Alternate Universe: Difference between revisions

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There has been only one AU shown in canon: ''[[It's a Miserable Life]]'' in ''[[Beavis and Butt-head (TV series)|Beavis and Butt-head]]'', where we see what [[Highland]] would be like if Butt-head had never been born. In it, Daria is a happy, well-adjusted girl with a boyfriend, and the whole town is a nicer, more prosperous place

''Deliberate'' AU stories are seen more often since the show went off the air. A number of fanfics done while the series was ongoing - like [[Daria Morgendorffer|Daria]]/[[Trent Lane|Trent]] [[shipper]]s in which they actually date, or [[Kara Wild]]'s ~~monumental~~ [[Driven Wild Universe]] - ~~ended~~ up ~~diverging~~ ~~from~~ ~~canon,~~ ~~but~~ ~~may~~ or ~~may~~ ~~not~~ be ~~viewed as an AU.~~

''Deliberate'' AU stories are seen more often since the show went off the air. A number of fanfics done while the series was ongoing - like [[Daria Morgendorffer|Daria]]/[[Trent Lane|Trent]] [[shipper]]s in which they actually date - have ended up as ''de facto'' AUs due to divergences in canon, but may or may not have been intended at the time to be an AU. A notable exception is [[Kara Wild]]'s [[Driven Wild Universe]], which was deliberately intended to split away from the ongoing canon.

A system for naming fan-created AU worlds is described at [[Daria Multiverse]].

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===Canon-based changes===

In the first, the alteration to events is made only to events internal to the series—i.e., not to the larger historical setting of the United States or the world. An AU in which Daria does not come to [[Lawndale High]] but instead attends [[Grove Hills]] ("[[Regifted]]" and "[[Grove Hell on Earth]]"), for instance, is not assumed to be a consequence of a historical event outside of Daria's family; her parents had a choice of which school to send her to, and they chose Grove Hills.

In the first, the alteration to events is made only to events internal to the series—i.e., not to the larger historical setting of the United States or the world. An AU in which Daria does not come to [[Lawndale High]] but instead attends [[Grove Hills]] ("[[Regifted]]" and "[[Grove Hell on Earth]]"), for instance, is not assumed to be a consequence of a historical event outside of Daria's family; her parents had a choice of which school to send her to, and they chose Grove Hills. An AU in which an event happens later in the series, like Daria falling pregnant by accident ("[[The Longest Year]]"), would be similar but would be able to draw on specific canon events in its backstory as well.

Three particular points in the series are often used as the diverging point in this AU. The first episode of the series in which Daria arrives in Lawndale and meets Jane, "[[Esteemsters]]," has received enormous attention and has been re-written many times. (See [[Esteemsters and Daria Fanfic|"Esteemsters" and ''Daria'' Fanfic]] - examples are "[[Victory Lane]]" by [[Brother Grimace]], [http://thepaperpusher.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=29897&start=0 Iron Chef: Real Esteem].) The circumstances and fallout of [[The Kiss]] have also had great attention, being a significant (and divisive) moment in canon (see [[Dye! Dye! My Darling#Dye! Dye! My Darling and Fanfic|Dye! Dye! My Darling and Fanfic]]). Daria/Trent [[shipper]] tales that strengthen the crush into mature love and the entire Daria-Tom-Jane triangle have also been revisited on a regular basis, though the former less often of late - examples of this include "[[Vengeance]]" and "[[Out of the Slushpile]]" by [[Nemo Blank]].

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One problem in writing AU fanfics is the knowledge that the episodes of ''Daria'' were not necessarily shown in chronological sequence. It is commonly assumed that the episodes from seasons one and two show Daria's first year in [[Lawndale]], seasons three and four (and ''[[Is It Fall Yet?]]'') show her second year, and season five (and ''[[Is It College Yet?]]'') show her final year. However, the episodes within each season are not always in sequence. Most famously, "[[Road Worrier]]" from the first season shows Daria and company attempting to go to [[Alternapalooza]], a rock concert that takes place in mid-August (per ''[[The Daria Diaries]]'') but is sandwiched between episodes showing portions of Daria's sophomore year at [[Lawndale High]]. The same problem is seen with the episodes of Season Five and events in ''[[Is It College Yet?]]'' Occasionally an AU fanfic incorporates the out-of-sequence episodes as still being in sequence with a tidy explanation as to why (e.g., "[[Deus Jane]]," by [[The Angst Guy]]).

==AU series==

While many AU's are one-off stories, it is also common to see an AU be the basis of a series of fanfictions. In the more fantastic AU's, these stories will rarely be based on specific episodes, as the world is highly different to canon and the cast may not even be at Lawndale High.

A few of the "canon-based" AUs, like the [[Driven Wild Universe]], [[Jacob Morgendorffer, Esq]], or [[The Hallowed Halls of Fielding]], also have entirely original stories: either due to the type of AU or to personal decision by the writer, the events of ''Daria'' episodes do not take place at all or take place "off-screen".

A more common approach by many authors with "canon-based" AUs is to show alternative versions of specific episodes, and how they've been changed (drastically or with minor elements) by the AU's diverging point. Often, these series start directly with Daria's arrival in Lawndale ([[John Lane]], [[Finn Morgendorffer]], [[God Save The Esteem]], [[The Jake Lane Chronicles]]) but can start later in canon ([[The Longest Year]]). The further the series lasts, the more divergent the AU-episodes might get until you end up with a wildly different end point ([[Finn Morgendorffer]]).

==Alternate universe agencies and characters==