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How do you feel about infinite earths as a writter?

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WackyMeetsPractical My teacher's a panda from Texas Since: Oct, 2009
My teacher's a panda
#26: May 5th 2012 at 1:20:17 AM

I've experimented with the idea of multiple universes in my own superhero world. I used them primarily as an excuse to show 'What If' stories, such as "What if Character A never received his super powers?" or "What if Character B, who never received super powers, received them instead of Character A?" Usually, the characters from the main universe would ponder some of these questions, and then get an opportunity, usually accidental, to travel to these alternate realities and see what it's like for themselves.

I put a lot of thought into how the multiple universe theory would work in this world, and tried to address the issues of free will and averting All the Myriad Ways.

To address the free will issue, I ultimately decided that there are some universes that simply just won't exist. There will be a lot of times during a character's timeline, that they will be presented with a choice, and depending on the choice they make will determine which timeline they go down. And if a timeline exists in which the character makes one choice, then an alternate universe will exist in which they make the other choice, but only if those two choices are plausible choices the character would make. There are some choices characters will NEVER make, and then there are some choices characters will ALWAYS make. A heroic character may be presented with a Sadistic Choice, and three alternate timelines will be created from that decision, one in which he makes decision 1, one in which he makes decision 2, and one in which he Takes a Third Option and somehow saves 1 and 2. But being who the character is, there will never exist a universe in which he has done nothing. Even if he's considered it, if it's something he wouldn't characteristically do, that universe will just never exist. So free will still exists. We're still in charge of the choices we make, and the choices we refuse to make.

Another reason I like using multiverses is that it gives me a chance to explore the Hidden Depths of characters. For example, there is one character who is typically a heroic character with a few dark tendencies, though no where near evil or bad. But in one alternate universe, something's changed, and he turns into a down right villain, and even a Complete Monster. When the main universe version of the character sees this, he begins to wonder if that monster lies deep down inside him somewhere. He ultimately decides that it does, but it doesn't have to define him.

Nightwire Humans inferior. Ultron superior. Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Is that a kind of food?
Humans inferior. Ultron superior.
#27: May 5th 2012 at 2:46:12 AM

[up]Agreed. I feel that the best way to utilise the Alternate Universe trope is "What If?" stories. Besides the potential to be good pieces in their own right, they are also a great exercise in characterization.

I've always hated the "It's an alternate universe so every single thing has to be opposite!" bullshit. It is just lazy writing and makes no sense whatsoever.

I also have a fondness for the Universal-Adaptor Cast variant. Makes for very fun writing exercises, in my opinion. You drop your core characters into a completely different environment with a different conflict to see how well they fare in.

edited 5th May '12 2:53:28 AM by Nightwire

Bite my shiny metal ass.
FallenLegend Lucha Libre goddess from Navel Of The Moon. Since: Oct, 2010
Lucha Libre goddess
#28: May 5th 2012 at 6:15:14 AM

[up][up],[up]

Agreed. I like the way you sole the free will issue. I personally don't like the everything happened multiverse variant.

Make your hearth shine through the darkest night; let it transform hate into kindness, evil into justice, and loneliness into love.
Nakunokomodamaru Since: Dec, 1969
#29: May 9th 2012 at 12:11:33 PM

It is probably because that the stories I am writing have a concept called a 'true outcome' where all variant universes, regardless of their difference, have certain events that are absolute, such as X hero defeating Y evil god. and it also helps that the sheer scale of the multiverse that I have come up with, that the main charaters for the most part, are an ant in the grand scheme of things.

I more or less just like it because it can allow two entirely different settings in the same continuity. A world where heroes are common place, one exactly like our aside from geography. Things like that.

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