I'm uncertain if such a thread like this exists. I tried the search function with zero results. Unless I'm using the search engine here incorrectly. My apologies if this appears to be in the wrong section; I'm aiming this to every fanfiction in general.
Moving on!
So, while browsing around FF.net, AO3, and Wattpad, I've noticed a lot of people put in "AU" in their story summaries/descriptions. Normally this lets readers know their material will be diverging from canon in some shape or form. That's all fine and dandy. Then, there are some very rare gems out there that have the label "AR/AH/AT" in the summaries. This has been seen on FF.net, however. )I've yet to encounter on Wattpad or AO3, but I'm sure they're floating around)
However, sometimes I think, "Do these people know the difference?"
Sure, the terms AU, AR, AH and AT are mostly synonymous with one another. They mean Alternate Universe, Alternate Reality, Alternate History and Alternate Timeline respectively. While they are similar to each other, there's a tad bit of a difference between them.
AU: Alternate Universe. This normally means fanfiction will be written in exactly how it sounds, in an alternate universe. This means you would take the characters and set them in a different setting within the same world, a different universe or worldly setting that is usually far from the norm.
An example of this would be, say, Bowser is the King of the Toads rather than the Koopas. He'd still be in the Mushroom Kingdom. His role is reversed with Princess Peach, who--in this example story--would be the Queen of Koopas rather than the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Another example would be in DBZ: Vegeta sent to Earth instead of Goku/Kakarot. This would be considered an "AU". This also includes the super cliche High School fics as well. However, High School fics can also be considered "AR" material as well.
More examples would be: setting the characters of canon in different races like mermaids, vampires (if they aren't already), pirates and as kings/queens when they aren't normally like so.
AR: Alternate Reality. This normally pertains to fics written in a different reality than from the norm. Time-travel fics are normally paired in this plot device, since the character(s) used will, more or less, wind up in a different time reality than their own time era. This also means that there can be a paradox of the same person being in the same era. This may cause: a] one of the characters eventually disappearing, due to said paradox, b] one of them kills the other, resulting in the other disappearing too, or c] nothing happens and both can co-exist in the same place.
An example of this is Naruto: Road to Ninja. This is an alternate reality, as things are switched up, just like in an AU, but with the added twist of running a possible paradoxial coincidence. The existence of the same character but with differences. Like in the movie mentioned above, it was Menma and Naruto being subjected to this. They were essentially the same person, but lived completely different lives, and have different attitudes, etc. Granted, the whole thing was a Genjutsu/Tsukuyomi, but the idea behind it is still there. Menma and Naruto co-existed without one disappearing or breaking some paradox.
Another small example of alternate reality resides in the game, Fire Emblem: Awakening. To prevent spoilers from happening in case anyone hasn't played, the Avatar slightly falls under the AR of the "b]" category in the first paragraph of this portion.
AH: Alternate History. This can technically be and fall under as a sub-category for both an AU and an AR. When twisting up the canon universe to your liking, you sometimes might alter the history revolving around it. For example, if you're writing a fanfiction about The Kharlan War in Tales of Symphonia. How it started, its conclusion and everything else came out totally different than from in-game canon. This would be an Alternate History, since you'd be retelling events in a whole, brand new manner.
As stated, this can be grouped together with AU and AR.
AT: Alternate Timeline. This can be placed as another sub-category to the above as well. It means that there are two of the same characters coexisting at the same time. They live the same lives as each other but have taken or decided upon different choises which then lead to different results. AT's are usually paired with time-travel.
Technically speaking, all four are and can be simultaneously categorized as "one" when an author picks up and starts writing fanfiction. For one, fanfiction is already considered an AU. Because they are not the original creator, therefore whatever they type in their own words, is considered as such. Copying word for word, without any difference from the original material whatsoever would and can be called plagarism--so be careful.
Typically, "AU" is the popular acronym to use when an author wants to set the tables differently, whether by a lot or not.
The pattern usually goes like so: The AH part; most fanfiction begin here, with retelling the history of the original canon material. It then slides into the AR or an AT, which would be the characters from canon are in a different setting than the norm/canon. Or, it can be a similar setting but with major differences. After that, it slides into the AU part, being the "alternate universe" the author wants it to be.
Example of an AT: Ash travels back in time, only to wind up seeing another version of himself in a similar time era he knew. The other Ash also has Pikachu as a starter, but he decides to instead of irritating the Pidgey in the beginning episodes, he leaves it alone and continues on his way, dragging Pikachu behind him.
Example of an AH: How the Tailed Beasts were created. So, no creator, but saying they're just demons in general or something like that. That's alterating some historical events from the canon they're from. Normally keeps the same or similar world as the canonical material/fiction it is from.
Example of an AR: Time-travel with the person going into a similar world as the one they came from but with heavily noticed differences. They could also meet an alternate version of themselves, completely opposite as well. Mostly retains the same/similar world it originates from.
Example of an AU: High School/College fics. The author takes the characters and puts them in an entirely different setting than from where they came from. This normally takes them out of their normal, fictional world and sets them somewhere like in France or the US; in real-world or in their fictional counterparts.
Remember these small differences and choose which one to properly label your fanfiction when you're writing it. It could help differentiate what you want your readers to expect. Simply putting "AU" could mean either of the other two which could and would, therefore, slightly be a mislabel in a sense.
