blah the Prussian

6. I'm a huge fan of the Roman Empire, as well as the French Revolution. I do, of course, side with the Royalists there.7. The House of Bourbon, because even after all the shit they've been through, they still have the throne of Spain. I like that pluckiness. 8. I would have to say I disagree with that line. A child monarch is only as good as their regent. So France prospered during Louis XIV's minority because they were ruled by Anne of Austria, who was a kickass regent, while China didn't under Empress Dowager Cixi. As for the monarchs themselves, there have been plenty of child monarchs who went on to do great things, like Louis XIV, Peter the Great, Charles XII, Hussein of Jordan, and others. I will say that if nothing else I feel bad for the kid who's forced to have such a stressful job at such a young age, but then if it's too much for them they can always abdicate. 9. I think that who your leader is going to be is a perfectly valid thing to fight a war over. It was basically country's ways of legitimizing their expansion, like for example in the 100 Years War, or the War of the Soanish Succesion, where Louis XIV wanted to rule Spain so he tried to put his grandson on the throne. All things being equal, it's one of the better reasons to go to war. 10. I'm a sucker for Byzantine era clothing, especially on women (don't know if that's wierd) but apart from that, I'm somewhat meh on it to be honest. 6. Sorry, none. You like The World Ends With You, so you definitely have excellent taste, at least.7. Not really, especially since I don't have a TV. 8. 3ds and computer. That's it. 9. Absolutely. 10. All the NES ones, Thracia, Binding Blade, and 12. 1. I got second place in a debate tournament of all the international schools in Europe (and the International School of Cairo crashed the party). That was pretty awesome.2. Eastern Europe has these pastries called Bureks that you can fill with pretty much anything. I love potato, cheese, and beef Bureks myself. 3. I love the sound of my own voice. 4. Well, at one point I was in Minnesota (where my grandparents live) while I lived in Lrague. I was pretty far from home then. 5. Mega Dragonite. I hate how it's been sidelined. It actually needs one to get a boost, 1. Three Minutes Clapping from TWEWY.2. For its circumstances, Jordan. It has an Executive Monarchy, where the King acts as the executive and is supported by an elected government. It works well as a way of making sure the people's voices are heard, without risking too much stability. I think it's telling that Jordan is the only Arab country not fundamentalist, not a dictatorship, or not having a civil war between the two, and that's because of the monarchy. I also think any Constitutional Monarchy should have a clause in the Constitution allowing for the monarch to take executive power, but only in times of crisis, and after a referendum. 3. I think that if Germany is going to keep taking refugees they should stop giving benefits to all non citizens, because the welfare state cannot function if it pays for the support of more people than there are people paying taxes into it. I also think Norway has the right idea with its anti rape classes, and all countries should adopt similar programs. 4. It definitely needs reform. I would also prefer it be the United Kingdoms of Europe, but that's a pipe dream. I do think that the EU going would be diasastrous. Without the EU I give it a few decades, tops, before WWIII, because the countries won't have the economic incentive not to go to war anymore. 5. When I won that debate tournament. Also, when I made my first friend in Prague. 1. I don't think we've interacted before, but you remind me of Dondon if only because of the no punctuation thing.2. Expressions are quite useful at times, 3. Marcus Aurelius. I can greatly respect that he never wanted to be a soldier, but the Parthians were attacking the east, and the Marcomanni were attacking the west, so Rome needed a soldier, so he would give them one, whether he wanted to be one or not. I also like Aurelian for restoring Roman control over half the Empire in only a few years. Finally, Domitian is by far the most underrated Emperor. He pissed off the Senate so everyone who could write hated him, but he was actually quite the benevolent monarch, and he made a meritocratic Imperial military and beauraucracy. 4. There is a special place in hell for them. History deserves more respect than that. I wasn't aware such a thing existed before, but it's insulting to women, and it's insulting to history. 5. 1453, with the fall of Constantinople to the Turks. 1. Now this is an interesting one. I'd say it's the one where the rich and the poor start being combative with each other, then a demagogue begins to rally support from the poor, then rule of law slowly breaks down, then finally the demagogue wins because rule of law broke down, and then society is radically changed. It happened in Rome, it happened in France, it happened in Russia, it happened in Germany, and now it's happening in America. Then again, some demagogues, like Caeser and Napoleon, were good, while others, like Lenin and if you'll forgive me giving away my political views, Trump, were and are bad.2. I would paint it in red because I see red as the color of change, and this is the most change the world has experienced probably since 1989, and depending on how things go this could be even more transformative. You have increased LGBT rights, the rise of the far right, Islamic fundamentalism all coming to a head, and an economic crisis. 3. I think that it's mostly changed my perception of Trump, because looking at history, specifically the Roman Republic, and he's the harbinger of something much bigger. He's already awakened the anger of poor whites against the establishment, and that isn't going away. Meanwhile in the Roman Republic the military became the only way for the poor to advance. If the military goes the same way as the police, I think American democracy might be on the way out. It might not happen for another few decades, but a Trump has gotten the ball rolling, so to speak. 4. I have two ideas. First, I'd like to see a game similar to Revolution 1979 (about the Iranian Revolution, great game) but about the Revolutions against Communism in Europe. You could play as a minor dissident, or something. I also would like to see a Fire Emblem style SRPG set right after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and the player could command a band of mercenaries looking for employ. You could choose to be hired by anyone from that period, from Clovis to Theodoric to Justinian, and I think it would be a great way to teach history.

