These Fair Shores: The Commonwealth of New England

[CosmicAsh]

Hey everyone! I just wanted to throw a message here saying I will get to answering questions! Life got a bit hectic and busy, and I plan on going back to address your concerns! My deepest of apologies. I hope the next update will be out by the end of the week.

 

[Couperin]

No problem! Take all the time you need!

 

[Kaiser Wilhelm the Tenth]

Hey everyone! I just wanted to throw a message here saying I will get to answering questions! Life got a bit hectic and busy, and I plan on going back to address your concerns! My deepest of apologies. I hope the next update will be out by the end of the week.

Take your time. No rush at all-real life supersedes everything.
I look forward to watching the next development in America's collective suicide.

 

[LordCalner]

Hey everyone! I just wanted to throw a message here saying I will get to answering questions! Life got a bit hectic and busy, and I plan on going back to address your concerns! My deepest of apologies. I hope the next update will be out by the end of the week.

Real life comes first

 

[CosmicAsh]

 

[LoneStarCowboy]

America doesn't seem to be doing too well. Hope word comes from Texas, soon

 

[JuniperHyacinthe]

Excellent and stellar work as always!

• What is the general opinion of Imperial citizens to the war? Now that the harsh realities of war are bearing down on them, they seem to be less enthusiastic about the process. Though, I think that Canada, New England, and the Bahamas want revenge.
• What's up with the Niassa-Kafuestroom conflict?
• Why did Napoleon resign from government?

I sincerely apologize again if I'm asking too many questions.

 

[PNWKing]

What happened to the following people?:
Gina Raimondo
John Flansburgh
John Linnell
Phil Scott
Brad Delp
Rod Stewart
John Baptiste
Boris Johnson
Mick Fleetwood
Gwenyth Paltrow
Bill Bradley
Aziz Ansari
Michael Sheen
John Barrowman
Tom Baker
Bradley Cooper
Howard Dean
Joe Mantegna
Theresa May
David Cameron
Tony Blair
Gordon Brown
Paula Deen
Blair Underwood
Bill Gates
Adam West
David Beckham
Taye Diggs
Norah O'Donnell
Marco Rubio
Powers Boothe
Maddie Blaustein
George Lucas
Harrison Ford
William S. Cohen
Stephen King
Billy Joel
Keith David
Kath Soucie
Steve Wilkos
Samuel Goldwyn
Bryan Cranston
Nicholas Cage
Whatever happened to Hasbro ITTL?
For that matter whatever happened to Milton Bradley ITTL?
Does New England have a state run broadcast network and if so what Ministry's responsibility is it?
Who is the Minister of Defence of New England ITTL?
Does Microsoft exist ITTL?
Is Connectr really owned by the British government?
What are some popular memes ITTL? Actually, I'd like to see an overview of "meme culture" ITTL.
I wonder how politics is approached on the Internet ITTL?
What is the state of censorship in New England ITTL?
Whatever happened to Stanley Tools ITTL?
Is Procter & Gamble a thing ITTL?
What are the most popular brands of diapers/nappies in New England ITTL?
Are police procedurals a thing in New England ITTL?
How are LGBT rights ITTL worldwide?
What was the first movie ITTL?
Does New England even have film & TV production ITTL? I would think that a lack of warm places to film year-round would hamper that but Canada manages IOTL.
What would New England accents sound like ITTL?
Is Nelvana a thing ITTL?
Is Subway a thing ITTL?

 

[Kibbutznik]

The protests in Bengal and Argentina make me wonder--is the presented perspective of America truly as neutral as we may want to think? Sure, in OTL the BBC is an institution which can be relied upon to deliver relatively objective international news, but in this world, they remain the primary media apparatus of an empire invested in preserving and strengthening its global dominance.
Is there an angle on the conflict that we might be missing?

