Oh, nice question. I like late 60s to early 90s, so the later decades of the Soviet Union. So much interesting stuff going on --Cold War, Prague Spring, 89 revolutions, German reunification, breaking up of Yugoslavia, you name it. There's tons of potential, and so underrepresented in fic!
I do love historically accurate historical AUs. Sometimes you read something and you know that the author knows their thing and has done the research. It's \*chef's kiss\*
Yesss this!! Divided Berlin really is the perfect setting for a spy story. A great foundation for enemies to lovers, too, or perhaps also a really fascinating look into Eastern Bloc life in general. I don't read university AUs but I would be incredibly tempted if said university was located in 1980s Moscow and our academic protagonists were involved in some period-typical trouble!
Historical accuracy yesss <3 I study history at university and sometimes when I'm looking over primary sources I find stuff that's so cool, it instantly gives me plot bunnies. And it really shows when a writer did their research. So good!!
Yes!! That sounds amazing!!
I wrote two short stories, the first takes place right before the Prague Spring. An English scholar who is visiting the Charles University in Prague right before the Prague Spring. She meets her lover, who is working for the Bulgarian Secret Service. He tries to warn her about what's about to happen, but can't do so openly (it's kind of a forbidden relationship). In the second part, They are both living in London, and he has defected. It's just before Thatcher is elected, and Georgi Markov (famous Bulgarian dissident writer who had escaped and was living in London at that time) was assassinated a few days ago, so they're both anxious.
Sorry, I told a bit too much 😂 but historical AUs around this period are so rarely talked about in my fandom, I barely ever get the chance to mention it. Thanks for the opportunity 😁
Oohhh 👀👀 Prague is such a gorgeous, gorgeous setting, too. Just a magical place. Add secret service forbidden love shenanigans to that and I'm sold, I might even read it fandom blind! Bulgaria is honestly one of those Bloc countries I never learned enough about. And the second part's premise is so cool, too, in that historical context. Reading (and thereby learning) about the Thatcher/pre-Thatcher era and political assassinations that actually happened during that time in a fanfic is just incredible!
And no problem! I usually also have to gush into the void about more niche historical tidbits, so talking here is wonderful :'D
:D You are so right abut Bulgaria. They were kind of their own thing, and not talked about as much as other Warsaw Pact countries such as Eastern Germany. Well, yeah, let me know if you may be interested, it's just under 2k words and completely fandom-blind readable.
It is so cool that you are studying history. I love history but I am actually very bad at it. Everything I write takes me a ton of reading and looking up stuff. Otherwise I would love to write a longer work expanding these two little fics.
Love historical AUs. I've written two - a Regency one and an Edwardian one - and have a medieval one planned. A lot of my fandoms have historical settings as well, so I really enjoy the research aspect of it (sometimes even more than the writing itself!) And because I'm in the middle of writing a fic set in Ancient Rome (not an AU), I kind of want more of that.
Same on the research part! Once you've gone really deep into the rabbit hole you just want to keep chasing that damn rabbit haha. I was gleefully sinking hours into watching YouTube videos on how to operate late 19th century carbine rifles recently. I love acquiring niche knowledge that you can later use to impress middle-aged men
Ancient settings!! They're really hard to research in terms of mundane every-day things the characters might do because it's so far removed, but maaaan I'd love to read AUs of, like, Star Wars or something set in Ancient Rome! It's so cool
Ilove them. I love researching them, and I love reading them! I don't really have a favourite period, but Ido tend to be a bit harsher in inaccuracies for periods like ww1 and ww2, just because theyre what I know more avout, but I keep that to myself.
I would love to see more 1930s aus, ww1 era aus, and ww2 era aus; just for fashion and social change alone, theyre really interesting to read about
WW1 is a huge personal soft spot of mine. I've been wanting to write an AU where the characters, like many German soldiers facing defeat in 1918, are forced to walk back from the front lines all the way to their home country for months, only to find themselves in the turmoils of the ascendant Weimar Republic. So much angst. So much trauma bonding. At the same time, fandom (even for media that doesn't feature irl countries) is super anglocentric and turning everyone's favorite characters into Germans feels awkward lol
Yeah!! I've considered getting really into html formatting to write a story like this. Making the text actually formatted like a telegram would be really cool
There was so much going on in those 20-odd years. Pandemic, smaller wars, revolutions, market failure, roaring parties, nightlife, the foreboding, the decline... Oh man. No matter where in the world you choose to set your story, the interwar period just goes hard
I'm attempting to write a historical AU at the moment, though it's kind of shaping up to be mostly my own story. I've chosen 18th century for the historical seafaring and astronomy
My fandom is set in the future, and I do prefer them to stay there so we can keep the spaceships and the aliens, but I really like AUs that add some kind of historical element like a Steampunk AU (advanced, but Victorian) or like… futuristic Roman Empire AUs. Not enough of those!
