Fic: AU Meme - Catherine Winslow/Sir Robert Morton

[thisbluespirit]

I finally wrote the AU Meme for Catherine Winslow & Sir Robert Morton from The Winslow Boy! I was going to say I have no explanation for why it took me so long, but that's not true: I blame the moment when I realised the perfect fusion fandom was Star Wars (Prequel Era) for breaking my brain into tiny little pieces. (It also took me absolutely ages to come up with the obligatory Romance Novel one, until it finally dawned on me that the 1999 pair had canonically done a thing that would totally be a Scandalous Trope requiring instant marriage in the Romancelandia Regency.)

I should apologise for the SW, the crossover, and probably more, but what are daft AU Memes for if not doing these things?

(The question now is, is it TWB that's the problem or am I just getting terrible at encapsulating an AU into as few words as possible?)

AU Meme: Catherine Winslow/Sir Robert Morton (3933 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Winslow Boy (1999), An Ideal Husband (1999)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Morton/Catherine Winslow
Characters: Robert Morton (Winslow Boy), Catherine Winslow, Arthur Winslow, Grace Winslow, Lady Gertrude Chiltern, Mabel Chiltern
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Fusion, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Crossover, 1910s, Alternate Universe - Medical, Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, mentions of John Watherstone/Catherine Winslow, Edwardian Period, Alternate Universe - Regency
Summary: Ten AU scenarios for Catherine Winslow & Sir Robert Morton for an old meme.

Comments

[sovay]

I should apologise for the SW, the crossover, and probably more, but what are daft AU Memes for if not doing these things?

I like that you used the year of the film's production for "Modern."

[thisbluespirit]

I like that you used the year of the film's production for "Modern."

I actually couldn't decide; I was swithering between some point in the 70s or the New Labour era, and I hadn't actually thought about the latter also being the date of the film, which would make it the most appropriate.

[sovay]

I actually couldn't decide; I was swithering between some point in the 70s or the New Labour era, and I hadn't actually thought about the latter also being the date of the film, which would make it the most appropriate.

You said "this end of the century," so I took it literally! It works.

[thisbluespirit]

Hurrah!

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

*excited squeaking*

I shall have to leave a proper comment on the fic (I have read it and it is wonderful), but for now, I am very delighted and have had an enormous amount of fun reading all of the situations. (You're right, that meeting in his office is certainly scandalous enough to require instant marriage by Regency romance logic! xDD)

Also, out of curiosity, how do you select the AUs you choose to write snippets for? Do you have a general list somewhere?

And many sympathies about the word count! I think there must be something about these two which makes conciseness go out of the window - perhaps because the original source material is so wordy (thanks Rattigan) xD I've definitely had the same problem with my own writing for this canon!

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, thank you! <3

(You're right, that meeting in his office is certainly scandalous enough to require instant marriage by Regency romance logic! xDD)

I was so amused when it finally struck me!

Also, out of curiosity, how do you select the AUs you choose to write snippets for? Do you have a general list somewhere?

Yes, it was a set meme, except I changed it every time, including the first one, but:

Wild West
Coffee Shop
Shapeshifters
Pirates
. . . In SPACE!!
Born Another Gender
Schoolfic
Police/Firefighters
Urban Fantasy
Regency

(I substituted two of these instead of the original meme's Harem and Cyberpunk, but at this late date I cannot remember which two. Well, Regency I'm pretty sure, but I'm stumped as to the other.)

But I would switch out whichever category I found most tiresome last time I did it each round, so I have two other lists

Wild West
Coffee Shop
Shapeshifters
Fantasy/Fairy Tale
. . . In SPACE!!
Apocalypse
Schoolfic
Police/Firefighters/Medical*
Supernatural
Regency

Canon Divergence
Coffee Shop
Shapeshifters
Magic
. . . In SPACE!!
Historical
Fusion
Police/Firefighters/Medical
Supernatural
Regency/Romance Novel

This last list was the one I was using for this, but because I wasn't doing it as a request meme, I just substituted anything that was a well known fanfic AU type if I wasn't getting anywhere with it. (Canon Divergence got lost because I kept getting hung up on the only thing I could think of was them losing the case, and I didn't want to go there. And shapeshifters was the category I was getting most tired of, so I brought back Apocalypse instead.)

