Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

Well well well...

See, I'm torn.

On the one hand, this genuinely is a good deal for Vicky. It fucking sucks, obviously, but unless a lot of people get very cool on a lot of things right now, it is the best she's going to get.

Well, the best deal where she gets kids out of it. If she decided she didn't want kids after all, it'd be better to just remain a 'spinster who never found the right man, poor thing, this is why you should accept proposals girls...'.

Though yeah, it really is a good deal. Hell, as Albrecht himself said there's not even a requirement to 'lie back and think of Germany' - it can be handled entirely in a lab. If she does want children, and wants to be able to live her own life, it's perfect.

On the other, this is terrible that the poor woman should have to be in a position where she needs to be a beard and in the closet.

I honestly think her best bet would be to talk with Franz, ironically, he's the only other person in the world who might have an inkling of being stuck in this situation.

Agreed on both counts.

"oh poor Vicky, she married the Prince but he would rather be off shooting and partying with his friend than attending to his Princess. Its a good thing she has such a good friend as Anna to keep her company..."

Vicky, Anna, Fritz, (and Friend), plus we the readers are laughing at this naivety.

Eh, I doubt that many in court circles would be totally naive However, that's actually not a problem - I often get the impression that for many people in these kind of circles, they probably wouldn't actually care about if people are gay or not as long as the niceties were observed and nobody's too obvious about it.

It really all hinges on the personality of Franz. While you are right that it is hypocritical, many velvet marriages were actually very happy (non-)relationships. James and Alvide Lees-Milne for instance. Someone in Hollywood (Hedda Hopper I think) cynically observed that one could always tell the velvet marriages- they stayed married and if one became ill, their spouse always rushed to their bedside and nursed them back to health.

I can believe that, actually

Exactly.

If Vicky and Franz actually wound up becoming good friends, then it would be a good solution. If they wound up being totally incompatible, then I would have to think Vicky would be better off not going through it. Especially if the pre-condition is that a child be born.

I have a strong feeling that Albrecht wouldn't have gone into suggesting this without at least seeing if Vicky is the kind of person who'd get on OK with Franz. Though I think the two should meet before any decisions are made.

No, or not exclusively. Back in the early and mid twentieth centuries, there was considerable prejudice against LGBT people and in most countries, gay relationships were illegal. There was also considerable social and familial pressure to marry and have children. Gay men marrying straight women didn't usually work well and led to scandals and marriage breakdowns. So there began a trend of gay men marrying lesbian women and leading separate sexual lives. Both provided a beard for the other, no one was left sexually unsatisfied and no-one's feelings were hurt.

Heck, it still continues in Japan by all accounts. But yeah, in a not-great situation and time, it was probably the most humane way of sorting it out.

Quite probably, Albrecht seems to be quite the operator and otherwise socially conservative gay people have been the pillars of the court/aristocratic establishment for centuries.

Some really good points raised there. Although hinted at does Albrecht really know that Vicki is gay? After all only a very few people in her family know, even her PPO team would be chosen because they are tight lipped (among other qualities I’m sure).

Bear in mind, as King of Bavaria Albrecht has access to a lot of resources. I don't think he went for Vicky by accident - I'd be willing to bet he had people across Germany looking out for young women of aristocratic families who seemed to be of the Sapphic persuasion themselves to suggest lavender marriage to, one of them got wind of Vicky (I mean, nothing can be totally secret in a royal family - there's servants everywhere) and he jumped at the chance.

 

[ejpsan]

Her Imperial Highness Princess Victoria Von Prussian zu Hohenzollern is probably the best choice available for Crown Prince Franz of Bavaria from the House of Wittelsbach, all Vicky really has to do is convert to Roman Catholicism to really sell the marriage to the Bavarian people.
As a political marriage this brings both Prussia and Bavaria symbolically closer together.
For King Albrecht he has probably embraced tourism to Bavaria as a way to bring foreign investors who want both the modern infrastructure and the "authentic" look and experience of traditional Bavaria .
A Royal Wedding is something that will bring in the tourists and at the same time showcase Bavaria as a place for high tech industry.
Now to indulge in one of my questions, IOTL Munich was the host city for the 1972 Olympics and I see no reason for Germany not to get the games ITTL, my question is did Berlin or Munich get the games?
If Munich gets the Olympics I could see instead of the OTL groundbreaking modern look of the Olympic Stadium which I liked and other venues, a Retro looking stadium that fits in with the surrounding areas that did not go under the IOTL urban redevelopment by the firm of Harris and Arnold LLC.

