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The standards for how much is fundamental to the series vary by fandom and by time of writing, but the fic types that are usually considered AU are the following:
* '''Contextual Reassignment''' - When the fundamental aspect that is changed is the world itself. Overt changes in the [[Magic
** '''Familiar Contextual Reassignment:''' When the characters are taken out of their world and placed in a setting that is fairly familiar to the author and readers - the [[High School AU]] is especially common, putting characters who would not have met or even existed for years in close proximity during teenage years.
** '''Unfamiliar Contextual Reassignment''' - When the characters are taken out of their world and placed in a setting much more unfamiliar to the author or the reader - for example prison, a Nazi Death Camp, Normandy 1066, or possibly Mars.
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** '''[[Alternate History]]''' - Where the author takes one point of time, one event in the universe and changes the outcome of it radically, such as an important decision, or who won an important fight, and continues from that point. Sometimes called a ''Divergence Fic''.
** '''Character Facets''' - The author speculates on what would happen if a single facet of a character's enviroment was different about them, or may blatantly ignore a [[Word of God]] statement, for example, what if a character was blind, or had a little brother in the show right from the start.
* '''[[Continuation]]''' - There are also the [[Continuation]] fics written before the series has finished, which are [[Jossed|rendered AU]] when new episodes in canon contradict the events of the fic. This is more of an [[Alternate Continuity]], as the opening paragraph mentions, but tends to be considered AU too. Retrospectively, these fics become the [[What If]] variaton mentioned above, but are written from a different stance. (''[[Harry Potter (
Full-blown AU fic is tricky, as it should require a fair notion of the original series itself, making it harder to read for some casual fans. There's also the major danger of the [[Transplanted Character Fic]], because if you change the plot too much the story's not so much a [[Fanfic]] as an original story with familiar names. On the plus side, rookie fans who might suffer from [[Continuity Lock Out]] in the canon series because they only found it after it became established may be able to enjoy AU fics, particularly if they actually explain a lot of the universe and don't [[Fan Myopia|assume that you know all the important things already]]. Trying to follow ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' when you first start watching in its fifth season, with all the [[Character Development]] that's taken place up to that point, is a lot harder than cutting your teeth on an AU fic that starts out with the Scoobies in high school and doesn't require any advance knowledge of the setting.
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== Anime & Manga ==
* ''[[Downfall (
* Gregg "Metroanime" Sharp's ''[http://www.asynjor.com/fanfic/sharp.html The Bet]'' is a cycle of stories based around a competition by a group of gods, demons, spirits and the occasional mortal to see who can make the biggest change in one of several "standard" timelines (the [[Canon]] versions of ''[[Ranma One Half|Ranma 1/2]], [[Tenchi Muyo!]],'' and ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' among others) with [[For Want of a Nail|the smallest alteration]]. Each entry in "The Bet" is a small [[Alternate Universe Fic]]. ''The Bet'' inspired many contributors and imitators, and turned [[Alternate Universe Fic|Alternate Universe Fics]] into sort of a cottage industry for Sharp.
* ''A Fox in Tokyo'' by [[Doghead Thirteen]] is one for ''[[Naruto]]'', where the main change is that it's set in the author's [[Mega Crossover]] [[Top Dog]] universe, which includes a modern-day Tokyo where Nerima is a separate country owned and ruled by [[Ranma One Half|Soun Tendo]], who is a werewolf. Needs to be seen to be believed.
* ''[[
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion R]]'' is one example of such a fic, diverging from the (formerly, with ''Rebuild'') canonical timeline at the end of Episode 24 and beginning of the ''[[End of Evangelion]]''. Essentially, Gendo anticipates Seele's attack, decides he's not ready for it, and begins a major reconstruction of Tokyo-3 in order to make himself a public hero that is temporarily untouchable. In retaliation, {{spoiler|Seele builds a bunch of faux Angels for the purpose of attacking Nerv and initiating Third Impact in a more plausibly deniable way, while also recruiting another human-like Angel (ala Kaworu) to help them.}} Also, Shinji gets better. As does Asuka. And Rei. [[Lighter and Fluffier|And everyone else]]. {{spoiler|[[Bittersweet Ending|Well, almost]]}}.
* ''[[
* For ''[[
* A ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' fanfic called ''[[Fan Fic/Son Of Apophis|Son Of Apophis]]''. All the character's Yamis become older brothers, with the exception of Bakura, who's an older cousin that {{spoiler|is secretly a half-brother}}. Card games still exist, and it's implied that Yami is still the champion of them, but the tournaments seem to have never taken place. Yami Marik is no where near as psychotic or violent as he is in the actual manga (though he used to be, years ago) and Marik was crippled by his father.
