Well, that narrows down the author of the manifesto by quite a bit. As for Angela... maybe she can use it for good?
Possibly. But there are other forces at play here...Well, that narrows down the author of the manifesto by quite a bit. As for Angela... maybe she can use it for good?
Who says he doesn't want to be caught?Making an agent that specializes in bizarre cases watch you compel people to die via her dreams is basically asking to be caught.
That makes me wonder, how do Chinese feel about their past under the military dictatorship and the nationalist rule of Wang Jingwei during WW2? I mean one hand during the seventies china was economically prosperous while the rest of the world was reeling from the aftermath of the 1973 Oil Strike (through Chinese historians would probally attribute that to factors the Junta weren´t involved in. I imagine that the Junta probally would´ve become more repressive in its last years in the 80s and WW3, but most Chinese would probaly look at Chaing Kai Shek in a mixed light with some Chinese even looking fondly on him much like the Russian oligarchs Soviet nostalgia or at least how Japan in OTL treats its WW2 history.The Reich certainly does not like authoritarianism of all stripes, just as Americans (including myself, for family reasons) do not like communism, but there is a lot of nuance in this. Most of those who survived World War II and know Angeloi rule are dead. The modern public's attention is focused on the relatively recent occurrences of equalism, which spread around the world and had to be forcibly contained at times before culminating in World War III. The atrocities of Paulluist dictatorships were largely overlooked because they were generally small and irrelevant except Tawantinsuyu, which was easily crushed in a war. Depending on who you ask, Romans have a different idea of what authoritarianism is. Those in the Occupied Territories point to equalism, but many of them are more than happy to support neo-Angeloi organizations. Those in the central provinces and the Middle East point to the Angeloi, but many far left and neo-equalist organizations are based there, including the old RAF. Some Romans support the Patriot Act, while others claim it exemplifies government overreach, erodes checks and balances, centralizes power too much, and promotes a surveillance state. Others see no problem with centralization or a surveillance state. Still others have no problem with authoritarianism/totalitarianism at all as long as one or a small group of social issues is resolved the way they want.
The Rasa focus more on a Hindu ethnoreligious state, where ethnicity and religion are blended into one and the Aryans (Hindu Rajputs) reign supreme. Gandhi already had most of his dictatorship set up for him. This gave him a platform to turn his ideas into reality. His book also built up public support in advance, which leads him to implement reforms popular with certain social groups (land reform, tax breaks, etc.). Gandhi incorporated more far left elements into the Rasa platform (nationalized industries, grassroots support, total government control over certain sectors) while retaining core far right elements (ultranationalism, weak unions, strong corporations, conservative values).
The Angeloi initially were less concerned with race and more with nationalism. They are firmly on the far right, with few influences from the far left. They place a greater focus on order, hierarchy, efficiency, uniformity, and total control than on a master race ideal. Because of opposition from the Kaiser, the Angeloi instead use their political leverage to get around the Kaiser and tighten their grip on society, through surveillance, secret police, control of mass media, and grassroots organizations to eliminate opposition at all levels. The Islamophobia and minority hating, while still present, wasn't a major part of the Angeloi platform until well into the war.
I´m actually wondering what would be the core tenants of the Angeloí´ś Imperuim Sine Fine ambition and the Rasa equivlent of Lebensaurm (I´m also wondering what would the Rasa call it) be and how would they clash with each other? I mean, we know what Hitlier and, I imagine ITTL, Gandhi wanted to do to the Slavs because of what they planed to do with the Generalplan Ost and the Hunger Plan, but since the Angeloi don´t believe in a master race concept as much as the Rasa do, would they be interested in the extermination of Slavs or would they just simply treat them as second class citizens when they conquered Russia and segregating the occupied peoples in ghettos from Greek and German settlers. I imagine that Angelos´ plans also had more general territorial goals than the Rasa (who probably pused for Middle Eastern and Central Asian expansion up to Yavadi) and less specific (through still slighty favoring expansion into Russia and maybe Scandinavia) and would be more concerned with securing the Imperiums borders than securing ¨living space¨ for a certain race like the Rasa wanted, or have the same philosophy towards expansion as the clasical Roman Empire (as a means to expand the economy with slave labor from the native population).Because of fundamental ideological differences, the Angeloi and Rasas were never true allies. They cooperated in some areas, like deporting Muslims, sharing of intelligence, and collaborations between law enforcement, but they were fundamentally rivals in an alliance of convenience. They always watched each other's backs warily, waiting for a moment of weakness during which they could strike the other down. This happened during the initial Middle East campaign, where the Indians, Persians, and Ethiopians partitioned the region among themselves instead of handing it over to the Angeloi. The Angeloi made up for this with greater brutality in the west. Large sums of money on both sides were put into contingency plans in case the alliance broke down. There were always military units, some stationed in the other country, on standby ready to receive orders to turn on their former allies. It is believed that if the Axis won the war, the Angeloi and Rasas would immediately turn on each other (as a lot of alternate history fiction has suggested).
That´s a little bit different from what you said before, and I will quote a previous statement you made about Lithuanians in Russia here, but it does lead to an interesting thought I just came up with.Going off the in-game culture maps, most of them were assimilated. At one point, there was even a Russian plurality (if not majority) in Vilnius itself. A lot more fled to Lithuania/Livonia or to the Reich. Those who stayed are frequent targets of gangs and cartels, who like to use them as boogeymen for ethnic Russians worried about foreigners.
