History Roleplay / GreatInterstellarWar

** Boston's gunner and driver are named George and Baldrick.

* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Sergoff. He refers to Regular infantry as RI Infantry.

* SocipathicSoldier: Many, many examples, of all four types, in both the RP and the comic.

* AwesomeEgo: Boston sees himself as a military genius and sexy beast. The first is actually backed up with several battlefield successes. [[CasanovaWannabe The sexiness on the other hand...]]

* MissFanservice: Eagle Emily, the Westers' “pinup girl.” Selvaria Bles is a former Miss Fanservice turned battlesuit commander. Often lampshaded by some of the other characters.

* OhCrap: Everyone's reaction to discovering a crashed alien spaceship.

** The Red version of the trope is more lighthearted, with the example showcased being a volunteer homemade video produced by a mechanic on an isolated military outpost.

* KillItWithFire: Another favorite of the Alliance, seen commonly in the form of their Blue Dragon warheads, a kind of foam that turns into fire on contact. More traditional flamethrowers are used by elite close assault troops or mounted on battlesuits.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Played with, in the narration Zenya is only referred to by his special forces callsign (Zenya). However the other characters when talking to him call him Captain Nikolaev, or anything BUT Zenya. Potentially due to people finding it an awkward name for a spetsnaz or simply not knowing what his callsign actually is.
** The branch of the Red Army special forces Zenya is from could also be considered this trope. They're referred to as Kom-23, but nobody knows the meaning of it (23rd Office of the Komitet Spetsnaz). All their operatives get codenames too.

** Wester grav-tanks compensate for being less armored and armed than their Red counterparts for being ludicrously fast and maneuvrable--to the point of being able to perform barrel rolls or, when upgraded, effectively instantly jump across the battlefield. And next to Red tanks, they're 'merely' the size of large houses.

* TheNeidermeyer: Zenya could arguably be characterized as this.

* WeWillUseLasersInTheFuture: Subverted; lasers are generally only used as AA weapons or for shooting down missiles, while most of the weaponry is kinetic based.
** Still subverted by the Red Alliance. They have an edge over the Wester Federation when it comes to practical handheld lasers, and a small number of spetsnaz operatives are equipped with laser weapons. Those verge on TooAwesomeToUse territory however, and the spetsnaz stick with mainly using guns (or knives or fists).

* WorthyOpponent: Shan appears to consider the task force he constantly meets to be this, particularly their Commander Feng. Everyone else, both Wester and Red, thinks that's nuts, and with Shan being an honorless deserter, the feeling is not mutual. At all.

** COMPLETELY averted by Captain Nikolaev (Zenya)of the Red Spetsnaz. To his men he displays indifference, makes little attempt to connect or interact with them, speaks briefly and professionally, beats the crap out of one of his commandos who went against his authority, and basically couldnt care less. His squad in turn is not very fond of him. On the otherhand despite being an elite soldier, he constantly acts in a friendly (if not teasing) or at least respectful manner to all the soldiers he works with, from his commandos, to fellow officers, to common infantrymen. Perhaps more of an annoying older brother to his men then?

* MilitaryCoup: Pulled off by Marshal Vostrikov in the comic, with the unwitting help of Marine officer Battlesmere.

** Considering who Laventry Beria was, Beria suits in general could count.

The series is known on AH.com's Shared Worlds subforum as being perhaps the longest-running RP, with the original RP beginning back in 2010 and surviving to this day. There were two "Space Combat" RP-s from the same universe, but they are unfortunately defunct as of 2012. The current RP thread can be found [[http://alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=195052 here]], while the comic series can be found [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=148978&highlight=interstellar here]]. (It is necessary to be a member of the site to see it.)

* KillItWithFire: Another favorite of the Alliance, seen commonly in the form of their Blue Dragon warheads, a kind of foam that turns into fire on contact. More traditional flamethrowers are used by elite close assault troops or mounted on battlesuits.

* NGOSuperpower: Wester mega corporations seem to hold a disconcerting amount of sway over the war effort and government affairs. One of the reasons General Black prepares his military coup.

* ScrewtheWarWe'rePartying: Life actually isnt that bad if you live on a civilian world. Dont party too hard though, or you might find yourself conscripted and sent to the frontlines.

** "Long Ago, the two commanders lived in harmony. But then everything changed... when Faragher lost his shit"

* TheBerserker: If Red commandos arnt [[ColdSniper detached]] or [[SociopathicSoldier unfeeling]] they become this, using combat drugs and throwing themselves at the enemy without any regard for their own survival.
* TheChessmaster: Marshal Vostrikov pretended to be idiot as part of scheme to trick a rival Red politico into attempting to assassinate him just so that he could get the guy executed. Manipulating Westers and Reds alike. Typical of TheChessmaster, he has dastardly longterm goals (gain control of The Party and the Red Alliance).

** General (then Marshal) Amasova doesnt seem it at first, but she learned to play politics rather quickly as well. With some help from a certain political officer...
* TheCommissar: Red politcal officers (called Commissar of course) are both feared, respected, admired, hated and mocked, as the situation requires.

* OfficerAndAGentleman: Major Luke Jaeger.

* N.G.O.Superpower: Wester mega corporations seem to hold a disconcerting amount of sway over the war effort and government affairs. One of the reasons General Black prepares his military coup.

* PoweredArmor: Battlesuits are 10-12 foot tall armor suits. Unless its a [[HumongousMecha Gronzy]].

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Marshal Vostrikov appeared to have been set up as the BigBad, complete with MillionMookMarch. He hasnt once been mentioned by the current cast of characters. Potentially justified due to the events of the Polaris Cradle RP taking place later in the timeline than the events near the beginning of the war.

* YouAreInCommandNow: Shan's fellow commanders try to get this to happen to them. Emphasis on attempt.

* N.G.OSuperpower: Wester mega corporations seem to hold a disconcerting amount of sway over the war effort and government affairs. One of the reasons General Black prepares his military coup.

** COMPLETELY averted by Captain Nikolaev (Zenya)of the Red Spetsnaz. To his men he displays indifference, makes little attempt to connect or interact with them, speaks briefly and professionally, beats the crap out of one of his commandos who went against his authority, and basically couldnt care less. His squad in turn is not very fond of him. On the otherhand despite being an elite soldier, he constantly acts in a friendly (if not teasing) or at least respectful manner to all the soldiers he works with, from his commandos, to fellow officers, to common infantrymen. Perhaps more of an annoying older brother to his men then?

* MajorlyAwesome: Major Lucrezia Starace, Major Luke Jaeger, and Major Vahnsinnik Zerster.