Well, at least Josiah is getting some doubt before he is inevitably killed due to said doubt.
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That is possible and could fit with Irish history and political organization in the 11th century from what I’ve looked at.
Still working on that one, so I’m not sure how to handle that at the moment.
The Worm will definitely be a major antagonist in that era. I’m also thinking of doing other “vs Worm” one-offs across various eras in a way similar to Eternal Darkness, where the flashbacks aren’t arranged in chronological order but still directly lead into each other (like events in the future affecting events in the past).
I could see Cloud vs Sephiroth vibes coming in with Wilhelm vs the Worm, although originally I was going for Lucina vs Grima and Rhea vs Nemesis.
Ironic how the only intellectual on the committee is the only one to have doubts about what they’re doing, precisely because he wrote up all of these repressive policies and is now seeing them carried out exactly as he wanted.
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Fate has an ugly way of showing the fruit of one's labors eh? Josiah no doubt is gonna be having some doubts in the near future, and there's no way things like this isn't bound to happen in other areas, the vultures will eat themselves before the day is done. Only thing is, who is left standing in the end? On the topic of the CK2 portions being revamped, I am looking forward to reading it, been what? Nearly 6 years since the CK2 portion was posted here? It'd be nice to get back in time and see how everything looks with the revised plotlines. Especially what plans you have in store Zen. Gonna be a fun read no doubt, plus I for one am looking forward to see the Medieval Hohenzollerns again, especially Fredreich the Great
So like a modern form of Tanistry then?
I guess he on some level now knows what it feels like to be Gertrude in terms of being screwed over despite helping create Jerusalem. Kind of a weird person to be a foil to though ngl.
Agreed about 11th century getting revamped. I wonder what Zen has in stores for the Salians, Sigmaringens, Habsburgs and Doukai. I feel like Anna Doukas has taken Anna Komenoi’s spot in history, which might’ve been where Friedrich the Glorious got his intellectualism and interest in science from, even if Anna was killed by the Worm when Fredrich was young.
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Josiah’s getting exactly what he wanted and only now realizing that. Question is if he will actually try to do something about it.
While Gertrude tries to do something about it, Josiah so far hasn’t done anything. He refuses to even acknowledge he’s being screwed over, such is his pride.
Perhaps.
Yeah, I’m very excited to go back and flesh out that era with all of the things I’ve learned in the last 6 years.
Small Victories
Tiger’s Defense, Vilnius - October 3
“Here are the results of yesterday’s operations,” General Kowalski said, handing Boris a report.
“In summary?” Boris said.
“Well, the Koreans were very…proactive,” Kowalski said.
“Did they do what we needed?” Boris said.
“In a way,” Kowalski said, “The attack on the GPS servers went as planned. We caused about five hours of disruption. The BGP attacks took out a few propaganda websites, many of which are still down.”
“And the Tesla Dynamic data centers?” Boris said.
“Our agents only got past the first few firewalls,” Kowalski said, “We didn’t get much.”
“So what seems to be the problem?” Boris said.
“The Koreans targeted the committee’s personal servers,” Kowalski said.
“They what?!” Boris said.
“I know, I didn’t order that,” Kowalski said, “I would have preferred they go after the military research labs, but…”
“Well…I hope they at least found something?” Boris said.
“Sort of,” Kowalski said, “They leaked emails.”
“Emails?” Boris said.
“What, you haven’t seen the news?” Kowalski said. “They leaked the emails of several committee members.”
“Anything important?” Boris said.
“Not much, unfortunately,” Kowalski said, “We can embarrass a few of them, but that’s it.”
Boris flipped through the report. “You have some of the most relevant ones listed here?’
“Yeah,” Kowalski said.
“Huh, the tone of some of these emails…” Boris observed. “‘Get this done if you know what’s best for you.’ ‘For the sake of your brother…’ ‘It would be a shame…’”
“Yeah, we noticed that,” Kowalski said, “The committee leaders don’t seem to be particularly friendly with each other. One wonders how they get along enough to do things.”
“Maybe we can exploit this,” Boris said, “People don’t write this kind of stuff without a reason.”
“You’re saying they…” Kowalski said.