 

[Rinasoir]

by the firm of Harris and Arnold LLC.

Historical record shows that there was no liability for that firm, not Limited.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

Adding to my above point, I think before Vicky makes up her mind one way or the other, there's two people she needs to talk with: Franz obviously; and also Anna. And this is where just how serious Anna is comes into it.

Assuming Anna is serious, then...well, she might react badly. On the other hand, she's not dumb. Odds are, she knew in advance that having a relationship with Vicky would be way different to someone from her own background, and that issues might arise. So if that's the case, and she is serious, she might be OK with the idea. While Vicky would have a husband, paradoxically she'd have somewhat more freedom as Franz's wife - more disposable income, a place of her own rather than student digs shared with her sister or her family home - which in turn, would mean that she and Anna would have more 'safe spaces' away from prying eyes to be themselves. Plus, while as a single woman tongues might wag over Vicky being close to this other woman...as a married woman, people will either genteelly ignore it, genuinely think they're just friends, or actively shush people who wonder too loud ('what on Earth are you talking about, she's a married woman, stop this iniquitous speculation at once'). So if Anna truly loves Vicky, and wants a future with her, then she might go 'this is the best way we can be together and you don't have to worry about tabloids'.

And then when they're both in their sixties they can write a tell-all book

all Vicky really has to do is convert to Roman Catholicism to really sell the marriage to the Bavarian people.

I'll admit that I may be mistaken, but I thought Vicky was already Catholic? I thought she was Catholic, Rea was Lutheran and Kiki was Orthodox?

 

[Peabody-Martini]

I'll admit that I may be mistaken, but I thought Vicky was already Catholic? I thought she was Catholic, Rea was Lutheran and Kiki was Orthodox?

It was held out as a sort of joke considering how they were encouraged to be pragmatic in regards to religion. Kiki identifying as Orthodox, Vicky as Lutheran and Rea as vocally Agnostic. Their half-sister Nella is nominally Catholic.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

It was held out as a sort of joke considering how they were encouraged to be pragmatic in regards to religion. Kiki identifying as Orthodox, Vicky as Lutheran and Rea as vocally Agnostic. Their half-sister Nella in nominally Catholic.

Ah yes... Sorry, there's been a lot of this TL and I sometimes get mixed up

I say that there's been a lot in a good way, you understand! It's been a rollercoaster - and the best kind, since it's still showing no sign of slowing, and new dips and peaks are constantly appearing

...OK, I tortured that metaphor

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Ninety-Six



17th May 1967

Panama City, Panama

“The fun part of this entire bullshit mess is over” Was how the German Sergeant Major had put it when they had finally gotten orders to proceed with the mission. Ritchie wasn’t inclined to disagree with that lunatic this time.

The whole charade of the training mission had been pitched aside as all of their gear and weapons were replaced with items that were considered untraceable. Something that was somewhat debatable. Then came the usual time spent on a transport plane without being told exactly where they were going, as if they wouldn’t have figured out that they were in the Canal Zone within five seconds of landing. The fact that the words Panama Canal Zone were painted all over everything was a big clue.

Getting into civilian vans that would be considered beaters back home, they fanned out through the city. It was noticeable that Ritchie had been told to do all the talking as his team along with a platoon of the German Recon Dragoons as muscle cleared out the warehouse they had been assigned. The instructions were simple. Clear the people out, grab any paper records, and then torch the building. That seemed easy enough, it wasn’t until they got into the warehouse that they discovered that it was full of munitions.

Panama City got one Hell of a fireworks display that night.



18th May 1967

Plitra, Greece

The telegrams seemed tersely worded, though George Bush couldn’t figure out how that was possible. It seemed that all of his warehouses in Panama City had gone up in flames and the Panamanian Government was pissed at him, thinking that he might have had something to do with it. His own people said that the ones responsible had been extremely disciplined and spoke Spanish if they spoke at all. That suggested that a State actor was involved, which was worrying. If George had to guess, it was his friends from German Special Forces returning the favor for not sticking around on Santorini and getting arrested like a chump.

