World Building AUs and Original Works

[Jon-LockeEdwards]

Alright. So I’ve been at this for a while, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out which is more fun.

On the one hand, AUs (Alternate Universes) of existing fandoms are fun because it challenges me to stay within the theme presented to me, or to adapt it in a way that is still creative and engaging. Crossovers are especially fun here. I love seeing how stories and universes can intersect, and how characters who otherwise might never have met one another may interact.

That said, one’s own original works provide a different kind of satisfaction all their own. You and, if present, your friend(s) put a lot of time and effort into building a new world from scratch. Cultures, political intrigue, nations, the very laws of nature, all of it at your fingertips! I’ve always been fond of forging new nations with their own unique cultures, and sticking my characters into the mix, sometimes as major leaders and heroes, other times, as average people simply making their own way in the given environment.

With either form of worldbuilding/storytelling, the possibilities always seem to be endless. The only limiting factor seems to be the imagination in either case!

But what do you all think? I’d love to hear other perspectives on this one!

 

[nerdy tangents]

I work full time so I just don’t have the mental bandwidth or physical time to create a lot of original worlds.

Plus I have found that having a common foundation helps when explaining things to other people. If I am making something up from scratch then I have to explain how everything works to people with no frame of reference.

If I’m doing an AU I just explain how it differs from the source material.

 

[Caroline1539]

Honestly in all my time writing, I've gravitated towards writing AUs the most. I've never really been fascinated with the detail work that creating one's own world entails, and find it much more engaging to work with fandom characters.

Getting to explore the characters far and beyond what the source material displays is endlessly entertaining to me, and I love being able to really dig down into a character and find what makes them tick; what do they like, what do they dislike, why do they think the way they do and can they change their perspective? What happens when they run into people that are opposite them, or have vastly different viewpoints on something? How would they react if their situations were radically different than what they're used to?

Really taking a magnifying glass (and maybe a scalpel) to my favorite fandom characters will never grow old, and I think I'll always be writing with them! There's always an opportunity to discover something new and different, and AUs give the perfect opportunity to really get to the heart of what makes a character who they are.

 

[Jon-LockeEdwards]

Honestly in all my time writing, I've gravitated towards writing AUs the most. I've never really been fascinated with the detail work that creating one's own world entails, and find it much more engaging to work with fandom characters.

Getting to explore the characters far and beyond what the source material displays is endlessly entertaining to me, and I love being able to really dig down into a character and find what makes them tick; what do they like, what do they dislike, why do they think the way they do and can they change their perspective? What happens when they run into people that are opposite them, or have vastly different viewpoints on something? How would they react if their situations were radically different than what they're used to?

Really taking a magnifying glass (and maybe a scalpel) to my favorite fandom characters will never grow old, and I think I'll always be writing with them! There's always an opportunity to discover something new and different, and AUs give the perfect opportunity to really get to the heart of what makes a character who they are.

I love this take! You’re right! Character design and development doesn’t have to end with the source material either!

Roleplay offers us the unique opportunity to really dig into the depths of what makes each character truly stand out. Plus, alternate timelines gives unlimited alternate possibilities to how said characters can grow and change, or what relationships they’ll develop, be it friendships or romantic connections, or bitter rivalries.

I’ve grown fond of exploring these various possibilities with a number of characters too! Though the friends I used to explore these things with have gone their own ways sadly….

So many unexplored ideas….

 

[Jon-LockeEdwards]

Anyone else have some input they’d like to share?

 

[Daisie]

I think the majority of my RPs have been non-fandom related, and existing in custom universes. I've had the occasional experience with fandom RP and while I wouldn't throw out the idea of doing more, I've always gravitated towards doing my own stuff. There's something very gratifying about creating a world from the ground up just to see it tick on like a Swiss watch, and honestly most of the time the world building comes from fun, unexpected decisions made in the middle of writing. Basically the "oh snap, wouldn't it be cool if..." factor, lol.

In the end though, the setting matters far less to me than the characters themselves. I think I could settle into just about any fandom roleplay - and even any genre for that matter - if I can manage to create (and interact with) interesting characters.

 

[Jon-LockeEdwards]

I think the majority of my RPs have been non-fandom related, and existing in custom universes. I've had the occasional experience with fandom RP and while I wouldn't throw out the idea of doing more, I've always gravitated towards doing my own stuff. There's something very gratifying about creating a world from the ground up just to see it tick on like a Swiss watch, and honestly most of the time the world building comes from fun, unexpected decisions made in the middle of writing. Basically the "oh snap, wouldn't it be cool if..." factor, lol.

In the end though, the setting matters far less to me than the characters themselves. I think I could settle into just about any fandom roleplay - and even any genre for that matter - if I can manage to create (and interact with) interesting characters.

This is a great take! It pays a great amount of attention both to the value of creative original works (and the satisfaction one can get from them), and the value of comprehensive and thoughtful character design and interaction.

These have been driving elements of creative storytelling for millennia, and it’s fascinating to have learned how the art form has evolved.

And now here we are carrying out highly interactive roleplays that could go in any direction, often for the sake of fun, creative storytelling with friends.

 

[Idea]

When I play in fandoms I don't really do AUs. I don't like having cannon characters in fandom roleplays more than absolutely necessary, so if I'm going with a fandom I'm doing it for the setting. If there is some reason why I absolutely must change the setting or I want to capture some other aspect of the fandom like the premise or the vibe, I'm either making an original inspired by it or if I really want to communicate a really close idea to people who already know it, I'm putting it down in the "rip-off" category (but it's still an original work, just with a much heavier dose of direct inspiration. It's categorically not the same universe as the fandom itself, thus it's not beholden to other elements of the cannon). As a general rule, I find that if you're not playing the fandom specifically because of the combination of cannon it has and only want to capture a few key points, you're better off doing something original that is geared to capture, highlight and explore those specific points.

For the same reason I tend to avoid crossover roleplays. I can enjoy crossovers to an extent, several games I play have collab events and there's Isekai Quartet, but it's a very beast that can actually make me participate in some kind of crossover content, partially because I don't like involving fandom characters and partially because I am very weary of the phenomenon of players being too attached to their character or having this idealized vision for how they want the character to be presented in the narrative. Fandoms are particularly prone to this kind of thing (partially because there is a higher volume of new / inexperienced players), but crossovers practically invite them since the in a crossover roleplay the idea of a character needing to fit the setting and story is pretty much thrown out the window.

Whichever the case, whether I'm doing something original or a fandom, my focus is on the original ideas being brought into the setting or being created as the setting, characters etc...

While I wouldn't exclude either from my RP 'diet' , I do think I have a general preference for original stuff. Part of it is that one of my main reasons to roleplay is as an outlet for my overworking imagination. I like to come up with stuff and share what I've come up with with others. Another reason is similar to why I do so much fantasy: I like having the freedom to formulate and really dive deep into creating these worlds and how they function, and the characters within them. I usually prefer to avoid the baggage from outside if at all possible, for various reasons. Related to that is a third reason: I have a very planning-oriented approach to writing. I flesh things out in the moment but I almost always have an eye to what may be coming ahead, to generating set up, to designing things in a way that really squeezes out all that juicy potential (to the best of my ability). I like to tailor the characters, story and worlds to one another. The story that be such that it lets me explore the specifics of the world and characters, the characters are designed to be prone to organically go where the plots wants to go and to allow me to touch on parts of the world, and the setting is supporting everything else by enabling these things and being the best stage to show them off. You can't do that as well if you're constrained by previously established cannon that wasn't made with such a purpose.