Let's talk AUs!

[scribblinlenore]

I'm work from home today, under the weather, and this cold had better be gone, or at least better, by Thanksgiving. I've put the germs on notice! Anyhoo, I don't actually have any work to do, and my head is too fuzzy for writing, so I need some entertaining.

I've had AUs on the brain lately. I do love them so. John and Rodney in particular are like paper dolls. You can dress them up in anything. I have all these SGA AU ideas that I like to take out occasionally and daydream on. I mentioned the ballet one recently. And I still have every intention of writing the advertising AU, in which Rodney is a neurotic ad guy and John is the prospective client he sleeps with because he has boundary issues. Then there's the yachting AU, with ship designer Rodney and daredevil skipper John, and the host bar AU. Back when I was writing Sentinel, I had this idea for a baseball AU, Jim as the hard to get along with pitcher in the waning days of his career, Blair as the young puppy of a catcher who's determined that Jim has one more star season in him.

So what are your favorite AU ideas? The wackiest? The hottest? Any fandom. Inquiring minds want to know!

Comments

[summertea.livejournal.com]

My most recent one!



Stardust AU, in which there is Meredith the Cranky Star, John who is not Tristan, Ronon the not quite so flaming gay pirate, Kolya the Witch and other things I haven't thought of. :>

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

*loves* So much fun! I can't decide what my favorite part is, but possibly Ronon the not quite so flaming gay pirate...

[aurora]

OMG I want this AU so bad!

[ingrid-m.livejournal.com]

I have a secret yearning to put Gaeta and Dee (or Alessandro and Kandyse, whichever) in Narnia. Mostly in Archenland because I don't feel like dealing with the Pensevies.

Then I take my medication and all is better again. Sort of.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

Ah, Narnia! I think this sounds like a fab idea, and that's not just all the medication I've taken for my cold talking!!

[alwayseasy.livejournal.com]

It's been a long time since, but I was hoping to nudge you into thinking about that Remington Steele style Smallville AU. The one where Lex walks into Clark's detective agency and announces himself to be Clark's partner in investigations? I LOVED that idea, and I would have liked to have seen it written out in full...

pleeeease? I promise long-length reviews :D

[alwayseasy.livejournal.com]

ok, I found the full entry with the full description, and it sounded even more delicious than I remembered... please, PLEASE consider working on this one. I bet it would be really popular and VERY well received :D

Smallville a la Remington Steele:
Clark Kent, intrepid PI, is barely making ends meet when he decides his agency needs a higher profile. So he borrows one from missing billionaire Lex Luthor, whose plane went down in the ocean while on his honeymoon, never to be found. Clark earnestly assures the rich and famous clients who now flock to him--lying through his teeth, of course--that although Mr. Luthor is no longer with them, the agency he left behind still upholds the same high standards. Everything is going great, business better than ever, until the day Lex Luthor shows up, back from the supposed dead, here to lay claim to Clark's agency. "It does have my name on it," Lex says, as he usurps Clark's office, making himself at home behind Clark's desk. "Let's call ourselves partners, at least until I can find my missing wife and get my money back." He lays a hand casually on Clark's ass and winks. "I think we're going to get along very well together."

[eliyes.livejournal.com]

Uh. Well, I woke up with a vague idea of an Atlantis whose Stargate was no longer working properly. Their AU!McKay managed to rework it as a quantum mirror and AU!John goes through into the fic version of the show universe (in a containment suit, in case it's flooded or in space).

And when he takes his bubble helmet off, even though he's got, well, bubble-helmet head, he also has really nice hair. Like, thick and kind of wavy, a lot like Jon Stamos circa Full House, come to think of it, with no funny sticking-up bits at all. Also, his Rodney is a redhead who keeps his hair pretty much buzzed except a little bit at the top, because he can't cope with the frizzy curls, and also he wears glasses. Possibly also AU!John hugs Elizabeth, because she's dead or missing in his reality.

Let me repeat that: John hugs Elizabeth. Obviously, this is a very different John. Oh, and I think the Athosians live on the city full time in his reality, or possibly Halling and Teyla kind of timeshare duties as liaison.

So anyway, the normal 'verse Atlantis people are trying to figure out what could be wrong and help fix the Stargate problem, and to that end build a quantum mirror (off of specs that AU!Rodney sent along with John). Their back-up plan is to potentially evacuate the Atlantis people, or some of them, send them to Earth, have them set up a quantum mirror there and go through to the AU!Earth to let them know what's happening. (They still have the 'jumpers, and the Athosians do farm (and hunt) on the mainland, they just don't live there, so they're not about to starve, but they'd kinda like to be able to call Earth and do trading missions and such.)

