Fandom Snowflake Challenge #3

[aadler]

Taking on the meme/challenge here.

Fandom Snowflake Challenge #3

In your own space, put some favorite characters into an AU, fuse some favorite canons together, talk about your favorite AU/fusion tropes, or tell us why AU/fusions aren’t your cup of tea. Leave a comment here saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I’m certainly not going to try to write a piece of fic on such short notice, so clearly talking about the genre is the approach I’ll have to follow.

First of all, I’m going to skip over AUs entirely, since that’s a big enough subject for a longish post of its own. And I’m taking it for granted that by ‘fusion’ is meant what elsewhere I see called ‘crossovers’, which is where I want to focus. And, since my own primary fandom has always been Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I’ll mainly be looking at crossovers with BtVS.

I’ve done a few crossovers myself, most prominently “… Than Meets the Eye” [BtVS/Mannix], “Seeking the Woman” [BtVS/La Femme Nikita], “Glass Ceiling” [BtVS/multiple crosses], “How Wide the Gate” [BtVS/multiple crosses], and “the Song Remains the Same” [BtVS/MCU Avengers] (also “Tea and Oranges” [BtVS/Person of Interest], but since that was the remix of a pre-existing crossover, it counts for less).

Furthermore, I’ve taken pleasure from several crossovers written by others (and recced several of those in Snowflake challenges from previous years). The most ambitious were “the League of Extraordinary Women” [multiple crosses] and “the Secret Return of Alex Mack” [multiple crosses] by Diane Castle, “Far Beyond Normal” and “Return to Normal” [BtVS/SG-1] by jAkL, “Father Goose and the Black Knight” [BtVS/Law & Order SVU] by Litmouse, and the entire Oh, the Places He Goes! series by Phouka [BtVS/multiple crosses]. Smaller stories have included “Xander and Yet ANOTHER Demon” by Diane Castle [BtVS/SG-1], “the Perils of Witch Slaying (or How Buffy Ended up in Dinoland)” by pprfaith [BtVS/Jurassic World], and finally the impressive (and hilarious) “the Pendragon-Gorlois Family Reunion” by Gehayi [Good Omens/Arthurian mythology], which has nothing to do with BtVS but is just plain fun.

I’ve seen crossover trends come and go. I can remember when the most frequent Buffy crossovers were with the X-Files and Highlander; that was followed by a period where there was quite a bit of crossing with La Femme Nikita. Later there was a lot of Harry Potter, and a boatload of Buffy/Supernatural (though, since I never saw more than a few episodes of Supernatural, I tended to steer around those). Then there were the surprising number of Buffy/SG-1 crossovers … and I say ‘surprising’ because there isn’t an automatic thematic fit between supernatural creatures on the one hand, and parasite-controlled aliens on the other.

Which raises an interesting note, that any crossover can be made to work with effort and imagination, but some go more naturally together. If you pay attention, you can see points of correspondence between certain fandoms. Buffy and X-Files? weirdness, frequently but not necessarily supernatural. Buffy and La Femme Nikita? bad-ass females. Buffy and Highlander? personal combat. Buffy and Supernatural? demon hunters. Buffy and Harry Potter? magic.

The ones that go naturally together mesh more easily, require less work … which makes it possible to skate, if an author is so inclined, and end up with a decent but not outstanding story. Things like Buffy/SVU or Buffy/SG-1? those take work, and when the work is quality, the result can be something to behold.

Though I haven’t named any of her individual works, mainly because she tends to focus on sketches/vignettes, the obvious queen of crossovers would have to be jedibuttercup. She can cross anything with anything else (and possibly has done so), and the range of character insights — and character interactions — is dazzling and maybe a little intimidating. Every really effective crossover takes all the characters seriously, and jedibuttercup approaches her every effort with what appears to be genuine respect and affection.

There we are, then. Make what you will of that.

Comments

[paulamcg.livejournal.com]

It's really fascinating to hear about those crossover trends. I haven't written any crossovers or read many or even thought about them much, and now you've really made me think. :) Perhaps it can be more generally true that when something requires a lot of imagination and effort in order to work at all, it can become something to behold. And that's a great rec! Because it's easier to try a new writer when the fics are small - and because you praise the queen of crossovers so wisely and beautifully. Thank you!

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>Things like Buffy/SVU or Buffy/SG-1? those take work, and when the work is quality, the result can be something to behold.<<

The connection between Buffy and SG-1 isn't tone or content. It's portals. Buffy's world has portals from one dimension to another, and she's cross through more than one of those; SG-1 has the Stargates. You can plausibly connect any portal to any other portal, and the fish-out-of-water results can be fascinating. Though I agree it does require skill to render well. You have to think of that connection, for one thing. If the author doesn't find a good hitch, the pieces won't stick together.

[aadler]

Smaller fics make for an easier investment, yes, and then you can expand if you like what you’re seeing.

If you’re particularly interested in crossovers, though, probably the best place to look is at Twisting the Hellmouth. (And if you want to focus on shorter pieces, jedibuttercup is definitely worth the time spent.)

Re: Thoughts

[aadler]

I wasn’t focusing on possible links, though, but on what makes two fandoms FEEL like they go together. Much of which, of course, is subjective (some people might feel that Jack O’Neill’s natural snarkiness, compared to Buffy’s, would make the two shows a natural match). Either way, though, we’re agreed that the author’s work is what always makes the difference in the end.