“Perhaps,” Boris said, “If we had more concrete evidence, we could make use of it. They may be onto something here…”
Gunnolfsfell
The conference room was in complete uproar. Dignitaries and ambassadors pounded the table, trying to shout over each other. Wilhelmina found the sight oddly familiar…and nostalgic. She had sat in on plenty of Diet meetings in the before times. The first one she attended was back in 1994, when her mom wanted her to get an idea of the people she would be working with as a future ruler. The Diet was full of people constantly arguing for whatever pieces of legislation they wanted to be passed. That never changed every subsequent time she visited.
“This is an outrage!” the Jerusalemite said. “We should not be relegated to observer status while this madness is going on! We ask the UN to help respect our sovereignty against the Tawantinsuyuan menace!”
“The Tawantinsuyuan government is respecting the wishes of the people of Kleinvenedig,” the Tawantinsuyuan delegate said, “They overwhelmingly voted in favor of asking for our aid to stabilize the region.”
“We both know that’s a lie!” the Jerusalemite said. “We’ve known for years the Tawantinsuyuans have wanted Kleinvenedig for its oil! For all of the Eimerican Federation’s talk of environmental sustainability, you are still a bunch of gas guzzlers! Hypocrites! Both sides are the same! We are prepared to send troops into the region to restore order!”
He wasn’t completely wrong, to be fair. The new Tawantinsuyuan government had desired Kleinvenedig for years now. The Tawantinsuyuan economy was one of the last in the world still dependent on oil—breaking ranks with the rest of the Federation and its super-national environmental policy in barely making any shift towards renewable energy—making the oil-rich region an appealing target. A lot of Quechua had also settled there, and they were probably tired of the chaos in the rest of the province. Still, LKR Guy was in the wrong here. But were the Tawantinsuyuans right?
“I doubt you have any military presence in Neurhomania, but if you do, we are prepared to mobilize our own army to defend the people of Kleinvenedig!” the Tawantinsuyuan said.
Oh, no. Please don’t. The situation in Neurhomania was already a huge clusterfrak without the Tawantinsuyuans.
“CHAO PRAYA!” the Jerusalemite said. “CHAO PRAYA!”
She always hated that little decree. It transferred war powers from the Diet and Kaiser to the chancellor. It circumvented the rules of war to allow military operations without needing to actually declare a war. Then the nation would effectively be fighting an “extended military operation” and not a war. So the rules of war wouldn’t apply. Naturally, this led to all sorts of war crimes that technically weren’t war crimes being committed, first in Siam and then in Mexico. Now the committee could do the same to any unfortunate target.
“ORDER!” Kahenta said.
But nobody listened to her. Soon, other delegates began shouting demands.
“The island of Gyusyu rightfully belongs to the Kingdom of Korea!” the Korean delegate said.
“No it does not!” President Sakamoto said. “It belongs to Japan!”
A similar situation to Kleinvenedig. The Koreans of Kyushu were suffering under the southern Paulluists’ rule and wanted out. A nationalist government in Korea saw an opportunity to retake a former colony. The Japanese naturally struck back. But she didn’t know who was right. Neither side seemed particularly appealing. The southern Paulluists were dangerous and bloodthirsty. The Koreans were at least willing to break ranks with Han and help out with Tiger’s Defense, but they were still leaning towards authoritarianism. Neither of them would care about the actual Koreans living in Kyushu. To both regimes, they were just a political talking point and a bargaining chip. They just wanted the land and the prestige that came with it.
“I agree!” President Hayabusa said. “Japan is one and indivisible!”
“You hypocrite, Hayabusa!” Sakamoto said. “We are the rightful rulers of Japan! You are pretenders and rebels!”
“No, you’re the rebels!” Hayabusa said. “You’re the illegitimate ones!”
That was another problem. Sakamoto had made clear he wanted unification lately. Russian satellites had spotted troops mobilizing on the border east of Kyoto, armed with equipment and weapons that looked Jerusalem in design. The northerners’ military did not receive the same amount of aid and supplies from China; Russian observers in Edo noticed some northern troops still used 40-year-old Chinese weapons and vehicles, if they still had them. The vast majority of northerners used even older weapons or even rode on horses. It seemed Han had written off the “island barbarians” as an acceptable loss and wanted to focus on other places.
“The Empire of Mali declares it will legally recognize the Roman government based in Kiev as the legitimate government of the former Reich,” the Malian delegate said, “We will sever all remaining diplomatic and economic ties with the illegitimate Jerusalem regime in Berlin effective immediately, in light of the continuing atrocities being committed by the illegitimate Jerusalem regime.”
