forcon
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Post by forcon on Nov 29, 2020 22:56:52 GMT
Not so much Alternate History but a political thriller; I'd like to one day write a story where a cabal of US intelligence/military/Congressional bigwigs including the commander of CENTCOM, the director of the CIA, and some connected Senators and Congresspersons mount a covert operation with the intention of starting a war between the US and Iran.
They use the CIA to equip some Iranian rebels and contract them to conduct a false-flag attack against the US Embassy in Baghdad, which can be blamed on Iran in order to provoke the US into retaliating.
I'm the end, the plot unravels as a junior CIA officer in on the plot agrees to turn state's evidence against the cabal, but the ramifications for the military industrial complex are massive.
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Zyobot
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Post by Zyobot on Nov 30, 2020 2:28:09 GMT
Not so much Alternate History but a political thriller; I'd like to one day write a story where a cabal of US intelligence/military/Congressional bigwigs including the commander of CENTCOM, the director of the CIA, and some connected Senators and Congresspersons mount a covert operation with the intention of starting a war between the US and Iran. They use the CIA to equip some Iranian rebels and contract them to conduct a false-flag attack against the US Embassy in Baghdad, which can be blamed on Iran in order to provoke the US into retaliating. I'm the end, the plot unravels as a junior CIA officer in on the plot agrees to turn state's evidence against the cabal, but the ramifications for the military industrial complex are massive. Suddenly, the whole "Deep State" narrative that conspiracy theorists like to blather about would actually hold water after all. Not only would the ramifications be massive like you say, they'd explode like a tinderbox that could render America an international pariah state and trigger political revolution within the nation itself. And somehow, I doubt that voting the current leadership out democratically will be nearly enough to satisfy a livid, heavily armed electorate when it'd be in the government's best interests to actually appease the angry masses. By which I mean lining the ringleaders up against the wall, abolishing the CIA and disclosing all its activities, letting irate states secede without penalty, and so on. But now I'm summarizing what probably happens before it's even been published. |
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Zyobot
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Post by Zyobot on Dec 1, 2020 16:49:06 GMT
Though this may not become a full-blown TL, I've been pondering how Star Wars would be if it were an anarcho-capitalistic setting, rather than the "merely" economically unfettered one from OTL Prequels. An interesting comment on this appeared in AH.com's Miscellaneous Star Wars Thread, which I'm thinking to expand upon further someday. In order to make this happen, perhaps the denizens of the galaxy are somehow possessed to just live and let live in accordance with some sort of NAP equivalent or something. Maybe people become sick and tired of the periodic wars waged by governments throughout the setting to the point where, eventually, they finally say "f--k it!" and live their lives as they please? Whatever the means to getting there, I’d also guess that having it take place long before/after the Prequels—or even making those not unfold as they did IOTL—might be a prerequisite (considering how many of the era’s excesses are associated with unfettered capitalism gone awry in the eyes of the galactic public, even if that’s not truly the case). Working from a similar premise as this, I'm thinking of starting a derivative writing project called Galaxy Gone Wild or something like that. Set maybe five-hundred or so years after the Battle of Yavin, it explores how the Galaxy becomes an anarchistic setting reminiscent of the Old American West (or, better yet, the Outer Rim copy-pasted everywhere). As such, it's almost entirely ungoverned and occupied by a population that distrusts concentrated authority and does business voluntarily, with self-sufficient individuals and private firms alike stepping in to perform what would usually be public services--arbitration, policing, infrastructural maintenance, and so on.
This anarcho-capitalistic approach, while with benefits like the ability to voluntarily experiment with different systems to see what works and lacking a central choke-point that tyrants or special interests can hijack to impose their will on the Galaxy at large, would also have its drawbacks. But from the viewpoint of the average galactic citizen, it's far superior to even having a small government that will eventually turn into a big government with inescapable reach (as it did under Palpatine). Indeed, that fear of a centralist takeover will be a recurring theme, albeit one that mostly shows in the growing excesses of the system and the likelihood that even though the current generation won't live to see an all-intrusive regime return, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren probably will. Let alone how they might actually be receptive to having a monopoly on force manage their lives!
