Author Appreciation Week Day 5: Crossovers

 For all that I may enjoy and write for various fandoms, my first love and my probable internet legacy will likely remain one and the same: crossovers.  And not the intuitive Daredevil/Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye or FMA/HP types either—I’m talking about the weird crossovers, the ones that are based on a shared theme rather than a shared genre or medium, or the ones that are deliberate juxtapositions of two wildly dissimilar pieces of fiction. Crossovers, especially the odd ones, have a bad reputation, and even people who will read nearly anything else sometimes avoid them like the plague.  But fic authors are out there, writing good crossovers, and waiting for you to find them.  Here’s a list of a couple to start you out with.

 

So, let’s start with a crossover that uses a series where the mechanics for inter-world travel are already built in. Kryal’s fic The Dragon King’s Temple, a crossover between Stargate SG-1 and Avatar: The Last Airbender, takes advantage of Stargate’s crossover-ready ‘Gates, but not in the way you might think.  The dialogue is always perfect, the writing is consistently outstanding, and Kyral’s research into various relevant subjects shows in the text.  If you like fic your crossovers with thought-out worldbuilding, efforts to reconcile the magic and science systems of the two universes, and realistic language barriers, this fic is for you.  Also, whether or not you know it yet, reading a fight scene in which Sam Carter and Toph are on the same side is necessary to your continued happiness.

 

Vathara is fairly well-known around the internet for their massive Avatar: The Last Airbender AU, Embers, but I’m not sure if their often-unlikely crossovers have gained the same amount of recognition.  A standout among them is Change of Fate, Vathara, a Sword Art Online and Star Wars crossover that sets the events of SAO’s first arc on Corellia, right before Order 66 is sent out.  When that arc ends and the characters end up in the Star Wars storyline, world-building, speculation, and a lot of defying the Galactic Senate ensues, starring fleshed-out versions of the Sword Art Online cast.

 

There are some fandoms that, despite shared themes, seem a little too opposed philosophically to ever be compatible.  The Christian-analogy Chronicles of Narnia and the practically neopagan Rise of the Guardians franchises are a good example.  Fortunately, Lynse was undaunted and created the Touched series, a set of oneshots about meetings between Jack Frost and a post-Narnia Susan Pevensie, with occasional visits from other Rise of the Guardians characters.  They explore the two series interact with the idea of belief, and how the characters might relate to one another.  If you’re looking for something thoughtful rather than action-heavy, this series is worth picking up.

 

And then there’s the odd, old standby of the Fullmetal Alchemist and Indiana Jones crossover, a sub-genre that was probably originally borne only of the fact that Fullmetal Alchemist: Conquerors of Shamballa and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade both seemed to take place near the same time and involved the main characters trying to get dangerous artifacts away from Nazis.  Still, for all that it’s a bizarre proposition, it has been done well.  The Waterstone of the Wise, by zosimos is one I read years ago and enjoyed immensely.  The dialogue is perfect, everyone’s in character, and the pacing’s excellent.  In addition, zosimos makes unique choices about characters, and adds just the right plot twists, so that this fic feels unique even among the others that have combined the same stories.

 

P.S.: Sorry for the late post, it’s been a long week.