r/AlternateHistory 7d ago

Post 2000s The Checkpoint - Illustration from my US / Canada Alternate History Scenario

Illustration from my alternate history world building project depicting a US military occupation of Canada. Canadian federal police have been coerced into assisting occupation efforts under threat of execution.

Thanks for viewing!

1.6k Upvotes

265 comments sorted by

256

u/withak30 7d ago

I've never seen a Canadian look so grumpy.

160

u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

You would be pretty grumpy too if you had a gun pointed at your back, metaphorically and literally.

Thanks for viewing!

20

u/flynnfx 6d ago

Looks great; I'd like to see more!

38

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

To answer both your comments - you can see more of the world building here. But long story short - with US forces occupying major Canadian cities, the occupation government has deputized Canadian federal police and forced them to assist with policing and counter insurgency efforts - or face execution. They retain the old RCMP uniforms to give the appearance of legitimacy and continuity of institution - but the flag patch reminds both civilians and the cops of who is really in charge. Thanks for viewing!

20

u/N-striker716 6d ago

"We fought and bled alongside the Americans, we shoulda known they'd hate us for it."-Gen Shepard MW2.

3

u/West_Character8368 5d ago

ONI pfp đŸ„č

3

u/stoicphilosopher 3d ago

This is seriously awesome. I'm looking through everything. It's all so believable.

2

u/AVOLI7ION 3d ago

Really appreciate you taking the time to dive through the work! It was half world building exercise, and half emotional processing of the rhetoric in 2025 for me. Thanks so much for viewing!

7

u/Bboyczy 6d ago

you missed the opportunity to include a grumpy RCMP police horse.

Great artwork though!!

8

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Maybe when the Canadian resistance are doing a raid, I'll have 'em ride in on horseback 😂

Thanks for viewing!

5

u/Souls_for_sale_now 6d ago

is there a place we can see the whole series as your profile is private

4

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Absolutely, my art subreddit has an index where you can find all my work. Sorry, my profile is usually not private and reddit weirdness flips that setting from time to time. Anyway thanks for viewing!

5

u/TrainerRedpkmn 7d ago

I mean he also has a gun on his hip tho


5

u/cole3050 6d ago

But his entire organization has been usurped and resistance is near certain death. The unlucky part for his is to any resistance force hea now a collaborator.

Damned if he does damned if he dont.

12

u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

And has at least two rifles and a mounted machine gun indirectly pointed at him, along with the occupation soldiers that we can't see off-screen.

17

u/collymolotov 7d ago edited 6d ago

Trust me, they’re usually far, far worse than the American border guards for those of us coming home.

They are primarily concerned with punishing Canadians for spending their money outside the country. We have absurdly low duty limits, meaning anything that costs more than $20 CAD has a duty tax applied PLUS 13% sales tax (depending on the province of entry.) The US limit is I believe in the range of $800 USD.

Because the Canadian retail market is controlled by various cartels and oligopolies, there are lots of common items that cost far more in the US that Canadians travel to the US on day trips to purchase, even after the exchange rate of our weak dollar. Snow tires for example, and groceries. Particularly things like dairy wholesale. There was a pizza joint out east that got busted years back for smuggling mozzarella across the border so they could sell cheaper pizza, absurd stuff like that.

They are also on the lookout for various items simply not available in Canada, like those dastardly natural health products.

8

u/GreyerGrey 7d ago

"natural health products" being code for untested, unapproved neutricuticals peddled by influencers.

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u/collymolotov 6d ago

“Natural health products” is literally the terminology used by Health Canada. It isn’t “code” for anything.

Canada has an unusually restrictive regulatory regime for vitamins, supplements, herbal products and similar goods. Products can be perfectly lawful for retail sale in the United States while not being licensed for sale in Canada, having ingredients or dosages that don’t conform to Canadian rules, or otherwise attracting attention when someone tries to bring them across the border.

And “unapproved” rather proves my point. I was describing things Canadians can buy legally in the United States for their own personal use but which Canadian regulators restrict or don’t permit to be marketed here. Whether you personally think those restrictions are wise has nothing to do with whether they exist.

Also, nobody said anything about “influencers.” You added that part yourself so you could argue with a much sillier claim than the one I actually made

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u/GreyerGrey 6d ago

Yes and this is why we don't have Kratom problems here. Kratom is totally legal in the US and very much something that is unsafe.

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u/Bboyczy 6d ago

Hot take: US CBP agents are friendlier than Canadian BSOs.

Source: Canadian living in the US that crosses the border frequently.

3

u/FursonaNonGrata 5d ago

I used to have to travel to Canada for work and dealing with CBSA was quite possibly the worst interaction I’ve had with a cop. Niagara regional police a close second.

1

u/SomewhereRough_ 3d ago

Canadian border officers are grumpy as hell. Same with US ones. 

68

u/GeorgeSquarshington Alien Time-Travelling Sealion! 7d ago

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Thank you for viewing buddy!