 

[Excelsior]

What happened to the following people?:
Gina Raimondo
John Flansburgh
John Linnell
Phil Scott
Brad Delp
Rod Stewart
John Baptiste
Boris Johnson
Mick Fleetwood
Gwenyth Paltrow
Bill Bradley
Aziz Ansari
Michael Sheen
John Barrowman
Tom Baker
Bradley Cooper
Howard Dean
Joe Mantegna
Theresa May
David Cameron
Tony Blair
Gordon Brown
Paula Deen
Blair Underwood
Bill Gates
Adam West
David Beckham
Taye Diggs
Norah O'Donnell
Marco Rubio
Powers Boothe
Maddie Blaustein
George Lucas
Harrison Ford
William S. Cohen
Stephen King
Billy Joel
Keith David
Kath Soucie
Steve Wilkos
Samuel Goldwyn
Bryan Cranston
Nicholas Cage
Whatever happened to Hasbro ITTL?
For that matter whatever happened to Milton Bradley ITTL?
Does New England have a state run broadcast network and if so what Ministry's responsibility is it?
Who is the Minister of Defence of New England ITTL?
Does Microsoft exist ITTL?
Is Connectr really owned by the British government?
What are some popular memes ITTL? Actually, I'd like to see an overview of "meme culture" ITTL.
I wonder how politics is approached on the Internet ITTL?
What is the state of censorship in New England ITTL?
Whatever happened to Stanley Tools ITTL?
Is Procter & Gamble a thing ITTL?
What are the most popular brands of diapers/nappies in New England ITTL?
Are police procedurals a thing in New England ITTL?
How are LGBT rights ITTL worldwide?
What was the first movie ITTL?
Does New England even have film & TV production ITTL? I would think that a lack of warm places to film year-round would hamper that but Canada manages IOTL.
What would New England accents sound like ITTL?
Is Nelvana a thing ITTL?
Is Subway a thing ITTL?

come on man don't do this

 

[Gokbay]

Why did Napoleon resign from government?

Maybe people were nervous that he would declare himself monarch of Louisiana.

 

[Luxembourgish Jane]

The protests in Bengal and Argentina make me wonder--is the presented perspective of America truly as neutral as we may want to think? Sure, in OTL the BBC is an institution which can be relied upon to deliver relatively objective international news, but in this world, they remain the primary media apparatus of an empire invested in preserving and strengthening its global dominance.
Is there an angle on the conflict that we might be missing?

We do have a narrow view of the world, I wonder what is propaganda and what is legit.

 

[The Professor]

The protests in Bengal and Argentina make me wonder--is the presented perspective of America truly as neutral as we may want to think? Sure, in OTL the BBC is an institution which can be relied upon to deliver relatively objective international news, but in this world, they remain the primary media apparatus of an empire invested in preserving and strengthening its global dominance.
Is there an angle on the conflict that we might be missing?

Certainly something to consider.
It might just be easier to present them as being anti-Empire rather than something more nuanced. The parallels with OTL American reports on anti-American protests though come to mind.

 

[Turquoise Blue]

I doubt the outline of the war (namely it being attacked) is wrong.

Putting a spin to protests is easier.

 

[PaulJones202718]

I wonder what the equivalent to whack-a-mole is in this time line? They'll need something to describe what they're going to be doing in the US soon enough so......

 

[Turquoise Blue]

I wonder what the equivalent to whack-a-mole is in this time line? They'll need something to describe what they're going to be doing in the US soon enough so......

Splat the rat is the closest British analogue.

 

[AditOTAKU666]

Adit's Weebposting (@AditTheWeebFish) The people protesting here in support of that country where folks can't spell right ( ) tried to ban Pathe(<the most based form of animation) like a few years ago... Fvck this... I back the Empire , for the sake of my waifu. Recolonisation when? (pls don't report me... ) 6.03 PM 09, June 2021 Dhaka, Bengal Connectr for MeOS

Even more cringe weebposting from my alternate universe self LOL

(and note: that map of China is from a different project of mine... so excuse me)

 

[Couperin]

View attachment 657846 Adit's Weebposting (@AditTheWeebFish) The people protesting here in support of that country where folks can't spell right (View attachment 657855) tried to ban Pathe(<the most based form of animation) like a few years ago... Fvck this... I back the Empire View attachment 657853, for the sake of my waifu. Recolonisation when? (pls don't report me... ) View attachment 657851 6.03 PM 09, June 2021 Dhaka, BengalView attachment 657856 Connectr for MeOS

Even more cringe weebposting from my alternate universe self LOL

(and note: that map of China is from a different project of mine... so excuse me)

Everything about this is so beautiful and so cursed at the same time.