Finally some good news. Mali had long shut off its borders and withdrawn from most international affairs, believing if they did absolutely nothing, Jerusalem would ignore them. That merely encouraged Jerusalem to send Crusader patrols dangerously close to the border to shoot anyone trying to escape into Mali, killing many Malians. Jerusalem’s ships and planes routinely violated Mali’s waters and airspace while conducting operations in rebel-held Westafrika. The province was about to fall back into Jerusalem’s hands, which would expose Mali’s south to attack.
“You are only signing your own death warrants!” the Jerusalemite said.
“ORDER!” Kahenta shouted.
Still nobody listened.
“We will follow Russia and Mali’s lead,” Olaf Finnson said, “Scandinavia will no longer engage in trade or diplomatic relations with the Jerusalem regime.”
“TRAITORS!” the Jerusalemite said. “JACKALS! VULTURES!”
He turned to Wilhelmina. She was sitting quietly in her seat, trying not to attract attention.
“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” he said, lunging across the table.
Tsai, Olaf, and Hayabusa all tackled him and pinned him against the table as he viciously kicked and flailed around, spouting profanities and screaming curses. While Hayabusa was distracted, Sakamoto jumped on top of him and began punching him, while the Korean delegate picked up a chair and slammed it into Sakamoto’s back. Soon, the other delegates picked up chairs and other items to defend themselves with. Wilhelmina kept sitting there, keeping herself calm. She didn’t want to give Jerusalem what it wanted: any reaction it could spin. Yes, not acting was itself a reaction, but what else could she do?
“Okay, I’ve had enough of your antics!” Kahenta said. “All in favor of stripping observer status from the Holy Roman Empire of Jerusalem?”
Everybody but Nepal, Penglai, and the Japanese Republic put their hands up.
“The ayes have it!” Kahenta said. “Get out! Permanently!”
The security guards dragged the Jerusalemite out…again. It was just like the old Diet. Politics. Politics never changed.
Downtown Gunnolfsell - later that evening
Kahenta drank her glass of wine. She looked very tired.
“Why…” she muttered. “Why does this always happen to me…”
“I never thought things could get so heated,” Tsai said, “This is supposed to be a place of cooperation and discussion, not…an all-out fistfight.”
“This reminds me of the last time my mother gathered with her brothers,” Wilhelmina said.
“The three of them actually met up?” Tsai said. “Georg told me he didn’t get along with old Wilhelm Karl.”
“This was 1992 or so,” Wilhelmina said, “I was about ten. My mom had arranged a family gathering so she could get back in touch with her brothers. They had been drifting apart for many years, especially during the war. I remember showing up and being a little confused at everything going on. Uncle Horst shared a war story as always. Pretty exciting. I remember it was something about the Battle of East Berlin. Georg arrived, and he was pretty nice. Got me a Mayan obsidian dagger—edge blunted, of course—carried by merchants as a symbol of their honesty and fairness. I lost track of that dagger, unfortunately. Then Uncle Karl showed up, and everything went to hell.”
“Makes sense,” Tsai said.
“A few choice words, and soon Horst was lunging at his throat, Georg was calling for help, and Mom had jumped in to forcibly separate them,” Wilhelmina said, “I don’t think it worked, because when she left, Uncle Karl said some more choice words, and they were at each other’s throats again. Sometimes, I think only my grandparents could have actually done something about Uncle Karl. They were too busy at the time to come. Still, I have fond memories of that time.”
“Really?” Kahenta said. “Even after your uncles started fighting?”
“I was busy playing RUS games with the other kids,” Wilhelmina said, “And the food was absolutely delicious. It wasn’t all bad. Mom and Uncle Georg got along, after all.”
“I suppose so,” Kahenta said.
“Just try to find the good in all this,” Wilhelmina said.
“What do you mean, good?” Kahenta said. “Everything we talked about went nowhere.”
“But at least we kicked out the Jerusalemite ambassador,” Tsai said, “He’s gone, and he’ll never come back. We’ll finally have some peace and quiet.”
“Did you forget the Japanese and the Kyushu situation?” Kahenta said. “We still have that.”
“True,” Tsai said.
“And I’m concerned that finally pulling the plug on Jerusalem might backfire,” Kahenta said, “The UN’s goal is to contain threats to world peace and maintain the international order. This can only be done if all nations participate. If an offender is kicked out, then there is nothing the UN can do to punish them further. We may have just given them license to do whatever they want with no consequences.”
“I’m not going to let them do that,” Wilhelmina said, “I decided to represent the legitimate Roman government. That means stopping Jerusalem.”