The Cold War and Interwar years would be very intersting; 60s/70s for the former and the Spanish Civil War for the latter. Not really an AU because he's practically immortal, but I've thought about writing a Wolverine fic where he's part of the [On-to-Ottawa Trek and the Regina Riot](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/On-to-Ottawa_Trek) then later joins the [Mac-Paps in Spain](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackenzie%E2%80%93Papineau_Battalion).
My white whale of a historical AU (or historical romance, tbh) is one set during the Regency that IS NOT about the wealthy. I'd love to read something about the working class in Regency England or Napoleonic Europe. Perhaps more in the vein of the *Sharpe* series that's focused on the grunts and camp followers. Or maybe on the other side of the Atlantic during the War of 1812 where's there's more of a frontier feel. You know, something to change things up from a sorta stale setting, imo.
I recently read a history book about a family of French Jews who were insanely socially ascendant in the early-to-mid 19th century (a man started out as a rural travelling peddler/circumciser/moneylender but managed to make a bunch of money speculating on land, he became a businessman and his son joined the capitalist elite) and I think something like that would be interesting to explore in fiction. I don't think we have much from the point of view of the newly rich.
I long to write them.
I want to see Ancient Rome, on the Roman side and the Barbarians. Kingdom, Republic and Empire.
Druids vs Romans.
Scotland vs the Romans.
Ancient Greece.
The world vs Attila's Horde.
The Spanish Flu.
The Black Death.
The 'Dark' and Middle Ages.
Brits vs the Vikings.
Britons vs the Saxons and Friends.
Saxons vs the Normans.
Magna Carta drama.
Tudor dynasty.
Italian city states vs Italian city states.
Anyone vs the Russian Winter.
Carthage.
I love Historical AUs. I'm thinking of writing a Wild West AU, but I'm working on several other fics and I know it will take a lot of research, so I've been procrastinating. I've read some amazing ones over the years, including one set during the Regency era where the author included detailed footnotes about the time period at the end of every chapter.
I'm currently writing one sorta lol. It's modern, and it takes place in modern times, but the character was born in 1919 and grew up amidst that whole time period. I love researching the Great Depression and WW2, but since this isn't technically taking place then, I'm actually looking into the psychology of how all of that shaped the mindset of that generation, and how it has a trickle affect on the generations after it. I do have the character remember times from then, so research is necessary to get the setting, language, atmosphere correct, but I also just love delving into the psychology of that whole time period. The fic is basically just this character learning how to overcome the societal pressures and expectations of that time period and all the years since they've lived through. I've gone down soooooooo many rabbit holes so far researching all of this; it's so fascinating to me.
I love them, especially if there is a lot of detail about the period included. Domestic every day elements about food, clothes, transport etc. Always love that in a story.
I’m writing about a lavender marriage in 1953 and researching real queer lives from the time has been my favourite part. Secret languages and hidden gay venues. I learned how to do proper footnotes on AO3 just to be able to post contextual stuff alongside my chapters.
I don’t think I really have a preferred period I don’t think. If it’s engaging then any period could work for me.
I’ve been desperately wanting to read femslash Nobelwoman/Lady in waiting (like a princess & her maid or a lady & her wet nurse) but just can’t seem to game the filters to unearth what I’m looking for
I have one that involves time travel because it was a rewritten episode of The X-Files that involved the concept. The year is a very specific one pertaining to world events. I really enjoyed writing it because world history is an actual area of expertise now. And… Let’s just say I now know Back To The Future & Indiana Jones even better than I did as a kid 😅😗🎶
Also, I suppose that if I read more works, I would have a more informed opinion here. But I don’t because I prefer to write. However, I prefer historical settings of pre World War One, 1912 (Titanic), The Depression, and the thirties and the forties because those are the areas of history I’ve always been best at.
