Oh, I think Marie would understand. I think she would understand that her mother had survived something horrific as a child and that her Oma is an insensitive, narrow-minded, vindictive bitch who blames Marie and her mother for past events that neither had any choice in or control over.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
That's my point.
Marie wouldn't understand why Oma Blackwood is an asshole to her mother.
Not the, "wouldn't understand"
Kat to her credit has always tried to maintain a good relationship between her children and Margot but unfortunately for Marie her red hair just like her mother's has triggered in Margot an unreasonable reaction that has left Marie puzzled.
When Marie finds out the cause of it and she will, Margot is going to find out that Marie is more like Kat then anyone suspected and that is not going to be good for anyone.
I think that Michael like Kiki has his own castle in the mountains and there is a camp for troubled youth run by the Bohemian Army Horse Cavalry named after Kurt's horse from South Africa, Onnosel and young Billy Wales is going to spend the next few summers there learning about the joys of mucking out the stalls in the barn.
When Marie finds out the cause of it and she will, Margot is going to find out that Marie is more like Kat then anyone suspected and that is not going to be good for anyone.
I think that Michael like Kiki has his own castle in the mountains and there is a camp for troubled youth run by the Bohemian Army Horse Cavalry named after Kurt's horse from South Africa, Onnosel and young Billy Wales is going to spend the next few summers there learning about the joys of mucking out the stalls in the barn.
Part 116, Chapter 1932
Chapter One Thousand Nine Hundred Thirty-Two
1st September 1969
In transit, Caroline Islands
At last Kiki was on her way back to Pohnpei after receiving a handful of messages over the prior days. It seemed that her brother Michael had finally came to his senses regarding Birdie. About time was her only thought regarding that matter. The wedding was being planned for that winter and it was hoped that the Medical Service would grant Kiki a couple weeks of leave so that she would be able to attend. The next message was regarding how Benjamin had arranged to meet her in Pohnpei. While it would be nice to see him, this embarrassingly reminded her of how she had hidden in the closet of her father’s office at his vacation house when Ben had come around after his involvement with the Taxidiotis Program had brought him to the islands. It had been because she had suddenly been terrified of what would happen next. With any luck, things would go far better this time.
Then there was the message regarding her unexpected guest from his parents, it seemed that they had no real objection to him being held in quarantine if he really did have measles. They apologized for the somewhat hyperbolic reaction by the U.S. State Department and understood that she was a professional. That said, Mary Clark, Nelson Rockefeller’s ex-wife and the mother of Doctor Michael Rockefeller was traveling to Pohnpei to collect her son and bring him home as soon as he was medically cleared. It had been suggested that Kiki entertain her for a few days as a goodwill at the compound where her father’s vacation home was located. It was as if everyone had forgotten just how awful Kiki was at that sort of thing. In the past she had been able to smooth things over by having her guests being somewhat awed by their surroundings at the Hohenzollern Castle. Despite that she regarded it as something of a minor miracle that she had not killed of her guests by accident, that was how bad she was. The fact that Michael was stuck in the quarantine bay was perfectly in keeping with that.
The quarantine bay was in the aft section of the ship, wedged between the hanger and the lab which enabled it to be isolated from the rest of the ship. It was also a few decks above the steam turbines resulting in a low level of constant noise that was something of an irritant. Kiki noted this as she made her way back to that portion of the ship, she was starting to think that it had been located here because no one among the Ship’s compliment wanted to spend much time here anyway.
When Kiki got to the occupied quarantine bay, she pressed the button activating the intercom.
“How are you today Doctor Rockefeller?” Kiki asked, getting a baneful glare through the glass.
“I’m still not sick if that is what you are asking” Michael said, “Any word about me getting out of here?”
“Tomorrow if you still haven’t shown any symptoms” Kiki replied.
“Where are we?” Michael asked, “The ship that is, I can tell its been moving but the people who have been coming around haven’t told me anything.”
It was because Kiki had explicitly ordered them not to, mostly because she had good reason to be suspicious of him. These were Nurses and Medics, people whose mission had little to do with International intrigue. They would talk like they normally did and reveal a great deal in the process.
“We are in the Caroline Islands” Kiki replied, “We are letting you off in Pohnpei and your mother has already made arrangements for you to go home. New York, I would presume.”