1. You seem nice enough. Just so you know Sanaki is my main girl tho.2. Hah, Old Fritz screwed your ancestors over good in the War of the Austrian Succesion by allying with Duke Charles of Bavaria to weaken the Austrians but then hanging them out to dry to keep them from getting too powerful! Ironically enough, I'm 1/4th Bavarian, but I just think the Prussians had cooler helmets. Other than that, not really. :p 3. Kids are fine, so long as they don't shriek really loudly when you have a headache. I definitely plan on having kids. I was also a shitty baby according to my mom. 4. I have no quarrel with the name Rachel, you will be pleased to learn. 5. Well, from what I gather my great grandmother on my dad's side swam across the River Dnieper to escape the Bolsheviks and eventually settled in Texas. On my mom's side, Norweigian fishmongers and Bavarian peasants as far as the eye can see. Edit: going to bed now. More answers in the morning Prague time.

1. It's like any other story, but you can be sure there weren't any plot holes. Really, history for me was better because I was interested in it before school, so I learned history first from my dad, who knew some stuff about WWII, and then from this excellent series of kids books about US history called A History of Us. They made learning it much more fun.2. The World Ends With You. Great gameplay, great music, great characters, a great story, and a great amount of depth. Also my favorite game, period. 3. Blazing Sword. Nothing feels as epic, and the gameplay is only okay. 4. BEWARE ARTHUR'S ABILITY TO BE BLAHS FAVORITE FATES CHARACTER OF JUSTICE! 5. Corrin and Xander, for reasons that Thane already stated.

1. In terms of improving the quality of life of the people of the world, the fall of the Soviet Union. I can't imagine living through something like that, but it must have been incredible. Even if conflicts remain, the world was changed immeasurably for the better in a few years. It's not every year something like that happens. In terms of interestingness, as I said before the fall of the Roman Republic, the Crisis of the Third Century, and the French Revolution.2. Well at one point I went tubing and had my uncle, who was driving the boat, do it as crazy as he could. My fingers hurt like hell afterwords, but I did it. 3. No. 4. Although I disagree with your views on LGBT, you seem like a nice enough person. Good luck on Power Master 2. 5. I would have the US stop supporting Syrian Rebels and work with Assad and Russia to defeat ISIS. I would also restore the Libyan Monarchy. 5a. Now this is complicated, but basically I would prevent the Three Pashas (assholes and Ultranationalists) from coming to power in the Ottoman Empire in 1914. What this would have done is stop the Ottomans from entering WWI. So already you've kept a lot of the issues in the Middle East that persist today, because the Ottomans still act as a unifying force. With the Turks out of WWI, this keeps Russia from going Bolshevik, as the Ottomans were instrumental in the blockade of Russia, which led to famine, which led in a surge of antimonarchy sentiments, which the Bolsheviks capitalized on. So that's Stalin out of the picture, which is also likely Mao out of the picture because Mao couldn't have come to power without Stalin's help. No Soviets also means that the Nazis likely don't come to power, since much of their early succes was built on (possibly justified) fear of the Soviet Union. So there you go, most of the bad stuff that happened in the last century resolved, because of one little failed coup.