Social organization aside, I also intend to weave my own insights and interpretation into the setting. I already made a point of how natural backlash towards Palpatine's legacy would invite a long-lasting skepticism towards big government, but technological advancement beyond minor new spins on basic things that already exist--blasters, droids, starships, and so on--will also receive spotlight here. Perhaps I'll borrow some concepts from Isaac Arthur and Orion's Arm, both of whom come up with far more imaginative ideas than soft sci-fi franchises like Star Wars proper. Besides, having super-weapons receive most of the big breakthroughs gets old at some point, and really over-emphasizes the more militaristic side of the mythos. Maybe I'll feature cool things like mind-uploading and ringworlds that encircle stars, or at the beginnings of astronomical construction projects that make the Death Star look like a LEGO set.
While I'll deal with specific characters from time to time (and I have a few of those in the works already), they'll mainly be featured in the occasional short stories, as opposed to being centerpieces around which the writing revolves. This being a world-building project, perhaps the best analogy to describe it is as more of an encyclopedic guide to the Galaxy (though that's still, admittedly, somewhat imprecise).
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Dec 1, 2020 19:05:21 GMT
What kind of story ideas can we post here?
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James G
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Post by James G on Dec 1, 2020 19:31:10 GMT
What kind of story ideas can we post here? All, any. Whatever you wish. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Dec 1, 2020 19:54:02 GMT
Well in that case, there is a Game of Thrones fanfic that I wanted to write, but seeing as I haven't watched the entire series yet or read the books, I might not be able to. However, I watched all three Lord of the Rings videos, so it might be a bit more leaning to the side, although I haven't watched the Hobbit and its sequels.
Another Game of Thrones based fic ideas that I had was that instead of writing a letter to Stannis, Ned goes to Dragonstone on the pretense that Robert ordered him to fetch Stannis, only to reveal to the Lord of Dragonstone of the Hand's real intention. Though Ned will still die, the major change is when Robb Stark pledges his Northern troops to Stannis's cause. I might throw in a pairing involving Robb and Arianne Martell, and maybe Arya and Edric Dayne.
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Post by La Rouge Beret on Dec 2, 2020 0:34:45 GMT
I have a couple that are 'in the works' at the moment. The first is writing the finale for my Rooftop of the World series, which has just a roadblock with my writer's block & finding time to write. Two critical ingredients although since I've spent so much time plotting I've found that when I am able to sporadically write that I can do so quite quickly. The second is an Australian '13 Days' where Indonesia goes nuclear and, we have to decide whether we want to strike at the sites or allow them to acquire that capability. It has been inspired by ssgtc 's thread and, I've had some really fun conversations with a few posters. Plus it also gives me an excuse to buy a ship model kit (either HMS Victorious or HMS Ark Royal) and to modify an aircraft model kit to fit (kit bashing a F - 4 B with a F - 4K) aboard a smaller aircraft carrier. There has also been an idea I've had for some time now, where the protagonist overthrows the communist junta in his Central American country, but antagonises the Americans in his conduct (i.e. cleaning house from the previous government). Ultimately he ends up playing an excellent hand & brings his country back into the fold by introducing a constitutional monarchy (Spain). Massive butterflies and it would be a lot of fun to write. The final is a potential surviving New France TL, that could either be a Self Insert or a pure POD change. I'm 50 / 50 on either course of action right now. |
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Post by fieldmarshal on Dec 4, 2020 17:37:39 GMT
A couple I've been bouncing around
Untitled Wonky World War 2 TL
Vague outline for a vastly different WW2 in which the alternate Axis Powers are led by Poland (now the leading state of a powerful Intermarium Federation) and China (successfully modernized, unified, and expansionist). Not really sure how to make it more plausible, just a somewhat silly idea in which the first states to get invaded in WW2 are instead the aggressors.