“You are exactly how Jamison Parker described you” Michael said, “An officious bitch who twists rules into a pretzel to suit yourself.”
Kiki just smiled sweetly at that. This was just more proof that Parker didn’t know anything about her. “Nice to know that I made an impression on someone assigned to assist the FBI in spying on me when I was a guest of your country” She replied, “I didn’t have to have to put you in quarantine. I could have just alerted the authorities in the Marshall Islands and sailed off into the sunset. With the history of these islands, what exactly do you think would have happened next?”
Michael sobered at that thought. Just being stuck in a small cabin on a ship for ten days with air-conditioning, a full library and a television was the height of luxury compared to where the Marshallese would have put him. It would have been a jail cell if he were lucky.
Tempelhof, Berlin
“Don’t ask questions if you cannot handle the answers.”
Marie Alexandra had been told that by her mother when she had asked what had happened that had caused so much trouble between her mother and Oma Blackwood. Though Marie only had a day to prepare for her return to school after the Summer Holiday, she had taken the time to find the copy of her mother’s biography where it had been sitting unopened on the shelf in the library of her parent’s house. The chapter only mentioned what had happened in passing, but what was there was indeed terrible, and it didn’t provide her any enlightenment towards what Oma’s problem was. Marie was left with more questions than answers and she had the terrible feeling that this was one of those times when the adults around her would say that she wouldn’t understand. This time they were correct in that she didn’t understand.
The next day, she was sitting in class. It being the first day the Teachers were mostly concerned with laying out what they would be doing over the next term and like all the other girls in the classroom Marie had more or less tuned her out. Her mind kept drifting back to what she had read, the words had laid it all out very starkly and it was obvious that her mother had little choice in the matter. Someone had hurt her in a way intended to keep hurting her, to hurt those who loved her and to be on receiving end of harsh judgement from those inclined to do so. Was that where Oma Blackwood came in?
1st September 1969
In transit, Caroline Islands
At last Kiki was on her way back to Pohnpei after receiving a handful of messages over the prior days. It seemed that her brother Michael had finally came to his senses regarding Birdie. About time was her only thought regarding that matter. The wedding was being planned for that winter and it was hoped that the Medical Service would grant Kiki a couple weeks of leave so that she would be able to attend. The next message was regarding how Benjamin had arranged to meet her in Pohnpei. While it would be nice to see him, this embarrassingly reminded her of how she had hidden in the closet of her father’s office at his vacation house when Ben had come around after his involvement with the Taxidiotis Program had brought him to the islands. It had been because she had suddenly been terrified of what would happen next. With any luck, things would go far better this time.
Then there was the message regarding her unexpected guest from his parents, it seemed that they had no real objection to him being held in quarantine if he really did have measles. They apologized for the somewhat hyperbolic reaction by the U.S. State Department and understood that she was a professional. That said, Mary Clark, Nelson Rockefeller’s ex-wife and the mother of Doctor Michael Rockefeller was traveling to Pohnpei to collect her son and bring him home as soon as he was medically cleared. It had been suggested that Kiki entertain her for a few days as a goodwill at the compound where her father’s vacation home was located. It was as if everyone had forgotten just how awful Kiki was at that sort of thing. In the past she had been able to smooth things over by having her guests being somewhat awed by their surroundings at the Hohenzollern Castle. Despite that she regarded it as something of a minor miracle that she had not killed of her guests by accident, that was how bad she was. The fact that Michael was stuck in the quarantine bay was perfectly in keeping with that.
The quarantine bay was in the aft section of the ship, wedged between the hanger and the lab which enabled it to be isolated from the rest of the ship. It was also a few decks above the steam turbines resulting in a low level of constant noise that was something of an irritant. Kiki noted this as she made her way back to that portion of the ship, she was starting to think that it had been located here because no one among the Ship’s compliment wanted to spend much time here anyway.
When Kiki got to the occupied quarantine bay, she pressed the button activating the intercom.
“How are you today Doctor Rockefeller?” Kiki asked, getting a baneful glare through the glass.
“I’m still not sick if that is what you are asking” Michael said, “Any word about me getting out of here?”
“Tomorrow if you still haven’t shown any symptoms” Kiki replied.
