bakerstreet | the au meme.

the au meme.

the alternate universe meme

how to play
1. post with your character, name and canon in the subject line.
2. feel free to mention which aus you’re willing or not willing to play in the body of the comment.
3. tag by rolling for an alternate universe setting using rng.
4. or tag by picking whatever au you’d like to play in most.
5. have fun!

alternate universes
i - all human: in an all human au, characters who are canonically vampires, werewolves or superheroes, are now humans, with corresponding changes to their backstories.

ii - apocalypse: a portmanteau of "apocalypse fic", apocafic is fiction set during or after some sort of apocalypse, or end of the world. some canons carry a built-in apocalypse against which the protagonists are fighting: in apocafic, they lose. for example, apocafic in stargate and x-files is usually set after the alien occupation; supernatural apocafic is set on a demon-controlled earth.

iii - band: an alternate universe in which the characters are members in, or form a band. often, the instruments they plan and their roles in the band are analogous to their canon identities. for example, tony stark might be cast as the fame-hungry lead singer who is also a musical genius, or river tam might be a classically trained pianist who, after a terrible experience at julliard, writes songs for mal reynold's grunge rock band, serenity.

iv - circus: circus aus are a popular trope in fanfic and sometimes fanart. using a circus as a setting means introducing the characters to each other in a close-knit community. that can help break down barriers between them and make them bond together against the outside world which may not understand them as well as the other characters do. it also brings a sense of adventure and the idea that this world may have different rules and everything is possible. a circus can also be a good place for characters to go undercover and meet the love of their lives.

v - coffee shop: the barista au (or coffeeshop au, or the closely related bakery au) is a popular fanfiction trope in livejournal fandoms. in most cases, one half of the main pairing is the barista and the other is or becomes their favorite customer; in some stories the whole cast works at a coffee shop. this trope is especially popular in fandoms where one character is very attached to coffee, either in canon or in fanon, or is frequently stressed.

vi - college/high school: college fic is a popular genre of fanfic (less often a genre of fanart) that places characters together in college or another secondary institution such as the starfleet academy in star trek fic (then called "academy fic"). this can be canon stories, for example backstory if characters have or could have met during college, or college aus, similar to high school aus. in science fiction, historical or fantasy fandoms the present day college au is a popular subgenre of the modern au that puts fantastic or historical characters in more mundane everyday settings.

vii - cop/detective: an alternate universe in which the characters are cast as cops or investigators of some kind. often, the canon villain is also cast as the villain in the story. this might be set in modern times, or in a noir-like environment, complete with gangsters and femme fatales.

viii - daemons: his dark materials is a fantasy trilogy by philip pullman. the trilogy consists of the golden compass (1995; published in the uk as northern lights), the subtle knife (1997), and the amber spyglass (2000). there are currently two companion novellas: lyra's oxford (2003) and once upon a time in the north (2008). a movie adaptation of the first book was released in theatres in late 2007. humans have their souls living outside their body in the form of an animal companion. males have female souls and females have male souls. the animals often correspond to the character’s personality.

ix - fantasy: an alternate universe populated with fantastical characters like elves, dwarves, unicorns, sorcerers, and dragons. canon characters might be cast as analogous races (e.g. clint barton or katniss everdeen as elf archers) or they might be humans in a fantastical setting. characters also might be able to secretly shape-shift into another form, like a dragon, and therefore is related closely to were/vampire/supernatural aus.

x - historical: a historical au is a fanwork which moves characters into a different historical period than their canon setting. typically this involves taking "contemporary" characters (from the late 20th century or 21st century) and putting them in an earlier historical period (such as the 19th century or before). popular settings for historical aus include: pirates, america's old west, britain's regency period, ancient rome, a vague facsimile of medieval england such as robin hood, and many others.

