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Fannish Friday: degrees of AU-ish-ness
This is probably going to be only relevant to those of us who tend to love genre fandoms of the speculative fiction or historical variety, but I want to talk about mundane AU fanfiction--where you take a historical, fantasy, or scifi fandom and plop the characters down in a contemporary setting. You know--the superheroes are now all working at a coffee shop or the royal court is now a high school, that kind of thing.
I am just curious about how people feel about them and what you feel their relationship to canon is.
When I first get into a fandom, I have ZERO interest in reading these kinds of stories. I am there for the fic that explores the world of the text--missing scenes, post-canon, fix-it fics, and especially canon divergence. I will pass mundane AUs by.
Once I've been in the fandom for a long time and read a lot of fic, I sometimes can enjoy mundane AUs. This happened to me with Infinite (where a mundane AU is literally anything where they're not idols) and with The Untamed fandoms. I read quite a bit of Untamed mundane AUs to this day.
And yet...I don't really feel like they're fanfic in the same way that more canon-observant fics are. There are some that do a marvelous job of adapting all the beats of canon--the character dynamics, the plot points--to a different setting. Those are rare and masterful, and I'm impressed by them. But the rest are just...the characters being written about have the character's faces and some of their personality traits, but that's about it.
Obviously, this is all a spectrum. But there are some that venture so far from canon that I feel like I'm reading an original work of fiction. And I can enjoy some of those, even love them, but I don't love them as fanfiction, I love them as original fiction.
It's interesting to think about how far it has to diverge from canon to not be fanfiction to me. I was reading a Wangxian fic this week that had the same kind of mundane AU plot I'd read before, but this one immediately went to the "this is not fanfiction" realm for me because Wei Wuxian was a lot older than Lan Wangji, and that changed the dynamic between them enough that I didn't even think they were the same characters anymore. I really liked the fic! It was well written and I liked the characters being written about. But I kept going, "This is not actually Wangxian fic."
So for me the spectrum goes:
As a writer, I stay pretty firmly in the A and B areas about 90% of the time, though sometimes I will venture out into C and every once in a while I will do a full-on E re-write. But even when I completely change the setting, I never make them truly mundane where they're just normal people living contemporary lives; I write, like, a Star Trek AU or something dystopian/post-apocalyptic. I have zero desire to write about any character I love having a normal life if that's not the kind of fandom they originate in. I actually don't understand the appeal of E-G kinds of stories as a writer; I would just write original fic instead. But they are very popular so clearly other people feel differently.
As a reader, I stay with A-B and a little bit of C for most fandoms. It's only in fandoms where I've read a ton of fic that I'm willing to venture further out into the other letters.
What about y'all? What do you prefer to read or write? Or is my spectrum just completely wrong and not the way you think of fic at all?
I am just curious about how people feel about them and what you feel their relationship to canon is.
When I first get into a fandom, I have ZERO interest in reading these kinds of stories. I am there for the fic that explores the world of the text--missing scenes, post-canon, fix-it fics, and especially canon divergence. I will pass mundane AUs by.
Once I've been in the fandom for a long time and read a lot of fic, I sometimes can enjoy mundane AUs. This happened to me with Infinite (where a mundane AU is literally anything where they're not idols) and with The Untamed fandoms. I read quite a bit of Untamed mundane AUs to this day.
And yet...I don't really feel like they're fanfic in the same way that more canon-observant fics are. There are some that do a marvelous job of adapting all the beats of canon--the character dynamics, the plot points--to a different setting. Those are rare and masterful, and I'm impressed by them. But the rest are just...the characters being written about have the character's faces and some of their personality traits, but that's about it.
Obviously, this is all a spectrum. But there are some that venture so far from canon that I feel like I'm reading an original work of fiction. And I can enjoy some of those, even love them, but I don't love them as fanfiction, I love them as original fiction.
It's interesting to think about how far it has to diverge from canon to not be fanfiction to me. I was reading a Wangxian fic this week that had the same kind of mundane AU plot I'd read before, but this one immediately went to the "this is not fanfiction" realm for me because Wei Wuxian was a lot older than Lan Wangji, and that changed the dynamic between them enough that I didn't even think they were the same characters anymore. I really liked the fic! It was well written and I liked the characters being written about. But I kept going, "This is not actually Wangxian fic."