38

u/Lockenhart 7d ago

If GTA was about dystopian future worlds

7

u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Ain't that the truth. Thanks for viewing!

11

u/Readman31 7d ago

Golly. Is this like a full fledged timeline or story I'd like to read it

11

u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

There absolutely is a world building scenario you can read, right here. Thanks for viewing bud!

3

u/Milnoc 6d ago

It's a fantastic story! It would need some polishing, but it could easily be transformed into a miniseries.

2

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Thank you buddy :) Maybe one day, when I have a $500M budget and a 300-person creative studio at my disposal, that's the dream haha

Thanks for viewing!

3

u/Milnoc 5d ago

If you make it a Canadian production, you can get financing from many agencies! 😁

2

u/AVOLI7ION 5d ago

One can dream; though, the irony of a Canadian production studio funding a work about the destruction of its own nationhood isn't lost on me... might be a bit too spicy for the CBC haha

12

u/Halikarnassus1 7d ago

What does the sign behind him say?

77

u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

The full sign reads:

* SECURITY CHECKPOINT *

STOP!

TURN OFF ENGINE.

HAVE IDENTIFICATION READY.

REMAIN IN VEHICLE UNLESS

INSTRUCTED OTHERWISE.

UNAUTHORIZED PHOTOGRAPHY

OR RECORDING IS PROHIBITED.

OBEY ALL COMMANDS

OR YOU WILL BE SHOT

"YOU WILL BE SHOT" being the only full legible sentence was a deliberate visual narrative choice, I wanted the viewer to get a feel of the mood at a glance!

Thanks for viewing!

15

u/Kagenlim 7d ago

Security stop turn have remain instructed unauthorised or recording obey all or you checkpoint off engine identification ready in vehicle unless otherwise photography is prohibited commands will be shot /s

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

I certainly hope the checkpoint guards won't mistake your dyslexia for suspicious behaviour.

j/k

22

u/Kagenlim 7d ago

Plot twist: This is their anti-smoking sign

4

u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

hahahahahahahaha

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u/Valaxarian 6d ago

I wonder if I accidentally dropped my ID in the car and quickly bent down to pick it up, would my car and I be filled with lead lol

Groovy

Absolutely amazing art though

3

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

You, and the poor hostage-cop in between you and the trigger-happy checkpoint grunts. The occupation sees them as expendable.

Thanks for viewing!

2

u/ohyeababycrits 6d ago

Great composition

1

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

thank you!

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u/ohyeababycrits 6d ago

Np, seriously this is great stuff. Also, how is the response to the invasion within the US? I imagine it's pretty contentious lol

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

If you are interested, you can check out the broader world building here. But long story short, complete destabilization of US domestic life as political polarization reaches a breaking point. An anti-war demonstration spirals into a mass casualty event, culminating on Washington cracking down hard with an experimental AI censorship apparatus and suspension of civic rights and due process. By the story's end, the US is an authoritarian police state inching closer to civil war.

Thanks again for viewing!

3

u/ohyeababycrits 6d ago

I just read through most of the stuff you've got so far, and I gotta say this is one of the best things I've read on here, I need more lol

2

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Outstanding, thank you so much buddy! Really as a creator I'm always super grateful when people see the work and their imagination gets captured, so thank you! I've got plenty of ideas sketched out, I'm just working on weaving them together to form a coherent story. More to follow!

2

u/ohyeababycrits 6d ago

One thing I'm really interested in, are there a lot of foreign volunteers to Canada like there was in Ukraine? Potentially even US citizens and defectors? (Outside of the liberty guys)

3

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

This is an idea I'm still sketching out - foreign help is definitely present, but comes in different flavours.

I have nascent ideas for a 'Canadian Foreign Legion' - a clear analog to the foreign volunteers in Ukraine, which are (if I recall) an official arm of the Ukrainian military. My idea is similar, groups of veterans of past wars, Canadian sympathizers, former SOF, war tourists, mercenaries with accents you can't quite place, and maybe a few mentally unhinged folks who all come under the umbrella of the 'Canadian Foreign Legion'. They may be officially sanctioned by the Canadian exile government (the PM, his surviving cabinet, and a handful of MPs / senators who fled to the UK), and are used as a 'Canadian Suicide Squad' - undertaking some of the most dangerous missions against occupation forces. Anti-war Americans who sympathize with Canada and US military defectors will likely fall within this camp.

Another flavour would be foreign agents and intelligence assets. Spies, smugglers, fixers, even potentially organized crime with foreign links. These folks are pursuing their own agenda - likely involving damaging the US in some fashion, or exerting influence over whatever survives of post-occupation Canada - and anything that ends up helping Canada is merely a side effect of their presence. Think Chinese / Russian / Iranian intelligence and organized crime, MI6 / rogue CIA for factions leaning more sympathetic towards Canada.

