Remove ads

Alt History ideas, rec and general discussion thread

I need a second opinion on how gender roles in post-revolution Spartakist Germany would theoretically develop between 1920-1950.

This scenario will have Germany allied with the Soviets while Italy and France turn increasingly reactionary.

(Yes, I've read the entries in The Laurent's quest.)
 
Last edited:
I've observed in the past that a Grantville from the 2010s would be a very different animal than Grantville from the 1990s.
 
the atom said:
In what sense?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Grantville in the 2010s would not have nearly as many resources as 1990s Grantville, having been hollowed out by deindustrialization, recession, and the opioid epidemic. Most of those young people who end up being main characters in Grantville would probably have left seeking better opportunities, or fallen deeper into poverty. The politics would also be much different, way more reactionary - sure the UMWA would still exist, but there would be fewer coal miners than ever, and polarization would be bad. Sure, West Virginia voted for Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton, but it is also, obviously, deep Trump country. There would be a powerful nativist and jingoistic faction in Grantville, one that would probably control its politics.

Harry Lefferts, that cool adventurer and freedom fighter from the books? Imagine him as an unemployed opium addict cause the mines were shut down, or a seething ball of resentment towards "globalists" and "urban elites".
 
Mazeka said:
This scenario will have Germany allied with the Soviets while Italy and France turn increasingly reactionary.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well, in general, if you think about it, then either Marcel Déat or de la Rocque will most likely come to the fore. Jacques Dorriot - too pompous, prone to loud phrases, and conflict. Maurras is by nature a bookworm and theorist. Otherwise, you need to come up with a new character.
 
ScottishMongol said:
Grantville in the 2010s would not have nearly as many resources as 1990s Grantville, having been hollowed out by deindustrialization, recession, and the opioid epidemic. Most of those young people who end up being main characters in Grantville would probably have left seeking better opportunities, or fallen deeper into poverty. The politics would also be much different, way more reactionary - sure the UMWA would still exist, but there would be fewer coal miners than ever, and polarization would be bad. Sure, West Virginia voted for Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton, but it is also, obviously, deep Trump country. There would be a powerful nativist and jingoistic faction in Grantville, one that would probably control its politics.

Harry Lefferts, that cool adventurer and freedom fighter from the books? Imagine him as an unemployed opium addict cause the mines were shut down, or a seething ball of resentment towards "globalists" and "urban elites".
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Which is why I prefer to sticking towards the 90's Grantville for any crossovers or AU. Considering how badly the last twenty or so years have gone for such places.
Jake said:
That's a rather disturbing thought.

*sigh* You know something's gone terribly, terribly wrong when the Nineties start feeling like a lost golden age...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I was a kid during the Bush Years and now I rather miss it compared to the last 14 or so years.
 
Jake said:
That's a rather disturbing thought.

*sigh* You know something's gone terribly, terribly wrong when the Nineties start feeling like a lost golden age...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It depends on where you are. For most big urban centres the early 90s were a dark age the likes of which nothing over the past 30 years has come close. NYC had a murder rate comparable to modern El Salvador!
 
Comrade Future said:
Well, in general, if you think about it, then either Marcel Déat or de la Rocque will most likely come to the fore. Jacques Dorriot - too pompous, prone to loud phrases, and conflict. Maurras is by nature a bookworm and theorist. Otherwise, you need to come up with a new character.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Hmmm. The HOI4 mod had a military coup install Lyautey with options for Bucard or the Integralists to succeed him.

But let's put a pin on that and go back to the gender roles discussion.
 
Shaithan said:
SNIP
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Out of all of these I'd say the ones that would be most interesting are China, South America, India and the USA.

Since major disruptions are practically guaranteed I'm guessing reaching rough parity to the Silicon Age would take about 60 to 80 years. Though perspective wise it's likely there's going to be some tech divergence mixed in.
 
Thinking about Edgar Rice Burroughs and his various works. Specifically about a timeline where they were actually real. With Burroughs and his sources exaggerating or even outright lying about certain elements, while the rest was true broad strokes.

I'm wondering what such a world would look like and the legacy that it's various characters Tarzan, John Carter etc. would leave behind.

John Carter alone would be controversial considering his past on Earth. Compared to be a respected and well beloved hero on Mars.
 
PT12 said:
John Carter alone would be controversial considering his past on Earth. Compared to be a respected and well beloved hero on Mars.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I'm more confused here by Caspak and Pellucidar. The fact is that these lands are inhabited by dinosaurs, and Burroughs .... at best, used sources that are outdated at the moment.
 
