Snowflake Challenge: Day Three

[tangeriner]

Challenge #3

In your own space, put some favorite characters into an AU, fuse some favorite canons together, talk about your favorite AU/fusion tropes, or tell us why AU/fusions aren’t your cup of tea. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Most of the AUs I write are canon divergences ones -- I got my start in X-Men comics fandom, way back in the 90s, and Marvel has always had a very strong "What if...?" approach to things. Like, literally, there was a series called "What if...?" that canon-diverged all over the place and I loved it, especially when it picked an X-Men-related storyline to diverge from. My favourite thing is to pick a specific issue (or episode for my non-static fandoms) and diverge from there.

I don't write a lot of other types of AUs, in part because I usually like the canon setting enough, but also because I can get a little ridiculous with the research aspect of AUs. Being a librarian, I tend to research the living daylights out of things, and that's so much work, haha.

That said, I do have a lot of fun putting Shatterstar in particular into AU settings and making him work. He has such a comic-y backstory that trying to fit him into a different setting is a really fun challenge. Like even the basic fact of how do you make the name Shatterstar work logically when you've removed him from the various X-Men settings? I've only actually written two of the stories in my head (the pirate AU and the incubus AU), but I have so many unwritten Rictor/Shatterstar AUs in my WIP folder, including a Pacific Rim fusion. I have never actually written a fusion before, but when I finally do, it will be that one. The idea of drift compatibility just hits so many buttons.

Comments

[perspi]

Oh, yes, canon-divergence AUs are delightful! And I agree, the idea of drift-compatibility is pretty appealing...

[tangeriner]

So many possibilities with AUs! They're great!

[chase_acow]

Comics are the gift that keep on giving when it comes to changing their own continuity which is basically just official AUs right? The Shatterstar name is a fun challenge to solve, though usually I handwave names that are odd in different settings!

I know Pacific Rim AUs are everywhere, but I guess I've never actually read one. That's a weird blindspot now that I think about it.

[tangeriner]

Oh, man, they really are. The worse they become about adhering to their own canon, the more free I feel to just do whatever the heck I want lol. And yes, I am all about handwaving, but for some reason, with him, I just have to explain it. Maybe because it's canonically eyebrow-raising!

Honestly, I'm not sure I've read one either -- all my fav characters are too underwritten, so if I want to see it happen, I'm going to have to do it myself. :D