GATE: and so the Iron Pact Fought (a GATE: and thus the JSDF Fought fic)

[Aaron Fox]

Ok, sorry for the god-forsaken long hiatus. Real Life was a complete and utter bitch. Subway took a lot of my energy (especially since it was doing Amazon BS), meaning that I had less time and energy for anything more than snippets. The only reason that I'm getting back into it now is because I've quit that job.

Now, this snippet can be considered a bit boring, as it deals with something that isn't that far from the game Papers Please, but it builds the world a little and deals with some of the problems of a world like Falmart interacting with our world. Like, say, new nasty strains of fucking Smallpox and its deranged bacterial cousin Depetheria.

---

Joint Remus-Alnus Customs Office; October 9th​, 2017

"Let me get this straight," I asked as my apprentices sat behind me, "due to some hacks selling poor quality potions and elixirs, you're putting every single potion and elixir into quarantine?"

The bureaucrat simply nodded yes despite the surprise of me being reasonable. "This is just a precaution, sir," the bureaucrat answered, "We take the health of everyone seriously around here." I sighed in understanding, knowing the problems of shoddy elixir and potion-making. Some of the problems faced by the Empire were because of such shoddy work in various transformation elixirs and potions. That's why the Alchemic Council and the various Alchemic Colleges were created, to ensure some level of standards and safety.

"I can understand that," I answered, "and my apprentices and I are more than willing to help you in that regard." The bureaucrat raised an eyebrow at that statement. "If you can give us the descriptions of the maladies, we can help you through the treatments. You've got my honor and my degree from the Salderan Alchemic College on that." My apprentices nodded in acceptance at that statement.

After that statement, there was a short, pregnant pause as the bureaucrat digested what I said.

"I'll have to get authorization from my superiors," the bureaucrat replied. However, you'll still need to undergo screening, just as a precautionary measure."

"That I can understand completely," I commented, "I've seen enough people suffer to live several lifetimes…"

---

"Well, at least these guys are not trying to curse me out because of those incidents…" Daniel Rodriguez thought to himself as he finished up the required paperwork on his desktop, "something different than the annoyance of the last four dozen guys." Daniel remembered the litany of curses that several groups of alchemists spewed when he told them that their regents were to be under quarantine. "… and there, the last of the paperwork is done. Just follow the yellow line, and you'll get a medical screening." With that, the small group of 'Alchemists' followed the yellow line towards the medical pavilion.

"Well, that's the third group this week," my superior stated on the CyberComm, "What we've gathered from Cato is surprisingly on the money. We'll be going to expedite their process to get them to be the local advisors in the little epidemic we've been having; the faster we get that under control, the better."

"That's good to hear," I commented, "The group in question is already heading to medical to undergo inspection. If all goes well, then they'll be putting their minds to the problem within the next 48 hours."

"It might be longer than that. We've got a variant of smallpox in the current crop of arrivals that has everyone in a tizzy," my superior replied, "While it isn't as bad as some of the crazy weaponized variants that our or the Soviet bio war programs produced, it's causing problems. Thankfully, we stopped a diphtheria outbreak yesterday, so we'll be forcing everyone to undergo immunization testing." I sighed. That sort of thing is going to push things for several days. While our computers are good, the laundry list of required immunizations still takes most of the day to complete, and given that Alnus Town or Remus Town has been drawing roughly a hundred people per day, that means legit days before everything is taken care of.

"I'll have to send word to our future advisors, then," I complained, "Why does our job get harder?"

"… from what I've heard from Wolfenstein, you don't want to know," my superior stated, "Let's just say things are going to go bad to worse right now, especially since the local players are making their move." I tried to restrain myself from beating my head against the desk in frustration. "Just continue on and make sure things go smoothly."

I sighed before I began processing the next person. It's going to be a long day indeed…

 

[Ryan Lozano]

This is not threadmark

 

[Aaron Fox]

This is not threadmark

Click to shrink...

