Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Honestly, I figured Gia is one of the few people for whom learning/practicing high-level martial arts makes sense and thus her beating Marines makes perfect sense.
Outside Hollywood, martial arts is mostly pointless for most of the population. Civilians don't really need it, as self-defense consists of not being an idiot and/or handing over your wallet 99% of the time. For a soldier, war is a team sport, guns have range, and always let Mr. Grenade enter a room first.
Gia meanwhile is the last survivor of a murdered royal family with no actual job, so she has both a reason to become proficient in martial arts and the time to practice.
I wouldn't say that martial arts is pointless to most of the population. Violence is the last resort--hand over the wallet, run if you can-but when things like rape, child abuse and abduction, and random assault happen, knowing self defense can help. If someone's in a demographic especially likely to be assaulted, that applies even more. I have know people who were assaulted because of their religion or sexuality, for example.
Edit: I know people that simply made a wrong turn, and were attacked because their SHOES were the wrong color, and the wrong turn left them in thug controlled territory.
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Also, she'll get good mileage out of the primary and secondary skills/mindset such an education brings with it. If someone tries to kill her (which, to her, is a considerable risk from multiple sources), the seconds bought by martial arts training may save her life. Also, the focusing techniques taught are of some use in other stressful situations, nothing to say that the exercise is good.
I'd disgress with you here - while mastery of martial arts is pointless for the general population, some basic knowledge/skill tips the balance in many situations.
NB: "Martial arts" is something different from martial skill. As my sword fighting instructor used to say "The skills you need to kill with a sword are related to the art of swordfighting, but are not the same. Do not confuse those two."
No, it would likely be shorter to list the German honors that she doesn't have.
From @Peabody-Martini (a while back, may be more)
Order of the Black Eagle
Order of the Red Eagle, Grand Cross
Pour le Mérite
House Order of Hohenzollern, Commander’s Cross
Federal Order of Merit, Commander’s Cross
Order of Louise, Grand Cross (Dame Commander)
Order of Saint Catherine (Russia)
Knight’s Cross, Military Order of Max Joseph
Order of Theresa (Bavaria)
Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Knight’s Cross
Order of Sidonia (Saxony)
Order of the Star of Brabant, Dame of the Silver Cross (Hesse)
Iron Cross, 1st Class and 2nd Class
Fallschirmjäger/Parachutist’s Badge, SKA Patch
Wound Badge in Black
Red Cross Medal, 2nd Class
Federal Merit Cross in Gold with Oak Leaf
Federal Merit Cross in Silver, 9 Oak Leaves
Soviet War victory medal
Part 82, Chapter 1241
Chapter One Thousand Two Hundred Forty-One
15th September 1957
Berlin
As the airliner descended into Berlin in the early morning hours Kat couldn’t help but notice how many of the dark gaps that existed during the years after the war had ended were finally gone. While the city had long been considered a world capital, the crossroads of Europe, where Eastern and Western met, it had taken two decades for her to reclaim that mantle. For Kat it was a wonderful thing to see because she liked to think that she had played a substantial roll in bringing back the city that was her birthplace.
This was also the last day that Kat would be considered active in the military. She intended to go home and just be a mother to her children for a while, Helene had warned her that she would get bored and would be begging for something exciting to do after a few weeks. Helene seemed to think that she was just going to sit at home and do nothing, that was the furthest thing from what Kat would be doing. Instead, she had taken the position that Louis had offered her. Regular hours and not having to worry about getting unexpectedly called away at any time, a chance to travel with Douglas when he went off on photographic expeditions, plenty of time to pursue her own projects. It all sounded so good her. She felt like she was secure for the first time in her life and it was a good feeling.
The meeting with the American President had gone well enough. Still though, he had been long winded in the manner that most of his kind were no matter their nationality and was a reminder as to why she disliked most politicians. Kat had heard the words that he had spoken, and they had sounded good if one could ignore the historical context with which he spoke and didn’t know about the not so neutral role that the country had played during the Second World War. Many in Europe had been speculating for years as to whether or not Stalin would have been so bold as to provoke the war had it not been for the sale of grain, oil and other war materials from the United States. Kat herself remembered her father’s cynical jokes about British rifle cartridges with American headstamps long before the Des Moines incident resulted in the United States entering the First World War. As much as Kat had wanted to give President Harriman a piece of her mind over all of that and how Asia had been treated, the Emperor had explicitly ordered her not to do that or tell anyone in America what she thought about what the President, no matter what he said. Kat was to accept Thorwald’s rifle on behalf of the SKA, she was to graciously thank the President for being a good host and she was to echo his sentiment that as Liberal Democracies their respective nations should be friends and allies. The whole thing had left a bad taste in Kat’s mouth.