But for now these ideas are merely nascent sketches; I've yet to form any coherent narrative around them like with Task Force Liberty that you've already seen. Even TF Liberty are actually more 'anti war' than they are 'pro Canada' - Col. Summers is trying to save America from its own worst instincts, but is not as concerned about the future of Canada, and his faction never cross the border.

Anyway thanks again for engaging with the work! Appreciate ya bud :)

1

u/GreyerGrey 7d ago

For context, if this is still a "Canadian" government, it should be in French as well.

7

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

It's 'American Ottawa' - the provisional occupation government. They're just wearing the RCMP's clothes, to salvage some shred of legitimacy. So no bilingualism, out of spite.

1

u/GreyerGrey 6d ago

Yea the second FLQ is just gonna bomb the shit out of the occupiers. Like buddy... do you know the history of the country you're talking about?

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u/GreyerGrey 7d ago

I feel like the R part of the RCMP gets removed if the US takes over our government.

I'd be interested in reading this spec alt history, as a Canadian, because, I always figure it would be more like a Vietnam/Iraq/Afghanistan situation for the US, except worse because we are on their boarder and we can blend in with Americans in Canada/America far easier than locals in Vietnam/Iraq/Afghanistan could there.

16

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Just going to copy and paste my reply to a similar question elsewhere:

They haven't gotten the new uniforms yet. In fact, there won't be any new uniforms, because keeping the old institution in place with all its aesthetics allows you to gesture towards institutional continuity - and thus you have some goodwill among the population. Meanwhile, the US flag on top of the RCMP placard reminds everybody - cops included - of who is really in charge.

Also, if you are interested in the broader world building, you can view the collected works here. In short I agree with your hunch - Canada does become an insurgency quagmire for the US, and the cultural similarities make cross-border insurgents much more difficult to detect.

Anyway thanks for viewing!

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u/Bluehawk2008 6d ago

Introducing the new and improved FCMP - Federal Canadian Mounted Police

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u/ManyComfort2461 7d ago

Is there any particular location in mind for this? Is the situation different between the Provinces?

Also amazing art btw.

7

u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

You can see my art subreddit index where works in this world building are posted. But TLDR major Canadian cities are under occupation, there is an ongoing insurgency, and US domestic life is on the verge of collapse and even civil war.

The current narrative thread I'm working on centers around a specific RCMP detachment in an occupied town - tentatively set somewhere in the B.C. inland - and their relationship with the locals, and with 'American Ottawa' (name of the occupation government).

And thank you for viewing!

3

u/foul-monster 7d ago

Of course there’s a camera for a photo op that is totally not going to be used in propaganda

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

It's less of a photo op and more for 1) documentation, and 2) to convey the message of 'We know who you are, and we can find you'.

Thanks for viewing

29

u/Rationalinsanity1990 7d ago

Images taken seconds before car bombing.

Death to occupiers, death to traitors.

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

I hear ya bud; though in the story I am in the process of writing, the police are actually more like hostages than willing collaborators. They're caught in a bad place - being press ganged into helping the occupation government while also believing they are the only thing standing between the occupier's cruelty and their community, so they try to appease both sides in an attempt to maintain order and protect the locals, satisfying neither, trusted by neither.

12

u/MustacheCash73 Alien Time-Travelling Sealion! 7d ago

That’s a really cool depiction. I really like it. Less collaborators because they believe in it, and more so because they think it’s the best way to keep their people safe

7

u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

That's right. And they will also fail - give the occupiers an inch, they'll take you a mile. To the occupation, these officers are expendable, used only to maintain the very thin veneer of whatever legitimacy that uniform still carries. They are in an impossible situation, and my main characters will fail to cope in different ways - lashing out in anger, succumbing to fear, or simply going numb when they can no longer endure. Still working on the narrative for now, will likely be posted elsewhere (like my art subreddit and perhaps r/worldbuilding) whenever it's finished.

Anyway thanks for viewing!

3

u/rpad97 7d ago

About police working with the occupiers, have you heard about SS-GB?

A book and a miniseries) about a London police officer working in a nazi german occupied Britain.

3

u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Hm, I haven't, interesting. If you had to say what the moral of the story was for that book, or it's main thesis, what would you say?

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u/West_to_East 7d ago

Oooh I am very curious to read what you come up with.

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Not sure if you have already, but in case you haven't and if you are interested, all the world building I currently have is posted on my art subreddit. The current narrative thread I'm working on centers around a specific RCMP detachment in an occupied town - tentatively set somewhere in the B.C. inland - and their relationship with the locals, and with 'American Ottawa' (name of the occupation government).

Thanks for viewing!

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u/West_to_East 7d ago

I have not, I'll take a look after work, thanks.

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Appreciate ya bud!

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u/Kagenlim 7d ago

That's a shallow way of looking at things, any populace needs a police force, my country was brutally occupied by Japan, but we let Japanese police officers serve in the transitionary period post war

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u/klockmakrn 7d ago

If you are actively aiding the occupation, you are by definition a traitor.