Perhaps the former lands of the Lithuanian-Ruthanian Commonwealth (so roughly Belarus in OTL) would see racial motivated gang wars between Major Russian Cartels discriminating against the Lithuanian population and Lithuanian Gangs fighting back against the powerful Russian Cartels. This would make that part of Russia one of the most violent areas in Russia as Lithuanian and Russian Cartels fight each other for control over towns and territories while the Government is pretty much powerless to prevent what is pretty much a small scale race war between the Cartels.Lithuanians in the Baltics and Russia proper still remember the population resettlement the Soviets carried out. They fear a meritocratic government might do the same thing, so the Lithuanian government had aligned closely with the Reich, while the Lithuanians in Russia have large separatist movements and have lent their support to local cartels (I will be explaining in future updates how Russia will become this universe's version of Mexico, plagued by corruption and powerful cartels).
Steampunk could still exist. It would be based on the Imperial Century aesthetic with influences from classical Roman and Byzantine culture. I guess it would be like a mix of the Clanker nations/Central Powers in Scott Westerfield's Leviathan trilogy (particularly Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire) due to Middle Eastern influences. I might do a summary of the Leviathan trilogy in the future.Out of curiosty, what is steampunk like in TTL since it is technically a genre of alternate history? I suppose since it would be modeled slightly after this timeline’s Imperial Century aesthetic instead of OTL’s Victorian England aesthetic, I personally see a lot of Steampunk in TTL to have a mix of OTL’s Prussian, Ancient Roman and Greek sort of look to them in addition to possible influences from this TTL like possible Steampunk style Middle Eastern settings. I would ask for Cyberpunk, but I don’t think that would change much, so the basics of bloated, over populated megacites full of crime would be the same in cyberpunk fiction like Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell in TTL like our own.
I could do summaries for The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra (I scattered references to them throughout the story arcs) in the future. As for ideas...So Zen, what are your thoughts on doing pop culture summaries for (teen-young adult oriented) cartoons or animated shows like both Avatar shows? I think the Last Airbender would be pretty much the same as OTL (except I’d probably adapt the several Last Airbender comics taking series into feature length movies but I’ll come back to that later), but I did find this Legend of Korra from Photos of Kaiserreich. Well, I do remember we suggested the idea of Avatar being a Indian cartoon with Dounghua influences so I think that would mean the Fire Nation would be more Rasa and Chinnese militism inspirerd than Angeloi, sort of like how IOTL the fire nation is like Imperial/Showa Japan (imperialistic, holds Asian values like honor in high regard, cult of personality around monarch etc) so I’m wondering what cultural influences would the other three nations of Avatar (Air Nomads, Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom) have? I guess we could keep the Earth Kingdom as the China analogue (with the Dai Li as a stand-in for the Jingwei under the Gumingdoung party) and maybe Air Nomads as like minorities persecuted in the Holocausts (Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists etc) but what would the Water Tribe because the Reich would be a bit of a stretch (especially with their inuit aesthetic)? Like I said earlier, I could also imagining some feature length animated Avatar movies (because we know how well the live action Last Airbender film went.) existing based on the graphic could be made, in particular the Search and the Promise, and I imgaine a major theme of these movies taking place in between both Avatar series would be Avatar Aang and his friends helping the rebuling of the Four Nations after 100 years of war and bring remanding Ozai loyalists to justice while Zuko would reconcile with the mistakes his country made in 100 years and seek to restore accountability and trust (and honor!) to the Fire Nation and its monarchy to the other nations of the world, mirroring the De Rasa and Angelfication after the war and the collective guilt India had after the Holocaust. What ideas do you have in mind. Maybe some sort spinoff shows involving past Avatars before Aang and Korra? I’m thinking of Avatar Kyoshi during the wars of Chin the Conquer, an Avatar after Korra (with movie specials for it like with the Last Airbender) or even a show not focused on the Avatar but still exploring unique Bending forms and cultural philosophies and spiritualities (chi bending like the one Ty Lee used comes to mind).
Most Chinese look at Wang Jingwei as a disgrace. They see him as the man who dismantled democracy and brought in decades of military dictatorship. Older Chinese look at Chiang Kai-Shek in a slightly more positive light, as they credit him with holding back equalism and defeating the Rasas. Younger Chinese see him as an extension of Wang's tyranny. Recent administrations have opened truth and reconciliation commissions to receive statements from victims of the junta and bring junta leaders to justice where applicable.That makes me wonder, how do Chinese feel about their past under the military dictatorship and the nationalist rule of Wang Jingwei during WW2? I mean one hand during the seventies china was economically prosperous while the rest of the world was reeling from the aftermath of the 1973 Oil Strike (through Chinese historians would probally attribute that to factors the Junta weren´t involved in. I imagine that the Junta probally would´ve become more repressive in its last years in the 80s and WW3, but most Chinese would probaly look at Chaing Kai Shek in a mixed light with some Chinese even looking fondly on him much like the Russian oligarchs Soviet nostalgia or at least how Japan in OTL treats its WW2 history.