Instead, Kat got to sit there quietly and do her best not to create an international incident. She had talked to Asia just before she had left for America and while Asia was recovering slowly it was clear that what had happened had taken a severe toll on her. Some part of her had been damaged in Danvers State Hospital and that was the slowest part to recover. The comments the hospital staff had made about her ethnicity and gender, how that meant that she was less than human in their eyes. She was just an object to them, a plaything. When they discovered that she would hit back they had done their level best to destroy her. She had been helpless, unable to stop them and that had affected her deeply. Kat understood what Asia was going through as she came to grips with what had happened, it was something that Kat wished that she didn’t. For Asia though, the most offensive aspect of all of this was that partially because of her the current incarnation of the Sisterhood had been effectively sidelined. Kat had told Asia that she shouldn’t read too much into that. The Sisterhood would be back in some form in the future, she just needed to be patient.
Gloria, who had followed her around for the entire week had talked with her about her life in Germany. What Kat did when she wasn’t off being a soldier, secret agent or whatever it was she did. That had been fun, but there had been a few times when she had gotten the impression that Gloria had wanted her to answer questions a certain way and had been disappointed by the answers that she had gotten instead. Kat had eventually given her a bit of advice. She could cover the stories, or she could play a role in them, but trying to do both was a disservice to herself, her newspaper and her readers who would eventually tire of her having an agenda. Kat was unsure if she had gotten through to her, but she remembered that Maria had told her almost the exact same thing shortly before getting caught up in the Reichstag bombing ended her journalistic aspirations forever.
Kat had however parted on good terms with Gloria. They had last seen each other at Idlewild Airport, in the lounge as they had waited for their respective flights to depart. Kat was going home, and Gloria was headed to Los Angles to cover the unfolding scandal that was unfolding in the big Hollywood studios. Jane Wyman and her husband had fallen on hard times following his felony arrest a few years earlier. Now they were at the center of a prostitution scandal that many thought was going to be the undoing of the studio system. Personally, Kat felt that it was profoundly ironic that the scandal that took down the studios was someone doing on a small scale what the studios themselves had been doing for decades. Kat had told Gloria that there she thought that there would no good side to what she found in Hollywood, just different sides of bad and worse.
Once the plane landed, Kat trudged up the jetway, an agent from Lufthansa had made sure that Thorwald’s rifle was well cared for during the flight and he handed it to her as she walked past. Kat preferred to travel light and had never liked the risk involved when checking luggage. Thorwald’s rifle had been a bit different in that regard. Arrangements had been worked out with the airline ahead of time. It was with great relief that Douglas was there to meet her and help with her bag and the rifle case. The plan was that Kat they were going to drive across town and deliver the rifle to the military museum the instant the office opened. Her last duty to Thorwald and the SKA would be complete.
15th September 1957
Berlin
As the airliner descended into Berlin in the early morning hours Kat couldn’t help but notice how many of the dark gaps that existed during the years after the war had ended were finally gone. While the city had long been considered a world capital, the crossroads of Europe, where Eastern and Western met, it had taken two decades for her to reclaim that mantle. For Kat it was a wonderful thing to see because she liked to think that she had played a substantial roll in bringing back the city that was her birthplace.
This was also the last day that Kat would be considered active in the military. She intended to go home and just be a mother to her children for a while, Helene had warned her that she would get bored and would be begging for something exciting to do after a few weeks. Helene seemed to think that she was just going to sit at home and do nothing, that was the furthest thing from what Kat would be doing. Instead, she had taken the position that Louis had offered her. Regular hours and not having to worry about getting unexpectedly called away at any time, a chance to travel with Douglas when he went off on photographic expeditions, plenty of time to pursue her own projects. It all sounded so good her. She felt like she was secure for the first time in her life and it was a good feeling.
