Alternate Continuity and Alternate Universe, can they interact? Are some Alternate Continuities actual alternate universes?

This is about a trope meaning, not "is this an example of a trope".

If Work A has a main continuity - Continuity A, but also an Alternate Continuity, Continuity B, and an Alternate Universe, can the Alternate Universe and Alternate Continuity interact or have I got the trope meaning/distinctions wrong?

Could some examples of Alternate Continuity be an Alternate Universe?

By default, does Fan Fic also count as Alternate Continuity?

I would appreciate it if anyone could help me sort this out; I don't want to be confused by them.

Alternate Continuity is when an adaptation, reboot, or similar work rewrites the story of a previous version in ways that cannot be reconciled in continuity. For example, the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films are in a different continuity from The Amazing Spider-Man Series, and both are distinct from the Marvel comics, which have several continuities themselves. Outside of parodies, fourth-wall breaks, and non-canon What If? one-offs, the various continuities don't overlap.

Alternate Universe is when there are multiple versions of a world within a particular continuity. If Spider-Man meets Evil Spider-Man from the Mirror Earth, that latter is an alternate universe. It exists in the same continuity as the regular universe, with characters and story lines interacting between the two.

It is possible for both to exist within a given franchise, of course, but they are very distinct concepts. Also, an Alternate Continuity is technically an Alternate Universe as well, but that's rarely an issue unless there's some kind of crossover within one or the other of the continuities.

Again, to clarify:

• If a series is rebooted, remade, or adapted, and that second work occupies a distinct, irreconcilable timeline and plot, then it's an Alternate Continuity.
• If a series contains alternate versions of its world that the characters and stories interact with, it's an Alternate Universe.
• An Alternate Continuity can become an Alternate Universe if its existence is acknowledged within a particular adaptation.

edited 21st Nov '16 11:25:02 AM by Fighteer

Further confusing matters: Fan Fiction tends to use "AU" as an abbreviation of Alternate Universe which in that culture has the same meaning as our use of Alternate Continuity.

I suspect that's because authors and readers of fics want to acknowledge the primacy of the official continuit(y|ies). By declaring a fic to be an alternate universe, they allow "canon" to remain "true", even in the context of the fic.

"I'm totally writing an actual official story for this universe," is what they say to themselves in the mirror.

The label AU for fics is mostly just an indication for how much the fic deviates from canon. Generally it means the setting is different, or that there are some major changes to the characters. One of the more common ones is the High School AU fic.

Not using that (or any similar) label tends to assume the standard of being like canon unless noted. Or at least that author's interpretation of canon.

Pretty much this. You'll often see tags like "Alternate Universe - High School" "Alternate Universe - Supernatural" (if canon is sci-fi) etc. for fics. If the Alternate Universe tag isn't there that tends to mean that the setting is still canon, it's just that different events are taking place in it.