ANNOUNCEMENT

[singularitymods.livejournal.com]

GENERAL AU GUIDELINES

Singularity allows Alternate Universe applications primarily to accommodate characters from malleable canons (such as the protagonists of recent Bioware RPGs). The Singularity staff have chosen to extend the option to apply for an AU character to other canons as a courtesy to players, but certain guidelines and rules must be followed in order for the team to maintain a certain overall tone to the game and to properly process these applications in a timely manner.

• Published AUs, such as the Shattered Glass continuity of the Transformers franchise or the numerous incarnations of Ghost in the Shell, are not judged by these AU standards. They are treated as OU canons of their own, regardless of their relationship to other continuities within their series.

• Characters such as the Gray Warden, Commander Shepard, etc. which have any number of canon choices that can be made during the course of their games, are always handled as AU applications.

• AUs which crossover, or borrow recognizable elements from, other canons ('canonmashes') are not permitted.
→ Exception: Canon crossovers, such as the Alien vs Predator vs Terminator comics, fall under published AUs.

• The further your AU deviates from canon the greater the likelihood that with will be rejected.
→ The more radically an AU differs from canon the harder it becomes for moderators to properly judge. These fall under the 'better as fanfic' rule.

• As AU applications require the application team to spend more time discussing them, these applications often take longer to process. The more dramatically the AU differs from canon, the longer the wait will likely be.

• Singularity permits up to three versions of one character: 1 canon, 1 AU, and 1 imported CR!AU (aka applying for a character with their memories of a previous game intact).

BEFORE SUBMITTING AN AU APPLICATION

• Parties interested in applying with an AU character are encouraged to approach the moderators/app team beforehand to ensure that their intended AU is suitable for the game. The team is willing and able to work with applicants to make the process as smooth as possible -- approaching the team before hand dramatically reduces your chances of receiving revision requests or rejections during the actual application process.

Applicants are expected to have familiarized themselves with Singularity's AU policies prior to submitting an AU application.

IMPORTED CR AUS

• Imported CR AUs are characters which are applied directly from other games (ex: applying for Naruto after playing him for several months in another lj game) and having them keep all character development, relationships, and memories of their time in said game.

Moderators may request links to previous game logs/posts/threads.

'BETTER AS FANFIC'

• This refers to any AU which the moderators feel would be better explored either through private rp, museboxes, or (as the name suggests) fanfiction. These are AUs which deviate dramatically enough from canon that we do not feel Singularity is the proper environment to explore them in. Usually these are AUs in which more than one or two significant plot or character points have been altered, or which radically alter the setting, tone, or characterization.

IF YOUR AU IS REJECTED

• Involved parties may approach a moderator to discuss ways the AU may be made suitable, if possible, for Singularity.

Moderators reserve the right to veto any AU they feel is unsuitable for Singularity.

QUESTIONS

• Questions regarding Singularity's policies on judging and handling AU applications may be directed to the moderators/application team.

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These policies will be going into effect immediately, and will apply to the upcoming application round. They will be added to the application page as soon as LJ cooperates long enough for us to edit the entry.

Characters already in the game who may be affected by these policy changes will be grandfathered through and are exempt.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

A popular AU in the Homestuck universe is a particularly famous and extensive fanfic glob known as Red Dead Virgo (https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ASTMDKhFFxp_ZGd2OXhjanFfMTkwaHR2cDN4ZDQ&hl=en&pli=1) and Violetescence (http://archiveofourown.org/series/6075). From previous applications I know quite well that is not a valid AU for AU purposes, but the characters are interesting enough in their own right that I'm wondering if it's possible just to splinter off the entire thing as a valid canon.

Which it probably isn't, but there's no harm in asking, is there?

N.B. I am not in the game.