Zugzwang
Summary: Miriam Toller considered herself a realist. Nothing 'magical' ever happens without logic. When she finds herself in what was supposed to be a funny anime show, she sees what really happened with the countries personifications behind the humor and parody of World War II. JapanxOC
Prologue
I always compared war to chess. A game I played ever since I was a little girl. Many sacrifices are made for the sake of winning. Every war I've learned about, I compared it to chess. From the crusades to the second World War. One method I am familiar with is zugzwang. A position in which one player can move only with loss or severe disadvantage. From German words, 'zug' which means pull or tug, and 'zwang' which means force or compulsion. I've marked a zugzwang in many historical events. When General Custer's army practically threw themselves at Sitting Bull and the Native Americans or when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union.
Without the queen, the king is defenseless. I would think of when the Americans 'surrendered' during the Revolutionary War or Napoleon's army invading Russia, which lead to the Earth Scorch policy, and the French army starved. The British and the French let their guards down, thinking they were invincible.
There are also draws. The British and Irish called a truce to split the land after Michael Collins started an undercover war or when Spain and the Netherlands made a compromise for supplies during the Dutch Revolt.
Then of course, there's Checkmate, the finishing move. When the Union soldiers destroyed the towns in the South during the American Civil War, the Americans dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Hitler's suicide.
It's ironic how war is so eerily similar to chess. But there is no real bloodshed during chess. After all, it's only a game. Not only war but history itself seemed tied to a simple game.