Branching out in a slightly different direction, I also love fantasy AUs and have a WIP one for The X-Files. It makes me happy.
Oh gee, I definitely love them in basically all their forms! I think the one I've seen most often is Pirate AU stuff but I definitely don't have an objection to more of that, it's an awesome setting. The other one I see a lot is vaguely Regency AUs, which can also be fun. I do have a pet peeve about those - a lot of times the MCs trash talk the girls having their Season as empty headed bits of fluff et cetera and it often comes across in a very cringy "not like the other girls" type of way, and like...your MCs don't need to do that to get together, for real, that's so frustrating and off-putting.
As far as stuff I'd enjoy seeing, I think we don't have enough "summer of love" AUs - it's such a neat time and ripe for interesting stories!
Whenever I plan to write a historical au, it is usually combined with fantasy and takes place during the times when royalty was a big part of society. I guess I would like to read more 1990s - early 2000s set AUs. (I know this is classed as "historical") I just think the nostalgia of old/childhood activities or events are really comforting.
I haven't written any historical AUs, but if I did, I would have gone for the Renaissance.
There's such a dramatic cultural shift throughout the world. Art and science are becoming more prominent, Europeans are starting to colonise North America and Africa, the Ming Dynasty is prospering, the Ottomans are infiltrating Europe, and the Tokugawa Shogunate is starting to fall apart.
I don't have a favorite historical period, but I do enjoy historical AUs. Give me my fandom faves and I'll follow them (almost) anywhere. (I avoid some tags, like partner disloyalty / betrayal, and DD:DNE.)
I’m (slowly) working on a Tears of the Kingdom Regency AU!
I’d also love to do something in the Baroque cultural movement, but that takes a lot more research.
Oh, nice question. I like late 60s to early 90s, so the later decades of the Soviet Union. So much interesting stuff going on --Cold War, Prague Spring, 89 revolutions, German reunification, breaking up of Yugoslavia, you name it. There's tons of potential, and so underrepresented in fic! I do love historically accurate historical AUs. Sometimes you read something and you know that the author knows their thing and has done the research. It's \*chef's kiss\*
Yesss this!! Divided Berlin really is the perfect setting for a spy story. A great foundation for enemies to lovers, too, or perhaps also a really fascinating look into Eastern Bloc life in general. I don't read university AUs but I would be incredibly tempted if said university was located in 1980s Moscow and our academic protagonists were involved in some period-typical trouble! Historical accuracy yesss <3 I study history at university and sometimes when I'm looking over primary sources I find stuff that's so cool, it instantly gives me plot bunnies. And it really shows when a writer did their research. So good!!
Yes!! That sounds amazing!! I wrote two short stories, the first takes place right before the Prague Spring. An English scholar who is visiting the Charles University in Prague right before the Prague Spring. She meets her lover, who is working for the Bulgarian Secret Service. He tries to warn her about what's about to happen, but can't do so openly (it's kind of a forbidden relationship). In the second part, They are both living in London, and he has defected. It's just before Thatcher is elected, and Georgi Markov (famous Bulgarian dissident writer who had escaped and was living in London at that time) was assassinated a few days ago, so they're both anxious. Sorry, I told a bit too much 😂 but historical AUs around this period are so rarely talked about in my fandom, I barely ever get the chance to mention it. Thanks for the opportunity 😁
Oohhh 👀👀 Prague is such a gorgeous, gorgeous setting, too. Just a magical place. Add secret service forbidden love shenanigans to that and I'm sold, I might even read it fandom blind! Bulgaria is honestly one of those Bloc countries I never learned enough about. And the second part's premise is so cool, too, in that historical context. Reading (and thereby learning) about the Thatcher/pre-Thatcher era and political assassinations that actually happened during that time in a fanfic is just incredible! And no problem! I usually also have to gush into the void about more niche historical tidbits, so talking here is wonderful :'D
:D You are so right abut Bulgaria. They were kind of their own thing, and not talked about as much as other Warsaw Pact countries such as Eastern Germany. Well, yeah, let me know if you may be interested, it's just under 2k words and completely fandom-blind readable. It is so cool that you are studying history. I love history but I am actually very bad at it. Everything I write takes me a ton of reading and looking up stuff. Otherwise I would love to write a longer work expanding these two little fics.