So basically, as long as you have a list of 10 well-recognised fanfic AU types and stick to it, you have your meme!

perhaps because the original source material is so wordy (thanks Rattigan)

It may be, but the 1999 is often rather terse! Honestly, I very nearly did Explanatory Notes on top, so, lol. I don't know whether or not to cure myself by doing this meme again properly, or if I should just never do this meme again properly if I want a life. :-D

[sovay]

Honestly, I very nearly did Explanatory Notes on top, so, lol.

Would read author's notes for these AUs.

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

Very definitely seconding this! xD

[thisbluespirit]

If you both unwisely insist, I will!

[thisbluespirit]

Would read author's notes for these AUs.

OKAY.

1. As I said, I was torn between the 70s and New Labour era, but it had to be when Labour were in power but not now. And then I just decided I was not doing research for this and also I was not deciding. BUt I do usually try to set the 'Modern AU' whenever is contemporaneous with when the fandom was made. (idk why the 70s, it was the first section I thought of. It might have been the Equal Pay Act and all the smoking or something. I think I thought Catherine would enjoy being feminist in the 70s, and there were maybe still more old school Tories like Sir Robert around.)

2. Apocalypse was what made me do the thing, because I realised that their period was when it became a thing in English Lit, so I consulted wikipedia on the late Victorian/Edwardian apocalyptic lit and the majority had some sort of natural disaster as the cause, so that's what it was here.

3. Fairy Tale & Supernatural were at war with an Urban Fantasy one that remained a rough scribble in my notebook, because they were too similar (where Sir Robert is THE person to go to for tricky fairy law advice) to have with both the others, and particularly the Supernatural one really. (Also in my head it wouldn't stop being a JS&MN Winslow Boy Fusion.) Otherwise they were pretty straightforward, only that obviously the fairy tale had to be one of those with tests/ordeals to go through.

4. Was going to be an Edwardian tea shop, but I went full modern so that Catherine could run a very ethical, organic and Vegan cafe for Sir Robert to vaguely despair of.

5. As I said, I was struggling for fusion and IN SPACE and then Star Wars happened as a result, because I suddenly realised which one of my main fandoms had a lot of political debates, principled people on opposite sides, a tragic conflict looming over them and also the opportunity to wear fancy headgear. I had too much fun with this and I had to cut it down. I am clearly missing SW fic writing a lot. Choosing planets for them on Wookiepedia reminded me how much I enjoyed consulting it all the time. (Catherine's planet is technological and needs agri imports; Sir Robert's is very traditional and tolerant and doesn't have much technology, which is why they're having import discussions. And Catherine will be into droid rights and Sir Robert all 'they are machines' but he will alert her to droids in need of rescue anyway. And then it ends tragically, but they have 10 years to go before the Clone Wars, and they can wear fabulous outfits and Catherine will definitely get along with Padme Amidala.)

(It is very lucky there is not an audience for a SW Winslow BOy fusion, lol.)

5. One of the last two. It is practically canon from Sir Robert's POV anyway. This is just even more so.

6. I spent ages trying to do my head in over an English Civil War thing but see above re. I am Not Doing The Research For The Damned AU Meme. And then I watched An Ideal Husband two and a half times in a row and I will make an exception for my "I don't do the Same Actor thing" for a joke in a meme and because it totally is the same corridor and the same set.


7. I did do the research for the damned AU meme, or at least double-chekcing all my medical social history notes because this scenario (surgery at home with women of the household potentially helping is totally a thing that was happening in the 19th C. I think at TWB's period it was switching finally to being more likely to take place in a nursing home for the middle class, but could still have been done at home, especially in an emergency.) <-- This was the one where I wanted to include an explanatory note and I would have done if I hadn't thought my main readership would be two people who would probably know this already anyway.