This wouldn't be like Rod visiting, although AU!Sheppard would possibly annoy John as much as Rod did Rodney, but there would be scenes in the AUniverse as well as the "main" 'verse.

*scrubs face with hands* Granted, I also dreamt that I shaved my hair off and no one would tell me if I'd graduated and my dad wanted me to join the Navy. I was in Sweden, for some reason. All very weird. ._.

Edited to make a sentence mean what I meant it to, instead of what I typed.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

I love alternate universe stories! And it would be fascinating to see John confronting an alternate self who doesn't have his same personal space/relationship issues. He'd be all free and easy, confiding in people and talking about his feelings, and all of Atlantis would be freaked out. Fun!

Also...wow! Your dream was all over the place. Maybe you were in Sweden because you were trying to avoid joining the Navy? *g*

[amberlynne.livejournal.com]

Well, I've already mentioned my Rodney+John=Batman AU, which I love like cake. I also have a hockey AU (http://amberlynne.livejournal.com/1364820.html) that I desperately, desperately want someone to write because boys who make out in ice rinks are HAWT! Plus! Physics and hockey are already married in real life (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/19102007/3/sports-moncton-prof-helps-heat-hockey-skate-blades.html)!

They really are like paper dolls. Snarky bitchy pretty crazy paper dolls! With guns!

[eliyes.livejournal.com]

Shout out to my home town! :D

I was going to point you to some hockey AUs I'd seen, but then I realized they were actually for due South and I should wake up a little more. I have seen a McShep figure skating AU...

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I think it would be fun to do a university AU for House, where House runs the very small interdisciplinary/independent concentration department and gets to cherry-pick his Ph.D. students, but he's still forced to teach an undergrad seminar and hold office hours ( = clinic hours), which he makes his grad students/TAs (Cameron etc.) do for him. Cuddy's the Dean, obviously, and Wilson teaches psychology, which is all very ironic since he doesn't see the traps he himself always falls into with women and his friendship with House and whatnot, and all the students have crushes on him, and maybe he kind of sort of slept with one once. I have more notes in it somewhere. :) Except I haven't been able to come up with a plot for it.

And I still think someone ought to do a casino AU for SGA, heist!fic or otherwise. Because you know John and Rodney are wicked card counters -- they even joked about it last ep.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

I love both ideas! The university setting works perfectly, and I can just imagine the kind of teacher House would be. Merciless, but people would sell their own grandmother to get into his class. My favorite part is Wilson as a psychologist. Hee! It's perfect.

And then SGA. Yes, yes! We desperately need a Sheppard's Eleven. I was kind of disappointed that there wasn't more of a jaunty heist angle when they went to steal the ZPM from the Replicators, although...I guess that wouldn't have really been all that appropriate. So an AU! Definitely. Or if they don't do a heist, they could be professional gamblers, as you suggest. Love it! Or grifters. Something where John's smarmy charm and Rodney's big brain could be put to good use.

I hope you write them both!

[ladycat777.livejournal.com]

I tend to confine myself to fandoms that have some kind of Fantasy in their world -- like, as much as I loved Veronica Mars s1, I could never fic it -- so I love normal high school or college AU's. The ones where John's the jock who takes pity on poor, bumbling Rodney, or the science-geek who is assigned to tutor the new kid, or or or.

*cough*

Yes, I am a cliche.

[ladycat777.livejournal.com]

Oh! Oh, and sex-clubs! Either someone is a hooker or works at a club, or someone is a jaded patron of a club or has been a hooker, doesn't matter, because that's so easy to flip, omg. And it works in almost any fandom, or pairing, the way not all AU's do and.

Sex club/hookers are good.

You can never go wrong with good hooker fic

[storm-grant.livejournal.com]

I started one in which John comes to Atlantis as a part of a sex trade worker team assigned to "alleviate stress" among the expedition members. I got all sidetracked with John programming a computerized hooker reservation system (including ticky boxes for kinks!) and then it turned into someone someone had already done... but the opening was fun!

I'll use it somewhere else, someday. ::shrug::
~ Stormheller

Re: You can never go wrong with good hooker fic

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

Okay, that is the best idea EVER!!! I'm sad that you never wrote the SGA version of it. Hooker!John just...um, yes. Let's just leave it at: I like Hooker!John. *g*

If you do use the idea somewhere else, let me know. I'd love to read it!