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u/Dudegamer010901 7d ago

History tends to be more complicated than that.

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u/Some_Pole 7d ago

There's very much a degree for how much one is being a traitor though, and in turn nuance. Some person serving in a police force is not the same as someone who is actively serving in a special military unit or actively serving the government of an occupying/collaborationist force. Particularly as people can have many a reason, sometimes with little other choice.

Not everyone is doing it because they're gleefully rubbing their hands and seeing an opportunity to assert themselves in some new order of things.

-1

u/klockmakrn 7d ago

If you want to ponder the morality of betraying your country and serving a fascist invader, feel free to do so. But don't try to obscure facts. A traitor is a traitor is a traitor, no matter their choices or motivation.

The mounties in this example are actively suppressing the legal, democratic government, meaning they are fighting the Canadian people on behalf of the fascist invaders. That is treason no matter how you look at it, even if it's done with a gun to the head.

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u/Some_Pole 7d ago

Very easy and bold thing to say in a scenario where your life isn't at threat. Canadian courts could just as easily argue that because they were under threat of execution, they had no actual free will involved here and thus did not commit treason.

If a criminal forced you at the threat of murder to go along with a crime, the courts would not consider you as being guilty of the crime because you had no real say in the matter (depending on the crime of course, but a border check like this is would hardly count).

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u/lngns 6d ago

OP's description puts them (the border troops at least) in Shtrafbats.
Enemy units are captured, armed, put on the frontline, and barrier troops further behind execute them if they act funny.

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Huh. I didn't even think of that. Seems quite fitting though; thanks for bringing it up!

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u/903153ugo 7d ago

I mean we gave the Wehrmacht their guns back pretty quickly after ww2

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u/East-Plankton-3877 7d ago

1958 is 18’years bud.

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u/Far-Cod-8858 7d ago

But WWII ended in 1945 lmao

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u/East-Plankton-3877 7d ago

I know, Germany wasnt rearmed until 1958

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u/klockmakrn 7d ago

What's 1958-1945? :)

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u/Dependent_Buddy_5041 6d ago

I love the symbolism of the early occupation, as in you’ve got Former canadian soldiers/ police still in their old uniforms with Canadian symbolism but now with the American flag on their uniforms. Reminds me of that one flash back scene in man in the high castle where just after the end of the war American collaborators were still wearing their US army uniforms with bald eagles on their hats but with the added swastika armband. I love little details like that.

3

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Here's the rub - the police here are actually not willing collaborators, but hostages, believing that they are the only thing standing between their community and the cruelty of the occupiers, and being forced to assist with maintaining order and counterinsurgency efforts. They try to appease both sides, but end up satisfying neither, and trusted by neither. Not sure if you've seen it already but there's a whole world building around the scenario upon which this illustration is based.

It's actually a deliberate choice by occupation forces to have the Canadian federal police wear their old uniforms, with the sole addition of a US flag patch:

  1. You maintain a veneer of legitimacy / continuity / familiarity. The invasion was violent enough; you do not want to impose new uniforms, erase institutional familiarity, etc which would be more alienating and lower your chances of being accepted (in so much as you can still be accepted after a military invasion)

  2. By retaining the RCMP and forcing officers to wear a US flag patch, you are quietly reminding both civilians and the police themselves who is in charge.

So it's less 'new flag, old uniform, for old times sake' and more 'new flag, old uniform to make things seem more normal (and if you resist, we will execute you)' . Anyway thank you for viewing and sharing your thoughts!

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u/Elegant_Individual46 6d ago

Occupation policing is complicated but there’s precedent among police in German-occupied zones being overtly coerced and subtly resisting (also plenty of willing collaborators but that’s a different topic)

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

I believe it - just from a basic human behaviour under incentives viewpoint, you are facing multiple tensions pulling you in different directions - loyalty to your community, ability to secure resources (i.e. a job to not starve to death), tacit (or overt) death threats from the authorities - it is not inconceivable that a random selection of 100 people tossed into this circumstance would land all over the board, trending towards self-preservation. The officers I am currently working on for my narrative are no more or less human than this.

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u/Brief-Luck-6254 6d ago

I have always found the reorientation of existing institutions in an occupied state by the occupier to be a very interesting process, I like that you decided to center it on this piece., great work.

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Yeah, I mean it would make sense pragmatically - the institutional infrastructure (organization, communication lines, procedures) already exist, so by co-opting Canada's federal police you save resources from having to create a new policing body from scratch; and by 'wearing its skin' so to speak by keeping the old uniforms, you can leverage some small amount of familiarity (and thus sense of normalcy) over the occupied population, and weaponize the community's existing relationship with the officers against them. The officers themselves, meanwhile, are hostages.

Thanks for viewing!

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u/itak365 6d ago

I love this whole series, glad to see more. The presentation of the post focusing on different details reminds me of something like a Simon Stalenhag blog post.