The truth was that the contents of the warehouses in Panama had become worthless to him. They had already been purchased and the Governments that had bought them were on the verge of collapse and delivering them through the LON mandated blockade had grown prohibitively expensive, as had storage. Albania was getting overrun and everyone was expecting news of the Government in Ankara being deposed at any time. The Turks had miscalculated this time, thinking that they could get the backing of the Arabs if they couched the conflict in religious terms. It had turned out that their southern neighbors hated them just as much as the Greeks.

That meant that the entire enterprise had become one of diminishing returns and it was time to end it forever. The coffers being full in Switzerland certainly helped with that. He would need to call his contact in the German Government to help facilitate the final liquidation of his business. A few weeks from now he would be sitting on a tropical beach and the rest of the world could happily burn itself down without his help.



Halle (Saale), Anhalt

The reduction of a limb so that the patient could be transported to the hospital hadn’t been easy to carry out this time. Kiki had found herself having to talk to the patient, keeping the woman focused on something other than her leg which looked like it was broken in a couple different places so that Oskar could work on it. The woman was terrified about what would happen to her husband and children because of her failure to get the groceries home. What were they going to eat? There was no food in the house. This was while the contents of the bags of groceries were scattered all over the pedestrian causeway at the bottom of the stairs that the woman had fallen down.

“We can arrange for the groceries to get to your family” Kiki said without thinking. As soon as she said that she realized that it had probably been a mistake.

“Have fun gathering all this, Kiki” Oskar said as he handed her a dented tin. Finding that the bags that the woman had been carrying had torn open when she had fallen down the stairs, Kiki looked around for a solution, annoyed that she had talked her way into this. Walking back towards the car, Kiki spotted a photographer among the crowd that had gathered outside the area that the police had roped off. The gutter press had figured out that by sending someone to every accident scene they would get marketable photographs even if she didn’t show up. The galling cynicism that displayed made Kiki wish that shooting them wasn’t against the law. There was also the aspect of the clothes that a Notarzt wore in the field were about as unfashionable as was possible. How could another dozen pictures of her wearing them joining the thousands out there possibly hold any value?

Pulling a rubbish bag out of the back of the Föhn, Kiki picked up all the groceries that were salvageable even as the patient watched. When Kiki got close to give the bag to the Medics who were loading the woman onto the ambulance, the woman gave her a look of recognition.

“You really are her, aren’t you?” The woman asked.

“As much as I wish I wasn’t” Kiki replied only to get a quizzical look in return.

 

[Dan]

And so the myth of "The Angel in Grey" is born...

 

[M. A. Dickens]

Aannndddd Kiki basically becomes a saint to the German people.

Marc A

 

[Salamander]

The instructions were simple. Clear the people out, grab any paper records, and then torch the building. That seemed easy enough, it wasn’t until they got into the warehouse that they discovered that it was full of munitions.

Panama City got one Hell of a fireworks display that night.

Emphasis on the Hell. Munitions do not go 'bang' in the same way as fireworks, more powerful explosives are involved, and as these were stored covertly, the warehouses that contained them probably weren't designed to contain & channel any mishap. These differences would suggest than the results of igniting the warehouses would be less a Celaya/Enschede Disaster and more of a Halifax Disaster level of explosion(s). The Panamanian Government's telegram to G.H.W. Bush would be a bit more than tersely worded. More like incendiary. Demanding compensation 'or else'. Ritchie & Jost's boys (& girls?) might not be too comfortable with the results of their op.

That meant that the entire enterprise had become one of diminishing returns and it was time end it forever. The coffers being full in Switzerland certainly helped with that. He would need to call his contact in the German Government to help facilitate the final liquidation of his business. A few weeks from now he would be sitting on a tropical beach and the rest of the world could happily burn itself down without his help.

Wouldn't it be grand if George called his contact for help re: liquidizing his remaining assets only to get bureaucratic static. He then checks his Swiss accounts to find that they have been cleaned out. The look on his face as he realises that he has fallen victim to the great Pujol and that, instead of kicking back on that tropical beach earning 20%, he is destitute, on the run and has to pay his bodyguards tomorrow...

