Haha yeah. Sorry if it gets repetitive at times.
America's Funniest President: Mo Udall Presidency & Beyond
- Thread starter CountDVB
- Start date
08 republicans, first woman president, 52 states... OTL, Bush wanted the Space Shuttle out of service by 2010, and wanted the Constellation program to replace it. Obama cancelled Constellation in 2010, the Shuttle retired a year after, and the government space industry languished until the Artemis program kicked off in 2022. Will President Snowe take a different approach? This timeline's SpaceX seems to be on the right track, but with just how big the butterflies have been, I'd like to see a plan of action where we're not stuck relying on the Sovereign Union's space capsules for 9 years.
2008 Overview
2008 Overview
The election of Olympia Snowe was marking on a sort of transition over in the United States. It was a sign that more people were coming into the Federalist Party and that this new brand of conservatism was here to stay. This would also be reflected over as the Federalist Party had gotten a good share of Congress' seats. In fact, the one of the first two senators coming from Puerto Rico would be from the Federalist Party, with the other from the UCP. DC meanwhile would come in over with two new Democrat senators and there was a growing variety of politicians over in the House of Reps. The Green Party and the Libretarians even got some Reps over in the House of Reps with the Green Party even manging to get one Senator over into power. It would be quite a fasincating sign of how much has the United States has been changing. Politically, not much else has been happening here though some have wondered what would be the upcoming President Snowe's legacy. President Clinton along with Vice President Gore congratulated Snowe over on her victory. While some saw this as a sign of how far Americans have come, others believe that there is obviously more work to be done. Meanwhile, people were reflecting over on all that had happened. After all, thanks to the 30th Amendment, the term limits of Senators and House Reps meant that all parties had a vested interest in cultivating new politicians and leaders.
After all, the rise of "hacktivism" would prove that the Millenials and the younger Freeborn possessed the natural rebellious power of youth And said fighting spirit was being organized online to go and fight for what they would see as important causes. From the rise of Anonymous in their war against Scientology to the revelations created by Wikileaks, it would seem the Internet would also start becoming a battleground for people to go and rebel what could be seen as unjust systems. Meanwhile, 2008 would be marking a turning point regarding renewables as all of the funding in solar and wind energy was beginning to pay off. They have crossed or at least very close to reaching the point where it would be practical for many people to afford it. As such, questions were now rising on how cheaper the energy could be, its implementation and the many rammifications of this. This would also be affecting what would be called the "ecocar" question. Electric battery tech was becoming more viable and starting to close the gap between it and hydrogen fuel cell for what would vehicles run in the future. That said, it was still up in the air and it would be little doubt that the upcoming rise of practical renewable energy would become a large factor in deciding the direction of this. Beyond this, things seem to be fine for the most part.
Pop culture would be rewarded with a growing boom of cinematic works and blockbusters. The first would be none other than The Dark Knight. Nolan's sequel over to Batman Begins, it sees Batman facing off against the Joker, here portrayed as a cynical and unhinged madman, more like a force of nature. If Batman Begins served to build up Batman dealing with ordinary crime, both as Bruce Wayne and as the Caped Crusader, The Dark Knight shows just how unusually and larger than life a supervillain could really be. Ledger would win an award for this and it would be to many's relief he would be making a recovery. Many wondered what Nolan would do next; after all, if Batman Begins did well with Crane as Scarecrow and here with the Joker, what could top it? Another major film release would be the final installment of the so-called prequel trilogy in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Here, all of the elements of Anakin's downfall would be present, both from the previous films and from the two cartoons that filled in the blanks. Here also would be the big reveal that Jar Jar was working with Palpatine, who was Darth Sidious the entire time. However, the other twist would be on Jar Jar's own heterodoxical approach to the dark side. Lacking the lust for power like his colleague, he was likened instead to be some sort of dangerous trickster from folklore and storytelling. One who sowed chaos for his own ends. Ironically here though, the reveal would also be that despite his damning action, he legitimately viewed Anakin, Obi-Wan and the others as friends. Though Jar Jar would be sidelined by Palpatine (but not killed), it would leave a mark. All while Sidious would orchestrate the tragedy of Anakin's converson to Darth Vader. However, the fun would continue on with the long-awaited trailer for another upcoming Star Wars film, Star Wars Episode IX: Broken Fates. Many have been wondering if the final villain would be none other than Jar Jar, as he wasn't killed in Episode III.
