Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
I don't know how the culture of Japan would be different with a significantly different end to WWII. However, I suspect that Germanism would be popular in Japan. The Imperial Diet was partially based on the German Riechstag and the original school uniform was also based on the German model, so there has been a long history of following the German model since the Meiji era. And ITTL, the German model has proved very successful and adaptable.
The Germans might not be Japanese, but they probably have the combined cultural status in Japan of OTL France (romantic history and style) with OTL America (modernism, economic and military achievements). There are probably people in Japan who look down on her marrying a Gaijin, but I suspect the heir of Germany is seen as the pinnacle of gaijinhood.
The Germans might not be Japanese, but they probably have the combined cultural status in Japan of OTL France (romantic history and style) with OTL America (modernism, economic and military achievements). There are probably people in Japan who look down on her marrying a Gaijin, but I suspect the heir of Germany is seen as the pinnacle of gaijinhood.
FBKampfer
Banned
Nah. He's hardly a basement-dweller. Especially since he seems more middle management in this whole thing.
Picture an IRA lad, or a Marxist-Leninist as the revolution is just getting rolling.
He's dedicated, intelligent, capable, and rather heavily indoctrinated, but naive and inexperienced.
Literally the only thing that says "basement dwelling mysogonist" is that he sees Kiki as a symbol of the royal family (which YOU all went and started assuming sexual motivations for, for some reason).
You think the IRA didn't hate the royal family with their very soul? You don't think the communists cursed the Czar and his family each night as they fell asleep? You don't know revolutionaries very well then.
Can't speak for my
That being said, a Freudian analysis would find sexual motives as a driver of such behaviour. The absence of a father (perhaps KIA in Russia) and a strong mother figure might see over time the Oedipal anger turn from the absent father toward the 'Father of the Empire' instead? As such, Mithras would be easy for The Financier and his backers to manipulate.
FBKampfer
Banned
Fair, the IRA was hardly monolithic. There certainly were elements of the movement that did hate the royals simply for their being there.
As for the Soviets, having read a few diaries, as well as the history of murder, summary execution, rape of captives, torture, etc, (and not simply in the USSR, but nations ranging from Vietnam to my dearest Mexico) that revolution can stoke hate in a way matched by few others.
I really don't think Mithras has a thing for Kiki at all. I think he simply has a convert's zeal.
Thankfully few people in the history of psychology have been as wrong as Freud.
Part 99, Chapter 1572
Chapter One Thousand Five Hundred Seventy-Two
23rd June 1963
Spandau, Berlin, in transit
It had been raining the day before and everyone had waited with bated breath about what the weather would be like on the afternoon of Sunday the 23rd. During the night the sky had cleared, and it remained partially cloudy. Suga felt that her marriage needed all the good omens that it could get considering the intendent difficulties involved. Everything had to be done under the constant glare of television cameras and the press, so it all had to be perfect because any mistakes would be magnified out of proportion. No matter how minor they were. The quick change of clothes that had been required before starting the next stage of the procession would probably have raised enough eyebrows.
The rehearsal dinner that had been a bright spot of the entire event so far, much to Suga’s surprise. Freddy’s father had given a wonderful toast, welcoming her into his family. Suga’s own father had joined in though Suga could tell that he wasn’t as comfortable with the custom. He had started by reminding everyone that in Japan the more conservative elements were less than thrilled with his youngest daughter’s marriage to a Gaijin. They had however mostly come to grudgingly accept it after he had pointed out that it depended entirely upon if the Gaijin in question was the right one.
Overhead puffy white clouds hung in a vivid blue sky and Suga realized that it was perfect as she watched the press of humanity out the window of the car they were riding in as the procession that they were a part of made its way to the third and final destination before returning to Potsdam for the reception. The first had been to the Courthouse in Mitte the day before when they had done the secular paperwork that the State required, and the Registrar had congratulated them as they signed the last signatures. Then today had come the Christian ceremony that morning, Suga had offered to convert to Freddy’s religion before the wedding but he had said that she should wait. The wedding should reflect where both of them came from.