“Where are we?” Michael asked, “The ship that is, I can tell its been moving but the people who have been coming around haven’t told me anything.”
It was because Kiki had explicitly ordered them not to, mostly because she had good reason to be suspicious of him. These were Nurses and Medics, people whose mission had little to do with International intrigue. They would talk like they normally did and reveal a great deal in the process.
“We are in the Caroline Islands” Kiki replied, “We are letting you off in Pohnpei and your mother has already made arrangements for you to go home. New York, I would presume.”
“You are exactly how Jamison Parker described you” Michael said, “An officious bitch who twists rules into a pretzel to suit yourself.”
Kiki just smiled sweetly at that. This was just more proof that Parker didn’t know anything about her. “Nice to know that I made an impression on someone assigned to assist the FBI in spying on me when I was a guest of your country” She replied, “I didn’t have to have to put you in quarantine. I could have just alerted the authorities in the Marshall Islands and sailed off into the sunset. With the history of these islands, what exactly do you think would have happened next?”
Michael sobered at that thought. Just being stuck in a small cabin on a ship for ten days with air-conditioning, a full library and a television was the height of luxury compared to where the Marshallese would have put him. It would have been a jail cell if he were lucky.
Tempelhof, Berlin
“Don’t ask questions if you cannot handle the answers.”
Marie Alexandra had been told that by her mother when she had asked what had happened that had caused so much trouble between her mother and Oma Blackwood. Though Marie only had a day to prepare for her return to school after the Summer Holiday, she had taken the time to find the copy of her mother’s biography where it had been sitting unopened on the shelf in the library of her parent’s house. The chapter only mentioned what had happened in passing, but what was there was indeed terrible, and it didn’t provide her any enlightenment towards what Oma’s problem was. Marie was left with more questions than answers and she had the terrible feeling that this was one of those times when the adults around her would say that she wouldn’t understand. This time they were correct in that she didn’t understand.
The next day, she was sitting in class. It being the first day the Teachers were mostly concerned with laying out what they would be doing over the next term and like all the other girls in the classroom Marie had more or less tuned her out. Her mind kept drifting back to what she had read, the words had laid it all out very starkly and it was obvious that her mother had little choice in the matter. Someone had hurt her in a way intended to keep hurting her, to hurt those who loved her and to be on receiving end of harsh judgement from those inclined to do so. Was that where Oma Blackwood came in?
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Indeed! But truly any time is a good time for a beer and an SLAH update. Not sure I got the order right on those two things but there you go.
I work nights in UTC -5. It's my "Friday night," and now all I need is some Robb Returns, (The only two stories I generally drop what I'm doing to read ASAP.) Too burnt out with work to catch up to most of my subscriptions.
Michael when he goes to the first planning session for his wedding with Alberta is going to be alarmed by the speed of how much of the plans have already been locked down and how many people it going to take to make it a success.
Kiki should have realized on her own or have been briefed on how much of her role on this trip is going to be engaged in diplomacy.
She is the public face of the JMS which need all the good publicity it can get.
First off there should be an ongoing controversy about the necessity and the inevitable cost overruns of having a nuclear powered hospital ship.
Then there is the symbolism having the various hospital ships making visits to the German Pacific Island helps the Islands in keeping their loyalty to Berlin.
After that whenever the ships responds to an international disaster it raises the prestige of the Empire and having a ship that can quickly get to the scene of the emergency is priceless in the terms of goodwill.
And in the case of Dr. Michael Rockefeller there are two words why Her Imperial Princess Royal Kristina should go all out in being the perfect host to Mary Clark: Rockefeller Foundation, I am very sure that there are some joint projects that the JMS and the Foundation can do together that will be beneficial to both the Empire and the Foundation and having Kiki play ball will go a long way in achieving them.
Kiki should have realized on her own or have been briefed on how much of her role on this trip is going to be engaged in diplomacy.
She is the public face of the JMS which need all the good publicity it can get.
First off there should be an ongoing controversy about the necessity and the inevitable cost overruns of having a nuclear powered hospital ship.
Then there is the symbolism having the various hospital ships making visits to the German Pacific Island helps the Islands in keeping their loyalty to Berlin.
