I defined AU and AR off-the-cuff as different degrees of separation from the original canon, with AU more specific than AR. Others would probably define them the other way round. The point being that when people started writing this sort of story, they just applied the labels indiscriminately to anything that varied from the basic canon, and there's not much hope of getting them to all agree on precise definitions now. :)
I think taking characters out of their environment and keeping them *true* to their character is what distinguishes a good AU/AR, while OOC-ness violates their character rather than their environment
Trouble is, the environment is a lot of what shapes their character and actually defines them as characters. A 'H/D in High School in Japan' story isn't really about Harry and Draco, it's about two characters who resemble them thematically but come from a different world in which the assumptions don't always map. Like (say) Joe Macbeth -- an old gangster B-movie in which Joe rises to the top by killing the Boss only to meet his comeuppance -- has many of the same themes as the original Macbeth, but Joe isn't quite the same character because his world and assumptions are different (he's not a noble-born, for example), and some don't map across well (e.g. the witches). If that makes any sense. :)
I must admit, I suppose I do tend to prefer stories that are actually set in the canon Potterverse, or match my own definition of AU (what follows from a specific change).
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-08-04 05:06 pm (UTC)I think taking characters out of their environment and keeping them *true* to their character is what distinguishes a good AU/AR, while OOC-ness violates their character rather than their environment
Trouble is, the environment is a lot of what shapes their character and actually defines them as characters. A 'H/D in High School in Japan' story isn't really about Harry and Draco, it's about two characters who resemble them thematically but come from a different world in which the assumptions don't always map. Like (say) Joe Macbeth -- an old gangster B-movie in which Joe rises to the top by killing the Boss only to meet his comeuppance -- has many of the same themes as the original Macbeth, but Joe isn't quite the same character because his world and assumptions are different (he's not a noble-born, for example), and some don't map across well (e.g. the witches). If that makes any sense. :)
I must admit, I suppose I do tend to prefer stories that are actually set in the canon Potterverse, or match my own definition of AU (what follows from a specific change).