The wedding in the Berlin Cathedral had been a huge and as it had turned out, a surprisingly raucous affair. There had been thousands of witnesses. The ceremony had involved her walking on rose petals that she had watched be spread by a group of girls, one of whom had been Freddy’s youngest sister Nella. As she walked down the aisle on her father’s arm. The vows had followed and the entire time she kept thinking about how handsome Freddy looked in the dress Uniform of the Pioneers, the odd service branch of the German Military that Freddy was a part of. It was rumored to have been started because they men who made up its original ranks couldn’t be trusted to point their guns in the right direction. They had gone on to be something that was far more important than that with time. Today the Pioneer Regiment that considered Freddy one of their own as Major von Preussen, had led the procession through the streets of Berlin. It was seen by many as them being formally raised in stature to join their place with the other Service Branches. There were other Regiments in the procession, the 1st Foot Guard Regiment who had the task of guarding the life the German Emperor and the Japanese 1st Imperial Guard Regiment from Japan had arrived at the same time as Suga’s father. The two Regiments played a similar role in their respective countries and having them in close proximity had resulted in a few incidents as there was an instant rivalry between them. Mostly it was good natured though as everyone remembered why they were here.
The 2nd Life Hassars were a bit of a surprise to Suga though. They were like something from a fairy tale, in their black and white uniforms as they rode on either side of the cars. Freddy had told her that their guns and swords were not just for show but were very real. Suga was also aware that fully equipped military and police units were just out of sight in case something did happen.
After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled into the small car park outside the Buddhist temple that had agreed to play host to the next scheduled event. The Kannushi and Miko who had come from Japan with Suga’s father had been agreeable to the setting. If Suga had to guess, it was because all parties involved understood that they stood to gain substantially if today happened without a crisis and the resulting publicity that would come from it.
Stepping out of the car and being careful not to get any dirt or grease on the white kimono that she was wearing. She noticed that Freddy was wearing the black and grey robes that would be expected of a groom in Japan as they started walking up the steps to the temple. She still couldn’t believe that he had agreed to do that for her. His answer was that he wanted today to be perfect. Her hope was that he would continue to be as mindful in the future.
The ceremony in the temple would be intimate, with only immediate family and a few extremely close friends. Freddy had said that Tante Kat would want to be present because it would fulfil a promise that she had made to his mother. Suga would need to get the full story when she got a chance. She found the prospect of that desirable after all that had happened earlier that day.
Later, once they made it back to Potsdam, it was planned for Suga to change her clothes again. Switching to an elaborate black and white kimono that was embroidered with a number of stylized symbols of both Japan and Germany. Eagles and cranes. It would escape most of the Germans, but to the Japanese it would be sending a message about how she was making this place her home and adopting the colors of her husband’s family.
23rd June 1963
Spandau, Berlin, in transit
It had been raining the day before and everyone had waited with bated breath about what the weather would be like on the afternoon of Sunday the 23rd. During the night the sky had cleared, and it remained partially cloudy. Suga felt that her marriage needed all the good omens that it could get considering the intendent difficulties involved. Everything had to be done under the constant glare of television cameras and the press, so it all had to be perfect because any mistakes would be magnified out of proportion. No matter how minor they were. The quick change of clothes that had been required before starting the next stage of the procession would probably have raised enough eyebrows.
The rehearsal dinner that had been a bright spot of the entire event so far, much to Suga’s surprise. Freddy’s father had given a wonderful toast, welcoming her into his family. Suga’s own father had joined in though Suga could tell that he wasn’t as comfortable with the custom. He had started by reminding everyone that in Japan the more conservative elements were less than thrilled with his youngest daughter’s marriage to a Gaijin. They had however mostly come to grudgingly accept it after he had pointed out that it depended entirely upon if the Gaijin in question was the right one.