xi - hooker/porn/stripper: hookerfic is a type of fanfic where one or more of the characters is a sex worker. there are many different types of hookerfic, ranging from more realistic depictions to the more common pretty woman-type fantasy of a hooker with a heart of gold, rescued from life on the streets by a client. sex work of all kinds is portrayed—brothels, escorts, street prostitution, "call-girls" as well as strippers and go-go boys.

xii - magic: magic aus are alternate universe fanworks that incorporate magic in fandoms where there is no magic present in canon. (or in some cases, fanworks that make a canon with magic more magical.) they differ from elf aus in that there may be magic without any elves showing up, and are opposites of all human and mundane aus.

xiii - neighbors/roomates: an alternate universe where the canon characters live next-door to one another, or in the same apartment building or complex, or in the same apartment. often, this is also an all-human au, if the canon characters are powered in some way. the forced proximity is usually used to create romantic tension between characters.

xiv - space/sci-fi: a space au is an alternate universe where a source set on earth is transported into space; works are often referred to as "[fandom] in spaaaaaaaaace!" the trope can be a form of crackfic, but often includes surprisingly serious reinterpretations of the most earthbound of sources, particularly historical fiction written or set before space exploration. cyberpunk trappings such as robots, cyborgs and ais are often included.

xv - steampunk: steampunk was originally a term for a sub-genre of speculative fiction that imitated 19th century "scientific romances" like the work of jules verne and h.g. wells. later, the term was applied to a general aesthetic involving styles that would be "futuristic" from the perspective of the 19th century. steampunk appears in fanworks as both a genre and an aesthetic. there are some fandoms for which the canon is steampunk(-ish), e.g. the secret adventures of jules verne, but more often it is found as steampunk alternate universe.

xvi - western: the western is a genre of fiction set in the later half of the 19th century in the western part of north america, especially the united states, but also canada and mexico. sometimes also included in the genre are stories about western-type characters and plots in other settings, e.g. "space westerns" (in science fiction settings) and contemporary westerns (set in the western part of contemporary north america).

xvii - were/vamp/supernatural: a reversal of the all-human, in these fics characters who are normally human are now supernatural creatures of some kind the most common being werewolves or vampires.

xviii - choose your own: self-explanatory! choose your own option.

( taken from here. )

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[Pierre rang the bell to Jack's apartment once and waited about two seconds before he unlocked it himself with the key he had been given. It wasn't rare for the other to sleep in so this had been arrange so he wouldn't be late for work since they worked at the same place and it was on the way for Pierre.]

Jack, I hope that you are awake and ready to go or you will be late and make me late with you.

[ A mussed white head barely had time to clear the pillow before Pierre was already coming in the door, and Jack groaned loudly at his coworker. ]

M'not late. I have... [ he raised his head to peer blearily at the clock ] ... nine minutes, which means I can sleep at least five more of them.

No you can't.

[Without any care about how much the other would dislike his next move, Pierre walked into Jacks bedroom and pulled away both pillow and covers. Call him cold, but it needed to be done.]

If you don't start to at least be awake when I come to pick you up I will start coming early.

[ A yelp that ended in a while before Jack sits up on the deblanketed bed, huffing in annoyance and grumbling under his breathe. ]

This is early. And I'm pretty sure this arrangement was your idea anyway...

[ He swung his legs out of the bed and padded towards the bathroom, snagging a shirt (clean, he hoped) on the way. He kicked the door shut behind him but at least the sound of the taps running meant he was getting ready. ]

You could at least not show up looking so primped, Pierre. Where's my-- there it is.

Our boss was getting pissed at you getting late all the time. I'm helping you in keeping a well paid job.

[He would just wait leaning towards the wall. At least his morning tired coworker was finally getting ready.]

[ And that very reason was why Jack's grumblings were largely token. If anything, it had been sort of a fluke that the coffee shop had even hired him and he knew he'd lucked into a good job. A few minutes later he emerges in the dark pants and shirt that employees wore, though his hair remained as always something of a mess. ]

I know, I know. But c'mon, I was always there late anyway, after closing. I figured the timecard would even itself out.

