The Alternate Universe Meme

[dudewheresmymeme]

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. Handy link to RNG here.
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.

Comments

[burnthemall]

[His whole world has just turned upside down. He has no idea what's going on anymore. This is messed up. He's going to clean his coffee machine. It's the only thing that understands him.

And flip off his sister who looks so smug at the moment.]

[chromatist]

[It doesn't take her long to start to pull out her work again, her laptop up and running on front of her, papers spread out on the rest of the table. Then she's on her phone, typing emails and writing down notes as she goes, her good mood of earlier draining away as quickly as she finishes her coffee until she's left sitting at her tiny little table looking like the world is crumbling around her feet and she's got to keep it all together.

Nobody ever said real estate would be this hard.]

[burnthemall]

[He ends up having a whispered argument with his sister over this. She's not his girlfriend! She's just a regular customer! He doesn't need to go comfort her and it's not his fault she looks that sad.

Gretel threatens him with bodily arm so he makes her a chai latte, brings it to her and takes her empty cup.] I'm starting you a tab.

[chromatist]

[Lydia is so immersed in her current problems that she doesn't even notice Hansel's argument with his sister or his approach, not until he's taking away her previous cup and leaving the new one.

She jumps a little, her head snapping around so she can stare up at him with wide eyes.] You startled me.

[Sighing, she reaches out and picks up her cup, doesn't even ask what it is before drinking some.] Oh man, thank you.

[burnthemall]

Yeah, yeah, don't get used to it.

[Seriously, he doesn't know what to do about her staying and Gretel riding his case.]

[chromatist]

Don't worry, I won't.

[She sighs and focuses on her latte for now.] I just can't stand the thought of going back to my office right now.

[burnthemall]

You can steal our wi-fi until we close.

[chromatist]

I am fully planning on it.

[burnthemall]

Great.

[He slinks away to the kitchen, shoving his sister behind the counter. He's going to bake to deal with his emotions.]

[chromatist]

[Lydia doesn't budge from her seat the rest of the afternoon, fingers clacking away on her keyboard, pausing to make notes on a legal pad that's appeared by her elbow, having hushed arguments over the phone that leave her looking more frustrated after they end than they did before they started.

Eventually, though, the smell of fresh-baked pastries is enough to drag her from her corner of misery. By the time she's reached the counter, she's back to standing tall, her head held high, a little smirk on her face.]

I want whatever just came out of the oven.

[burnthemall]

They're not ready.

[He still had to glaze the croissants with honey and add the almond silvers.]

[chromatist]

Does it look like I care if they're ready?

[burnthemall]

Fuck off. You'll get one when they're ready.

[He's not serving them before they're ready. That would be a crime.]

[chromatist]

Hansel. Please.

[She is not above going over his head to his sister for this.]

[burnthemall]

Not until they're ready.

[chromatist]

Then make them ready.

[burnthemall]

Stop bugging me and I will.

[chromatist]

[Lydia mimes zipping her lips shut but doesn't move away from the counter, tapping her nails on it as she waits.]

[burnthemall]

[After another two minutes to make sure everything is perfect he brings out a honey glazed croissant with almond slivers and sets it down on the counter for her.]

[chromatist]

You're such an ass.

[She sounds insanely mild when she calls him names, like insulting your barista is just normal routine, and fishes out her card again.] How much?

[burnthemall]

You'll be back either way.

[He gives her a charming smile.]

[chromatist]

I know, you smug bastard. If only you were really shitty at baking. But no.

[She waggles her card at him, lifting her eyebrows.] How much?

[burnthemall]

Sorry, Red, it's a natural talent.

[He takes the card for her and rings her up. Maybe a little below cost but she's had a shitty day.]

[chromatist]

[She totally notices — Lydia notices everything — but she doesn't call him out on it, just smiles as she accepts her card back and signs the receipt.]

Well. Thank you.

[burnthemall]

Just keep coming back.