Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
I mean yeah, Patrick and Patricia/Patrizia both exist in German. But Patrick is far more common than the female form (that is mostly used as an "import" via the Romance languages in regards to pronunciation), and Pat at least to my ear sounds very male.
Uh, yeah, not really a German name. It's been imported from the Anglosphere, but then it is near universally used for males (probably, but don't quote me on that via Batman comics). I've heard the female form, Robine, once before out in the real world, but I think that one isn't really even a blip in the statistics.
So no, not in a German context, they don't work.
Disclaimer: Regional and temporal variances may exist on that topic. For all I know Robin is the current trending name for north German girls.
Edit: Off hand, unisex names in German are nearly universally nicknames. I.e. Alex for Alexander/Alexandra, Chris for Christian/Christine.
And it's not that long ago that the bureaucracy refused to print birth certificates, unless the name was 'on the list' or you could prove that it was a common name somewhere 'culturally related' to your families origin.
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ferdi254
Banned
As I said already a woman not realizing she is pregnant makes it to nationwide media coverage once a year meaning there are many more. So it is not like seeing a car on a street but rather have a squirrel in your garden.
Anyway one thing here though Peabody. This thing about dating is even clichee USA. It does not apply in the slightest to Germany. Those things are done tremendously different here compared to the USA.
Anyway one thing here though Peabody. This thing about dating is even clichee USA. It does not apply in the slightest to Germany. Those things are done tremendously different here compared to the USA.
ferdi254
Banned
It is not called dates. Dating someone in the USA has become a sort of ritual or science. There are books on dating for dummies as well as Einstein for dummies in the USA. So those talks like three dinners and then it is breakfast only make sense to German people who have seem some serials and movies from the USA.
No one here would expect a man and a woman going for a sexual relationship just because they had had dinner three times.
And by and large there is no phase where you are dating each other (meaning having sex) but are not a couple. The culture is very different.
And especially as we are talking 70s Germany.
No one here would expect a man and a woman going for a sexual relationship just because they had had dinner three times.
And by and large there is no phase where you are dating each other (meaning having sex) but are not a couple. The culture is very different.
And especially as we are talking 70s Germany.
Part 122, Chapter 2045
Chapter Two Thousand Forty-Five
23rd February 1971
Over Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
The Chilean Army might have made rapid advancements elsewhere, the Main Island of the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago had been a very notable exception. The Army had hit the Argentinian defenses on the island and had been stopped cold. Then after weeks of heavy fighting, they had been pushed back hard, Cerro Sombrero and Campo Cerro Manantiales had swiftly fallen under Argentine control giving then control of much of the southern shore of the Strait of Magellan.
Now Porvenir, the largest Chilean holding on the Island was being threatened and if it fell then holding on to any remaining settlements would become untenable. At that point, Punta Arenes would be within easy striking distance.
That was why the Chilean Air Force was shifting all available resources available to support the Army. The trouble was that this was coming at a time when the President had been grabbing everything that he could to defend the Capitol thousands of kilometers to the north. Reinaldo couldn’t tell if that had been an ingenious move by the Argentinians or a happy coincidence for them. His own Squadron had been slated to move north except things had heated up down here before that could happen.
That was how Reinaldo found himself doing air-to-mud bombing runs in his Super Tiger. There had been some grumbling during the mission briefing about how this was hitching a thoroughbred up to a plow because the pylons that held the Mark 82 500-pound bombs tended to fall off if the plane pulled more than five or six gravities. If they got jumped by Mirage Fighters while they were on a bombing run, then they would be sitting ducks. Fortunately, the FAA didn’t seem to be around this afternoon. Reinaldo saw it as a chance to beef up his numbers with FACh Brass in Santiago. Like pencil pushers everywhere else, they tended to see how things looked on paper to the exclusion of everything else. The others in the Squadron wondered why Reinaldo was up for decorations and promotion, well that was the answer.
Taking off from Base Aérea Chabunco, Reinaldo began his third sortie of the day. Flying the thirty miles across the Strait in minutes. As he had practiced in Pensacola, he flew parallel to the lines on the enemy side. Here and there, green tracers flew up towards him, but whoever was on the ground wasn’t particularly good at leading a fast-moving target. He wasn’t planning on sticking around long enough for them to get lucky though. Dropping the bombs on what he thought was a cluster of advancing armored vehicles, Reinaldo turned back to base.
