What's in a story?

[leyenn]

In my pre-sign-up dilemma for au_bigbang, I had a fairly central thought. What constitutes an AU, in your brain? I'm making a list of all my AUs (if in trouble, make a list!) and I keep coming across something I've added to the list and then thought 'no, you know, that's a story, but it's not a full-blown AU'. Jack/Sam/Daniel getting together during Upgrades

Comments

[svilleficrecs]

I'd say that one possible mitigating factor, particularly in the case of 4 (and slightly 3) is that (for me, at least) an AU is something that is deliberately changed by the author, and not a case of Jossing or just writing in open canon

[leyenn]

Yes, I totally hadn't even considered the whole writing in open canon aspect (possibly because I do it so rarely now... oh I feel fannishly old ;) but yes, you're totally on the money there. At the time of writing, your story about John never being married is not intending to be AU, because you've not diverged from any canon that you're aware of. At one point I planned a Star Trek Titan story before the novel canon came out - if I'd written that, I wouldn't then have thought I was writing AU, whereas if I wrote it now, I would, because there's canon there now to consciously fuck with.

I totally don't see writing an only-shown-as-het character as gay or in a gay relationship as being a fundamental difference; I guess, if in canon it was explicitly stated that a character was straight, had always been straight and would never do another person of their gender ever, then writing them as gay after than would be a fundamental fucking with that canon, but I never really come across canon - personally, I mean - where that's the case, so I

[geonncannon]

Even in stories where I make Sam gay, and I let the rest of the team know, it's a story. Meaning, it's a story if you can say "It really happened in canon, they just never mentioned it on-air."

To be an AU, it has to be a drastic change. Like the story where Janet was picked to be on SG-1 and Sam was a lab rat at the SGC = AU. Sam was left behind on Chulak and trained by Bra'tac to be the First Prime of Apophis = AU.

So in my mind, if it's not a rather big shift, it's not an AU. :D

[leyenn]

Yeah, totally. Sam could be attracted to women, because it's never stated otherwise categorically. If you wrote that she was always 100% gay and nearly married a Jenny instead of that Jonas guy, I think that could be counted as an AU, because you're talking about altering something about that character which we're explicitly aware of in canon. But just getting her together with Janet is an intepretation of canon, to me, not a big ol' AU.

[tafkarfanfic]

I want to read the story where Sam becomes the First Prime of Apophis!!!

[geonncannon]

It's one of my favorite stories I've ever written. But warning, it's dark! :D

* First Prime
* And the sequel: Primal

[taraljc]

My take on criteria for AUs.

I label stories AU solely in regard to their relationship with canon--not their relationship to other stories, if that makes sense.

[tafkarfanfic]

I actually don't think about these things that much, but I really like YOU thinking about them!

And I want to thank you. Your mention of the AU Big Bang led me back to Summer of Stargate...which is happening again, and which I signed up for! You made my night!

[leyenn]

BLAMING YOU. :P

Ah well, I wanted to get writing more this year... :D

[leyenn]

SIGN UP SIGN UP! I'll totally let you blame me and eeeeeeverything. :D

I want to play in a Reboot TNG-verse, but I just haven't managed to figure out how it would be all that different. I think a trawl through Memory Alpha is called for to trace out some ramifications. Hmmmm. Ah well there's always the ST big bang later in the year! ;D