Untitled "Realistic" Draka TL
Soft AH based on S.M. Stirling's Domination of the Draka. Same rough PoD as the original (Netherland's entry into American Revolutionary War sees Britain seize the Cape Colony and later resettle many Loyalists there) but handled in a somewhat more "realistic" fashion. Rather than turn into a world-dominating empire, the Crown Colony of Drakia develops into the Federal Republic of South Africa - an Anglo-dominated, nuclear-armed, white supremacist nation controlling South Africa, Namibia, Rhodesia, Bechuanaland and possibly Mozambique. Slavery continued longer than OTL but is eventually done away with in the 1890s and replaced with an even stricter version of Apartheid that does it's best to limit black births and develop a white majority population.
Untitled Nightmare 1990s TL
Inspired by works such as Spiraling Out of Control and A Giant Sucking Sound, a 1990s timeline where everything that can go wrong pretty much does. Highlights include:
- a worse Gulf War that sees Iraq and Yemen invade Saudi Arabia after conquering Kuwait
- Yugoslavia being even bloodier than OTL
- race war in South Africa
- an early COVID-style pandemic
- the Soviet Union slouches on for a few more years 1990 before descending into bloody civil war sometime in the late 90s-2000s
- the United States wracked with racial and political unrest and violence
- an early 9/11 that results in an early War on Terror and the foundation of a Department of Domestic Security under President Joe Liebermann
- political assassinations galore
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Zyobot
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Post by Zyobot on Jan 5, 2021 19:24:33 GMT
Per my interest in both Warhammer 40K and World War Two, I've been dreaming up a scenario in which Heinrich Himmler converts to Chaos at the start of 1942. If it ever becomes a full-fledged fan work, perhaps I'll call it Eight-Arrowed Swastika, considering the violent ideological overhaul that Nazi Germany would undergo as soon as Himmler puts his plans into motion. Maybe as he's rummaging through his various materials on the occult, he picks up a mysterious text bearing an eight-arrowed symbol that he's never seen before. After thumbing through it and moving on with his day--but unable to get the images of unknown demons and tales of this thing called the Warp out of his head--he becomes dizzy. Soon, he starts hearing voices that speak of the power he could wield if he gave into his temptations. He struggles and clutches his head, vomiting blood onto the floor and screaming his lungs out as the voices become impossible to resist. After a few minutes, it all suddenly stops. Then his groans of pain turn to mad cackling, and the Reichsfuhrer stands up to roar his praises towards Chaos Undivided. With that, Heinrich Himmler becomes the first of many to pledge fealty to the Dark Gods. Having been corrupted by Chaos and receiving all manner of perfidious "gifts" from his new masters, Himmler would little doubt seek to overthrow Hitler somehow. Unless he becomes overpowered quickly so that not even the full might of the Reich can stand in his way, he’ll need soldiers to help him. To that end, maybe Himmler corrupts a bunch of SS members, specifically those who are serving far from prying eyes (and are therefore unlikely to get caught in advance). The battle-hardened cohorts serving on the Ostfront could do nicely.
This being shortly after 1942 starts, perhaps Himmler is able to nab up Reinhard Heydrich before he’s assassinated by the Czech resistance in June of that same year. In which case, my impression is that Heydrich would become a devotee of Slaanesh. Potentially even something of a Lucius the Eternal come early, vanity and fencing skills and all.
Being a militarized band of psychopaths and criminals known for its brutality, the Dirlewagner Brigade would probably turn to Khorne. Old Oskar himself would amass a reputation as one of the Blood God's more "dishonorable" devotees, his penchant for sadism having only been exacerbated by his conversion.
Depending on exactly how the battle lines are drawn and what kind of conflict takes place between Himmler’s forces and the rest of Germany, I can see other Nazis turning to Chaos to fight them off as well. For instance, maybe if he finds out about Hitler somehow being poisoned/assassinated/murdered at Himmler’s behest, Joseph Goebbels turns to Malal, and is “blessed” with the “gifts” he needs to compete with Himmler's general miscellany of Chaotic forces.
The result would probably entail a horrific German civil war, though what that means for other factions such as the USSR or W/Allies, I don’t know. Hopefully, Europe doesn’t wind up a total hellscape where daemons roam freely and Chaotic warbands fight for table scraps. |
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James G
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Post by James G on Jan 21, 2021 17:32:26 GMT
B Company
Set in the modern day, an infantry company from a British Army regiment is on deployment in Ulster. Those serving with B Company are there as peacekeepers among a larger force.