The meeting with the American President had gone well enough. Still though, he had been long winded in the manner that most of his kind were no matter their nationality and was a reminder as to why she disliked most politicians. Kat had heard the words that he had spoken, and they had sounded good if one could ignore the historical context with which he spoke and didn’t know about the not so neutral role that the country had played during the Second World War. Many in Europe had been speculating for years as to whether or not Stalin would have been so bold as to provoke the war had it not been for the sale of grain, oil and other war materials from the United States. Kat herself remembered her father’s cynical jokes about British rifle cartridges with American headstamps long before the Des Moines incident resulted in the United States entering the First World War. As much as Kat had wanted to give President Harriman a piece of her mind over all of that and how Asia had been treated, the Emperor had explicitly ordered her not to do that or tell anyone in America what she thought about what the President, no matter what he said. Kat was to accept Thorwald’s rifle on behalf of the SKA, she was to graciously thank the President for being a good host and she was to echo his sentiment that as Liberal Democracies their respective nations should be friends and allies. The whole thing had left a bad taste in Kat’s mouth.
Instead, Kat got to sit there quietly and do her best not to create an international incident. She had talked to Asia just before she had left for America and while Asia was recovering slowly it was clear that what had happened had taken a severe toll on her. Some part of her had been damaged in Danvers State Hospital and that was the slowest part to recover. The comments the hospital staff had made about her ethnicity and gender, how that meant that she was less than human in their eyes. She was just an object to them, a plaything. When they discovered that she would hit back they had done their level best to destroy her. She had been helpless, unable to stop them and that had affected her deeply. Kat understood what Asia was going through as she came to grips with what had happened, it was something that Kat wished that she didn’t. For Asia though, the most offensive aspect of all of this was that partially because of her the current incarnation of the Sisterhood had been effectively sidelined. Kat had told Asia that she shouldn’t read too much into that. The Sisterhood would be back in some form in the future, she just needed to be patient.
Gloria, who had followed her around for the entire week had talked with her about her life in Germany. What Kat did when she wasn’t off being a soldier, secret agent or whatever it was she did. That had been fun, but there had been a few times when she had gotten the impression that Gloria had wanted her to answer questions a certain way and had been disappointed by the answers that she had gotten instead. Kat had eventually given her a bit of advice. She could cover the stories, or she could play a role in them, but trying to do both was a disservice to herself, her newspaper and her readers who would eventually tire of her having an agenda. Kat was unsure if she had gotten through to her, but she remembered that Maria had told her almost the exact same thing shortly before getting caught up in the Reichstag bombing ended her journalistic aspirations forever.
Kat had however parted on good terms with Gloria. They had last seen each other at Idlewild Airport, in the lounge as they had waited for their respective flights to depart. Kat was going home, and Gloria was headed to Los Angles to cover the unfolding scandal that was unfolding in the big Hollywood studios. Jane Wyman and her husband had fallen on hard times following his felony arrest a few years earlier. Now they were at the center of a prostitution scandal that many thought was going to be the undoing of the studio system. Personally, Kat felt that it was profoundly ironic that the scandal that took down the studios was someone doing on a small scale what the studios themselves had been doing for decades. Kat had told Gloria that there she thought that there would no good side to what she found in Hollywood, just different sides of bad and worse.
Once the plane landed, Kat trudged up the jetway, an agent from Lufthansa had made sure that Thorwald’s rifle was well cared for during the flight and he handed it to her as she walked past. Kat preferred to travel light and had never liked the risk involved when checking luggage. Thorwald’s rifle had been a bit different in that regard. Arrangements had been worked out with the airline ahead of time. It was with great relief that Douglas was there to meet her and help with her bag and the rifle case. The plan was that Kat they were going to drive across town and deliver the rifle to the military museum the instant the office opened. Her last duty to Thorwald and the SKA would be complete.
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If Gloria Steinem writes an article about her meeting with Kat, she is going compare and contrast the opportunities that women in Germany have to what the women in the United States have.
For years ever since the attack on the Imperial Family Kat has been the model for "The New German Woman" and I think that this visit Kat will have a bigger impact on the discussions on the role of women in the United States.
