Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
My half-ass theory is that the Greeks are sending in agents to organize the Greek Cypriots into violent protests against the Turkish Cypriots in order to provoke the British Government to crack down on the Greek Cypriots, which in turn gives the Greek Government the "Justification" to invade Cyprus and force an Enios.
If that works, then the Greeks will try this against the Italians with the Dodecanese Islands.
So Fun Times ahead in the Eastern Mediterranean.
If that works, then the Greeks will try this against the Italians with the Dodecanese Islands.
So Fun Times ahead in the Eastern Mediterranean.
I could have let it run like I did with the whole Bill Clinton thing. As far as I know, no one has figured that one out yet.
Nope. The butterfly flaps its wings and strange things can happen. In this time line he was the reason Hillary Rodham couldn't leave out anything shiny without it vanishing while she was attending Law School. You might recall that her roommate had a pet ferret named Nigel.
That was joke about Bill Clinton being the ferret. Hillary Clinton's roommate was an Angelino whose name I forgot. The truth is that Clinton was in the background at one point, just never identified.
The answer to the the obvious questions that the next post will raise is simple. I cannot stand Tom Selleck and there are some things that no matter how hard that damned butterfly flaps its wings will not change even if it might happen on a different time scale.
Part 146, Chapter 2649
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Forty-Nine
9th December 1977
Potsdam
They had done the exterior shots at the Altes Museum and the Friedrich III Museum the week prior. The Curators of the various Museums had been absolutely horrified by the notion that George Lucas might want to do any filming inside the buildings themselves. They had doubled down on that when they had found out about the scene where the hero of the film, Doctor Henry “Indiana” Jones, was depicted inadvertently driving a lorry into the River Spree.
Instead, they had created an approximation of a museum interior using mostly chipboard, chicken wire, plaster, and a whole lot of paint in a Babelsburg warehouse. Jost could see that it was hardly perfect, but it didn’t need to be. It only needed to look right on film and not cause much trouble tearing it all down once they finished shooting.
Jost was cast as one of the antagonists in the film, Oberst Arnold Toht. Like always, he was also playing the role of Military Consultant and trying to get University Art Students to play at being soldiers convincingly. Fortunately he had some real help this time in the form of his nephew Sabastian and Nikolaus who might as well be. The two of them had come up through the Prussian Institution in Wahlstatt and had even spent some time in the field. Jost had gotten bit roles for them to play. Niko’s equestrianism had landed him in hot water when they had been filming in Tunisia, it seemed that he had shown up the stuntman posing as Indiana Jones during a chase through the desert. Though Niko had gotten yelled at by everyone including Jost himself for taking stupid chances, the scene had been kept in the film. Spielberg, the Director of the film had been surprised that Niko was the Prince of Breslau and, yes, he was a Richthofen for real. Who else was practically raised in the saddle these days? They were getting ready to shoot the scene where Indiana Jones was forced to eat his words about how artifact belonged in museums as he was trying to convince the Curator of whatever museum was supposed to be not to open the Ark of the Covenant. Jost had read the script and knew that the museum staff, the gathered officials, and other assorted witnesses were going to be depicted as having a monumentally bad day.
Harrison Ford, the Actor who George Lucas had cast as Indiana was wandering around. He had heard that the actor had played a role in a movie that Lucas had worked on a few years earlier. It seemed that most of the crew knew Ford from other films where he had been a Carpenter with a thriving side business selling cannabis. Lucas had said that he wanted a relative unknown to play the role of Indiana, and Ford was supposedly the perfect fit. To Jost’s surprise, Ford had seen Der letzte Befehl, The last Command, the Science-Fiction German language gorefest about an alien invasion by hostile forces that Jost had costarred in after The Black Shuck. The Director, this Canadian madman, had encouraged them to use live ammunition which had included everything up to and including anti-tank rockets. Jost knew how to safely conduct a live fire exercise and make it look good. So, the blood-soaked production had a great deal of actual blood even if it had mostly come from an abattoir. However, the over-the-top violence and gore had shocked audiences around the world with it being banned in several countries including the United States. Apparently, the few theaters in that country that showed that movie couldn’t play it often enough.
Jost saw Sabastian walking through the area where the crew had gathered and he was carrying Alice, the young daughter of Henriette who Sabastian had met during the Montreal Olympics last year. Henriette had come to Berlin to visit over the Christmas Holiday. Alice, or Allie as everyone was calling her had a look of bliss as she hugged Sabastian as he introduced her to the cast and crew. Jost’s mother was worried that Sabastian would give up his life in Germany and run off to Canada to be with Henriette. From the look of things, that was a battle that was already over.
11th December 1977
Montreal
The crude graffiti done in hot pink spray paint that had appeared on a wall across from the Church was exactly the sort of thing that would set Margot off.
Le gode de la responsabilité est rarement lubrifié.
