It’s been a while since I’ve written a drunken rant post, right?
Well, today’s topic is on the subject of AU fics, which to be honest have always been a great source of personal confusion and irritation for me. With rare exceptions, I don’t read AU, or ‘Alternate Universe’, fanfictions. The reason for this is that, as much as I love the characters from my favorite works of fiction, I ALSO love the fictional universe as well. Taking the characters out of that universe robs them, in my opinion, of that very essence of character which is so endearing and compelling to me in the first place. Why, you might ask? – well, because much of what makes us who we are is defined by our circumstances. Nature vs. nurture, or whatever. Look it up.
Anyway, now that I’ve probably offended or alienated most of you, I’ll proceed with outlining the two general categories of AU fic and promptly eviscerating them:
1) The “real world” AU fic
In my opinion, this is the worst, most boring, LAZIEST fucking AU trope – basically, take our beloved fictional characters and supplant them into some mundane real-life scenario such as soulless, magic-less ‘corporate America’ or GOD FORBID, motherfucking ‘high school’. (Seriously, fucking kill me already because I’M DONE.) ANYWAY – here’s the thing: The real world fucking sucks, and is boring and stupid and lame. Otherwise, why the FUCK would we care about Feudal Japan or the Harry Potter-verse or even motherfucking Twilight-verse in the first place (YES, I’M LOOKING AT YOU, E.L. JAMES, YOU SHAMELESS TWILIGHT HACK).
Bottom line: You insult the characters, the original author and the original WORK ITSELF by just lazily just dropping the characters into some boring ‘everyday’ life scenarios. GROW A FUCKING IMAGINATION, ALREADY – or, just stop polluting the fanfiction universe with these godawful RL fics. GAWD.
2) The “true” AU fic
What I mean by “true” is that this is a genuine alternate universe different from our own, yet also different from the original fictional universe. For example, say you were to take Sesshoumaru and Kagome and put them in something akin to Middle Earth. Okay, so it’s not as lazy and boring as the scenario described above, BUT – inherently, they are going to be characters with different backstories and motivations (and essentially everything that makes them ENDEARING to us as fandom enthusiasts in the first goddamn place…).
Bottom line: If you’re going to put all this thought and effort into transplanting our fav characters into some new fictional universe you’ve created, why not just WRITE YOUR OWN GODDAMN ORIGINAL FICTION????!!! Seriously, if your story is worth its salt, you’d be better off just using your own characters and selling that shit. $$$$$$$$$$
….So, in conclusion, I’m not saying I’ll never read an AU fic that’s truly a compelling anomaly (or even write an AU fic that’s say, a crossover between two pre-established fictional universes maybe), but in general I’m very saddened and annoyed by the sheer shitstorm of unimaginative, non-canon fics I’m seeing out there these days. It’s like people want to disregard the universes I love and bastardize the characters I love just as much.
Feel free to stop following this blog or flame me or whatever floats your boat, but I just had to say my peace lol.
To my fellow canon-verse enthusiasts –
ROCK THE FUCK ON.
I’m guilty of creating an AU fic and I agree with you. It was lame. I kept the swords and as much as I could of the characters’ quirks and traits, but it wasn’t the same cast at all. I might as well have given them different names.
I’m sure it made someone’s lame list. It was that cringeworthy.
I have found that keeping the characters in the cannon universe makes for a better story. You avoid pointless back stories, long expositions and OOC moments.
“I have found that keeping the characters in the cannon universe makes for a better story. You avoid pointless back stories, long expositions and OOC moments.” – Well said!! 😊 This has been my experience as well.
As far as ‘lame’ fics go, I’m sure all of us writers have been there at some point. 😊 Man, I know I’ve sure written some absolute trash fics in my day hahaha
…I’m gonna see if I can dig up some of my first fanfics – would make for a funny blog post lol
Thanks for sharing, Doug! ❤️❤️
*waving hi since it’s been awhile since I commented*
While I understand your points, I have still read some really good stories in the various forms of au you decry here. I think it depends on the author whether they manage to sell it or not. I do believe in our environment being a huge part of what makes us who we are, but I also think it can be fun to try to imagine what other environments could have resulted in the personalities of our favourite characters. I do respect your opinion and right to not read au fics, but if you ever get the urge to read a few I’ve got a good bunch bookmarked.
Hey Faith! Thanks for sharing your point of view 🙂
Of course there are some well-written AU fics out there and from time to time, I’ve enjoyed a few. But in general they’re not my thing, and I overwhelmingly prefer the canon.
Anyway, to each their own! – thanks again, and happy reading!! <3
I read highschool AU’s when I was in high school. Nearly 10 years out(why does this sound like a prison sentence:P) and I can’t stomach the thought of them. Highschool, Song-fics and 1st person pov = Hell.
I second this. The song fics for sure. Now I read some of the new ones or even old ones I know I loved when I was 13 (we are so old now) and can’t help the mental gag reflex. How tastes have changed.