6. I saw the trailer for Awakening. Thought it looked cool. Then I decided to play the earlier ones.7. Definitely post decolonization Africa with the exception of Apartheid. I couldn't tell you much at all about the origins of the war in the Congo, or of West Africa, or of any of it really. The Dark Ages (fall of Rome to Charlemagne) are a close second. 8. I think they're tired and that they would greatly benefit from being shook up. Two things I would especially like to see: one, I would like to see an ambitious King being genre savvy enough to know not to trust the shady cult, and end up using them to gain a dark power without being manipulated. That would be very refreshing. I also think that the Camus would benefit from being either called out on their cowardice (as Sanaki does with Hetzel) or, as I said in another thread, being a Quisling style person who thinks siding with the evil empire is the only way to move his country forwards, sort of like Joao Lebello in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Failing that, the Camus needs to have a damn good reason for fighting. I actually think a Fire Emblem style game, Rondo of Swords, does it well by having the sympathetic enemy general, Matthias, be just not evil. It's very understated, and quite effective. Matthias is just good friends with the evil Emperor, and is honorable. It's much more believable than the whole "literally Jesus but much honor" thing most Camuses have, 9. Monster is an amazing show that is heavily involved in the history of the Warsaw Pact. One of its key locales is Prague and I can confirm that it's quite true to life. They did so much research, they even got the East Berlin traffic lights right. Definitely recommended. As for books, the Legend of the Galactic Heroes series was just released translated, and they are an excellent space opera. 10. I'm actually an American expat, but yeah, the Velvet Revolution was an unambiguously good thing. There are very few people in Prague with anything nice to say about the Communist regime. Unfortunately, the Czech President is a borderline neo Communist (he even declared the Russian soldiers who invaded Czechoslovakia in 68 heroes) but he doesn't have any real power.

1. You're a very smart person with some quite interesting thoughts on writing who can get a little carried away at times but will quickly reign yourself in. Positive.2. Laziness, and tradition. 3. I've always thought that the fall of the Roman Republic is an event that gets overlooked too much. Basically you had rule of law slowly slipping away as the Senate tried to hold on to as much power as possible in vain, while ambitious men like Caesar and Pompey tried to make a name for themselves, and finally Augustus restored rule of law. I also think that the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century, where large tracts of the Empire declared Independance until Emperor Aurelian reconquer end it all, to be fascinating as well, because it provides an example of an Empire that by all rights should have fallen, but didn't thanks to the force of will of several great Emperors. Finally, I think that the French Revolution provides a great example of what every Republic should NOT do. I'm also a fan of the Mughal Empire in India and the modernization of Japan. 4. Now this is a hard one. The first would probably be the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great, my favorite monarch of all time, who was one of the most learned rulers in history and who was the richest man in the history of the world, brining unprecedented wealth to the Mughal Empire. He also was very progressive, improving the rights of women and secularizing his Empire, which would unfortunately be undone by his Islamic fundamentalist great grandson Aurangzheb. I'd talk to him about what it takes to rule an Empire, and about general history and philosophy. The second guy I'd talk to is Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. Talleyrand was the French foreign minister off and on again for decades, starting out as a low level diplomat for Louis XVI, keeping his head down during the Revolution, allying with Napoleon to bring down the Republic, acted as foreign minister under Napoleon, eventually double crossed him when he saw Napoleon was on the way out, was made foreign minister of the restored Bourbon dynasty as a result of this, was booted out by the reactionary King Charles X, and was finally given the job again by the Constitutional Monaarchy of King Louis Phillipe in 1830. He was an insanely competant political survivalist, as well as a great conversationalist. I'd talk with him about any number of stuff. Finally: Thomas Jefferson. I disagree with a lot of what Jefferson stood for, from Republicanism to Libertarianism to the role of government and the idea of rebellion. I'd absolutely love to have a debate with him. 5. 10 duck sized horses. What are they gonna do to me, nip me? I'll stomp the bastards. And sure, ask as many as you want. Only five at a time, though, please.

Which is why Ike is the one to kill Ashnard, and Elincia is not the main character? I'd honestly think the BK was okay if Ike and Elincia were co-lords, as I said. The problem is that Elincia isn't the lord, and this relegates the main antagonist to a secondary role. Further, the Black Knight just isn't interesting. The mystery around him has a stupid payoff (I work for the guy who wants to murder EVERYONE because he was nice to me once) and he just isn't interesting. The focus throughout the game is on the Black Knight as an antagonist. This is an even bigger problem when you beat him two chapters away from the end, dissipating all that buildup on something that isn't the climax. I'm sorry, but the BK just isn't interesting.