 

[TheLionOfJudah]

Good to see my homeboys in Ethiopia launching successful space exploration missions. Really hope we can get more details on them.

And if I can offer my two cents, I think it would be more interesting if the descendants of perhaps Iyasu V or Tewodros were ruling rather than the children of Haile Selassie. Makes it a bit more fresh IMO.

 

[CosmicAsh]

I have a question about the domestic violence in the US from the past if you’re ok to answer...

Go on.

Btw, what exactly is the United States Privy Council?

Prior to the complete breakdown of the constitutional order, the United States Privy Council was an institution that consisted of:
- The President
- Members of the Cabinet, confirmed by the House of Represenatives
- Leaders of the State Houses and State Senates
- Members appointed by the state legislatures
- Former Presidents

In practice... due to electoral fraud of all kinds, the Privy Council has more or less been little more than a rubber stamp for the Chairman, who is little more than a party functionary that works their way up through the ranks of the party to claim the Chairmanship. It is more or less akin to the the Soviet Presidium, staffed by party members, and almost totally controlled by the Party and the Chairman.

I assume it's something akin to the Soviet Presidium?

Yes, actually, haha

"High Commander...Michael Flynn"

Oh, that's certainly an interesting place for him to pop up.

I don't know who this guy actually is, but his resemblance to the actual Adamses is uncanny. If you made this, good job!

Thank you! I mostly use a couple apps to help me, along with photoshop!

So how was the birthday in Folkestone?

Perfectly pleasant.

Oh boy, America's getting uglier and uglier. Also, poor Texas. Was hoping to see a declaration of secession from them

I shall touch on Texas soon, hopefully! There is much to cover and much to do...

This brings up an interesting question: did the Republic of Texas ever exist ITTL? Those borders would indicate so... If this is the case, I imagine they'll bolt in short order. (The Turtledove fan in me is reminded of how the state did just that in TL-191)

The Republic did, in fact, exist. The history of Texas is simply not high on my list of things to cover, apologies.

Actually he was born in Rhode Island, but that's still New England.

People have historically been allowed to enter/leave the United States. In better times, the border was semi-Open into New York.

What did you use to create the portraits of Napoleon and Adams?

A few cellphone apps along with Photoshop.

Hang on, hang on,
"Libya unveils plan to end use of Hungarian in official documents"
What the hell happened here- a colonial Hungario-Austrian empire?

CosmicAsh mentioned that Austria-Hungary took Libya ITTL, with Hungarian administrators.

Libya was, indeed, administered by the Hungarian portion of the Austrian Empire.

Thanks, @CosmicAsh. I can no longer read anything about Maryland without thinking of Chairman Larri Hogan The mark of an outstanding TL!

Haha, thank you so much!

Oh dear god, is this building to straight up war between the Empire and the US?

...perhaps it was

Now this is going to be very interesting to watch. I also like how we went from live updates in OFC being about new political parties being formed to live updates in TFS being about the Syrian Civil War on steroids and Larri Hogan’s latest international atrocities.

Things have escalated a small amount, haven't they!

Readying myself for the Anglo-American War of 2021.

Which, all things considered will be relatively short, assuming the Empire doesn't intend to go deep to America. Though it's very likely that America will eat itself alive before any major deployments go inland.

Weirdly enough, I'm more fascinated by the terminology of alt-Twitter and "Admiral" than the ongoing conflict.

Actually, come to think of it, was any of this sanctioned by Hogan at all, or just a group of paranoid generals?

Actually actually, I'm more concerned on where that missile from Ireland is aiming for. Knowing it's "full empire response", I guess the Empire will pay back a thousandfold.

- I don't know if you'll truly be ready
- Well....
- Hah! Connectr will see more usage in the future.
- Hogan was not involved in this.
- The Empire has more or less blanketed the United States in missile attacks.

The fact those bombings in London occurred weeks into the conflict means either the plans and methods had been in place prior to the civil war, or Hogan sent sleepers in with refugees. We know that the US doesn't have nukes, and they probably don't have much of a bioweapons program, but dirty bombs and chemical weapons are easily within their industrial capacity. Makes me wonder what was on the missiles that weren't intercepted, because even one VX-like missile strike on a southern NE city would hamstring a military response.