This is my tidbit and I hope it helps out fellow and future writers alike!
-Picori
Base source (click here)
Moving on!
So, while browsing around FF.net, AO3, and Wattpad, I've noticed a lot of people put in "AU" in their story summaries/descriptions. Normally this lets readers know their material will be diverging from canon in some shape or form. That's all fine and dandy. Then, there are some very rare gems out there that have the label "AR/AH/AT" in the summaries. This has been seen on FF.net, however. )I've yet to encounter on Wattpad or AO3, but I'm sure they're floating around)
However, sometimes I think, "Do these people know the difference?"
Sure, the terms AU, AR, AH and AT are mostly synonymous with one another. They mean Alternate Universe, Alternate Reality, Alternate History and Alternate Timeline respectively. While they are similar to each other, there's a tad bit of a difference between them.
AU: Alternate Universe. This normally means fanfiction will be written in exactly how it sounds, in an alternate universe. This means you would take the characters and set them in a different setting within the same world, a different universe or worldly setting that is usually far from the norm.
An example of this would be, say, Bowser is the King of the Toads rather than the Koopas. He'd still be in the Mushroom Kingdom. His role is reversed with Princess Peach, who--in this example story--would be the Queen of Koopas rather than the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Another example would be in DBZ: Vegeta sent to Earth instead of Goku/Kakarot. This would be considered an "AU". This also includes the super cliche High School fics as well. However, High School fics can also be considered "AR" material as well.
More examples would be: setting the characters of canon in different races like mermaids, vampires (if they aren't already), pirates and as kings/queens when they aren't normally like so.
AR: Alternate Reality. This normally pertains to fics written in a different reality than from the norm. Time-travel fics are normally paired in this plot device, since the character(s) used will, more or less, wind up in a different time reality than their own time era. This also means that there can be a paradox of the same person being in the same era. This may cause: a] one of the characters eventually disappearing, due to said paradox, b] one of them kills the other, resulting in the other disappearing too, or c] nothing happens and both can co-exist in the same place.
An example of this is Naruto: Road to Ninja. This is an alternate reality, as things are switched up, just like in an AU, but with the added twist of running a possible paradoxial coincidence. The existence of the same character but with differences. Like in the movie mentioned above, it was Menma and Naruto being subjected to this. They were essentially the same person, but lived completely different lives, and have different attitudes, etc. Granted, the whole thing was a Genjutsu/Tsukuyomi, but the idea behind it is still there. Menma and Naruto co-existed without one disappearing or breaking some paradox.
Another small example of alternate reality resides in the game, Fire Emblem: Awakening. To prevent spoilers from happening in case anyone hasn't played, the Avatar slightly falls under the AR of the "b]" category in the first paragraph of this portion.
AH: Alternate History. This can technically be and fall under as a sub-category for both an AU and an AR. When twisting up the canon universe to your liking, you sometimes might alter the history revolving around it. For example, if you're writing a fanfiction about The Kharlan War in Tales of Symphonia. How it started, its conclusion and everything else came out totally different than from in-game canon. This would be an Alternate History, since you'd be retelling events in a whole, brand new manner.
As stated, this can be grouped together with AU and AR.
AT: Alternate Timeline. This can be placed as another sub-category to the above as well. It means that there are two of the same characters coexisting at the same time. They live the same lives as each other but have taken or decided upon different choises which then lead to different results. AT's are usually paired with time-travel.
Technically speaking, all four are and can be simultaneously categorized as "one" when an author picks up and starts writing fanfiction. For one, fanfiction is already considered an AU. Because they are not the original creator, therefore whatever they type in their own words, is considered as such. Copying word for word, without any difference from the original material whatsoever would and can be called plagarism--so be careful.
Typically, "AU" is the popular acronym to use when an author wants to set the tables differently, whether by a lot or not.
The pattern usually goes like so: The AH part; most fanfiction begin here, with retelling the history of the original canon material. It then slides into the AR or an AT, which would be the characters from canon are in a different setting than the norm/canon. Or, it can be a similar setting but with major differences. After that, it slides into the AU part, being the "alternate universe" the author wants it to be.
Example of an AT: Ash travels back in time, only to wind up seeing another version of himself in a similar time era he knew. The other Ash also has Pikachu as a starter, but he decides to instead of irritating the Pidgey in the beginning episodes, he leaves it alone and continues on his way, dragging Pikachu behind him.
Example of an AH: How the Tailed Beasts were created. So, no creator, but saying they're just demons in general or something like that. That's alterating some historical events from the canon they're from. Normally keeps the same or similar world as the canonical material/fiction it is from.
Example of an AR: Time-travel with the person going into a similar world as the one they came from but with heavily noticed differences. They could also meet an alternate version of themselves, completely opposite as well. Mostly retains the same/similar world it originates from.
Example of an AU: High School/College fics. The author takes the characters and puts them in an entirely different setting than from where they came from. This normally takes them out of their normal, fictional world and sets them somewhere like in France or the US; in real-world or in their fictional counterparts.
Remember these small differences and choose which one to properly label your fanfiction when you're writing it. It could help differentiate what you want your readers to expect. Simply putting "AU" could mean either of the other two which could and would, therefore, slightly be a mislabel in a sense.
This is my tidbit and I hope it helps out fellow and future writers alike!
-Picori
Base source (click here)