1. Well, you voted for me, so positive.2. Probably Europa Universalis 4, from Paradox. I really enjoy playing as the Ottomans in that game. I also love Rome Total War, and my favorite factions in that are a tie between Rome, for making me feel like the biggest badass, and Parthia, because of the Horse Archers. 3. I like how he played the different powers of Europe off each other, especially France and Russia. He realized that France would always oppose Germany so the best option was to diplomatically isolate them. I also like how he created the German welfare state- the first in the history of the world IIRC- to Copt support for the Socialists among the lower classes. 4. Not moral, as morals never really play a part in politics, domestic or international, but they were a comflict both sides should have been fighting. On the one hand you have Napoleonic France, who realize that all of Europe are against them, so they need to be strong, because the European monarchs would never accept an upstart house like House Bonaparte. On the other hand, the Coalition had every reason to see Napoleon as a threat, and specifically Britain was rightfully terrified of a France that no longer had Austria and Prussia to distract her from building a navy. War was in the interest of both sides, so both should have fought it. WWI, on the other hand, brought no real long term gain to the Entente, and I'm fact collapse to Russia, and would have brought little to the Central Powers had they won. 5. Several reasons, but the biggest is that I believe that since politics are inherently divisive, a politician should not be the head of state. The goal of a head of state is to represent the interests of the entire nation, and a politician by their very nature only represents the interests of those that voted for them. It is much, much better to have an impartial head of state than one so tied to politics. Monarchy has served as a unifying symbol many times in the past, with the most recent example being the Belgian political crisis of 2007-2011. Finally, a politician MUST want the job. This rule has basically no exceptions. I, being a cynic, do not think that they would have entirely benign motives; it is very rare for a person to do something solely out of the goodness of their hearts. This gets especially bad when you realize that the system of Republicanism treats power as a reward for the most successful politicians, which is something you never want power to be. A Monarchy, by having the monarch be born into power, treats this power as a responsibility, and the monarch, not having to work for it, will likely feel actually less entitled than a President, not more. Example: the Oanama Papers. Of everyone the only monarch on the list was the king of Saudi Arabia, and I hate Saudi Arabia. Monarchs are less likely to be corrupt because of these reasons. Anyway, that was a long spiel, so I'll leave it at that. I'll go into more detail about specific points at request, Rommel: 1. You're a good guy. We don't see eye to eye on certain political issues, but I enjoy talking history with you. 2. Birthright was acceptable. It was better than Awakening because it toned down the brokenness of some mechanics, but it was just so outclassed by Conquest that I just couldn't enjoy it as much. I haven't played Revelation. 3. I'm thinking of starting it, but of what I played at a friend's house it's quite a good game, especially the Katyushas. 4. Pretty damn accurate. I don't believe that there were any girls in the Volksturm, but I could be wrong. It also does a good job of capturing just how spineless people like Kietel and Jodl were towards Hitler. 5. Nien.

So I remember that one of my friends, who was kind of a dick, was joking about shooting up the school on our group chat. Now, at the same time I was playing Conquest for the first time, and I was at Chapter 25. Basically my frustration was building as me and my friends tried to convince him that the joke was in very poor taste, and he of course was accusing us of being PC. Kagero, meanwhile, chose this precise moment to crit on Leo at a 2% chance and force me to restart the entire damn chapter. So I lose my shit and type this into the chat: "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST (name) I DONT HAVE TIME FOR YOUR BULLSHIT BECAUSE FUCKING KAGERO JUST FUCKING CRITTED LEO ON A 2% HIT CHANCE AND NOW I HAVE TO DO THE CHAPTER AGAIN. This, naturally, was met with some confusion by my friends, especially one of them who was a history buff, and thought that by Kagero I meant the Kagero class Destroyer, a line of ships in the IJN during WWII. Needless to say I came off as not entirely sane.

1812 had very little to do with Napoleon, so it wasn't part of the Napoleonic Wars.

Hello Serenes Forest, I am blah the Prussian, resident Monarchist and history buff. Ask me anything.

I played Zeta and Omnicron. I didn't need to grind until postgame. The amount nt of exp that game gives out is obscene.

Well the problem was that in WWI niether side really had a good reason to fight. Now, the Napoleonic Wars, those were conflicts where both sides were basically doing the right thing for their countries.

Oh I don't even want to know what they think of WWI, given that for most people it was "Well, the Germans, I think they wanted to take over the world or some shit, I don't know."

You Bolivian or something?

Republicanism is good. More seriously, I had the strangest picture of Adolf Hitler in my head for the longest time: he had glasses, had long, hippie style hair, wore a blue turtleneck, and played a guitar. That was what I thought Hitler looked like until I was SEVEN. Dead serious.

Ah, I see you used the blah the Prussian method of just destroying the enemy piecemeal when there are two seperate paths.

Steins;gate. No idea what the fuss is about two episodes in.

Why is my background all white?

Would like to thank Glaceon Mage for the badge that presently adorns his sig. Edit: ninjas apparently.

...you know what, Thane, I might have to take you up on the Sanaki tearing Xander a new asshole fanfic.

Yes! You're conforming with my shipping!

The difference in Rwanda was that there were two sides: genociders and genocidees. Here, things aren't so simple.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-dGKKAQnHbsNope.

Camus, assuming his name comes from the famed French philosopher Albert Camus, which, you know, it definitely does, is pronounced Camoo. You know, French.