Overhead puffy white clouds hung in a vivid blue sky and Suga realized that it was perfect as she watched the press of humanity out the window of the car they were riding in as the procession that they were a part of made its way to the third and final destination before returning to Potsdam for the reception. The first had been to the Courthouse in Mitte the day before when they had done the secular paperwork that the State required, and the Registrar had congratulated them as they signed the last signatures. Then today had come the Christian ceremony that morning, Suga had offered to convert to Freddy’s religion before the wedding but he had said that she should wait. The wedding should reflect where both of them came from.
The wedding in the Berlin Cathedral had been a huge and as it had turned out, a surprisingly raucous affair. There had been thousands of witnesses. The ceremony had involved her walking on rose petals that she had watched be spread by a group of girls, one of whom had been Freddy’s youngest sister Nella. As she walked down the aisle on her father’s arm. The vows had followed and the entire time she kept thinking about how handsome Freddy looked in the dress Uniform of the Pioneers, the odd service branch of the German Military that Freddy was a part of. It was rumored to have been started because they men who made up its original ranks couldn’t be trusted to point their guns in the right direction. They had gone on to be something that was far more important than that with time. Today the Pioneer Regiment that considered Freddy one of their own as Major von Preussen, had led the procession through the streets of Berlin. It was seen by many as them being formally raised in stature to join their place with the other Service Branches. There were other Regiments in the procession, the 1st Foot Guard Regiment who had the task of guarding the life the German Emperor and the Japanese 1st Imperial Guard Regiment from Japan had arrived at the same time as Suga’s father. The two Regiments played a similar role in their respective countries and having them in close proximity had resulted in a few incidents as there was an instant rivalry between them. Mostly it was good natured though as everyone remembered why they were here.
The 2nd Life Hassars were a bit of a surprise to Suga though. They were like something from a fairy tale, in their black and white uniforms as they rode on either side of the cars. Freddy had told her that their guns and swords were not just for show but were very real. Suga was also aware that fully equipped military and police units were just out of sight in case something did happen.
After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled into the small car park outside the Buddhist temple that had agreed to play host to the next scheduled event. The Kannushi and Miko who had come from Japan with Suga’s father had been agreeable to the setting. If Suga had to guess, it was because all parties involved understood that they stood to gain substantially if today happened without a crisis and the resulting publicity that would come from it.
Stepping out of the car and being careful not to get any dirt or grease on the white kimono that she was wearing. She noticed that Freddy was wearing the black and grey robes that would be expected of a groom in Japan as they started walking up the steps to the temple. She still couldn’t believe that he had agreed to do that for her. His answer was that he wanted today to be perfect. Her hope was that he would continue to be as mindful in the future.
The ceremony in the temple would be intimate, with only immediate family and a few extremely close friends. Freddy had said that Tante Kat would want to be present because it would fulfil a promise that she had made to his mother. Suga would need to get the full story when she got a chance. She found the prospect of that desirable after all that had happened earlier that day.
Later, once they made it back to Potsdam, it was planned for Suga to change her clothes again. Switching to an elaborate black and white kimono that was embroidered with a number of stylized symbols of both Japan and Germany. Eagles and cranes. It would escape most of the Germans, but to the Japanese it would be sending a message about how she was making this place her home and adopting the colors of her husband’s family.
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Guess those units were out of sight 'symbolically' for just a while
I don't know about that. Sex and stupidity have been very strong motivators of events over human history.
In any case, only one person really knows Mithras' motivations.
It is now a funny story we tell about our family but what I really learned that the world does not revolve around me.
Even as I was saving my own money that I earned, I was still asking for money from my parents for things like movies and ballgame tickets instead of paying for it myself.
It just took me years to figure that out and seeing how some of the characters act in this timeline it just feels that they are grounded in reality.
FBKampfer
Banned
Reproduction and self preservation are THE driving influences for all life. Yes, you are correct.
