On Creating The Multiverse

[fae_boleyn]

So, here is my much-delayed second essay/meta discussing fanfiction in general. I do want to add a disclaimer; none of these are supposed to be guidelines, per se, since I wouldn't want to tell someone how to write their fics. It's just what I've found to be true for me, and also hopefully to start discussion in the comments about what other people

Comments

[eustacia_vye28]

I definitely play around with all realms of AU. I mean, my main pairing in HP is Draco/Ginny, which isn't canon AT ALL. So I disregard the Epilogue of Doom and go on from there. I generally try to keep the characters consistent. (My characterization kink at work, too.)

If I go AU, I tend to veer completely into brand new territory. I've taken characters into all new situations, which I'm thinking of my Inception fics where I made characters vampires or FBI agents. I try to keep the characterizations the same, regardless of 'verse, and see it as an exercise in seeing how the environment can further shape them. I usually stick with canon and play around with it. That kind of thing makes me happy as a writer. :)

[chn_breathmint]

I've somehow managed to keep within non-AU for the most part in my fic involvement, but I do get crossover ideas. Mostly it involves recontextualizing the characters I'm writing about in a different role, or a different setting.

Example: a culinary AU where the Inception crew run a restaurant, because the mental image of Arthur as a functionally alcoholic uptight sous chef is hilarious to me. (I used to work in back.)

Or, the one I'm currently working on, one which assumes Eames is a civil servant working for the Laundry, in the novel series written by Charles Stross.

I've also got some weird mirror-verse fic ideas, but a lot of other people have done it better than I have, and I tend to keep to the weird shit that I do best.

- Mel

[rodlox]

Eames in the Laundry. I can see that.

my guess is he's worried about the day Cobb gets hired to look into the dreams of other-dimension beings.

[chn_breathmint]

This is the rough concept brief I wrote when I wanted to consolidate the ideas I'd had. (:

The Laundry gets involved in a rash of mysterious comas, and they dispatch a field agent and combat epistemologist to investigate. (You may refer to him as Mr. Eames - his main claim to fame is attempting to stage a production of The King In Yellow while studying at RADA. Fortunately the Laundry caught up to his used-book acquisition before he turned a regional theater and its audience into temporary hosts for entities best not spoken of

[rodlox]

when you write this, could you let me know? (and if you need a beta, I'd love to volunteer)

nice use of the double meaning of coma (edit: I was thinking of coma/comma)

[rodlox]

Very interesting.

I like how you explained your types of AUs.

btw, your "turn left" AU perfectly describes true AH, the ideal what-ifs.

(I'm going to try to keep the rest of this from being too long)

>So, what about you? What kinds of AUs do you like to read,
pretty much any AU that's well-written. but Double Binds in particular.

(haven't seen many gender-benders in my fandoms - of those I have seen, most had the only change being which pronoun the character had that might be true of Nick/Nicole Cutter, but would definately not be the case for Vorenus/Vorena))

> which do you write,
any I can think of (and any others prompt to me)

> and what do you find challenging or fun about doing it?Trying to figure out either