Hypothetical AU Meme

[tielan]

Snurched from havocthecat:

The Hypothetical AU Meme: Take any one of the fandoms you know I am familiar with AND give me a type of AU (space opera AU, pirate AU, superhero AU, What-If-X-Happened etc.). I will then explain what story from that fandom I would write for that AU.

Obviously, don't ask for something I've already written!

Comments

[zahrawithaz.livejournal.com]

Fandom: Merlin
AU: French Revolution AU

[gaffsie]

SGA, Regency AU! Blame my recent Austen re-read.

[ailelie]

Merlin, winged!AU

[tielan]

Oh, this is an interesting one.

French nobility or British people smugglers?

British, I think. You can't take Arthur out of Britain.

Hm. So, Gaius and Merlin smuggle French émigrés out of France, assisted by Gaius. They've been funded by Uther for many years, but now Uther's becoming political in his harbouring of émigrés and is starting to plan counter-revolution. Trouble starts when Uther's son, Arthur, turns up at Gaius' safe harbour and starts talking about counter-revolution against the French revolutionaries and stirring up the young noblemen who are taking shelter there.

However the next batch of émigrés contains a lady-in-waiting of the French royal court who arrives amidst the others with little more than the clothes on her back and a tiny bag containing a chess piece made of gold. Born of a secret liaison between a French noblewoman and an English commoner, with a practical mind and a good heart, Guinevere quickly puts paid to Arthur's notions, and befriends Morgana, Arthur's foster-sister and Lord Uther's ward.

But it's harder to settle the dust once it's been stirred up, and the blood of the young French aristocrats runs hot in their veins for revenge. It will take all Merlin's powers of persuasion and organisation - along with all Gwen's knowledge of French politics, Morgana's charm and cunning, and Arthur's leadership - to keep this section of England from erupting into bloodshed - especially once the agents of the French Revolution come looking for anyone with connections to the French court - and most particularly a noblewoman who they believe is carrying 'a treasure of France' for which the political leaders of the revolution would not hesitate to kill.

[tielan]

It's not very Austen, whose novels are more about local gentility rather than nobility, and it stretches the prejudices of the Regency era somewhat, because I'm not going to leave Teyla out of the story.

Teyla Emmagan is the daughter of the renegade 2nd son of the old Earl of Athos. When her uncle dies, leaving Athos heirless, her father Torin is recalled to England. However, before they can make port in England, the old Earl dies.

Far from the familiarity of her homeland and thrust into the midst of London's polite society - many who are extremely impolite to this coloured upstart to the Emmagan name - Teyla initially struggles until she is befriended by Lady Elizabeth Weir, daughter of the Duke of Atland and considered distinctly odd for her progressive notions.

Through Elizabeth, she meets an assortment of 'oddball' off-shoots of the English and Scottish nobility - Rodney McKay, half-English son of a Scottish Lord, with his theories about the nature of the universe which regularly set the Royal Society of Geography and Natural Knowledge on their collective heads; Carson Beckett, also of Scottish nobility, with his studies of the human body and its fragilities; Laura Cadman, granddaughter of an English Viscount, with her notions of science and alchemy; and John Sheppard, the Duke's heir, and Elizabeth's distant cousin.

Having pursued a military career against his father's wishes, John is extremely displeased at being recalled to inherit the Dukedom from his distant uncle. He's only half-reconciled himself to giving up the sea, but is completely unreconciled to being on the marriage mart. On the verge of entering into an engagement with his cousin purely to escape the designs of matchmaking mamas, however, he finds himself intrigued by the Lady Teyla...

[tielan]

Merlin and Wings...

I have no idea about the tropes and expectations of wingfic.

Um.

One morning, Gwen wakes up with a pair of huge white snowy wings. Although cleared of any accusations of witchcraft, Gwen finds herself the subject of scrutiny and amusement from the king and his nobles, the subject of admiration and adoration by the commoners, and the recipient of merciless teasing from Merlin, Arthur, and Morgana.

[gaffsie]

:D Not like Austen at all, but fun. I won't lie; I'd read the hell out of this AU.

[tielan]

The news was murmured in the clubs and drawing rooms of the ton.

"They say that Lord Emmagan returned last week to claim Athos."

"From Africa, wasn't it? Tanzania?"

"Somewhere like that. Studying the negroes. Must be a relief to be back among civilised people again."

Daughters danced with eligible gentlemen, wearing fine silken slippers to frayed toes, while matchmaking mamas murmured over their charges and gossiped over the news.

"They say he's brought a daughter back with him."

"A daughter? He married in Africa?"

"So he claims. But that's not the worst of it!"

Linden, Duke of Athos, had died without issue. The Athos estate being entailed to his heirs, it had reverted to his brother, Torin, the remaining heir of his father.

It was known that old Lord Demetrios had never gotten along with his learned, adventurous second son, that the two had argued shortly after Torin's twenty-fourth birthday, and that the young man had taken what portion of his inheritance had come to him at age twenty-one, and departed for the distant shores of Africa, from whence came only the occasional letter and parcelled curio that was marvelled at in the Athos drawing room by family and guests alike.

There had never been mention of a daughter. Until now.

"Well. Well, well, well, well..."

"But she can't inherit! No-one will accept her into polite society!"

"It's quite clear that those years among the savages in Africa have baked Torin's brain. Whoever heard of such a thing? What can he be thinking?"

--

Teyla looked out the window at the rain drizzling down the diamond windowpanes and wished for the damp heat of Zanzibar, for the sounds of the rain spattering across the foliage, the slap of the drops against dusty roads and cobblestone.

