I would think about something like a video game where you are just one among millions and where you can make your own choices as the biggest advantage in my personal opinion is the deep lore and you would be able to use that by making something like a rpg. as for Nusa troops something like the aero force is going to have a major impact as in South America Bombing them is the most effective way you're going to "pacify" the population see probably seen more gaudy flare and drama from the sky boys with a giant ego
"What Madness Is This?" Volume II: Prophecies in the Dark
- Thread starter Napoleon53
- Start date
I think that it should also focus heavily on the black comedy elements. Think about how WH40k has lines like "One in two of our soldiers have been eviscerated by enemy troops. We still maintain numerical superiority."
Rivercat893
Banned
Well since my pitch of a WMIT Wattpad novel is basically a mashup of Fallout and WH40k, black comedy makes a lot of sense for the setting.
In my humble opinion, the concept of HOST is among the most underrated ITTL. I've been attracted for a time in the exploration of what kind of personality, interactions, sense of humor, mindset, etc have a literal army of brothers whose identity consist on being the sons of a nymphomaniac fundamentalist medium and are trained since childhood to accomplish crusading missions as it's own special force. As far as I know, there has never been something like this IOTL. They are pretty exceptional guys in that regard.
More progress on the 13th Mechanized. Lol I pitted them against a Worm creature for laughs, which the idea of is actually epic. Lmao I will eventually be gluing terrain textures to their bases, likely grass. Just a fun little project! They are still a WIP and subject to touching up before clear coat comes in.
And, noting their helmet graffiti, an interesting concept: I have already covered how Union officers take liberties with the uniform code to be as flashy or utilitarian as possible, mostly resulting in or worsening constant dick measuring contests. I realized the idea of ORRA shock troops and combat vets getting to graffiti their helmets with various symbols and words would function as a great morale boost to them. It would essentially serve the function of WWII Nose Art and D-Day Warpaint. The regular Army would of course wear official solid Olive Drab painted helmets and like it. Lol It would also further distance and snobbify the crazed ORRA radicals from their Army counterparts. And with the use of the gaudy striped armband even on their battle tunics would likely result in ORRA troopers saying "I wear my Eagle on my sleeve." Essentially mocking the Army for not wearing near-suicidal sniper pips for every Neutie with 1200 yards.
Last edited:
It would probably be (fictionally and ironically) made by the Irish, as they are probably unbiased in the history of the madness verse for the most part because they are ””””neutral”””” I think. If not, maybe it would be made by the Iranians.
I got it.
Ya boi walks into meet the gentlemen of the board of (insert any media company besides the M O U S E):
*ahem* *rolls down screen and film reel sounds*
"Lovecraftian SuperMormon Fallout with Victorian Sensibilities GrindhouseHammer 40k."
"In the coked-out, Cultist-infested, sideways-past-future of 1976, there is only the C H U C K Man and W O R M. And crippled religious tycoons getting tossed off zeppelins by their sons in what is most definitely not an expose of the author's personal feelings about his own childhood. Also, F L U I D S and P O C K E T B A C O N and C O N G O S E A."
Everyone in the room: "I have so many questions. None of them have sane answers. What madness is this?"
Me: "That's exactly what it is!" *Finger guns*
*Fifteen hours later*
"And THAT is when the President is visited by a possibly nonexistent alien space angel demonic entity that tells him to murder his son. Also, by the way, action figures! We're talking twelve-inch, six-inch, Aaron Burr plushies, the works. I want a Charles Goodyear blimp playset with bannister breaking action and maybe a Nerf contract to produce L I B E R T Y T O R C H E S. Anyway, now back to Billy Graham, future prophet and son of a warlock--" *gets shot by disgruntled executive*
I love this timeline. Lol
Ya boi walks into meet the gentlemen of the board of (insert any media company besides the M O U S E):
*ahem* *rolls down screen and film reel sounds*
"Lovecraftian SuperMormon Fallout with Victorian Sensibilities GrindhouseHammer 40k."
"In the coked-out, Cultist-infested, sideways-past-future of 1976, there is only the C H U C K Man and W O R M. And crippled religious tycoons getting tossed off zeppelins by their sons in what is most definitely not an expose of the author's personal feelings about his own childhood. Also, F L U I D S and P O C K E T B A C O N and C O N G O S E A."
Everyone in the room: "I have so many questions. None of them have sane answers. What madness is this?"
