Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting — Tag Meaning
Keeps canon's world entirely intact and changes exactly one thing: how the central characters first encounter each other. It's the minimalist's AU — what if they'd met five years earlier, or in a hostage situation instead of a job interview — and the fun lies in watching a familiar relationship reassemble itself along a new path.
What to Expect From "Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting" Fics
Canon settings with a rerouted origin story; the destination is usually the same relationship, arrived at differently.
How to find Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting fics on AO3
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Browse "Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting" works on AO3Popular Fics Tagged "Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting"
Real examples from AO3's most-kudosed works:
The Internet Is Not Just For Porn
by cyerus
Bluebird
by EtherealBeing
yourself or someone like you
by suzukiblu
In (not so silent) indignation
by Rusakko
Just Transport
by kinklock
Honey in My Ears, Spice in My Mouth
by StarsHideYourFires
Related Tags
Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
One of the most-used tags on the entire Archive, marking stories that follow canon faithfully until a single chosen moment and then branch off. Authors frequently specify the divergence point in their summary or in a freeform like 'Canon Divergence - Post-Season 2', which distinguishes this tag from full-rewrite AUs that discard the original setting.
Tag guide →
Meet-Cute
Borrowed from romantic comedy jargon: a first meeting that is charming, memorable, and a little absurd — colliding bicycles, mistaken identities, rescuing the same cat. In fanfic it powers countless AUs where canon characters get a softer, funnier origin than the battlefield where they actually met.
Tag guide →
Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends
Rewrites history so the characters grew up together — treehouse oaths, shared summers, matching scraped knees — even if canon introduced them as adults or enemies. Authors use it for friends-to-lovers arcs steeped in years of history, or for the ache of childhood friends who drifted apart and meet again changed.
Tag guide →
First Dates
Covers the nervous ritual of a first date — the over-planning, the wardrobe crisis, the conversation that finally relaxes. In fanfic these are often between characters who already know each other deeply, which lets authors play with how strange and sweet it is to do something normal together.
Tag guide →
More Alternate Universes Tags
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