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alternate_universe

📅 Updated:2025-07-11
🕒 Created:2022-06-26
🆔 ID:43351

Description

An Alternate Universe, or AU for short, is alternate take on an established canon, changing one or more elements in many possible ways to put a new twist on the story. Typically refers to established fan universes rather than one-off ideas, though not always. There are many types of AUs.
Fanfiction is not inherently an "AU" under the definition commonly used. One-off crossover images are not necessarily AUs either, nor are crossgender or alternate species depictions on their own.
Common AU Genres
"What if" AUs
AUs based around the artist's idea of what would happen if a story event happened differently than in canon.
Fusion AUs
AUs in which characters from one setting are transplanted into another. May involve a species swap. Common canons used for these include My Little Pony, Warriors, and Pokemon, among others. They may also involve characters being placed into the roles of characters from another series.
Animal AUs
Particularly relevant to this site - AUs that reimagine characters as animals.
Roleswaps
AUs that swap character roles or personalities with each other. Similarly related are "opposite" or "2P" AUs, which give characters the opposite personality of their usual one.
Setting changes
AUs that change the setting of a story, such as putting characters into a fantasy or modern setting.
"Next gen" AUs
AUs focusing on the children of canon characters, usually characters that the artist ships together.
Canon AUs
Sometimes, the source material itself will present potential alternate universe scenarios, which fans expand upon.
The following are Alternate Universes with their own tags (Most of them are Undertale).
Alternate Universe Tags

The Amazing Digital Circus

Fallout

Fight Club

Five Nights at Freddy's

My Little Pony

Friendship is Magic

Pizza Tower

Pokémon

Sonic the Hedgehog

Undertale

Deltarune
Undertale

Zootopia

See also

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