This time, he was surprised to see a large amount smoke coming from Aérea Chabunco as he entered the traffic pattern. He was advised to make a crosswind landing on what should have been the wrong runway. Taxying towards the flight line he was directed to park his plane at an alternate location. From the cockpit, he could see the flaming wreckage of airplanes and hangers that had been intact just an hour earlier when he had left. Just what the Hell had happened?
Strait of Magellan
The 12.8 Centimeter guns of the SMS Z66 “Schwertwal” had lobbed high explosive shells at the assigned targets. Now, the Schwertwal was racing north for the Second Narrows at flank speed as the Captain, who was never pleased with anything, looked extremely happy this afternoon. She was just one ship among the Destroyer flotilla that had set out from Puerto Belgrano days earlier. The working theory had been that if they made their way north from the Drake Passage without getting identified, they could catch the Chileans flatfooted. The ships had run parallel to the coast, bombarding high value targets including the Army Barracks and the Airforce Base. The raid had gone largely unopposed and that was something that no one was anticipating would happen again.
For Louis Junior, this was the anxious part of the entire journey, far more than the high seas and foul weather of the Drake Passage. As he made his way down from the Bridge to the Combat Information Room, he could feel that the others watching the radar scopes felt much the same way. It was anticipated that this operation would draw an immediate response, just it was unclear what form that would take. What was clear as day however was that it would take the Flotilla several hours to get clear.
So, the crew of the Schwertwal remained in General Quarters with the Anti-Aircraft guns and the Missile Launchers primed to go at a moment’s notice. It was unknown just what the Chileans might have dug in along the North Shore of the Strait. Louis didn’t want to find out by having a Damage Control Party trying to fix a hole in the side of the ship, so he was making sure that everyone was on their toes.
Making his way aft, he saw that the men manning the AA Guns were looking warily at the Missile Launchers and he really didn’t need to say anything to them. If the Launchers sprang to life, then it meant that enemy aircraft were within thirty to forty kilometers. The radar guided 37-millimeter guns had an effective range of six kilometers, so that meant that they would have seconds to get a targeting solution on the aircraft racing at them over the speed of sound.
23rd February 1971
Over Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
The Chilean Army might have made rapid advancements elsewhere, the Main Island of the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago had been a very notable exception. The Army had hit the Argentinian defenses on the island and had been stopped cold. Then after weeks of heavy fighting, they had been pushed back hard, Cerro Sombrero and Campo Cerro Manantiales had swiftly fallen under Argentine control giving then control of much of the southern shore of the Strait of Magellan.
Now Porvenir, the largest Chilean holding on the Island was being threatened and if it fell then holding on to any remaining settlements would become untenable. At that point, Punta Arenes would be within easy striking distance.
That was why the Chilean Air Force was shifting all available resources available to support the Army. The trouble was that this was coming at a time when the President had been grabbing everything that he could to defend the Capitol thousands of kilometers to the north. Reinaldo couldn’t tell if that had been an ingenious move by the Argentinians or a happy coincidence for them. His own Squadron had been slated to move north except things had heated up down here before that could happen.
That was how Reinaldo found himself doing air-to-mud bombing runs in his Super Tiger. There had been some grumbling during the mission briefing about how this was hitching a thoroughbred up to a plow because the pylons that held the Mark 82 500-pound bombs tended to fall off if the plane pulled more than five or six gravities. If they got jumped by Mirage Fighters while they were on a bombing run, then they would be sitting ducks. Fortunately, the FAA didn’t seem to be around this afternoon. Reinaldo saw it as a chance to beef up his numbers with FACh Brass in Santiago. Like pencil pushers everywhere else, they tended to see how things looked on paper to the exclusion of everything else. The others in the Squadron wondered why Reinaldo was up for decorations and promotion, well that was the answer.
Taking off from Base Aérea Chabunco, Reinaldo began his third sortie of the day. Flying the thirty miles across the Strait in minutes. As he had practiced in Pensacola, he flew parallel to the lines on the enemy side. Here and there, green tracers flew up towards him, but whoever was on the ground wasn’t particularly good at leading a fast-moving target. He wasn’t planning on sticking around long enough for them to get lucky though. Dropping the bombs on what he thought was a cluster of advancing armored vehicles, Reinaldo turned back to base.