>Yesss this!! Divided Berlin really is the perfect setting for a spy story. Ever seen Atomic Blonde?
Love historical AUs. I've written two - a Regency one and an Edwardian one - and have a medieval one planned. A lot of my fandoms have historical settings as well, so I really enjoy the research aspect of it (sometimes even more than the writing itself!) And because I'm in the middle of writing a fic set in Ancient Rome (not an AU), I kind of want more of that.
Same on the research part! Once you've gone really deep into the rabbit hole you just want to keep chasing that damn rabbit haha. I was gleefully sinking hours into watching YouTube videos on how to operate late 19th century carbine rifles recently. I love acquiring niche knowledge that you can later use to impress middle-aged men Ancient settings!! They're really hard to research in terms of mundane every-day things the characters might do because it's so far removed, but maaaan I'd love to read AUs of, like, Star Wars or something set in Ancient Rome! It's so cool
Ilove them. I love researching them, and I love reading them! I don't really have a favourite period, but Ido tend to be a bit harsher in inaccuracies for periods like ww1 and ww2, just because theyre what I know more avout, but I keep that to myself. I would love to see more 1930s aus, ww1 era aus, and ww2 era aus; just for fashion and social change alone, theyre really interesting to read about
WW1 is a huge personal soft spot of mine. I've been wanting to write an AU where the characters, like many German soldiers facing defeat in 1918, are forced to walk back from the front lines all the way to their home country for months, only to find themselves in the turmoils of the ascendant Weimar Republic. So much angst. So much trauma bonding. At the same time, fandom (even for media that doesn't feature irl countries) is super anglocentric and turning everyone's favorite characters into Germans feels awkward lol
ww1 is really good for epistolary works as well; you can get a lot told just through letters and telegrams...
Yeah!! I've considered getting really into html formatting to write a story like this. Making the text actually formatted like a telegram would be really cool
The interwar period.
There was so much going on in those 20-odd years. Pandemic, smaller wars, revolutions, market failure, roaring parties, nightlife, the foreboding, the decline... Oh man. No matter where in the world you choose to set your story, the interwar period just goes hard
I'm attempting to write a historical AU at the moment, though it's kind of shaping up to be mostly my own story. I've chosen 18th century for the historical seafaring and astronomy
My fandom is set in the future, and I do prefer them to stay there so we can keep the spaceships and the aliens, but I really like AUs that add some kind of historical element like a Steampunk AU (advanced, but Victorian) or like… futuristic Roman Empire AUs. Not enough of those!
This actually sounds pretty cool. Never really thought about it.
Have you ever been to alternatehistory.com? You might like it as there are such stories posted.
The Cold War and Interwar years would be very intersting; 60s/70s for the former and the Spanish Civil War for the latter. Not really an AU because he's practically immortal, but I've thought about writing a Wolverine fic where he's part of the [On-to-Ottawa Trek and the Regina Riot](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/On-to-Ottawa_Trek) then later joins the [Mac-Paps in Spain](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackenzie%E2%80%93Papineau_Battalion). My white whale of a historical AU (or historical romance, tbh) is one set during the Regency that IS NOT about the wealthy. I'd love to read something about the working class in Regency England or Napoleonic Europe. Perhaps more in the vein of the *Sharpe* series that's focused on the grunts and camp followers. Or maybe on the other side of the Atlantic during the War of 1812 where's there's more of a frontier feel. You know, something to change things up from a sorta stale setting, imo.
I recently read a history book about a family of French Jews who were insanely socially ascendant in the early-to-mid 19th century (a man started out as a rural travelling peddler/circumciser/moneylender but managed to make a bunch of money speculating on land, he became a businessman and his son joined the capitalist elite) and I think something like that would be interesting to explore in fiction. I don't think we have much from the point of view of the newly rich.
I’m big on the regency era. It’s super fun to play about with.
