit, to the famous Fredersdorf, who under the title of "valet to the King" has played the role of prime minister for so long. For if anyone deserves this title, he does. At least he enjoyed such renown in the world that I have often seen him surrounded by knights and excellencies who made pretty deep bows to him, and his antechambre was often filled with state ministers and great lords. As far as I was concerned, I never had the cowardice to flatter him, nor did I seek him out except for now, when he no longer is connected to his majesty. His ill health, his jealousy of the famous Glasow, his riches and especially his desire for a quiet life have caused him to beg the King long enough so that the King allowed him to resign his positions. For this man basically filled out all the court offices. He supervised all the buildings, the King's accounts and treasure, all the staff, in short, after the King he was the only one who ruled, and often did so somewhat despotically. He is currently even more sick, the hemmorhoides have nearly devoured him. It is not a little amazing that a common man from the most backward Pommarania without any education could aquire such decency, grace of conduct and quickness of mind. A very pretty face aided him and was the beginning of his fortune, and through his intelligence, he managed to keep and defend such a difficult position as his. Most of all, though, I admire that he was able to withdraw in time, which is such a delicate matter for men who have a position equal to that of a beautiful woman when she notices her looks are fading. I remain with him until 11 in the evening and then return to the house of Frau V. Ingersleben, where I am lodging.

In conclusion: Lehndorff has become a firm new favourite on my historical diarist firmament. If you want more quotes from his diaries, check out this post.

The Other Days

I finally got around to watching Call me by your Name, which I had wanted to ever since reading scriptwriter James Ivory's delightful interview.


It is indeed a beautiful movie, directed by Luca Guadagnino, a coming of age story with Timothée Chalamet playing seventeen years old Elio, our pov character, Armie Hammer playing Oliver (whose age is never mentioned on screen; googling tells me that it's 24 in the novel the movie is based on, which makes it obvious why they never say so in the film because while Armie Hammer looks fantastic, he does look older than that), and Michael Stuhlbarg as Elio's father Samuel Perlman, a professor specializing in the Greeks and Romans whose grad student Oliver is. The Perlmans are multilingual, effortlessly switching between English, Italian and French (and Elio's mother Annella throws in German in one scene as well), affectionate with each other both verbally and physically, and the movie avoids many a cliché: no one gets subjected to homophobic rants, let alone beatings, there is no villain working against the lovers, and despite the 1983 setting, AIDS is never mentioned. (In the interview, Ivory said he'd considered including it via a discussion between Elio's parents but ultimately the scene was abandoned, as it simply didn't add anything and wasn't necessary, since no one gets sick.) Both Elio and Oliver while in the dancing around each other stage when they're still trying to deduce how the other one feels flirt and get physical with two Girls, but this doesn't come across as "I don't want to be gay!" angst, but rather as hormones, trying to make the other one jealous, and in the case of Elio and Marzia, whom he has known for years, as actual affection, just not on the same scale. ( Slightly more spoilery remark ensues )


It's a leisurely, sensual movie making the most of its Italian setting, with the camera caressing a bronze antique statue once it's fished out of Lake Garda as much as it does landscapes, food and the bodies of our heroes, of which we see a lot. (Never complete nudity, though, and I'm with Ivory regarding feeling this is a bit coy.) Speaking of Lake Garda: if it weren't set the early 80s, I'd say the fact Elio, his Father and Oliver find a spot in Sirmione where they can wander among ruins and not bump into tourists on every step is the movie's most unrealistic aspect, because I've been there, and the birthplace of Catullus is as overcrowded as the rest of the lake, Beautiful though the area is. But maybe not yet in the early 80s.


Sidenote: As I know several people who are interested in movies with Jewish main characters that aren't about said main characters being Jewish in an issue movie kind of way (i.e. Holocaust movie, movie about antisemitism, etc.), but which nonetheless don't just nod at the characters' being Jewish with one line while ignoring it for the rest of the movie: this counts as one of them. Both the Perlmans and Oliver are Jews, that they are in different ways is one of the things Oliver and Elio talk about, and the movie while otherwise set during the summer ends with a wintery Hannukha scene.


This is also one story where a change of pov might have, if not destroyed the appeal then greatly reduced it. 17 to 24 (or however old movie!Oliver is supposed to be) is not THAT much of an age gap, but it's there, and so it was important to be in Elio's pov and know that while he's still figuring things out, he's not inexperienced or seduced, and into Oliver long before Oliver does anything unmistakably flirtatious. It's also a movie which doesn't apologize for its main characters loving books, being, as mentioned, multilingual, and discussing a scene written by Marguerite de Navarre in the same passionate way that Oliver upon hearing a song on the radio dances. It's a great fictional world to spend two hours in. Highly reccommended.