“Well, you better get to it soon,” Tsai said, “Everything’s falling apart now. And look at what’s happening in Kleinvenedig.”
“Tawantinsuyu wouldn’t be that stupid, would it?” Wilhelmina said.
“At this point, so much crazy stuff has happened I wouldn’t be surprised,” Kahenta said.
October 8
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Edit: All of my changes after “we both know that’s a lie” got deleted by the forum for some reason.
Edit 2: Was interrupted while adding back the deleted changes.
Edit 3: I hate editing on mobile. Some typos have been cleaned up.
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Osterhild would be spinning in her grave if she saw what the UN she helped found has become. At least Jerusalem was kicked out for good and the Commitee is being recognized for the terrorist group it is and are helping Wilhelmina take it down, through even that might backfire now that Twantinsuyu is annexing the Amazon, or whatever area Klevinvendig is supposed to be. No doubt Jerusalem and the warlords in Neurhomania are pissed about that one.
I could see a possible fate of Neurhomania after the warlords stop flighting being that it is broken up and absorbed into the Eimerican Federation, with the European core around New Berlin and Malian Nsorala becoming independent of each other, Twantinsuyu annexing the outer lander in the Amazon and the Volksland Islands, the UPM taking the Nahua north, and the indigenous poprations having significant representation and autonomy in the post Neurhomanian governments. Either that or Neurhomania is annexed entirely by Neurhomania or reunites as either an authoritarian or lliberal regime.
The situation with the two Japans and Korea is a dumpster fire and will no doubt lead to war, and I’m sure a war between a Jerusalem backed South Japan and Chinese backed Korea would be bad for the Koreans of Kyushu who are likely suffering plenty at this point along with Christians in South Japan. The North and the Ainu really have their work containing the South cut out for them I imagine.
I could see a possible fate of Neurhomania after the warlords stop flighting being that it is broken up and absorbed into the Eimerican Federation, with the European core around New Berlin and Malian Nsorala becoming independent of each other, Twantinsuyu annexing the outer lander in the Amazon and the Volksland Islands, the UPM taking the Nahua north, and the indigenous poprations having significant representation and autonomy in the post Neurhomanian governments. Either that or Neurhomania is annexed entirely by Neurhomania or reunites as either an authoritarian or lliberal regime.
The situation with the two Japans and Korea is a dumpster fire and will no doubt lead to war, and I’m sure a war between a Jerusalem backed South Japan and Chinese backed Korea would be bad for the Koreans of Kyushu who are likely suffering plenty at this point along with Christians in South Japan. The North and the Ainu really have their work containing the South cut out for them I imagine.
Looking forward to it. Just one more question. What would Byzantine politics up to Fredrich the Great instaling the Doukai on the throne be like in this time without the battle of Manzikert, no Komnenoi Restoration and an earlier First Crusade?
Hopefully Tigers Defense and the Koreans will find something that causes infighting among the Committee. However I fear that with the limited strength of the Loyalist I do not think that they could hold the territory that Jerusalem currently holds (Europe, the Middle East and North Africa) let alone the rest of the former Reich.
Well I guess everything from the Ghazna Conference five updates ago went out the window.
They would.
Things do not look good for either Neurhomania or East Asia.
I'm exited for it as well. I do have some questions about it. Are you going to tell this revamp through flashbacks or are you going to do it like you are now in were you have character updates in between the gameplay updates? Also since you are doing the 11th and 12th century are you also going to do a little bit of supernatural aspects as well like in the you did before? I was looking at the Wiki for the Netflix show Lucifer and on the page about Hell and it says things like what is shown below and I thought that was an interesting take on Hell and that maybe you could implement something like this in the story?
Lucifer: (sighs) I have a story for you, reporter. One I've never told a human soul before. I take no part in who goes to Hell.
Reese: Then who does?
Lucifer: You humans. (chuckles) You send yourselves. Driven down by your own guilt. Forcing yourselves to relive your sins over and over. And the best part... the doors aren't locked. You could leave anytime. It says something that no one ever does, doesn't it?
Basically meaning this,
The series finale reveals that God created hell for an entirely different purpose than the angels, humans and demons believed; it was never meant to be eternal torture, but to force souls to confront their guilt and flaws in order to worthy of entering Heaven.
Kleinvenedig is supposed to be the region around Venezuela, hence the name ("Little Venice" which is Venezuela in Spanish and Kleinvenedig in German) and the strategic oil reserves.