Since it ran the country at the time, the Chinese military operated with few restraints on its conduct. So it employed ruthless tactics to achieve victory, including committing war crimes against their enemies and atrocities against civilians. Their aggression was not racially fueled like Japanese aggression was (I'm simplifying it way too much), so there wouldn't be any war crimes as bad as the Japanese (on the scale of Nanjing). Most of this happened after the junta came to power, but there were some war crimes of varying severity committed under the democratic government which was already being subverted by the military. They did get away with the brutalities in the Pacific campaign, as the world's attention was focused on the Old World.I'm also wondering how brutal would China had been during WW2 since the Goumingdong did believe in Pan-Asian nationalism like Japan did in OTL? We have seen mentions of Lagois or Chinese Labor Camps in Siberia so I imagine that China would´ve treated POWs as badly as Japan did, espically with Unit 731 being Chinese. Would China ever have its own verison of Staism in TTL and would they commit as brutal war crimes as Japan did? I imagine that considering that even before the Angeloi invaison Wang Jingwei had alot of control over Chinese society, I imagine that the Chinese military would´ve been able to get away with brutalities in the Pacific against the Roman and Indian colonies even with Chinnese democracy and would have esclated once the Junta came to power after Operation Dragonslayer.
The goal of Rasa expansionism/Lebensraum was to expand India to its natural borders (including the Timurid lands) and then give the Indian people "living space" in Central Asia (Yavdi and western China) and the Middle East. The Angeloi's Imperium Sine Fine went much farther than that, as its goal was to bring the entire world under Angeloi rule. It is true the Angeloi didn't care about a master race as much as the Rasas and OTL Nazis, but they didn't hesitate to exterminate entire communities if parts of them resisted the Angeloi. Angelos would've preferred to keep the Slavs second-class citizens who would slowly be pushed off their land by Germans and Greeks, but as Soviet resistance intensifies he increasingly ordered the extermination of Russian communities. He was also not above forming alliances with so-called "inferior peoples" like the Scandinavians and Malians if it advanced his cause (and then backstabbed them later). He truly wanted world domination, not the extermination of lesser peoples (which would be more useful as taxpaying slave labor). He used a twisted view of Roman history (expansion of the Republic in the Mediterranean/Italy and the early Empire in Europe) to justify his plans as naturally Roman.I´m actually wondering what would be the core tenants of the Angeloí´ś Imperuim Sine Fine ambition and the Rasa equivlent of Lebensaurm (I´m also wondering what would the Rasa call it) be and how would they clash with each other? I mean, we know what Hitlier and, I imagine ITTL, Gandhi wanted to do to the Slavs because of what they planed to do with the Generalplan Ost and the Hunger Plan, but since the Angeloi don´t believe in a master race concept as much as the Rasa do, would they be interested in the extermination of Slavs or would they just simply treat them as second class citizens when they conquered Russia and segregating the occupied peoples in ghettos from Greek and German settlers. I imagine that Angelos´ plans also had more general territorial goals than the Rasa (who probably pused for Middle Eastern and Central Asian expansion up to Yavadi) and less specific (through still slighty favoring expansion into Russia and maybe Scandinavia) and would be more concerned with securing the Imperiums borders than securing ¨living space¨ for a certain race like the Rasa wanted, or have the same philosophy towards expansion as the clasical Roman Empire (as a means to expand the economy with slave labor from the native population).
The Rasas were initially pissed at the Angeloi for launching the invasion before the rest of the Axis was ready. Trotsky's assassination literally came out of nowhere and completely changed the game, shifting the war from campaigns in Africa and the Middle East to a massive invasion of Russia and Yavdi. It also delayed his plans for the Indianization of the Middle East and the Holocaust, as he now had to shift resources to the Russia campaign. Gandhi was predictably furious with Angelos, but by now the Angeloi Imperium was far more powerful and influential than Rasa India (in terms of economic influence and military strength), leaving Gandhi and India leaders of the Axis in name only.I'm also wondering what was the Rasa reaction to Operation Theodrich? Considering that the whole war against the Soviets was caused by the Resistance's assination of Trotsky, I imagine it would've been seen by Gandhi as a massive debacle and caused him to be furios with Angelos for not efficiently dealing with the Resistance before they got the Axis tied down on a multi front war. I'm also wondering what was Angelos' original plans with Operation Therodrich? I'm pretty sure modern historians would realize that Angelos ordering the death of Trotksy would'nt make any sense since it be extremely disadvantageous to him since the Angeloi were tied up with the Loyalists and the Angeloi invasion was scrapply put together in what can be seen as a definitive punitive attack since their is plenty of evidence that the Soviets would have attcked the Angeloi after Trotsky's death if the Angeloi didn't do it first, since Operation Therodrich wasn't as premeditated as Barbarossa was in OTL. I imagine historians would see it as either that both the Soviets and Angelos did indeed had plans to attack each other, but Angelos was forced to use his invaison plans much earlier than he intented (I belive that it would be a general conscenes that Angelos planed to attack Russia when the Loyalists were beatend or at least no longer a threat while Gandhi wouldn't be able to backstab the Angeloi) due to Trotsky´s death and Trotsky death would probally be seen as the Assasin acting out of Angelos´ orders, Trotsky´s death being seen as staged by the NKVD it self to give the Soviets a caus beli to invade the Angeloi, or even a Resistance or Anarcho-Capitalist attacking Trotsky while having leaked Angeloi invasion plans to provoke war between the Soviets. At least, those are the thories I imagine that Historians could come up with for why Trotsky died, theres probally alot of of conspiracy theroies for the Angeloi-Soviet War I imagine. Also what were the Angeloi and Rasas original plans to invade the Soviets in Operation Theodrich before Trotsky was killed?