Walking back towards the car, Kiki spotted a photographer among the crowd that had gathered outside the area that the police had roped off. The gutter press had figured out that by sending someone to every accident scene they would get marketable photographs even if she didn’t show up. The galling cynicism that displayed made Kiki wish that shooting them wasn’t against the law. There was also the aspect of the clothes that a Notarzt wore in the field were about as unfashionable as was possible. How could another dozen pictures of her wearing them joining the thousands out there possibly hold any value?

Perhaps an innocent remark about the paparazzi while Kiki is back on base could result in an earlier development of the TASER, for less lethal self defense of emergency personnel of course. As for the clothes she wears, the market for those photos will dry up pretty fast. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) used to wear identical clothes every day for years, just to piss off the photogs. Because the outfit was identical, the tabloids & gossip rags couldn't tell definitively tell WHEN the photo was actually taken, thus ruining the value to the photographers.

And so the myth of "The Angel in Grey" is born...

Causing Kiki to lock herself in her room and scream into her pillow.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

. These differences would suggest than the results of igniting the warehouses would be less a Celaya/Enschede Disaster and more of a Halifax Disaster level of explosion(s).

The Enschede Disaster sort of proves that 180 tons of explosives going up at once makes the type academic and that was with proper storage.

 

[Salamander]

The Enschede Disaster sort of proves that 180 tons of explosives going up at once makes the type academic and that was with proper storage.

Don't get me wrong, 180 tons of any explosive going boom will cause a shit load of damage. Military grade high explosives, however, have much more bang for their buck and the blast radius & crater should be considerably larger, since most fireworks are basically black powder/gun powder which is a low explosive. Even commercial grade high explosives don't quite have the bang factor of military ones. Something to do with the restricted space available within a shell casing. With commercial grade explosives, you just drill a larger hole & pack in a bit more TNT/gelignite.

And those warehouses were full of military grade explosives. In quantities to supply armies.

 

[ejpsan]

Poor Kiki she just can’t help herself from going above and beyond her duty.
She is going to get some good natured ribbing about this from her fellow doctors at the hospital when the story comes out.

I can see the BND taking most of the money from Herr Busch and only leaving him enough money to stay on his “Tropical Paradise” somewhat comfortably but only if he stays put.
Meanwhile the BND has a nice slush fund in which they can do off the books operations without any interference from the Reichstag Intelligence Oversight Committee.

 

[Dan]

I can see the BND taking most of the money from Herr Busch and only leaving him enough money to stay on his “Tropical Paradise” somewhat comfortably but only if he stays put.
Meanwhile the BND has a nice slush fund in which they can do off the books operations without any interference from the Reichstag Intelligence Oversight Committee.

It depends if it's the BND that are protecting him. If it is, then they probably won't take his money, but will make it very clear that if he leaves the tropical paradise, he probably won't return. If there are enough people on said island, if he can import a wide enough variety of things, he won't even notice that he is effectively in prison. And it is FAR better than the alternative of being in a far less comfortable prison, IF he makes it that far. Which if the CIA get hold of him, he won't.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

Poor Kiki she just can’t help herself from going above and beyond her duty.

Indeed.

It's going to be interesting - right now and for the next ten+ years at least, she's going to be this inspirational figure, especially for young women. Then at some point in the future, it'll be learned that she struggles with depression, mother issues, etc....

...at which point she'll become even more of an inspirational figure for doing all that she did while battling that emotional stress and baggage.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Ninety-Seven



26th May 1967

Köpenick, Berlin

It was all too predictable how things had played out. Vicky had told Anna about the lavender marriage that King Albrecht had proposed to her on behalf of his son. In Vicky’s opinion it was just indecent for him to have done that and Anna had found it all hilarious. Then Anna had asked just how generous was Albrecht prepared to be? Vicky had explained that it would involve her conceiving a child. After that she would be set up to live her life independent of the Bavarian Royal Family if she so pleased and would only be obligated to make the occasional public appearance. Anna had said that even she would be tempted by such an offer but hadn’t been born with Vicky’s magical uterus, so she was happy not to have to make a choice like that. Anna’s sarcasm aside, she raised an important point. If Vicky wanted a family of her own, that would probably be as good of an arrangement as was possible. Then Anna had asked what Franz thought about being her sperm donor at some point in the future? Vicky had no idea because she had never actually met him. With a great deal of reluctance, she had made the phone call.

