Alternate Universes

There exists several alternate universes of the apartment nerds. will probably split these into their own pages

"What If" or "If/Then"
These are the canon divergent AUs, where we like to imagine what would happen if the canon timeline happened a little (or a lot) differently.

Lizzie meets Blair first
Blair is in some of Lizzie's classes and she's the first to befriend her. Carson is more estranged and doesn't befriend Lizzie; they're still roommates but distant.

Carson/Sasha and Ethan/Luke happens... and potentially ot5 Blair/Lizzie/Carson/Sasha/Mia?

Carson/Lizzie/Sasha
“tho now i want an AU where Carson and Lizzie are together and Sasha confesses to Carson later... or maybe she confessed earlier... i will let you know what i come up with!”

Sasha's confession brings Carson a lot of tumultuous feelings, as well as the revival for her own feelings... but as she is also in love with Lizzie, it naturally brings her a lot of conflict,,,

Sasha and Lizzie eventually start crushing on each other too,,,

(Potential ot3 ending!)

well both Lizzie and Sasha absolutely adore Carson and they do a lot to show her that they appreciate her and love her, with a lot of affectionate gestures and kind words,,, but Lizzie and Sasha are more shy in regards to each other, and they often get embarrassed when Carson is affectionate with one while the other is in the room. partially because of lingering guilt,,, and partially because they're not used to being in a relationship with the other,,, much like Blair/Sasha, Lizzie/Sasha just need time to get comfortable ;^;

Lizzie probably falls in love with Sasha first (or presumably on the surface does, Sasha always takes a while to recognize her own feelings,,,). she can't help but fall for Sasha's vibrant personality, for how compassionate she is, for her loyalty to her friends. it's Sasha's loyalty that makes Lizzie fall. Sasha’s determination to stick thru it with her friends, to not turn her eyes away from the uglier parts of her friends’ personalities - to be there for them when it’s too much... it makes Lizzie feel like she can open up to her, that maybe Carson isn’t the only person who could love her,,,

as for Sasha, it’s Lizzie’s tenderness, it’s the care she gives, the measures that she goes to to understand someone and to convey that understanding both with actions and words - the way that Lizzie can speak her feelings, even though she’s frightened. the way Lizzie allows herself to be vulnerable, an underlying bravery to a seemingly timid soul. it makes Sasha want to be brave.

Sasha doesn’t see herself as brave... she can’t look herself in the mirror, she can’t believe that people would still love her despite the ugliness inside, so she tries not to show it, tries to suppress all the negativity - how can she not see herself as a coward? she’s the most openly friendly of the group, yet also the type of person who just won’t let people in...

Sadie/Lizzie - "The AU"
Sadie ended up having feelings for Lizzie, but she never confessed them because she's also a really repressed nerd. out of all of the nerds, Sadie's the one who suffers from compulsory hetereosexuality the most and just kept telling herself her feelings were Lizzie were platonic and she just wanted to be friends. "just, really, really good friends with her, clearly"

(brief note, a throwaway mix i had for Sadie/Lizzie was titled "you could've been in love" as a parallel to Sasha/Carson and yes "throwaway" mix lol,, i used different pieces of it for Sadie's two mixes but the base itself wasn't ever polished. one hint to the au is in the second mix, with Priscilla Ahn's "I Think I'm Ready to Love You")

Carson/Mia Med School AU
[rubs chin] outside of that, i'm not sure... i wonder how Blair would feel about Carson and how Sasha would feel about Mia. it sounds like a lot of angst... Lizzie never left Oregon in this AU,,, ;; that would be far too sad... perhaps instead of Carson's roommate she dorms at the uni. need to figure out how she meets them instead. maybe she's Carson's roomie after all but they don't get romantically attached? gosh. imagine: Carson/Mia going through med school together and getting married... and becoming Doctors Lazzari-Qian-Mackenzie. what a mouthful
 * contentmint: mmm, if you go with medicine as Mia's major, they'd have that in common, and you could possibly play around with that aspect of their characters? Carson, who's in it because she's scary ambitious and just wants to help people, and Mia, who's doing it presumably because her parents didn't give her a choice?
 * duskcastle: this is very true! i wonder if the differences in their feelings toward their major would affect their dynamic, and if so in what way​​​​​. i think Mia might feel a combination of envy and resentment toward Carson's passion, with a smidgen of admiration. Carson would feel a lil inadequate at Mia's intelligence, a lil intimidated. i like to think they'd bond over the difficulty that is med school ;^;
 * contentmint: that would work! :o but how would Carson and Lizzie rooming work in this au?
 * duskcastle: LOL. Carson Grace Rosemarie Lazzari-Qian-Mackenzie... poor Carson lol

Older!Lizzie/Carson AU
Carson and Lizzie meet in their 30s. Lizzie is more confident, or at least less visibly anxious, but she still keeps to herself and doesn't socialize much, has self-esteem issues, it's just not as obvious,, Lizzie is either a librarian or a teacher (something to do with literature and kids). "i like the idea of Lizzie taking an interests in kids. she wants to be someone who helps kids - in any way - as a way to make peace for how she struggled as a child with neglectful family) Lizzie is the cute librarian Carson falls for. (mmm how would she and Carson meet? how would they meet? what career does Carson end up with?)

