History Literature / VivereMilitareEst

* BlackAndGreyMorality: The preternatural states of Kemet (more so than the others), Haiti, and Paraguay, as well as rogue human states like North Italy and North China, are vehemently evil in nature and are led by madmen or evil "gods" (a term very loosely applied in this universe). However, the five great powers and their spheres aren't exactly [[NiceGuy representing the moral good]], with [[ThoseWackyNazis the Third Reich]], [[ImperialJapan Japan]], and the [[GloriousMotherRussia Soviet]] [[DirtyCommunists Union]] openly torturing "enemies of the state" and other assortments of political dissidents and opposition, undesirables, criminals, as well as the aforementioned felons' children (especially) and relatives, in order to produce "enriched" gastplasm, necessary in almost all powerful thaumaturgic weapons, or turning them into renevants, animated corpses fighting for the glory of the state.

* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Literally. Any attempt to make preternatural-powered cybernetic implants end up literally leaching [[OurSoulsAreDifferent gastplasm]] from whoever they're implanted on.

* FantasticNuke: Despoiler bombs replace nuclear weapons in this setting. They're computers, powered by enriched gastplasm, reciting explosive spells thousands of times faster than a human can. The explosion consumes the souls of anyone caught in it, becoming even more powerful. The United States used an early one on Kyoto in an attempt to force the Japanese to surrender during World War 2; The sight is still unstable by the present.

* InsistentTerminology: The PCRA's mission is to catalog and understand the preternatural. They tend to use "scientific" terms for everything; the supernatural is "preternatural", Magitek is thaumtech/thaumturgy, EldritchAbominations are theopotent entities, etc.

* AllMythsAreTrue: Played with [[{{Hell}} whatever afterlife exists in this universe]]. Most mythological creatures exist, but they're just as likely to bear only a passing resemblance to the stories as they are to have their folklore behaviours and weaknesses. The PCRA tests myths and legends in laboratory conditions to shift the true ones from the superstition.

* BlackAndGreyMorality: The preternatural states of Kemet (more so than the others), Haiti, and Paraguay, as well as rogue human states like North Italy and North China, are vehemently evil in nature and are led by madmen or evil "gods" (a term very loosely applied in this universe). However, the five great powers and their spheres aren't exactly [[NiceGuy representing the moral good]], with [[ThoseWackyNazis the Third Reich]], [[ImperialJapan Japan]], and [[GloriousMotherRussia the Soviet Union]] openly torturing "enemies of the state" and other assortments of political dissidents and opposition, undesirables, criminals, as well as the aforementioned felons' children (especially) and relatives, in order to produce "enriched" gastplasm, necessary in almost all powerful thaumaturgic weapons, or turning them into renevants, animated corpses fighting for the glory of the state.

* OurZombiesAreDifferent: There are several different kinds of animated corpse. Even in the democratic nations, you can donate your body to the military to be converted to a revenant after death.

* AllMythsAreTrue: Played with whatever afterlife exists in this universe. Most mythological creatures exist, but they're just as likely to bear only a passing resemblance to the stories as they are to have their folklore behaviours and weaknesses. The PCRA tests myths and legends in laboratory conditions to shift the true ones from the superstition.

* AllMythsAreTrue: Played with to [[Hell whatever afterlife exists in this universe]] and back. Most mythological creatures exist, but they're just as likely to bear only a passing resemblance to the stories as they are to have their folklore behaviours and weaknesses. The PCRA tests myths and legends in laboratory conditions to shift the true ones from the superstition.

-->'''Captain Medina''': ''I am the thief, the king’s mirage, the fennel-carrier, the clay sculptor, the wind-messenger, the mother-grower, the deceiver, the hope-planter, the war-hero, the rebel against the gods. I am the food-of-eagles, the chained one, the bringer of light, the accuser of el, the smith, the forethinker, the twice killed and twice born. I am your savior and you - Jean Weygand - you and your kind are to be the instrument of my retribution - my revenge.''

* EldritchLocation: The containment zones, especially New Zealand. [[EverythingTryingToKillYou Everything single living creature on in the area is preternatural and probably hostile to human life.]]
* FantasticNuke: Despoilers replace nuclear weapons in this setting. They're computers, powered by enriched gastplasm, reciting explosive spells thousands of times faster than a human can. The explosion consumes the souls of anyone caught in it, becoming even more powerful. The United States used an early one on Kyoto in an attempt to force the Japanese to surrender during World War 2; The sight is still unstable by the present.

* {{Ghostapo}}: The Nazis were the first to use the occult in warfare. It also results in StupidJetpackHitler

* {{Magitek}}: Gastplasm, the "substance" souls are made of, is used to power everything from plasma weapons and flying discs to cars and home computers. Computer chips have runes laser-etched onto them. Your home appliances and smart car understand you as well as a human being, but you may have to have it excorsized and the controlling spirit replaced if it turns hostile and tries to get you to start offering sacrifices to it.