The revelations for the delayed film was likely due to a new Indiana Jones film of all things coming out. And to great success would be the release of Indiana Jones and the Frozen City. Taking place in the mid-1950s, it would see Indiana Jones be surprised by a student over at his university; none other than Wan Li, better known as Shortround. He is now all grown up and studying in the university. Wan Li would not be the only returning character as Marion too would be making a welcome return. It would be a return of form for the franchise as Jones would need to combat the Nazis once more. He would learn some were behind the kidnapping of a beloved colleague and in working with the US government, tracking them to Argentina, where he learned they were looking for a mythical lost city in Anarctica... that of Agartha. Said colleague believed that the story of Atlantis may have been alluding to Agartha, a very ancient civilization. The film would do very well and be the return of Ke Huy Quan over into acting, where he was given a very warm welcome. He would actually be brought in the middle of shooting when he was encountered by Shia LeBeouf, who was cast in a supporting role and this led to Quan reuniting with Ford and his inclusion into the film. Another major film would be the second Narnia film over in Prince Caspian, showing that the people behind it were indeed determined to try and get more of the films made, especially with how they were appealing to the YA novel readers and tween audience. Marvel would go and attempt to throw their hat into the ring of making films over with an Iron Man film, starting Robert Downey Jr as the titular Tony Stark. A brilliant engineer and inventor, he must deal with corporate espionage from Justin Hammer, who many have described as a sort of "comic book take on a James Bond villain". After surviving an attack by creating a makeshift suit of armor, it inspires him to go further, using the armor to become a superhero. The film would be viewed as entertaining along with some surprising insight on the nuances of misusing technology. Other films include Hancock, a deconstruction of the super hero along with a commentary on poverty and homelessness, Milk, a biographical film of SATMIN+ activist Harvey Milk, Forbidden Kingdom, a martial arts film with Jet Li and Jackie Chan that's an homage to "Journey to the West" and many other films such as The Secret Life of Bees, Tropic Thunder and even the X-Files film.
As for animated fiilms, there were all sorts of successes coming out as well. First would be Disney's Samak The Ayyar, an adaptation of the Iranian epic of the same name done in a mix of traditional hand drawn animation and CGI (usually for the magic and some of the monsters and environments). A fun story of swashbuckling romance, it pays tribute to the tropes and Iranian folklore as Samak goes to assist his best friend, Prince Khorshid, in trying to go and unite with his beloved in a faraway land. Consisting of some beautiful scenary and cameos from other Iranian folkheroes along with some inspirational songs, Samak The Ayyar proved to be a smash hit, especially over in Iran. The tale was chosen to celeberate decades of friendship between the US and Iran, along with the revelation Iran would be getting its own pavilion in the EPCOT World Showcase, becoming the 13th pavilion and the newest one since the Netherlands were added a few years back. The film also had a trailer for The Princess & the Frog, an adaptation of the Frog Prince, though set in the bayous of New Orleans. While Meet the Robinsons was the last film Jim Henson worked on, he did help approve of both the Iran pavilion to support Samak, but also to convert Splash Montain's theme to match the film (also likely to deal with the Brer Rabbit legacy.) That said, it has been noted the ride will remain mostly the same in terms of performance. Another Disney film would be from Pixar, this time in the form of WALL-E. A charming love story between robots, it was also a surprising delve into natural disaster as Earth had been left behind after a freak disaster and people being convinced to return home. Dreamworks would also come in swinging as they would be acquired by MetroCentury fully. Through this, they would release a new film over with Kung Fu Panda. A dramedy martial arts story, it focuses on Po the Panda being chosen as the Dragon Warrior. Many were impressed by the loving detail over with China of old, with the Chinese themselves impressed by how well the Americans were able to produce an homage to them. Another Dreamworks film would be Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. A sequel to the first Madagascar film, it would see the four animals arrive over in Africa from a crash landing. They all wrestle with their ancestral homeland and the realization if they really belong there along with some hidden truths of themselves. An entertaining film in its own right and the trailers would showcase future projects. First, there would be the adaptation of the novel Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Micheal Reeves. While originally pitched as an idea in the 1990s to Dreamworks, the success of the novel got them interested once more, especially with some support from Terry Prachett, who worked with Gaiman on the novel Good Omens. Another would be a Renoir the Fox film serving as a sort of spin-off over to the Shrek film series, serving as an origin story for the musketeer-like fox.