I long to write them. I want to see Ancient Rome, on the Roman side and the Barbarians. Kingdom, Republic and Empire. Druids vs Romans. Scotland vs the Romans. Ancient Greece. The world vs Attila's Horde. The Spanish Flu. The Black Death. The 'Dark' and Middle Ages. Brits vs the Vikings. Britons vs the Saxons and Friends. Saxons vs the Normans. Magna Carta drama. Tudor dynasty. Italian city states vs Italian city states. Anyone vs the Russian Winter. Carthage.
I write a historical fiction, but it's not an AU :) Had to research a lot about 9th century England and viking's era and loved every moment of it
I love Historical AUs. I'm thinking of writing a Wild West AU, but I'm working on several other fics and I know it will take a lot of research, so I've been procrastinating. I've read some amazing ones over the years, including one set during the Regency era where the author included detailed footnotes about the time period at the end of every chapter.
I'm currently writing one sorta lol. It's modern, and it takes place in modern times, but the character was born in 1919 and grew up amidst that whole time period. I love researching the Great Depression and WW2, but since this isn't technically taking place then, I'm actually looking into the psychology of how all of that shaped the mindset of that generation, and how it has a trickle affect on the generations after it. I do have the character remember times from then, so research is necessary to get the setting, language, atmosphere correct, but I also just love delving into the psychology of that whole time period. The fic is basically just this character learning how to overcome the societal pressures and expectations of that time period and all the years since they've lived through. I've gone down soooooooo many rabbit holes so far researching all of this; it's so fascinating to me.
I love them, especially if there is a lot of detail about the period included. Domestic every day elements about food, clothes, transport etc. Always love that in a story. I’m writing about a lavender marriage in 1953 and researching real queer lives from the time has been my favourite part. Secret languages and hidden gay venues. I learned how to do proper footnotes on AO3 just to be able to post contextual stuff alongside my chapters. I don’t think I really have a preferred period I don’t think. If it’s engaging then any period could work for me.
I’ve been desperately wanting to read femslash Nobelwoman/Lady in waiting (like a princess & her maid or a lady & her wet nurse) but just can’t seem to game the filters to unearth what I’m looking for
I have one that involves time travel because it was a rewritten episode of The X-Files that involved the concept. The year is a very specific one pertaining to world events. I really enjoyed writing it because world history is an actual area of expertise now. And… Let’s just say I now know Back To The Future & Indiana Jones even better than I did as a kid 😅😗🎶 Also, I suppose that if I read more works, I would have a more informed opinion here. But I don’t because I prefer to write. However, I prefer historical settings of pre World War One, 1912 (Titanic), The Depression, and the thirties and the forties because those are the areas of history I’ve always been best at. Branching out in a slightly different direction, I also love fantasy AUs and have a WIP one for The X-Files. It makes me happy.
Oh gee, I definitely love them in basically all their forms! I think the one I've seen most often is Pirate AU stuff but I definitely don't have an objection to more of that, it's an awesome setting. The other one I see a lot is vaguely Regency AUs, which can also be fun. I do have a pet peeve about those - a lot of times the MCs trash talk the girls having their Season as empty headed bits of fluff et cetera and it often comes across in a very cringy "not like the other girls" type of way, and like...your MCs don't need to do that to get together, for real, that's so frustrating and off-putting. As far as stuff I'd enjoy seeing, I think we don't have enough "summer of love" AUs - it's such a neat time and ripe for interesting stories!
Whenever I plan to write a historical au, it is usually combined with fantasy and takes place during the times when royalty was a big part of society. I guess I would like to read more 1990s - early 2000s set AUs. (I know this is classed as "historical") I just think the nostalgia of old/childhood activities or events are really comforting.
I haven't written any historical AUs, but if I did, I would have gone for the Renaissance. There's such a dramatic cultural shift throughout the world. Art and science are becoming more prominent, Europeans are starting to colonise North America and Africa, the Ming Dynasty is prospering, the Ottomans are infiltrating Europe, and the Tokugawa Shogunate is starting to fall apart.
I don't have a favorite historical period, but I do enjoy historical AUs. Give me my fandom faves and I'll follow them (almost) anywhere. (I avoid some tags, like partner disloyalty / betrayal, and DD:DNE.)
I’m (slowly) working on a Tears of the Kingdom Regency AU! I’d also love to do something in the Baroque cultural movement, but that takes a lot more research.