Fic Recs: Unlikeliest Crossovers You'd Never Expect
Crossovers when two or more fandoms are blended together into one story usually involve fandoms that have some basis of similarity among them. Similar timeframes, landscapes, themes, or characterizations... nodes of nexus from which blending their realities becomes imaginable. Even if the fandoms themselves are very different, there is one least one point of commonality that makes it not only possible but probable to see them mixed.
Then there are the stories like these... crossovers of fandoms so disparate you would never even conceive they could mix. Sure, you could cheat by making one or the other AU; fusions are the very definition of that. But these crossovers aren't fusions, these may make small changes but the do their best to follow the flow of canon. In the expert hands of the most talented authors, you'd be surprised how reasonably these unconventional fandoms can indeed come together.
Unlikeliest Crossovers That Work Unbelievably Well
1. A Wonderfully Improbable Chain of Events by Jedi Buttercup - ST:TNG/PotC, gen, crossover
Images of tattered black sails swarmed in from all around Lwaxana, crowding out any other whispers of thought. 3600 words.
It should be no surprise to anyone that this author dominates the top of a list of unlikely crossovers.
jedibuttercup is a master of making the improbable happen in the most unexpected of ways. None so much as this Star Trek: The Next Generation/Pirates of the Caribbean fanfic proves. You'd never expect just how much an impact Q's little prank on Lwaxana Troi could possibly have! Not just on the past but on the future too!
2. A Star to Steer By by dogmatix and norcumi - Stargate:SG-1/Star Wars, gen, crossover, WIP
Jack O'Neill runs into the weirdest snake he's ever met, and that's saying something. Obi-Wan just wants to get his people home.
The story is set in the early seasons of SG-1 (Jack's still a Colonel) and sort of post-Clone Wars for Star Wars? I don't really know the Star Wars fandom that closely, but I still understood everything so you can too. There are culture clashes, worldbuilding, great characterizations, and interesting insights. It's a very different take on both universes that makes so much sense you'll be forever reexamining you perspective on both fandoms.
Yes, this one is still in-progress, but its progress is pretty impressive at over 80,000+ words so far with no annoying cliffhangers. This one does make a small bow to the AU to properly blend the 'verses, but it's a reasonable assumption and played straight for full effect. The bit that makes this crossover so amazing is that, unlike in most episodes of Stargate, not everyone instantly speaks the same language. Jack muddles through and makes friends anyway, because soldiers are soldiers no matter what, but the results of his unexpected meeting have yet to be fully realized. I have full faith the author will leave us all trembling with glee by the time s/he is done writing this intriguing crossover.
3. Illegal Alien by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel - Thor/Lilo & Stitch, gen, crossover
Loki fell from the Bifrost. He landed on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i. He's not the first non-Midgardian to end up there, as it turns out.
Any story that mixes with a Disney cartoon ought to be considered crackfic, right? Nope! This one does credit to both fandoms and takes things seriously. It's practically a Hurt/Comfort fic, with Stitch understanding Loki's situation and Lilo and her family opening their hearts to another lost alien being. There's even a few little sequels to this adorable short fic that prove no matter how different their origins, in the hands of a writer like this some characters just belong together.
4. The Dresden Fillies by psychicscubadiver - Dresden Files/My Little Pony:FiM, gen, crossover, series
Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, is just looking for an escape from his latest set of enemies and happens to teleport into Equestria. Surely nothing could go wrong with that set-up.
With the third novel-length story currently in-progress, this series is an unexpected gem where Friendship really is Magic! Like with the previous recommendation, you'd expect anything crossing 'real world' humans with magical cartoon ponies to be utter crack. And sure, there is some hilarity included - but no more than you'd expect given any character of Harry Dresden, Wizard PI's, famed snarky sense of humour. Because this author does an absolutely amazing job of writing both fandoms so well, both vastly different sets of characters reading exactly as they should and yet the incredulousness you feel as Harry meets adorable talking ponies is shared by the character and passes easily as the story goes on. Even Pinkie Pie's reality-warping craziness has a logical explanation, making the blending of these two wildly divergent fandoms scarily possible. I eagerly await every new chapter to be written!
5. Sailor Trek: The Dilithium Dilemma by Bill Harris - Sailor Moon/Star Trek:TOS, gen, crossover, series
A rip in the space-time continuum sends the Enterprise to an alternate universe, where the crew gets embroiled in a fight with the Negaverse.