Lol, don’t even get me started on song fics… 😂
And yeah, 1st person POV fics rub me the wrong way as well – not sure why? Guess it feels too self-inserty haha
❤️
AUs are hard to pull off that is why the fandom is littered with tons of terrible fanfics. There are exceptions. But they are few and far between.
There is a parody of a high school AU on Dokuga that started out so promising. I thought it was hilarious how the writer poked fun at high school fanfics. Then it kinda dragged later on so I dropped it.
I like how some writers focus on what happens to the gang post Naraku. What if the well never reopened and only Sesshoumaru and a few youkai manage to survive to Kagome’s era?
The better fics are bittersweet. Kagome doesn’t live as long as Sesshoumaru so they have to deal with that problem. There is no magic jewel anymore, no benevolent gods, no irritating OCs with magical powers. Just a former time traveler and an old youkai who has seen better days. If done right, such fics can leave you bawling.
For the most part, I loathe OCs. I’ve only seen a handful of writers create really good OCs like Sesshoumaru’s teacher on “Unspoiled”.
Aw man, now a good parody fic I can get behind 😊
Gotta agree with you about OCs. It’s hard to make them likeable – maybe because they’re like pretty much the opposite of what people are looking for when reading fanfic? Lol. Just a theory.
Some of the best fics are bittersweet for sure, although I am a sucker for a (believable) HEA 😊
Thanks for sharing again, Doug! ❤️❤️
LOL Char! This feels like a call-out post haha. It’s okay; we don’t have to like the same things.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I love magical Office-AU’s and that I’ve written one lol. ‘Office Romance’ is my JAM! I love that garbage; sometimes you just want them to bang on a desk! Personally, I would love to see more Historical AU’s – Meiji era, Tokugawa’s Edo era, etc. Variety is the spice of life! Do I think AU pollutes the fandom? Not necessarily, but I do think some of the ideas could be executed better. I agree – there are WAY TOO MANY high school settings. However, I think it all depends on the reader’s/writer’s comfort in storytelling and what kind of stories they want to tell.
And also, there’s only so many canon/post-canon story themes one can tell before recycling happens. But these are all my thoughts and opinions on the matter.
LOL
Now, for a really good desk bang I can make allowances 😉
Definitely see your point about the worn-out canon storylines. But a fresh author brings a fresh take, and I like to see how they spin things 😊
Thanks for sharing, Cookie! ❤️❤️
Ahhh Char – I love your drunken rant posts!! I swear you’ve been reading my mind because I just started reading an AU fanfic where basically “Kagome” and “Sessshomaru” had the looks of the characters but nothing else – Sess was a demon but apparently had no powers??? What’s the point? As you said, if you can dump any two characters into the story and can’t find any indication that the story was originally an Inuyasha fanfic, it’s pointless and boring.
On the other hand, if the writing is really good and the characters are the canon personalities, I am ok with some AU. There are a couple of really talented writers I love who have written really good AU, but the trick is that they also write fantastic canon stories. It’s clear they know the material and characters well enough to make their AU believable. I think a lot of the best ones are intentionally funny stories presenting our beloved characters in a “what if” situation just for the laughs.
In the end though, my favorites are 100% canon based, either set in the Sengoku period, or where Kagome meets up with the characters in the future because she couldn’t get back to the past again, or my personal favorite – what happened after Kagome and Inuyasha finished looking toward tomorrow with their hair blowing in the wind on that cliff. (Obviously she and Sesshomaru end up together!)
As a side note, I recently started a spreadsheet to keep track of all the fanfics I’ve read (too many) because I found myself getting sucked into the same crap stories over and over. Since I don’t bookmark bad stories (who does?) I would start reading what I thought was a new story only to realize it was that horrible song fic I dropped six months ago. The side benefit of this list is that I’ve figured out what I can’t stomach! Aside from a high school setting , if the author is in high school or reveals they are under 19 I am OUT. If Kagome is dirt poor and needs to be rescued by ultra rich Sesshomaru so she can go on crazy shopping trips, I’ll watch Pretty Woman instead. If the author keeps the story setting in Japan but completely ignores all aspects of Japanese culture and history in Inuyasha and instead jam packs it with purely American stuff, why bother? Oh and if you are about to write your first sex scene and ask the readers for feed back because you are a virgin and you hope you get it right, WTF?? Stop, just stop. (True story.)
Oh virgin smut…what a trip lol
Seriously sounds like we’re on the same wavelength! Love this –
^^so much YES! I think overall that’s really the heart of the matter. But still, as you said, writing quality on par, I’m still going to enjoy a canon-fic more than an AU-fic. Just my preference as well!
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts as always, Molly!! <3 <3
I cannot stand them myself. Just write your own stories starring characters you created!!!
But it is usually an attempt to test tje waters and put your story on a trial run. Rationale is if fic readers like it, other readers may
lol!
yeah, maybe it is kind of a trial run thing a lot of the times, which I could understand.
Thanks for sharing, friend!! <3