[cassandra581.livejournal.com]

Lol, I'm working on an AU right now. I love them. Taking your favorite characters and putting them in a setting of your creation is soo much fun. The one I'm working on is for the Under the Mistletoe Challenge. One premise that has been running through my mind is a Scott/Logan fic where Scott is a sheltered naive young man, trying to get out from under the shadow of his adopted father Charles Xavier renowned newspaper man and his older adopted siblings, Jean, Storm, Rogue, Kitty, Betsy and Jubilee. He talks his father into letting him doing a piece on Seal Team 12, one of the most decorated units of the Navy Seals, lead by James "Wolverine" Howlett, needless to say that sparks fly. Oh yeah, Scott is only twenty-two in my story and gasp he's a virgin.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

Oh, YUM!!!! I have such a weakness for stories with virginal characters, and Wolverine, er...breaking Scott in, as it were, is a delicious notion.

I like the way you're thinking here!

[anitac588.livejournal.com]

ship designer Rodney and daredevil skipper John Oh yeah!!!
Ever since I saw that True calling episode with JF on a boat - mhm, guy goes mighty fine with the boats. *nods*

As for AU, hahah, how about a rather scarring idea, ahm.
PegboyRodney and John as his Lordship. (John does evil so good *g*)

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

*cries for Rodney* It's just not the same torturing him as it was torturing Clark, Anita. Clark just invites abuse, and Rodney bruises too easily.

On a happier note, I still have that Tru Calling episode on my DVR. Sometimes, I just need to watch seafaring JFlan. *g*

[trystan830.livejournal.com]

i tend to vamp things..... *sigh*

or i'll do "What If..." AUs if the voice are there with a good idea. ;)

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. I always enjoy a good vampire story. I watch both Blood Ties and Moonlight, and that whole feeding thing never stops being disturbingly sensual. Also, there's so much room for angst. Good stuff!

[thingswithwings.livejournal.com]

aw, they really are like paper dolls! I love any fandom where people casually toss off phrases like "yachting AU." You must write that one!

I have always dreamed of an SGA Olympics AU, where they're all athletes and trainers and such. John would be, like, the fifth-rated American in the men's gymnastics competition, and Rodney would be a curler or a shotputter or something, and Teyla would do Épée, Ronon would train weightlifters, Zelenka would be the Czech Luge champion, and so forth. And we ALL know what goes on in those Olympic villages: hot, nasty, athletic, anonymous sex.

Related: the need for a curling AU. John skips, Teyla's lead rock, Rodney's second, and Ronon's third.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

I would totally write the yachting AU if, you know, it didn't require research. *g*

Olympic AU for the win! I'm always a fan of any kind of AU that involves a locker room, and the Olympic village takes that to a whole new plane. Hot, nasty, athletic, anonymous sex...yes. Yes. I hope you write it!

For the curling one, I keep imagining Rodney in a snit, because John is American, and he's not supposed to be any good at curling, but he's John, so he's good at everything, and while this is convenient for Rodney since they're teammates, it's also really rather annoying.

[elenlilta.livejournal.com]

I actually had a dream the other night where someone discovered that gene carriers could come back to life after they'd been killed (but not natural death), and John and Lorne ran an underground operation (with minions!) and Rodney had escaped from a gene testing facility, and John was trying to figure out why he'd been killed. And I woke up wishing that the fic already existed (mainly because my alarm went off before the exciting conclusion).

Also I've been playing with a Thoroughbred racing AU (with lots of arguing and angry glaring and work-related sex angst) that will probably never see the light of day.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a great dream! Slight shades of Gattaca. I can understand why you were annoyed that you didn't get to dream the end!

Also, I LOVE the idea of a horse racing AU. Maybe John's the horse owner, and Rodney's the vet with a chip on his shoulders, because he feels that no one puts the horses' best interests first. Or John could be the trainer, and Rodney is noveau riche, gets involved in the racing world knowing nothing, because he's always been a quick study at everything, only this is a world where experience really does matter. And there's all kinds of conflict, and drama, and much, much sex. However you go, it's a great world to set the story in. I hope you write it!

[like-cheap-wine.livejournal.com]

I never liked AUs as much as I do now before starting to read SGA fics. I can't get enough of McShep AUs.

There are two scenarios that have been dancing in mind for a while. One in which Rodney is some kind of computer genius who use his talent to steal or something and John is and undercover FBI agent who's job is to arrest Rodney. Of course, John falls in love with Rodney and everything becomes more complicated for him.

The other one is based on the tv show 'Music Hall'. The characters all work at an old fashioned bar/theater/music hall owned by Elizabeth. Rodney is the pianist, Teyla is a singer, Ronon is the doorman (or hey, Ronon and Teyla could be a dancing couple), John is the trumpetist and Zelenka is the talent scout/scene director. I have no idea what happens in the story besides great music and USTs, but it's a start. ^_^

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

I love both of these!! John as an FBI agent really does it for me. And fugitive Rodney is so very, very sexy. And then, I'm always a fan of the slightly star-crossed love.

