Since I love the way you portray the relationship between Gilbert and Ludwig, how did you think Gilbert dealt with Ludwig's teenage years, since that seems to be a time of Rebellion for a lot of nation's.
i’m sorry for taking so long to answer this one but:
it’s still kind of WIP in my head so it’s not as detailed. but generally Ludwig, in my mind, is a teenager in the early 1900s and the lead-up to WWI. it may change, but i don’t see him being that rebellious then. he’s...sort of grown up like the son of a wealthy Junker; a comparatively more stable and sheltered life thanks to his older brother being his mentor too.Â
but after WWI and the Weimar years; in his early 20s— Ludwig’s life as he knows it is upended. there’s no victory, but defeat and reparations to the victors. and it’s also not just him—the aftermath of the Great War has just set off a whole punch of political, social and cultural changes across the world. the 1920s is a time where i see Ludwig starting to question Gilbert more. his faith in his brother’s authority and strength is shaken, if that makes sense? and what else was going on in the 1920s: you’ve the rise of the USSR. communist movements. also centre-left groups—the Social Democratic Party being a significant player. In this world, Gilbert is kind of more of a pragmatic conservative—not stubbornly resistant against any change (he’s well aware that it’s best to lead a revolution rather than be led up to the guillotine! change before society forces it), but far more instinctively cautious. Ludwig is young and more idealistic, the kind of revolutionary rhetoric being bandied around is appealing.
so I think he might rebel against Gilbert to some degree in this regard; it isn’t always overtly going against Gilbert the way Alfred does against Arthur but...he used to idolise Gilbert as this towering protector. Less so in the 1920s. He’s kind of more dissatisfied. Exploring, dabbling in different ideologies. In some ways he becomes less open. Does Gilbert know how to deal with him in this regard? Not entirely, I’m thinking. Ludwig isn’t a little boy anymore, who unquestioningly looked up to him, and he’s not sure how to adjust to that. But some old habits die hard; Ludwig still has a habit of looking to authority figures and for sweeping solutions (being used as he is to his brother). If he’s lost faith in his brother, there are plenty of other contenders out there. He’s kind of restless and adrift in the heady atmosphere of 1920s Berlin. So...the 1920s really sets the stage for what is to come.Â