Lets Play / Mahu

"Strategy games turned into stories. Nothing good ever happens here"

Mahu is a youtuber specializing in creating narrative let's plays, mostly of strategy games like Total War and Stellaris. In his videos, he uses a mixture of gameplay footage with dialogue between characters and sections of narrative to explain more of the events taking place in the world at that moment.

His current narrative let's plays are at the moment:

• Crownless Eagle: Set in the beginning of the 18th century, "Crownless Eagle" sees the many changes of the Polish Commonwealth as it fights for survival against an ever-growing number of foes. From a weakening kingdom to one of Europe's first Republic, the history of this Commonwealth will not match that of its real-life counterpart. The series ended the 23rd of September in 2017 after 25 episodes.

• Second Chance: Taking place centuries after the end of "Crownless Eagle", "Second Chance" details the aftermath of humanity's exodus from Earth before the landing of a world-ending meteorite. Turning the near-frozen world of Ortus into their new home, the remains of humanity not only grow, but thrive, to the point where they are ready to expand across the stars. The series ended the 19th of April in 2019 after 36 episodes.

• The Wheel of Fate: The Winter of the Mayan civilization has finally come. While cities of the once-great empire war between one-another or are abandoned forever, there are still those who are not willing to lose hope. On great pyramid ships, they brave the oceans in search of a new land. They find it, right on the islands North of Japan. The series ended the 5th of October in 2019 after 9 episodes.

• Frozen Flame: After decades of King Seron Erigen's tyrannical rule, people of Kingdom of Sathen rise up to free their nation from the violent monarch. Led by ambitious lesser lords and commoners, the revolution engulfs the Kingdom in matter of weeks and very soon royal family finds itself surrounded in the capital city, unable to make even a single move without being monitored by traitors, spies and collaborators that surround them. But as the King stubbornly holds on to his last stronghold in an unwinnable battle, his youngest son Arius, together with his mentor and lifelong friend, flee to the very edge of the world. There they hope to find refuge from revolutionary agents, find means to rebuild their forces and return home to restore the kingdom to its rightful ruler.

But what will await them in the faraway islands at the edge of civilization? Will the fallen prince find the solutions he seeks? Or will his journey take him in another direction altogether?

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Tropes.

