"Do you think it's selfish of me? Not telling her?" he asked.
"Desire is always a bit selfish, isn't it," Eloise said. "Wanting something is easy. Wanting is about having. Loving - that's different. That's action, not feeling."
"You think desire is selfish?" Ben pondered this for a moment. "I suppose you're right. In a very simplistic way. Admiration is the same - you think something or someone is beautiful because it brings you pleasure to look at them, but that's not about them, is it? It's about your experience as a viewer, an audience member. But if you take that any farther then you get into that murky philosophical bit where no act is truly selfless because every good thing you do is ultimately to glorify yourself or to make everyone else around you think that you're a good person, because we all live in a world of mirrors or whatever."
"Now you're talking about ethics," Eloise said. "I'm talking about humanity."
"Ethics is humanity."
"Not the way I define the word," Eloise scoffed. Ben didn't know what they were talking about anymore, but because she sounded very strident about it, he found himself agreeing with her anyway. The magic - and mystery - of his sister.
some fanfics are so good that on your third-or-fifth-or-whatever reread you're still finding little bits you're obsessed with.
ohhhhhh that's a fiction setting. (or, more likely: that's a real setting that I think one could take a lot of inspiration from to make a down-to-earth "steampunk" setting feel grounded and convincing.)
There are always plenty of rivals to our work. We are always falling in love or quarrelling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come.
— C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (The Macmillan Company, 1949)
To celebrate the fact that we are a little over a week from the start of this year's AU Roulette, have a post detailing the 36 AUs included in this year's challenge!
Like in previous years, this year's AUs have been curated to be intentionally broad, in the hopes that they will encourage unique takes on each prompt and the creativity of the authors participating. You are welcome to write anything that falls under the umbrella of your assigned AUs, whether it's an original universe, a fusion inspired by another fandom, or something else entirely.
(What's AU Roulette, some of you might be asking? An explanation can be found here, and the link to sign up for this year's challenge is here)
Without further ado -- the AU list, under a cut:
Roleswap - Maybe you want to switch two characters' places, do a class-swap for a D&D fandom, try your hand at an age-swap fic, or you have another idea.
Gothic Horror -- Castles. Ghosts. Vampires. Drama. Love that conquers Death. Take your inspiration from classic literature or a newer entry in the genre, like The Locked Tomb books. But be sure to make things spooky.
Post-Apocalypse -- Will the world end in fire or in ice? Or maybe economic collapse, war, zombies, or one of many other options? You write what happens next!
Fairy-Tale -- Pick a classic tale from the Grimms, Hans Christian Andersen, Asbjørnsen & Moe, Charles Perrault, or another favorite author to inspire your AU, try out a more modern re-telling, or use fairy-tale elements to craft your own story.
Time Travel -- For fixing mistakes, making things worse, or time loops. Or maybe you want to write a fusion inspired by a piece of popular time travel media, like Doctor Who.
Coffee Shop -- A classic everyone knows and has strong feelings about. Play it straight or add a twist, whichever suits your fancy! After all, no one said where the coffee shop has to be...
Paranormal Investigators -- Maybe you want to write a story starring the next Scooby-Doo crew, or maybe there really is something strange in the neighborhood. Or maybe it'll never be clear what really happened -- it's your choice!
High Fantasy -- Elves and dwarves and gnomes, oh my! This AU could encompass everything from Middle Earth to D&D AUs to your favorite high fantasy books you read over and over as a kid. Or maybe you have your own spell to weave.
Theater -- Are your characters famous stage actors? Putting on a community theater performance? A musical? Whatever the case, the show must go on....
Band/Musicians -- Whether you decide to make the characters in your AU famous pop stars, part of an orchestra, students at a conservatory, jamming together in their garage, or otherwise musically-inclined, have fun with it!
Cosmic Horror -- You don't have to love Lovecraft to get creative with this AU. Make characters comprehend the incomprehensible, send them messages from beyond the stars, and get a little creepy.
Sports/Athletics -- Pick a sport, any sport -- whether a team game like hockey, an individual one like archery, a paired one like figure skating, or something a little unconventional, like roller derby or HEMA. Then it's ready, set, write!
Historical Era -- An AU type absolutely bursting with potential, from medieval romances to 1920s Prohibition AUs, to ones inspired by historical fiction like Les Miserables. Whatever era of history strikes your fancy, you can write it.
Space Travel -- A science fiction classic with endless possibilities. Whether you want to write modern-day astronauts, a futuristic Star Trek AU, or something even more out there in a setting brimming with galactic empires or undiscovered alien species, the sky isn't even the limit with this AU!
Urban Fantasy -- For all your modern-with-magic settings. Write an AU inspired by something like Teen Wolf, Artemis Fowl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Rivers of London, or invent your own world where witches and websites coexist.
Library/Archives -- What secrets are hiding in the stacks? Whether it's some kind of ancient evil or just some mis-shelved books, a librarian's work is never done so long as there are materials to catalog and patrons to assist.
