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bakerstreet2014-01-31 04:08 pm
sockies) wrote in bakerstreet2014-01-31 04:08 pm
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. )
THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I WILL GIVE YOU A CASTMATE | in space~*~*~
an attitude like that is positively inconceivable to ben, and he doesn't know how he got here, off of his tiny planet (yes, he does, but it's a complicated story and he doesn't exactly feel like relaying it right now. stay tuned for more!), but now? this very moment? he wouldn't trade it for anything.
at least on a ship like this he doesn't have to worry about the breathable air running out. there is literally always a bright side to everything. fight him on it.
he sits in the cantina right now, across from hansel, nibbling on concentrated apple pie or concentrated hamburgers or concentrated kabobs or drinking concentrated orange juice because literally everything can be and has to be concentrated, and he frowns, mulls something over, shakes his head. ]
No, no, I'm just saying - there is no way that literally all alternate life forms are bad. There just isn't.
no subject
I'll believe you when we actually come across one that fits the bill, [ he says, his tone of voice expressing it just as clearly (if not more so) than the look on his face. ] Or, y' know, when we start doing humanitarian work, instead.
[ Honestly, space on the whole isn't all that glamorous where Hansel's concerned. Sure, it's beautiful and all, but there are alien species trying to kill you, and if you get sucked into the vacuum of space then you're toast, permanently. Plus, space goes on and on literally forever, whereas there's a certain comforting finality to a planet, even when it comes to deep sea diving and shit like that.
He frowns as he bites into the food they've been given (twenty credits for this crap, if you can believe it), Gretel still speaking with the owner as if it'd make a difference in price or food quality. (She's more stubborn than even he is, from time to time. Which is saying a lot.) ]
Trust me, it ain't gonna happen.
no subject
maybe ben got that from a little bit too much sci-fi. it happens. but then again, there's the vastness that he appreciates. it gives him a smallness that doesn't feel infinitesimal, but rather a small part of a whole. it's a happy point of view; the world - the universe - the entire galaxy, at that - wouldn't be the same, if not for him! not to mention their little band of - are they explorers? ben's hesitant to take on the title of mercenary, but with all the killing they have done -
he takes a bite of food himself and decides against mulling that over. ]
Well - okay - so, what, you think they're all against us? [ he holds up a hand. ] I'm not arguing! I mean, I'm here, aren't I? Just let me play devil's advocate for a second here.
no subject
If the devil needed an advocate — and I'm just taking a wild guess, here — he'd probably just represent himself in court.
[ (He also, incidentally, looks less and less happy about the quality of the food, but that's neither here nor there.) ]
Look, wouldn't you be, if you were them? Coloniali— [ fml how do you pronounce this bullshit ] —colonization isn't exactly anyone's wildest dream, and it's, what, 90% of the shit we do in space?
[ So, okay, they've got an alien along with them (Edward doesn't come into the cantina, instead waiting it out in the loading bay) but he doesn't count. ]
no subject
the food doesn't faze ben, and he gladly chugs his concentrated orange juice as hansel replies, gesturing with his hand in place of a verbal agreement. because juice. that's the important thing here.
but he places the cup down, nearly drained, and shrugs. ]
I dunno. Maybe they like it. That means the hard work's done for them, right? [ not that he'd be appreciative of anyone else coming in and laying claim to something he'd been eyeing, but it does take a lot of the legwork out of it if someone travels the road first, he has to admit.
he's such a good tagalong. ]
I mean, until they inevitable mowing down of our hard-built civilizations and stuff when they take them over, but. In theory. Maybe we're their unsung heroes!
no subject
For a long moment, Hansel just chews his processed food, first looking vaguely pained, then apathetic, then something like you know what, yeah, sure, what's the worst that could happen.
To wit: ] You know what— yeah, sure, what's the worst that could happen.
[ His shoulders lift and fall in a shrug as he pushes his fork through what else is on his tray, in the manner of someone, say, panning for gold. (Which is pretty much what he's doing but without any real hopes of a real result. Gotta admire the kid, for putting up with so much and still seeming fairly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, even if it's the kind of thing that gets on Hansel's nerves the majority of the time. Look, his sister's the nice one.) ]
I guess "unsung hero" has a nice ring to it.
no subject
[ that over-processed piece of - of whatever it is? (pizza? cheesecake? cornflakes? we just don't know) falls out of ben's hand and hits the tray with a ring that spreads throughout the entire cantina. because, honestly, regardless of what happens, when he wins an argument (is that what this is?) against hansel, it never ceases to shock him.
however, this is an in. an in to - something. he's pretty much already stated his case, but what's the harm in going for the gold? and keep going for it? ]
Maybe that's why humans get taken hostage, too! So they can learn our secrets or something! [ or, maybe something like a recklessness gene, and why isn't ben some kind of novelist if he's making this up on the fly, honestly. intelligent civilizations looking for answers in those with somewhat less intelligence. ] They can't do it on their own, because they're overthinking it, right?
no subject
[ To Hansel's credit, there's nothing immediately hostile in his voice. Rather, it's a sort of slow down before you hurt yourself deal, which is kind coming from him. ]
I'm sure there's someone out there who'd be willing to give you an argument, though. [ Then, in much less serious news: ] Maybe someone in this very cantina.
[ Seriously, though, the kid would probably be a hit in the intergalactic book market. ]
I dunno, though, I'd reckon it has a whole lot more to do with leverage, blackmail, and the eventual payout than it does with learning our ways.
no subject
Okay. Okay, maybe. [ he has to say maybe, doesn't he? has to at least somehow give hansel the benefit of the doubt, because when it comes right down to it? ben doesn't know shit, either. ]
I'm just saying I really don't see the problem with being a little optimistic about the whole thing. [ because the fact that extra terrestrials are turning metropolises into barren wastelands and taking humans hostage is, in fact, something to be optimistic about. if nothing else, maybe it's a coping mechanism. maybe ben doesn't have more of a clue than anybody else. maybe it's all of that. ] Kind of. A little bit.