* It takes place in a new cyberpunk/gothic setting, but ''[[Soul Eater]]'' has an AU by Ryo Hoshi called ''[[Fan Fic/Shadows On The Walls|Shadows on the Walls]]'', which has a very strange mix of People In Jars, Lotus Eater Machine, and features some familiar faces traveling as a band...and has the Cargo Ship of Soul Eater Evans and booze. Oh, right, and Maka is a prostitute and Noah [[Memetic Molester|does what he does best.]]
* Another one for ''[[Soul Eater]]'' would be ''[[Fan Fic/A Souls Songbook|A Soul's Songbook]]'', which is a result of a single [[What If]] involving a switch in who won a battle nearly a thousand years before the start of the canon that ends up turning it into a [[Crapsack World]] run by the [[Big Bad]] of the canon, with, among other things, a rare example of [[Crystal Dragon Jesus]] sharing a world with Real Jesus...and the [[Eldritch Abomination]] cult.
* ''[[Fan Fic/Genius Is A Curse|Genius is a Curse]]'', a [[
* By the same author as ''Genius is a Curse'', a more extreme example of AU. [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4382737/1/ It's Just A Game]. The page description: "It's [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future|2016]] & Light is bored to death. Ryuk offers him the Death Note, a program that lets him wreak havoc anonymously in a virtual world. L pursues this Kira, but when real people start dying, the line between fantasy and reality blurs beyond recognition." L works for Wammy House, the software company making the game, and Ryuk is a disillusioned game programmer they fired. Seems to toy with [[Your Mind Makes It Real]].
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist: Threads of Time
* ''[[Fan Fic/Zeon Quest|Zeon Quest]]'' is a Gundam AU fic focusing on how one soldier has managed to already permanently alter the Universal Century.
* ''[[Freefall (
* ''[[
* ''[[
* Given the nature of ''[[
** AUs of the first type (contextual reassignment) are common as well, for example [[Part Right, Half Wrong, a Third Crazy]].
* ''[http://web.archive.org/web/19991006034910/http://solo.abac.com/moonromance/o/matmon.htm Matrose Mond]'' by David H. Olivier sets the action of ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' in [[Nazi Germany]].
== Comic Books ==
* The ''[[Fanfic/Spider-Woman|Spider-Woman]]'' series, which posits what would have occurred [[Spider
** Speaking of such, there's a surprising amount of 'retelling' stories, basically with a similar premise as Ultimate Spider-Man: Spdey's adventures retold, with original and familiar ideas thrown around. Sometimes, they can be epic and even [[Better Than Canon]], other times they can fall into common fanfic problems. Notably, [[I Let Gwen Stacy Die|Gwen Stacy]] [[Never Live It Down|dies in a lot of them]], seemingly for no reason. To a lesserdegree, other comics, such is Iron Man, Avengers, Batman, and even Transformers get the same treatment.
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== Literature ==
* ''[[
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** ''[[Fan Fic/Take Clothes Off As Directed|Take Clothes Off As Directed]]'' by Helen (D/s AU).
* There is an entire genre of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' fanfics called "Halloween fics." They're mainly [[Crossover]] fics. They are all based on the premise, "[[What If]] so-and-so had dressed up as such-and-such on the Halloween Ethan Rayne came to town, and there was some sort of lasting effect?" There are actually a bunch of really good fanfics that come out of this genre, particularly Scribbler's "[http://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-7119/scribbler+Jedi+Harris.htm Jedi Harris]", in which Xander had dressed up as Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan MacGregor's version) instead of a generic soldier.
* There are several AU ''[[
* [http://primarycolors92.livejournal.com/50883.html ''Take My Hand''] is an AU ''[[Lost]]'' fanfic where the Others, rather than hostile natives, are soldiers running a tyrannical government led by Ben. The whole story is full of nods to the original continuity, while maintaining the mood and atmosphere of classic dystopian fiction.
* [[The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries]] has [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7686534/1/Blood_Circles_Voodoo_Doll ''Blood Circles''], where magic works, Joe Hardy is psychically gifted, and Orrin Thatcher from the "Voodoo Doll" episode is a real serial-killer/magic-user using death and blood to raise power. The tale crosses into [[Dark Fic]] territory, but keeps the sense of humor prevalent in the show and stays mostly in the show's continuity.
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== Music ==
* ''[[
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* Scott Keith's ''[[Fan Fic/World Hero Federation|World Hero Federation]]'' fics, and the countless [[The Verse|verses]] inspired by them, cast professional wrestlers as superheroes. Maybe it's the spandex...
