I have a weakness for the crossover 'classics:' deamon/His Dark Materials crossovers, Firefly, Pacific Rim and of course, Harry Potter AUs. They can be such fun.

Nothing wrong with the classics. And I utterly adore them in Firefly.

Yeah, pretty much every one of these. :-) I particularly appreciate when Clint is sorted into Hufflepuff. :-)

YESSSSSS! I need more of all of these... for all fandoms!

I don't really read either...just doens't normally appeal to me for some reason.

Blah, what a boring response...sorry about that!

Nah. It's fine. They're not for everybody, and I avoided them like the plague until I accidentally bumped into one that made me look for more good ones. (Most don't strike me as very good at all.)

Well, this isn't the same thing but since the actors both have little girls, I always think Clint and Natasha could have a little girl...of course, I was thinking that a few years ago too. ;)

But I love looking their younger (older?) work and "seeing" what they looked like when they were young- Clint Barton totally rocked the guyliner at various points in his life ;)

I definitely do that checking out the different ages thing.

So crossovers aren't for me, and I'm really very picky with fusions. Basically, the more I love the fusion source canon, the less I want it fiddled with? There's nothing that makes me click out of a summary faster than the words 'Pacific Rim AU', for example, instant nope. If it's a theme I find interesting but am not at all fannish about, I might go for movie fusions though. I've written and/or attempted a few of those in the past, and there are two on my to-write-list for the immediate future, actually. One of them, indeed, with our assassins. Heh. XD

I'm still not entirely certain about the difference between crossover and fusion. I mean, I know what it's supposed to be, but to me the distinction is kind of on the level of how-many-angels-can-dance-on-the-head-of-a-pin level. But that's probably fandom heresy, so pretend I didn't say that ... ;-) Look forward to your fusion. Any hint as to what the other verse is?

To me it's pretty much "crossover mixes characters from different canons" vs. "fusion replaces characters from one canon with characters from another canon and puts them in their shoes". Or, in less complicated terms: if the original canon charas are still there too, it's crossover, if not, it's fusion. That's how ~I learned it, at least. XD

It's a movie: misfired romance and memory erasure? Hehe.

Edited 2015-02-21 12:02 pm (UTC)

I'm just picky. I'll read anything if you sell me, but how hard do you have to sell me! I get it. I used to just ignore the whole genre.

I got into it via movie/reel challenges. My first fusion was SPN/Se7en and SO MUCH FUN to write. XD But yeah, it has to be done well, and right, in order to get me to read it.

How gauche is a self rec?

I don't often go in for fusions because, frankly, most of the time I haven't read the other source material. But there was one I couldn't resist, and it comes out of the fact that most of my Clint-Natasha fics are kind of anchored in their SHIELD identity, rather than the wider Avengers-verse. And because I know *cough* a bit about how government agencies work, the idea of SHIELD being inserted into some of the real-life intelligence agencies out there was just too much fun to leave unexplored.

The result was the two SHIELD/MI-6/Avengers/Bond mash-ups I committed with the kind help of my partner-in-crime, inkvoices, for the Marvel Big Bangs of 2013 and 2014, respectively: "Second Mouse" (http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009635) and Locust Wind (http://archiveofourown.org/works/2512529). (FYI, we'll be doing a third one this summer to make a trilogy -- the little intermezzo piece, "Loose Ends" doesn't count towards that. Title and plot bunny are expected to gel after Age of Ultron.)

Not gauche at all. If I want to point out amazing crossover, I point to these.

So based on what you're saying and what geckoholic said below, they're crossovers then, not fusion? Eh. Hmm. Goes to show what I know. I just write 'em...

I think it kind of depends. I've seen multiple definitions, and one of the fusion definitions is that "if the characters are there as if they've always been there..."

That definition doesn't work for me.

I consider it crossover if both worlds are canonically correct and the characters retain their relationship to their own world.

I consider it fusion if one world is changed by the addition of the other, thus "fused" with the other one. If characters take on new backstories and current work/identities, etc. or merge with another character (actor fusion), then that's a fusion.

As yours retain both source canon and simply let them meet/interact, that would make them crossover from what I understand. The definition of fusion I reject would call it a fusion, which is why I reject it. It's too vague.