From what I remember, the Nazis only had 30% public support when they came to power in 1933. But the anti-Nazi opposition (communists, monarchists, and actual reformers) was significantly divided and unable to stop them, despite the majority of the population supporting them in one way or another. There were deep undercurrents of anti-Semitism (entrenched for centuries in German society) and more recent anti-communist hysteria in the 1920s and 1930s. The stab-in-the-back conspiracy theory was incredibly popular due to the circumstances of the German surrender in WWI. Others saw the Weimar government as corrupt and incompetent and wanted change. The Treaty of Versailles was extremely humiliating, and combined with the loss of Alsace-Lorraine and parts of Prussia to Poland there was a huge blow to national pride. The Nazis promised to restore it. Other Germans were also complacent in a way. They didn't care about politics unless their livelihood was affected in some way. So they just sat back and let the Nazis take control, because nothing changed for them (at least initially).What would motivate otherwise moral and good Roman citizens to have turned against their Kaiser during WW2 and either have been civilian supporters of the Angeloi regime or Soilders fighting in the Imperium’s military? I mean we know that the Imperuim was a evil regime due to their racism and Totalitriansim, but considering there were three big defections of loyalists soldiers to the Angeloi side in 1940-41, I imagine that there would´ve been soilders that had legitimate grievances with the Loyalist government and were complied to sympathize with the Angeloi for reasons besides Angeloi propaganda and Islamophobia, so what justifications would Angeloi Soilders have and how did they see the war? And how does the Reich treat those that fought for the Angeloi or are descended from people that supported them?
It partly has to do with how conservative they were. There was also the fact that such conservative provinces had pro-Angeloi governments and pro-Angeloi military divisions who quickly declared their allegiance to Angelos when the war began.I´m also wondering what sort of cultural factors would´ve have lead to certain provinces like what would´ve become the Occupied Territoties and the Western Provinces to join the Angeloi when the war broke out? I imagine it would have to do with how Conservative those provinces were compared to the more Liberal Provinces like the Middle East that stayed with the Kaiser, so those would´ve seen plenty of Angeloi support before the war.
Technically they weren't theocracies. Although the local priesthoods did have influence in the fascist dictatorships, they weren't in charge. Ultimately it was the dictators and their parties who called the shots and basically controlled the priesthoods, using them to reach the more religious people in their countries.Also would some Facist dictatorships like India, Iran and the Inca Empire technically would´ve been technically theocracies since they did favor relgious ideals being blended in with Natinailistic ideas and had religious institutions like the Zorastian and Brahim priesthood having alot of power in Facist states?
Thanks for remind me about that.That´s a little bit different from what you said before, and I will quote a previous statement you made about Lithuanians in Russia here, but it does lead to an interesting thought I just came up with.
Some parts of the Lithuanian south (particularly the major cities) were assimilated, but the countryside remained Lithuanian. The area is the most violent region in Russia due to constant fighting between Russian cartels (drug dealers and human traffickers) and Lithuanian gangs (traditional mafia types). Russian and Lithuanian civilians are forced to choose between the two factions, who retaliate against the other ethnic group with terrifying results. Both factions also have footholds across the border in the former Occupied Territories, where they bring in money from drug sales and illegal immigrants to spend on weapons which they send back over the border to Russia. Lithuanian gangs aren't much better than the Russians. They extort protection money from the locals, which they use to buy more guns, and threaten violence against fellow Lithuanians to keep them in line. Both sides secretly use drugs to addict entire communities and keep the money flowing. Occasionally they spend money on local roads, hospitals, schools, and charities when the national government can't to improve their public image and give them the community's support when the national government eventually does try to crack down. Local police departments are corrupt and controlled by the cartels. The national government is powerless to enforce order in the region, as the military has been hobbled since the coup attempt in the early 90s. There are rumors the military is also corrupt. The UN is debating whether or not the brutalities in southern Russia count as war crimes or even genocide and if peacekeepers should be deployed.Perhaps the former lands of the Lithuanian-Ruthanian Commonwealth (so roughly Belarus in OTL) would see racial motivated gang wars between Major Russian Cartels discriminating against the Lithuanian population and Lithuanian Gangs fighting back against the powerful Russian Cartels. This would make that part of Russia one of the most violent areas in Russia as Lithuanian and Russian Cartels fight each other for control over towns and territories while the Government is pretty much powerless to prevent what is pretty much a small scale race war between the Cartels.
Cartels/gangs and their "specialties" differ based on the ethnic group they are built around. Russian cartels, which can be found all over Russia, are focused on drug dealing and human trafficking, particularly smuggling illegal immigrants over the border to the Reich. They have a substantial presence in the Reich as well, which they use to escape prosecution in Russia and earn money for their Russian accomplices at home. On the side, they produce counterfeit goods on an industrial scale using corrupt factories. The most powerful cartels use their massive wealth to buy influence in the economy and national government or produce blackmail material. It is believed the leaders of these cartels are among the wealthiest Russians, if not the wealthiest. Some even believe they are the true rulers of the country, not the Tsar or the Duma. Even members of the royal family have been arrested under suspicion of ties with the cartels.I´m also wondering how would the Cartels differ from each other across Russia? Like I said before, I imagine Cartels of several ethincites like Mongolian or Lithianthian ones popping up around there, inspiring ethnic conflicts in Russia. While people in some parts of Russia would actually become dependent on local cartels to protect them from more aggressive ones, creating a Cartel hierarchy in Russia.