These snippets are not the final product. I'm taking a page from @Kiyone4ever and his Gate fic (The Janus Campaign), where I post snippets of the next chapter to gauge the reactions of the snippet and get any help with anything that my spellcheck and whatnot misses.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Now, this next snippet centers around Pina, with Hamilton gone to meet with a Speculatore*, trying to make sense of the situation surrounding Italica as she and the Rose Order are forced to play wack-a-mole against bandits instead of gathering intelligence on the Men in Green.

*
Speculatore are Rome's spies. Despite the popular history that Rome wasn't good at spycraft, they're damn good at it historically.

---

Italica, Italica Province; October 10th​, 6729

Piña frowned as she surveyed the pin-studded map she brought with her to Italica, adding yet another pin -this time orange, representing banditry- upon its surface. "By the Gods, this isn't getting us anywhere," Piña muttered to herself, cursing whatever cruel twist of fate had her acting like the only sane woman in the royal family. "Ever since the Gates opened, it only brought bloodshed and migraines," Piña thought to herself, "at this rate, the southern provinces are going to collapse, leaving us weaker than before." While the collapse of the armies was problematic at best, if the southern provinces were to collapse financially, then the Empire would descend into anarchy as funding and resources for the military dried up. With the situation requiring the Rose Knights to split up to suppress this massive increase in banditry, Piña can't get intelligence on the Men in Green.

Without that intelligence, then the Empire would fall; Piña was certain of that.

"Yet another case of banditry, Princess?" Beefeater asked. She was currently taking over as Piña's assistant while Hamilton met with a Speculatore who managed to return to Imperial lines. While not as effective as Hamilton, she kept Piña's head right where it should be, that is, if she weren't worked up herself.

"Yes," Piña groaned as she put the pin on the map, "It's been months, and we've been consistently losing." Piña looked at the map. "I'll probably have to send your century southwest to eliminate another band of bandits before they get too strong."

"… at this rate, we're going to be spread too thin to do anything," Beefeater sighed, "This is far too coincidental to be simply a rise in banditry." Piña frowned, thinking the same thing. "If my century leaves, then you would only have what remains of the City Guard and your century."

"I know," Piña complained, "but it can't be helped. Italica is one of the Empire's biggest sources of tax revenue, especially since the cities bordering the Great Divide are falling at an alarming rate to the Men in Green." Piña sighed in a mixture of disbelief and dread. "If we lose Italica, the southern provinces will collapse, leaving the capital vulnerable."

Beefeater practically screamed in frustration at this situation, nearly tipping over a nearby table. "This can't be the doing of the Men in Green; everything we've seen and analyzed has the Men in Green not able to control people's minds," Beefeater complained, "and the banditry is well beyond the usual for remnants of defeated armies."

"That, you and I can agree on," Piña noted, "given the circumstances, I would say that at least some of these bandits are actually mercenaries paid to theater as bandits."

"… that means we've got a small number of possible people for such a conspiracy," Beefeater realized, "Though it might also be a part of a scorched earth policy, though given what few Speculatore that we've met said, the Men in Green are more than willing to undo that policy as they traveled across the empire."

"And that means they've got engineering capabilities to spare," Piña sighed, "It's like the Gates spat out someone that could counter our every move." That was when the door flew open.

"Piña!" Hamilton exclaimed as she panted for breath, "I've met with the Speculatore and we've got two messages." Piña turned around, nearly dumping the containers for the pins as she did so. Hamilton looked like she tried to fight off a full contuberium of legionaries.

"Hamilton!" Piña exclaimed in worry, "What happened to you?" Hamilton panted for breath as she tried to regain her bearings. "You look like you fought off a contuberium and had a pyrrhic victory."

"Sorry Piña, but I had to fight off several bands of bandits before I managed to ride back to Italica," Hamilton explained between pants, "but I've brought us a tressure trove of intelligence. The Legates sent to retake the Holy Hills had sent a recongnoscere century to act as impromptu Speculatore, and they've been doing well." Hamilton walked towards the table where the various intelligence reports were laid and then started placing stacks of scrolls onto the left end of the table. "… and everything is what we feared and more, Piña. They're far more advanced than us, Azibal came through for us with information worth more than mithril."

"Wait, Azibal was sent?" Piña questioned, "If she is acting like a good Imperial subject, then something has her spooked." Hamilton took out a package to answer Piña's growing list of questions.