A-H

• Absolute Xenophobe: Races like the Yaanari or the Thadrakos see other alien races to be only useful as slave labour. The Dyss and the Empire do not even tolerate the existance of other races, purging them from any new planet they conquer.
• Action Girl: In "Second Chance", Satayesh Ibrahim and Shu Lin are both experienced and respected admirals who easily qualify for this trope.
• A Fate Worse Than Death: Being captured by the Zracon is seen by this. If they are lucky, their minds will be able to resist the brainwashing and they will suffer a quick death. If not, they will become fanatics to the Zracon cause, ready to kill anyone, including their own friends and families.
• After the End: The story of "Second Chance" takes place after humanity flees from Earth to avoid being annihilated by an incoming meteorite. Only a few million manage to go through the strange gate in Istanbul before the end and reach a new, unknown world.
• Alternate History: His Let's Play of the "Crownless Eagle" sees Poland not only surviving the 18th century, but also turning from a Monarchy to a powerful Republic. More than that, this "First Republic" fights and conquers many of its neighbours, including Prussia, Russia and Austria.
• A Million Is a Statistic: Planet invasions and defences in "Second Chance" see tens of millions of soldiers fighting and dying in little more than months, if not weeks.
• Anyone Can Die: In both "Crownless Eagle" and "Second Chance", important characters may die at any moment, both in and outside the battlefield.
• Attack Animal: The Galactic Commonwealth makes use of creatures known as "Minervan Spiders". Trained and genetically modified to kill anything within sight, they are only used when there are no civilians nearby, as the spiders' brains cannot distinguish friend from foe (even sometimes attacking their own trainers).
• Badass Army: The army of Stanislaw Poniatowski can be considered this. Made of veteran soldiers who have fought for both the crown and the republic, they are seen as the strongest army in the whole Commonwealth, even when most of their armies are also of high quality and have some of the best equipment.
• Bayonet Ya: Line troops from the Commonwealth in "Crownless Eagle" use this tactic quite often, especially in sieges.
• Big Eater: The Biluan drones seek to consume all living beings unlucky enough to stand in their path.
• Bigger Is Better: In "Second Chance", while all fleets tend to have a mixture of ship types, the largest ships tend to carry the greatest amounts of weaponry. However, they are also often quite slow and difficult to maneuver away from incoming torpedoes.
• Bittersweet Ending: In "Crownless Eagle", centuries after the creation of the Commonwealth Republic, humanity is faced by annihilation as a meteorite arrives from outter space. Thus, while the Commonwealth managed to become a superpower in the end, the fact that the Earth is going to be destroyed makes this accomplishment almost void.
• Blackand White Morality: For the Zracon, there are only two kinds of people. There are those who have accepted the "Light" and those who are contaminated by the shadow. The second group is dangerous and, unless it is converted to the "truth of the light", it should be purged before it does too much harm to the galaxy.
• Brainwashed: The Zracon priesthood uses this to "convert" other races, turning them into fanatical believers of their faith.
• Cadreof Foreign Bodyguards: While he is the elected monarch of the Polish Commonwealth, King Augustus II the "Strong" is also the elector of Saxony. Therefore, his royal guard is made of soldiers from this city state.
• Cliffhanger: Many of Mahu's episode end like this, especially in "Second Chance".
• Clone Army: As technology advances and battles become bloodier and bloodier, the Commonwealth begins to create whole clone armies to fight in their wars.
• Combat Pragmatist: Most Commonwealth generals follow this trope, though there are some who have their limits.
• Continuity Nod: There are references of "Crownless Eagle" in Second Chance and viceversa.
• Cool Sword: The energy-blades of the Karthemas knights. If they manage to get within close distance of their target, they can kill nearly anything, from infantry to tanks and mechs.
• Court Mage: Mr. Storm, friend and mentor to prince Arius, is both a powerful mage and a member of the old kingdom's court.
• Crippling Overspecialization: As the Galactic Commonwealth continues to expand across the galaxy, some of its planets reach a really high level of specialization (like Curacao, which is basically a planet-sized factory). There are some fears that such focus on just one thing might proove to be detrimental in the future.
• Culture Clash: In "Second Chance" the Commonwealth meet many new races and strange realms in the galaxy.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: In "Crownless Eagle", the armies of the Commonwealth Republic are rarely defeated by their enemies even when outnumbered.
• Darkand Troubled Past: The exodus and the first years in the planet of Ortus nearly saw the death of humanity.
• Death World: Voice, homeworld of the Biluan.
• Elaborate Underground Base: Since the surface of Ortus is covered by mostly ice and snow, most of the humans who arrived to the planet made their homes underground. Using natural caves and building new ones with what materials they had, they built villages, towns and even cities.
• Enemy Civil War: After losing a number of wars against the Biluan Mind and the Commonwealth, the remains of the Kingdom of Yadra suffer a bloody civil war which sees millions of Karthemas dead.
• Evil Sorcerer: In "Frozen Flame" there are stories of a great mage which devastated the continent, only to be defeated by the the father of prince Arius. Some of its minions still roam the land and are quite dangerous.
• Fictional Political Party: The Galactic Commonwealth has a wide range of political parties.
• Fragile Speedster: Mounted lancers are swift and deadly whenever they charge an enemy force. On the other hand, they do not last as long as sword-wielding cavalry in prolonged melees.
• Galactic Conquerer: In "Second Chance", the Commonwealth expands quickly across the stars. While the expansion is done mostly through conquest, a good number of planets are conquered by the nation's fleets and armies.
• Galactic Superpower: Several in the "Second Chance" series, including the Commonwealth and The Empire.
• Ghost Planet: Many planets in the galaxy of "Second Chance" have ruined temples, sculptures and even whole abandoned cities. Only after some research does humanity learn the reason for the lack of life in these planets and that reason is seldom pretty...
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Drahoslav Tesar and Takumi Ishii (first president and prime minister of the Galactic Commonwealth each) both work well with one-another and are close friends.
• Historical Domain Character: King Augustus of Poland, king of Poland in real life during the late 17th century and early 18th, becomes a bitter foe of the Republic after being deposed.
• Hive Mind: The Biluan Mind controls legions of mindless drones, with the only objective of feeding.
• Hired Guns: The Galactic Commonwealth uses different mercenary companies during their wars. Such companies include specialized formations like "The 10,000" and "The Shadow Templars", each one focused on a different aspect of war.
• Historical Fiction: Unlike what happened in real life, the Polish Commonwealth in "Crownless Eagle" does not only survive the 18th century, but also becomes one of the great superpowers of the world.
• Holdthe Line: The Commonwealth's main strategy on the Biluan homeworld of "Voice" They expect it to be a very difficult fight and still are unprepared for the battle which follows
• Honor Before Reason: Quite often averted, especially in "Second Chance" where the whole Commonwealth is based on the ideal of reason over personal feelings.
• Humanoid Aliens: A good number of alien races in "Second Chance" like the Karthemas, Biluan or the Thadrakos follow this trope.