8. Thought of this when recovering from my blood test last week after two months of blanking on Romance Novel, which ought to have been easiest but, like I said, canonical state of undress that would rock Regency Romance Land, if nowhere else ever.

[sovay]

(idk why the 70s, it was the first section I thought of. It might have been the Equal Pay Act and all the smoking or something. I think I thought Catherine would enjoy being feminist in the 70s, and there were maybe still more old school Tories like Sir Robert around.)

You may have a natural media gravitation toward the '70's. Fortunately, you can still make a really good photoset for everyone in the '90's, when it was still possible to smoke like a chimney in government offices.

Apocalypse was what made me do the thing, because I realised that their period was when it became a thing in English Lit, so I consulted wikipedia on the late Victorian/Edwardian apocalyptic lit and the majority had some sort of natural disaster as the cause, so that's what it was here.

Oh, nice. I did not know the details of the history of post-apocalyptic fiction, but it worked very well as a vague, terrible, non-cozy catastrophe. The unrecognizable ruins of the heart of power was a nice and classically sfnal touch.

an Urban Fantasy one that remained a rough scribble in my notebook, because they were too similar (where Sir Robert is THE person to go to for tricky fairy law advice)

That sounds about right. I can see him and Catherine thriving in JS&MN, too. (Is Ronnie entangled in a fairy bargain?)

As I said, I was struggling for fusion and IN SPACE and then Star Wars happened as a result, because I suddenly realised which one of my main fandoms had a lot of political debates, principled people on opposite sides, a tragic conflict looming over them and also the opportunity to wear fancy headgear. I had too much fun with this and I had to cut it down. I am clearly missing SW fic writing a lot.

I am not willing to bet against it drawing a readership if you wrote it at full length. I like the additional points of worldbuilding you describe.

And then I watched An Ideal Husband two and a half times in a row and I will make an exception for my "I don't do the Same Actor thing" for a joke in a meme and because it totally is the same corridor and the same set.

It's hilarious and I hadn't actually clocked An Ideal Husband in the tags when I clicked through, so the corridor dropped when I saw Lady Chiltern.

<-- This was the one where I wanted to include an explanatory note and I would have done if I hadn't thought my main readership would be two people who would probably know this already anyway.

It made me think of Mary Renault's Return to Night (1947) about a generation earlier, so the vibe was definitely on.

8. Thought of this when recovering from my blood test last week after two months of blanking on Romance Novel, which ought to have been easiest but, like I said, canonical state of undress that would rock Regency Romance Land, if nowhere else ever.

It is fortunate that its denizens are so easily scandalized.

I still really love the Supernatural one. As soon as you suggested it, I couldn't understand why no one ever had cast Jeremy Northam as an occultist/parapsychologist of doubtful reputation. He'd knock it out of the park.

[thisbluespirit]

You may have a natural media gravitation toward the '70's. Fortunately, you can still make a really good photoset for everyone in the '90's, when it was still possible to smoke like a chimney in government offices.

Ha, I did spend the best part of decade watching way too much 70s TV, it is true. And, lol, am I making a photoset now? (Actually, I don't think contemporary late 90s Jeremy Northam ever wears a suitable suit, not in anything I have, at any rate. Contemporary JN is very casual, or removes his clothes altogether. The Tribe would probably have a suit, but not the right kind, if he keeps it on for long enough, but idk about that because the dvd of that BBC TV Poliakoff thing is only available in Region 1, my favourite reason not to be able to obtain a dvd of an obscure British thing. *cough* Plus, do I have other Rebecca Pidgeon screencaps? I did watch something else and I think I did take some, but i can't remember for sure. If not, then nope. lol.)

Oh, nice. I did not know the details of the history of post-apocalyptic fiction, but it worked very well as a vague, terrible, non-cozy catastrophe. The unrecognizable ruins of the heart of power was a nice and classically sfnal touch.

