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Entry tags:
Do I actually care enough to post this?
Answer: Apparently.
I am frustrated by how people keep using the AO3 tag "Alternate Universe - Canonical" in a way that makes no sense to me. Like, they use it for things that I would just call Alternate Universe. To my mind, a canonical AU is one that makes an appearance in the canon, like:
--the classic Spock's Evil Beard universe
--any of the eleventy billion universes Stargate discovered via the mirror device
--and also that alternate timeline where no one discovered the Stargate and they all had sad, unfulfilled lives as ESL teachers
--or the thought-universe where Daniel went mad with power and blew up Moscow
--or the one where Rodney wears leather and is secure enough to go by Mer
--frankly Stargate had rather a lot of them
--*points up* the universe of my icon, that one episode of Andromeda where Rhade killed Dylan and the entire series was his journey to um, time travel suicide
--"unrealized realities" shown to us in Farscape, like the one where Scarrans took over the Earth in history or the one where everyone wore each other's make-up
--or like, I guess if you wanted to stake a claim on a particular episode of Sliders and write about the universe where sexism worked backwards and Quinn got slapped on the ass in his temp secretary job
--or that dream universe in Supernatural where their mom didn't die and Dean had a hot nurse girlfriend
--or that one time bisexual vamp!Willow wandered into Buffy's universe from next door
Right?
*breathe in, breathe out*
But since it seems that a lot of people are not using the Alternate Universe - Canonical tag in this way, and are using it as like, I don't know, "this AU is an 'I changed one decision from canon' AU and not a 'they are all girl scout cookies' AU or 'I transplanted them to the age of sail' AU or 'suddenly, there are dragons' AU" --I guess that is how they are using it?
That being the case, wtf tag could one use to indicate the first case outlined here--the AU whose existence was presented in canon? I tested "canonical AU" and it has been wrangled to point to "Alternate Universe - Canon" so that's out, which, fuck, that's what I use. And it becomes meaningless and impossible to find the thing I actually want when it's all wrangled together. Damn it.
I am frustrated by how people keep using the AO3 tag "Alternate Universe - Canonical" in a way that makes no sense to me. Like, they use it for things that I would just call Alternate Universe. To my mind, a canonical AU is one that makes an appearance in the canon, like:
--the classic Spock's Evil Beard universe
--any of the eleventy billion universes Stargate discovered via the mirror device
--and also that alternate timeline where no one discovered the Stargate and they all had sad, unfulfilled lives as ESL teachers
--or the thought-universe where Daniel went mad with power and blew up Moscow
--or the one where Rodney wears leather and is secure enough to go by Mer
--frankly Stargate had rather a lot of them
--*points up* the universe of my icon, that one episode of Andromeda where Rhade killed Dylan and the entire series was his journey to um, time travel suicide
--"unrealized realities" shown to us in Farscape, like the one where Scarrans took over the Earth in history or the one where everyone wore each other's make-up
--or like, I guess if you wanted to stake a claim on a particular episode of Sliders and write about the universe where sexism worked backwards and Quinn got slapped on the ass in his temp secretary job
--or that dream universe in Supernatural where their mom didn't die and Dean had a hot nurse girlfriend
--or that one time bisexual vamp!Willow wandered into Buffy's universe from next door
Right?
*breathe in, breathe out*
But since it seems that a lot of people are not using the Alternate Universe - Canonical tag in this way, and are using it as like, I don't know, "this AU is an 'I changed one decision from canon' AU and not a 'they are all girl scout cookies' AU or 'I transplanted them to the age of sail' AU or 'suddenly, there are dragons' AU" --I guess that is how they are using it?
That being the case, wtf tag could one use to indicate the first case outlined here--the AU whose existence was presented in canon? I tested "canonical AU" and it has been wrangled to point to "Alternate Universe - Canon" so that's out, which, fuck, that's what I use. And it becomes meaningless and impossible to find the thing I actually want when it's all wrangled together. Damn it.
no subject
Parallel Universe -- it seems like that really only applies some of the time? Some of them are wish 'verses or dream 'verses or alternate/collapsed/paradoxical timelines or whatever. What their common thread is, is that canon produced them and gave us a glimpse. I don't know how you signify that without somehow saying they're from canon.
no subject
You're right, those tags are for specific universes, such as the Mirror universe (and various Stargate ones I believe) - although there's no reason you can't use them how you want to. Unfortunately, linking them all together at this point would be difficult due to the nature of tagging.
Our freeform tag experts made a new tag "Canonical Alternate Universe" - if a better name is thought of, we can change the filterable tag name. It's under Alternate Universe - Canon in the hierarchy. The tag "Alternate Universe - Canonical" was already being used for differing reasons, so we can't change that tag to a different name. "Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence" was already a tag, so we've kept that.
Also, I didn't say above, but thanks for your feedback. We're always happy to look at tags that we may have wrangled incorrectly, or could be better defined.