Television would also see quite a shift. MetroKids would rebrand itself MetroToons, likely as part of a shift for animation aimed at older audiences as well as younger. After all, the network was being able to match up with the Big 3 in Cartoon Network, Disney Channel & Nickelodeon along with their subsidiaries. Regarding live action television shows that ended, the most prominent that ended would be The Wire, a critically acclaimed historical crime drama. Regarding some new shows coming to take its place, the big one would be a form of successor over in Breaking Even. The show has Bryan Cranston as a struggling office worker who ends up in white collar crime and violence, which looks to make ends meet. Described as The Office meeting The Wire, showrunner Vince Gilligan said it would be a transformation of hero to villain. Other shows, albeit not as prominent, would be The Mentalist (following a similar premise to the show Psych, albeit with a more serious tone) and Wipeout, a quasi-gameshow that has its contestants run through a large obstacle course to try and get a prize.
As for animated series, several of them would be ending this year such as Codename Kids Next Door, Chalkzone, All Grown Up and My Gym Partner's a Monkey. Camp Lazlo in particular would end on a surreal note (unsurprising, given the creator's previous work). The show had gained a cult following for some of its queer-coded characters (such as Lazlo being multi or the gender-conflicted Edward), something Joe Murray said was intentional. However, the big endings included Nick's Avatar: The Last Airbender, which became quite a large phenomenon, though the team would be working on a new project. And the other would be Ben 10, with both shows having proven that action animation was viable. And this would be seen with all sorts of new shows coming, with one being a sequel to Ben 10 in Ben 10: Alien Force. Taking place with Ben, now 13, the show aims to be a bit darker and more serious, with Coop from the previous show (a mutant with technopathy) joining Ben and Gwen. Interestingly enough, a similar show would also appear with The Secret Saturdays. Focusing more on cryptozoology with elements of occultism, it starts the titular Saturdays with Doc and Daika Saturday with their son Zak on adventures involving cryptids and occultism. Yet another show would be Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, here headed by Glenn Murakami and being the third animated series based on the turtles (with a two season run in the late 1980s and the more well known show in the 1990s headed by the team who did Swat KATS). Here, the turtles have a bit more focus on them being teenagers, with members who worked both on Avatar: The Last Airbender and Teen Titans (which ended last year) working on the show here. There would also be an increased focus over on Japanese culture and influence. Yet another exciting show would be coming on Nick would be The Spectacular Spider-Man, over my Greg Weisman. An animated adaptation based on the webslinging hero, it would be a return to form and looking at what changed and what remained the same since Marvel's reboot over in the 1990s. Over regarding anime, it was a bit slower though a big appearance would be the dub of the anime adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist over on Toonami. While the anime boom was still ongoing, it was a bit of reruns or ongoing series for both Toonami and Disnippon so far. That said, despite the rumors of potentially being removed, they would remain on the air for right now.
Video games would also the battle really unfolding with the seventh generation of consoles. Nintendo would help push the Nintendo Wii up with some new games, with one of the big names being Mario Kart Wii, which came with a motion control addition for driving (which Nintendo plan to use for a few more games with some third-party developers having a couple of ideas). Another would be Pokemon Stadium Wii, which would follow more in the vein of the Pokemon Stadium games from the Nintendo Ultra 64. That said, some elements of Pokemon Colosseum would make it into Pokemon Stadium Wii such as a story mode, albeit here done through the tournaments and cups. There is also greater connectivity and interface with the DS games, including transfering various items between games. The mini games would also make a comeback, here having not only games from the two previous games, but also some new ones involving motion controls. Rare games would also make their appearance here with Dinosaur Planet II (which began focusing more on Krystal than her brother and expanding what she could do with her staff) and Kameo II: The Mystic's Rise would be a surprise sequel that includes changing up the gameplay along with smoothing out