This is the closest to how i see it too - if characters from world A and characters from world B meet then it's a crossover, but if characters from world A LIVE in world B, or worlds A and B collide in some manner then it's a fusion for me.

But then fusion can be similiar to an AU for me in that if characters from world A are in the shoes of characters in world B then it's a fusion but it's also a 'world B AU' as opposed to just a 'pirate AU' or 'space AU'.

I can label Second Mouse as a crossover because characters from Marvel meet characters from Bond, but then the way that they interact impacts both worlds so that MI6 has to deal with HYDRA and Natasha's background is altered to fit the fic's 'verse, so I can label that fusion territory.

Okay ... you guys convinced me. I'll change the label ... ;-)

Well i can also label it an AU because it's an alternate universe in which Natasha has a different backstory and a set of characters meet who otherwise wouldn't ;)

These are wonderful! Thanks for writing and sharing them.

Yes, I would definitely call your Bond|Strike Team Delta fics crossovers. You made both canons fit and work together, where a fusion would be more like making the canon of the MCU work within, say, a Regency romance setting/style. (In fact, one of my favorites of all time did that with The Phantom Menace. Fandom, such fun. :D)

I am still a GIANT SGA and MCU crossover junkie. I actually am in the process of writing an AOS/SGA crossover =D

I cannot get the idea of the Bond universe and the MCU being in the same universe out of my head. Oh, the opportunities are endless, even before you consider the resemblance between Jeremy Renner and Daniel Craig...

Yep -- pretty much ... ;-)

Don't like crossovers or fussions to be honest! I don't usually read them , and I definitely don't write them.

That's not to say there isn't some great writing done in those venues. And I can definitely appreciate when they get the characters down and the stories and universes are woven in together well (I once read a SPN/NCIS crossover which was actually pretty damn excellent).

But my general preference is that I tend to like my fic to be canonical...
It's why I"m not into AUs much either.


Edited 2015-02-21 05:27 am (UTC)

Makes sense. I think finding good AUs is what started me giving a few crossovers a chance. They seem to be related tolerances.

As I said if the writing is stellar I can probably overlook the "non canon" rule.

I've read some good AUs too over the years too, but my approach to all this material is more as if I'm reading a brand new separate short story or novel, in which the actors are pre-cast.
But I can't place them within the fandom. I find it counter productive.

I'm into the fandom because I like not only the characters, but because I'm invested in their history and because the universe they function in resonates with me. And it's those characters' stories in that world that interests me.

And that "belonging in their own world" is what also turns me off to fusions and crossovers. It's not the universe these characters which I love are a part of. Suspending belief to bend the rules and the backstory which apply just to make them part of something else seems too much trouble for the payoff it offers.




Edited 2015-02-21 07:36 pm (UTC)

I do prefer crossovers that keep the rules and stories of both to fusions that gyp one or the other.

Me too. But that can be a hard sell too... Like I could never read a Vampire Diaries/Buffy/SPN crossover (which are quite popular I know). Their monster rules would never coincide, and that's just more trouble than it's worth trying to make ends meet with that.

I always find it easier to read crossovers of genre fandoms with real world fandoms.

This is me. I have read some amazing AU's (like anything inkvoices or alphaflyer writes) and prefer tham to crossovers/fusions (although some ARE crossover/fusions, I just don't know the source material so just appears as AU's to me) but canonical fic by far is my absolute fave.

Having said that, I REALLY wanted to write sugarfey's (another amazing wrtier) prompt about Clint and Nat being pairs figure skaters since I adore pairs figure skating but since I am too nervous to write fic, its not going to happen anytime soon.

Just dropping in to say thank you, and to encourage fic writing!

I like a well-thought out crossover, but confess that I don't care too much for fusions. My one exception is the immortal premise from Highlander. I read more than one "Coulson is an Highlander-style immortal" fics just after the movie. It's my go-to crossover whenever Joss kills a character I like!

Also, I think crossovers work best when the characters from both fandoms interact with each other and still make sense in their original contexts. So for me, an Avengers/Stargate crossover would only make sense if it were an alternate reality situation, but not if the Stargate program existed secretly in the Avengers MCU. So, were they just all on an extended coffee break when the Chitauri showed up? (As always, your mileage may vary).

