Key to my fanfiction AU (alternate universes)
This is an exercise in egotism, an explanation of the fictional alternate universe (AU) that I've created in my stories. If you don't care, that's fine, I don't mind at all. Skip ahead to chapter 8. It's short, but it's the first step down a dark path for Elsa.
I think every fanfic writer has their own headcanon concerning their chosen work: they see the characters in a certain way, build up a backstory for any OC's and may even build detailed worldviews that may include politics, geography, technology, population, economics and everything else that may exist in their world. I'm not sure how you write stories, novels really, as long as 250,000 plus words without some kind of detailed plan. I'm in awe of those authors.
When I wrote my first fanfiction, I had none of that. Except a feel for the characters we all love in Frozen, especially Queen Elsa of Arendelle. She is literally magic; and the 7,500 stories on this site prove that. I applaud anyone who builds up an internally consistent world for their fanfiction. Me? I just wing it. But it turns out that in working out 9 stories, 8 of which have actual plots, I did create a fairly consistent AU with some recurring OC's that work out. But Elsa and Anna are still the main stars of the show.
This chapter explains the three main timelines of my fanfictions. In my headcanon, Elsa's coronation took place on July 14, 1840, because of Oaken's comment of 'howler in July' and Anna and Hans dancing under a full moon. The movie events occurred over a span of three days, ending on July 17, 1840. All timelines share my OC's in general, although that may not be true in future stories.
My AU contains the following stories (And their abbreviations):
Walk in the Park (WIP) – a series of chapters that are one-shots, scenes that aren't long enough to merit a longer story. These stories take place starting a few days after the Great Thaw, and can be weeks, months, or years later. Will now include one-shots from AU-Delta as well.
Hour of the Wolf (HotW) – Anna gets hurt on a trip to the trolls, and Kristoff and Elsa go find her. Takes place not quite one month after the end of the movie.
Protector of the Dominion (PotD) – Weselton attacks, Elsa fight off the force with an army of snowlems. She has a crisis of conscience about creating sentient life. Takes place three months after the end of the movie, or October, 1840.
Verðug dróttning stór (Worthy Queen, WQ) – Weselton attacks, kidnaps Anna and puts Elsa in captivity. Takes place at same time as PotD, but in timeline AU-Delta. 'Delta' because the greek letter 'delta' is used to represent 'change' in mathematics and physics, and also because this timeline will be darker than the main timeline. In particular, Elsa will lose ground on her healing and may go to much darker places than she does in the main timeline.
The Spare (tS) – Political thriller that explores a plot to remove Elsa from the throne of Arendelle and replace her with Anna. I've been thinking about how this story would look in AU-Delta and may explore that. The two AU's are the same up until the events of WQ/PotD, and the political plot had already begun long before that. Starts 8 months after the movie, or March, 1841. The duration of the story takes about a month, but includes flashbacks to things that happened earlier in Elsa's life, before the movie.
The Spare, Alternate Ending (AltS) – Not yet published, but replaces chapter 14 of tS with a much sadder ending and goes on from there. Incomplete as of yet, won't publish until I figure out a good ending for it. It's at 14,000 words and I think I need at least another 5,000 to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. This is actually a third AU, but would terminate with the ending of this story, for reasons that will become obvious when I publish it.
Do the Magic! (DtM) – Shortly after the events of The Spare, Elsa and her guards go off to the North Mountain and practice using her powers. May, 1841
Heart of a Jedi (Jedi) – A Star Wars crossover where Elsa and Anna are taken to Hoth by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Since it takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, it really didn't happen in any of these timelines! ;-)
Beautiful, Powerful, Dangerous, Cold (BPDC) – My very first fanfic, although it takes place the furthest from the events of the movie. Elsa is thought to be dead of a sudden illness, and Anna and the kingdom must cope with that. Take place 15 months after the end of the movie, and takes about a month to play out. October-November 1841.
Walk Through the Fire (WTtF) – wasn't so much a story as a prose poem retelling the movie against the backdrop of a somewhat altered song from the Buffy the Vampire musical episode. Have I mentioned that Joss Whedon is God?
There are still stories to be told. When I finally decide I'm done with this fandom, I'll post my last story; the story of the end of the glorious reign of Queen Elsa of Arendelle, who died to save her people from an existential threat.