2009!

[aynslee]

Happy New Year!!!

I finished watching Merlin. I really liked it, which surprised me, because I've always liked Bernard Cornwell's take on the Arthurian Legend. His trilogy (The Winter King, Enemy of God (one of the best books I've read), and Excalibur) is SO different from the angle the show takes. The books are set around 500 A.D., and there's

Comments

[lostt1]

I think a big part of it is knowing both sets of characters. If it's one fandom I know and one I don't, I won't read it because things just don't make sense. And I prefer not to cross my pairings (I'm still very OTP when it comes to my boys). I don't go out of my way to read crossovers, but if it's something that sounds interesting or is by an author I know I enjoy, I'll probably check it out.

[aynslee]

I agree. I've read a few where I didn't know the characters on one side, and it was fine, but I obviously missed A LOT. It would be nice if I could be familiar with all fandoms, at least in passing! :D

[vinylroad]

I guess it REALLY depends - if I trust an author, I might give it a try. But generally I dislike crossovers because it's extraordinarily difficult to meld the two universes properly, to make a plot that doesn't feel like the character is being rammed in because the author wants to use him/her, rather than it fitting because the plot allows for it.

But I have to admit that there have been one or two crossovers that I've toyed with the thought of writing. But even then, I have a hard time selling it to MYSELF.

[aynslee]

I understand that. I hate that feeling where you have to work just to get the premise to make sense.

BUT then I am hypocritical bc I am so self-indulgent that I don't generally even TRY to sell it to myself. LOL I have written quite a few things that were totally over the top, including the fic I have buzzing in my head right now. Which is not written, but might be. One day. :D HA.

[sorchasilver]

I should qualify my answer by saying that I do, very rarely, read them. Usually if I do it's more about the author than the fandom/characters, for example I read astolat's SPN fic set in the Harry Potter 'verse, because it was HER. But most of the time I just don't see the appeal, so I don't click.

(And I definitely don't read crossovers that cross pairings. I'm far too OTPish for that.)

But then, I used to be like that about AUs too, and that changed. So who knows? *g*

[aynslee]

LOL, things definitely change. There was a time when I was against RPF, AUs, crossovers, and anything that wasn't canon-perfect. HA.

And a good author can definitely make me take the chance--I'd never read HP fics, even though I love the canon, and I was dubious about a SPN/HP fic. Luckily I clicked, and MMMM yay, so much good stuff there. :D

[oxoniensis]

I didn't fill in the poll box about what I like best, as I doubt there'd be space! There's just so many things I love about crossovers. I love seeing universes blended together - some authors are so skillful at that - and I like seeing characters from new points of view. Plus I get double the fandoms for one fic - it's like a bargain! And crossovers give you whole new places to take characters. The originality of some just blows me away!

I'm not so keen on mixing pairings though - some I love (Dean/Faith SPN/BtVS for example), but on the whole I prefer to stick to pairings within a fandom.

eta: a ton of crossover recs for you.

Maybe the key is knowing both sets of characters?

Sometimes that's essential, I'd say. But there are times I've tried one, generally if the author is someone I know/trust, or if the premise intrigues me, and it's worked even without knowing all the characters. Though in that case, I'm sure I've missed subtleties that someone who knew the fandom would enjoy.

[aynslee]

My first fandom was Star Wars, and I didn't want to see that crossed with anything. But for some reason, I think SPN, SGA, Merlin, Heroes and HP make for great crossing, lol. I think you described it perfectly--yes, about the bargain, two for the price of one! Seeing the SGA characters with the original Star Trek characters made my WEEK. The smile on my face was HUGE. lol. Too bad my canon-knowledge is so scarce, or I could enjoy even more fics.

Ah, thanks for the recs!!! I just saw that after I posted my comment. :D :D :D

[veronamay]

I think it takes a lot of skill to be able to weave two fandoms together in a solid enough plot to make the reading experience fun. I mean, I think about crossovers all the time (ask me about the Twilight/SPN crackfic I've got swimming in my head right now--or better yet, don't) but I've written a grand total of one because I just don't trust that I could do it properly. And if I can't trust myself to do it well, I'm not gonna take a risk on someone else, you know? I'm annoyingly particular about sticking to canon, and it's twice as hard to do that with a crossover.

There are always exceptions, of course--like everyone else, I've read astolat's HP/SPN crossover, and there was that charming Top Gear/SPN crackfic a while back and a couple of others, but generally I'll pass them by and just keep imagining stuff in my head.

[aynslee]

Okay, I DO have to ask about the Twilight/SPN crackfic that's in your head. How could ANYONE possibly resist that????? *pleads* Just imagining that is making me smile. :D Are you sure it's got to stay in your head???

I think this is the first time in my life that I've been aware of enough canon that I could even make sense of the fics, so that's probably part of the giddiness.

[veronamay]

HEE. It's nothing, really, just fluff--like, can you imagine Dean's reaction to the Cullens? Sparkly vegetarian vampires, for crying out loud. And Edward would drive him up the freaking WALL with the mindreading and the lovey-dovey Bella stuff, and Jasper would annoy the crap out of him with the mood modification (imagine Dean wanting to be all gung-ho and smartass and such but Jasper's making him all zen) and oh, ROSALIE. Dean meeting Rosalie would make me so very, very happy

[aynslee]

Oh god, that's great! Poor Dean. I'm just picturing all of that! :D :D :D