"She managed to convince the Men in Green to make translated copies of a few books," Hamilton explained as she passed the books to her, "and one of them that need to get to the Council of Mages as immediately as possible." Piña opened the book in question, and already started to see the implications. While her father's side of the 'family' didn't know it, she was the only one to truly understand the intricacies of magic despite not being a mage herself. It's one of the reasons why she is so close to the current head of the Council of Colleges, Grand Magus Tiberius Nasennius Calpurnianus.

"This level of detail of the various beings of Falmart is impossible," Piña stated flatly, "… and the only reason that I know this is that the astral projection experiments were banned when it was discovered that it could cause possession." Hamilton raised an eyebrow at the latter statement. "I should know, I was there when that little problem was discovered." Hamilton knew better than to dig into that incident. "Get a wyvern rider and have this to sent to Grand Magus Tiberius and tell the rider that he is not to take no for an answer, use my name if he has to." Hamilton knew the underlying reasoning of that order and quickly took the book and prepared it to be sent out immediately.

"… something has to get you scared if you're sending it to the Grand Magus himself," Beefeater stated in a subdued manor, "What is it?"

"Either one of the worlds the Gates connected to is similar to ours, or someone has been undertaking astral projection experiments despite the ban, and I don't know which answer is worse!" Piña near-hysterically explained, "This entire invasion and the events from it hasn't made sense since the outset! The Men in Green have been ripping our forces like scythes through wheat and have been regularly outpacing our ability to respond." Beefeater frowned as she listened to her superior's rant in understanding, as she too understood that nothing about this invasion and the events that sparked from it hadn't made a lick of sense. "When one report comes in, we find out we're too late for ten others! I mean look at the map!" The map was absolutely studded with the various colors used to represent what the Men in Green accomplished alongside the reports of Great Dragons, X+ grade monsters, and banditry.

"BREATHE Piña!" Beefeater exclaimed as she hugged her superior, "BREATHE!" Beefeater knew what to do if Piña got this worked up and her specialist slave or Hamilton weren't around, though the former was due to her reading about the Gracchi Brothers, specifically the younger one. "You can't lead if you get this worked up." After a few deep breaths, she calmed down.

"Thanks Beefeater," Piña thanked as she recentered herself, "I needed that." Then she went to sit on one of couches in the room, grabbing a chalice of watered-down drinking wine. "Grey always said that you're only as good as your subordinates, and thanks for reminding me of that. Yet I can't help but have an anxiety attack with what we've been dealing with!" Beefeater understood where Piña was coming from, she too had problems when dealing with the enormity and mind-twisting nature of the invasion from the two Gate-connected worlds. She felt so small, so insignificant, so useless.

"That's why you have Hamilton and I," Beefeater soothed, "Remember when we started the Rose Order? What Grey told us about leadership?"

"… that your most trusted subordinates are the ones that carry you through even through the realms of Hardy hirself," Piña answered, "It's just so hard to remember that with what has been going on." Beefeater sat beside Piña as she comforted her.

That was when the two of them saw Hamilton standing in the doorwell.

"Did Piña have an anxiety attack again?" Hamilton asked, the only response that Hamilton got was a pair of heads nodding.

 

[RedWard99]

Damn, it's been a while. Good to have you back!

Also, poor Pina. She's doing a lot more work here than in the manga/anime in the form of putting out fires (bandits everywhere) using her knights, giving them a lot more combat experience. A better explanation for their absence compared to the splitting up thing they did in canon.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Damn, it's been a while. Good to have you back!

Also, poor Pina. She's doing a lot more work here than in the manga/anime in the form of putting out fires (bandits everywhere) using her knights, giving them a lot more combat experience. A better explanation for their absence compared to the splitting up thing they did in canon.

Click to shrink...

Well, elements of splitting up do happen here, too; it's just that they're meeting up with the Speculatore (Roman military spies) instead of splitting up to cover more ground.

You wouldn't believe how much of my real-life frustrations and anxiety pushed this snippet over the finish line. I was metaphorically screaming at what amounts to a conspiracy board when it just clicked.

 

[Aaron Fox]

So, sorry about this, but between real-life events and hopping between two sections, this is what got prototyped.