However these manifest and are represented in vastly more complex and indirect ways in human society than Freud believed, particularly with regards to group dynamics, with almost his entire body of work becoming a meme in the scientific community.
For example, a close healthy relationship with one's mother means one is much less likely to hold strong prejudice against women, you are less likely to be a domestic abuser. Freud just says you want to bang your mom, despite the fact that these traits increase one's reproductive fitness in human society.
Absence of a father has been shown to have no correlation with any kind of antisocial behavior or maladaptation; sure daddy might have ducked out while on a cigarette run, but we literally replace him with our coach or some other male/masculine figure we spend enough time with, and are no worse for the wear.
Again, Freud don't know shit.
Having multiple dresses should make the fashion and lifestyle magazines very happy. More stuff to print pictures of and write about.
Kimono may become popular in Germany and Europe for a time and that small Buddhist shrine may get a lot business in the future hosting weddings.
Seeing the way the imperial family included first Russian Orthodox religious traditions and now Shinto/Buddhist ones through marriage may reflect a different attitude about religion in this new Germany in general.
Anyone too upset at the thought that a future heir may be half-Japanese may console themselves with the idea that future emperors may be elected and that obviously the majority of those who will get a say in those elections will be against that sort of thing.
On the Japanese side of things I can envision that quite a number of young girls and some boys will try to emulate her, not just because they think it is romantic but also because "I am going to Europe to look for a a partner among the local nobility" may represent a way to escape stifling traditions and expectations and now that a precedent has been said at the highest level nobody can say that it isn't proper. Universities across the German empire may see an increase in students from Japan, who are as far as their families are concerned looking for a match and really just enjoy their independence.
Kimono may become popular in Germany and Europe for a time and that small Buddhist shrine may get a lot business in the future hosting weddings.
Seeing the way the imperial family included first Russian Orthodox religious traditions and now Shinto/Buddhist ones through marriage may reflect a different attitude about religion in this new Germany in general.
Anyone too upset at the thought that a future heir may be half-Japanese may console themselves with the idea that future emperors may be elected and that obviously the majority of those who will get a say in those elections will be against that sort of thing.
On the Japanese side of things I can envision that quite a number of young girls and some boys will try to emulate her, not just because they think it is romantic but also because "I am going to Europe to look for a a partner among the local nobility" may represent a way to escape stifling traditions and expectations and now that a precedent has been said at the highest level nobody can say that it isn't proper. Universities across the German empire may see an increase in students from Japan, who are as far as their families are concerned looking for a match and really just enjoy their independence.
*Distant Chronic Depression/Asexual Chuckling*
He did not. Anything he got right, he got right by accident. The only thing he did get right on purpose was seeing that Carl Jung had a better handle on the whole field.
Technically, asexual and depressed/suicidal people would rarely reproduce and thus the "trait" is eventually bred out of the species which means the statement he made was correct, technically at least, which is the best kind of correctness I am told.
On a more serious note: putting any stock in Freud in this day and age is a bit like thinking the earth is flat, it makes a person seem a little dim.
The Wedding of Crown Prince Friedrich and Her Imperial Princess Suga of Japan marks the high point of the German Empire, it is all downhill from now on.
Other nations of the world will turn to (reluctantly) to the only nation that has the potential to challenge Germany, a recently humbled and chastened United States...Just Kidding
.
Other nations of the world will turn to (reluctantly) to the only nation that has the potential to challenge Germany, a recently humbled and chastened United States...Just Kidding
.The Wedding of Crown Prince Friedrich and Her Imperial Princess Suga of Japan marks the high point of the German Empire, it is all downhill from now on.
Other nations of the world will turn to (reluctantly) to the only nation that has the potential to challenge Germany, a recently humbled and chastened United States...Just Kidding
Yeah. I mean South Africa and their newly reinvigorated population are right there. A nation with a desire for a new future, but a respect for the past.
Maybe a nice name change for something historical, like a naval hero...
Drake something perhaps?