some of the issues of the first. While Kameo maintains her powers, they are modified so she doesn't transform due to story purposes (partial transformations as it's called). Some more would include Animal Crossing: City Folk and Wario Land: Shake It, or Wario Land 5 as it was called in other places, would see Wario return to form, though with a greater focus on grappling through motion controls. This would be reflected in what would be one of the most long-awaited titles in Super Smash Champs Brawl, the third in the popular franchise of fighting games. Over with Microsoft-Atari, the Abox 360 would go and have some of its own standout title though many would be shared over with the Playstation 2 and Playstation 3. One would be Left 4 Dead, a sort of zombie survival game and one would be Fallout 3, a surprising return for the franchise albeit in a wildly new way in terms of gameplay and expanded story. Another horror game would be set in the stars over with Dead Space. Another one over for the Abox 360 would be Crystal Castle Chronicles III: Shining World, which takes the Fallout 3 approach to try and reinvent and expand the game once more with Bently Bear. Other games included would be Tales of Vesperia and Devil May Cry 4. One growing trend is basically trying to make the games make more palapable for the Western audience, due to the differences between Japan and the western world. One notable example of this would be in Persona 4, where some of the dialogue when dubbed would be changed due to the concerns of some of the humor or the like. That said, Persona 4 would popularize the franchise over in the West and the dialogue changes made would get Japan's attention to a degree. Regarding handheld devices, the Nintendo GamePal DS would release a third Pokemon game of the 4th generation with Pokemon Platinum, focusing on Giratina, completing the trio of Gold's Dialga and Silver's Palkia. Another popular game would be Kirby Super Star Ultra, a remake of Kirby Super Star. Another prominent game would be The World Ends With You, released outside of Japan this year. Indie games would see a boost with Braid and a nice surprise would be Megaman 9, coming out and shocking everyone. Though it would not get a physical release, but instead be on the downloadable networks. Many were happy to play through a retro-styled game, albeit it was in 16-bit like Megaman 7. As for the computer, various games would come out such as Rail Simulator would be seen and World of Warcraft would grow with the new expansion known as Wrath of the Lich King. The game introduced the first "hero" class with Death Knight and continued the popularity of the franchise.
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Some of the Smash stuff!
Italics means requires unlocking
Veterans
Mario
Donkey Kong
Link
Yoshi
Pikachu
Kirby
Samus
Fox McCloud
Luigi
Francesca
Captain Falcon
Ness
Bowser
Princess Peach
Princess Zelda/Sheik
Ice Climbers
Banjo & Kazooie
Lucas
Marth
Hector
Togetic
Mewtwo
Wario
Falco Lombardi
Mr. Game & Watch
Newcomers
Krystal (replaces OTL Wolf)
Zero Suit Samus
Joanna Dark (replaces OTL Solid Snake)
Kameo (replaces OTL Pokemon Trainer)
Diddy Kong
Meta Knight
Absol (replaces OTL Toon Link)
Lucario
King Dedede
Pit
Captain Olimar
ROB
Sonic the Hedgehog
Veterans
Mario
Donkey Kong
Link
Yoshi
Pikachu
Kirby
Samus
Fox McCloud
Luigi
Francesca
Captain Falcon
Ness
Bowser
Princess Peach
Princess Zelda/Sheik
Ice Climbers
Banjo & Kazooie
Lucas
Marth
Hector
Togetic
Mewtwo
Wario
Falco Lombardi
Mr. Game & Watch
Newcomers
Krystal (replaces OTL Wolf)
Zero Suit Samus
Joanna Dark (replaces OTL Solid Snake)
Kameo (replaces OTL Pokemon Trainer)
Diddy Kong
Meta Knight
Absol (replaces OTL Toon Link)
Lucario
King Dedede
Pit
Captain Olimar
ROB
Sonic the Hedgehog
Krystal- She fights a mix of short and long range, her using the abilities from the game along with her staff fighting. A bit on the light side, but can well and she has a few tricks up her sleeve. Not as much of a blaster as Francesa would be and can get some hits in with her staff fighting. Her Final Smash would be her "empowered state" which increases the sizes of her Special moves and they do much more damage.
Joanna Dark- Plays not unlike Solid Snake does though relying on stuff from her game. Probably a bit on technique over power. Her Final Smash would be having a giant laser rain down as a result of having a satellite weapon be activated.
Kameo- She would use alot of the abilities from her first game, but through partial transformations as seen in the second game, focused more the elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, and Ice. She would probably be quite the bruiser with some range thanks to her fairy wings. Her Final Smash is summong her 10 forms as spirits to wail on an area.