* One wrestling crossover is this epic series, written in the late 90's, called ''[[Fanfic]]/Wrestle Trek''. Yes, that means what you think it means.
* A recurring column on [[Wrestlecrap]] is "Rewriting the Book," which explores scenarios in [[Professional Wrestling]]'s past storylines (e.g.: [[Ted
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== Video Games ==
* One [[Red Stormtrooper|troper]] is working on a [[Valkyria Chronicles]] / [[Real Life]] double AU, called ''[[
* ''[[Renegade (
* ''[[
* ''[[
* A very different Contextual Reassignment ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' fanfic is found in ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7189428/1/Prison_Island_Break Prison Island Break.]'' The entire story not only takes place in a high-security prison, but almost all of the characters (from a wide range of Sonic continuities) are convicted criminals. Their goal to escape prison is neither noble nor heroic since there is no doubt that they are guilty, and most of them are unrepentant. Despite this, the story is popular for keeping all of them in-character, and even their very different criminal backstories still seem to suit their original characters.
* ''Coffee, Black'' is a ''[[Dragon Age 2]]'' fanfic which takes place in modern America. It is written through Garrett Hawke's point of view, while he works in a coffee shop and is practically hypnotized by a mysterious tattoo covered hipster named Fen. It can be read [http://archiveofourown.org/works/238633/chapters/366263 here]. (Warning: as it was originally inspired by a prompt from a [[Kink Meme]], it gets VERY steamy later on.)
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== Webcomics ==
* ''[[Hanna Is Not a
** [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6062841/1/bDead_b_of_bNight_b Dead Of Night] is a swapped 'verse, with zombie!Hanna, Unzombie, vampire!Worth, human!Conrad, and so on. Pairings are [[Slash Fic|Conrad/Worth]] and [[Heterosexual Life Partners|platonic]] Hanna/Unzombie. Has [http://squireofbabylon.deviantart.com/#/d2wtm0h coverart], [http://miyazaki-a2.deviantart.com/art/Dead-of-Night-chp10-illus-175972329 Chapter illustration], and [http://demyrie.deviantart.com/art/Guardian-171023390 assorted] [http://demyrie.deviantart.com/journal/36074007/#/d3279di other] [http://demyrie.deviantart.com/art/DoN-Bohemian-Rhapsody-172879876 comics] [http://demyrie.deviantart.com/art/Predator-171430088 and] [http://demyrie.deviantart.com/gallery/25501156?offset=48#/d2syn13 art].
** The Punk AU has... well, a brash and outlandishly dressed Hanna, with Unzombie as a police officer he ends up working with. sometimes slash, sometimes pre-slash or friendship.:
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*** [http://fyeahhinabn.tumblr.com/post/761083692/punk-au-fanfics-nsfw Here] is a collection of Punk AU fanfic.
** Then there's the obligatory post-apocalyptic dystopian AU, [http://hinabn-lightwaves.deviantart.com/ Lightwaves].
* ''[[
** There's fics that switch [[Fantastic Caste System|the blood colors of the trolls]] and the guardians of the children, like ''[[
** There's fics that take [[Fantastic Caste System|the trolls' hemospectrum]], flip it on its head, and extrapolate from there, like ''[[
** There are also alternate settings, such as:
*** [http://archiveofourown.org/works/100028 "Shipheld"] (a pirate setting)
*** [http://archiveofourown.org/works/100029 "Castlebound"] (a medieval fantasy setting)
*** [http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?33350-Steampunk-Shenanigans-with-Nakki-and-Ruka The Steampunk AU].
** ''[[
== Web Original ==
* ''[[Fan Fic/If No One Loved The Sun Would Burn Out|If No One Loved The Sun Would Burn Out]]''. (You can read it [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6133961/1/An_Uncommon_Love_A_Series_of_AlexXBea_drabbles here].) From ''[[The Dreamer]]'' fandom, it's [[Crack Pairing|Alexander Hamilton/Beatrice Whaley]]. Yeah, you read right, ''the'' Alexander Hamilton.
* [[That Guy With
** ''[[That Guy
** ''[[Fan Fic/Hooker Verse|Hooker Verse]]''.
== Western Animation ==
* [http://www.annkniggendorf.de/gr/timeline.html AKK's] "Raumjager" for ''[[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers
* [http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Fanon:A:TLAR A:TLAR] is a full-on AU reboot of the ''[[
* ''[[Fan Fic/Pirates Versus Privates|Pirates Versus Privates]]'' takes almost every Disney canon there is and smashes them together, though it focuses the most on the Sensational Six.
* The ''[[
* For ''[[Teen Titans (
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