What makes the Marvel-verse so great for crossovers is that both magic and science exist in it, and can be used for the crossover macguffin. A writer can use wormholes, dimensional portals, or time travel (either magic-based or science-based) to get the characters to meet up.

Oh, I had not idea that I had so many thoughts about crossovers until now!

Any chance that we can have a crossover mini-promptathon?

Can I just say yes to all of this. That's why I'm still pickier with fusions, and whenever I ask for crossover, it's well thought out, please.

I do enjoy a good alternate twist on the setting/story as we've come to know it. I haven't really written any in this fandom (not counting mashing up all the Marvel 'verses as I see fit) but I've written them in other fandoms and I'll jump in and read them all over the place. (I've been sucked into more than one fandom by reading a well-done crossover, and I feel like I've won the lottery when I get a comment like that on something that I've written.)

At some point, I *will* write the steampunk MCU fusion, though, where there are airships instead of quinjets. :D

This needs to also be illustrated please ;)

I think I did one of those once. With zeppelins? And another one on the Transsiberian (or Orient, I forget) express, but I never posted it. There's a good one out there, by Nyxetoile and OlivesAwl, called The Gilded Age (http://archiveofourown.org/works/1513238).

I tend to prefer fusions because if the writer displays the worldbuilding enough then you don't really need to be familiar with the second fandom, only the fandom of the characters. With crossovers sometimes I see things that I would love to read, but I don't know both, or all, of the fandoms involved. That said, when I come across a crossover where I am familar with all the fandoms and it's written well then it's dancing with happiness time.

To write I lean towards AUs and fusions rather than crossovers because I'm curious about how the Avengers would deal with a zombie apocalypse or how events that have happened to them would translate into a different concept, like a space AU, rather than wanting to know what happens when the Avengers meet characters from other fandoms.

I love the idea of MCU mixes though, where we get Peter Parker and the Guardians of the Galaxy meeting the Avengers, or the Agents of SHIELD meeting the Guardians or the Avengers, or the X Men... you get the idea ;) Does this class as crossover territory or Marvel madness?

And some random recs, trying to focus just on crossovers and fusions, where there are distinct fandoms merged, rather than generic AU like 'space AU' or 'Pirate AU':

Embiggen by thingswithwings (Gen) Kamala Khan meets America Chavez. Adorable teenage superhero hijinx and flirting ensue. (Ms Marvel & Young Avengers)

for the ones left behind by allapologies (Gen) "The aliens took him," Gregg Quill says. "They took my grandson."
"Sure they did, gramps," Tony Stark says.
"Peter Jason Quill, they took him in 1988," Gregg says. "Couldn't you talk to your friend? The big blond from space, the one with the hammer, maybe he could ask around for me."
(Avengers & Gaurdians)

When they finally come to destroy the earth (they'll have to go through you first) by AlchemyAlice (Gen) In which Tony Stark went to boarding school with Bruce Wayne, and the road to becoming a superhero is not smooth. (Avengers & Justice League)

opia by Zekkass (Gen) Bruce might have (had) a daemon. (Avengers & His Dark Materials)

The Consultants by thebratqueen "Which of our cases was similar to Iron Man and the Hulk wanting us to commit fraud for them?" Peter asked. "Because I have to tell you I'm racking my brain and nothing's coming to mind." (Avengers & White Collar)

Imprint by smilebackwards (teen and up) Uniform has twelve different imprints, by far the least number of personalities compared to the other Actives in the Dollhouse. (Avengers & Dollhouse, features Clint and Natasha)

Second Mouse by alphaflyer (teen & up) "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." (Aldrich Killian)
When HYDRA is suspected to be carrying out illicit activities in Scotland, SHIELD and MI-6 are asked to cooperate. Two covert agencies on the same turf -- Barton & Bond, Fury & M, Coulson & Moneypenny -- what could possibly go wrong? (Oh, and who exactly does the gorgeous redhead work for?) (Avengers & James Bond)
Disclaimer: i'm biased because I did/do the art for this, but it IS really good :D