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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[Eponine raises an eyebrow.] Well I've got all sorts of shit. Just say the word, and I can get it. [Seriously. she had connections to all sorts of fun stuff. Cocaine, heroin, LSD, whatever it was you wanted, she could get it.]

( Oh. Oh. This has the potential to be really good. Leave it to J to scream in the face of a (beautiful???) stranger who apparently deals drugs. God, she loves this city so fucking much.

She'll try to contain her giddiness for now. Key word: try. )

Um. Um.

( She tries to think of the worst thing imaginable and it's spilling out of her lips before she knows it: ) Heroin. Ecstasy. Something stronger than booze.

[Oh, mysterious stranger girl, you are totally in for a treat.]

You seriously want heroin? You don't look like the type. But I can get it for ya. But... It'll cost you. Coke would be easier, truth be told. Not as addictive.

( J wrinkles her nose in displeasure. Hmph. )

I didn't realize heroin had a type. ( But now she feels, for some ungodly reason, that she has something to prove. She'll laugh in the face of addiction, ha freaking ha. ) I'm not fucking around here. I have money. I'm not scared.

( Money that her bitch of a mom leant her before she skipped town. But it's money. Who even cares what she does with it? )

[Eponine just smirks.]

My kind of girl. Let's go to your place. You give me the cash, and then I'll be back inside of ten minutes with the goods.

( Her apartment is the last place she wants to go right now, what with some of Tunny's abandoned shit like his stupid beanie hat on the dresser and everything still sitting there as a painful reminder that he left. But. There's no turning back now. Even if - spoilers, she's actually a little terrified, her heart racing in her chest - but it's a good kind of scared. )

Yeah. Okay. Perfect. ( J tosses in a coy little smile over her shoulder for good measure before flinging the front door back open and beginning the traipse through the stairwell to the fourth floor. 4E –- that's the one, and she hurriedly unlocks the door as her fingers twitch anxiously at her side. It's a fairly unspectacular apartment, hardly furnished, but its shining feature simply has to be the large mattress on the hardwood floor serving as a bed. ) Well, here we are.

Nice, [Eponine says automatically before waltzing into the apartment like she owned the place. Her own family's apartment was in far worse condition. A broken down couch that served as Eponine's bed, more mattresses on the floor, bottles lying everywhere. This girl's place isn't bad, in comparison.]

So gimme 50, and I'll be back. D'you got needles?

Oh -- shit. Uh... ( In her mind, those things are kinda just ... always together. Like a fun little buy one get one free type of deal. Not that she's ever thought about it all that much. Apparently not.

She'll scurry over to the dresser, hastily flinging a drawer open and digging out a large wad of cash from underneath her undergarments. Looking very determined, she counts out fifty dollars and stashes the rest back where it came from. Sheepishly, she'll hand it over to the other girl, shrugging. That's apparently her answer. )

We should have clean ones... If not, don't worry. You can snort it.

[She grabs the cash from J's hand, and waltzes out the door.] Back in a few.

( She can't help but shake her head a little as she watches Eponine go. God, this better be fucking worth it. But first comes first: time to get rid of Tunny's stupid beanie and various other shit because it's making her mad. That gets promptly thrown away, along with his pathetic excuse for a goodbye note he left her. Whatever.

All that she can do now is flop down at the edge of her mattress and try to ignore how wildly her sneaker's tapping against the ground as her nerves heighten. It's probably been a minute since that chick left but it feels like an eternity. )

[About five minutes later, Eponine is back, with a fifth of whiskey and a small baggie. She wastes no time in popping a squat next to the girl on her bed. Gods, they didn't even know each other's names yet. Oh well.]

All set. Gimme this. [She reaches for a random book on the floor, and pours out a small bit of the white powder on to the book. Then, taking a razor, sets it up in two small lines. Finally, she grabs a small straw.]

Let's get this party started. [And there she is, snorting a line of heroin like it's no big deal.]

I-- Okay. ( J just watches, all innocent and doe-eyed and biting her lip, as the other girl gets right down to business. Jesus. What the fuck was this chick planning on doing tonight if she didn't (literally) bump into her?

And then suddenly she's center stage, the spotlight's on her, and the audience is looking expectant. Fuck it. J grabs the straw out of Eponine's hand, leaning over and officially joining the party herself. It makes her eyes widen and the straw falls from her hand. With a sniff, she utters three little words: ) Jesus fucking Christ.

[Eponine laughs, laying back on the bed.] Just wait. Fifteen minutes and this shit will be in your system and you'll be flying high.

Doesn't take a genius to figure out you're new at this, kid.

Puh-lease. You don't even know my name. ( She scoffs with a small roll of her eyes, stretching out and laying on her stomach, face down with her forehead pressed against the backs of her hands. Her heart's pounding and she feels like she could run a mile –– though she's pretty sure that's just her insane adrenaline rush talking. )

And you don't know mine, and yet you just gave me fifty bucks, showed me where you keep your cash, and did a line of heroin with me. I think we're past names at this point.

[Eponine grins a wolfish grin, leering down at J.]

( She lifts her head to just gaze at her again for a moment, take in that wolfish grin. ) Touché. But I could've also been an axe murderer trying to lure you into my apartment so I could promptly dismember you. So there's that.

( Stated very matter-of-factly. )

Then we'd have a problem. Because I'm an axe murderer, too. [Not really. But she does know murderers.]

Oh, so that's our problem. I was wondering. ( J catches herself smirking and quickly lays her head back down to cover it up. There will be none of that right now. )

Guess only one of us will survive.

[Eponine leans over, so her head is over the girl's.] Eponine.

Guess so. Only a matter of time till we find out who.

( She scrunches her nose to herself -- introductions, shmintroductions -- at least, she's pretty sure that's her newfound drug dealer chick's name. Kind of weird. Then again, it's pretty fitting, in that case. She'll turn her head to the side so she can adequately mumble: ) Call me J.

Spoiler alert: it's me.

[Eponine licks her lips, considering this.] J? How 90s.

( J knows deep, deep in her heart that Eponine's right about that, and who is she to fight it? She's never had any ambition to win anything ever anyways. )

It's not my full name, obviously.

Well Eponine is my full name.

[She drops on to the bed next to J.]

Thank god. I'd been hoping this whole time it wasn't just a nickname. ( With an overdramatic sigh, she turns onto her back, hands laying against her rib cage. )

If I told you mine, then I'd definitely have to kill you. That shit's serious.

No. You want a nickname, I've got 20.

[Eponine doesn't even look at J.] yeah right. Jennifer. Jessica. Julie. Jasmine. Jamie.

YOU DID NOT HAVE TO!

HAHA well it kept happening to everyone sooo <3

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