I see that this year, someone nominated (future) Friedrich II and Katte again for Yuletide (Category: 18th Century Prussia RPF). Having just read Michael Roes' novel "Zeithain" about Katte, I was reminded of joking with rheasilvia about how fandom would react if someone (HBO, Netflix, BBC, whoever) ever does a tv series about Frederick the Great with lots of budget and good actors. To wit: everyone would love the first season, because the youth of Frederick the Great follows favored slash tropes to ridiculous perfection. There's the mean, abusive Dad to bury all mean, abusive Dads. No need to invent or exaggarate anything - Friedrich Wilhelm, "the soldier king" - der Soldatenkönig, did it all: verbal abuse (especially Fritz and his oldest sister Wilhelmine), physical abuse (think gruesome historic punishments used in education and military training, multiply), homophobia ("sodomite" as a favored taunt) complete with possible supressed desires as cause (Friedrich Wilhelm was at the very least very homosocial, thirteen kids or not, he adored his soldiers and wanted to be with them always while not thinking much of women) and then he capped it by forcing Fritz to watch his boyfriend's execution. Try to top that, fanon bad fathers!

Then there's the tragic love story both people fond of royal tales and more critically minded "off with their heads" folk can root for. Our abused prince finds true love with his best friend, dashingly Byronic Lieutenant Hans Herrmann von Katte. When the King's abuse becomes too much, he wants to run away, and despite knowing this could go dreadfully wrong even if they do make it abroad because of the desertion factor (they're both members of the army, after all), not to mention that princes in exile don't exactly have a guaranteed income, Katte agrees, because he can't bear to see the prince suffer anymore. Things promptly go wrong, both of them get imprisoned, but the prince because he's a prince doesn't get condemned to death. The military tribunal condemns Katte to a life long prison sentence. Friedrich Wilhelm, the King, promptly revokes that sentence, says desertion is desertion and changes it into an execution order, complete with order his son is to watch the whole thing. (Possibly because he knew that "life long" would mean release as soon as Friedrich ascended to the throne, or, if you want to think better of him, because he wanted the law to be followed and didn't want the tribunal to give Katte a lenient sentence on Friedrich's account.) Katte was brave and dignified at his execution, with a heartrendering last encounter with Friedrich. (In French, because like much of the German nobility of the day, Fritz loathed the German language and spoke & wrote French whenever he could. (What documents exist of him written in German are terribly spelled.) "Veuillez pardonner mon cher Katte, au nom de Dieu, pardonne-moi!" ("Please forgive, my dear Katte, in God's name, forgive me."). With Katte replying: "Il n'y a rien à pardonner, mon prince, je meurs pour vous la joie dans le cœur!". ("There is nothing to forgive, I die for you with joy in my heart!")

As I said: all the tropes are covered. (Except for the last minute reprieve and happy ending, alas.) For those who want an interesting, layered female character whom canon will never put in a position to come between the OTP, she's there as well, in the form of Friedrich's sister Wilhelmine. (Undoubtedly the hypothetical tv show would also spawn some incest tales because that's how fandom rolls, but since canon would not go there, slashers whose 'ship is canon would not mind... I think?) Female characters turned into Yenta Sues, eat your heart out: Wilhelmine is her brother's confidante, has gone through the same abusive childhood and adolescence, and gets put under house arrest as well. (Though Katte exonorates her at his interrogations.) As the first season would undoubtedly end with Katte's dramatic death, the season hiatus would be spent by AUs, denial fic (endless last minute rescues - "faked his death", otoh, is not an option, what with the beheading in front of poor Fritz), and hurt/comfort starring Wilhelmine in the comforter role.

Season 2, otoh, would be hated by nearly all the fandom. Wilhelmine gets reduced from regular to guest star by marriage to a nonetity and gets estranged from her brother. Friedrich reconciles with the wrong people (read: his father, though how sincere that reconciliation was is debatable). He even gets married. Quelle horreur! Though since that marriage was Dad's idea and he's never more than coldly polite to his wife, parting ways with her as soon as his father is dead, fandom would go from detesting Elisabeth Christine sight unseen to feeling vaguely sorry for her and then forgetting she exists (as Fritz does).

Katte's actual successor in Friedrich's affections, Fredersdorff, would be very controversial and start fandom's first shipping war. "Too much of a power differential", "boring!" and "not enough chemistry" complaints would be countered by "you're all too addicted to angst, what's wrong with a secure relationship!"