It is generally understood by now that this was a premeditated attack. How much the Chairman and Privy Council knew... that's too hard to say. Things are very fluid and unstable in the United States at the moment, including at the highest echelons of power. For instance... how secure was Hogan's rule anyway? Was it an iron fist or a paper tiger?

That was.... an utterly insane decision for the Americans to make. Really, to attack without warning one of the worlds preeminent powers, while you yourself are embroiled in a civil war you have no guarantee of winning, thereby instantly solidifying a third of the planet on the side of the rebels. This gave the British a cast-iron excuse to invade, that no one can possibly object to, and perhaps invite Russian and Japanese support too.
Really, its almost as if a third party launched those attacks.......
But that couldn't possibly happen right. Right?

You may very well think that, but I couldn't possibly comment.

Actually, how are the relations between the superpowers of the UK, Russia and Japan? On a scale of OTL USA and India (friendly competition) to USA and China (rivals squaring off but with significant trade links) to USA and Russia (actively hostile powers working against each other without actual war)?

The Empire and Russia are more or less the same as the USA and China. Japan holds a much more antagonistic stance to the world powers. The Empire moreso than the Russians. Japan sees Chia as a threat to its territorial integrity, and just in general, and views the Empire as pro-Chia. Japan has close ties with Russia, as both have a general idea of containing the Chia and ensuring they do not grow further.

Did I miss something here? Surely the US is more concerned with seperatists on its own soil than foreign adversaries at the moment. And if the Empire is supporting the seccessionists, why not strike at the supply lines or something instead? Sink a ship or two?

Wait isn't the US is already embroiled in a civil war, why would they launch a war to the British Empire? Seems whoever control of the US wants to speedrun America collaspes.

Okay, all of this is just crazy, why would the US (or whichever faction was in control at the time) attack the empire? To create a united front of Americans to fight a common enemy, to actually fight the major power that supported the rebellions, I'm trying to better understand?

A hardliner military coup hardly seems like the most rational bunch, no?

The Spaniards seem to be attacking the Brits tho... I don't see any reason to side with the Evil British Empire

Fuck it, One struggle, American ultraconservatism - Spanish Communism, based af

ngl can't help but think the Argies are Britain's lapdog, they have a golden opportunity to retake the falklands there

For now...

Curious, why/How is Argentina engaging against America when the two are continents apart? Does she have a military strong enough to power project in NA?

Argentina considers itself the leader of the Western Hemisphere, and isn't afraid to flex its diplomatic and militay muscle to prove it.

Oh yes. At one point, Argentina had the largest economy in the world ITTL and got to space first. Admittedly that was due to the UK and Russia being absolutely exhausted, but Argentina is not to be messed with. They seem rather like a fusion of OTL India and Japan really, of Japanese economic strength backed with the military chops to be a tough cookie while not-quite-attaining superpower status.

This is a pretty good way to look at it!

I think that the main reason is this is the last gasp of a dying (albite powerful) regime. They are probably telling the Americans that the Britain attacked first and that the air strikes are justified, in order to try getting everyone back on board and get a rally round the flag effect going on. Of course this wont work but I think that the government knew that but was still trying a hail mary.

This is absolutely very close to the reality of the situation! The government has been searching for a unifiying event. Can't say that it hasn't had success.

Dictatorships mired in ideology, particularly those under panic/stress, regularly engage in illogical behaviour. Its an overly basic reading of foreign policy decision making to think that individuals pursue the rational choice at all avenues. Whether its Charles II's insane pride begetting civil war after civil war, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour or the Argentine Junta's invasion of the Falklands, decisions which are evidently risky and potentially disastrous are made thanks to domestic politics, extreme convictions and ideologies or simple desperation.

I can absolutely see something like this happening, particularly if the Brits are funneling support to the opposition.

Wonderful wonderful work as well, great format and exciting to read. Can't wait for more.

This is, probably, the best way to view the actions of the United States. The country is essentially an institutional dictatorship. The people are replaceable, it's the banality of evil, a bureaucratic nightmare of a regime that exerts such force and power. One that's never been stress tested. One that has also seen its own institutions decay over time since the leadership of Chairman Smith, the only one who truly weilded the full power of the office and the organs of state. What you are witnessesing is how the state is functioning under internal and external stress, how much the structure can bend... but will it break?