This time, he was surprised to see a large amount smoke coming from Aérea Chabunco as he entered the traffic pattern. He was advised to make a crosswind landing on what should have been the wrong runway. Taxying towards the flight line he was directed to park his plane at an alternate location. From the cockpit, he could see the flaming wreckage of airplanes and hangers that had been intact just an hour earlier when he had left. Just what the Hell had happened?
Strait of Magellan
The 12.8 Centimeter guns of the SMS Z66 “Schwertwal” had lobbed high explosive shells at the assigned targets. Now, the Schwertwal was racing north for the Second Narrows at flank speed as the Captain, who was never pleased with anything, looked extremely happy this afternoon. She was just one ship among the Destroyer flotilla that had set out from Puerto Belgrano days earlier. The working theory had been that if they made their way north from the Drake Passage without getting identified, they could catch the Chileans flatfooted. The ships had run parallel to the coast, bombarding high value targets including the Army Barracks and the Airforce Base. The raid had gone largely unopposed and that was something that no one was anticipating would happen again.
For Louis Junior, this was the anxious part of the entire journey, far more than the high seas and foul weather of the Drake Passage. As he made his way down from the Bridge to the Combat Information Room, he could feel that the others watching the radar scopes felt much the same way. It was anticipated that this operation would draw an immediate response, just it was unclear what form that would take. What was clear as day however was that it would take the Flotilla several hours to get clear.
So, the crew of the Schwertwal remained in General Quarters with the Anti-Aircraft guns and the Missile Launchers primed to go at a moment’s notice. It was unknown just what the Chileans might have dug in along the North Shore of the Strait. Louis didn’t want to find out by having a Damage Control Party trying to fix a hole in the side of the ship, so he was making sure that everyone was on their toes.
Making his way aft, he saw that the men manning the AA Guns were looking warily at the Missile Launchers and he really didn’t need to say anything to them. If the Launchers sprang to life, then it meant that enemy aircraft were within thirty to forty kilometers. The radar guided 37-millimeter guns had an effective range of six kilometers, so that meant that they would have seconds to get a targeting solution on the aircraft racing at them over the speed of sound.
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Not everything translates perfectly. Dating in this context, in this era, implies seeing someone for dinner and a movie while still in the "Getting to know you" part of the relationship. That is what it used to mean in the US as well.
Part 122, Chapter 2046
Chapter Two Thousand Forty-Six
28th February 1971
Moscow, Russia
Gia was attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the latest building that was to be constructed in the center of Moscow. This time it was for a new Ministry of Foreign Affairs building that would be a showcase for Russia’s reemergence on the world stage. It was a theme that Gia had heard many times before. At the start of the construction of the new Moscow State University Campus a decade earlier being the most notable example. It had been used for other buildings, a hotel, an office complex, even a few residential buildings. The truth was plain to see in the actual buildings that had gone up after ninety percent of Moscow had been leveled during the Second World War. It was mostly shoddy prefab construction that had proven extremely difficult to get rid of because more of it seemed to go up all the time regardless of what those in positions of power actually said. Gia had waged a year’s long campaign against official corruption within the City and State, but it felt as if she were trying to shovel away a mountain of sand with a teaspoon.
The hope was that this building would truly become a showcase of what was possible as opposed to settling for what was barebones practical. It was hard not to be skeptical though and Gia found herself looking forward to spending most of the summer in her house in the Transbaikal Oblast. Perhaps that was the problem though? She could always escape somewhere far away. At the same times though, where it felt to Gia like if this entire city was trying to drive her insane and she needed to escape for a few months.
Alexie would also be extremely disappointed if they didn’t go east for the summer. He loved how he was able to run wild for the summer holiday and be a guide for the other boys. Gia had taken a page from her cousins in Berlin in that she took a number of boys from a variety of backgrounds who lived in Moscow with her to the Transbaikal. It was important for Alexei not to spend his childhood alone and to have friends his own age. The last thing that Gia wanted was for her son to end up as a neurotic mess, that was what seemed to come from being isolated during formative years.
Tempelhof, Berlin
At the moment Kiki was trying to figure out who she hated more, Doctor Berg or Benjamin. Ben for his absence and Berg for her presence.
“This is your first, Kristina” Berg said patting her on the shoulder as the car that was taking her to the University Hospital turned into the parking lot, “So this is going to take a long time but count your blessings, this could have come as a complete surprise for you.”
