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

[formersurgeon]

[She nods, begins to gently rub his shoulder.]

Perhaps this would be a good time to remind you that the police do not pay you. You can refuse this, or any, case.

[attic_theory]

Why would I refuse to help protect the children of this city?

[He closes his eyes as he leans into her touch.]

[formersurgeon]

I'm simply reminding you.

[He seems to be enjoying her touch, so she keeps it up.]

Perhaps we need to support each other through this.

[attic_theory]

I do not understand why you would go through with this case.

[formersurgeon]

Why would I refuse to help protect the children of this city?

[She smiles faintly.]

If I am to be a detective, I need to be able to handle things like this. At least eventually. And now? Perhaps because I can help you go through with it. And emerge from the other side in one piece, more or less.

[attic_theory]

We will lose something of ourselves in this case. There's nothing we can do to stop that.

[He idly draws a few alchemy symbols on the floor, the lines glowing faintly silver as all Sherlock's work does.]

[formersurgeon]

I can see how that would be.

[She looks at the symbols, her hand stilling on his shoulder.]

Anything in particular?

[attic_theory]

No, nothing specific. Something to keep me occupied while we wait for Bell.

You are not capable of alchemy, correct? Merely healing arts.

[formersurgeon]

Correct. I have no talent for it.

[attic_theory]

[He writes out his name in the language and then hers.]

A shame. You'd make a wonderful alchemist.

[formersurgeon]

Why do you think so?

[attic_theory]

For the same reasons you're a good investigator. Observant, thoughtful, and clever.

[formersurgeon]

That's very kind of you. But I'm afraid it doesn't amount to much without the art of it. I'm happy healing. To the extent I can.

[attic_theory]

[He tips his head back to look at her, which almost puts his head in her lap.]

You were a very capable healer.

[formersurgeon]

[She tilts her head, then uses her free hand to guide his head into her lap and smooth his hair back from his forehead.]

I had my days.

[attic_theory]

I do not understand how you've escaped marriage for so long.

[She is one of the most eligible women he knew. And her culture demanded marriage in many cases.]

[formersurgeon]

[Her smile fades.]

Believe me, it isn't from lack of my mother's efforts. But I'm not exactly the most conventional of people, if you haven't noticed. The boy that I was first arranged to marry died, and without brothers. My mother tried to match me with another, but I was too busy to take courting seriously, and by that point had too sharp a tongue for most men.

[She supposes she'll die an old maid, and as much as she appreciates the freedom of that, there's sadness to it as well.]

[attic_theory]

I am grateful she failed. Who would keep me from exploding if you were not available?

[He didn't mean to make her sad. He finds it admirable that she stood up for herself.]

[formersurgeon]

God only knows.

[She would ask him why he's never married as well, but she holds back. She knows of Irene, about his loss of her back in London, and would not be surprised if that was the closest Mr. Holmes got to having a Mrs. Holmes. So instead she again, gently and fondly, runs her hand over his hair.]

[attic_theory]

[Oh, he had plans for Irene. There is a ring at the bottom of the Thames. It's the last he's thought of marriage.]

Itty bitty Sherlock pieces across New York.

[formersurgeon]

And instead I'm lucky enough to have a complete Mr. Holmes right here.

[attic_theory]

I like having my limbs attached. They're much more useful that way.

[formersurgeon]

I would imagine so.

[attic_theory]

I briefly contemplated turning my hands to metal once. Easier to handle some of the more dangerous elements, but I enjoy the sensation of touch too much for the trade.

[formersurgeon]

I would imagine it would make some of the more delicate tasks impossible. Not to mention picking locks.