Pretty sure the UPM won't be taking any territory because it would be geographically isolated due to the Tawantinsuyuan Caribbean corridor.
The Korean government doesn't particularly care for the Koreans of Kyushu. They just want the land. They don't care if they die in any invasion. They can always send new settlers once they control it. Not a good time to be a Korean in Japan.
I did some research on Byzantium in the 1060s a few weeks ago. Turns out Konstantinos X (the emperor in 1066) only seized power in 1059 after convincing the previous emperor, Isaac I Komnenos (the first Komnenoi emperor), to name him his heir and then usurped the throne from him. He wasn't a good ruler as he undid a lot of Isaac's unpopular but effective political and military reforms. Among the things he did was neglect border fortifications, replace much of the standing army with mercenaries, raise taxes to pay for the army, and disband the important Armenian militia right when Alp Arslan and the Seljuks were invading. He was responsible for the loss of Calabria to Robert Guiscard, Belgrade to the Hungarians, and much of Armenia to the Seljuks. He survived an assassination attempt from the military aristocracy in 1061. Politically, he weakened the bureaucracy and Senate by stacking both full of yes-men. In real life, he died in 1067 as he was already very old and unhealthy at that point. Of his six kids, he had three daughters, and of those three, I happened to pick the only one who became a nun. Wikipedia says Anna Doukaina went to a convent and never married. His son Michael VII became emperor in 1071 and was just as incompetent, causing more economic instability, bureaucratic incompetence, and military revolts. He was overthrown in 1078 by two separate rebellions, one of which (the one that ultimately seized the throne) was backed by the Seljuks.
The way I would reinterpret this decade is as follows:
Alp Arslan, after converting to Zoroastrianism in the Pagan Resurgence, halts his invasion of Anatolia to consolidate power in Persia, while the Islamic world redirects its attentions to attacking the now-apostate Seljuks. The Pagan Resurgence causes a panic in Konstantinos' court, as Konstantinos was very interested in theology and embarked on a pro-Church policy as emperor. His hobbling of Byzantine bureaucracy and military eventually catches up to him, forcing him to rely more on his wife Eudokia to maintain power. I'm pretty sure he survived past 1067 in the game, so Eudokia was moderately successful. Konstantinos then props up his son Michael as his successor, aware he will not live much longer. Anna doesn't go to the convent as in real life, but Ida convinces Eudokia to agree to a political marriage between Prince Wilhelm and Anna. The marriage would mean Konstantinos gains Friedrich the Great's military support in case of any rebellions or invasions, but Anna is so far down the line of succession that it poses no threat to his rule. He is deeply concerned about the optics of his daughter marrying a Catholic from the rival Empire of the Germans, though, but Eudokia convinces him to agree to it as Friedrich's army is more important at the moment. As a side note, this happens after the Investiture Controversy, which happens in the 1070s while Friedrich is away crusading. Since I ended up having Heinrich IV conquer every single independent and non-Byzantine polity in Italy, it is very likely he won the controversy with Ida's help (she would have convinced Matilda of Tuscany and other important papal supporters to switch sides). This would weaken the power of the Catholic Church relative to the HRE, something the Orthodox Church would like (gradually leading to the decline of the Catholic Church and the mending of the schism; the schism only occurred in 1054, so it would have been easier to reconcile the two churches in 1126, although it was a centuries-long process to get to the split). So now the HRE is the unquestioned spiritual and political authority in the Catholic world and Konstantinos' rule is backed up by Friedrich's troops. By the 1080s, Friedrich has been elected Holy Roman Emperor, conquered the Levant, and has directed the Pope to begin preparations for a crusade in Egypt. In the meantime, he uses his control of the Levant to direct trade from Fatimid Egypt into HRE ports. Konstantinos is forced to give more concessions to Friedrich to get a cut of Egypt's agricultural exports. When he dies (as does Eudokia, since in real life she died in 1081), Michael succeeds him again and is as incompetent as in real life. The rebellions against his rule begin. Ida sees an opportunity to seize power and convinces Friedrich to send troops into the empire to press Anna's claim. Friedrich defeats the other rebellions, repels the Seljuks, and installs Anna as the empress, using his army to prop her up (I know in-game I pressed the claim against Michael, but it was over in a day because I used the console). Of course, Anna has even less political experience than her brother and father and is effectively a puppet for Friedrich, which causes outrage from the nobility and bureaucracy. This consumes much of Friedrich and Ida's time. Friedrich gradually builds a power base by promising a reconciliation between the Catholic and Orthodox churches and the two Roman Empire successors; undoing Konstantinos and Michael's unpopular policies; leaving most power structures and social and cultural institutions intact; stationing HRE and loyal Byzantine troops in strategic areas to swiftly put down rebellions; playing off anti-HRE nobles against each other, promoting them to inconsequential jobs, or assigning them to military campaigns in the Balkans or the Middle East where they will most certainly die/become irrelevant; and adopting a system of merit to promote qualified individuals with few political ties and weaken established power brokers. The Worm cult takes advantage of the unrest to kill Anna and Wilhelm, leaving the baby Friedrich the Glorious on the throne. In response, Friedrich the Great begins directly ruling the empire of the Greeks as regent. The strain of ruling two giant empires at the same time puts immense stress on him, leading to his death at 55, but fortunately by then Friedrich the Glorious is of age.