Absol- Yup! Surprise! The rep of Gen 3 and she is quite a powerful character. A bit of a quadpedal sword user of sorts, but also using claws and fangs. Neutral Special being Future Sight (which you mark a target for a delayed strike from above like thunder), its Side Special being Night Slash (powerful with a bit of reach and a shield breaker), its Up Special being Aerial Ace (a bit like a homing Quick Attack) and a shockwave like move with Down Special Dark Pulse. Her Final Smash would be Perish Song, an AoE Final Smash that can KO alot of folk.
Wario- He becomes more of a grappler and thrower, with his throws being the best in the game. Additionally, his Neutral Special is now Super Grip, whiche uses the Mad Moves (which he grabs the opponent with both arms with glowing gloves). Hold the Button town to charge the move and press which directon to swing. He can use the Mega Toss by throwing forward, the Piledriver to smash them down to stun a bit, or the Wild Swing-Ding to another foe behind him using the character as a weapon. A bit slow, but hits hard with a bit of lag. The rest of his Specials remain the same with his Final Smash being the Earthquake Punch from Shake It, which shakes the stage and release a mighty shockwave.
Luigi- Most is the same, but with a couple differences. His Up Special now does electric damage instead of fire. His Side Special also involves electricity instead of fire. His Down Special instead has him use the Poltergust 3000 to suck in projectiles and then release them out, a bit like Game and Watch, but as a projectile. His Final Smash is Luigi Finale, whch unleashes a green burst of lightning, functioning like Mario's FInal Smash to a degre, but arguably harder if a bit trickier.
As for the others, Francesca's Final Smash is entering her Firebird mode to go around and burn folks, sorta like Pikachu's Volt Tackle. Banjo & Kazooie's is the same as OTL, summoning the Mighty Jinjonator. Hector's would be calling in his friends for an attack. Togetic would be hitting everyone with Silver Wind for good damage and knockback, which would also give him a boost in all stat for a short while. Mewtwo would create a Psychic explosion from around him.
Joanna Dark- Plays not unlike Solid Snake does though relying on stuff from her game. Probably a bit on technique over power. Her Final Smash would be having a giant laser rain down as a result of having a satellite weapon be activated.
Kameo- She would use alot of the abilities from her first game, but through partial transformations as seen in the second game, focused more the elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, and Ice. She would probably be quite the bruiser with some range thanks to her fairy wings. Her Final Smash is summong her 10 forms as spirits to wail on an area.
Absol- Yup! Surprise! The rep of Gen 3 and she is quite a powerful character. A bit of a quadpedal sword user of sorts, but also using claws and fangs. Neutral Special being Future Sight (which you mark a target for a delayed strike from above like thunder), its Side Special being Night Slash (powerful with a bit of reach and a shield breaker), its Up Special being Aerial Ace (a bit like a homing Quick Attack) and a shockwave like move with Down Special Dark Pulse. Her Final Smash would be Perish Song, an AoE Final Smash that can KO alot of folk.
Wario- He becomes more of a grappler and thrower, with his throws being the best in the game. Additionally, his Neutral Special is now Super Grip, whiche uses the Mad Moves (which he grabs the opponent with both arms with glowing gloves). Hold the Button town to charge the move and press which directon to swing. He can use the Mega Toss by throwing forward, the Piledriver to smash them down to stun a bit, or the Wild Swing-Ding to another foe behind him using the character as a weapon. A bit slow, but hits hard with a bit of lag. The rest of his Specials remain the same with his Final Smash being the Earthquake Punch from Shake It, which shakes the stage and release a mighty shockwave.
Luigi- Most is the same, but with a couple differences. His Up Special now does electric damage instead of fire. His Side Special also involves electricity instead of fire. His Down Special instead has him use the Poltergust 3000 to suck in projectiles and then release them out, a bit like Game and Watch, but as a projectile. His Final Smash is Luigi Finale, whch unleashes a green burst of lightning, functioning like Mario's FInal Smash to a degre, but arguably harder if a bit trickier.
As for the others, Francesca's Final Smash is entering her Firebird mode to go around and burn folks, sorta like Pikachu's Volt Tackle. Banjo & Kazooie's is the same as OTL, summoning the Mighty Jinjonator. Hector's would be calling in his friends for an attack. Togetic would be hitting everyone with Silver Wind for good damage and knockback, which would also give him a boost in all stat for a short while. Mewtwo would create a Psychic explosion from around him.