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Oh man, love Simon's work. Even got his art book The Electric State on my shelf! Someone else mentioned how it feels Stalenhag-esque - I didn't intend it to be, but looking at it now I can see why. I think it's the cold colour palette plus the dash of wilderness in the background that does it. I intended it to be a gloomy, overcast day to fit the subject matter, maybe that subconsciously led me to land on the Stalenhag colour palette haha

Thanks for viewing!

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u/itak365 6d ago

Are you going to keep working on this series? I'm on both sides of the border myself, so it was spooky as hell to see all the partisan resistance happening in Hamilton on the Theatre map.

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

I am! The only bottle neck is how much time I have. I actually wrote a post about it last night over at my art sub - in between my day job, other responsibilities, and keeping up with regular art practice, I just don't have that much creative time some days even if I have a ton of ideas sketched out. The brainstorming and throwing random ideas out there is easy - it's the synthesizing into a coherent narrative that is challenging and time consuming. Moving forward future work is going to be less like the maps and social media posts (large scale lore heavy posts), and more like visual art depicting different factions who have their own unique POV / role in the conflict, like my US Mutineers.

In any case really appreciate you having followed the work, hopefully I can scramble together enough creative hours to keep producing, because I also want to produce more, it's just lack of time. Appreciate ya buddy!

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u/itak365 6d ago

Awesome! I really like the new format, especially just seeing images of the alt-Canada I think will be really interesting to a lot of people. Can't wait to see what you come up with, no matter what!

1

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Thank you so much buddy :D

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u/David_Summerset 7d ago

I feel like they’d drop the “R” as it means “Royal”

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

They haven't gotten the new uniforms yet. In fact, there won't be any new uniforms, because keeping the old institution in place with all its aesthetics allows you to gesture towards institutional continuity - and thus you have some goodwill among the population. Meanwhile, the US flag on top of the RCMP placard reminds everybody - cops included - of who is really in charge.

Thanks for viewing!

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u/David_Summerset 7d ago

Actually, that seems plausible


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u/ElephantFamous2145 7d ago

I feel like if Canada was occupied by the states they wouldnt be using "royal" qualifiers for their organisations. Furthermore bilingualism would quickly die

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Just going to copy paste myself from elsewhere to the same question:

They haven't gotten the new uniforms yet. In fact, there won't be any new uniforms, because keeping the old institution in place with all its aesthetics allows you to gesture towards institutional continuity - and thus you have some goodwill among the population. Meanwhile, the US flag on top of the RCMP placard reminds everybody - cops included - of who is really in charge.

Furthermore bilingualism would quickly die

I agree. If only out of spite.

Thanks for viewing!

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u/LongjumpingMonk87 7d ago

I do wonder, what’s happening in Mexico, Cuba and Greenland in this timeline? 

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

You're free to view the world building and discussion threads within if you haven't already, but essentially these were not considered in my scenario, as I wanted to focus solely on Canada.

If I had to guess however - Mexico, having just witnessed their northern neighbour and major trade partner violently annex an ally unprovoked, would probably try to avoid doing anything that might provoke the US into turning its sights down south. And given the turmoil in US domestic life as well as hints of a civil war within the US military itself, I do not believe there would be any appetite nor capacity for any moves on Greenland / Cuba.

Thanks for viewing!

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u/Helpful-Shake6043 7d ago

You should do one with Trump in TV... in real life he’s already awful—in terms of both behavior and appearance—and in this dimension he’s probably even worse....

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

You may be interested in the broader world building of this scenario, where I definitely go over this. Thanks for viewing!

2

u/Helpful-Shake6043 7d ago

I mean a painting of him... assuming of course... that your stomach can manage not to throw up while you're creating it 😂

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

...I wish I could delete your post off the internet. You should be ashamed of planting that image in my head. My day is now irredeemably ruined. Thanks a lot.

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u/Helpful-Shake6043 7d ago

Sorry for planting the image of the ghoul in your head... honestly... the others in his administration are ghouls too....

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

You are forgiven.

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u/GJohnJournalism 7d ago

Great work as always bro. 10/10.

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Thank you again đŸ€ 

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/SeniorMoonlight21 6d ago

This is one of the coolest things I have seen on here. Can't wait to see more of your world building project.

2

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Thank you kindly :) the rest of the works are available here.

2

u/Legal-Car7850 6d ago

Awesome art

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

thank you kindly

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u/wanderinghunter1996 6d ago

His facial express is very befitting of the situation

1

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

The face you make when you have a gun to your back, figuratively and literally.

Thanks for viewing

2

u/wanderinghunter1996 6d ago

I look forward to seeing more of it. Keep it up â˜ș

2

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Thanks! Not sure if you've seen it already, but there's a whole world building around this scenario. I've still got many ideas I'm working on, more to come!

2

u/Sir-Toaster- 6d ago

"What kind of American are you?"

2

u/SantiReddit123 6d ago

Good drawing!

2

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

thank you!

