Chapter 14 ABD Commentary

Original Sporking found here, Daily Palestine and other causes Click here

Current Rotation: Yoona, Caeldori, Ignatius, Irene, Midori

Caeldori: Wow... I didn't know Father had it in him to do what he did last chapter.

Yoona: In fairness, I didn't think you had it in you to enter draconic fury, but I guess this story is making us learn new things every day.

Irene: Well anyway, let's get to it.

Corrin kept her hands firmly at her sides in order to avoid fidgeting, "It's about my assignment to the Ice Tribe." "Is there something wrong?" ...For Felicia. "Father, I think we should spare them."

Charlotte: Normally, I’d be pleased with this, but given how this is Corringula-

Ignatius: Given that this is Corringula, I get the idea that if Felicia didn't exist, Corringula would have been fine with razing the Ice Tribe.

Wanderer2691: See, what every would-be “Machiavellian” tyrant forgets is that “better feared than loved” is a backup plan; he outright says you should aim for both, for allies who will support you, and rivals that aren’t confident in beating you. Everyone forgets the ‘but never hated’ part - hatred tends to trump fear.

Leliel: Bonus points; there’s more than a small amount of evidence that he only meant that for military discipline and fairness; in the context of the mercenary-riddled fustercluck of city-states united in mutual violent loathing that was Italy around his lifetime, the forces various nobles employed were notorious for doing war crimes when bored; a conquering army could win major brownie points from the civilians by stringing up the assholes among them. Thus, fear without hate, in this context, is of the conquering army who is too strong to oppose, but also too clean to make surrender or compliance unappealing, because they are not down with this whole ‘torture for funsies’ bullshit from their own soldiers.

Midori: Ignoring the full Machiavelli phrase is pretty common for wannabe edgelords!

"Well, you're partly right," said Jakob, "You are a brat. You're a warrior severely lacking in diplomacy skills. You have a drinking problem, and an impulse problem. You have anger issues, and an insubordinate and undisciplined spirit. And you also have the biggest heart I've ever seen."

*groan from the sporking chamber*

Wanderer2691: Thanks, fic. I was forgetting she was a Sue, before you started shilling her.

Irene: *eye twitches*

Midori: Uh oh... I think we need to book it!

Irene: *shifts into her own dragon form* GRAAAAAHHH!!! HEART!? HEART?! IN WHAT UNIVERSE DOES HER ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOUR SHOW A BIG HEART, LET ALONE ANY HEART?! WHAT ABOUT HER TOXIC MASCULINITY OBSESSION?! WHAT ABOUT HER INABILITY TO ACCEPT DIFFERENT CULTURES? WHAT ABOUT HER LACK OF EMPATHY TOWARDS ANYONE WHO SHE DEEMS AS A NAMELESS FACE, WHICH IS A LOT OF PEOPLE?! MAKE THE BULLSHIT STOP!

Ignatius: Mom! Please calm down!

Irene: *shifts back to human form and sighs deeply* It's ok, Ignatius. Let's just proceed.

"Even under these conditions, it's still too early for this," said Leo, "We've only begun to replenish the resources lost in the initial push. We're too outnumbered and outgeared."

Charlotte: Good plan! Overstretching is a killer error, even if you’re taking miles more than you expected you need to rest and take stock of your logistics-

"You're the one who said that a single loss would be the death of our campaign," Xander retorted, "Our only advantage at this point is momentum. We can't stop moving forward or we'll never reclaim the upper hand."

Charlotte: …Shit plan! This is how you break an invasion! Basic military strategy, do you speak it?!

Azalin: Even as someone who has legions that are undead automatons who need not rest nor food, and find reinforcements with every victory - the necromancers who raise the dead do need sustenance, and even affording that, a gain without a garrison is a future enemy possession. Refusal to ensure the lines of supply be uncut is precisely why Drakov constantly failed. This, as a side note, is why invasions always be at a disadvantage; unless your conquests truly despise your rival power, a counteroffensive needs not to spare forces or effort for establishing control. They just assign the old staff right back to it. But even counteroffensives need time to restore cohesion.

Caeldori: "Tactical retreats are for chumps anyway!"

"Momentum may not be enough."

"That's what your plan is for, is it not? Trust yourself. We'll be victorious."

Keaton: Ah. Green Lantern Theory of Warfare. Think positively enough, all issues will be solved without, y’know, solving them. *facepalm*

Wanderer2691: For the record; Green Lantern Theory of Politics and Warfare is a snide term for the belief that any failure is a failure of willpower rather than supply issues or strategic incompetence or anything that might force the leaders to reevaluate their plans. It’s extremely common in authoritarian states, because it’s comforting to the ego. Including Nazi Germany, our favorite military punching bags, because it was precisely this kind of overextension that led to the Battle of the Bulge, and with it, the collapse of their offensive on Soviet Russia, a turning point for the war.

Leliel: And if Nohr wasn’t the author’s pet, they’d be negotiating surrender terms in a week due to their soldiers all having spontaneously ignited from the sunburns.

Yoona: For a supposedly realistic grimdark, this sure seems to contain a lot of "clap your hands if you believe" logic.

"I hope you will not mind if we continue to speak in our language. My Nohrian is unpracticed."

"I don't mind at all," said Xander, "I appreciate you accepting the call to parley."

"I don't know what you hope to accomplish. Peace seems to be the last thing on your mind." The Hoshidan Lord said with a nod to the army behind him

Leliel: And the unjustified invasion…and the war crimes…and the fact his father murdered your mother, why the fuck are you not bringing that up…?

Caeldori: Notice how they have to speak in Hoshidan because Uncle Ryoma's Nohrian isn't as good. It feels like more "Hoshido is stupid and backwards because their royals can't speak Nohrian well."

Fun Fact: Single combat was a battle between two champions, each representing their own side, as part of the medieval code of chivalry inspired by the habit of heroes from Greek Legends, particularly the Trojan War, to battle each other one-on-one even in the midst of great battles. This tradition ended in the 14th century with the invention of the Longbow. The more you know.

Leliel: Fun Fact: This often failed, because combat by champion frequently results in the losing side deciding it didn’t count, because combat by champion often doesn’t resolve standing issues. And as noted, the Mongols were pretty damn good bowmen long before then, who found the whole thing to be utterly ridiculous, but hey - the khan’s not going to interrupt the enemy in the middle of a mistake.

Yoona: I think DDI himself put it best when he wondered if it really was realistic that the losing side would just lie down and accept their fates if their lord lost. And that concludes this chapter, see you all later when it just becomes filler.