So for me the spectrum goes:
canon-adherent (either a missing scene or pre- or post-canon fic)
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| A
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pivot moment divergence (where just one or two things change, and we explore what repercussions that has)
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| B
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complete plot divergence (where we're still in the same world and operating by the rules of canon, but the plot is completely different than canon)
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| C
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setting tweaks (say, you add daemons or the characters are suddenly royalty or they have some kind of magical powers they don't have in canon, but it's still loosely recognizable as the same world
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| D
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setting-change AUs (where we're in a completely different setting but you're still trying to translate as much of canon as possible, trying to hit the same beats and get the characterization and relationships just right
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| E
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setting and plot change AUs (where the characters are clearly inspired by their canon personalities, but they're operating under such different conditions that the relationship is becoming tenuous
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| F
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this isn't even fanfic anymore (you've crossed a line--probably a subjective one--wherein the reader is like, "Okay, this essentially has nothing to do with canon other than me picturing the same faces and bodies" but it may be a good enough story to stand on its own)
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| G
As a writer, I stay pretty firmly in the A and B areas about 90% of the time, though sometimes I will venture out into C and every once in a while I will do a full-on E re-write. But even when I completely change the setting, I never make them truly mundane where they're just normal people living contemporary lives; I write, like, a Star Trek AU or something dystopian/post-apocalyptic. I have zero desire to write about any character I love having a normal life if that's not the kind of fandom they originate in. I actually don't understand the appeal of E-G kinds of stories as a writer; I would just write original fic instead. But they are very popular so clearly other people feel differently.
As a reader, I stay with A-B and a little bit of C for most fandoms. It's only in fandoms where I've read a ton of fic that I'm willing to venture further out into the other letters.
What about y'all? What do you prefer to read or write? Or is my spectrum just completely wrong and not the way you think of fic at all?
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In terms of wangxian, though, I do find a lot of value to be found for me even in mundane AUs simply because the relationship dynamics between wangxian are rich enough that they can transcend the setting entirely while still feeling like they have something to say about wangxian as individuals and as a couple. They're also such an archetypal sunshine/grumpy ship to me that they slot in well in many different types of AUs. So for them, in terms of reading, I have no real preference for canon compliant vs canon divergent vs setting AUs/mundane AUs except to say I actually really don't like it when it's a setting AU, but the plot beats are the same as canon. I find those rather boring and wonder why bother with a setting change at all in those circumstances.
In terms of writing though, when I approach fic, I'm not necessarily looking to replicate/exactly reflect canon or give myself more of something that precisely reminds me as canon. I see writing as a conversation I can have with canon or a way to tease out pieces of canon I want to explore in ways that are impossible if I constrain myself to writing a canon-observant story. The theme I want to play with will usually dictate everything else about the story and from there I'll take what I know of the canon characters and try to make it in-character for how they'd react in that new situation/setting. It wouldn't work to write origfic for these mundane ideas though because the themes I want to play with are usually tied pretty tightly to canon characterizations, relationship beats, or plot elements and removing it from canon is easier than having to write around canon events. It's a conversation with the canon, even when the setting is so far removed.
I will say, for myself, I know when a fandom is one where I'll branch out into D-E fic territory and it's entirely dependent on how dynamic I find the ship to be. If they are completely compelling to me, I'll usually have an easy time of enjoying it. If I like the ship because of the plot circumstances/their canon jobs/whatever, then I have a harder time venturing out. With wangxian, I see their story and dynamic playing out in any setting. I love those characters so much that I want to explore or read about every possible facet. A lot of ships for me don't hold up when they're placed into different scenarios because they need the scaffolding of canon.
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I'm not necessarily looking to replicate/exactly reflect canon or give myself more of something that precisely reminds me as canon. I see writing as a conversation I can have with canon or a way to tease out pieces of canon I want to explore in ways that are impossible if I constrain myself to writing a canon-observant story. The theme I want to play with will usually dictate everything else about the story and from there I'll take what I know of the canon characters and try to make it in-character for how they'd react in that new situation/setting.
Oh, yeah, same. I actually rarely write missing and I am mostly in the divergence camp because that's what's most interesting to me as both a reader and writer.
It's a conversation with the canon, even when the setting is so far removed.
Yeah, I think it's just a matter of...whether a reader/writer's interest can be sustained when it's that far removed. Most of the time, my can't (and it almost never can as a writer). But, like, the whole joy of fandom is doing whatever the hell you want, and there are clearly lots of people who enjoy the conversations that I find barely tethered to the original.
it's entirely dependent on how dynamic I find the ship to be. If they are completely compelling to me, I'll usually have an easy time of enjoying it. If I like the ship because of the plot circumstances/their canon jobs/whatever, then I have a harder time venturing out.
That's really interesting and insightful! Do you only write/reader shippy fic? Is it the same with gen things?
I write and read a ton of shippy fic, but I don't think of myself as just a ship-writer/reader, since I also really love gen fic and often find, say, family relationships every bit as compelling as romantic/sexual ones, but I find its a lot harder to remove those from context. It strikes me that the stuff in the E-G zone is almost always shippy--you don't see gen stuff in that zone very much. I feel like there must be something about a romantic/sexual relationship that makes people feel like they can...go a little further from canon while still remaining tethered enough to it for their own tastes.
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I have occasionally read mundane AUs, but not very often, and usually I only get drawn in if they feel like they in some way share the same sensibility as the original text. (For example, I got very into an OFMD modern AU where Ed and Stede were rival picklers with pickle booths at a farmer's market, hahaha. Like, that felt right to me on a soul level.)