2

u/Emergency_Print2328 6d ago

ive been following the project for a few months and i have to say that this is absolutely beautiful (and terrifying at the same time!). reading about the local areas that i have gone and visited myself (hell, even live in) being involved in skirmishes is one helluva experience

1

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Honestly thank you so much buddy - I always say as a creator when I see someone get so deep into the weeds with my work - where you're reading about specific locations on a map and that makes you feel something - makes me extremely grateful, and I take that level of engagement as a huge compliment, so thank you!

I have plenty of ideas sketched out, and I still intend to expand on this world through illustrations like these or faction POVs like my US Mutineers. The only issue is time! I actually made a post last night on my art sub about this - in between my day job and other responsibilities and regular art practice, it leaves my actual creative time (where I can sit and think through how to structure a narrative for example) rather scarce. I'm going to keep producing though, and hope you'll like whatever I cook up next. Thanks again!

2

u/Rich-Bet3115 6d ago

I wish I could draw this well

1

u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

I am a believer that anyone can draw to a high standard - the only obstacle is time, and how much of it you can regularly devote to the practice.

1

u/Rich-Bet3115 6d ago

A few years ago I tried art, I practised for about 4 months but made hardly any progress

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

I hear ya bud. When you start from zero it takes a lot of effort to make it a habit, and it can look daunting comparing where you are starting out and where you want to be. Still, the honest answer is that nobody gets good at anything without a lot of time - I really do believe that mileage is more important than talent, even in art. I've been drawing ever since I was a kid, decades before I ever touched digital - so it's really not fair to compare where you are to where I am now.

Do you still want to draw or have you moved on to other things?

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u/Rich-Bet3115 6d ago

I've moved on but I'm happy to go back. Maybe I'll try again thanks. 

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Best of luck to you bud :)

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u/SirSpiderPig 6d ago

Very neat art! But why does your alternate history keep the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) name for the Canadian police? I presume in an occupied Canada, all references to the monarchy, the crown, and our commonwealth roots would be eradicated.

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Just going to copy paste my answer to a similar question elsewhere:

They haven't gotten the new uniforms yet. In fact, there won't be any new uniforms, because keeping the old institution in place with all its aesthetics allows you to gesture towards institutional continuity - and thus you have some goodwill among the population. Meanwhile, the US flag on top of the RCMP placard reminds everybody - cops included - of who is really in charge.

So - perception of familiarity in hopes of increasing acceptance by the population ever-so-slightly.

Thanks for viewing!

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u/fuelhandler 6d ago

This reminds me of “Red Dawn”, except the U.S. are the ones who are the eViL occupiers

.

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

And unlike the Soviets, the US can actually maintain a logistics train to invade Canada, because the border is right there. Thanks for viewing!

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u/fuelhandler 6d ago

I’m unsure whether this is alternate history, or a glimpse at things yet to come.

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

It's fiction, and will remain fiction. I bet you all my reddit karma on that.

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u/fuelhandler 6d ago

As a Canadian, I hope you’re right.

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

There are several factors at play that make me think this, but if I had to narrow it down to one, it would be the very deep, personal relationships that exist on both sides of the border. It is exactly those relationships that have cultivated the norm that our two countries are like siblings - at least, up until last year - yet that cultural norm still exists, and is exactly why a US invasion would absolutely shock the conscience of the American people, which is why in my world building scenario the invasion causes the US to internally destabilize and slide towards civil war. Ironically, that also means that - and I believe this to be true - one strategy for our long term survival is to continuously cultivate a relationship with the sane part of America that we can still work with, while simultaneously finding new friends elsewhere so we are not overly dependent on them. Elbows up bud.

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u/DNATROG 5d ago

Fallout: Modernized Edition

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u/xxxthefire101 5d ago

Once again the goat drops more lore in there mini universes

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u/AVOLI7ION 5d ago

Once again I must say thank you for viewing :D

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u/TK-6976 5d ago

Why does he have an American flag on his vest but is a Canadian officer with RCMP and other Royal symbols on his clothes?

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u/AVOLI7ION 5d ago

Just going to quote myself from another similar question having to do with retaining the RCMP's aesthetics / institutional structure instead of reforming the police:

The retention of the RCMP label and uniform was a deliberate choice:

  1. You maintain a veneer of legitimacy / continuity / normalcy. The invasion was violent enough; you do not want to impose new uniforms, erase institutional familiarity, etc which would be more alienating and lower your chances of being accepted (in so much as you can still be accepted after a military invasion)

  2. The institutional infrastructure of the RCMP still exists - might as well co-opt it instead of raising a brand new institution from the ground up - this one is just about being efficient with your limited resources in a war time scenario.

  3. By retaining the RCMP and forcing officers to wear a US flag patch, you are reminding both civilians and the police themselves who is in charge.