It was all Kiki could do not to tell Berg to fuck off for telling her that this was her first, the only way there would be another was over her dead body. She had woken up early that morning with what felt like the worst case of cramps in her life but mercifully it had passed until it happened again. Berg had taken one look and said that it meant that the baby was coming, that had merely been the first contractions and that there would be plenty more. That they needed to get her to the hospital and that she had already called the Midwife. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but the entrance of the hospital was a complete circus when they arrived. There had been a whole lot of hype surrounding this, most of it embarrassingly revolved around her physical appearance. Mostly because she didn’t look pregnant. That was drawing a lot of unwelcome speculation and her having been out of view since she had returned from South America weeks earlier had not helped. While she had been shielded from the brunt of it by staying on her family’s estate, Kiki was aware of the harsh criticism she was getting subjected to by the press and the feeding frenzy that had come with that.
Kiki had spent a great deal of time staring at her midsection trying to figure out what had happened and what was happening. There was a slight bulge in her abdomen, but it really took effort to see that anything was different.
“I don’t want to tangle with that a bunch of hyenas” Berg said before she instructed the Driver to keep going around to one of the side entrances. Before they got out of the car, she said to Kiki. “Regardless of whatever anyone might tell you, there is no right way to go about doing this.”
“Having a baby?” Kiki asked in reply as she noticed that the Attendants were clearly intending to treat her like any other patient checking into hospital.
“No, there are only a couple different ways of going about that” Berg replied, as the car's door was opened. “I was referring to being a mother.”
“I think that we both know what a disaster I… I…” Kiki started to say, except the latest contraction caused her to stop midsentence and trying desperately not cry out in pain.
“I doubt you’ll be a disaster at all Kristina” Berg said as Kiki was helped onto the gurney.
Then as Kiki was wheeled into the hospital, she could hear Berg answering questions about her present condition. All she kept thinking about was how she had made a complete mess of things. Even in this.
28th February 1971
Moscow, Russia
Gia was attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the latest building that was to be constructed in the center of Moscow. This time it was for a new Ministry of Foreign Affairs building that would be a showcase for Russia’s reemergence on the world stage. It was a theme that Gia had heard many times before. At the start of the construction of the new Moscow State University Campus a decade earlier being the most notable example. It had been used for other buildings, a hotel, an office complex, even a few residential buildings. The truth was plain to see in the actual buildings that had gone up after ninety percent of Moscow had been leveled during the Second World War. It was mostly shoddy prefab construction that had proven extremely difficult to get rid of because more of it seemed to go up all the time regardless of what those in positions of power actually said. Gia had waged a year’s long campaign against official corruption within the City and State, but it felt as if she were trying to shovel away a mountain of sand with a teaspoon.
The hope was that this building would truly become a showcase of what was possible as opposed to settling for what was barebones practical. It was hard not to be skeptical though and Gia found herself looking forward to spending most of the summer in her house in the Transbaikal Oblast. Perhaps that was the problem though? She could always escape somewhere far away. At the same times though, where it felt to Gia like if this entire city was trying to drive her insane and she needed to escape for a few months.
Alexie would also be extremely disappointed if they didn’t go east for the summer. He loved how he was able to run wild for the summer holiday and be a guide for the other boys. Gia had taken a page from her cousins in Berlin in that she took a number of boys from a variety of backgrounds who lived in Moscow with her to the Transbaikal. It was important for Alexei not to spend his childhood alone and to have friends his own age. The last thing that Gia wanted was for her son to end up as a neurotic mess, that was what seemed to come from being isolated during formative years.
Tempelhof, Berlin
At the moment Kiki was trying to figure out who she hated more, Doctor Berg or Benjamin. Ben for his absence and Berg for her presence.
“This is your first, Kristina” Berg said patting her on the shoulder as the car that was taking her to the University Hospital turned into the parking lot, “So this is going to take a long time but count your blessings, this could have come as a complete surprise for you.”
It was all Kiki could do not to tell Berg to fuck off for telling her that this was her first, the only way there would be another was over her dead body. She had woken up early that morning with what felt like the worst case of cramps in her life but mercifully it had passed until it happened again. Berg had taken one look and said that it meant that the baby was coming, that had merely been the first contractions and that there would be plenty more. That they needed to get her to the hospital and that she had already called the Midwife. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but the entrance of the hospital was a complete circus when they arrived. There had been a whole lot of hype surrounding this, most of it embarrassingly revolved around her physical appearance. Mostly because she didn’t look pregnant. That was drawing a lot of unwelcome speculation and her having been out of view since she had returned from South America weeks earlier had not helped. While she had been shielded from the brunt of it by staying on her family’s estate, Kiki was aware of the harsh criticism she was getting subjected to by the press and the feeding frenzy that had come with that.
