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Sunday, April 28, 2013

The East Cup Blog: An Overview (UPDATED)


(SPECIAL NOTE: This post is non-fictitious)

Okay, so you’ve opened this blog up for the first time, read some stories and have openly wondered:

“What in the toaster strudel is this?”

Or something like that.

The short answer is that this a blog about a fictional world. This world. It has the name of “Vicendum”, which was a name I created to give it a Latin-sounding name, since in this world, the leading power are the Romans. However, they’re not the ancients- they’re a modern version of the Romans, because this is a world that shares the same date as ours, and the same technological level. I’m aware that “Vicendum” actually doesn’t mean anything in Latin (since I created it at a time (over a decade ago) when I didn’t have access to a Latin-English translator), but, since I think it sounds cool, I decided to keep the name anyway. I’ve since determined it’s a piece of Latin Medieval slang that just stuck.

So does this mean it’s basically an alternate historical work where the Romans have managed to survive to the present? Yes and no. Yes in that this does involve alternate history elements, but this isn’t alternate history in the sense that you know it. Regular alternate history involves a single “point of divergence” where the events of history happened as they did, except for one change. In this setting, there isn’t just one point of divergence- there’s several, and at other points, history is just changed entirely. Some parts of history occurred as we know them, while others are complete fabrications. This means that this world has a fictional history, one of my own creation. In a nutshell, if you really want to classify it, look at it as "historical fantasy"- there's elements of history and alternate history in the work, but it's got it's fantastical elements as well. If this is all confusing right now, don’t worry- at some point this will all get explained.

Here’s the basics, though. The world is dominated by five powers- Rome (essentially a characterization of the West and chiefly liberal), Britain (Rome’s chief rival and mostly conservative), Casara (an African power that emerged in the 1950s that kicked out colonial France, they disagree with Rome and Britain in that the Casarans aren’t trigger-happy and would rather be diplomatic), the Abbasid Caliphate (the chief Muslim power, and they’re moderate centrists) and the Mongol Empire (not a strict continuation of Genghis’ empire, although it is based on it- this Mongol Empire rose after World War II, filling the void after the Japanese and Chinese beat each other into the ground. They’re mostly isolationist). There is no Russia or United States as we know them, because they were both felled by the Cold War, with the U.S. and Canada replaced by a united economic bloc- the “North American Union”, a union not unlike the European Union of today. There are other powers and blocs that will get described as time goes on, but that’s the basics of the world.

The name of the blog comes from the East Cup, the name of the strongest hockey league in this world, since hockey is this world’s favourite sport, but this isn’t just a hockey blog. This is officially a blog where I explore my fanfiction ideas, under three storylines:

·         The East Cup Chronicles: This follows the story of superfan Jasmine Bryar, who is an obsessed fan of the New York Islanders (who play in the East Cup). Bryar’s passion doesn’t end with the Isles- it extends towards the entire hockey world, and she’s determined to fix the problems inherent in it, regardless of her limitations. The Chronicles are her story in this regard, as well as other parts of her life (such as her job and social life as well as her devotion to the Islanders). More information and background regarding the East Cup can be found here.
·         Cases of the BAU: In short, this is fanfiction for Criminal Minds, although that’s a very loose definition. Rather, these are stories where the central characters are those from Criminal Minds (more specifically, the team from Season Three’s “About Face” to Season Six’s “The Longest Night”, plus Zoe Hawkes from “Zoe’s Reprise”), but it doesn’t follow Minds canon 100%, as I take what I like from it and discard what I don’t, and many characters from other series- most prominently The Mentalist’s Patrick Jane- make appearances. To make things easier, just think of these stories as the stories I’d like Minds to tell, with the setting being Vicendum.
·         Brampton’s Sport Spike: This tells the story of the city of Brampton’s two other sports teams, the Brampton Blades soccer team and the Rice Owls football team, as they look to chart their own path to greatness. Just like the East Cup, the worlds of soccer and football are altered- in the football world, for example, there is no NFL, it being replaced by a professional version of the NCAA. The good teams of the NCAA are the same, except for the Buffalo Bulls who, in this iteration, are the Buffalo Bills and are one of the sport’s good teams. Soccer’s world uses FIFA 08 as a base for the players, and, just like the East Cup, the teams are altered as I see fit. Inter Milan is the story’s premier soccer team (and, thus, what the Blades are hoping to achieve), with this world also having the Bills as a premier outfit. More info can be seen here

In addition to those three storylines, this blog is affiliated with another blog- The Vicendum Chronicles that features completely original ideas and stories. It's designed to stand on its own, with the only references to this blog being indirect. For more information on that blog, visit the Overview Page.

That’s the blog in a nutshell. To close, I must remind you that this blog is a work of fiction, and that any incidents depicted here (unless stated) that occurred in real life are purely coincidental. I have no affiliation with any other entity except myself, and all trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

FURTHER DISCLAIMER: Some material is graphic in nature and could be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

-DG

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