Friedrich Wilhelm gets killed off mid season 2, and after Fritz ascends the throne, it would start to dawn to the Breaking Bad familiar of fandom that they're in for a main character arc that can be roughly described as "Jesse Pinkman becomes Walter White". In non-BB terms: fandom's woobie (Froobie, in this case?) turns into a magnificent bastard at best and a large scale manipulative life destroyer and creator of other woobies at worst. Friedrich reconciling with Wilhelmine would only vaguely pacify fandom. "Bring back Katte!" would still be the overwhelming cry.

Seasons 3 and 4 would regain some popularity for the show, with our (Anti?)hero now in full gear magnificent bastard mode, set on turning Prussia into the new European superpower, and the more woobie-longing part of fandom being given his younger brother Heinrich as a new favourite. (Heinrich is also openly gay, a gifted soldier, can provide some sibling jealousy angst and since he'll never rule anything won't be in danger of letting his admirers down by increasing ruthlessness and life ruining.) There are now three female characters as Friedrich's three major antagonists: Maria Theresia of Austria, Madame de Pompadour in France, and the Czarina Elisabeth in Russia. This again provides interesting women in major roles without breaking up any m/m couples, though with three female opponents, discussions about how much a misogynist Fritz is start. (Especially if the scripts include some of his more infamous statements about women, including about the way they smelled.) His defenders point out that he's also the most reform-minded ruler in Europe (true), with the episode in which a miller successfully sues the King in court (only possible in Frederician Prussia) being their favourite, while a part of fandom would embrace the "hate the main character, love the rest of the ensemble" way of fannishness and would point out to the Seven-Years-War bodycount as Friedrich's fault. Shipping wise, the introduction of Voltaire would provide fandom with its first love/hate 'ship in this 'verse. Snarky Voltaire would be the type of ambiguous trickster character with uncertain loyalties who is guaranteed to become a fandom favourite, and Fritz/Voltaire snark-and-sex stories would outstrip Fritz/Fredersdorff h/c and curtain fic in number , though neither would ever gain the popularity of Fritz/Katte.

Season 5 would bring things full circle with old Fritz managing one last major war victory courtesy of the Czarina dying at just the right time, and would even include a surprise new 'ship for the fandom (Casanova visits the court, briefly, and Friedrich canonically notices he's good looking). Mostly, though, this season becomes a beloved farewell season because it brings back Katte in the form of a ghost with whom old Fritz increasingly holds conversations as he prepares to meet his maker. The "King goes anonymous among the people" tropes are also served (especially since those tales were tradition about Old Fritz), with Friedrich realising the world is very different now (the French Revolution is just around the corner), whether for better or worse, he can't say, but it's time for him to go. As the season finale ends with his death and young Fritz having a ghostly reunion with Katte, even affirmed Friedrich haters sob in their hankerchiefs, though whether in grief or satisfaction, no one could tell.

One more thing: Zeithain, the novel I just read which brought the resurrection of this frivolous speculation, tries to avoid the Froobie-to-Prussian-Machiavel dilemma by being about Katte, with Fritz making his entrance only around page 500 or thereabouts. Before, it's a Bildungsroman about Katte, which gives him a bad Prussian dad as well (honestly, I have no idea whether or not Katte's father was particularly strict as far as non-Friedrich-Wilhem Prussian aristocrats went, the one thing I knew of him was that he tried in vain to get his son pardoned, which was natural, but doesn't say anything about how he raised him) and generally tells about how awful it was to grow up gay in 18th century Prussia. Our hero crushes on a schoolmate but doesn't dare to do anything about it, and doesn't have any sex until his (female) cousin casually deflowers him, which makes him realise what he does and doesn't want (he then goes off and has sex with a sailor). When young Fritz does show up, Katte is aware that actually caring about the a future king can't lead to anything good (even as just friends, because of the future power differential), but they fall for each other anyway, and history proceeds. The one point where I'd say our novelist is cheating a bit is that he has Katte, while waiting for his death sentence, speculating that while Fritz is going to survive he'll be emotionally crippled for the rest of his life, which is more hindsight of history and less what the character is likely to know/guess in these circumstances. But still, the story is movingly told.