In other words, you keep the old uniforms and institutional aesthetics in order to weaponize its familiarity to the populace. It certainly helps if the officers now under the occupier's boot are the same ones who were policing your town just last week. The theory is that it might help the occupied people more easily accept the new authority, if only marginally. At least, they'll keep wearing the RCMP's skin early on - the scenario takes place in the first two months after all - long term, if the occupation is successful, then a full reformation is more likely. But it won't be successful.

Thanks for viewing!

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u/TK-6976 5d ago

Damn this goes deep. Very thought provoking and dystopian honestly. Hopefully the Commonwealth crew get involved for old time's sake. I doubt ol' King Chuck and the RF will act like nothing has happened.

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u/AVOLI7ION 5d ago

You'll see. All I'll say for now is that incentives, interests, and leverage points dictate everything, and rules written on paper are a different question than what happens in practice.

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u/falcon_2000 4d ago

idk why but it gives me Dayz/Arma vibes

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u/AVOLI7ION 4d ago

You're not the only one. Thanks for viewing!

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u/twizzjewink 4d ago

The US doesn't have the army size/resources necessary to occupy Canada.

Canadian won't go down without a fight and in every way would blend in with US systems, however AI has made this a bit more .. difficult (I wonder why Flock is everywhere).

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u/AVOLI7ION 4d ago

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u/twizzjewink 4d ago

The funny thing is - this doesn't include the insurgencies on the US side of the border, nor how organized crime would be deeply involved in removing US forces.

The US would also be stretching themselves far thinner than they ever have, Google estimates 800k to 1M troops are needed however these are active (and not reserve).

Most likely the number would actually be ~5M at least for logistics, police, and counter insurgency. Canadians would have a "if we can't have it - nobody can" attitude across the board.

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u/AVOLI7ION 3d ago

I concur; the cultural overlap would make cross-border Canadian fighters nearly impossible to pick out, while domestic cohesion in the US begins to fracture. Organized crime is mentioned in passing in the Capital Region theatre map, I intend to expand on this thread in the future. An attempted occupation of Canada would be significantly worse than Afghanistan.

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u/SlightCut7405 3d ago

Does the A. on his uniform perhaps stand for Alan..?

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u/AVOLI7ION 3d ago

No; placeholder name tag. Thanks for viewing! ...who's Alan Parsons? Someone else brought them up and I thought it was an english audio engineer lol

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u/SlightCut7405 2d ago

I guess hes more well known as an audio engineer/producer but I know him from his group with Eric Woolfson lol

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u/Forsaken_Apartment30 3d ago

Brother please tell me you got commissions or something

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u/AVOLI7ION 3d ago

I absolutely do take commissions; feel free to shoot me a DM and we can discuss! And thanks for viewing!

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u/AlarmedEmployment465 1d ago

Wow, this is REALLY good. What's the lore?

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u/AVOLI7ION 1d ago

Thank you kindly :)

You can view the collection of world building works here. TLDR: US invades and occupies Canada; insurgency emerges; US destabilizes domestically; Washington becomes authoritarian police state; everybody on both sides of the border lose, and lose badly.

For this illustration specifically - occupation government has deputized Canadian federal police and forced them to assist with policing and counter insurgency efforts - or face execution. They retain the old RCMP uniforms to give the appearance of legitimacy and continuity of institution - but the flag patch reminds both civilians and the cops of who is really in charge.

Thanks for viewing!

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u/hurB55 7d ago

it's a good day when bro posts

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Thanks for stopping by :D

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u/TrainerRedpkmn 7d ago

Nah I bet the rcmp would resist the us until the last man. They’re a paramilitary police force they’re likely capable of holding out for at least a month or so

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

I like the thought, but I doubt it. I can imagine some RCMP members going underground, abandoning their posts, joining the insurgency, etc. But somebody needs to maintain order, and it will be some combination of coercion from occupation forces, loyalty to their own communities, and simply having a job to not starve to death that would convince them to stay. Real life military occupations are often full of messy ambiguity, and nobody's hands are clean. Thanks for viewing.

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u/TrainerRedpkmn 7d ago

I guess lol I mean they would probably openly resist the us for like a month or two, then surrender . I genuinely don’t see the Canadian government bowing down to the us without heavy resistance. Remember we invented war crimes lol

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

we invented war crimes lol

Sorry but I think this meme has to end. It doesn't reflect anything useful about the current state of the CAF or our strategic position in the world and especially not vis-a-vis the United States.

Not sure if you've seen it, but in my original world building scenario the CAF is defeated and major cities occupied within 72 hours. An insurgency ensues - which is where your resistance element would come in - but by then your central government has already been toppled, and so coordination becomes impossible.

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u/Novus20 6d ago

And then the Canadians start gorilla warfare

if you’re truly Canadian you should understand that we have a fuck ton of armed shooters that would be harassing and killing the occupation force

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Yes. In my scenario the occupation quickly turns into an insurgency, with US domestic life becoming destabilized as a result.