Now, one of the things that keeps bugging people who read/watch the series is why didn't the Warrior Bunnies didn't go into guerrilla warfare mode. Well, a close-to-canon reason is that the Warrior Bunnies got Carthage'd, i.e., their people slaughtered and the survivors made into slaves. Here, it's far more insidious: while the Empire enslaved their mortal bodies, the Salderian pantheon effectively enslaved their souls. If they did try to rise up in revolt, they get a direct taste of Divine Intervention.

My thoughts on Tyuule are that she defied conventions and was punished, which was made worse by Zorzal making sure every Warrior Bunny would kill her if she escaped to lead a revolt. By the time the events of this fic (and OTL) happen, she has lost hope and faith.

So, when writing this, I tried to think of how a person would think and feel in that mental state.

---

The Platinum Palace Slave Quarters, Sadera Royal District – October 11th​, 6729

Tyuule detested Zorzal with every fiber of her being. He is the worst sort of being to be a leader. Arrogant, ignorant, hate-inducing, brutal beyond acceptable reason, these and more made him highly unsuitable as a leader. If it weren't for his father's intervention, the Luftyn race would have been effectively exterminated…

… and now she was caring for a girl from another world that 'caught' the monster's attention -no, daemon- in human skin. From the looks of things, he put her through the ringer.

"Damn that daemon," Tyuule complained as she used a few ointments on the poor girl, "he's been brutalizing these poor souls pretty hard." Tyuule continued to work as her 'bunk mates' kept an eye out for guards coming to drag them to Zorzal. "… I keep failing them; he's becoming more interested in the others than me…"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," one of the new girls replied as she helped, "you aren't some divine that can do everything; you're a simple mortal, and what you've been doing has been more than anyone could ask for." Tyuule sighed as she continued doing her people's healing practices. "I should know; I'm friends with a girl adopted by a young divine." Now, that got Tyuule's attention.

"What?" Tyuule asked, trying not to attract attention with her outburst. "Are you pulling my ears?" The girl shook her head.

"No, though that poor divine's tale is tragic," the girl answered, "A bunch of apocalypse cultists undertook a ritual that birthed her and caused her powers to be extremely unstable. When she was found, the cult was exterminated, the goddess was mercy-killed, and she was born. Her father -who killed everyone but the newborn- called her Elora, and she was whisked away to a convent that took care of her. Still, when her divine powers manifested, she was taken to a containment unit for everyone's safety." Tyuule was astonished at the tale but kept working on the poor girl before her. "She was in that containment unit for a better part of five years before Wolfenstein decided to use one last method to help her before attempting to mercy kill her. From what she described, she initially felt a crushing dread, but that quickly became an aura of hope. Her savior told her it would be painful, but it had the highest chance to help her, so she took the chance, and her divine powers were reset to a more manageable level." It then hit Tyuule right between the eyes; the description of the savior had only one correlation with Luftyn lore: the Divine Fire, chosen explicitly as protectors of both the divine and mortals. They are capable of healing and death with equal measure and are always selected for their fair but pragmatic sense of justice.

Tyuule finished her work before asking, "… that sounds like something from my religion, the Divine Fire." The girl smiled in understanding. "This savior sounds very powerful to reset a goddess's powers."

"Well, he is," the girl said, "The funny thing is that her savior didn't know how divine powers work, despite him dissecting peoples' paranormal powers in a better part of a year; he called two divines -Hades and Persephone Olympus- to help her." That was further evidence that the savior was a Divine Fire, given how it was set up. A Divine Fire is to be chosen, not born, and those names sounded like gods. "While she isn't well known -and she would like to keep it that way- she decided to adopt until she can convince her savior to marry her, though if what I've heard is true, he has someone in the royal family eyeing him too, among others."

"… he sounds like a lady's man," Tyuule spat out but noted that the girl shook her head no.