I prefer to focus on minor countries, with some exceptions. Right now I have the Japans, Ainu Mosir, the UPM, Persia, and East Africa on my list. I could add Livonia and Scandinavia. For certain regions, Polynesia sounds great. I might also do Nepal if I can find enough material to work with. I should mention all of these will come in the far future, probably after I finish this story arc and the next one and post the next chapter.What regions would you consider making a cultural summary for in the future when you get around to it? I think you mentioned you could make one for India in the next batch like you did with China and you might´ve said something about plans to describe the culture the Polynesian Islands, also there are still some minor powers you could potentially cover in the next batch of regional descriptions like the Livionian order or East Africa.
Obviously Mina.Angela was connected to this Nick, Walter is discovering his own sins, and the need to speak with Tesla grows... Not sure who is more desperate to speak to him at this point.
Godzilla is still a cultural icon. In some of the decade cultural updates, I mentioned the Godzilla films (Showa/Heisei/Millennium) as being part of a kaiju shared universe, with monsters introduced in their own films and then teaming up with or fighting Godzilla in Godzilla films. This would be one of the precursors to the cinematic universes of the 2000s. And Godzilla is Chinese now, explained as the Chinese being afraid of the nuclear bombs and the equalist threat after the end of the war.Starting off, is Godzilla still considered a cultural icon here? What of the Gojiverse? (Specifically the Showa, Hesei, Millennium & the Monsterverse) Would they still enjoy the same awesome status as ours? And would Goji-San's creator here be Polish given Warsaw was one of the cities that were nuked?
Godzilla remains the nuclear bomb analogue, but also stands in for the World War III/IV, nuclear war, and nuclear power concern analogues, with later films also expanding into commentaries on climate change and the slow-moving bureaucracy of the Chinese government. The title of King of the Monsters is usually held by Godzilla, but after certain movies other monsters temporarily hold the title, among them Gamera and Kong. In one movie even Jet Jaguar temporarily gets the title (though that remains semi-canon).Would The Big G still enjoy his dual status as both the analogy of the Atomic Bomb and as King of the Monsters? (Or is that second title reserved for ITTL's Gamera or Kong?)
The only things I know from that anime/manga is how it begins and the ORAORAORAMUDAMUDAMUDA/WORK OF AN ENEMY STAND! memes. Of course I'd love Jojo's Bizarre Adventure to still exist as an anime/manga. The Joestar bloodline would (still?) fight the supernatural. Also Rudolf von Stroheim is an Angeloi who screams ROMAN SCIENCE IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD! in between shouting Angeloi propaganda.Second, I know you probably have not seen the anime or read the manga, but how would Jojo's Bizarre Adventure develop here? Given the supernatural shenanigans that spanned from CK2 all the way to HOI, there's little reason not to see the Joestar bloodline battle the supernatural (Plus I just want to see if Cyborg Nazi badass extraordinaire Rudolf Von Stroheim scream ROMAN SCIENCE IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD!) Not only that but the multiverse theory could be thrown in too
I should mention i have not played XCOM. But it would still exist. All games would ideally retain the same difficulty as the original and include some degree of political intrigue (about alien infiltration of monarchies and civilian governments) to make it more than an action strategy game.Third, I noticed grand strategy games discussion here and so decided to have my own question, would the XCOM series still develop here alongside its remakes? If so would they still retain the hard difficulty that made the OG one so memorable but with political intrigue thrown in to make it more hard?
Did it really take this long for someone to figure out my inspirations for those epic Aztec, Mongol, and Timurid fight scenes? Age of Miracles is awesome, and I'm honored you thought I was Basileus himself, but I'm nowhere as dedicated to lore and worldbuilding as he is (but for the 2020s-40s I will certainly try, as those years will contain an extremely important story arc which will affect the gameplay itself). He's got over five hundred pages last I checked. I clocked out somewhere around the later years of Emperor Andreas and Ethiopian Joan of Arc and haven't been able to get back into it since.Fourth, would you consider An Age of Miracles to be part of this AAR's multiverse? (Really love how you incorporated some of em back in CK2 btw, I almost thought you were the creator of that timeline Basileus himself )
It seems to be a little more tangible than just seeing...Hmm... maybe Angela is seeing into an alternate reality? Best guess I've got for now at least. Also, I kind of like how Walter is so determined to prove Tesla's innocence. A shade of their old friendship lives on.
Anders is pissed he had to spend eight years in the wilderness just for this. He's been broken by the suffering the Syndicate/Sentinel caused because of his actions. Now not even conspiracy theorists know who he is or what he's done. It drives home the point they've lost their way and the public is no closer to getting the truth, if they even want it. He knows it's either that or he's growing old and getting out of touch. He's not only been forgotten. The new X-Division is actively covering up all of their new unexplained cases. He's perpetrating a conspiracy of his own, and he's willingly going along with it. That's too much for him. Basically, the Syndicate/Sentinel has won. Anders is no better than them.First things first, it must be said: Anders' anger over Manuel having no idea who he is was perfect.