<3 I was trying to remember how that was a thing I knew - and it was because I read pretty much ever wiki page going on apocalypses when I set up my apocabingo comm! Anyway, yep. The first one was After London in the 1880s, although that was not really the actual focus of the novel - but it clearly started something.

I can see him and Catherine thriving in JS&MN, too. (Is Ronnie entangled in a fairy bargain?)

It must be something like that! And yes, they felt so much like they would fit in that particular world. I think I might try a crossover next time I re-read JS&MN - depending of course on whenever that is, and what I'm feeling like by then, of course, heh.

I still really love the Supernatural one. As soon as you suggested it, I couldn't understand why no one ever had cast Jeremy Northam as an occultist/parapsychologist of doubtful reputation. He'd knock it out of the park.

Oh, I was thinking of it purely in TWB AU terms, and therefore as Sir Robert, but you are so right! That would have been great. Someone should have asked him to do that! (I mean, they could have done, I suppose, but there are a couple of interviews I've seen that suggest that he likes SF/horror/ghost stories and does not get the chance to do them often.)

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

As I said, I was torn between the 70s and New Labour era, but it had to be when Labour were in power but not now.

Yes, I don't think you can really have the same sort of honourable opponents thing going on in the modern day UK politics world (I have vague plans for a modern AU - or, well, pre-2020 modern AU - in which they're both lawyers, but Sir Robert is not a politician in that, because being a member of the post-Brexit Conservative Party would undoubtedly be one of Catherine's hard lines :P.)

(It is very lucky there is not an audience for a SW Winslow BOy fusion, lol.)

I would read it! I mean, I don't know Star Wars (I grew up without a TV as a kid for various convoluted reasons and also never went to the cinema, so I just lived off Victorian novels, and now have no real pop culture knowledge as a result), but I love all of the worldbuildy, principled conflict kind of stuff, and I have an eternal weakness for romances that end tragically :D

I spent ages trying to do my head in over an English Civil War thing but see above re. I am Not Doing The Research For The Damned AU Meme

Oh, that is dedication - would Sir Robert have been a dashing royalist and Catherine on the radical, non-Cromwellian side of the parliamentarians (*tries vaguely to recall GCSE history*)? But many sympathies on not wanting to do tons of research for fun and light-hearted AU memes.

[thisbluespirit]

but Sir Robert is not a politician in that, because being a member of the post-Brexit Conservative Party would undoubtedly be one of Catherine's hard lines :P.)

Indeed. I should think it would a hard line for Sir Robert, too! I mean, he has integrity. XD

but I love all of the worldbuildy, principled conflict kind of stuff, and I have an eternal weakness for romances that end tragically :D

Oh, yeah, Prequel Era is great for that sort of thing!

Oh, that is dedication - would Sir Robert have been a dashing royalist and Catherine on the radical, non-Cromwellian side of the parliamentarians (*tries vaguely to recall GCSE history*)?

I did have notes handy for other reasons, so I could really have 'done the research' if I'd, ahem, opened up my notebook! But I don't think I could have condensed it into a paragraph or so, lol. But, yes, Sir Robert would obviously have been a Royalist, whatever he felt about dismissing Parliament, and it would have been interesting for Catherine, because some of the more radical Parliamentarians, like the Levellers, were advocating for Universal Household Franchise, and the various sects often allowed female preachers, and the Diggers wanted women's rights. Plus, the Women's Peace Petition of 1646 as well, in London, and helping to defend cities and towns and run things, so it seemed fitting. Catherine would be for all those things! But Sir Robert would have very good reason to object, too. But complicated for an AU snippet!! I'm sure it could be done, but I blanked at it in the end.

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

So basically, as long as you have a list of 10 well-recognised fanfic AU types and stick to it, you have your meme!