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Man, I would still probably get both Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Wario Land 5 during that time. I wounder though if the Mysims are still made, and is Spongebob still airing new episodes in this timeline? I wonder what country likes America the most this timeline? What country is considered the international pariah/similar like North Korea in our timeline?
As for some answers to potential questions:
- Zak here is still biracial, but as you can tell, his mom is now Japanese and thus he's half-Japanese. Doc is still African-American though.
- For Tales of TMNT, the voice actors would likely be those of OTL 2012's.
- The Fullmetal Alchemist anime here is a mix of OTL's 2003 anime and Brotherhood. It follows the events of the manga like Brotherhood and has the same visuals, but more of the music is like the 2003 anime, along with here having all of the side-stuff and so on here.
- For Persona 4, alot of the more questionable stuff was changed or reinterpreted over in the English Dub (and alot fo the other dubs too). For example, the jokes made at Kanji's expense are now more his tough guy act slipping and occasionally for being a momma's boy (think Brady from Fire Emblem Awakening) and overall, alot less mean spirited.
- Zak here is still biracial, but as you can tell, his mom is now Japanese and thus he's half-Japanese. Doc is still African-American though.
- For Tales of TMNT, the voice actors would likely be those of OTL 2012's.
- The Fullmetal Alchemist anime here is a mix of OTL's 2003 anime and Brotherhood. It follows the events of the manga like Brotherhood and has the same visuals, but more of the music is like the 2003 anime, along with here having all of the side-stuff and so on here.
- For Persona 4, alot of the more questionable stuff was changed or reinterpreted over in the English Dub (and alot fo the other dubs too). For example, the jokes made at Kanji's expense are now more his tough guy act slipping and occasionally for being a momma's boy (think Brady from Fire Emblem Awakening) and overall, alot less mean spirited.
Mysims are probably made and as for Spongebob... hmmm... I'd think the question is sorta. Hillenburg would remain longer until episode 100 before leaving. That said, the show airs plenty of reruns and they likely make hour-long special episodes every now and then, at least once or twice a year. A couple of normal OTL episodes do become specials here (like "The Original Fry Cook" being one).
As for which country is on best terms with... hard to say. US certainly has a better reputation due to getting involved in less snafus. I will say that one of their closest allies is Khalistan, given how the nation was founded. It does also mean that there is a "Sikh boom" in the early and mid 2000s in pop culture.
I don't think there's any nation that has a pariah status ITTL. There are still some nations that have to deal with corrupt governments, but there isn't anything like OTL's North Korea.
Man I loved Mysims, well at least the first game (the only one I had). I don't know why, but I miss the antics of such pariah states in this timeline, a weird sorta comedy with them I guess. I guess some random horrible people will be focused more on that front, plenty of meme opportunities for Lolcows.
I think part of it is this expectation within alternate historians that the world needs to be mostly like our own. It's really weird and strangely fatalistic. Another part could be is that it makes them feel better about themselves and where they live, which is screwed up in it of itself.
Yeah, definitely plenty more time to go for this timeline, wonder what amazingly hopeful things will happen next.
Memories of Another Me II
Memories of Another Me II
I'm now 15, finishing up my sophomore year of high school. If I was a girl, I'd be having a quinceañera right about now. But instead, I'm just looking back at what changed over from the past 5 years. I still kept up going to see my therapist. It became really important as middle school became the era of pre-teen awkwardness. That was especally the case because it was when I began struggling with some subjects. Well, mainly algebra and that was more I had to begin putting a bit more effort in it. But having that support system and so on helped alot. Beyond that, it was also letting me handle things of my emotions: the frustration of trying to get people and make friends and of course my own envy of my younger brother who was able to make friends well. But, having counsceling really helped me out there. And I got through middle school with few troubles. And things got better entering high school. I was able to start finding people I got along with and figuring out interests. I was still into Nintendo stuff. Still had my Nintendo Ulta 64 and the GameCube and then recently the Nintendo Wii. Stayed with franchises I mainly liked there, but also tried to experiment more with some other titles there. After all, there were recommendations like Nintendo Power and so on that recommended things. I also stayed with handhelds like with the GamePal DS. I still played Pokemon of course, but I began building out more with Super Smash Champs, Kirby, Animal Crossing, Mario, Legend of Hyrule, and so on. I preferred a bit more the RPs mainly though also some of the more actiony games. My younger brother meanwhile would go more toward the Abox 360 and I got to look at a couple games there. Besides video games, I began getting into anime and manga more. Well, as in more than the average kid. It was still the South so the most people would know was Dragonball Z or Sailor Moon or a couple other stuff. The school was also having more clubs and some of them I would consider joining, because it did seem rather neat.