Marie Alexandra understood full well what that meant and why it had appeared there. The sex abuse scandals that had rocked the Catholic Church for as long as she could remember had come to Montreal and to say that Margot couldn’t wrap her mind around what was going on was an understatement. Perhaps things would have smoothed out if Marie had not found that writing on the wall to be funny. Whoever had done that certainly had a very particular idea of what justice would look like.
While Marie had not laughed aloud, Margot must have picked up on something from her because on the car ride home she went off on Marie, at length how depraved and ungrateful she was. How it was not a surprise because the fruit never fell far from the tree that they all knew what Marie’s mother was. Because Marie was in the front seat next to the driver she was unable to effectively refute what her grandmother was saying. Marie had realized that Margot had done this by design and had grown angrier over the long minutes before they were dropped off by the town car. Over Marie’s life, she had very seldom wanted to hurt anyone. As the car pulled away, she wanted more than anything to punch her grandmother’s lights out. Her grandfather just stood there quietly. Marie didn’t blame him even if she was disappointed, after decades of living with Margot all he could do was take the path of least resistance.
As Margot saw the look on Marie’s face, she belatedly realized that she really had gone too far this time. It was then that she said exactly the wrong thing in that moment. Marie had no idea what possessed her to say it.
“I don’t want to be around you if you are going to be that way.”
Marie had no idea how long she stood on the sidewalk as it started snowing, repeating the words that her grandmother had said to her. Long enough to start shivering and feeling the pain in the palms of her hands where she had dug her fingernails in. It was in that moment that she resolved to move out before Margot caused her own funeral to come early.
9th December 1977
Potsdam
They had done the exterior shots at the Altes Museum and the Friedrich III Museum the week prior. The Curators of the various Museums had been absolutely horrified by the notion that George Lucas might want to do any filming inside the buildings themselves. They had doubled down on that when they had found out about the scene where the hero of the film, Doctor Henry “Indiana” Jones, was depicted inadvertently driving a lorry into the River Spree.
Instead, they had created an approximation of a museum interior using mostly chipboard, chicken wire, plaster, and a whole lot of paint in a Babelsburg warehouse. Jost could see that it was hardly perfect, but it didn’t need to be. It only needed to look right on film and not cause much trouble tearing it all down once they finished shooting.
Jost was cast as one of the antagonists in the film, Oberst Arnold Toht. Like always, he was also playing the role of Military Consultant and trying to get University Art Students to play at being soldiers convincingly. Fortunately he had some real help this time in the form of his nephew Sabastian and Nikolaus who might as well be. The two of them had come up through the Prussian Institution in Wahlstatt and had even spent some time in the field. Jost had gotten bit roles for them to play. Niko’s equestrianism had landed him in hot water when they had been filming in Tunisia, it seemed that he had shown up the stuntman posing as Indiana Jones during a chase through the desert. Though Niko had gotten yelled at by everyone including Jost himself for taking stupid chances, the scene had been kept in the film. Spielberg, the Director of the film had been surprised that Niko was the Prince of Breslau and, yes, he was a Richthofen for real. Who else was practically raised in the saddle these days? They were getting ready to shoot the scene where Indiana Jones was forced to eat his words about how artifact belonged in museums as he was trying to convince the Curator of whatever museum was supposed to be not to open the Ark of the Covenant. Jost had read the script and knew that the museum staff, the gathered officials, and other assorted witnesses were going to be depicted as having a monumentally bad day.
Harrison Ford, the Actor who George Lucas had cast as Indiana was wandering around. He had heard that the actor had played a role in a movie that Lucas had worked on a few years earlier. It seemed that most of the crew knew Ford from other films where he had been a Carpenter with a thriving side business selling cannabis. Lucas had said that he wanted a relative unknown to play the role of Indiana, and Ford was supposedly the perfect fit. To Jost’s surprise, Ford had seen Der letzte Befehl, The last Command, the Science-Fiction German language gorefest about an alien invasion by hostile forces that Jost had costarred in after The Black Shuck. The Director, this Canadian madman, had encouraged them to use live ammunition which had included everything up to and including anti-tank rockets. Jost knew how to safely conduct a live fire exercise and make it look good. So, the blood-soaked production had a great deal of actual blood even if it had mostly come from an abattoir. However, the over-the-top violence and gore had shocked audiences around the world with it being banned in several countries including the United States. Apparently, the few theaters in that country that showed that movie couldn’t play it often enough.
Jost saw Sabastian walking through the area where the crew had gathered and he was carrying Alice, the young daughter of Henriette who Sabastian had met during the Montreal Olympics last year. Henriette had come to Berlin to visit over the Christmas Holiday. Alice, or Allie as everyone was calling her had a look of bliss as she hugged Sabastian as he introduced her to the cast and crew. Jost’s mother was worried that Sabastian would give up his life in Germany and run off to Canada to be with Henriette. From the look of things, that was a battle that was already over.
11th December 1977
Montreal
The crude graffiti done in hot pink spray paint that had appeared on a wall across from the Church was exactly the sort of thing that would set Margot off.
Le gode de la responsabilité est rarement lubrifié.