* SeaMonster: The Japanese awoke several different kinds from the sunken ruins of Mu to use against the American Navy in the pacific theatre of World War 2.

* EldritchLocation: Large parts of India, Africa, and Poland are completely overrun by the preternatural. The PCRA calls them containment zones.

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: They exist in hive minds. They still need blood, and are weakened by ultraviolet light.

* Weird Historical War: The second phase of World War II, and every other war since.

* SeaMonster: The Japanese awoke several different kinds from the sunken ruins of Mu to use against the American Navy in the pacific theatre of World War 2.

* EldritchLocation: The containment zones, such as what used to be Poland or Kyoto. These are areas where the preternatural has taken complete control over the ecosystem.

* AwesomeButImpractical: A common "mistake" of various PCRA rookie personnel is to use conventional weaponry against the preternatural. In the beginning of the timeline, it has been thoughtfully explained by [[TheLeader the Director]] why "shooting the sucker in the head", whilst a natural tendency, does and will not work, due to the various supernatural beings' different laws of physics.

* OurZombiesAreDifferent: There are several different kinds of animated corpse. Even in the democratic nations, you can donate your body to the military to be converted to a revenant after death.

* {Ghostapo}: The Nazis were the first to use the occult in warfare. It also results in StupidJetpackHitler
* {Magitek}: Gastplasm, the "substance" souls are made of, is used to power everything from plasma weapons and flying discs to cars and home computers. Computer chips have runes laser-etched onto them. Your home appliances and smart car understand you as well as a human being, but you may have to have it excorsized and the controlling spirit replaced if it turns hostile and tries to get you to start offering sacrifices to it.

* [[Ghostapo]]: The Nazis were the first to use the occult in warfare. It also results in StupidJetpackHitler
* [[Magitek]]: Gastplasm, the "substance" souls are made of, is used to power everything from plasma weapons and flying discs to cars and home computers. Computer chips have runes laser-etched onto them. Your home appliances and smart car understand you as well as a human being, but you may have to have it excorsized and the controlling spirit replaced if it turns hostile and tries to get you to start offering sacrifices to it.

* Magitek: Gastplasm, the "substance" souls are made of, is used to power everything from plasma weapons and flying discs to cars and home computers. Computer chips have runes laser-etched onto them. Your home appliances and smart car understand you as well as a human being, but you may have to have it excorsized and the controlling spirit replaced if it turns hostile and tries to get you to start offering sacrifices to it.

-->'''Captain Medina''': ''I am the thief, the king’s mirage, the fennel-carrier, the clay sculptor, the wind-messenger, the mother-grower, the deceiver, the hope-planter, the war-hero, the rebel against the gods. I am the food-of-eagles, the chained one, the bringer of light, the accuser of el, the smith, the forethinker, the twice killed and twice born. I am your savior and you - Jean Weygand - you and your kind are to be the instrument of my retribution - my revenge.''

* ApocalypseHow: The ancient seafaring peoples of Lemuria, Mu, and Atlantis had their continents sunk [[spoiler:by a massive preternatural computer, named in-universe as a rune cogitator, situated in MysteriousAntarctica, which basically controls the entire universe like a puppeteer controls its puppets. Prior to its finding by a PCRA team, the cogitator had been last used by ''[[EldritchAbomination the Elder Thing]]''. Guess what he used it for.]]

* TheAlliance: Whilst significantly weaker than it was during its peak of power in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (as [[GloriousMotherRussia the Soviet Union]] was still a part of it, the Allies continue to exist, in the form of an intergovernmental alliance between [[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates the United States]], the other countries of the Western Hemisphere save for the rogue states of Paraguay and Haiti, [[TheBritishEmpire the United Kingdom]], and some European countries.

!!''Vivere Militare Est'' contains the following tropes:

'''[[http://alternatehistory.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=242562 Vivere Militare Est]]''' is an [[AlternateHistory alternate timeline]] originating on [[AlternateHistoryDotCom AH.com]] created by rvbomally, with plenty of contributions from other members, which explores an alternate UsefulNotes/WorldWarII where the supernatural ([[InsistentTerminology insistently referred to as]] "preternatural") definitively exists. Although fundamentally different from our world from the outset, the only large changes start appearing in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, when [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi Germany]] and UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan attempt to use cosmic horrors to win the war. This plan backfires when the Allies use their own preternatural forces, which forces the two sides to a stalemate. The post-war era sees the establishment of the '''Preternatural Containment and Regulation Association''', an organisation founded by the five great powers to fight the growing supernatural threat. The bulk of the timeline is set in 2015, several decades after the end of the war, and large parts of the world are under the effective control of supernatural entities or their human acolytes. Meanwhile, the five great powers of '''[[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi Germany]]''', '''[[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]]''', '''[[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates the United States]]''', '''[[TheBritishEmpire the United Kingdom]]''', and '''[[GloriousMotherRussia Soviet Union]]''' are busy trying to curb the influence of their rivals.