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I'm 99% of the time a ship fic writer, but I'll read gen from time to time. I'm mostly in fandom for the queer romantic reads and find sexuality exploration to be the most interesting thing to read about and write, so that largely necessitates some kind of romantic/sexual content (though not always). I think that's partly because I can get my need for gen content filled by other novels, movies, tv shows, etc. in a wide variety of genres. It's so much rarer for me to find deep queer romantic explorations outside of fic that so thoroughly fulfill the cravings I have for that kind of art.
Gen things pretty much always have to be set in canon for me to enjoy them. I agree with you totally that it's more context dependent for me.
I feel like there must be something about a romantic/sexual relationship that makes people feel like they can...go a little further from canon while still remaining tethered enough to it for their own tastes.
Yeah, definitely. Now I'm going to be stuck wondering why it is ahaha. Maybe at least for me it's a bit tied in with the I get my gen needs filled in other ways, but I don't think that necessarily explains it overall. I wonder also if it's simply a matter of romance being such a dominant, established genre all on its own with a ton of expected beats that most people know, while gen can really be spun in a million different directions without an easy beat sheet to go with it unless it also falls under a specific genre? Like... it's easy (comparatively) to build a romance arc in whatever setting/plot, but figuring out what kind of family drama to tell (as an example) is more nebulous? So for people who write gen, keeping close to canon is at least somewhat a scaffolding they can build off of, while romance writers have a built-in scaffold to work from that transfers so easily? I have no idea. I'm spitballing in your comments now lol. It's an interesting observation, for sure.
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I tend to be very interested in the ways a character's background contributes to making them who they are, and while sometimes it can be fun to see how that would translate to an AU setting, a lot of times it doesn't translate well, but just completely ignoring it makes the character a lot less interesting to me. There's also the fact that I have a fair amount of favorite characters with relatively little screen time and ships between characters who don't interact much in canon (or at all... or aren't even from the same canon...) and when you're already making up that much, adding an AU setting on top of that is just too much.
On the other hand, I love canon divergence AUs. Something about figuring out what would change and what wouldn't and what kinds of parallels there could still be if certain things were different just... clicks something in my brain, idk.
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On the other hand, canon-divergence is one of my favorite genres. And I often like "a different type of SFF setting" AUS, like fantasy instead of SF or vice versa. Part of the fun of those is seeing how non-realistic elements get translated between settings, like a dragon becoming a sentient spaceship or vice versa.
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The only circumstances in which I enjoy it are for canons that are fairytales, folktales, mythology, stories from religious texts and so on, because the details in those tend to be quite sparse (or the setting is just a kind of indeterminate fairytale land: a cold forest, an unfurling road, an isolated castle or whatever), so taking the story and transposing it to another setting doesn't feel like it's taking something away from the parts of canon that I wanted to see more of in fic.
In terms of a hierarchy/spectrum, I've honestly never really thought of things in that way. I just think of it as fanworks, some of which appeal to me and some of which don't.
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I started my fandom journey with destiel and most of my works on that fandom are in the E-G range, and my MCU fics tend to lean there also. I think it's mostly because they're western fandoms and I feel comfortable flinging them in any setting I like.
But when I get into a new fandom, I also like to read mostly canon settings. It's on the second round (or on specific tags) where I start to read more broadly.
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I have enjoyed quite a few modern-with-cultivation AUs for CQL/MDZS, but I feel like strictly mundane ones tend to, mm, the characterization tends to be flattened out by default? For instance, with one or two exceptions set in modern China by someone who clearly knows what they're doing, I don't think I've ever seen a mundane AU in which I agree with Yu Ziyuan's characterization--I feel like the things which motivate her in canon are so inherent to her exact situation that there is no way to translate them to a mundane setting, and she tends to end up as a caricature. Likewise, most mundane AUs just have inherently lower stakes than the xianxia setting, and as a result a lot of people fall back on "Wei Wuxian did nothing wrong (ever in his life)" rather than trying to translate the actual terrible things that he ended up doing.
I think a good enough writer can pull it off! But it's hard to find.
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"I think AUs (by which I mean full AUs, not the-same-world-as-the-source-work-but-with-one-crucial-thing-changed AUs) are fic for fic's sake? Like, if you are reading an AU, you are there to wallow in the fic tropes of it all--for better and for worse. The characters, let's be honest, are only going to bear a passing resemblance to those in the source material. It's not literally 'the grumpy one and the sunshine one' . . . but they'll be a lot closer to that level of abstraction than to original characters. Which means most of the exploration-of-the-source-materal aspects that you get in regular fic are lost in favor of just being allowed to wallow."
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The one missing item from your list, I think, are crossovers, where we squish two fandoms together. I see those way less these days than they used to be, but in those cases authors usually seemed to retain elements from the original canon and just tried to weave them together. That could have been more my circle of fandom friends though!