The AU: two thumbs up or snoozing viewer

[sweetprince]

It's very true that every fanfic writer has their own take on what Sam and Dean are, what character space they embody, perhaps even what goals they are trying to accomplish. The thing about Supernatural is that we get really only two views of the characters, "Life during wartime" and "the goof troop" and even the goof troop episodes show Sam and Dean's life during wartime. So I think it's easy to give characters a lot of leeway in that sense. I even think that Sam-girls and Dean-girls view the characters on the show differently (oh, fuck it, I know this). However, I still think it's possible for us to identify what is out-of-character, and what is an in-character move.

Which is why when you write Supernatural AUs for movies or comics or books, not everything will work.



I've done a lot of thinking about this, mostly because I was attempting to write my own SPN movie AU, in Hackers. It was a hard to choice to make, who was going to be Sam, who was going to be Dean, and I had to radically alter parts of the backstory to get it to work. But I felt an affinity in Kate in Dean, however, Dade still remains a problem. Sam doesn't have the same hapless attitude in the least, so to fit him in that space, and I had to reprogram Dade a little. It worked, because it was only minor adjustments, and what I really wanted from Hackers was the concept, and not the character nuances, then I overwrote the whole story by accident anyway, so it's not like anybody is ever going to contest me on that.

But...

There are some movies where I don't think that's going to work. I fully realize the desire to take movies and write out their slashy impulses with our favorite characters. I have, at some time or another, considered this with all movies. However, I realize that this isn't going to work for some movies, especially where salient character traits are part of the concept. The notion of me taking Real Genius and attempting to AU it to Sam and Dean, while attractive, ultimately seems like a disservice to the movie, because just about the only thing that could remain the same is the age difference between Chris Knight and Mitch.

I do make exception though, alot of these movies while not Sam/Dean translatable, can be fit to RPS. It would be complete crack if I stuck Jared and Jensen into Real Genius, because I'm pretty sure Jared would have to be Chris Knight, and I'm not really sure how Jensen would work as Mitch...ah well, let us discard that one, that's more ridiculous than being snubbed by beauticians.

Okay, take Center Stage. The only character that Dean could play in that (EEE, DEAN AS A BALLET DANCER), would be Cooper. And since we all like Charlie better anyway, HELLO, TALL, THOSE CRAZY BLUE EYES, THAT SLOW GRIN, where's the fun in that? I suppose I could make Dean be Cooper, and Sam be Charlie, and then have Jo be Jody, but Charlie and Cooper have zero interaction and no chemistry beyond the one time when Charlie was attempting to put Cooper in his place with his little dance contest bit. Also, then I'd have to figure out all that dynamic with Maureen and BLAH. NOT WORTH IT.

And while we all enjoy AUs that do not automatically copy the movies, I think that mostly has to do with plot, rather than character, because I know I certainly get very excited to see how an author has applied each person. So yes, that one, not going to work for Sam and Dean, but J2 it would be amazing, and I'm not just saying this because I am in fact writing it and am attempting to pimp it out. Jared as Charlie, Jensen as Jody--YES AMAZING RIGHT? I thought about making Chris Kane Cooper, but then Jensen and Chris would have to have sex, and ewww. I DO NOT SUPPORT THAT.

But going back to my main point, there are some concepts that are simply too big, there's too much riding on it for it to make a good AU. I wouldn't make Dean Bruce Wayne and Sam Dick Grayson even though cannon events to work for that rather nicely simply because Dean is not Bruce Wayne, and HELLO, Sam? Dick Grayson? and if not Dick Grayson, Tim? Selina Kyle?

No that just doesn't work for me, and while I might read your Sam/Dean Batman AU out of curiosity, trust me it's the gawking at a two-headed goat effect. I feel like you simply can't AU such things. They embody too much of a world of their own, too many stories can be told within that. Similarly, since it just struck me over the head as hilarious. Sam and Dean in Lord of the Rings? WHO WOULD BE WHO? I guess we break all the rules if it comes to crack.

[Poll #1182425]

_{ps. Dean is Mav, and Sam is Ice}

Comments

[memphis86.livejournal.com]

BUY. ME. COOKIES.

Dean is Ice, Henriksen is Mav, Sam is in Risky Business.

[azephirin.livejournal.com]

PS. Top Gun is the gayest movie EVER.

Also, now I want someone to write that LOTR crossover for the sheer crack of it all.

[michaela3105.livejournal.com]

They are totally Frodo (Sam) and Samwise (Dean) :)

[cormallen.livejournal.com]

Dude. Eowyn and the Witch King of Angmar, totally (no, there's nothing wrong with my head, why do you ask *g*).

[sanyin.livejournal.com]

I have wasted so many hours of my life daydreaming about stupid SPN crossovers. It's an addiction! They have a claustrophobic sort of stick 'em anywhere quality that makes it both easier and harder to figure out.

And sometimes, you just want to go for the...non-obvious I guess? Or there's some relationship in the crossover template that appeals to you specifically. For example, the SPN/Princess Bride that lives in my head isn't about beautiful but dull (SamorDean) and the Dread Pirate (SamorDean). I got ridiculously sentimental about that guy Tiny in the prison episode, and just adored his interaction with Dean. So it would be Inigo Montoya Dean, obsessed with avenging his father, and looking out for Tiny the Giant, wronged by his father. Maybe, like in the movie, they even do rhymes! And former farmboy Sam would have his own story with gorgeous Jess, who's so much of a cypher in canon that the Buttercup label works for me.

(As much as I want to see Dean as a dwarf/hobbit/invisible dead guy, the Denethor/Boromir/Faramir relationship works weirdly well as a really twisted, inverted mirror of John/Dean/Sam. Ah Faramir!)

[xtinethepirate.livejournal.com]

I thought of making them the pretty LOTR character, and was really, REALLY tempted... but Sam's emo reminds me of Frodo's emo, the OMG I HAZ A HEAVY DESTINY UPONS ME OH NOES. And Gimli is more of a shoot first (axe first?) ask questions later type, and hence his Dean comparison.

Crossovers are a funny business to manage, I find. It really depends on the wit of the person writing it, and if they stray too close to the original plotline of either. *snickers* LOTR/SPN sounds like it might be a crackalicious good time, hahahaha. Sometimes things that SHOULD NOT WORK... do. I read a House/Batman xover once that was strangely intriguing and well written. Even though House used to be Batman. It hurt my head. *laughs*

[katie-the-sith.livejournal.com]

*glomps* Random person commenting on your page, topic was to awesome to ignore.

well first of all no WAY could Sam ever be a hobbit cause Jared is just way too f*n tall. I really couldn't see either of them being damsels in distress either, however Arwen isn't too much of a distressful damsel, and Sam really would be GORGEOUS with elf ears so Arwen Sam and Dean Aragon could work. Definetly Dean Aragon, he can really pull off the facial hair and he's got that whole masculine sexy saviour thing going on. and let's face it if Dean was crowned the King of Gondor we'd all trample each other to find a middleearth apartment near the white tree.

a boromir faramir thing could work too, obviously because of the brothers element. and i'm not the only one that noticed how hung up faramir was over his dear departed brother. but if we're doing the sibling thing i guess eomer/eowyn could work too...depending on how you swing it. it'd be real tough work to pull it off without coming out crack though. good luck with that XD

i hope you enjoyed my random person input. byes.