I-Z

• I Did What I Had to Do: King Augustus feels no remorse about the ordering the assassination of the president of the Commonwealth
• I'm a Humanitarian: The Thadrakos are a good example of this.
• Immortal Ruler: The Empress of the Eternal Empire
• Impaledwith Extreme Prejudice: The most common tactic of the Commonwealth's Republic Honor Guard. Riding their horses at top speed, their charge can easily kill dozens of soldiers (mounted or not) in a matter of seconds.
• Jerkass:King Augustus is not what you would call a beloved monarch.
• Kill Itwith Fire: After several wars against the Biluan Mind, the Galactic Commonwealth realizes there is only one way to stop this Hive Mind for good. They decide to drill with heavy machinery into the homeworld/Queen of the Biluan race. The magma which will come out will burn then the whole planet, ending the Biluan menace for good.
• Knight Templar: The Zracons in general follow this trope, converting all those who do not follow their religion by force and killing anyone who resists.
• Large Ham: The Thadrakos mecenas (pirates of the Thadrakos race who search for art rather than gold) have no trouble chewing all the scenary in the area.
• Longevity Treatment: Humans in "Second Chance" easily live beyond the one-hundred-year mark.
• Made of Iron: During the Siege of Stockholm, cavalry general Sebastian Stolarski is hit by a bullet and thought dead. Miraculously, and thanks in no small part to the aid of a Swedish doctor, he survives and continues the war with Sweden as the only commander still alive after the bloody battle.
• Mecha-Mooks: As the Commonwealth develops new and more efficient technology, its armies use more and more battledroids as front-line troops. While the nation's citizens still can fight in the army as elite forces, the droids make the core of the army and often take the most casualties.
• MegaCorp: In "Second Chance", the Ahadi are a race whose nation is practically a mega corporation and is run as such.
• Mile-Long Ship: In "Second Chance", as both the Commonwealth and the rest of races in the galaxy continue to develop their navies, large battleships are seen more and more. The strongest fleets can go as far as to have a dozen battleships ready for battle, their firepower alone easily matching that of other navies from minor nations.
• Nervesof Steel: Admiral Ibrahim very rarely shows fear, one of the reasons why she is known in the Commonwealth (and beyond its borders too) as the "Ice Queen".
• Noble Fugitive: Prince Arius was forced to flee his kingdom's capital after its capture by revolutionaries and the execution of his whole family.
• Not Himself: In "Second Chance", many psionic users in the Commonwealth are at the same time mind controlled so they will attack and "behead" the nation's government and high ranking officials all at once. Luckily, the Commonwealth survives this attack from the inside, but not without an important number of losses.
• Not So Stoic: Ice Queen Ibrahim, admiral of Task Force Manticore, is known for being cold and professional. Still, even she cannot her fangirling once she meets the scientist and legendary explorer Shen Kuo.
• Orbital Bombardment: A really common tactic in "Second Chance". The Galactic Commonwealth never begins an assault without having first shelled a planet's fortifications. Even when the land forces arrive, the fleet continues to give fire support from orbit.
• Praetorian Guard: The Honour Guard of the first Commonwealth Republic. An elite force of well-trained mounted lancers, they fulfill the duties of being the president's bodyguard and taking part in battles within and beyond the frontiers of the republic.
• Pretextfor War: In "Second Chance", most nations do not declare war unless there is a pretext behind it. This can range from the liberation of an enslaved race, to ending the expansion of a bloodthirsty empire.
