Getting Acquainted With Fan Fiction
When fan fiction (fanfic) is good, I find it impossible to stop reading. When it's bad it is like passing an accident on the side of a road; it's hard to not look for a second.
The type I find myself reading the most is crossover fanfic, where a fanfic writer takes characters from one entertainment media (books, movies, tv shows, etc) and places them in situations where they interact with characters from different realities. An example would be if Spock and Kirk showed up in Mayberry, or if Othello met up with Sherlock Holmes.
Sometimes this is done well, sometimes not. If the writer doesn't have a good/decent grounding in the fandoms being crossed it shows. (I recommend not reading any fan fiction crossover where the writer says "All I know about 'fandom X' is what I've read in fan fiction" - this is a bad sign..)
Crossover Notes
I prefer to read "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" crossover fanfic. In the past seven seasons there are enough places and characters where stories can diverge from canon or merge with other story realities that it seems to be a rich stomping ground for fanfic authors, good and bad. (Not too thrilled with the Season 8 comic book series - so I mostly ignore that.)
I'm not going to list all of my favorite BtVS crossovers. Sorry. There are plenty of websites out there with the myriad flavors of fanfic that that isn't necessary. (For a list of some recommended short fics - including non-crossovers - see the link at the bottom)
(I should note that if you don't like a particular fandom (Like Harry Potter, StarGate or Lord of the Rings, etc) you aren't likely going to enjoy a crossover with that. Which probably explains why I don't really like (or read) BtVS/WWE crossovers and assorted movie crossovers. If there's nothing there I can hang an interest on I don't find a crossover with it interesting reading.)
The most comprehensive BtVS Crossover site now is Twisting the Hellmouth. Most of the crossover fics and writers mentioned below can be found there.
The following are some of the crossover potentials that stuck in my mind and sites I've found some of them on:
(WARNING: Most of these authors expect their readers to be mature/adults. I am not your parent/guardian. Check ratings on a fic before reading it.)
Most Popular
BtVS & Highlander crossovers
(usually one of the Scooby gang becomes immortal) It looks like all of the obvious ideas have now been done (both good and bad) and subtle/good ideas/original fics are starting to show up.
A current (2005) favorite theme seems to be the 'Buffy is a 3000 year old immortal' story. Some good, some not so good. The original fic using that idea, that most newer ones seem to use as their core idea, seems to have disappeared from the Internet.
There used to be a rather large BtVS/Highlander crossover site but it hasn't been updated in 2 years so all of the links are suspect - especially the Fanfiction.net ones (They changed their story URL format last summer). At this point, Twisting the Hellmouth is the place to go.
Jinni, Queen of the BtVS Crossover (Archivist/Owner/Operator (retired) of TtH), has one (wip) that is a bit different - The More Things Change that is recommended ( I would also recommended any of her other fanfics... She does excellent Roswell, Harry Potter, and Stargate crossovers, among others))
BtVS & Stargate SG-1 crossovers
- Most Buffy-centric BtVS/Stargate crossovers (of the few there were) in the past weren't that good but a few have started to appear in the past 2 years, including:
There are also several Buffy/Daniel fics currently in progress that look like they are going in interesting directions.
- And some good Dawn-centric fics like Tals' Dawn Summers, Marine and CharlotteB's Divine Justice
- For Willow-centric Laney's are the best. Her Search and Rescue series can be found on her BtVS/Stargate Crossover page. Jinn has a good one also.
- I've only seen one Xander-centric Stargate crossover that I thought really stood out (where Jack is Xander's father) in Tassos' Bridges). There are others but none as good IMHO.
- Others -- Unfortunately, the only Faith-centric SG-1 crossover I've seen is a Xander/Faith Scoobie-basher ( and not to my taste). She's usually a supporting player. The same goes for Giles and Spike. Tara appears in very few Stargate crossovers (I've noticed two so far - One a Tara/Daniel and a Tara from a different dimension showing up (by way of the Quantum mirror gimmick))
BtVS & Harry Potter
(There are way too many combinations - usually: someone goes to Hogwarts as a teacher or student or someone from HP wanders into Sunnydale. Some good ones but a lot of bad ones.)
BtVS/HP crossover fanfic writers I recommend:
- For the most involved and arguably the best check out echo's author page at TtH. A lot of people have borrowed ideas and character quirks from her fics since then.
- Don Sample has an excellent Dawn centric crossover Harry Potter and the Key of Dagon which is a good example of how to merge the two universes. He has some short sequels also. Stargate? He's got a good one of those also ("Misunderstandings" and its Dawn centric sequel (a WiP)).
- Kattie, aka DragonGal has a deft touch with a pre-college Buffy in her fics A Witches Family (And its sequels)
and A Murderer's Daughter (And its two sequels). Check her homepage (on/and her ff.net profile) for more.
Others
BtVS & Dr. Who
Until the new BBC series (with Doctors #9-11 (so far), these were very rare. There are now quite a few over at TtH. Paul Gadzikowski
has an interesting take on this idea.
(For non-Buffy crossover Dr. Who fics see -- A Teaspoon And An Open Mind which has over 23K stories online.)
BtVS & WWE wrestlers
(not sure why but this seems to be very popular among some - a little too Real Person ficfor me.)
BtVS & Lord of the Rings
Usually Buffy, Willow, Dawn, or Faith end up in Middle Earth and end up with an elf. Some good, some atrocious stories.
BtVS & Angel
(not really crossovers since they inhabit the same fanfic universe but they are usually classified that way)
And assorted others...
- Marcus Rowland has a number of excellent crossovers going (some more AU than others):
- A Willow-centric BtVS/Men-in-Black which has a BtVS/Lou Grant crossover sequel
- A series of CSI/BtVS/Angel crossovers
- A BtVS/Stargate crossover currently in progress.
- A bunch of other things - he excels at the drabble format.
- M. Scott Eiland - another excellent crossover writer. Especially his "Buffy of Amber" series. His non-crossover Buffy-fics are also very good.
Alternate Universe ( AU) Fanfic
These are stories that take place in a single fandom 'universe' where some bit of canon is changed or removed and the author deals with a "what if" situation.
Actor fics
When someone takes an actor who plays a character in a series/movie and puts them into a fanfic along with the character they play. Usually VERY cringe-worthy. Almost as bad as when a writer puts themselves into a fanfic they are writing (and the only example of THAT I've seen work is echo's excellent MST3K-ing of one of her own fics).
Uber Fic
Take some characters, keeping them in character, and place them in a completely different world. Apparently something that originated in the Xena fandom. The only ones I've read are some BtVS Willow/Tara fics at Through the Looking Glass. Sometimes they work, sometimes not. It's an acquired taste. Not for everyone.
Some recommended fics
I hadn't planned to do this originally but here are some fic recommendations.
My own thing
- Stories I'm working on. (Mainly BtVS - A bunch of drabbles, a BtVS/HP/Tomb Raider/AU universe, a dimension-hopping AU), A BtVS/Bond crossover and others.
- The anti-wishlist - story ideas I wouldn't do myself because they are either beyond my skills or too cringe-worthy to even contemplate.
Note:
- [5-Apr-2005] Fixed url-rot. I hope.
- In the years since I originally wrote this... there are at least 10 "new" fanfic writers added to my list of favorites as my taste in fics has changed:
- Eventually, I'll list them here
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