(no subject)

[icedark_elf]

Because I'm curious, and I'm actually trying to work on a project I started forever ago, what type of warnings do you want in your fics? Also, AU/AT/AC/AR->These are intermixed all the time. What is your definition of them?

Comments

[lanerose]

AC/AR??? AU = Alternate Universe, which can be anything from a minor detail change (Character A attends Y school instead of Z school) to a massive shift (Characters were go players, characters are now in a rock band.) AT = Alternate Timeline, which more specifically refers to the kind of AU that makes a simple change to a story and sees how it has far reaching effects (Example: Butterfly Effect, wherein Vincent and Cloud meet while Cloud is a child. Midgar is still Midgar, Jenova is still Jenova, and the characters are essentially unaltered except for the changes spiralling out from the small change. No one suddenly gains wings (well, less Sephiroth, but that's canon) or incredible mind powers (less Sephiroth, but that's canon), or is suddenly an astronaut exploring Jupiter.) Similar, but not quite the same storyline as the original work.

[icedark-elf.livejournal.com]

Alternate Continuity/Alternate Reality.

It's fun to read discussions on AU/AT because a lot of times, people use them interchangeably. Or, depending on what fandom they started in, they use them the opposite of how you describe. And I've actually seen AC/AR used before. Gods, in the Highlander fandom, I think. Been a long, long time.

[wildskyrider.livejournal.com]

Huh. I knew about AU, but the others threw me. First time I saw AC, I thought they meant Advent Children and got REAL confused.
*feels dumb*

[pegunicent.livejournal.com]

I think of AU as anything that goes away from canon. >> I've never noticed the other labels really. All I ask for in warnings is this: Tell me the rating, tell me the genre, and tell me if it has spoilers. If it's good I don't care bout the pairing, and if it's *bad* I won't care about the rating.

[jessara40k.livejournal.com]

Don't know if it's any help, but for me AU is any deviation from established canon (although filling in the gaps stuff doesn't count), AT is an AU that is still set in the canon universe, but with one event in canon happening differently, Butterfly Effect and Another Chance both being good examples of this, and AR is an AU that's set in an entirely different universe, such as high school AUs or your Qilin.

[alydhe.livejournal.com]

Feel free to argue with me if you disagree with my definitions.

I see AU as being major changes with the story's plot, characters, time, or places. For example, Soldier!Cloud or a cheerful Cloud and loner Zack are examples of AU with characters. Having the storyline take place in Wutai or during the rein of the Tokugawa Shogunate is an example of AU place and time. AU plot could be where Aeris or Cloud decided to become Turks or Jenova is a mutant space chicken determined to take over the hot dog market. ^__~

AT, in my opinion, is where the author follows canon up to a certain point, then makes a few small changes and things begin to unravel differently from there. For example, Cloud gains his memory back before the game starts, therefore changing the course of events. Or maybe Zack was in a coma, not dead.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I always figured AC=AT and AR=AU.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

In practical terms, I always considered "AU" to be a catch-all warning. All the others seem to be simply the subject of meta debate.

[tripoverhercats.livejournal.com]

My 2 gil....

Butterfly Effect (as stated earlier) or a Zack!Lives story is an Alternate Timeline. Something changed to veer the story away from canon, but it's still pretty much everyone mostly the same and the plot is still there.

Alternate Universe --> Hello, Merc!Verse. The characters are basically recognizable but the setting is very very different. The Kingdom Hearts versions of the crew are AU, names are the same, basic personalities, but they're from Radient Garden, not Gaia.

Alternate Reality... I suppose that might be something like Ninja!Zack. Same "universe" but things are vastly different. Coyo's Norse!verse I think is a good AR... still the same "setting" but oh, the differences...

... and I've no idea what AC is... well other than Advent Children, which is basically a warning on it's own sometimes... ;p

But a brief summary before hand "this fic diverges from canon", "takes place *elsewhere*", or a simple "what if x?" should warn a reader that they shouldn't be expecting canon to be scrupiously followed within.

[edenfalling]

I figure that saying AU is a way of warning readers that something in the story ain't your typical canon. It says nothing, however, about the significance or type of difference.

By this point, you're never going to get people to agree on the fine distinctions of various acronyms, so I think the details of each AU (those that, for whatever reason, cannot be dealt with 'in-story' or that need a bit of reinforcement in readers' minds) should be explained in summaries or author's notes, to save confusion. :-)

[iapetusneume.livejournal.com]

AU always meant for me something severe in the change of setting, and therefore everyone else's stations. Let's take BLEACH for example.

AU would be something radical, like Ichigo, Renji and Rukia all in 18th century France or something, along with a ton of other people, and they're all human.

AR would be Alternate Reality, in which some detail was significantly changed. Like, Ichgio's mom didn't die.

In terms of my own stories, Kindred Spirits (besides being a crossover) would be an AR, and Somewhere I Belong would be an AU.

As for other things I like warnings for... extreme violence, non-con, and smut. Mostly because I check my LJ from public places at least once a week, and wouldn't feel comfortable reading the content there.