One other interest was me growing on the Internet. It started with computer class and seeing the sort of websites the other students got in. This is what introduced me to things like sprite comics, flash animation, and internet forums with sites like Newgrounds and so on. It was a weird but fun time. I don't think alot of folks my age got the internet humor. I don't know if I shared much of this with my therapist, probably because I figure he wouldn't get it. But yeah, I would eventually get my own computer and go on my own on the Internet. I knew what I liked so I began exploring more and more, growing my field of interest. I began learning about more types of anime and manga, especially on the wild days of YouTube with clips and so on. I looked for Pokemon and found some forums there along with sprites and so on. There was alot of things competing for my attention over on the Internet. I began meeting with all sorts of people on forums and exposed to myself to all sorts of perspectives. I did my best not to take things seriously and would keep track of things as I would look through. I think there were times where my parents were becoming a bit worried if I was spending too much time online. Now, to be fair, it wasn't unwarranted. I still did my normal hobbies, but they were wanting me to do more and it'd be healthy for me. Of course, what helped mainly was the public transporation. By the time I left middle school, more and more towns and cities had bushes and were connected to such. I could now go across my town by bus if I wanted to and my dad would make my brother and I practice tasks, such as picking some things up from the various stores or bussing back. I began using it more as my town grew and I found some things to actually go and visit. One major thing would be a new outdoor mall area that was a bit further off, but given its size and influence, it would get some bus routes to it. With it, I was able to go a bit further out and become a bit more independent in how I was doing things. And I think affected something over when I entered high school. There was a chance for me to take a trip to Europe and that was something I think I wouldn't have been able to conside doing without the support I got from my folks and the therapy and the so on.
Of course, I still had a cell phone and everything to let my folks know where I was and I got more confident as I did it more. Sure I was a teenager now, but you can't be too careful. It did feel nice being to go where I wanted without having to use a car though and do things. It was a nice sense of freedom. And of course, there was also going to visit other places I initially wasn't aware of, which further expanded my horizons. All in my hometown. At the same time, I was still me. I still watched my cartoons and some other shows, played games and was on the web. But I felt like all of this stuff helped me out in feeling better and more confident in myself. I guess it also gave me a bit of a taste of wanting to travel more. Like, what else was out there? And of course, figuring out all the stuff about being a teenager. I wasn't one for peer pressure and so on. Also, I wasn't too confident to go and work at a job at one of these places. That said, I did do some volunteering. Middle school and high school helped really push that and even had that as a requirement. For me, I ended up volunteering at the library. I liked books, even though I wasn't a super big reader (I still liked to read.) It did make me wonder if being a librarian wouldn't be too bad of a job. It was pretty nice. And speaking of jobs, I guess figuring out what I want to do is a challenge. Some of my classmates would be more wanting to go to technical college and do blue collar work, working with your hands and all. That wasn't for me. I wasn't much for handiwork, but I really didn't know what else to do. Though some of the stuff in school was helping out there, especially with pointing in the direction. That said, I knew that work wasn't everything. My dad leaving HP after working there for like 20 years or something due to the change in management was something that made me realize the nature of work. That being said, the fact that the schools were doing more to help the students looking for jobs was something I appreciated. Especially since this wasn't done as well in the old ways apparently.
Looking around, not much is going, at least major. Not as many cars on the road. People could bus more and some of them would take stops to bigger buses that went further out.The lunches and breakfasts at school got even better and some of the stuff grown in like school gardens. Better from a few years back. For me and my fellow students, it was just the normal teen stuff for the most part. The 2000s was pretty peaceful. For us, it was about the second rise of hip-hop and rap combined with some of the punk stuff over in music. Fashion wasn't as big as it used to be and from what the talk was, it was mainly because of the wastefulness. I wasn't into sports so I couldn't contribute much on that front, nor for cars. Games were a bit complicated because some of my peers were liking more of the more mature looking shooting games, HALO and everything descended over from it. I think as more clubs are being born, there more stuff there is to do and I think they like encouraging students to join and give things a try. Both to try and keep us out of trouble and have us try new things.