Kiki had spent a great deal of time staring at her midsection trying to figure out what had happened and what was happening. There was a slight bulge in her abdomen, but it really took effort to see that anything was different.
“I don’t want to tangle with that a bunch of hyenas” Berg said before she instructed the Driver to keep going around to one of the side entrances. Before they got out of the car, she said to Kiki. “Regardless of whatever anyone might tell you, there is no right way to go about doing this.”
“Having a baby?” Kiki asked in reply as she noticed that the Attendants were clearly intending to treat her like any other patient checking into hospital.
“No, there are only a couple different ways of going about that” Berg replied, as the car's door was opened. “I was referring to being a mother.”
“I think that we both know what a disaster I… I…” Kiki started to say, except the latest contraction caused her to stop midsentence and trying desperately not cry out in pain.
“I doubt you’ll be a disaster at all Kristina” Berg said as Kiki was helped onto the gurney.
Then as Kiki was wheeled into the hospital, she could hear Berg answering questions about her present condition. All she kept thinking about was how she had made a complete mess of things. Even in this.
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I've been getting an ominous vibe since Kiki having abnormal bloodwork came up, that something bad is going to happen to her or Ben soon. Still not shaking it, but that'd be one hell if a plot twist if you have one coming.
Back to names - Jo works. Johannes or Johanna.
Now, how long will it take Ben to be given the news that his wife has given birth to Ben landing in Berlin?
It's 12,000KM, the Tornado has a Max speed of 2400KPH, so assume a cruising speed at 75% gives 1800KPH. that's 6 hours and 40 minutes without stops, however, it has a ferry range of 3890KM, so it will have to refuel 4 times to avoid running on fumes and to give him some leeway for hold ups. Assume that each refuelling takes approximately 20 minutes, (5 minutes slowing and lining up, 10 minutes to refuel and 5 minutes to return to speed, course, altitude etc), you're looking at 8 hours give or take a few minutes assuming he is vectored straight in to land on arriving in Berlin and doesn't need to sit in a holding pattern until a landing slot is available.
All in all, I suspect that 12 hours after getting the nod in Argentina, Ben could be back on Berlin.
Now, how long will it take Ben to be given the news that his wife has given birth to Ben landing in Berlin?
It's 12,000KM, the Tornado has a Max speed of 2400KPH, so assume a cruising speed at 75% gives 1800KPH. that's 6 hours and 40 minutes without stops, however, it has a ferry range of 3890KM, so it will have to refuel 4 times to avoid running on fumes and to give him some leeway for hold ups. Assume that each refuelling takes approximately 20 minutes, (5 minutes slowing and lining up, 10 minutes to refuel and 5 minutes to return to speed, course, altitude etc), you're looking at 8 hours give or take a few minutes assuming he is vectored straight in to land on arriving in Berlin and doesn't need to sit in a holding pattern until a landing slot is available.
All in all, I suspect that 12 hours after getting the nod in Argentina, Ben could be back on Berlin.
Time to make like his old boss and scoot?
Considering long royal names, if it's a girl, I just hope Kat gets the favor returned.
Kat IS going to be there, right, P-M?
At the moment it's 16-20 hours on a commercial airliner, but definitely less stress and much, much more comfortable.
The Germans should have their own version of the SR 71, simple to find the right strip and in the middle of the night Ben can get a ride almost like when he went to the moon. Even give him some flight time if they use a trainer so he can get some stick time. Never know when that might come in handy.
He'd have to land that Tornado at least once. Yes, IFR is possible but how do you get the oil in the engine when it runs out?
OTLTornado was never designed for truly long strategic flights, although the RAF wanted a larger aircraft with more fuel and thus range a la TSR2/F111.
OTLTornado was never designed for truly long strategic flights, although the RAF wanted a larger aircraft with more fuel and thus range a la TSR2/F111.
No, Ben is not going to fly home on a moments notice, no more than he could have flown to Argentina in the first place. Now, he has painted himself into quite a corner though.
One thing occurs: when Ben eventually does get home...will he stay in the reserves? Now that he’s got a kid he might decide that - since it doesn’t take him away from home and family randomly - his civilian job should take priority. Plus it’s not like they need the extra money...