As for the meat of the update, I won't miss Norbert. Quite excited to see Walter and Wilhelm interacting.
There might also be a subgenre of Steampunk that is perhaps directly based on Classical Roman/Greek aesthetic perhaps considering that the library of Alexandria did host designs from the inventor Heron of Alexandria for early steam powered devices, as well as Steampunk sub genres for both Roman Renaissances (12th century and the one following the proclamation of the Augustinian Code from 1444-1600s.) and the Byzantines building on the Classical Roman/Byzantine influences mainstream Steampunk would already have. Maybe there would be a "Mesopunk" for Mesoeimerican civilizations somewhere too. I do wonder about other "Punk" genres like the ones shown in this picture could go here?Steampunk could still exist. It would be based on the Imperial Century aesthetic with influences from classical Roman and Byzantine culture. I guess it would be like a mix of the Clanker nations/Central Powers in Scott Westerfield's Leviathan trilogy (particularly Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire) due to Middle Eastern influences. I might do a summary of the Leviathan trilogy in the future.
I was reading a bit, and I found that in real life, there was a woman named Grace who claimed a relation to the House of Hohenzollern. Not that interesting in and of itself, but do you know who her nephew was? None other than J.R.R. Tolkien. Seeing as there have already been real people throughout this AAR (Jane Austen, Lin Zexu and Karl Marx for example), I figured you could work this in somehow.
Never thought about that. I'll see in NWO if I can include Tolkein and maybe Grace as cadet members of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family, as that's the RL Hohenzollern dynasty (my own Hohenzollerns are a different dynasty). Though I don't know how Lord of the Rings will be written in this world.
Maybe you could add The Philippines/Qiandao and Korea to the roster as well, through Korea probably is similar to OTL’s South Korea today come to think of it. Also does that mean you won’t do that Indian Cultural post since you did saw awhile ago that you could do an Indian Government and culture post like you did with China and the Reich in the previous lineup? Just trying to clear things up and avoid confusion.I prefer to focus on minor countries, with some exceptions. Right now I have the Japans, Ainu Mosir, the UPM, Persia, and East Africa on my list. I could add Livonia and Scandinavia. For certain regions, Polynesia sounds great. I might also do Nepal if I can find enough material to work with. I should mention all of these will come in the far future, probably after I finish this story arc and the next one and post the next chapter.
Steampunk: Imperial Century-era aesthetic. Usually written in the style of late 19th-century "lost world" and pulp adventure novels, with such additions as mechas, functioning Charles Babbage-style steam powered computers, and powered armor. Later works such as the Leviathan trilogy focus on World War I, with a few (like the sequel trilogy) set in World War II. A subgenre uses a classical Hellenistic aesthetic, reinterpreting Homeric epics, Greek myths, and the history of classical antiquity with modern technology.There might also be a subgenre of Steampunk that is perhaps directly based on Classical Roman/Greek aesthetic perhaps considering that the library of Alexandria did host designs from the inventor Heron of Alexandria for early steam powered devices, as well as Steampunk sub genres for both Roman Renaissances (12th century and the one following the proclamation of the Augustinian Code from 1444-1600s.) and the Byzantines building on the Classical Roman/Byzantine influences mainstream Steampunk would already have. Maybe there would be a "Mesopunk" for Mesoeimerican civilizations somewhere too. I do wonder about other "Punk" genres like the ones shown in this picture could go here?
A lot of Renaissance literature could be written in the epic poetry style, though there would be many changes from the Homeric epics because they're no longer just transcriptions of actual oral tales. The Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost might be written as epic poetry, with Shakespeare reforming (and parodying) the genre in his plays. Beowulf would remain a niche epic poem (because it already is one in real life) until the Imperial Century, when Scandinavians and Romans both claim it as their national heritage. The Epic of Gilgamesh and other ancient literature would gain popularity during this time as archaeologists rediscover more of the ancient world, but the focus of most epic poetry would remain on Islamic sources and Greco-Roman ones the Islamic rulers preserved. There would be a rich Islamic tradition of using Arabic to write epic poetry. In modern times, many of these epics would inspire fantasy worlds with Middle Eastern and Hellenistic aesthetics. The other Indo-European pagan traditions would make use of Greek style epic poetry to write down their religious texts, like the Norse and the Finns did. And some nobility would write their own epics glorifying themselves during the 12th century renaissance. The Five Great Classical Novels will remain novels, because they're not really written in the Greek epic style, though there could be a greater focus on their calligraphy and the use of classical Chinese.I'm curios as to how Epic Poetry would be studied here and how it have developed in the Reich's history? Considering that the Eastern Pronvinces like Greece and the Middle East remained well versed and educated in classical epic poetry like Hommer's works longer than the Western Pronvinces, that might result in several Epic Poems like Dante's Inferno (or really the whole Divine Comedy since Catholicism was swept away by the Orthodox Church) and Paradise Lost being quite different from OTL. I guess Beowolf would still be studied by Anglo-Saxons in Britannia, but I don't think it would catch on too well in the rest of the Reich safe for some subtle influences in Roman fantasy fiction like Lord of the Rings. In place of Beowolf, I think the Epic of Gilgamesh and other Ancient literature would become more well known in the rest of the Reich instead, due to the Reich roots to antiquity because of its connections to the previous Roman Empire (this might actually result in more Classical Middle Eastern and Greek Inspired Fantasy worlds in contemporary times to balance out the High Middleval Fantasy we have in OTL). Maybe the Pagan Resurgence and the 12th century would also have an effect of Epic Poetry, with Scandinavians, Slavs, Persians, Lithuanians, Ethiopians and Malians writing Epic Stories from old oral traditions and mythology like how the Iliad was written from a collection of oral stories being put to print by Hommer. Maybe India and the Reich during the 12th century Wilhelmina renaissance would each have written an Epic Poetry work glorifying Roman and Indian culture during Saint Wilhelmina and Jayasimha I “Rama's” reign respectively. Chinese Epics like the Five Great Classical Novels might also be considered Epic Poetry as well.
