Alternative Universe (fan Fiction) - Types of AU Fiction

Types of AU Fiction

Authors and readers of AU fan fiction enjoy it for diverse reasons, but there are several shared impetuses that exist regardless of fandom:

• Alternate timelines.

Stories in this category of AU follow the established canon before veering away at a crucial moment (similar in concept to many entries in Marvel Comics' What If series and DC Comics' Elseworlds series). An example of this is the Harry Potter story "A Moth to the Fire", by Sera dy Relandrant, in which Ariana Dumbledore does not go out to play on the day she is attacked by muggle children in canon, and thus does not lose control of her magic, altering the life of her brother, Albus Dumbledore, and eventually the entire world.

Another notable example of this would be the story "Team 8", a popular Naruto fan fiction that depicts what would have happened in the series had the main character been placed on a different team designation than he was originally.

The Pokémon series has had its fair share of alternate universe fanfictions. One notable example is "Blue Tears" a story in which the rival (Blue) gets revenge on Red after his actions on the S.S. Anne led to the death of his Raticate. Popular among fans, it is known for being spawned from a popular fan-rumor about Blue's presence at Pokémon Tower when you face him in the original games, and has gained a cult following among Pokémon fans. Another AU fanfic is "Paws for Alarm" in which the filler story of "Hocus Pokémon" never happened, and Ash Ketchum turns into a Pikachu by other circumstances, while trying to fight his newfound feral instincts. The story has been praised for its darker and more realistic interpretation of Pokémon, and is currently in the stages of a more detailed rewrite.

Possibly the longest completed Alternate Timeline story is the Babylon 5 epic "A Dark, Distorted Mirror", by Gareth Williams. In this saga, which runs to well over a million words, Delenn chooses a different Starfury pilot (not Jeffrey Sinclair) to bring aboard the Minbari cruiser during the Battle of the Line. As a result the Grey Council do not find out about the human/Minbari soul connection, the Minbari do not surrender, Earth is destroyed, and the war continues. However, despite the dark and desperate struggle which ensues, the eventual outcome offers hope for a better future.

Some alternate timeline stories are called "denial-fics" because they ignore certain events in canon. For example, many Harry Potter denial-fics pretend Sirius Black never died. An example is "You Don't Belong Here" by Hieirulesall; the author's notes say that the author wants Sirius alive but does not want to find a way to bring him back. Others are called "fix-it fics," because they rewrite the story so that the events in question did happen, but the fan fiction undoes the consequences. An example of this is "Extenuating Circumstances" by SarahtheBardess, in which Sirius Black is returned to life. Others seemingly involve the twisting of the Final Battle in Deathly Hallows, returning to life characters that had formerly been killed off. Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks and Mad-Eyed Moody are examples of people whose death has been ignored. An example is the story "Starting Anew" by cutewolf97, in which Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks are alive and raise Teddy in a war-torn world.

• Contextual reassignment.

These stories take the characters from a series and place them in another time, place, or situation. An example is "Welcome to Hogwarts" by AD Miller, a Glee story that transfers the characters to Hogwarts. A subset of this type, called familiar contextual reassignment, takes the characters from a series and places them in a setting more familiar to the author. This type of context shift is one of the main sources of "high school fic," in which all the characters are written going to high school. An example of this is the Charmed fan fiction "Charmingly High School" by AlwayWrittinSomethin, in which characters who never met until adulthood attend high school together.

• Swapping the characters with the actors who play them.

The actors may find themselves in the fictional universe, the fictional characters may find themselves in the "real" universe, or the story may feature both sides of the swap. This type of AU has appeared in mainstream publication as well, in Star Trek short stories from the early 1970s in which the actors from the Desilu set were swapped with the "real life" Starfleet officers via the transporter. ("Visit To A Weird Planet" "Visit To A Weird Planet, Revisited"). These fan fiction stories were eventually published in official Star Trek books. This trope has been used in other places, such as the film Galaxy Quest.

• Crossovers.

Two fictional universes, or the real universe and a fictional universe, are placed in a situation in which they interact. Such stories sometimes involve comparisons and conflict between the combat prowess of the two universes, often involving the various strengths and weaknesses of the technology/magic of each world. An example is "A Thin Veneer" by AlbertG, in which Star Trek characters meet Babylon 5 characters, setting off a galaxy-wide war. Sometimes these stories involve characters from one universe substituting for the characters in another universe and playing out the second universe's storyline, as in "Return of the Aurors" by Anne Walsh. The fan fiction recasts Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi with Harry Potter characters, like 'Ron Solo', Ron Weasley as Han Solo, and 'N-3LO', Neville Longbottom as C-3PO. The story is played out in a Harry Potter-themed universe, visiting, for example, Dursley the Hutt's home on the desert planet of Quidditchine. A third example would be the protagonists from multiple works of fiction uniting to stop a threat resulting from the antagonists of those same works of fiction teaming up, as in Lyoko Warriors in Space, a Code Lyoko/The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy crossover by deviantART member human-groveback. The story involves the Lyoko Warriors teaming up with the Heart of Gold crew to stop the Infinite Improbability Drive on the ship exploding due to Xana and h2g2 villain Humma Kavula teaming up. Crossovers like this tend involve certain characters from one work of fiction getting along best with characters from the other work of fiction.

• Predictive fiction becomes alternative universe.

Alternative universes can arise inadvertently in fan fiction when the source material is released in a serial form, such as a multi-season television series or a book series, so that fan works are written before further canon arrives. For instance, much Harry Potter fan fiction in the nearly three years between the publication of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was written as "continuation" fan fiction, but became AU as soon as the new canonical material appeared. An example is Arabella and Zsenya's "After the End", made AU by Order of the Phoenix the day after the story's completion. In "After the End", Harry's fifth year ended with Albus Dumbledore's death, which did not happen in Order of the Phoenix, but, coincidentally, did happen in the following Harry Potter book, Half-Blood Prince.