Alternate Universe Fanfiction: Let loose your imagination

Actually, I only wanted to make a quick post today on how much I love alternate universe (AU) fanfiction. I was flicking through my C2 communities today when I found some great fanfiction that I had neglected to read before.

The best of the two, Kizuna by saihatsu is an alternate universe Konoka x Setsuna fanfiction where a disillusioned Setsuna Sakurazaki ends up working for an infamous group of mercenary assassins who become part of a plot to save Konoka from one of the government’s evil schemes. The fiction itself comes highly recommended, though it looks like it is on hiatus for the moment (last updated in April) due to exams, so at best look forward to updates in the coming months.

The other, non AU fiction that i would recommend from my recent surfings is Cold Nights, Warm Days by LtStorm, which is a Tomo/Yomi and Kagura/Nyamo dualfic which I found refreshing to read, since I am not usually a fan of Tomo/Yomi.

Now let me gush a little about Alternate Universe.

I love AU fanfiction. However, it takes such skill to be able to write properly, that I only rarely come across good examples of it. To define the term, AU is a fanfiction in which the anime or manga universe in which the characters find themselves in is changed (hence alternate) to the whim of the author. Therefore, situations and characterisations do not exist in this universe as in the canon (normal) universe, though the two are strongly related. For instance, most multiple crossovers (fanfic encompassing more than two anime series) have to be AU by default. (For instance Shanejayell’s Arisugawa’s Locket)

One of the great things about writing AU is that you can forget about characterisation (although not too much, or you might as well be writing original fiction) and do whatever you want with the characters. One of the great things about reading AU is that you get to see familiar characters in situations outside the regular old few that define a relationship (you know what I mean…There are only a few situations in a TV series that allude to a relationship, especially yuri ones, and most fanfic authors will base fiction around these. (Which can get quite tiresome)).

The difficulty in AU is casting your set of familiar characters into an unfamiliar world, but making it so that it is not completely unfamiliar to the reader. Also, characters’ “alter-egos” as it were, must be at least related to their real manga or TV counterparts.

Writing alternate universe fiction gives a reader a great feel of the author’s real imagination outside of predetermined lines, and the offerings in this category are always more interesting to read.

And it offers far more opportunities for angst!