The Funnies AU
Main article: The Funnies.

All the silliness involving the nerds goes in this here glorious AU. Angst? What angst??

Online AU
Created on 2017/04/20. Main article: Alternate Universes/Online AU.

Housemates/Polynerds AU
Created 2017/01/30. Main article: /Polynerds Housemates AU/.

Harry Potter/Hogwarts
2017/04/13.

Everyone is in Huffelpuff except for Blair and Mia, who are in Ravenclaw.​​​

Avatar Universe

 * Lizzie: non-bender
 * Carson: earthbender
 * Sasha: firebender (lightning bender?)
 * Luke: firebender? airbender?
 * Ethan: earthbender
 * Mia: waterbender
 * Blair: non-bender

Final Fantasy
Carson, an aspiring doctor, would be the team's white mage/cleric/medic. She's the support type, just wanting to cheer her friends on from the sidelines. "the tall, broad-shouldered, stoic one is the white mage... i like that subversion" Luke would want to play the rogue, but he’s really more of a bard. Tries to boast and act tough and fast, spends most of his time rolling to cast buffs on his team Blair is the Dark Knight/Dragoon of the team: super strong, super cool, and super broody. She wears dark armor, has strong sword skills and a dash of Black (elemental) magic. Mia would be a Black (elemental) Mage or a summoner (her motif of swans) Ethan is either A) a regular Knight, protective player with sword-based skills, or B) a Paladin, which is basically a Knight with white magic--mostly melee, but they can cast some good supportive magic when your white mage is down Sasha is the actual rogue of the party, the Thief. Light on her feet, spunky, and adventurous. Weaponry is limited to light objects such as daggers and boomerangs. They don’t hit very hard but can hit often and fast. Lizzie the Moogle takes care of all her friends’ bags, items, weapons, and armor. She sets up camp and their mode of transportation (chocobos!). She's the team mascot (kupo!). Her main job is to make sure she collects all the stamps of all the places they visit in the world--someone has to make sure they get all those nifty stamps for their collection.

Pokemon AU
Created 2017/03/24. Main article: /Pokemon AU/.

Persona (2017/04/01)
Inspired by Atlus' Persona series.

Luke: I. The Magician
''"The Magician, represents action and initiative... but also immaturity." —Mr. Edogawa, Persona 3 "Attaining one's dream requires a stern will and unfailing determination." —Nyx Avatar, Persona 3'' In tarot readings, the Magician Arcana is commonly associated with action, initiative, self-confidence, immaturity, manipulation and power (more specifically, the power to harness one's talents). Personas of the Magician Arcana are commonly Personas excelling towards Magic, particularly towards Fire-based element. As the name suggests, mythological figures associated with the Magician Arcana are often associated with magic themselves, though some are fire deities rather than magicians. Characters of the Magician Arcana are, as of Persona 3, typically the first male friend (and Social Link) of the protagonist, and are typically perverted male characters, with the only exception to this is Yuka Ayase, the female Magician character from Megami Ibunroku Persona. Furthermore, they also serve as the best friend, right-hand man and or second-in-command to the protagonist. They also tend to appear to have a huge ego (which is especially prominent in Morgana's case), but only put this on as a facade to hide a serious inferiority complex. An ongoing theme that is related to all Magician Arcana Social Links is the tragedy that befalls the social link character related to their romantic interest. Junpei's romantic interest Chidori dies when she sacrifices her life to save his life. Kenji is devastated to learn that the woman he is interested in already has a fiance and is about to be married. Yosuke's romantic interest Saki dies a tragic death at the hands of the murderer while also learning that she found him annoying (though whether or not she truly disliked him or was Yosuke's own fears remain ambigious.) Morgana's romantic interest in Ann is entirely unrequited and ignored. Additionally, Morgana's desire to become human again leads him to discover that he was never human to begin with. ===Mia: '''II. The High Priestess'''=== ''"The Priestess represents contemplation and inner knowledge." ''—Mr. Edogawa, Persona 3 "The silent voice within one's heart whispers the most profound wisdom." —Nyx Avatar, Persona 3 Originally named the Popess, portrayed as an old woman with an open book, the Priestess Arcana is a symbol of hidden knowledge or other untapped power, wisdom, female mystery and patience when it appears in tarot readings. Gameplay-wise, the Personas of the Priestess Arcana are commonly associated with healing and support attributes. Mythological figures of the Priestess Arcana are usually crone archetypes, goddesses of wisdom, witches, female mages or priestess figures themselves. Individuals associated with the Priestess Arcana are usually quiet, reserved, hardworking and very intelligent. They are often modest and shy, and won't open up to the protagonist until much later in their Social Links as compared with other characters. A recurring theme with Priestess characters is that they have an inferiority complex due to growing under highly exigent family members, as in the cases of Fuuka Yamagishi, Yukiko Amagi and Makoto Niijima.