The Music Hall idea is also cool. I love that kind of environment. Would it be a period piece? Like in the 40s? Or a modern day club with a retro feel?

[eliyes.livejournal.com]

I also like genderswap AUs. Some of the first SGA fics I read were genderswaps, mostly Rodney running afoul of some Ancient doohickey or advanced civilisation. I also like stories where everyone is a different sex than usual.

Genderswaps are also great for crossing over into the main universe, whether it's everyone or just one or a few key people. I come up with these for comic book characters, primarily. What if Julio Richter had been a girl? What if all the X-Men were the opposite gender to what we're used to (granted, Marvel likes throwing snippets of such things at us, I can think of at least three I've seen, although in one of them Kurt was inexplicably still male while everyone else was switched and Brian was a BIG SCARY BUTCH woman OMG scary, with like a harem of adoring teen superheroes).

Actually, the characters in my icon (who are all male, despite appearances) have canonically encountered a parallel world where they're all girls. I kind of wonder if there's as much crossdressing in that reality...

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

Genderswaps are one of my favorites, too! They raise so many interesting questions about identity and gender, and I always find them hot. Which is a little funny, since the ones I read are usually men turning into women, and I prefer slash to het. But then, I guess they hit my virgin kink, since the person who gets swapped has never had sex while that gender.

[ceteramisto.livejournal.com]

When I'm bored at work, I amuse myself by imagining the cast of SGA at my workplace. I work in retail at a TJ Maxx.

The current scenario is that Elizabeth had been store manager and was transfered either to another store or to the district level and Samantha Carter is brought in as the new store manager. Rodney is the operations assistant manager and John is the merchandise assistant manger. Radek is Rodney's right-hand man as the administrative coordinator.

Teyla is backroom coordinator, Keller is the new full time customer service coordinator and Chuck is currently the only part time customer service coordinator. Lorne and Cadman are the two merchandising coordinators, Lorne in charge of mens, kids, and domestics and Cadman is in charge of ladies clothing and accessories. Ronon is the full time Jewelry associate.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

Isn't it fun to imagine the SGA peeps doing your job? Someone, maybe Pru?, had the idea for a "Take Your Fandom To Work" challenge, which I thought would be great fun. I seriously do have this whole advertising AU plotted out in my head, and I have Ronon my job, because...it was just so much fun picturing him writing advertising copy. He'd be the world's least talkative writer!

[kelly-girl.livejournal.com]

I love AUs! They're so fun to read and write.

I Love Hooker AU's, where either the main characters are hookers or they're buying the love of one. I just finished a big Heroes hooker AU that started because I really wanted pimp!Nathan.

Or an AU where all the SGA are porn workers! I'd love that. Rodney would be a director who wanted to do artsy type erotica and looked his nose down at John and his surfer laid back porn movies.

I love apocalyptic type AU's, with or without zombies. I also like high school or college AU's.

I also like AU's where the main characters did not meet when they were supposed to, like they met years before Atlantis or years later.

I've got one where Peter and Nathan didn't grow up together and Peter's all pissy and Nathan's manipulative wayyy more than his normal stuff.

Oh! Cult AU. I read one in the Popslash fandom about a year ago where Justin Timberlake was the head of this cult. It was very good and creepy.

I've got a Heroes Cult!AU in the works because cult leader Nathan is hot and talks people into doing not quite so normal things.

Oh! And Rock Stars/Famous people type AU's like where John would be an actor or famous reporter and he'd meet Rodney and sparks would fly. Me and a friend each have different versions of what we call Dirty emo rocker Peter AU's, where Peter Petrelli is a rock star and loves getting blowjobs right before he goes on stage.

There's so much you can do in so many different settings.

I still love the Smallville AU's where Clark ends up ruling the world or comes as part of an invasion force and he and Lex still find each other.

An AU where all SGA are porn workers exists!

[yinkawills.livejournal.com]

GayPornForGirls Studio (GPFG)
is a fictional film studio where all the SGA men are porn stars and the woemn are the writers, directors, editors, producers etc. There are some good stories on it, and John and Rodney are stars.People can contribute fics.

Here's the link
http://community.livejournal.com/gpfg_studios/

[mf_luder_xf]

My favorite AUs are always the evil!boy (most loved as Dean Winchester, but I also enjoy my Sam, Sheppard, Mulder, and Krycek evil) and the apocalyptic ones.