Now what would be interesting is it Kat sees a red hair doll made by Mattel.
For years ever since the attack on the Imperial Family Kat has been the model for "The New German Woman" and I think that this visit Kat will have a bigger impact on the discussions on the role of women in the United States.
Now what would be interesting is it Kat sees a red hair doll made by Mattel.
I assume we are referring to Miss Wyman's third husband?
People at risk of rape and abduction are also most likely female and small, so I'm not sure how dabbling in karate/whatever is going to help. Not a lot of people really have the time to seriously do martial arts, and weight classes exist for a reason - a 120lb woman is at a vast disadvantage to a 160lb+ rapist
For the 1%, a knife is probably far more useful than whatever martial art you took. And IMO children doing martial arts is mostly a scam because they're far too small/weak for their moves to do anything.
That said way too many martial-arts places jabber about self-control/discipline/respect/helping kids with homework in their adds because heaven forbid you acknowledge the actual point of martial arts is beating other people up (Not trying to sound like an 80s kung-fu villain here.)
Between the earlier introduction of television, the anti trust case of Paramount Theaters, and the California law that prohibits contracts longer than seven years the studio system should just about to be finished, then again taxes ITTL should be much lower and that means there is not the need to start production companies by the big stars in order to lower their taxes.
This was touched on in an argument that Kiki and Zella had when they were respectively 11 and 12 years old.
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Well it must be part of it. I went to college with a middle-aged Buddhist who insisted he was a complete pacifist, despite being a veritable killing machine with his incredible knowledge of martial arts.
Got burned by someone? The point of martial arts is self-control, discipline, body control, etc. Thats why they are called martial ARTS.
In german there is a dichtonomy which doesn't exist in english: It is be KampfSPORT (lit. martial sport, e.g. Kendo) when you are talking about the stuff which has hurting people only as a side effect. If you are talking the stuff which has the primary objective of hurting people you talk about KampfKUNST (lit. martial art, e.g. Kenjitsu). Note that something can be both, depending on the suff taught (and whether or not you use "tools"). For example Aikido or Krav Manga.
Normally, kids get KampfSPORT - KampfKUNST is something else, since it requires teaching people (which normally are not used to violence) to deliberately hurt/cripple/kill someone. The difficult bit is the same as teaching soldiers to shoot people.
For example, I mentioned earlier that I did sword fighting (definition of KampfSPORT), where you do a lot of general fitness (try running around in chainmail...which is required so you don't get cuts) and some striking (mostly the safe bits which don't leave much damage on a fuck-up). I then read up on the KampfKUNST regarding swords. That stuff is nasty since it boils down to: You have 80-120 cms of steel in your hand. Strike your opponents head. If he tries to block, flip the sword, break his arm and then his skull. If for some reason, the skull is not an available target, break his knees, wrists, ellbows, shins or any exposed parts of his body. Then break his skull. It involves plenty of self-thoughening (your wrists f.ex).
The thing is, if you want to hurt someone, the whole shebang around it serves a dual purpose: It both isolates you from the violence - so you don't flinch - and makes you measure before you use violence. You don't want any brawl you are in end with someone crippled for life. If you got people who are simply desensitzed to violence, thats a thug. And thugs normally have...morale problems.
Go tell that to the various old men who quite regularly beat people up. Also, most "rapists" or "muggers" are - as Batman would say - a cowardly lot. Utlimately, they don't want to take a risk. So the pen in the eye will make you reconsider. The 160lb+ guy does not expect resistance. Maybe he is not even used to it. Sudden, violent, resistance makes them reconsider and gets you the seconds to make an escape/get help. A plan violently executed now is better than nothing, both large and small scale. The whole mental shebang of good martial arts classes prepares you to act suddenly, violently. Besides of which, good ones also teaches composure under stress which makes "bad descions" less likely. It also increases personal fitness, which makes running and so on easier.
The entire point is to tip the scales.
From personal experience with learning a martial art, (Judo), at a young age, I think most of you have actually missed the one thing martial arts gives you that really helps to keep you safe:
Self Confidence.
As was mentioned, street criminals are opportunists, jackals as it were. They look for weak looking people. You walk anywhere projecting confidence and they won't look at you twice because you're too much trouble. Sometimes the street criminals isn't smart enough to spot it, they can be trouble, but the smart ones leave confident people alone. Learning martial arts gives young professionals self confidence.