Ethan: III. The Empress
''"The Empress represents motherhood and the life it brings forth." ''—Mr. Edogawa, Persona 3 "Celebrate life's grandeur...its brilliance...its magnificence..." —Nyx Avatar, Persona 3 In tarot readings, the Empress represents mothers, prosperity, creativity, sexuality, abundance, fertility, protection, and comfort (most often in helping maintain peace around them like an ideal mother would.)  Gameplay-wise, the Personas of the Empress Arcana are often Personas excelling in Ice-based attacks with healing powers also relatively common; they are usually important female figures, and many are queens and mother goddesses of some sort. Within the Persona universe, the Empress Arcana often belongs to women of authority or wise and motherly figures. Characters under this Arcana may also be cold-hearted in personality, but still present a high degree of care and concern towards others. And like queens, they are also very elegant in character.

Sasha: VI. The Lovers
''"The Lovers card represents choice. Here, the individual's consciousness has finally surfaced." —Mr. Edogawa, Persona 3'' ''"There is both joy and wonder in coming to understand another." —Nyx Avatar, Persona 3'' In tarot readings, the Lovers Arcana initially represented two paths life could lead to, and thus a symbol of standing at a crossroad and needing to make a decision. Today, however, it is portrayed more of a symbol of love and romantic relationships, although it can also be a symbol of finding agreement with an ordinary friend or even two conflicting elements within. This can explain that the designs of the card for most Persona entries are centered around a male and female character, though the original card shows a man who must choose between one mature and serious woman and a young and beautiful woman, with Cupid above his head preparing to shoot a single arrow. This drawing is more representative of the idea of hesitation and decision between the "right" way and the "easy" way. Gameplay-wise, the Personas of the Lovers Arcana are commonly associated with Support-Healing attributes; these Personas are usually fairies or important figures in history or mythology that were known as the wife (or husband) of another figure. Though in some cases, they are beings associated with the union of two people, or in a more general term, deities/beings that are associated with love and/or union. A commonality among individuals of the Lovers Arcana is their popularity, cheerfulness, and their emphasis on social interaction. Lovers characters are almost always the "popular" ones, if not, then they are the "spirited" ones. The first female party member seen in the games since Persona 2 is always of the Lovers Arcana. (Although Chie Satonaka is the first female party member the protagonist meets in Persona 4, Rise is first seen in a commercial on a train as the player heads to Inaba.) At least since Persona 3, the protagonist at some point gets the option to hug the female party member of the Lovers Arcana either in a canon scene or in order to start dating the girl. ===Sadie: '''IX. The Hermit'''===

"The Hermit represents the individual's search for answers by looking inward, deep inside his heart." —Mr. Edogawa, Persona 3 "It requires great courage to look at oneself honestly, and forge one's own path..." —Nyx Avatar, Persona 3

Portrayed as an old man in a dark place or cave, holding up a lantern, the Hermit is associated with wisdom, introspection, solitude, retreat and philosophical searches. [...] Similarly, Hermit Arcana characters share the commonality of placing themselves in situations that hide them from the public eye. Hermit individuals hide away from others or act in more supportive roles rather than putting themselves in the spotlight.

Lizzie: X. Wheel of Fortune
''"Fortune represents fate, and the opportunities that come with it." ''—Mr. Edogawa, Persona 3 "Alongside time exists fate, the bearer of cruelty." —Nyx Avatar, Persona 3

The Fortune Arcana is portrayed by the Wheel of Fortune and symbolizes fate, luck, fortune and opportunity. Personas of this Arcana often specialize in Wind-based abilities. They are depicted as mythological figures or deities that control fate / omens.

Human characters of the Fortune Arcana are usually individuals who attempt to seize their own destiny in spite of fate and are typically involved with making important choices and decisions in response to what life throws at them.

Carson: XI. Strength
''"Only with strength can one endure suffering and torment." —Nyx Avatar, Persona 3'' ''"Strength represents both passion and self-control. It is depicted as power with reason." ''—Mr. Edogawa, Persona 3 Portrayed as a young woman holding up a terrifying beast (more often a lion), the Strength Arcana symbolizes an imagery beyond the Beast And Beauty, and is associated with the morality about the stronger power of self-control, gentleness, courage and virtue over brute force. In tarot readings, it can also represent creative or physical energy that needs to be or is about to be unleashed, sometimes out of desire to be recognized. The card is also named Fortitude in some decks, further giving meanings revolving on courage.