After that whenever the ships responds to an international disaster it raises the prestige of the Empire and having a ship that can quickly get to the scene of the emergency is priceless in the terms of goodwill.
And in the case of Dr. Michael Rockefeller there are two words why Her Imperial Princess Royal Kristina should go all out in being the perfect host to Mary Clark: Rockefeller Foundation, I am very sure that there are some joint projects that the JMS and the Foundation can do together that will be beneficial to both the Empire and the Foundation and having Kiki play ball will go a long way in achieving them.
I sat beside one on a flight from Montreal to Toronto a few years back. Air Canada, I think it was.
Marc A
I was on a British Airways flight from LHR to Harare in 2006 that had about 20 unaccompanied minors on board. They were herded all together at the far back of the plane.
Well 'Universal Aunts' was founded in London in 1921 and would acompany Minors to the Airport of departure and collect them at the destination air post (just as they did at the sea ports for those travelling by liner). If necessary an 'Aunt' would travel with a party of minors.
As I said earlier, Michael is Doomed! He has finally admitted that to himself and accepted his fate. And 'About time' pretty much sums up the thoughts of the entire Kingdom of Bohemia and Moravia, not to mention both the Houses of Windsor and Hohenzollern or Birdie herself.
It also looks as if Kiki has come to realise that no-one is going to leap out of the bushes and demand that she marry some blue-blooded drone for the sake of the Empire and the Dynasty.
While Dr. Michael Rockefeller seems to have made up his mind as to Kiki's nature, I get the feeling that President Rockefeller doesn't hold those rather narrow-minded views and I suspect that Mary Clark is going to find Kiki quite delightful, a dedicated career woman and an altogether far more complex person that either her son, Jamison Parker, the State Department or the CIA believe.
Marie might not understand... yet. But she is about to. And Margot should fear that realisation. Thirteen year olds are not known for their impulse control when consumed by righteous outrage.
I am surprised that Whiskey Parker's got it so wrong re: Kiki - he of all people should be really familiar with female German royals who are careerists in the military.
Marc A
Marc A
He thinks that she plays the system because she is entitled to do so. Kiki also makes a certain type of American blueblood deeply uncomfortable because, as was observed, compared to her they are trailer trash.
I think it is also a case of Parker projecting his life situation on to Kiki.
Parker is a Upper Class White Male Christian from a long established family who never really had to worry about his future, from birth he knew that he was going to go to the best schools from exclusive day and boarding schools to whichever Ivy League school his family went to and made generous donations to the Alumni fund, and if he made decent enough grades then it was Law School or Business School then off to the family firm.
Joining the CIA was the first independent decision about his life he ever made and most importantly a working class kid from Northern California named Johnny became his best friend and opened his eyes to how things really were.
To Parker Kiki is just like him except for being a woman of course but she in his eyes took advantage of her family's position to become a doctor when in reality she is more like Parker then he is comfortable with.
Part 116, Chapter 1933
Chapter One Thousand Nine Hundred Thirty-Three
6th September 1969
Mitte, Berlin
The plan had been to meet Helene and Gerta for breakfast at a place Helene knew in the center of Berlin. Unfortunately, Gerta had been called away at the last minute because a young Film Maker had asked for her financial backing for a project that he was working on and it was something that she was excited about. She had told that Kat and Helene that she needed to attend the pitch meeting and that she was sending her love.
“A Western set in Outer Space that is based on a Japanese film?” Kat asked when Helene told her the details. “That had got to be the most Gerta-like thing that Gerta has decided to involve herself with.”
“She said that it sounds like it will be a lot of fun” Helene replied, “You know that is how she decides what she works on.”
Kat smiled and said, “As flighty as Gerta can be at times, she does have good instincts about what will or will not work as entertainment.”
“In the past, yes” Helene said, “But this sounds pretty ambitious and Science-Fiction is not exactly known for having a wide audience.”
“There was that Stanley Kubrick film last year, the one with the monkeys and Jupiter” Kat said before taking a sit of her tea.
“I thought you said you fell asleep partway through that one?” Helene asked.
“Doug said that it was good” Kat replied, as if that answered everything.
Helene just shook her head in response. As if she would have expected any other answer from Kat, a few hours away from the people who were constantly making demands of her time must have been like paradise. Of course, Kat had fallen asleep, that was just a given.