So Hogan might not be the one who launched those attacks after all? Unless he got couped out right as the attacks happened.

I don't think Spain, which has supported anti-American rebellions, would go out of their way to support the regime. But now, I'm thinking that they might be attacking in the name of "anti-imperialism".

I don't see why the Empire would launch missiles to large civilian centers like NYC, which was already full of protesters against the regime? Maybe it was deemed to close to New England?

Super stellar stuff, can't wait for more.

- The Chairman did not launch the attacks.
- The Spanish government probably did not have any control in the attacks, it was an independent militia. But how sure can anyone be, really?
- New York City was occupied, but targeted strikes were taken out first to get rid of defences that would have hindered Imperial military occupation.

Well there is one thing holding that back. America does not have sunlight in a bottle. And without that horrifying capability, humanity can still recover. Chemical weapons can pollute for years, decades, but they are limited to (relatively) small areas. Biological weapons is the greater danger, but even then they can be stopped with quarantine, vaccinations and severe restrictions. Nukes though release poison that attacks everything humans need, our water, air, food and our children. And America does not have them.

Britain does though. And if they choose to, which they might have done, it won't be Sheffield or Boston that burns, it will be Cincinatti, Hamilton, New Orleans and all the people whose only crime was to be ruled by a madman. And there will be countless American Ruths and Janes who suffer for it.

EDIT: Oh OK Hogan had a functioning brain after all. Er, good for him I guess. America is now led by a cabal of reactionary madmen instead of just one. And the British haven't gone nuclear yet thank christ. This is fantastic work, I feel like I'm in this world, glued to my phone watching the confused updates come in.

Thank you!! I'm glad that you enjoyed the updates haha!

The "place"? that must not be named?

The BBC must thread a needle when referencing Spain, as the British Government still recognises the Canary Islands as the Spanish government.

I think the US does have a few nukes but I hope I'm wrong.
With regards to Hogan's, ah, incapacitation, my bet is that *America (can't even call it the same country as the one I inhabit and love) will probably fracture over time as the current regime heads become warlords battling it out over the nation's heartland. Just an idea though.

I guess you will have to stay tuned to see how the United States develops

Word of God can help us rest somewhat easier. Somewhat.
Yeah, so Spain, sorry The Regime East of Portugal, is gonna get punted. They don't even crack the top 20 economies and they think attacking a UK thrice its population which seems to be fairly easily handling fighting the frickin USA is a good idea.
Funny, this seems like it will be the War of 1812 in reverse, with the UK presumerably devoting most of its energies to fighting in North America and diverting a relatively small army to fight a european power. Should still be able to roll Spain up and smoke it like a constitution.

Why would Spain attack the UK in this scenario?

One must remember that the British Empire blockades Spain completely and its only external trade is done through smuggling with France and Portugal. The people there have a reason to hate the Empire, and if a couple militas get a little... anxious... then the Government won't be going all out to stop them all of the time.

Stellar work again, as always! I have, many, many questions on my mind right now.

• So the government east of Portugal really were behind the attacks. Perhaps their government got Hogan'd too, or is it just another group of rogues attacking Gibraltar?
  • Side tangent: is that the only name the Empire calls them? No "south of France" or "north of Morocco"? Are there any Spanish governments-in-exile, and if so, where do they reside?
• And if I'm reading this correctly, it seems like the Californian assault (intentional or otherwise) somehow lead the USA to attack the Empire? If that is true, I don't see California being a friend to Empire anytime soon.
• At least Hogan is sane and alive. Where is he now? Which areas does he have still control over?
• Nice to know that Texas has finally broken free. Also, really neat to see the change of flags under Jerome Taylor's name in his two posts. Hopefully Louisiana gets a better flag than just a seal in blue. I take it that Connectr (as is perhaps most social media) is British?
• What does Carbone exactly want to get done that's limited by their constitution?

EDIT:

• What is the reasoning behind the profile picture of the user after the all-black one? I assume the first is just a personal picture, the second being a sign of solidarity with the victims of the attack, but the third?
• What is the user's timezone? Based on the discrepancy with Carbone's planned speech on 9 PM being posted on 9:45 PM, maybe GMT-0?
• Can we have explanations for the alt-terminology of Connectr?
• Outside of Empire, Argentina, Russia, and California, who else has declared war against the USA (or at least plans to send military aid to the Empire)?

