Catalog of the Weird Parallels

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Note, luck follows actual beliefs not mere fashions of the moment.

This is probably better stated as the following:


Luck is slow to change from one system to another
The belief must be sincere, and it must be strongly held
Luck pays attention to those around you, not local beliefs

[Flyndaran]

That sounds like how if modern westerners see bad things happen to those behaving badly, they will blame "karma", pretty much this enforced luck.

This could lead to some very dark aspects though. Civil rights movements would be greatly stalled with bad luck as they're bucking the culture. Anyone down on their luck must be bad otherwise they'd be doing better. Etc.,

[AlexanderHowl]

A possible alternative would be a timeline where people are rewarded with good luck for how bad they are. Since evil people would want to monopolize the good luck, the philosophical and religious movements would teach people that they gain good karma for the afterlife (or their future incarnation) based on how good they are in their current life (and based on how much bad luck they experience). On the other hand, I am not sure how weird such a timeline would be, considering that it would resemble our world to a frightening degree.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

That sounds like how if modern westerners see bad things happen to those behaving badly, they will blame "karma", pretty much this enforced luck.

This could lead to some very dark aspects though. Civil rights movements would be greatly stalled with bad luck as they're bucking the culture. Anyone down on their luck must be bad otherwise they'd be doing better. Etc.,

That exactly the darkside I was thinking of. You have insight.

[Flyndaran]

I suppose fairy tales or even history could have stories about kind-hearted individuals that, through perseverance against bad luck, eventually changed the kingdom for the better. Not all of them named Job either. lol

At 44, I think you may be the very first person in my life to call me insightful. Thanks.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

At 44, I think you may be the very first person in my life to call me insightful. Thanks.

Sorry you had to wait so long. Proud to be the first.

[(E)]

Vampire world
The inhabitants of this world like several others developed parachronic technology. Unlike those other worlds the technology (or magic etc) was not suited for transport. The technology on the Vampire world is best suited for communication and observation. One other use was found however, the residents can take the "Vitality" from another world and distribute it on their own. The parachronic doubles' of the residents of the Vampire world suffer from a wasting condition as the life is drained from them while the vampire world's residents are supercharged. After a while the targeted world becomes drained to the point where civilization collapses and the Vampire world has to select a new target.

[Astromancer]

This parallel has strong religious beliefs and passionately believes that different aspects of their deities rule each season. These aspects basically follow the basic emotions of Joy, Anger, Fear, and Sorrow. Spring is the time of joy and desire. Summer is the fury time. Fear is autumn's path. Winter means sorrow to these people. There are some people excused the religious ritualism to run the economy and basic services. There are also acolytes of the seasons who maintain the customs of their season throughout the year.

The politics and social arrangements of this world are INTERESTING.

[Astromancer]

If you know either the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit or better yet the novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit then that's a truly weird parallel. The book, being far darker and more Noir, is the better model. Toons, particularly twisted toons have interesting dramatic possibilities.

[PTTG]

A long, long time I was talking about having Toon be a worldline. Lost ISWAT teams dealing with cartoon logic sounds like a fun diversion to me....