The situation is vastly different from the near-peace there is seen now. Instead, there are cross-border rocket attacks - homemade weapons but also stolen military ones from abroad - and IEDs. The company members have many different feelings on the politics of all of this situation with them keeping those to themselves though. They see some horrible things and some do some horrible things themselves.
The conflict goes on regardless of what they do/think.
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Zyobot
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Just a time-traveling robot stranded on Earth.
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Post by Zyobot on Jan 21, 2021 20:02:16 GMT
Expanding on an idea I came up with elsewhere, I'm thinking of writing a Danny Phantom fanfic called Ember Reacts. Essentially, it takes the theory that Ember died in the 1970s and runs with it by having her give her two cents on the modern world. This presumes she's more or less a fish out of water when it comes to current events and pop culture, of course. Namely, via Ember starting a YouTube channel where she not only posts music videos and footage of her concerts, but also her reactions to the various wonders and horrors of the internet Her bafflement at Gen Z humor and slang aside, she'll have also given up on the whole villain business and made an honest living sometime prior to the start of the fic. Hopefully, that'll have given her time to become less vicious and more friendly with her fans (e.g. interacting with them in live-streamed Q&As). Other Danny Phantom characters will make appearances too, such as college-aged Danny & Friends regularly monitoring Ember to make sure she's being a good girl. Not to mention a home-schooled Danielle causing constant mischief at home. |
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Post by fieldmarshal on Jan 23, 2021 13:29:49 GMT
I'm thinking of writing a Danny Phantom fanfic called Ember Reacts. |
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Zyobot
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Post by Zyobot on Jan 23, 2021 19:29:45 GMT
I'm thinking of writing a Danny Phantom fanfic called Ember Reacts. ...That’d certainly be darker, though I imagine that even with a record of villainy under her belt, Ember would still have enough standards to disown murderous lunatics like Stair. It’d be good for her PR, if nothing else. Anyhow, given the dubious chronology here (the show aired from 2004 to 2007), I’m wondering when the fic should take place? I’m aware that just because it aired in the mid-2000s doesn’t mean that it necessarily took place back then. Even so, maybe I should either a) make it non-specific, but with distinctly modern tropes like smartphones in every hand or b) have it set in the early 2010s as a compromise (sometime during Obama’s first term, to be specific). In any case, Ember wouldn’t age, though I’m thinking that Team Phantom would be college-aged at this point. Thanks to how fame brings money with it, Danny would own his own house by now, with Danielle living with him and being home-schooled. Sam and Tucker would also make appearances from time to time, as would various other characters associated with Danny and Ember both. |
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forcon
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Post by forcon on Jan 29, 2021 12:55:15 GMT
Kompromat:
A deep-cover pair of SVR illegals run several agents in DC in the run-up to the outbreak of war in the Baltic States while the FBI and Army Counterintelligence work to stop them.
The first agent is a family-values Republican Congressman who was Honey-trapped and secretly recorded partaking in a sordid affair.
The second is a Navy officer working out of the Pentagon who is in it for the money.
The third is a 'true believer' a civilian Pentagon staffer who is also a Qanon fanatic who slipped through the net.
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James G
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Post by James G on Jan 29, 2021 13:02:23 GMT
Kompromat: A deep-cover pair of SVR illegals run several agents in DC in the run-up to the outbreak of war in the Baltic States while the FBI and Army Counterintelligence work to stop them. The first agent is a family-values Republican Congressman who was Honey-trapped and secretly recorded partaking in a sordid affair. The second is a Navy officer working out of the Pentagon who is in it for the money. The third is a 'true believer' a civilian Pentagon staffer who is also a Qanon fanatic who slipped through the net. Like this a lot. I have something in my ideas notebook called 'Kompromat'. Its similar but British-based. Soon someone is going to do a TV series, novel, web-story and the title - which I find so cool - will be taken for good! |
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