Comrade Future said:
I'm more confused here by Caspak and Pellucidar. The fact is that these lands are inhabited by dinosaurs, and Burroughs .... at best, used sources that are outdated at the moment.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
They could be rewritten into places more in line with what we now know about dinosaurs or they could be the result of speculative evolution.


Honestly a world where most 19th/early 20th century literature would be cool.
 
Perhaps if you approach it from the angle of "these books are actual documents, but tinged with the biases of their time and place". Like, the John Carter books are considered to be actual accounts of a real person's visit to Barsoom, but they're not taken uncritically by historians - perhaps Carter embellished certain aspects of his life, or his descriptions of Barsoom's societies are considered inaccurate since Carter was, after all, not an anthropologist.
 
ScottishMongol said:
Perhaps if you approach it from the angle of "these books are actual documents, but tinged with the biases of their time and place". Like, the John Carter books are considered to be actual accounts of a real person's visit to Barsoom, but they're not taken uncritically by historians - perhaps Carter embellished certain aspects of his life, or his descriptions of Barsoom's societies are considered inaccurate since Carter was, after all, not an anthropologist.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Which does make sense considering he was a soldier turned prospector. Before getting transported to Barsoom. It's easy to see an earlier more intense space race taking off once it's realized other planets in the solar system are habitable. Especially considering the steampunk tech and fear of the tripod walkers.

Now stuff like Frankenstein and the Island of Doctor Moreau has some interesting implications.
 
PT12 said:
Now stuff like Frankenstein and the Island of Doctor Moreau has some interesting implications.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
PT12 said:
Honestly a world where most 19th/early 20th century literature would be cool.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well, I'd rather be "inspired" than just straight out borrowing and mixing. Otherwise, postmodern confusion will result - especially if we remember all the authors who have written about Mars.
 
PT12 said:
They could be rewritten into places more in line with what we now know about dinosaurs or they could be the result of speculative evolution.


Honestly a world where most 19th/early 20th century literature would be cool.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Or Burroughs' writing was working from very sparse accounts and connected the dots wrongly- an animal that is described looking like an early 20th century Dinosaur, so it's assumed to be what Dinosaurs actually looked like and is a living example of one, only for modern researchers to find that it's not closely related to Dinosaurs at all. Assumptions reinforcing assumptions.
 
Didn't Burroughs also write that short story Beyond Thirty, where Europe is sent back to the literal Stone Age after the Great War lasts 200 years?

It had three space-filling empires by the 22nd century — China, Abyssinia, and Pan-America.
 
Vannifar said:
Or Burroughs' writing was working from very sparse accounts and connected the dots wrongly- an animal that is described looking like an early 20th century Dinosaur, so it's assumed to be what Dinosaurs actually looked like and is a living example of one, only for modern researchers to find that it's not closely related to Dinosaurs at all. Assumptions reinforcing assumptions.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well, on Caspak, a fantastic system was generally described, when different types of creatures were, in fact, stages of growth of the same creature.
Mazeka said:
Didn't Burroughs also write that short story Beyond Thirty, where Europe is sent back to the literal Stone Age after the Great War lasts 200 years?
It had three space-filling empires by the 22nd century — China, Abyssinia, and Pan-America.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well, I remember "The Moon Maid", where at the time of the sixties the Anglo-British Union ruled the world, but later the Selenites captured the Earth .... until they were defeated by a group of Natives from the great Prairies.
 
Mazeka said:
Didn't Burroughs also write that short story Beyond Thirty, where Europe is sent back to the literal Stone Age after the Great War lasts 200 years?

It had three space-filling empires by the 22nd century — China, Abyssinia, and Pan-America.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Comrade Future said:
Well, I remember "The Moon Maid", where at the time of the sixties the Anglo-British Union ruled the world, but later the Selenites captured the Earth .... until they were defeated by a group of Natives from the great Prairies.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well probably best to ignore the future stuff and instead focus on his works that took place around the time he was alive.
 
I have an idea that I can't possibly forfil right now for various reasons. Chiefly, I've only recently gotten interested in the time period(s).

For now thevidea is called 1480.

The reason for this is that 3 land masses are transported to a new world. One identical in Earth except for where these countries are now.

One is a pre-colonial Australia, right in the center of things.

To the western side we have England towards the end of the War of Roses.

To the the eastern side we have Japan towards the start of the Sengoku period.

That's it, that's all to the idea. It's basically a Knight vs Samurai idea with extra steps and a much larger landmass for them to fight over. Again, just getting into the time period but thought it was a fun little idea.
 
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top