"It may sound like that, but I've met the guy," the girl responded, "He's the exact opposite of a lady's man despite sharing many of the physical features and charm, especially not anything like that demon prince. For one thing, he's the ultimate gentleman and never took advantage of any lady, even when he was drunk as a skunk." Tyuule gave the girl a weird look. "… it's a phrase for someone who was extremely intoxicated. Though, if I heard right, he started a bar brawl because a lady he was escorting was insulted while he was drunk, though she really didn't need an escort given that she's one of the tallest people on our planet and built like an Amazon." Tyuule's imagination took root as she pictured the tallest human she ever encountered and then made her an Amazon. "Though, one word of advice: never make him angry."

"… in our lore, making a Divine Fire angry is literally the last thing you would ever do," Tyuule mentioned, "even divines fear a Divine Fire that has gotten angry." Tyuule shuddered as she remembered the tales of angry Divine Fires and the aftermath of such events.

"You know, I only saw him angry once," the girl explained, "it was when I was visiting a friend of mine who Elora adopted. A bunch of crazy Revanchist Frenchmen kidnapped my friend and me; I don't know why they did it, but I think they wanted us so they could draw him out. The group leader had us watch how their 'greatest triumph' unfolded." Tyuule could feel the 'finger quotes' in that sentence. "Instead, we saw him angry. His face was marred with the most righteous, furious yet tranquil anger you could imagine, and his vengeance was biblical in both thoroughness and brutality." That was when Tyuule swore she could hear some odd, metallic feeling music as if it was some motif. "When he saw us, his face morphed into an angry disappointment, though his blood-stained face ruined that. The maniac tried to use us as hostages and threatened to kill us if he didn't surrender, but he wasn't having it. One moment, he was in the door well; the next, he had grabbed him and smashed him into the opposite wall. The madman couldn't even react before his demise."

"Is the girl treated yet? Because I hear a guard coming," one of the lookouts shout-whispered. Tyuule nodded as she prepared for yet another round of degrading brutality.

That was when Tyuule felt a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry; things will work out," the girl soothed, "I know they will, especially since I know that he's here." That was when Tyuule felt… relief—something that she hadn't felt in years. Maybe, just maybe, there is some hope after all…

 

[amimai]

Missing threadmark! Also need to re-read this, I hear the doom guy music!

 

[Aaron Fox]

Missing threadmark! Also need to re-read this, I hear the doom guy music!

Click to shrink...

As I said before, I'm using how the fanfic The Janus Campaign does things. Basically, I post prototypes of chapter segments to gauge reactions and discover any missed spelling and grammar problems. After compiling the chapter segments, I post the entire chapter with a threadmark. Threadmarks are for a) complete chapters, b) informationals, or c) side stories that explain parts that couldn't fit into the actual chapters due to length, unable actually to fit into the chapter as posted, or are just 'fluff' segments that give a viewpoint that isn't part of the plot.

Also, Doomguy music is intentional, for the character described is very unhappy when you use bystanders or people close to him as bait or to draw him out... and goes full-on Doomslayer if you threaten aforementioned bystanders/people close to him.

 

[amimai]

Also, Doomguy music is intentional, for the character described is very unhappy when you use bystanders or people close to him as bait or to draw him out... and goes full-on Doomslayer if you threaten aforementioned bystanders/people close to him.

Click to shrink...

did I ever say not to use the chainsaw on the idiot rapist? But if your asking for pointers start from the legs and go up!

 

[Aaron Fox]

did I ever say not to use the chainsaw on the idiot rapist? But if your asking for pointers start from the legs and go up!

Click to shrink...

I have... plans... for Zorzal. Special plans. So be patient.

 

[ATP]

I have... plans... for Zorzal. Special plans. So be patient.

Click to shrink...

We could wait.
P.S i once had cruel idea - send Zorzal to WH40 with no better strenght,but being immortal only/but still could be captured/ and with twist that he still learn nothing and must try rape everything.Then,send him to meet Sororitas,then Elder banshees,then DE wytches...not Slaaneshi cultists,thought,they would like to be raped.

 

[last admiral]

*sigh*

At this point it much easier to count what Zorzal havent been killed/tortured with throughout fandom. Rather silly to treat this guy as some big bad that need to be shoulder the whole pain(insert joke about Pain from Naruto) when the MF were barely even responsible for the shit warhawks was done(even the whole plans and tactics wasnt his's but by the likes of Tyuule and Herms) and even then the whole masterminds that is Molt and Hardy were literally got away scott free. The guy is not even that good as antagonist, much less villain to even make any sorts of torterous death & fate to be anything beyond than being borderline ITG.