So this was England, cold and bitter, home of her father's ancestors - now her home, too.

"Come away from the window, Teyla.You're letting in the cold, and it's quite cold enough without adding a breeze to the room." Behind her, the scratch of her father's quill against parchment was the only sound apart from the crackle of the fire in the grate and the rattling of the wind against the shutters.

She took a deep breath as she let go the heavy drapes and turned to face the small drawing room. "What are you doing, father?"

"Writing a letter to my cousin, Charin. You'll need a chaperone while you're going around England, and since Selina's in no fit state to take you about London, I'm sure Charin will be more than willing to come back from the country house where my father sent her all those years ago." Torin glanced up from the writing desk, a smile half-turned on his lips. "It will be good to see her again. She always told me that I should make more of myself than a spoiled brat of a Duke's son."

Teyla's eyes narrowed. That did not sound like something a lady of the nobility would say. Not that Teyla had much idea of what an English noblewoman would say at all.

The idea that she, Teyla Emmagan of Zanzibar town, was now one of that kind seemed as laughable to her as it did to the servants, who didn't know how to treat her at all.

"This...cousin Charin would seem to be a woman of independent thought."

"Very much so. Unfortunately for her, she is not of independent means. Although," he added as he sprinkled drying sand over the ink, "that's to our advantage. I've offered her a generous pension if she'll accompany you as chaperone. And we do need a chaperone for you. We're not home anymore - this is England, and we have a duty to our line and our ancestors."

"Starting with finding me a chaperone?"

"As the first step on our way to finding you a husband."

Teyla arched her brows as she seated herself with a rustle of fine skirts. "And am I to get a choice in this matter, father?"

She did not intend to be quite so pointed about the question, but pique and weariness made her sharp. They had travelled far to a cold reception, she was missing the pleasant helpfulness of the servants back home, and marriage had never been on her list of things to do. As for love - well, she had never expected a grand passion, nor found anyone for whom she felt more than a friendly affection, but she had at least hoped for someone whom she could respect.

"I would never force you into a marriage against your will, Teyla. Your happiness is important to me."

"I can hear the clause in your statement, father. 'But?'"

"But you are the last of the Emmagans and your children must inherit Athos." Her father's gaze was sad, but his jaw was set. "To that end, you must marry."

--

[gaffsie]

*glee*

That is fabulous. It would be a story full of angst, adventure and, hopefully, passion. Teyla would have to deal with the prejudices of 19th century England, and then she'd meet John and have to deal with him too. :D

[havocthecat]

You wouldn't happen to have already written a Merlin superhero AU, would you?

[tielan]

Not yet! :)

Right, so, hm.

Merlin is a telekinetic - there was no traumatic event for him to develop his powers, it just developed as he was growing up. Since his mother and his village was a supportive environment, he's never been restrained or repressed in his abilities. As a result, he doesn't have a concept of limits and can do things that are logically impossible, simply because he believes he can. Moving things with the power of his mind is only the start of it. He thinks he's moved things through time, too, although he's never been able to prove it.

Gwen has an empathetic gift. She's always been sensitive to others' emotions and feelings, capable of reading their moods, but lately she's started gaining hints of their thoughts - particularly when they're under stress. Her father's recent death has proven catalytic, increasing her range and her ability to unconsciously influence those around her. However, until recently, she hasn't been able to use her emotions as a weapon - to overcome someone with emotion such that they become incapable of whatever attack they're planning. Hengist's kidnapping changed that, and lately she's found herself able to consciously make people feel something. Which worries her a little - to what degree is she influencing others?

Arthur is a kinetic mimetic - he can imitate any routine or act of which the human body is capable after seeing it done, although he tends to stick with the more conventional movements. It makes him an unparalleled swordsman, because he can imitate the style of his opponent, meet it, and match it, adding his own little touches to give him the advantage in a fight.

Morgana is a pyrokinetic precog, although the better term is probably 'seer', since she sees not only the future, but the past in fire. Her gift first manifested after her father's death in battle, she dreamed of his forces riding out to meet the enemy, of the frantic regrouping and regrouping as they waited for Uther's reinforcements which never came. When she woke up, every candle in the room was alight and the fire was burning merrily in the grate. Maturity has made her visions stronger, but she hasn't yet gained the necessary control to specifically see the possibilities.

That's the setup. The story?

Together, they fight crime!

[zahrawithaz.livejournal.com]

This is awesome. I love the way you match powers to personalities! (Though I might have given Gwen see-through vision instead, empathy is a cool superpower.)

[zahrawithaz.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. I was totally expecting French nobility--maybe a role reversal, where Arthur and Morgana have to rely on Merlin and Gwen to smuggle them out. (The impetus was something like, Gwen would look good in a period cap!) But this is awesome—lady-in-waiting Guinevere especially....

I love the chess piece mystery!

[tielan]

Ever read "The Eight" by Katherine Neville?

That's pretty much where it's from. :)

[tielan]

Dammit. Now I've got notes on things to research for this - like slavery in England and when it finished, attitudes towards Africa, civilisation, science, superstition, and the state of Natural History at the time...

And Kanaan and Michael just turned up as a distant cousin who Teyla's father wants her to marry, and a charming yet volatile fortune-hunter respectively.

[tielan]

X-Ray vision is definitely useful for information-gathering, but I wanted something that she could use as a weapon later...

[gaffsie]

*evil cackle*