Me: "That's exactly what it is!" *Finger guns*
*Fifteen hours later*
"And THAT is when the President is visited by a possibly nonexistent alien space angel demonic entity that tells him to murder his son. Also, by the way, action figures! We're talking twelve-inch, six-inch, Aaron Burr plushies, the works. I want a Charles Goodyear blimp playset with bannister breaking action and maybe a Nerf contract to produce L I B E R T Y T O R C H E S. Anyway, now back to Billy Graham, future prophet and son of a warlock--" *gets shot by disgruntled executive*
I love this timeline. Lol
Last edited:
What Madness is This is, in my opinion, as unmarketable as it is enjoyable. It's like an extreme version of the Paper's Please Problem where the premise is so off-putting most people wouldn't give it a try without some good coercion. I don't think you could make a WMIT TV show or movie though without either powerblasting basically everything that makes it good away so that it becomes socially acceptable, or stepping on too many toes that it would be strangled in production.
A book though, if you still consider making stories out of it Napoleon, would probably work. They'd add the ability to give more context to the universe, something you desperately would need. A video game, as mentioned upthread, might work too as it allows for more context and narrative, but I suspect it might run afoul of the Gamers meme and potentially suffer for it as well.
Anywho, 11/10 work, I've loved it. Thank you for bringing your dystopia to us. Sorry if I sound a bit like a downer, I just would hate to see WMIT getting mainstream attention for the wrong reasons.
A book though, if you still consider making stories out of it Napoleon, would probably work. They'd add the ability to give more context to the universe, something you desperately would need. A video game, as mentioned upthread, might work too as it allows for more context and narrative, but I suspect it might run afoul of the Gamers meme and potentially suffer for it as well.
Anywho, 11/10 work, I've loved it. Thank you for bringing your dystopia to us. Sorry if I sound a bit like a downer, I just would hate to see WMIT getting mainstream attention for the wrong reasons.
You're right. It will remain nerd territory for the foreseeable future.
Being “anti-religious” isn’t controversial at all in Hollywood anyway. Hasn’t been for decades. Just look at Ricky Gervais.
The greatest risk about publishing a story/making a movie/TV show in the WMiT universe isn't those who don't like it, It will be those who enjoy it for the wrong reasons.
WMiT becoming widely appreciated outside of alternatehistory.net runs a huge risk of drawing in the people who enjoy it because America has turned into a theocracy, enjoy it because the Mexicans have been immolated, enjoy it because everyone not classically "American" are classified as inferior, who will view it unironically, who will take the memes seriously.
After all, the song "the future belongs to us" in American History X has been coopted by actual neo-Nazis. If this world becomes widely popular outside this board I can almost guarantee it will be coopted as a modern age Turner Diaries unless its done VERY carefully.
I agree any attempt to take this mainstream would have the best parts of the irony and horror of the TL sandblasted out, but without that sandblasting I shudder to think the people who would latch on to it otherwise.
Rivercat893
Banned
If we're going to publish it on say Wattpad or a big-name publisher then it should be a satirical black comedy.
Rivercat893
Banned
That could really make any WMIT novel appealing to a mainstream audience especially since people sometimes like to laugh at really messed up stuff.
Hell that's what I enjoy about it. If Man in the High Castle had been made with the same tone as The Death of Stalin that's how I imagine a Madness series would look.
I extremely doubt that Nazis would want wmit as for the simple fact that Jews and people of African American descent are treated as equals Irish and slavic people are seen as inferior it's an entirely different type of racism that Nazis would hate because they're the ones who would be seen as lesser instead of the "UberWurst" that they see themselves as so I don't think Nazis are going to co-opt it
At the risk of crossing lines regarding commentary, I think you would be more likely to have issues with Dominionist types, who can get scarily close to this TL. There was a rally in DC this past weekend featuring both White and Black pastors of this type alongside Jews, and one guy literally said "Hallelujah is just American for Praise the Lord."
That could be a problem too, although I do think having a story where the Jewish characters/people are being treated as "Betters" would send them into convulsions and drive them away. Like how AFAIK, no neo-Confederates liked Timeline 191, it just doesn't portray the movement to their desires. I personally would be concerned with the reaction to media like the Joker movie or the Confederate alt-history TV show where it seemed, for a time at least, people and a lot of news outlets really latched onto them as being objectionable for one reason or another, whether justified or not. The Confederate show got canceled because of the backlash and while Joker didn't I do think WMIT's reception would be harmed from receiving such backlash; I just feel like something that would drive the largest numbers of the types of people you've mentioned to WMIT would be such a rejection by the mainstream audiences and media.