Most of the Colonial genre would be set on the African frontier in the late 19th and early 20th century. Protagonists are usually war veterans (Eimerican/Commonwealth wars in earlier settings and WWI in later ones) who either lost their family or couldn't make the adjustment back to civilian life (as veterans were treated poorly at the time). Some protagonists are Maximist War veterans, with a few as Maximists themselves who left Europe to avoid prosecution. Many went to Africa to start over and build a new home. Native African tribes aren't presented as the savages plains Native Americans were traditionally depicted as but more like the "noble savages" eastern Native Americans (Iroquois, Cherokee, etc.) were depicted as in early American literature. These natives aren't always antagonists but may help the protagonist, both spiritually and militarily, when their interests align. They are almost always depicted as the equals of Europeans, with their own flaws and strengths. The main antagonists are generally other colonials who either have a grievance with the protagonist or are criminal outlaws. Many colonial works are really different kinds of works (heist, revenge, romance) which happen to be set in the colonial era. Colonial works set in the late 1900s (usually produced in the late 20th century and early 21st) talk more about the advances of technology (more railroads, machine guns, phones, cars) and the increasing irrelevance of the cowboy.Considering you made mentions of the Colonials genre several times through the AAR here, I'm wondering what sort of characteristics would the Roman Colonial Frontier In Africa have that could be romanticized in Colonials (both traditional Colonials like the usually John Wayne movie, and Spaghetti Colonials like Clint Eastwood/Ostholz or Sergio Leone' movies) compared to OTL's Wild West? I know that you actually coverd some of this in the 1940s cultural update, but I was wondering how we could expand on that since I'm pretty sure that things we consider Wild Western in OTL (Coybows/Gunslingers, "Indians", Mexican standoffs etc.) would go pretty differently in Africa.
Pirate fiction would be incredibly diverse, with multiple categories focusing on each kind of piracy. The most popular categories would be South Seas, Arab, and Viking piracy. The South Seas pirates are mostly in the vein of traditional swashbuckling pirates who raid coastal Southeast Asian settlements for loot. Characters are drawn from many different places, with many of them Chinese or women (or both, in the case of The Pirate Queen), making them appealing to many different markets (especially China). Pirates are usually sympathetic, depicted as being forced to the high seas due to persecution, bad economic times, or abusive parents. They are also seen as a rebellion against the unequal and unfair social order on land, represented by corrupt colonial garrisons and haughty noble governors. Arab pirates, drawing on accounts of Muslims forced to the high seas after the conquest of the Middle East, are usually represented as handsome and dashing rogues who fight a lost cause to retake the Middle East from the Romans or, failing that, to plunder their settlements. Both the pirates and the Romans are given equal sympathy, but both are ultimately represented as wrong and misguided, with the pirates not having to resort to violence and the Romans not supposed to be in their homes to begin with. Viking piracy is basically the same as in real life, only with a greater focus on the lives of the Vikings outside of raiding and plundering. They are depicted as the antagonists, despite the focus being on them, with audiences torn between rooting for them and hoping they don't attack another monastery. Some Viking pirate movies incorporate historical figures like William the Conqueror and Harald Hardrada and mythological individuals like Ragnar Lodbrok. A few are almost entirely peaceful and show the Vikings colonizing Iceland, Greenland, and Vinland. Some pirate movies revolve around Greek pirates like Kyrilos, a pirate who fought against Saint Wilhelmina before working for her as a privateer. Kyrilos is among the most popular pirate figures for his daring resistance to Saint Wilhelmina and his stealing of the Greek fire formula.As cultural icons, what are Pirates like in this timeline? I know Pop culture when it thinks of pirates in OTL usually just thinks of the "Golden Age of Piracy" in the Caribbean and ignores other periods of priracy like Arab Piracy during the Middle Ages, but I was thinking that perhaps the Roman cultural preception of piracy wouldn't be as uniform as OTL. Maybe we could see various sub genres of pirate fiction like I earlier suggested for Steampunk, with mainstream Pirate stories based on piracy in the Indies and Oceania during the Early Moden Period (1500s-1700s) and several other stories ranging from priates on the colonial frontiers in Indian Africa and Abyssinian Somalia, to stories about the Pirate King Krilos (who could be both the Blackbeard equivlent and, since Wilhelmina pardoned him and made him an adrmial after being captured, the Hayrreddin Barbarossa anlouge) during the reign of Saint Wilhelmina for his expliots like stealing the Greek Fire formula and battling the Imperial Navy in the Black Sea. Maybe there could’ve been Mexica piracy during the Thriteenth Century near Britain and Norway to that Pop culture could see, or even, piracy... in the Caribbean.
