Crossovers
Nov. 17th, 2007 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lyoreI've been thinking a bit about crossovers recently - writing them and reading them. Lucky you, I feel like sharing :)
I've seen crossovers get a bit of a bad rap, but I have to say I really like them* - I think it really gives the characters (and the author!) a chance to stretch their wings.
Consider when you have the observation of canon characters by characters of a difference canon. It gives the 'new eyes, new appreciation, new perspective' of an 'outsider POV' fic, but in this case it comes with an added bonus - because the observer isn't a cypher, their observations can shed just as much light on their characterisation as the characters they are observing.
And the same goes for character interactions - the way they respond to one another can through light on both characters, especially when you have a pair/group with strong similarities as well as distinct differences. Such interactions can make the differences and similarities in very apparent to the reader, without the author having to draw direct attention to it in the fic.
Plus, there's the fact that I love seeing the characters tossed out of their comfort zone, and I love seeing one set of characters I love meeting another set. Not to mention the technical challenges of getting the canon together in the first place - while it's easy(ish) in some cases (SG-1 get an alert about possible Goa'uld activity in a small town in California), it can be a lot harder to sell when one canon is set in, say, 21st Century earth and the other is in a galaxy far, far away (of course, sometimes this doesn't matter, depending on the fic).
*Done well - all of this applies to well done crossovers, of course. Done badly? I hate watching people mangle two sets of canon even more than I hate watching it done to one.
But that's just what I think - What about you?
[Poll #1090050]
I've seen crossovers get a bit of a bad rap, but I have to say I really like them* - I think it really gives the characters (and the author!) a chance to stretch their wings.
Consider when you have the observation of canon characters by characters of a difference canon. It gives the 'new eyes, new appreciation, new perspective' of an 'outsider POV' fic, but in this case it comes with an added bonus - because the observer isn't a cypher, their observations can shed just as much light on their characterisation as the characters they are observing.
And the same goes for character interactions - the way they respond to one another can through light on both characters, especially when you have a pair/group with strong similarities as well as distinct differences. Such interactions can make the differences and similarities in very apparent to the reader, without the author having to draw direct attention to it in the fic.
Plus, there's the fact that I love seeing the characters tossed out of their comfort zone, and I love seeing one set of characters I love meeting another set. Not to mention the technical challenges of getting the canon together in the first place - while it's easy(ish) in some cases (SG-1 get an alert about possible Goa'uld activity in a small town in California), it can be a lot harder to sell when one canon is set in, say, 21st Century earth and the other is in a galaxy far, far away (of course, sometimes this doesn't matter, depending on the fic).
*Done well - all of this applies to well done crossovers, of course. Done badly? I hate watching people mangle two sets of canon even more than I hate watching it done to one.
But that's just what I think - What about you?
[Poll #1090050]
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-17 03:55 am (UTC)Seems pretty natural to try and combine favorite fandoms on the author's part, especially if there are characters from the two series that would get along (or not get along) in an entertaining manner.
I was starting to wonder if this was a rare reaction, from some of the reactions to crossovers (not here, but in general). I'm glad other people think it is a natural response to the text as well!
no subject
Date: 2007-11-17 04:21 am (UTC)^ Link to chapter 1-2 of the crossover (currently up to 9, I think, further up the lj)... it's actually House/24/The Stand, but I'm only at all familiar with House, which is the main focus.
I'm a sucker for good character interactions, author-ily contrived or not, and just love to consider what similar characters from disparate canons would make of each other, even if it's just briefly crossing paths. Dunno if you've read The Martian Chronicles, but there's this one short story where a human from the contemporary time and a Martian from the past briefly meet a crossroads, pause to consider each other, then trudge away to their respective destinations. Similar feeling, IMHO. :)
Anyways, crossovers are fairly niche for the readers, I'd hazard, because the odds are raised that they either won't be familiar enough with one of the fandoms to make sense of it or don't care for one set of the written characters.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-17 04:44 am (UTC)just love to consider what similar characters from disparate canons would make of each other, even if it's just briefly crossing paths.
Ditto. I haven't read The Martian Chronicles, I might have to.
crossovers are fairly niche for the readers,
Yeah. In the great Venn diagram of potential readers, I suspect we are drawing more from the 'AND' overlap than the larger 'OR' section. But I've been pleasantly surprised how many people said they only need to have a passing familiarity with the second series - it gives me hope that my crossover might be read after all! *g*