Marie Alexandra understood full well what that meant and why it had appeared there. The sex abuse scandals that had rocked the Catholic Church for as long as she could remember had come to Montreal and to say that Margot couldn’t wrap her mind around what was going on was an understatement. Perhaps things would have smoothed out if Marie had not found that writing on the wall to be funny. Whoever had done that certainly had a very particular idea of what justice would look like.
While Marie had not laughed aloud, Margot must have picked up on something from her because on the car ride home she went off on Marie, at length how depraved and ungrateful she was. How it was not a surprise because the fruit never fell far from the tree that they all knew what Marie’s mother was. Because Marie was in the front seat next to the driver she was unable to effectively refute what her grandmother was saying. Marie had realized that Margot had done this by design and had grown angrier over the long minutes before they were dropped off by the town car. Over Marie’s life, she had very seldom wanted to hurt anyone. As the car pulled away, she wanted more than anything to punch her grandmother’s lights out. Her grandfather just stood there quietly. Marie didn’t blame him even if she was disappointed, after decades of living with Margot all he could do was take the path of least resistance.
As Margot saw the look on Marie’s face, she belatedly realized that she really had gone too far this time. It was then that she said exactly the wrong thing in that moment. Marie had no idea what possessed her to say it.
“I don’t want to be around you if you are going to be that way.”
Marie had no idea how long she stood on the sidewalk as it started snowing, repeating the words that her grandmother had said to her. Long enough to start shivering and feeling the pain in the palms of her hands where she had dug her fingernails in. It was in that moment that she resolved to move out before Margot caused her own funeral to come early.
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Will Paddy be recruiting Bas when he moves to Canada? Will Niko be working as Jost's liaison officer with the University and other people for extras or even be a riding expert for movies? Will Marie put Margot in the hospital or will she move in with Henriette's family? Tune in to find out.
Margot: Why is she still standing outside in the snow, refusing to come in?
Malcolm: I don't know. (But it's probably because she's trying to calm down enough to not murder you the second she does come inside.)
A few days later...
Margot: I don't understand, why is she moving out? Why won't she tell us where she's going?
Malcolm: She's a grown woman, Margot. She obviously feels the need to spread her wings, as it were. (You know damned well why. You've driven our granddaughter out of our home out of sheer misplaced spite towards her mother and a changing world. You will probably never see her again and, because I've coddled and enabled your behaviour for FAR too long, I may never see her again either. I will never forgive you for this, Margot.)
I really want a chapter where Malcom goes off on Margot and calls her out on her appalling behavior. Either that or Marie leaving and Margot finally realizing too late that she's pushed away both her children and grandchildren and they want nothing to do with her.
Im guessing its not the same exact Toht?
Guessing he's playing more similar to this guy....
I don't think he will. Malcolm doesn't strike me as a shouter. I think it will just be a firm, but quiet word.
I could see Margot trying to argue, try the water works only to be defeated by Malcolm's steadfast silence.
There never was a Gestapo in TTL and the motives of the character would be rather different.I'm guessing its not the same exact Toht?
The cultural butterflies ITTL are Mothra-sized with no Nazis as the go-to "Big Bad", so who are the bad guys in this film?
The Americans can't be it or else the film will die at the box office, Stalin and Soviet Union don't resonate enough it seems to me with the general public as the go-to villains that audiences love to hate.
I was planning on doing a timeline where Steven Spielberg shot the ocean scenes with the shark from Jaws at the MGM Studios water tank that was built for Esther Williams movies, and thus did not have the IOTL problems where the shark didn't work, which changes the movie a lot as Spielberg used barrels to represent the shark and the score by John Williams was used to create tension without showing the shark.
David Cronenberg makes an off-screen appearance.
What is Bas studying at the University of Breslau?
If its Land Management, then he can get a job very easily at Hydro-Quebec.
But somehow, I think that Henriette will be "persuaded" to move to Germany with Alice to be with Bas.
The Americans can't be it or else the film will die at the box office, Stalin and Soviet Union don't resonate enough it seems to me with the general public as the go-to villains that audiences love to hate.
I was planning on doing a timeline where Steven Spielberg shot the ocean scenes with the shark from Jaws at the MGM Studios water tank that was built for Esther Williams movies, and thus did not have the IOTL problems where the shark didn't work, which changes the movie a lot as Spielberg used barrels to represent the shark and the score by John Williams was used to create tension without showing the shark.
David Cronenberg makes an off-screen appearance.
What is Bas studying at the University of Breslau?
If its Land Management, then he can get a job very easily at Hydro-Quebec.
But somehow, I think that Henriette will be "persuaded" to move to Germany with Alice to be with Bas.
The answer to that question revolves around the Soviet War in TTL. In the 1930's you had the Germans covertly killing anyone who had the potential to be an enemy at their backs at the time when war with the Soviet Union was growing inevitable. They even went to war in Spain to keep the supply line to the Americas open. They were scrambling for any advantage they could find. Into this, there is this artifact that could just be a direct line to God...