Self Confidence.
As was mentioned, street criminals are opportunists, jackals as it were. They look for weak looking people. You walk anywhere projecting confidence and they won't look at you twice because you're too much trouble. Sometimes the street criminals isn't smart enough to spot it, they can be trouble, but the smart ones leave confident people alone. Learning martial arts gives young professionals self confidence.
Something I wanted to compile for some time: a summary of the main differences compared to OTL. Note that this list is NON-canon (unless PM says otherwise), and based on my interpretation of events. I'll go outcome first, then state why it is so.
Edit3: Wow, I never figured the dominant position of the USA OTL dependent so much on them lucking out in WW2.
- The USA are far weaker economically, culturally, politically and militarily, due to not participating in alt-WW2, having been isolationist and generally lacking the lucky streak of OTL.
- Their WW1 participation went worse than OTL in various respects, diminishing the prestige of the US-Army, removing the gains from the seized german assets. It also yielded a worse integration into "anglo-saxonism" than OTL. And probably a few things I forgot.
- While they still made good profits selling war material during alt-WW2, it went far worse than OTL for them
- Europe wasn't burnt to the ground twice
- The Warsaw Pact wasn't established
- German patents and assets weren't seized (again)
- The British didn't sell them everything and the kitchen sink
- They didn't establish Germany and Japan as vassal states
- No "Operation Paperclip"
- They were unable to use it as an externalisation of the various racial and social problems by using the battlefield to smooth the differences over
- They didn't become the Western Hegemon
- Culturally, they are more backwards than at this time OTL, since the various civil movements were suppressed and the lack of Nazis let racism still be accepted. Also, the spread of american culture is far less than OTL due to the lack of engagements overseas and their isolationism.
- Their immigration rates are probably well below OTLs, since there were no Nazis (meaning a great deal of talent stayed in the Reich), no Warsaw Pact (as before) and the general standard of living in Europe and Japan is better (than OTL...which isn't hard)
- This has a strong feedback effect, since fewer immigrants mean less prosperity, which in turn does not draw as many as OTL.
- I read somewhere the the USA is extremely dependent on the continous infusion of "fresh talent" by immigration. If that is true, net emigration (i.e. more people leaving than arriving) could result in an ugly scenario.
- They do not stand at the head of their alliance system. Instead, they have to contend with an Alliance streching from Brittany to the Sea of Japan.
- This also means that they don't meddle in either Africa (which the Europeans consider "theirs") or the Middle East (which means that those guys lucked out)
- No Iran-Contra, no Shah, no House of Saud, no Sykes-Picot either
- The missed out on a world war. Their last "proper" war was WWI. The USN probably is still a force to be reckoned with (but lacking carriers or modern hardware), but the army is a joke to the Europeans, despite attempts to modernise it. There is more to that than simply the right toys.
- Southern America is far more restive since the Europeans serve as a counterweight against overt abuse of power by the USA
- In summary, the influence of the USA outside of the american continent is sharply limited both by possibility and will
- Their WW1 participation went worse than OTL in various respects, diminishing the prestige of the US-Army, removing the gains from the seized german assets. It also yielded a worse integration into "anglo-saxonism" than OTL. And probably a few things I forgot.
- The Second German Reich is far more powerful and respected since the Nazis never existed (and they won WW2).
- Their status as primus inter pares of Europe goes unchallenged.
- The French would rather be lancer than enemy by now
- There is a certain amount of gratitude in northern and eastern Europe for the whole WW2-and-Stalin thingie
- The British have decided to focus on the Commonwealth, and not to antagonise the Continent needlessly. Also, they don't think that that would be a wise course of action
- The French would rather be lancer than enemy by now
- They are far more scientifically and (in parts) socially advanced than OTL
- No Nazis, no Weimar and a whole host of talent from their allies
- The "levers of power" are in the hands people who have risen (Emil, Jacob), got there unwillingly (Kat, The Emperor) or have recogised the signs of the times(Ol' von Richthofen). Basically, by now the Reich has the tappings of old, but underneath it is shiny and new.