It's a pretty good time for growing up though. Alot of stuff is good though I can't help but wonder if it could be better. And there was stuff in the future to think about like what I wanted to do and what made me happy. I liked drawing, but I wasn't sure how good I was at it, and if it'd be stable. And I was being exposed to more things that were making an impact on me. One would be hearing about a convention over in Atlanta known as DragonCon that occurred on Labor Day weekend. Would really like to go to that. And I think it's more about figuring out more of myself, ya know? Right now, being 15 is pretty okay for me. And there's lots of new things coming out. More YouTube videos, wondering how big MySpace is gonna grow and the similar websites, and so on.
Thanks! It was a bit trickier this time around since ITTL, the 2000s are rather quiet. Plus, I'm trying to picture myself how different I would be, which is a bit of a challenge I will admit. I don't think I'd radically change, but I would still be not the same as I am now.
Also, trying to best communicate how things are different, which I'm not sure how well I did here.
Life Of Another Me: An All Iowa Tale
Prologue:
My grandfather was going through another day on his farm near Carol, Iowa, deep in thought on a nice June day. While the landmark and paramount presidential election of 1980 was going on, Joseph was deep in thought on something more pressing, who would inherit the farm as he was getting older still at 53. Many other farmers of not just the area, but the whole country were all in the same thought on who to hand off their lands to. The tough economic conditions America faced have made many realize that they have no heir to their farms to continue the tradition. My father and his two male siblings where the candidates to take the farm, until my father decided he wanted to make himself a live off the farm and continue at Iowa State. One of my two uncles would be chosen after time and deliberation, Danny would be the one to take over the farm when Joseph retires. Politically it was an easy choice, Raegan was another republican stooge who just made things worse. Joseph was a true blue Democrat ever since he grew up in the Great Depression and who's family was helped by the FDR administrations programs and legislation, ecstatically for JFK for more than his Catholic beliefs, LBJ for his ideas, every president in-between who ran as democrat, and now Mo Udall for his background as a poor farmer and his policy (was on the County DNC board and was suspicious of the rich). The farm would later prosper more thanks to Udall policies that helped put an end to the Farm Crisis, eventually passing on to Danny after Joseph's retirement around 2002. My father meanwhile would have a transformative experience over at ISU.Prologue:
Ames would have many surprises laying for my father. People from all over the world come to ISU for its renowned agriculture and engineering schools, a fact true even in the 80's, an environment that allowed my father to grow in character. While Doan wasn't prejudiced, these experiences would help break down the small stereotypes still inside, and with the economic environment of the time, helped to grow his character further than expected. My mother would come to ISU from Guthrie Center with similar experiences at the university. Eventually the two would meet and would hit it off enough to get married and would decide to live in Ames, even getting a house there. My Brother Nick would be born there in 1994. The 90's would be a time of therapy that helped my father and mother grow closer and healthy through time. My mother and especially my father would become homesick for something resembling farm life through the therapy experience, and would find a acreage in a nearby small town for sale, buying it in 1995. Thanks to the greater therapy movement, my brother would be diagnosed early for autism somewhere in 1998, My sister Salena though would be fine when born in 1998. I would come to the world on the 18th of January of 2000, a year that started off with a party as in the rest of the world to celebrate the new millennium as well as the changes in the world. A interesting life would lie ahead for me as the timeline continued to diverge from 1976.
What do you guys think so far?
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Very, very intiguing and I appreciate you sharing this with us!
Yeah, I imagine your family would be happy to enjoy the single-payer healthcare and other beenfits! What would your grandfather think of Reubin Askew, Udall's VP and then successor?
And yeah, mental health becomes increasingly promoted and helpful over time throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
I wonder: does the movie Field of Dreams still get made ITTL? The premise of that movie is that Ray Kinsella, a struggling Iowa farmer, builds a baseball field in order to bring in visitors and thus make money - perhaps under Udall’s policies, Kinsella does better financially and thus the whole purpose of building the baseball field (and with that, the plot of the movie) is butterflied away. What do you think?
I think he would be happy with him, is Ruebin Catholic as well or was at one point? I know my brother and sister would be doing better.
It probably still gets made. While things get better, there could still be some bit of trouble or just that it could be a bit of different reasoning. I could see the film still being made though.
Well, I’m happy to see that - I watched the movie last summer, and I loved it!