Thank you!!
- Probably a bit of both!
-- This is the only term that is generally used. The Canary Islands are ruled by the Spanish government in exile, and the Empire is the only one that recognises them as the legal government of Spain.
- You may be more or less correct. The fog of war is hard to determine at this point still.
- Mostly rural Kentucky.
- Connectr is British, yeah. Texas... has maybe broken free. Stay tuned.
- Mostly the distribution of emergency aide. Nothing sinister.
- The third is a jingoist sentiment, aimed at revenge.
- GMT-0, yeah.
- I think I should be able to do this!!
- At present, Mexico, California, and Argentina are the only ones engaged in operations against the United States outside of the Empire.

I don't see Carbone as a potential authoritarian. It seems to me like this circumventing the Constitution is more like, "we're in an immediate national emergency, things need to get done else we die. No time for debate or deliberation." Maybe it's just naivete but I do think that if there is a New England left after the war, it'll remain a democracy.

Same. I'm reading that as similar to what Lincoln did at the start of the Civil War; technically speaking he couldn't suspend Habeas Corpus without the consent of Congress, but since Congress was out of session, he did it on his own and then had Congress retroactively approve it (though it took until 1863 for the Suspension Act to actually pass, if memory serves). So a temporary measure designed to ensure the country can respond to a critical threat, rather than some kind of intense power grab.

Both of these are absolutely correct. This is a temporary measure to help rebuild and recover.

Can't wait to see how the Americans break any and all rules of war. I have a very deep feeling that they will go all out with chem/bio weapon attacks and war crimes.

Also kind of funny to see Americans as the arbiters of terrorism with their attacks on Commonwealth civilians.

Well, I would... Assume this is the case, I will not be going into detail.

I’ve some questions when you’re ready to answer later

When did the insurgencies and civil unrest start in the US during the apartheid era before the present day? The 1960’s I presume? Which organizations fought back both with violence and non violence during the 60’s and beyond? And what would be an example?

Would Martin Luther King be equivalent to Nelson Mandela and the Black Panther Party to the Spear of the nation insurgent organization?

when was the CPO formed?

Has the US fought any wars between their neighbors in the past similar to the South African Border War?

What was life like during the apartheid era in America? Very similar to otl South Africa?

I don’t mean to bug you, I’m just very interested in this timeline. It’s awesome. Thanks so much for your time!

- Insurgencies were rather rare across the United States. The most recent one was the first large-scale one. Never before has there been a concentrated protest that lasted further than a week or so, and even then it was limited to a small area.
- He was an unnotable pastor.
- The 1950s, under Chairman Smith
- No
- Very bifurcated. White Americans lived very normal lives, with decent luxuries and a high standard of living. Everyone else...

Will the United States be broken up when they finally accept defeat?

🤫

Briefly weighing in to say the last few updates have been phenomenal - really scratch my morbid itch for live social media updates and the apocalypse. The graphic design for alt-Twitter is excellent and really convincing.

I'm happy you enjoyed them!!!

You know, after seeing dozens of TLs pitting a saintly US against a grimdark Britain, it's refreshing to see a story that not only turns the concept on its head, but also plays with it a little. While TTL US is undeniably repressive and corrupt, the British Empire has just enough skeletons in its closet to avoid being Mary Sue-ish.

What I try and do is to not present much of anything as the "best part" of the timeline. I really want to show the evils and demons that haunt these countries. There are no saints here.

Welp, I'm up shit's crick. I imagine the Champlain valley took heavy damage due to its strategic value.

Connecticut was the only place that was significantly hit.

I'm thinking that memes like those would be flagged by Connectr given the situation and the higher level of enforcement on the internet compared to OTL.
Although with the historical enmity between the Indians and the British, that meme might be fine by Indian standards.
Though, with such a stricter internet, would memes even be a thing?

They would be flagged, for sure. The user would have been banned, given Connectr is a British firm.