- This knocks on to womens' rights, class relations, and so on. I think it is something hard to imagine for OTLians, since it is a wierd mixture of the "old" (every general being von such-and-such) and the new (because said general got her "von" on promotion)
- The changes went with as much fuss as womens' right to vote in OTLs Weimar Republic ("Eh, why not?")
- They have the most powerful military on the planet.
- They stand hat the head of Eurasia.
- Thats going to get worse if Freddy marries Suga.
- Their status as primus inter pares of Europe goes unchallenged.
- Politics is far more multi-polar than OTL, since the LoN wasn't stillborn and the Reich threw its weight behind it.
- It is overall far more liberal Edit1: WRT "personal liberties", with better individual rights (outside of the USA, that is). The leading ideology seems to be a wierd internationalist reinterpretation of nationalism. Also, the politicking is far "calmer" than OTL.
- There is far less of a red scare with its attendant support of dicators and other unplesant persons.
- Edit2: Economical structure is far less Machester- or American-Capitalist, instead prefering more of the Rhenish or Social variant. That means banks probably have far less influence.
Edit3: Wow, I never figured the dominant position of the USA OTL dependent so much on them lucking out in WW2.
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Actually the United States is in better shape than you think, yes it is not as powerful as it was IOTL but without being in the ITTL WWII it did made out like bandits selling stuff at first to both sides then just to the Allies.
Right now the United States debt to GDP ratio is probably at a long time low and taxes are nowhere near IOTL levels.
Truman started the Highway building sooner and threw in rebuilding the railroads at the sametime, the 707 has just came online and most likely it is a bit better than the OTL 707 and it is selling very well to overseas customers.
With the Democratic party winning in a landslide in the 1946 midterms there is no Taft-Hartley act and after the failed attempt on Truman and the unmasking of the Augusta Conspiracy the power and influence of corporations and the extremely rich has been greatly curtailed.
The 1952 landslide reelection of Truman over Taft should butterfly the election of Goldwater away as in OTL Goldwater won very narrowly in a Eisenhower landslide year and apparently there is not going to be the Reagan Revolution ITTL.
That means conservatives have no unifying leader to rally around and the 1954 midterms should have more moderate Republicans elected who are more pro civil rights.
Without the vast amount of spending that the South received IOTL WWII and from the post war economic boom they are an economic basket case and have less influence on the national stage.
It is race relations that things are much more complicated, there shouldn't have been the massive influx of black workers from the South to the north but it should be a more steady movement and the OTL housing shortages that led to many riots in the north did not happen, of course some of it did happen but the frequency and intensity is much less.
There is much more to be said about this but it will take too long and I can't really put in a clear enough manner.
But I will speculate that the election of Harriman means that the United States is building a "National Consensus" that will lead the United States out of the wilderness that they have found themselves in since 1917.
Right now the United States debt to GDP ratio is probably at a long time low and taxes are nowhere near IOTL levels.
Truman started the Highway building sooner and threw in rebuilding the railroads at the sametime, the 707 has just came online and most likely it is a bit better than the OTL 707 and it is selling very well to overseas customers.
With the Democratic party winning in a landslide in the 1946 midterms there is no Taft-Hartley act and after the failed attempt on Truman and the unmasking of the Augusta Conspiracy the power and influence of corporations and the extremely rich has been greatly curtailed.
The 1952 landslide reelection of Truman over Taft should butterfly the election of Goldwater away as in OTL Goldwater won very narrowly in a Eisenhower landslide year and apparently there is not going to be the Reagan Revolution ITTL.
That means conservatives have no unifying leader to rally around and the 1954 midterms should have more moderate Republicans elected who are more pro civil rights.
Without the vast amount of spending that the South received IOTL WWII and from the post war economic boom they are an economic basket case and have less influence on the national stage.
It is race relations that things are much more complicated, there shouldn't have been the massive influx of black workers from the South to the north but it should be a more steady movement and the OTL housing shortages that led to many riots in the north did not happen, of course some of it did happen but the frequency and intensity is much less.
There is much more to be said about this but it will take too long and I can't really put in a clear enough manner.
But I will speculate that the election of Harriman means that the United States is building a "National Consensus" that will lead the United States out of the wilderness that they have found themselves in since 1917.