I will someday actually get around to conceiving a plot for my anotheratlantis SGA as BSG fic. Someday. I swear.

And as soon as I have a weekend free and manage to find a working downloadable version of Top Gun, I will write that SGA as Top Gun fic that's missing.

And then, some days I imagine this really cracky AU where Rodney is the Fosse of today and as a favor to his sister agrees to direct some low budget/low talent musical where he just happens to find slacker!John who is actually Broadway class once he applies himself and there's lots of dance and theater relationship drama and poor Elizabeth, the producer, isn't sure she wants to know what goes on prior to opening night because it might just give her acid reflux.

*facepalm*

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

Musical theater, musical theater, yes! Oh my God, I LOVE it. John really should be dancing, and Rodney would make the most delightfully controlling director with a "vision" ever. I hope you write it!

[miso-no-tsuki.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I love Au's! My favourites include the Regency verse with Worldly John a-horseback all tight breeches and boots while Rodney is the poor, virginal (pant,pant)bookworm/accountant in his employ!(Yachting as well!Sorta ...
Or pirates, I mean John is a natural for the whole Buccaneer thing with Rodney as the hostage de jour.
Or Rodney as Dr Who and John playing Captain Jack.
Vampires, it's been done, but there's always room for more!
*happy thoughts*

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

*melts* You had me at John in tight breeches, and then you double down had me with virginal bookworm Rodney. Oh my God! Virginal bookworn Rodney would also make a fine hostage for swashbuckling John. Oh, the deflowering there'd be! *loves*

[winterlive.livejournal.com]

I LIKE BALLET.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

ME TOO!

[barely-bean.livejournal.com]

The one I wish I could write is Atlantis News Network with John as the Anchorman and Rodney in the control room and he gets to whisper in John's year, yes.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

That's such a good one! Rodney whispering in John's ear is just...yeah. As an aside, where's your icon from? Not SGA, right?

[krisdia.livejournal.com]

Hee, I loved reading the replies to this!

I have cherished the idea of the yachting!AU ever since you first mentioned it in my presence over a year ago, and at first I was planning on doing to do research for you so you could write it *g* (Sadly, I gave up on that - nautical stuff is confusing if you didn't grow up with it!) Beyond the hotness of the whole John-on-a-boat thing, I also love the idea of them connecting over the radio. I have this image of a quieter moment with John lying on the deck and looking up at the stars with Rodney's voice in his ear and it makes me happy :)

I hope you feel better after your day of resting and dreaming of AUs.

[roxy-palace.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's a really nice image. Really, really nice...I can hear the water against the hull and feel the sway of the deck under his back. I really like that. Why don't you write it? I'll research for you. My dad's ex navy so I know from boats and ships (First bit of info: a ship is a ship when it can carry another vessel (like life boats, runabouts, a dinghy). A boat is a boat when you can't fit another boat or vessel (iuncluding life boats) aboard.) You wouldn't have to know much, just the basic terms of sailing.
John and yachts has so many good conotations: Boats are always 'she', and he's an inveterate flirt. Sailors always have a girl in every port. Can't you just imagine all the Kirk jokes Rodney'd be sweating out??! And tattoos...hmmmm...John getting tattooed...I may have just uncovered a new personal kink...ahem...:)

[roxy-palace.livejournal.com]

I had an idea the other day...I don't know if they do this everywhere, but in the Uk some Museums have actors in costume wandering around acting out scenes from history. One memorable one I saw once was a pair of Elizabethan Shipwrights in Plymouth arguing over the building of the Golden Hind. It was pretty unnerving actually, and I always find that kind of thing a little weird. They have them at the London Dungeon too, which is even more unnerving.

But then I thought, what if Rodeny loses a stupid bet to his Museum collegue, Zelenka, and is forced to spend a month at the Museum of Science, where he is actually head curator, pretending to be Openheimer and explain nuclear fusion to 5 year olds. And what if John is the snarky kids tour guide that never cuts Rodeny any slack with the tough questions?

I can kind of see John with 20 mini people hanging off him (coz, somehow I just know little kids LOVE John and he LOVES then right back, being not much more than a big kid himself)grinning at Rodney who's trying to squeeze himself into as small a space as possible so as to avoid any actual child contact. And then John says,"So Mr. Openheimer, this nuclear thing. Is it safe?"

And the kids would ask even more difficult and embarrassing and usually quite personal questions.

And eventually John gets Rodney to fall in love with him and the Hot ensues:)

I have been grinning and sighing over that for weeks.

Also, I'm starting to think one of the kids might be John's...hmmmm?