 

[Aaron Fox]

*sigh*

At this point it much easier to count what Zorzal havent been killed/tortured with throughout fandom. Rather silly to treat this guy as some big bad that need to be shoulder the whole pain(insert joke about Pain from Naruto) when the MF were barely even responsible for the shit warhawks was done(even the whole plans and tactics was his's but by the likes of Tyuule and Herms) and even then the whole masterminds that is Molt and Hardy were literally got away scott free. The guy is not even that good as antagonist, much less villain to even make any sorts of torterous death & fate to be anything beyond than being borderline ITG.

Click to shrink...

If it weren't for the fact that the author is, frankly, an ultranationalist idiot, Zorzal would likely be a combination of Caligula, Nero (fun fact: Nero came out the way he did because of his mother, Agrippina), and Mark Anthony. Like in canon, Zorzal is running around with a portion of the idiot ball because of Molt, but unlike canon, he has political and military acumen that would surprise people. While the Platinum Palace is known as the 'brothel of the nobility', it is also where Zorzal's political allies met. Politics is all about those connections, especially in Roman and medieval politics. It's who you know more than your policies.

As for the Warhawks and the royal line outside of our beverage-named Princess and Zorzal (who will get an apt punishment after Hardy is removed from play)? Well, the Iron Pact will force the issue, and the punishments will not only punish them but ensure maximum emotional damage. What better way to punish a noble or royal than punishing them like commoners?

 

[last admiral]

Which Caligula and Nero since we know that the popular version which were the propaganda version, which isnt what the actual are.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Which Caligula and Nero since we know that the popular version which were the propaganda version, which isnt what the actual are.

Click to shrink...

It's kind of both. People forget that the best type of propaganda is just an exaggeration that isn't overboard instead of something made up wholesale or far out of proportion (for example, a lot of the propaganda that Britain and France did against Germany was so ludicrous that it kept the horrors of the Holocaust from being realized until the WAllies got to the camps themselves).

To give you an idea, when he ascended to full-on Emperor, Nero wanted to keep family business out of politics, respect the Senate, and do similar things while getting closer to the publeans. Agrippina was against that, leading to the matricide. While Rome burned (and he used many of the city's burned sections to build his mega-palace), we've got reports that he was directing the firefighting efforts. After the fire, he allowed displaced citizens to use the (future-old) palace as a refuge. At the same time, he rebuilt Rome, made new building codes, strengthened the fire department, and increased the water capacity of the city while blaming the Christians. Let's say Nero is a ball of '... what...' when you get to it.

Caligula, on the other hand, had basically all his male family members die under suspicious circumstances, then Tiberius put him under house arrest, after Tiberius bit it he tried to be a 'good emperor', then he got so sick (as in 'he might not live' sick, and it's a coinflip of if it was poison or not) that it likely screwed with his brain, said sickness likely caused him to get paranoid as heck leading to going into Tiberius's habits, added his own habit of giving the aristocrats ludicrous bribes every year which seriously drained the treasury, making the Empire more democratic and egalitarian (which royally pissed off the Senate and patricians), and then there is hearsay/rumors/stuff we can't fully substantiate like the reasons for running his horse as Consul and why he decided to declare war on a god of the ocean.

The dynasty that Caligula and Nero belonged to had serious issues, issues that future propagandists used as fuel and canvas for their propaganda.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWX7GQ2GuCI&ab_channel=HistoryAbridgedwithJackRackam

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfJNmYuFFL8
The biggest problem is peeling away the layers of propaganda.

 

[ATP]

It's kind of both. People forget that the best type of propaganda is just an exaggeration that isn't overboard instead of something made up wholesale or far out of proportion (for example, a lot of the propaganda that Britain and France did against Germany was so ludicrous that it kept the horrors of the Holocaust from being realized until the WAllies got to the camps themselves).