That's what I think so far. I'll like have to adjust it once I get dates like Konstantinos and Michael's reigns, Anna's seizure of power and later death, and Eudokia and Ida's years of activity from the save file.
The loyalists don't have the military strength or political legitimacy to control all of Jerusalem's lands. The only way they can assert authority and power would be through Russia. Russia would have to handle everything. And thus Molotov's dream is finally achieved.
"They wouldn't invade Kleinvenedig, would they?"
Always Sunny in Philadelphia theme plays
"The Gang Invades Kleinvenedig"
Whoever wins, the people of Neurhomania and Korea lose.
The current idea is to do an extended flashback arc from 1066 to 1105 focusing on Friedrich's life, which I'll do simultaneously with the present day story at some point. It'll be a full arc like the Forum/committee or X-Division arcs, and I'm thinking of putting it at the top of the table of contents so new readers can start there if they so choose. However, it'll still tie into the present day arc in some way. In Stellaris, I might do mini-arcs for Saint Wilhelmina and the Sunset Invasion and then one-offs for other interesting historical eras. I just came up with a one-off idea to have Prince Nikephoros fight Worm cultists in Siberia in the 1790s, but I'm not sure if I'm going to use it yet.
I am planning on doing some supernatural aspects again in the future, but probably not in the 11th century arc aside from how Wilhelm went back in time, the consequences of going back in time, and the Worm shenanigans. The angels will start coming back in Stellaris since 2100 will be about 400-500 years since the Fifty Years' War and all of the angels who died then will be resurrecting (and another wave of resurrections will come in 2300 when all those who died in World War II and the Soviet nuking come back). I am considering addressing Lucifer and Michael eventually, but I don't know what to do with them yet and I don't feel like directly adapting later seasons of Supernatural. I'm going to keep the interpretations of things like Heaven and Hell based on their Supernatural counterparts (Heaven being an ethereal office room and Hell being a fiery prison). Although I've long since moved past being limited by Supernatural's canon, I want to keep the basics around. So I don't think I can incorporate stuff from the Lucifer show. I don't think I'll even be featuring Hell anytime soon.
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I love what I see so far in these discussions and I’m intrigued at seeing these ideas fleshed out in the dedicated flashback arc to them. Out of curiosity, do you have plans for reinterpreting events outside of the Reich or the conquests that lead to its restoration, like Jayasimha I's unifications of India and later alliance with the Reich and how it would make sense with India's situation in the 11th/12th centuries for example? It would also be interesting to see how minorities like the French, Poles and Arabs ended up being persecuted against to the scale they were despite the former two being Christians and Fredrich the Great preaching tolerance and fairness for all under the Reich, even non Christians like Norse Pagans in Andalusia (through the ones in Britain didn't have such luck it seems) and Jews (even if European Jews who weren't in Spain were forcibly resettled in the Middle East to take the place of Arab Muslims).
A Saint Wihelmina mini arc sounds interesting, hopefully that dynamic between Wihelmina and Gunhilda introduced in Alex's study sessions can be further explored and fleshout their too, notably in stuff regarding on their takes to dealing with the Worm.
Since it he wasn't brought up much here and the Committee is actively erasing the legacy of Abraham Green now, I wonder how Malcolm X's role in the civil rights would've been different here when you take his Muslim faith into account, given how fiercely they've been persecuted throughout the Reich's history?
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Obviously some trouble is on the horizon, but it is nice seeing the Jerusalemite be so bad at his job that it enforces the decision of countries not wanting to do business with them anymore.