“What’s it like having the children back?” Helene asked, changing the subject.
“Josefine, Tatiana, and Malcolm are all attending University, so they don’t have time to cause too much trouble” Kat said, “Marie made it back from Canada in time, though that was the result of poor planning on my part and Sophie is now at the same school which is an adjustment for both of them.”
That was something that Helene didn’t understand about Kat. She apparently liked to have a big, noisy household. That had included several girls who were not her own who she had welcomed into the family with open arms. Helene figured that she would be slowly driven insane if she had to live with that.
“Marie presents a bit of a problem though” Kat continued, “Since she got back from Canada, she has been full of questions.”
“How is that different from normal?” Helene asked.
“Marie has always been inquisitive, but she is asking the right questions this time” Kat replied, “When she reaches a conclusion, Marie might try to act on it and that poses a serious problem.”
That caused Helene to give Kat a somewhat bewildered look. She didn’t seem to realize that the terms she had just used to describe her daughter could have applied her countless times in the past.
London, England
In the back of Elizabeth’s mind, this was something that she had never thought that she would live to see. Her oldest daughter, Alberta, being fitted for a wedding dress. It wasn’t that Alberta was necessarily hideous or totally antisocial, it was that with all her insecurities and foibles there was a serious question as to whether or not she would end up as the family’s Maiden Aunt, a recluse, or both. The years she had spent as the designated heir had not been easy Alberta, especially when it seemed like the entire country had been hung up on how plain she was as she had entered adolescence. She had been terrified at the prospect of inheriting the throne. Now though, she was marrying Michael of Bohemia and didn’t seem to put out by the implications of that. However, there was a large difference between being Queen of the British Commonwealth and that of a small Kingdom in Eastern Europe like Bohemia. Of course, the people in Bohemia she had interacted with seemed to like her which meant a lot to Alberta.
Oddly, it had been that moment when Alberta had walked in on Michael upbraiding William that she had realized that she had made the right choice. She had seen exactly the sort of husband and father that Michael would be. He had given the boy a well-deserved tongue lashing and made him stand in the corner staring at the walls for several hours but had not raised a hand in anger. None of that was a surprise, Michael was a product of a Prussian military education and William had no idea of the sort of bullet he had dodged. If Michael were the stereotypical “Hun” then William would still be feeling the sort of thrashing that he would have received. That had also been when the subject of Michael’s original plans for the weekend had come up, plans that had been ruined by the presence of William. Not the most romantic of marriage proposals, but perfectly in keeping with who Michael and Alberta were.
It wasn’t that Elizabeth was thrilled with how William was turning out. Despite her and Philip’s best efforts, their son had swiftly learned the art of behaving very differently when he knew he was being watched. Philip had reacted in wry amusement when he learned what had happened. “About time” was all he said about Alberta, which seemed to be everyone else’s reaction and when he was told about what had happened to William he had said “What did he think was going to happen.”
6th September 1969
Mitte, Berlin
The plan had been to meet Helene and Gerta for breakfast at a place Helene knew in the center of Berlin. Unfortunately, Gerta had been called away at the last minute because a young Film Maker had asked for her financial backing for a project that he was working on and it was something that she was excited about. She had told that Kat and Helene that she needed to attend the pitch meeting and that she was sending her love.
“A Western set in Outer Space that is based on a Japanese film?” Kat asked when Helene told her the details. “That had got to be the most Gerta-like thing that Gerta has decided to involve herself with.”
“She said that it sounds like it will be a lot of fun” Helene replied, “You know that is how she decides what she works on.”
Kat smiled and said, “As flighty as Gerta can be at times, she does have good instincts about what will or will not work as entertainment.”
“In the past, yes” Helene said, “But this sounds pretty ambitious and Science-Fiction is not exactly known for having a wide audience.”
“There was that Stanley Kubrick film last year, the one with the monkeys and Jupiter” Kat said before taking a sit of her tea.
“I thought you said you fell asleep partway through that one?” Helene asked.
“Doug said that it was good” Kat replied, as if that answered everything.
Helene just shook her head in response. As if she would have expected any other answer from Kat, a few hours away from the people who were constantly making demands of her time must have been like paradise. Of course, Kat had fallen asleep, that was just a given.