[ No Jack, that's not how real employment works. ]

[Pierre sighed and shook his head. Did he really had to explain everything for Jack?]

It doesn't work like that. Grab your keys so we can go.

[Sure he could lock the door after them, but he wouldn't do everything for the other. One day he would need to lean to deal with things on his own.]

[ For your own sanity Pierre, it's probably better not to make that attempt. But he retrieves his shoes and keys in short order and once outside, the last of Jack's morning lethargy evaporates in the sunlight. They pass familiar streets and houses, Jack giving half waves to people he recognized. ]

So, you think Poivre took us seriously when we said that poor old Espressotec machine's on its last legs? If it breaks down, we're all sunk.

I sure hope so or someone will get a scolding.

[He was supposed to be the youngest of the three of them and yet he took most of the responsibility. He should get a raise. If they went on with drawing in costumers the way they did then it surly would be money over for that.]

Like that's ever stopped anyone!

[ A rascal grin at his companion and Jack turned so he was walking backwards. ]

Maybe it's time to stage a little sabotage.

True. I think I will start blackmailing you two instead.

[For it was always Jack and Poivre that did stupid thing while working and he that had to clean up after it. At least both had a kind of charm that pulled in costumers or he would have quite long ago.]

What are you planning now Jack?

[Did he even want to know?]

Me? Would I plan something that would potentially cause chaos and fun?

[ Of course the wicked grin says exactly that. ]

You just need to loosen up a bit, Pierre.

Yes you would and I will have to get you out of the mess you create.

[Like last time when they lost all of their spooned during mysterious circumstances. He still wasn't quite sure of just what happened that time.]

Oops, guess you just know me too well.

[ But Jack looked anything but apologetic at being "caught". ]

So what are your plans this weekend?

[Pierre just gave Jack a short glare. By now he knew how hard it was to get an idea out of his head. He would just need to stay close by to keep an eye on him.]

Nothing. Why do you ask?

[ If Pierre thought being supervised was an adequate deterrent for Jack, he really didn't know him that well. ]

Interested in a double date?

[Pierre knew that it wouldn't help to keep Jack away from doing foolish things, but he would be there to pull him out of whatever trouble he would create before it went too bad to handle.]

A double date? Why?

[It really was a request that came out of the blue. Well if he got a good enough reason he could go. It wasn't going to hurt him after all.]

Why not? You just said you didn't have any plans.

[ Jack prided himself on being unpredictable, though it probably made Pierre's life 10x more difficult. ]

Tooth wants to hang out, I thought it'd be fun.

...Okay then.

[Once in a while it wouldn't hurt to go along with Jack's strange whims. That could at least show the other that he didn't have a stick up his ass all the time.]

[ The surprise on Jack's face speaks volumes. ]

Really, that's it? You agreed? I figured I'd have to bribe you at least.

I'm not a stick in the mud all the time.

[He knew how to have fun as well. It was just that he took work seriously and wished for Jack to do the same or at least don't cause any trouble while working.]

I never said you were!

[ Not to Pierre's face, anyway. But even if he had, Jack would have only meant it in good fun. Soon enough they're at the cafe and donning the aprons required of the servers and Jack's smiling and greeting the regulars, asking them how their day is going so far. A quick knock on the cranky espresso machine to keep it going and he checks the fridge for their fresh milk supply. ]

Looks like we're ready to rock and roll today, Pierre!

You were thinking it.

[He knew Jack well by now. Obviously since he had been granted the key to his apartment. And while he seemed annoyed by Jack's stupid ideas he liked him. As a friend of course.

Once at the cafe the aprons went on and a warm smile to that. While greeting the customers, Pierre was thinking about if he should just take care of getting a new espresso machine himself. That way it would be done before it broke down at least.]

Then let us do this.

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the au meme.

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