That sounds like it has some elements of the "What If Charlemagne Married Irene of Athens?" alternate history along with a slower Fourth Crusade in were The Second Empire is absorbed into the new Reich as opposed to being conquered by the Crusaders leading to the Frankokratia.
I agree with @CaptainAlvious in that it would be interesting to see how outside events lead to Rome's restoration and how the different minorities in the Reich had to deal with their long history of oppression that still exist to this day.
Maybe I'll do the rise and fall of Harald Hardrada's Norse Empire, the unification of Russia under Sbyslava (and the birth of Kirill), the expansion of Saray, and Genghis Khan's conquests. Not sure, though.
The one-off Worm-focused flashbacks would certainly cover events outside of Roman history, since the Worm and Its cult have embedded itself in many major societies around the world.
There's a lot I could do with that event chain. If I remember correctly, I invited the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch with me, so that should be fun. I admit my knowledge of 11th century central India politics is not the best so it may not be as detailed as the main Friedrich the Great arc.
Yeah, it would paint both Friedrich the Glorious and Saint Wilhelmina in morally dubious lights. You'd understand where they're coming from, but they're still wiping out entire cultures and running counter to the ideals they outwardly promote.
I was operating on the assumption the Andalusian Norse were spared the worst of the conversion efforts and later spread throughout Leon and Andalusia. I'm still figuring out how to explain it. Especially since the cities of Toro and Zamora (ruled by the princesses Elvira and Urraca I talked about before) lie in the middle of territory that would have been conquered by Harald Hardrada's empire. Still have to explain how he even got all the way to Iberia. No joke, that was completely AI-done. I was focusing elsewhere on the map and when I looked back Harald had conquered parts of Leon.
Yeah no luck for those Norse. I'm thinking those Norse were simply assimilated into whatever mess of cultures was in England and became yet another group of settlers in the area, joining the Anglo-Saxons, Normans, and Germans. I looked at one of the screenshots from the original thread and it seems like I ended up installing a de Normandie on the throne of England after I conquered it. While the whole "Normans ruling over Anglo-Saxons leading to the rise of Anglo-Normans and English culture as we know it" wouldn't happen here (especially since I remember the de Bachaumonts eventually ascended to the throne), I could see all of the different cultures mixing together to produce something...English-like.
That would be an interesting one-off, following a Jewish family as they travel from Germany to the Middle East and encounter the people they were sent to replace.
Good idea. Any Saint Wilhelmina-focused mini arc would have to include her interaction with Gunhilda.
Well, for one I think he would have started as a Sunni Muslim instead of first joining Nation of Islam and then converting to mainstream Sunni Islam. I think his struggle for African American civil rights neatly translates into rights for Muslims and Africans, although his tactics and ideals may have been unpalatable to some who liked Abraham Green's nonviolence and civil disobedience. I might actually do a cultural update on the Black Panthers (which were called the Lynx Noir and were a French liberation group in a deleted reference during the conversation with Valentin) and the forgotten side of the civil rights movement sometime in the future.
LKR Guy: "Both sides are the same, we don't want to do business with you!"
Everyone else: "Okay, we won't do business with you either, since both sides are the same."
LKR Guy: "Wait not like that!"
Well, I didn't mention it in the previous scenario, but Friedrich the Great would've had to do the same thing with the HRE since there's no way the stunt he pulled to take over and maintain power in Byzantium would be accepted by his own nobility. Some German nobles (and the Pope) would have called for the conversion of the Greeks. Others would want the Greek nobles purged and replaced with Germans (which did happen in some cases with unruly Greeks, and vice versa with unruly Germans). Some would see Friedrich as having defected to the Greeks and abandoned his duties as Kaiser. This time, Friedrich can't point to an incompetent predecessor, take advantage of local unrest, or install a claimant. So he would have to do a lot of negotiating to hold his two realms together, all the while integrating both with each other and paving the way for the Restoration. Reality isn't as simple as clicking a few buttons, it turns out.
Yeah, agreed. I have a couple ideas for other cultural updates aside from the Lynx Noir, like maybe a dedicated Occupy Movement post and the history of trade unionism and the SPR. But I'm not going to post them anytime soon since like with the game and TV show summaries issue the tone is still too dark and serious for me to work on them. I'm also still writing this current arc (at least I was until I started my break) and want to finish it first.