The heels of Vicky’s shoes seemed entirely too loud against the hardwood floors as she made her way through the old palace that once housed the Elector of Brandenburg. These days it was the National Gallery of Contemporary Art and Design. Franz had agreed to meet her here because according to him it was neutral ground where he was comfortable when they had talked over the telephone. He also said that all his father had to hear was the words “Fine Arts” and Albrecht would run the other way, so there was little risk of too much being read into their meeting. She found him seated on a bench with a sketchpad studying a sculpture of a somewhat exaggerated feminine form.

“Pleased to finally meet you in person” Franz said nervously as Vicky approached.

“I know that this is very unusual” Vicky replied as she sat on the far side of the bench from Franz.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen you though” Franz said, “When you and your sister were introduced to the Imperial Court I was there. Both of you were beautiful as your full names and titles were read aloud.”

“I’m surprised you would take an interest” Vicky said, “Because, well… you know.”

“I love the pageantry of events like that and can appreciate beauty in all its forms” Franz replied, “And now that you’ve brought up that little detail, I will have you know that I am perfectly aware that I am not the only one with a things that we would prefer to remain out of view.”

Vicky felt a flash of anger tinged with fear. Franz had to know better than to try to out her, she could hit back a lot harder because she wasn’t directly in line for the throne like he was.

“Don’t worry about me causing you any personal problems, Victoria” Franz said, “I’m not the sort to do that. Just be warned that my father has no scruples about getting what he wants and has had you watched for a long time. He suspects that you are more than just friends with a blond woman seen frequently around your house.”

“Anna is a dear friend” Vicky said, “And I’ll need to do something about your father spying on me.”

Franz smiled and went back to his sketch pad, “I’ve a dear friend or two of my own” He said, “My father says that you are still going to University, studying Psychology.”

“Yes” Vicky replied grateful that he had changed the subject, “I would like to be able to help people someday, like my sister and stepmother.”

“What would Jung or Freud make of the likes of us?” Franz asked.

“They would see that too many expectations and the need to keep up appearances are slowly killing us” Vicky replied, “I imagine that they would have a great deal to say. Starting with asking why we cannot ever seem to be able to tell our parents to go jump in a lake.”

Franz laughed at that.

“The world just cannot accept us for being who we are, for a lot of reasons” Franz replied turning serious, “What do you want personally? Not the answer that people want to hear, but the truth.”

Vicky hesitated for a second, she had only just met Franz a few minutes earlier.

“In the near term I have been trying to get accepted into the Doctoral Program at the University of Basil in Switzerland, speaking of Carl Jung” Vicky said, “Someday though, having a family would be nice.”

“But appearances…?” Franz asked glumly.

“Yes, appearances” Vicky answered, “The same question for you. What do you want? The truth.”

“We are surrounded by what I truly want” Franz said, “Many of the works of art on display in this museum were created with my patronage. My father thinks that it is a waste of money, but the creation and study so many beautiful works of art is the highest calling.”

“You helped the artists create all of this?” Vicky asked looking around.

“Not all of it, of course” Franz replied, “But I can show you around.”

With that Franz closed his sketchpad and bounded to his feet. He seemed genuinely excited about the works of art that Vicky couldn’t even began to understand.

 

[GSpectre]

Interesting, I look forward to seeing how this plot thread progresses. Expectations verses what they actually do... That and Kiki meeting Franz will be interesting. They both have ideas about where they want their lives to go but they went about it in completely different ways. I wonder if that will be the motivation that Kiki needs to get off the pot with Ben?

 

[Rinasoir]

Ah, a second Swan King for Bavaria.

Not exactly the worst outcome, especially as monarchy continues to move on in purpose.

 

[ShortsBelfast]

Ah, a second Swan King for Bavaria.

Not exactly the worst outcome, especially as monarchy continues to move on in purpose.

Or even a Bavarian Hugh Lane

 

[ferdi254]

If the pun with the lake was intended, wonderful. If not, even better.