Crossovers

[lyore]

I'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]

Comments

[nike-victory.livejournal.com]

Another from metafandom. I adore reading crossovers and I have abortive attempts at writing them on my hard drive (mostly because my original fiction characters try to get involved and that's where I draw my line - I'm sorry, but my main muse doesn't need to meet Buffy).

I'm not even sure why I like them as much as I do, although I do dislike the PWP ones. I love the crack!fics and the long plotty ones. For example, I really like "The Best Defense" and its WiP sequel "A Good Offense" which is a plotty cross between Harry Potter and Yu Yu Hakusho, and I adored "My Little Ethereal/Occult Beings" which is a Good Omens/My Little Pony crack!crossover.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

I'm not a huge fan of PWP crossovers, but that's mostly because I'm not a huge fan of PWP in general *g* However, I am surprised at how few people have selected that option, since I've heard PWP justification for crossovers a fair bit (Canon A character is so hot, and Canon B character is too! Wouldn't it be need if they hooked up! etc).

I must track down those crossovers, especially the Good Omens/My Little Pony one - wouldn't happen to have links, would you?

[nike-victory.livejournal.com]

Yes, I do!

Here is "My Little Ethereal/Occult Beings" (http://lovelyzelda.livejournal.com/85029.html) and this is the author's ff.n page (http://www.fanfiction.net/u/313955/) for "The Best Defense" and "A Good Offense". The first one was actually deleted from ff.n but she has several links to different places if you want to read it, and the side stories and sequel are still on the site.

I also have the links to a few YGO crossovers.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

Excellent, thanks!