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Mabey do the extra cultural updates like Lynx Noir along with the others in the 2100's in were the new cultural updates were part of a lecture in how those movements influenced the reactionary groups that would late become the Shepherds Brotherhood followed by the Christenheit Bewegung and ending up with the Committee in a similar way to how in the epilogue of The Testaments the rise and fall of Gilead is a topic of discussion in North American Universities?
That is possible, but that depends on how this ends. For all you know, I could have Elias fire all of the nukes and wipe out humanity in the next update.
Well you could do it in were there are a few survivors and have Force Ghost become more prevalent in that through them people have flashbacks to that time leading to these groups to be learned about that way? Although I do not feel like that information would be that valuable to people in a situation like the Fallout games.
But force ghosts are only for Hohenzollerns and I would prefer to keep it that way as it takes away from the mystique if suddenly everyone or a lot of random people could do it.Well you could do it in were there are a few survivors and have Force Ghost become more prevalent in that through them people have flashbacks to that time leading to these groups to be learned about that way? Although I do not feel like that information would be that valuable to people in a situation like the Fallout games.
Also I do not think that you should be giving Elias any ideas it is almost as bad as giving him ideas.
When it comes to Worm related one offs and mini arcs, maybe you could involve the Worm cult in the Fifty Years War as well. Heck, maybe you could sow the early seeds of the Cult’s infiltration of the Inquisition in this era, to balance the Angels using the heresies to start the apocalypse.
It will be interesting to see what role the Worm played in the Thirteenth Century Crises, as you’ve alluded to that a lot in discussions lately. Also, ever since @TWR97 brought up Augustin Kommenos and compared him to Cato the Elder, I‘ve wondered how you would go about characterizing him? There could also be one offs of Romans and Mexica working together, like with conquistadors or during the Eimerican Wars of independence.
The rise and fall of Shahanshah Yunas I‘s Persian empire might be an interesting as Harold Harada’s empire and Saray too, since I think it briefly ruled Mesopotamia before the Reich conquered that province. I still find it ironic how the Seljuks and the Ghanzvaids used to be enemies throughout the Middle Ages until the Mongol and Timurid conquests, and now they are friends in the CAC for the most part.
Good idea. I do want to have something set during the Fifty Years’ War. Maybe an Inquisitor accidentally stumbles upon a cultist base while fighting the angels and demons but doesn’t know what it is.
Malintzin would also be an interesting character to have a one-off for.
Now that you point that out, there’s a lot I could do with Persia. I just realized I could explain why the Seljuks stopped invading Anatolia (which they continued in real life and resulted in Manzikert). Since Alp Arslan and his inner circle converted to Zoroastrianism, that causes the Islamic world to effectively declare war on the Seljuks, forcing them to consolidate their holdings in Persia and build a coherent state. Initially, this would lead to Seljuk Persia being fiercely militaristic and possessive of its territory. Yunus would turn that militarism outwards and conquer Central Asia from the Ghaznavids while eliminating any remaining Islamic resistance. His successors wouldn’t have his political and military talents and would lose Central Asia back to the Ghaznavids within a generation. Might make for an interesting one-off.
I'm sure this war against the Seljuks would pave the way for Hassan and the Cult to take root in the Islamic world and spread their influnce from their, which sadly leads to their downfall.
I think Osman becoming the Ottoman caliph of Sunni Islam and securing rights for them in Baghdad and his descendants going off to fight for the Reich in wars like the Timurid Conquests and Sunrise Invasion would be an interesting one off, which could be accompanied by later one offs for the Fatimids in any period (Hakam in particular as he was part of the trio that defeated Oculi Actal in Sunset Invasion) and Abbasids during the Crusades.
At this point, what do you think a TL-191 story for the Maximist Wars would be like here, since you’ve said you would like to redo the scenario you originally wrote for it early in this thread? I think an interesting scenario would be for the Maximist regime to genuinely democratize overtime under later Kaisers more dedicated to movement like Prince Martin, but still have to deal with Maximists who want either a republic (a democratic republic earlier on with a socialist republic becoming popular later on as Equalism catches on) or an authoritarian nationalist regime (resulting in something like the Freedom Party near the end of the series, which the remaing Siegfriedists and Maximists will have to join forces to defeat), remaing Siegfriedists who either still want a meritocracy or have become reactionary and conservatibe like the Carlists and Action Française, and a tense stand-off with China that results in a WW1 they lose and results in a fascist dictatorship.
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