“What’s it like having the children back?” Helene asked, changing the subject.
“Josefine, Tatiana, and Malcolm are all attending University, so they don’t have time to cause too much trouble” Kat said, “Marie made it back from Canada in time, though that was the result of poor planning on my part and Sophie is now at the same school which is an adjustment for both of them.”
That was something that Helene didn’t understand about Kat. She apparently liked to have a big, noisy household. That had included several girls who were not her own who she had welcomed into the family with open arms. Helene figured that she would be slowly driven insane if she had to live with that.
“Marie presents a bit of a problem though” Kat continued, “Since she got back from Canada, she has been full of questions.”
“How is that different from normal?” Helene asked.
“Marie has always been inquisitive, but she is asking the right questions this time” Kat replied, “When she reaches a conclusion, Marie might try to act on it and that poses a serious problem.”
That caused Helene to give Kat a somewhat bewildered look. She didn’t seem to realize that the terms she had just used to describe her daughter could have applied her countless times in the past.
London, England
In the back of Elizabeth’s mind, this was something that she had never thought that she would live to see. Her oldest daughter, Alberta, being fitted for a wedding dress. It wasn’t that Alberta was necessarily hideous or totally antisocial, it was that with all her insecurities and foibles there was a serious question as to whether or not she would end up as the family’s Maiden Aunt, a recluse, or both. The years she had spent as the designated heir had not been easy Alberta, especially when it seemed like the entire country had been hung up on how plain she was as she had entered adolescence. She had been terrified at the prospect of inheriting the throne. Now though, she was marrying Michael of Bohemia and didn’t seem to put out by the implications of that. However, there was a large difference between being Queen of the British Commonwealth and that of a small Kingdom in Eastern Europe like Bohemia. Of course, the people in Bohemia she had interacted with seemed to like her which meant a lot to Alberta.
Oddly, it had been that moment when Alberta had walked in on Michael upbraiding William that she had realized that she had made the right choice. She had seen exactly the sort of husband and father that Michael would be. He had given the boy a well-deserved tongue lashing and made him stand in the corner staring at the walls for several hours but had not raised a hand in anger. None of that was a surprise, Michael was a product of a Prussian military education and William had no idea of the sort of bullet he had dodged. If Michael were the stereotypical “Hun” then William would still be feeling the sort of thrashing that he would have received. That had also been when the subject of Michael’s original plans for the weekend had come up, plans that had been ruined by the presence of William. Not the most romantic of marriage proposals, but perfectly in keeping with who Michael and Alberta were.
It wasn’t that Elizabeth was thrilled with how William was turning out. Despite her and Philip’s best efforts, their son had swiftly learned the art of behaving very differently when he knew he was being watched. Philip had reacted in wry amusement when he learned what had happened. “About time” was all he said about Alberta, which seemed to be everyone else’s reaction and when he was told about what had happened to William he had said “What did he think was going to happen.”
something along the lines of Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven?
Once again the cultural butterflies ITTL in regarding the movies of Stanley Kubrick are going to be interesting.
The movie "Paths of Glory" about the French Army in The Great War should be a major hit ITTL because the American people don't have fond memories of American participation in that war and France afterwards became a bit unpopular to the Americans unlike IOTL where France was seen as an important ally to the United States.
"Spartacus" should still be made with little difference but there won't be the controversy of having Dalton Trumbo who was blacklisted writing the screenplay.
"Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb" and "Full Metal Jacket" for some reason won't be made ITTL.
I can see "A Clockwork Orange" still being made with little or no changes ITTL as compared to IOTL, and his personal pet project about Napoleon could be made ITTL.
The movie "Paths of Glory" about the French Army in The Great War should be a major hit ITTL because the American people don't have fond memories of American participation in that war and France afterwards became a bit unpopular to the Americans unlike IOTL where France was seen as an important ally to the United States.
"Spartacus" should still be made with little difference but there won't be the controversy of having Dalton Trumbo who was blacklisted writing the screenplay.
"Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb" and "Full Metal Jacket" for some reason won't be made ITTL.
I can see "A Clockwork Orange" still being made with little or no changes ITTL as compared to IOTL, and his personal pet project about Napoleon could be made ITTL.