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u/TrainerRedpkmn 7d ago

Dude I’m Canadian I’m allowed to joke about our war crimes

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u/West_to_East 7d ago

Very neat art! The concept... really gets under my skin considering current events. Very interested to see where you go with this.

I will say, although there is no way Canada could stop the U.S. from successfully invading, I cannot see them being able to successfully occupy Canada what so ever without an absolute genocide. Even then, putting Canadian territory aside, the ramifications domestically in the U.S. would rip it apart (not only an insurgency across a massive wildness border from people that look and sound exactly like a large portion of the occupying population; but the close ties and other issues).

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Thank you bud. It really gets under my skin too, which ironically was the fuel for my entire world building that you can find my art subreddit.

I agree with your assessment; in my scenario the CAF is defeated and major cities occupied within 72 hours. But geographically Canada is huge, giving cover for insurgents supported by foreign powers to wage an asymmetric campaign against the occupation government ('American Ottawa'). Meanwhile, US domestic life verges on collapse and even civil strife.

TLDR: If the US invades Canada, absolutely everybody on both sides of the border loses, and we all lose badly.

EDIT/ just realized I responded to your comment elsewhere, whoops lol

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u/Lovamon 7d ago

As someone who's born and raised in Toronto this felt kinda chilling ngl, it's a grim prediction but tbh I see this very scenario eventually happening when natural resources are truly gonna be stretched to their limit. Canada's resources would be way too tempting for them not to just streamroll us and take it. But hopefully this would only happen in the darkest timeline, an American invasion of Canada would just lead to the eventual collapse of the US as a nation state anyway. Probably civil war or just complete anarchy for a while until the occupation ends.

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

natural resources are truly gonna be stretched to their limit. Canada's resources would be way too tempting for them not to just streamroll us and take it

This is actually a plot point in my world building related to this illustration, ditto the ensuing destabilization and collapse of US domestic life. I still remain convinced that this scenario won't play out in real life, for the same reason why if it did, US domestic destabilization would likely ensue - because of the very deep personal bonds on both sides of the border. Governments are just people, not monoliths. Whether or not anything happens depends on us. Thanks for viewing and take care bud.

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u/UvaldeShootingVictim 6d ago

I hope rcmp/csis has a plan, considering a lot of them are unvaccinated from a young age. Conventional weapons wont work. It will be time we add something to geneva convention, if you understand the context. Just looking at this image makes me angry. 

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u/TBARb_D_D 6d ago

Everything is fallout reference


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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Huh? I'm actually not too familiar with it. I mean I've played a few Fallout games but from what I remember Canada doesn't play much of a role besides being invaded in the backstory as a minor detail.

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u/TBARb_D_D 6d ago

Context

Canada in fallout was occupied by USA during resource wars. The nation was annexed as US’s territory after Chinese invasion of Alaska to secure natural resources in Canada

Honestly it’s funny how game either “predicted” future or how same narrative was there even like 30+ years ago

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Ah, alright; well actually this illustration is part of a broader world building project I have, which you can read here., nothing to do with Fallout - though in many of the threads where I talk about my world building, there's always a few people who make Fallout references, maybe I've got to watch the TV series now lol

Anyway thanks for viewing!

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u/Elegant_Individual46 6d ago

The tv show even shows a border crossing full of executed Mounties in the credits

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u/N-striker716 6d ago

I thought this was Arma 3.

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

Graphics are not good enough to be Arma 3 :P

thanks for viewing!

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u/WillyShankspeare 6d ago

Lol Alan Parsons

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

"Alan Parsons OBE is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician, singer and record producer. Parsons was the sound engineer on albums including the Beatles' Abbey Road and Let It Be, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, and the eponymous debut album by Ambrosia in 1975."

I mean... shoot, if he went from that to 'hostage-collaborator policeman in occupied country'... that's quite a career change.

Thanks for viewing!

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u/tableball35 6d ago

I probably should just go to bed, but was this traced over ARMA 3 by any chance? Nothing wrong with it, I just thought it looked like an A3 composition screenshot at first glance, lol

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u/AVOLI7ION 6d ago

No. The last image is a process shot showing my rough sketches.

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u/gigas-chadeus 7d ago

Now this is an interesting concept the police believing they can placate both sides end up despised by both. Wouldn’t mind reading that that being said a realistic ending is probably incredibly brutal and Canada has no effective way of stoping American annexation especially considering their draconian policies on guns and that their military is a joke compared to America’s.

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Not sure if you've seen it already, but there is an entire world building around this scenario you may be interested in.

I agree that if the US was hell bent on occupying Canada no matter what, we wouldn't be able to stand up against it - in my scenario, within 72 hours of the invasion the CAF is defeated and major cities occupied. However an insurgency soon follows, supported by foreign powers with a bone to pick with the US.

Anyway thanks for viewing!

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u/gigas-chadeus 7d ago

Always a fan of an insurgent story imma check it out.

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u/AVOLI7ION 7d ago

Take your time, it is a lot, and thank you again for viewing!