As stated before, you can read the timeline [[http://alternatehistory.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=242562 here]]. Warning: AH.com membership is required to view it.

->''[[CosmicHorrorStory The symbols whispered tantalizing promises. They promised to unlock the secrets of the universe and what lay beyond. Images of alien worlds, twisted and fantastic, burned themselves into her mind. She was drowning in a sea of infinite depth, the darkness engulfing her. The whispers grew louder. Then orbit around a burning planet, floating in the void as great black ships spewed tendrils of flame on the hapless surface. The whispers became screams, the screams begging for food, begging for peace, begging for freedom…]]''

'''[[http://alternatehistory.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=242562 Vivere Militare Est]]''' is an alternate timeline created by rvbomally, with plenty of contributions from other members, which explores an alternate UsefulNotes/WorldWarII where the supernatural ([[InsistentTerminology insistently referred to as]] "preternatural") definitively exists. Although fundamentally different from our world from the outset, the only large changes start appearing in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, when [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi Germany]] and UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan attempt to use cosmic horrors to win the war. This plan backfires when the Allies use their own preternatural forces, which forces the two sides to a stalemate. The post-war era sees the establishment of the '''Preternatural Containment and Regulation Association''', an organisation founded by the five great powers to fight the growing supernatural threat. The bulk of the timeline is set in 2015, several decades after the end of the war, and large parts of the world are under the effective control of supernatural entities or their human acolytes. Meanwhile, the five great powers of '''[[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi Germany]]''', '''[[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]]''', '''[[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates the United States]]''', '''[[TheBritishEmpire the United Kingdom]]''', and '''[[GloriousMotherRussia Soviet Union]]''' are busy trying to curb the influence of their rivals.

->''The symbols whispered tantalizing promises. They promised to unlock the secrets of the universe and what lay beyond. Images of alien worlds, twisted and fantastic, burned themselves into her mind. She was drowning in a sea of infinite depth, the darkness engulfing her. The whispers grew louder. Then orbit around a burning planet, floating in the void as great black ships spewed tendrils of flame on the hapless surface. The whispers became screams, the screams begging for food, begging for peace, begging for freedom…''

[[http://alternatehistory.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=242562 Vivere Militare Est]] is an alternate timeline created by rvbomally, with plenty of contributions from other members, which explores an alternate UsefulNotes/WorldWarII where the supernatural ([[InsistentTerminology insistently referred to as]] "preternatural") definitively exists. Although fundamentally different from our world from the outset, the only large changes start appearing in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, when [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi Germany]] and UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan attempt to use cosmic horrors to win the war. This plan backfires when the Allies use their own preternatural forces, which forces the two sides to a stalemate. The post-war era sees the establishment of the '''Preternatural Containment and Regulation Association''', an organisation founded by the five great powers to fight the growing supernatural threat. The bulk of the timeline is set in 2015, several decades after the end of the war, and large parts of the world are under the effective control of supernatural entities or their human acolytes. Meanwhile, the five great powers of '''[[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi Germany]]''', '''[[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]]''', '''[[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates the United States]]''', '''[[TheBritishEmpire the United Kingdom]]''', and '''[[GloriousMotherRussia Soviet Union]]''' are busy trying to curb the influence of their rivals.

[[http://alternatehistory.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=242562 Vivere Militare Est]] is an alternate timeline created by rvbomally, with plenty of contributions from other members, which explores an alternate UsefulNotes/WorldWarII where the supernatural ([[InsistentTerminology insistently referred to]] as "preternatural") definitively exists. Although fundamentally different from our world from the outset, the only large changes start appearing in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, when [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi Germany]] and UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan attempt to use cosmic horrors to win the war. This plan backfires when the Allies use their own preternatural forces, which forces the two sides to a stalemate. The post-war era sees the establishment of the '''Preternatural Containment and Regulation Association''', an organisation founded by the five great powers to fight the growing supernatural threat. The bulk of the timeline is set in 2015, several decades after the end of the war, and large parts of the world are under the effective control of supernatural entities or their human acolytes. Meanwhile, the five great powers of [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi Germany]], [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]], [[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates the United States]], [[TheBritishEmpire the United Kingdom]], and [[GloriousMotherRussia Soviet Union]] are busy trying to curb the influence of their rivals.