Wilderness Survival -- Strand your characters on a deserted island, or maybe deep in the woods somewhere. Or up a mountain, in the Arctic, or somewhere else unsuited for human life!
Shapeshifter -- Can the characters in this AU turn into anything they want? Or maybe they're more limited, like selkies -- even unable to control their shapeshifting at all (can I get an "awoo" from the werewolf fans?)
Classic Literature -- An AU somewhat more dependent on fusion ideas, but still very flexible! Pick a favorite classic book or play and let it inspire your writing!
Dystopian -- Create your own awful society or let a favorite piece of media guide you, like writing a Hunger Games AU. Will the characters break the cycle, or end up trapped in it?
Scientist -- Write characters as normal biologists, physicists, chemists, or even the next Victor Frankenstein!
Mecha -- Giant fighting robots, what's better than this? Opt for a classic Pacific Rim AU, one based off your favorite anime, or something of your own creation.
Medical/Hospital -- Are the characters working there, or the victims of some unfortunate accident? Or maybe it's a bit of both. Take it wherever you feel like.
Mystery/Detective -- Whether you're writing the world's greatest detective or some meddling kids, play up the mystery! Use a classic locale like 221B Baker Street, or invent your own.
Archaeologist -- Send your characters to work at a dig or a museum, or possibly toss in a little extra adventure, Indiana Jones style. Or maybe you just want to nerd out about pot sherds.
Heist -- Will you write a story about master thieves? Vigilantes righting some wrong? What's being stolen and why? Try a Leverage AU, or a caper of your own making.
Mythology/Folklore -- Write a story inspired by your favorite myths and legends, from a whole host of different cultures. Or maybe you'd like to try your hand at writing some epic poetry?
Seafaring -- Including but not limited to Pirate AUs and other Age of Sail adventures. Try out something more historical, or throw in as many fantasy elements as you'd like -- or a bit of both.
Canon Divergence -- Have you ever wondered what would happen if one little (or big!) thing had been different? Butterfly effect fans rejoice -- it's time to figure it out.
On-the-Run -- Are the characters in this AU escaped experiments? Hiding from the government? On the run from the law -- and did they really do it, or were they wrongfully accused?
Superpowers -- Invent an original universe or do a fusion with one of the many popular big-screen superhero stories. Play it straight and give your favorite characters cool powers, or try a deconstruction of the genre. With great AUs comes great responsibility
College/Academia -- Are the characters in your AU students? Professors? Weary adjunct? Throwing hands at a conference? Some mix of the above?
Journalist - For everything from local anchors and newspaper staff to big-league investigative reporters. Write characters who'll do anything to get a scoop or with a strong sense of justice -- it's your call!
Alien Encounter - Write a peaceful first contact, a SETI researcher having a wild day at work, a dubious alien abduction, or a full on invasion of Earth. What is out there?
Greenhouse/Flower Shop - How does your garden grow? A great opportunity to write characters as coworkers and/or customers -- as well as to decide if they have a green thumb or not...
Ghost/Haunting - Not necessarily a horror trope, though it's your choice! There are plenty of other ways to haunt the narrative though.
Creating an OC who's fucked up because of their parents might seem harmless at first, but unless you're very careful about avoiding certain topics, at some point you're going to have to think about what their parents actually did to make them so fucked up, and now your OC's fucked up parents are also your OCs.
They get another season, and it doesn't need a plot;
Their fractal fatal midnights can be quietly forgot.
I've set it in the coffeeshop, the bookstore, and the mall;
It's cozy and what happens there's not horrible at all.
They have the sort of troubles that unscripted people do
There's death and broken plumbing and some kind of novel flu.
They need to eat more healthy and they need to get more rest:
They're anxious that their students and their children get their best.
They read a hundred stories and they argue right and wrong,
They write as many words as you can write your whole life long.
They speak a thousand thousand times, until they're old and they,
Eventually -- happily -- run out of things to say.
They fell in war, they broke their hearts, the tragedy's what's true--
I wrote this little fic about the things they didn't do.
In the interest of maintaining karmic balance, as the Catholics go into lent, I will be hitting full throttle on the hedonism. Gonna incorporate new and exciting vices for the next 40 days.
there's something so good about a character who hasn't had enough comfort and warmth in their life and now has weird complicated kinda sexual feelings about being treated with actual basic respect and dignity and they feel like an awful gross pervert for it. i like those wires getting crossed
"I'm looking respectfully" well can you look at me like you're dying of a fever. like you're delirious and it hurts. like you're fighting desperately for your life.
I don't know if I would have anything to write if I tried my hand at the pitt fanfiction, but "this show spends an entire season describing 15 hours of elapsed time" is certainly fitting to. uh. every piece of fiction I've ever written
2087
dailybridgerton
pixelskylines
yousharknotpass
tangentwithtanner
jacobvanloon
amandla
gummygunk
snowghoul