Yay, excellent! And I don't blame you for not including shapeshifters, I honestly have no idea what a shifter AU for Robert and Catherine would even look like :P

It's good to know the format allows for a bit of variability - if I ever did a version of this meme and decided to go down the properly self-indulgent route, I'd be sorely tempted to write a Titanic AU (hey, I mean, it's the same era), among others... (but first I need to actually work on my WIP! alas, I know exactly what I want to write next, but I'm at the stage of postviral fatigue where my mind has wandered away with the fairies, so I remain stuck on the same scene for now - very frustrating!)

[thisbluespirit]

And I don't blame you for not including shapeshifters, I honestly have no idea what a shifter AU for Robert and Catherine would even look like :P

Shapeshifters was in there all three times I did it as a request meme, so that was a LOT of characters/pairings I had to work that out for; it was due for a rest. So I didn't think about it before now, but I think they would turn into natural opposites and also not realise they were (one or both?) shapeshifters for the whole of the case because neither of them would mention it. Unless Catherine did because she was into shapeshifters' rights but Sir Robert would still not say anything.

I'd be sorely tempted to write a Titanic AU (hey, I mean, it's the same era), among others...

There is flexibility! I've done it a few times, and so have a couple of other of my flisters and fair usage includes If the Fandom is already IN SPACE, you can just fuse it/crossover it with another such fandom & the same rules apply to any others where it is already that AU setting. (Which was the route I took for Historical eventually.) So Titanic AU could be a crossover, a fusion (with any of the fictional versions) or Historical, because it is.

The meme police have never arrested me yet! XD

I'm at the stage of postviral fatigue where my mind has wandered away with the fairies, so I remain stuck on the same scene for now - very frustrating!

Aw, I hope it clears up soon!

ETA: I've read your comment on AO3 and I just wanted to add here some pics of Prequel Era Coruscant and senatorial fashion, because it is Very Pretty:

Senate Building corridors/Padme's quarters: https://i0.wp.com/img.screencaps.us/200/4k-2-swattack/full/4k-2attackclones-starwarsscreencaps.com-2246.jpg?ssl=1&quality=95
Views out of Coruscant Transparisteel windows: https://i0.wp.com/img.screencaps.us/200/4k-5-revengesith/full/revengesith-4k-starwarsscreencaps.com-7240.jpg?ssl=1&quality=95
Casual senatorial nightwear and night views of Coruscant: https://i0.wp.com/img.screencaps.us/200/4k-5-revengesith/full/revengesith-4k-starwarsscreencaps.com-8975.jpg?ssl=1&quality=95
Later set of Senatorial quarters for Padme: https://i0.wp.com/img.screencaps.us/200/4k-5-revengesith/full/revengesith-4k-starwarsscreencaps.com-10644.jpg?ssl=1&quality=95

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

Thank you for the links - that is indeed a very pretty setting, and oddly appropriate for a fusion! :D

Shapeshifters was in there all three times I did it as a request meme, so that was a LOT of characters/pairings I had to work that out for; it was due for a rest. So I didn't think about it before now, but I think they would turn into natural opposites and also not realise they were (one or both?) shapeshifters for the whole of the case because neither of them would mention it. Unless Catherine did because she was into shapeshifters' rights but Sir Robert would still not say anything.

That sounds plausible! :O I've never read anything much involving shapeshifters, so I'm uncertain of the genre conventions (but it feels very Edwardian for them to both have this ability and then just never speak of it, lol!)

[thisbluespirit]

I've never read anything much involving shapeshifters, so I'm uncertain of the genre conventions (but it feels very Edwardian for them to both have this ability and then just never speak of it, lol!)

I'm really not into shapeshifting things, but as I said, it was a thing in this meme and I checked on my AO3, and I found I've done 38 AU Meme works, so basically: I have not read/written any shapeshifting - except for the 38 AU Meme snippets for 38 different characters/pairings, lol. I don't even know how I feel about this.

that is indeed a very pretty setting, and oddly appropriate for a fusion!

<3

[romanajo123]

Ah, thanks for posting this list! :D

I had an idea several months ago to do one of these for the OTP (and scribbled a tiny bit of it) but couldn't remember the different AUs.

[thisbluespirit]

Glad to be of help!