crack au day!

[aria]

And before I go, a meme!

Take any one of the fandoms you know I write/rec/read AND give me a type of AU (space opera AU, pirate AU, superhero AU, etc) or another time period (Ancient Rome, Regency England, etc). I will then explain the gist of the story I would write for that AU.

I should add that any historical AUs will be EXTREMELY INACCURATE, and you are probably safer with superheroes.

Comments

[order_of_chaos]

Babylon Five - Diane Duane's Wizards series AU

[aria]

This suggestion makes me LIGHT UP WITH JOY. Be warned for feeeelings, and also probably spoilers for all of both series.

Since Babylon 5 is some time in the future, and Earth has had contact with alien cultures, wizards aren't sevarfrith on Earth anymore; in fact, while obviously most people in Earthforce aren't wizards, it's common practice to assign wizards to diplomatic posts. In fact Sinclair is quite likely a wizard, though Sheridan isn't. (Other human wizards: Franklin, Marcus.) I'm not sure how well the Psy Corps operates in a world where wizardry is out in the open, but then I am deeply fond of the notion of them as an alarming suborder of wizards. Bester would be the most amazing overshadowed wizard/avatar of the Lone One. -- Oh, and I suppose that makes Ivanova a wizard too! Or, ooh, she had wizardry once but gave it up, hence that intense melancholy she sometimes gets. (I LOVE YOU WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE A WIZARD, IVANOVA.)

Since the main conflict of Babylon 5 is more order vs chaos than straight-up good vs evil, I think it might be cheating to say that the Vorlons are lesser Powers while the Shadows are agents of the Lone One. Rather, let us say that the Vorlons are an old species who should have ascended long ago (much like that alien species in Wizard's Holiday) and that the Shadows are a similarly advanced race who made a really alarming Choice and are attempting to have all other younger species make the same one.

Meanwhile, the entire religious caste of the Minbari are wizards. Presumably the warrior caste are not, nor the worker caste; basically, taking the Oath is saying your religious vows. I suspect that Centauri wizards are still sevarfrith -- that is, wizards exist on other worlds, but surely not here, since wizardry is a frivolous pursuit and an embarrassment to your family (the great Centauri Republic is already perfect!). Obviously Vir is a wizard -- hence his endless coaxing of Londo, hence his friendship with Lennier -- and things are going to change when he's emperor. Meanwhile I suspect that as a Centauri colony, on Narn wizards are effectively sevarfrith as well -- and they're all working to make their world a better place, so quite a few of them have lost sight of the central tenets of the Art. G'Kar is one such wizard, and his arc is about reframing what his wizardry means and finding a different way to save his people.

What I love about this AU is that I believe it could happen in the YW world, and it changes the context but not the content of B5. No wonder I love both these worlds so much. :D

[order_of_chaos]

I AM FULL OF GLEE! Thank you, this is glorious! *beams*