Romans have long since moved past lumping democracy in with Maximism and see Maximist leaders as having abused democracy for their personal gains. They recognize democracy as a legitimate political system equally important to an open and free society as meritocracy is. Both systems have their strengths and weaknesses but work best in certain cultural contexts (meritocracy for the Reich and democracy for China). Romans also consider democracy susceptible to being subverted by demagogues and outside interests, although they know a healthy democracy can develop countermeasures against them. Meanwhile, they believe meritocracy is inherently immune to demagogues and outside interests due to the nature of the system and multiple countermeasures in the Augustinian Code. Both Romans and Chinese acknowledge and accept their systems incorporate elements of the other and see it as a good thing. Separation of powers and popular sovereignty are both already part of the Roman system, actually, to a certain degree. The judiciary, legislature, executive, and bureaucracy all operate independently with checks and balances placed on each other. The Kaiser places the ultimate check and balance on all of them (but there is not yet a way to legally keep the power of the Kaiser in check except through established customs and tradition). The modern meritocratic system essentially ensures popular sovereignty, as examiners are randomly and secretly selected from the Roman population to give their best opinion on who is most qualified to lead.How is democracy seen in the Reich at this point since I imagine the stigma it had with the Maximists is probably forgotten at this point with the more recent Angeloi and Equalists? I guess they would be some Romans that believe Meritocracy is a lot better, stronger, and more representative than democracy, which they see as very open to power hungry demagogues, as seen with Wang Jingwei. Others would probally be okay with democracy as an important part of open societies just like Meritocracy. While there would probably be some people that belive that the Reich could use democracy like the NDP platform (I know it is a rightwing party, but I remember it being founded on advocations for democratic elections unlike other parties that abided by Mertiocratic principles) says considering Roman meritocracy already uses some democratic elements like separation of powers and popular sovereignty. I guess some Resistance movements deep inside Angeloi influnce and Rasa territories like the White Rose could still exist, but like with the OTL German Resistance, they probably would have trouble being small with the very complacent population in Angeloi aligned territories.
The Resistance wasn't a single unified organization. It was made up of its cells, which differed greatly in organization and activities depending on their location. Octavia's Vienna Resistance and Anne's Frankfurt Resistance were both militant cells which aimed to sabotage Angeloi production. Other cells focused on espionage, assassination, riling up the locals, or smuggling Muslims and other minorities to the Loyalist-controlled territories. Anti-Axis partisans can also be found in East Africa, Central Asia, and North Eimerica. In East Africa, they are mostly made up of former Imperial Indian Army divisions which refused to demobilize and went rogue after Purandaradasa's death. They are extremely organized and launched conventional military campaigns against the Ethiopian occupation, with the Loyalists in Africa providing supplies and intelligence. In Central Asia, they formed small bands on horseback which attacked Indian military bases to sabotage the occupation and concentration camps to free prisoners. Afghan raiders were especially revered as being dedicated to their missions and never cracking under Indian torture. In North Eimerica, partisans were funded by the Soviets and allied equalists to sabotage the CSA's government and military and spread terror and confusion among the public. Their tactics were incredibly violent, leading to even more violent reprisals from the CSA government. The UN would eventually charge both sides with crimes against humanity, but the partisans escaped justice when they were purged by Witko's regime.How would the Resistance vary during WW2 aside from Octavia's Resistance in Vienna? I imagine it would varry quite a bit depending on the battlefield or front of the war. We obviously have the Vienna Resistance under Osterhild/Octavia as the most notable one, but there would probally be also other resistance cells in places Occupied by the Angeloi like in Hispaina (from the Basques specifically), the Middle East, and several anti Axis paritisans In Turkestan and East Africa.
I might do a bio for Tolkien. As with the other bios on the list, they likely won't be posted for a while, as I really want to focus on finishing the next story arc, which should wrap up Anders and Angela's stories. But I'll try to remember having his Hohenzollern connection explored.I know you've said before that you haven't read Lord of the Rings or any thing from Tolkien, but I was wondering if we could theoretically have a bio post for Toliken based off his experinces in TTL through WW1 and WW2? Especially since its been awhile since we had a biography post and a few writers like Sussus and Orwell/Blair have had Bios here already.
@spendabuck actually in the previous Victory 2 that his Aunt, Grace, actually claimed descent to the IRL Hohenzollerns and you said in response that Tolkein and his Aunt were probably cadet members of the Hohenzollern-Sigmarien branch as shown here.
I'll see what I can do. I might still do an Indian government post but probably not a cultural one, because India is too culturally diverse and I probably won't do it justice.Maybe you could add Korea to the roster as well, through it probably is similar to OTL’s South Korea today come to think of it. Also does that mean you won’t do that Indian Cultural post since you did saw awhile ago that you could do an Indian Government and culture post like you did with China and the Reich in the previous lineup? Just trying to clear things up and avoid confusion.
I have no idea, because there's way too much lore for me to get a general idea of what happened.I haven’t read Age I’d Reason, but since it’s been mentioned lately, what would it be like in TTL?