View attachment 654933

I'm also interested in the state of memes in this TL as well. I think we should ask Ash, but given that Connectr is a British company, I don't think they'll give much of a toss about Bengali(or Indian) laws and regulations...
[not metagaming... meos is glorious open source fork of some AH Linux equivalent that the programmer in me made up in that TL]

There should be a decent meme discussion on the discord server!

I should apologise to Ash for weebposting in her thread, but I'm rather distracted by a question...
Is anime a thing?

It is. There is a very excellent write-up on the discord server about Pathé.

So uh I haven't been on the forum and I come back to this. Amazing

(Also small side not that is basically irrelevant at this point but I noticed on the map that Charleston was the capitol of SC, but Columbia still exists. Columbia was made to be the capitol so either it got moved back or shouldn't exist. Either way Camden would probably be the big city in the midlands)

Welcome back! Thank you!!

I will keep that in mind, and retreat to do more research on the topic.

The fact that these artists are choosing Hong Kong as the place to produce their works instead of their home country does raise questions about the state of Japan ITTL.

Japan is on the horizon for me to focus on.

I mean, the political map from earlier does show that the Japanese Empire still retains the Emperor in some position of power, suggesting that the conservative Showa era (or its equivalent ITTL) never quite met the same abrupt and traumatizing end it did OTL, and thus the more risqué plotlines and features in modern-day anime simply would not be able to exist. That being said, I would be interesting in seeing what other countries outside of the British Empire have in terms of animation. Does Argentina's own liberal politics lead to a flourishing animation industry to compete with Hong Kong's?

Argentina has a very liberal society, and they would be the source of not only animation, but culture in general. You may think of Argentina in a similar sphere to the United States culturally. Trends are set there, movies are produced there and then dubbed into other languages. Cultural icons live there, books and works produced there are world famous, art flourishes, media, songs... the list goes on.

Oddly specific question(s): What characters are in the dominant character encoding(s)? (Is there one to rule all, or are there various incompatible standards?) Would it by 6-, 7- or 8-bit? Consider punctuation marks and currency symbols: \ | { } were mostly included in OTL ASCII for compatibility with certain programming languages, and ` ~ ^ for "international use", whereas ¼½¢ were omitted despitebeing on typewriter keyboards. I'd imagine that the pound sign would definitely be a mainstay instead of the dollar sign.

This is a question I will make a note of (I put it in my journal for things to do in the future), because the general structure of the internet and technology is something I need to touch on.

Excellent and stellar work as always!

• What is the general opinion of Imperial citizens to the war? Now that the harsh realities of war are bearing down on them, they seem to be less enthusiastic about the process. Though, I think that Canada, New England, and the Bahamas want revenge.
• What's up with the Niassa-Kafuestroom conflict?
• Why did Napoleon resign from government?

I sincerely apologize again if I'm asking too many questions.

Thank you!!

- The "we've been attacked" high is starting to wear off, for one. Revenge is still pretty much expected, but not everywhere is enthusiastic about the fight.
- Ah, I am glad someone noticed! This is a developing story...
- There are several pieces of information scattered that should give a general indication of the intents of the Emperor.

No no! These questions are fine!! It just takes me a lot to read and sort through them...and to reveal what I want to in these answers

The protests in Bengal and Argentina make me wonder--is the presented perspective of America truly as neutral as we may want to think? Sure, in OTL the BBC is an institution which can be relied upon to deliver relatively objective international news, but in this world, they remain the primary media apparatus of an empire invested in preserving and strengthening its global dominance.
Is there an angle on the conflict that we might be missing?

We do have a narrow view of the world, I wonder what is propaganda and what is legit.

Certainly something to consider.
It might just be easier to present them as being anti-Empire rather than something more nuanced. The parallels with OTL American reports on anti-American protests though come to mind.

Thank you for picking up on such an important distinction. I would like to make it known that These Fair Shores is written with the idea of in-universe biases. What's true? What's spin? What is the objective truth?

You'll just have to find out yourselves.

Maybe... it is time for non-British funded news articles, hmm?

Maybe people were nervous that he would declare himself monarch of Louisiana.

This is unlikely.

I doubt the outline of the war (namely it being attacked) is wrong.

Putting a spin to protests is easier.

I doubt it is wrong. Perhaps there is some nuance missing? One may never know...