To give you an idea, when he ascended to full-on Emperor, Nero wanted to keep family business out of politics, respect the Senate, and do similar things while getting closer to the publeans. Agrippina was against that, leading to the matricide. While Rome burned (and he used many of the city's burned sections to build his mega-palace), we've got reports that he was directing the firefighting efforts. After the fire, he allowed displaced citizens to use the (future-old) palace as a refuge. At the same time, he rebuilt Rome, made new building codes, strengthened the fire department, and increased the water capacity of the city while blaming the Christians. Let's say Nero is a ball of '... what...' when you get to it.

Caligula, on the other hand, had basically all his male family members die under suspicious circumstances, then Tiberius put him under house arrest, after Tiberius bit it he tried to be a 'good emperor', then he got so sick (as in 'he might not live' sick, and it's a coinflip of if it was poison or not) that it likely screwed with his brain, said sickness likely caused him to get paranoid as heck leading to going into Tiberius's habits, added his own habit of giving the aristocrats ludicrous bribes every year which seriously drained the treasury, making the Empire more democratic and egalitarian (which royally pissed off the Senate and patricians), and then there is hearsay/rumors/stuff we can't fully substantiate like the reasons for running his horse as Consul and why he decided to declare war on a god of the ocean.

The dynasty that Caligula and Nero belonged to had serious issues, issues that future propagandists used as fuel and canvas for their propaganda.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWX7GQ2GuCI&ab_channel=HistoryAbridgedwithJackRackam

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfJNmYuFFL8
The biggest problem is peeling away the layers of propaganda.

Click to shrink...

Agree.German war crimes in WW1 were not so bad, except burning one or two towns in captured polish territories.Yet they still was showed as raping nuns and bayonetting infants,which,as far as i knew,never happened.

As a result,when germans send Eisetsgruppen to Poland in 1939 and made concentraction camps there,nobody belived polish envoys.
When polish envoy ,Karski,meet FDR in 1943 and start taking about Holocaust,he stopped him and ask how many horses Poland would buy in USA after war.

And at least Neron was not as bad as he was described.Althought he really murdered christians.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Agree.German war crimes in WW1 were not so bad, except burning one or two towns in captured polish territories.Yet they still was showed as raping nuns and bayonetting infants,which,as far as i knew,never happened.

Click to shrink...

This is a prime example of how bad (aka overexaggerated in this example) propaganda screws you over. British propaganda of the Germans was so over the top that it caused a sort of 'why we're even fighting the enemy' effect with the troops and stained anything bad afterward.

As a result,when germans send Eisetsgruppen to Poland in 1939 and made concentraction camps there,nobody belived polish envoys.
When polish envoy ,Karski,meet FDR in 1943 and start taking about Holocaust,he stopped him and ask how many horses Poland would buy in USA after war.

Click to shrink...

People forget that Jews were never accepted in the vast majority of the planet. Progoms and killing Jews? Standard practice historically, especially in Europe. While Imperial Germany wasn't a good guy with the Jews, it was a saint compared to France or Britain. Even the US wasn't exempt from this, mind you. I may point to the KKK's repeated anti-Semitic (mainly in the former CSA) sprees during the 1930s as just one example.

 

[ATP]

This is a prime example of how bad (aka overexaggerated in this example) propaganda screws you over. British propaganda of the Germans was so over the top that it caused a sort of 'why we're even fighting the enemy' effect with the troops and stained anything bad afterward.

People forget that Jews were never accepted in the vast majority of the planet. Progoms and killing Jews? Standard practice historically, especially in Europe. While Imperial Germany wasn't a good guy with the Jews, it was a saint compared to France or Britain. Even the US wasn't exempt from this, mind you. I may point to the KKK's repeated anti-Semitic (mainly in the former CSA) sprees during the 1930s as just one example.

Click to shrink...

1.Yep,british propaganda was really over the top - which it made even more funny when brits from 1919 till 1938 supported germans again!
This time writing bullship about polish pogroms which never happened.

2.Only place which never exiled jews - Poland.And in case of France - jews still were only exiled and robbbed,when templars were robbed and burned by the same king....i really would prefer to be french jew compared to french templar then !

And USA - yes,democrats were antisemites - but also anti-catholics,anti-irish,anti-mexicans and anti-italians.
Basically,anti-everybody who is not WASP !