• Privateer: In "Crownless Eagle", the Commonwealth's adventures in the Americas see them fight whole armies of pirates as they try to conquer new islands and plantations.
• Qualityover Quantity: As the Galactic Commonwealth continues to fight in new and more bloody wars, the army changes so there are fewer and fewer volunteer soldiers and more battledroids. These regular soldiers however are trained up to the standard of the elite of other races.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: The Commonwealth in both "Crownless Eagle" and "Second Chance" usually does have reasonable leaders who truly care for their people.
• Rising Empire: The Commonwealth in the "Crownless Eagle" and the remains of humanity in "Second Chance" start as weak or small, yet end up growing into nearly unstoppable powerhouses as more time goes on.
• Sole Survivor: Prince Arius is the last surviving member of his family, all of whom were either killed by revolutionaries during the siege of the capital, or executed after being captured. Without the help of his friend and mentor, Mr. Storm, the prince would more than likely have shared his family's fate.
• Space Navy: The Galactic Commonwealth, known as "Task Force Manticore", fits this trope.
• Space Opera: The series "Second Chance" fits this trope.
• Take No Prisoners: A common theme when it comes to the Biluan Mind or the Dyss.
• Terraform: The Galactic Commonwealth starts to do this when they get the technology, tools and resources necessary.
• The Alliance: In "Crownless Eagle", both the Commonwealth and Austria both create strong alliances to prepare for war against each-other. In "Second Chance", to the South of the Galactic Commonwealth, exists an alliance of different alien realms known as the "Galactic Entente" which also fits this trope.
• The Dreaded: In "Second Chance", the Biluan Mind and the mindless hordes of drones it controls can be seen as this.
• The Federation:The Galactic Entente, Condign League, and Celestial Alliance are all Federations made up various nations and species.
• The Paragon Always Rebels:Stanislaw Poniatowski, one of the best commanders in the whole Commonwealth, goes rogue for some time in Russia, nearly starting a civil war
• The Short War: In "Crownless Eagle" the civil war between the loyalists of King Augustus and the people who wish for the Republic is over in one short yet bloody battle. This is mostly due to the mechanics of Empire Total war.
• The Stoic: Admiral Ibrahim is known as the "Ice Queen" and seldom shows any emotion in front of her men or fellow officers.
• Urban Warfare: A constant in "Crownless Eagle", as the armies of the Commonwealth often take part in sieges.
• Veteran Unit: In "Crownless Eagle", several Commonwealth regiments gain quite a lot of experience as they first defend the country's borders and later expand them.
• Violence Isthe Only Option: In "Second Chance", several of the galaxy's nations follow this policy when it comes to other races. While peaceful in nature, the Galactic Commonwealth also is ready to use violence, especially when facing a foe they believe they cannot reason with.
• War Is Hell: Both in his "Crownless Eagle" and "Second Chance".
• Warrior Prince: King Erigen is considered to be the best warrior of all of Sathen, maybe even the whole continent. His skill as a warrior though,does not seem to match his skill as a ruler.
• We Have Reserves: The Biluan Mind uses this tactic quite often, both when it comes to its armies and its fleets.
• You Arein Command Now: Both in "Crownless Eagle" and "Second Chance" commanders die in the battlefield, leaving a spot other officers need to fill up.
• You Can't Go Home Again: In "Second Chance", humanity fled Earth to a new, strange galaxy they literally know nothing about. Many of them want to return back to their previous homeworld, but as time goes by and those who were born on Earth dissapear, this feeling also banishes.
• Zerg Rush: The Biluan Mind uses near endless numbers of drones to overwhelm and beat its foes.