However: the first person Katte narration is just one part of this book. It's interspersed by the increasingly tedious postmodern novel device, a contemporary character telling his story as well. Said contemporary is a fictional descendant from the Earl of Chesterfield, called Philip Stanhope like the Chesterfield's illegitimate son of famous letter fame, and thus distantly related to Katte as well, with the device connecting the two plots being that Stanhope has inherited some letters of Katte's to his British relations and is now tracing Katte's biographical steps. And the Stanhope part of the novel is just increasingly annoying. Because Katte and Friedrich between them don't provide enough daddy issues, Stanhope has a mean, distant dad as well. (Seriously, the only good father in the entire novel is Johann Sebastian Bach, because of course he is. Haven't come across a fictional take on Frederick the Great in which Bach doesn't get contrasted as the Good Father versus Friedrich Wilhelm as the Bad Father. The connection being that Friedrich had one of Bach's sons at his court as composer and met the great man himself once, too. In Zeithain, it's Katte who meets Bach decades earlier, watches him interact with his kids and for the first time realises that the harsh parenting he's experienced isn't without alternatives.) Stanhope's mean distant dad had a homoerotic interlude as a young man, as it turns out, in case we're missing the theme that homophobic dads are mainly homophobic because they themselves are repressed homosexuals. In conclusion, I really wish novelists would stop interjecting perfectly readable historical novels with present day interludes when these contribute nothing of interest to the tale.

After all the deeply serious analysis and confessions of fondness for tragedy, it's time for a little silliness, don't ya think?

So andrastewhite, while rewatching Babylon 5's first season, specifically, "By Any Means Necessary", found her original impressions of the episode as a new watcher, back when yours truly had just succeeded in seducing her into the fandom. The commentaries to that entry include a fascinating antrophological analysis on how alien sex works, by Andraste and c_elisa, and they contain self and hobsonphile coming up with a series of misleading TV Guide style summaries for certain B5 episodes. Be warned, we were determined to be as silly as possible. But here they are, plus some addendums, to present your very special Londo/G'Kar guide to B5. It's all true, I swear. It's just... creatively phrased.*veg*



Season 1:

Midnight on the Firing Line: Londo confesses his dreams about G'Kar to Sinclair. G'Kar offers to share a meal.

Born to the Purple: Londo's sex life causes difficulties. G'kar helps out.

Parliament of Dreams: Commander Sinclair wonders whether Londo and G'Kar got married in a Minbari ceremony.

By Any Means Necessary: G'Kar is upset because Londo won't give him flowers.

Signs and Portents: Londo and G'Kar meet a handsome young man who makes passes at both of them.

A Voice in the Wilderness, I: Delenn and Sinclair urge Londo to reconsider his refusal to work on his relationship with G'Kar.

Chrysalis: G'Kar's teeth are buried deeply in Londo's throat. At least, that's Londo's story.


Season 2:

Soul Mates: Londo tells G'Kar he looks good and advises him to "keep it up". G'kar speculates about being married to Londo Mollari.

Coming of Shadows: G'kar buys Londo a drink. As their relationship takes a tragic turn, the words "he betrayed me" are spoken.

The Long, Twilight Struggle: Londo strips G'kar; Sheridan intervenes before it can go any further.


Season 3:

Convictions: G'Kar serenades Londo as they share close space. Things get really hot.

Dust to Dust: G'kar gets mental and physical with Londo.

War Without End, II: Londo and G'kar get physical again. Vir finds them in an unmistakable position.

And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place: G'Kar helps Londo avenge the death of his lover.


Season 4:

Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?: Londo is surprised when G'Kar is delivered to him in chains.

The Summoning: Londo tries to convince G'kar he should be a screamer.

The Long Night: G'kar reveals he can see into Londo's heart.

No Surrender, No Retreat: Londo seeks a relationship with G'Kar and is turned away, to his bitter disappointment.

Rising Star: Londo offers to give G'Kar sexual pointers.


Season 5:

The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari: With Londo dreaming of him, G'kar never leaves his side. The morning after brings suprises.

A View from the Gallery: Londo and G'Kar spend some quality time together in an emergency shelter during an attack.

Strange Relations: Delenn decides to bring Londo and G'Kar together.

A Tragedy of Telepaths: Londo and G'Kar meet various ladies. Liberal use of brivari and cross-dressing jokes ensue!

Day of the Dead: Londo gets to have sex with a departed lover. G'Kar decides to sleep elsewhere in protest.

The Ragged Edge: G'Kar reveals his interest in Londo's body and spirit.

And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder: Londo and G'kar share very close space. (Again.)

Movements of Fire and Shadow: Londo refuses to leave G'Kar's side even as war is being waged all around them. G'Kar complains about Londo's snoring.

The Fall of Centauri Prime: Londo and G'kar confess their feelings for each other. Society comes between them.