Gameplay-wise, the Personas of the Strength Arcana are commonly Personas excelling in Physical attributes. Archetypes embodied by Strength Arcana Personas are warrior figures and heroes, or are figures that embody strength of body or character.

A commonality between characters of the Strength Arcana is their strength of heart. Strength characters are not upset easily and typically portray the fortitude that the Strength card represents in readings.

pre-Sasha: XII. The Hanged Man
''"The Hanged Man reflects the individual's inability to take action." —Mr. Edogawa, Persona 3'' ''"In the face of disaster lies opportunity for renewal." —Nyx Avatar, Persona 3''

Portrayed as a man hanging upside-down from one leg with his other leg crossing it, forming a "4;" the Hanged Man Arcana is associated with self-sacrifice for the sake of enlightenment, the bindings that makes one free, paradoxes and hanging between heaven and earth. In Tarot readings, this card's appearance can be seen as an advice to take the time necessary to reflect over one's upcoming actions.

Personas of the Hanged Man Arcana are commonly Personas excelling in survivability. Hanged Man Personas are typically mythological figures that exist between two different forces, or find themselves in transition. They are also sometimes martyr figures.

Hanged Man characters are sometimes self-sacrificial, but are more often notable for being caught between two different extremes, parties or stages in life.

Louise: XVI. Tower
"The Tower, his values collapse on him. It seems as if he no longer has anything to believe in..." —Mr. Edogawa, Persona 3 Portrayed as a tower stricken by lightning, from which two small figures fall down; a straight Tower of Babel allegory about pride preceding the fall. The Tower Arcana is commonly associated to overly arrogant, prejudiced and authoritarian organization, which walk to their own ironic demise. Furthermore, it is also more generically used as an omen of doom and disaster. It can be seen as the worst card of the deck, as it rarely has a positive meaning.

Gameplay-wise, player characters usually have bad affinities with the often physical-based Persona of the Tower Arcana. Tower Arcana Personas are usually mythological figures that were once heroic or well-loved, but have since fallen from grace. Alternatively, the Personas represent deities associated with destruction, righteousness or otherwise.

Human characters of the Tower Arcana can be arrogant, and typically find themselves in bad situations where they themselves have fallen from grace.

Blair: XX. Aeon (replacing Judgement)
Unlike the other Social Link arcana, the Aeon Arcana is not a part of standard Tarot decks. In Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot, it replaces the Judgement Arcana.

Personas of the Aeon Arcana are often divine mythological figures. They typically have varying abilities and attributes, though many of them have an affinity with Light, including the arcana's ultimate Personas, Metatron and Kaguya.

A common theme for characters representing the Aeon Arcana is their attempts to fully understand themselves, as well as the world around them. In both of the Aeon Arcana's appearances, the Social Link characters in question were unfamiliar with the way the real world works, and struggled to discover their own place in this unfamiliar world.

Characters associated with this arcana are not exactly human (Aigis is an android, and Marie is a goddess) in a physical sense, but they also have human traits and qualities.

This Arcana is only present in Persona game remakes.

"Skylar Grey feat. Big Sean & Travis Barker"  - Back From the Dead
Lizzie finds out that her father is not dead.

Circus AU (2017/04/30)

 * Carson is the strong man
 * Luke is the juggler
 * Lizzie is the lion tamer
 * Mia is the contortionist
 * Sasha is the ring leader!

Superhero AU (2017/05/26)

 * Blair: Shadowcat/Rogue-like powers
 * Carson: super speed, super strength, super parkour powers. once a month, Carson turns into a rabbit who can manipulate the luck of those around her (imagine: bunny!Carson speeding around everywhere in Chicago)
 * Lizzie: shapeshifting, invisibility, indestructbility
 * Luke: Silver Surfer powers
 * Sasha: light powers (light bolts, laser eyes), a la Starfire or Cyclops

Sky High AU (2017/06/02)

 * Carson: she can shapeshift... but only into a bunny.
 * Luke: full body elasticity. alias: The Noodluke.
 * Mia: speaks birdsong
 * Blair: can become a shadow, hide in other people's shadows and manipulate them
 * Ethan: is the best at Cooking Mama
 * Lizzie: has Midas Touch only with cute instead of gold. she touches Blair, and Blair gets cat ears. she touches Ethan, and Ethan gets a little bowtie. she touches Carson... and nothing happens
 * Sasha: her hands work as flashlights. Carson, Mia, and Blair all see her as a "light of my life"

Introducing Carson Phillips, the NEW Phillips

 * omg Carson got adopted by Luke's family