Also, the fact that on two famous occasions, he could be talked out of the violence - after having applied some of it already to Wilhelmine, granted - (the "don't be a Peter the Great or Philip of Spain!" homecoming scene from August 15th 1730), and if it happened the earlier time where General Mosel stopped him from attacking Fritz with a sword directly which I used as the springboard for my AU Fiat Justitia) - would indicate he had enough self control and self awareness during those rage times to stop IF he wanted to.
(Whereas, say, G3 during his mental breakdowns - both the earlier ones he recovered from and the final one he never did - was not able to stop out of his own free will.)
*nods* Yeah, the thing one sees with many abusive people is that they don't act abusively, or at least less obviously so, when it would have bad consequences for them. They break other people's stuff, not their own :P It's not absolutely clear to me from this description which Karl falls into, since obviously this did have bad consequences, but maybe he didn't fully understand that it would? On the other hand...
Now, here is how fiction ought to present what set Karl off, and why he couldn't get into specifics other than "honor required...":
Turin person: "Say, is it true you got the job just because your father was your King's boytoy for a brief time?"
LOL forever!! Okay, yeah, that would explain why he couldn't get into specifics, for sure!!
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timeasmymeasure
Re: A duel for science...or insanity??
Date: 2025-06-01 03:06 am (UTC)(Whereas, say, G3 during his mental breakdowns - both the earlier ones he recovered from and the final one he never did - was not able to stop out of his own free will.)
*nods* Yeah, the thing one sees with many abusive people is that they don't act abusively, or at least less obviously so, when it would have bad consequences for them. They break other people's stuff, not their own :P It's not absolutely clear to me from this description which Karl falls into, since obviously this did have bad consequences, but maybe he didn't fully understand that it would? On the other hand...
Now, here is how fiction ought to present what set Karl off, and why he couldn't get into specifics other than "honor required...":
Turin person: "Say, is it true you got the job just because your father was your King's boytoy for a brief time?"
LOL forever!! Okay, yeah, that would explain why he couldn't get into specifics, for sure!!