Poll: Crossovers, Oh My

[thefourthvine]

Recently, I was moderately flabbergasted to come upon a Highlander x Yami no Matsuei crossover. I had one of those moments of staring blankly at the computer screen, trying to figure out if I had experienced a sudden linguistic disconnect, and maybe in this language "Highlander x Yami no Matsuei crossover" actually meant "now we all get cake" or something, because surely such a thing, defined as I understood it, was totally impossible.

And then I read it, and realized that, no, it isn't impossible, and I was forced once again to reflect on the fact that Highlander seems to be a fandom that is just very open to crossovers. I know that's partly because, hey, you've got 5,000 years of mostly unfilled Methos backstory, and who is to say he didn't pick up a young Christopher Keller in a gay bar? He could have! He could also have spent fifteen years traveling around with Doctor Who. I mean, it's not like he'd necessarily bring either of those things up in conversation. But also, just, the Highlander universe seems to be unusually smooshy - it is totally willing to cozy up to, maybe even move in with, other canons, as I'm reminded every time the HL newsletter comes out and most of the new stories are crossovers.

Naturally, I got to wondering: what other fandoms are particularly crossover-friendly? And that led, inevitably, to thoughts of those fandoms that are much, much harder to work into crossovers. Which led to thoughts of AUs, which in turn took me to a terrifying meta place, and Best Beloved had to come talk me down. "How about a poll?" she said. "Polls are fun! And, also, you can probably finish one before you fall asleep." (Whereas with actual meta - at the rate I'm currently finishing stuff, I'd have it ready for posting in, um, 2012 or thereabouts, assuming no delays for rain.)

So perhaps you would like to write my meta for me? I offer ticky boxes as incentive!

[Poll #1177790]

Comments

[quillori.livejournal.com]

Long-lived or time traveling characters make the practical side of crossovers so easy the writer has plenty of energy to spare for hitting the right mood and themes. Generally, though, I don't think a practical match in location and date is as important (after all, AU is a possibility) as the two shows having a complementary 'feel', with thematic consistencies and fictional universes that work in much the same way - not so much in questions like 'does magic work' as what sort of behaviour counts as good and the way stories are likely to end. If they don't match like that, you either have to go for humour, or have one set of characters yanked from their proper setting in way that's frequently unsatisfactory. Of course, you don't need a perfect match - as long as the matching part is relevant to the story being told, and is a good enough match for each fandom that if it weren't a crossover it would fall within the acceptable limits of interpretation, it should work.

Mind you, I tend to assume most crossovers are quite possible, because I mostly only read crossovers by authors I know and trust.

[marginaliana]

the two shows having a complementary 'feel', with thematic consistencies and fictional universes that work in much the same way - not so much in questions like 'does magic work' as what sort of behaviour counts as good and the way stories are likely to end

Oh, now that's interesting, because I feel like I tend to be more interested in crossovers where there's either a) an unexpected congruence of atmosphere (like, I wouldn't have thought to say that the two fandoms were similar in that way until I read the fic) or b) a significant difference of atmosphere (wherein one side of the matchup faces a really foreign situation). If they fit too obviously together, I get bored.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

the two shows having a complementary 'feel', with thematic consistencies and fictional universes that work in much the same way - not so much in questions like 'does magic work' as what sort of behaviour counts as good and the way stories are likely to end.

*nods*

This makes sense, especially for longer stories. (For shorter ones, I can totally stretch out my disbelief, and short means you don't come up against some of the bumpier bits of an imperfect weld, so for me it usually works out fairly well. Usually.)

Mind you, I tend to assume most crossovers are quite possible, because I mostly only read crossovers by authors I know and trust.

If only I could emulate that. I've read some truly horrible crossovers in my time. It's amazing I love them as much as I do. (Although my truest, purest crossover love is fusions, which in general tend to have fewer problems, I think.)