The only thing I don't like about these stories is that the version of Sailor Moon the author writes is the crappy American dub one with Usagi as Serena. Other than that, these stories are miraculous mixes of not just one Star Trek franchise, but each one in turn. There are four stories in the series, the first linked above. The other three continue the theme of seamlessly blending the ridiculous nature of Sailor Moon with the scifi awesomeness of Star Trek with A Borg to Remember (TNG), A Sailor Paradox (DS9), and Where No Scout Has Gone Before (Voyager).
Given these stories were all written back in the 1990s, and still hold up today as awesome action-packed novels? That's even more impressive! All the characters are amazingly in-character, the canon never deviates, and the history builds upon itself to great result. Also, the author must have been one hell of dedicated Trekkie because his tidbits of Star Trek knowledge are deep, subtle, and enrich the entire story. A masterful effort of storytelling!
As I think will become my "thing", I've got one more fanfic recommendation for you. A crossover fic that does blend two fandoms you might have already conceived of crossing, but never so well as this author does it!
Bonus Fic Rec: The exception that proves the rule!
6. God's Eye by Todeswind - Dresden Files/Stargate:SG-1, gen, crossover
Harry Dresden gets misplaced after the events of the Darkhallow. Suffice it to say tossed to the edge of the galaxy, he still manages to stir up trouble. After all, the universe exists to trouble Harry Dresden. Takes place immediately after Dead Beat and around season three of SG-1.
Completed recently at 174,761 words, this story is easily one of the most incredibly well-written masterpieces of ingenious worldbuilding and fandom-blending you can possible imagine. The way this author takes Dresden along for the ride of his life is smart, suspenseful, and utterly brilliant. It's a fast-paced adventure with characterizations so true you'd think it was Jim Butcher himself writing it, with consequences so clever that though you never saw it coming it makes total sense in hindsight. I was always on the edge of my seat reading this fic, and view it as one of the best crossovers out there. Even better, there is currently an SGC-focused companion story being written in the same 'verse and hope for a sequel to the main story!
This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth, and it currently has
comments there. Comment wherever you prefer.
Then there are the stories like these... crossovers of fandoms so disparate you would never even conceive they could mix. Sure, you could cheat by making one or the other AU; fusions are the very definition of that. But these crossovers aren't fusions, these may make small changes but the do their best to follow the flow of canon. In the expert hands of the most talented authors, you'd be surprised how reasonably these unconventional fandoms can indeed come together.
Unlikeliest Crossovers That Work Unbelievably Well
1. A Wonderfully Improbable Chain of Events by Jedi Buttercup - ST:TNG/PotC, gen, crossover
Images of tattered black sails swarmed in from all around Lwaxana, crowding out any other whispers of thought. 3600 words.
It should be no surprise to anyone that this author dominates the top of a list of unlikely crossovers.
jedibuttercup is a master of making the improbable happen in the most unexpected of ways. None so much as this Star Trek: The Next Generation/Pirates of the Caribbean fanfic proves. You'd never expect just how much an impact Q's little prank on Lwaxana Troi could possibly have! Not just on the past but on the future too!
2. A Star to Steer By by dogmatix and norcumi - Stargate:SG-1/Star Wars, gen, crossover, WIP
Jack O'Neill runs into the weirdest snake he's ever met, and that's saying something. Obi-Wan just wants to get his people home.
The story is set in the early seasons of SG-1 (Jack's still a Colonel) and sort of post-Clone Wars for Star Wars? I don't really know the Star Wars fandom that closely, but I still understood everything so you can too. There are culture clashes, worldbuilding, great characterizations, and interesting insights. It's a very different take on both universes that makes so much sense you'll be forever reexamining you perspective on both fandoms.
Yes, this one is still in-progress, but its progress is pretty impressive at over 80,000+ words so far with no annoying cliffhangers. This one does make a small bow to the AU to properly blend the 'verses, but it's a reasonable assumption and played straight for full effect. The bit that makes this crossover so amazing is that, unlike in most episodes of Stargate, not everyone instantly speaks the same language. Jack muddles through and makes friends anyway, because soldiers are soldiers no matter what, but the results of his unexpected meeting have yet to be fully realized. I have full faith the author will leave us all trembling with glee by the time s/he is done writing this intriguing crossover.
3. Illegal Alien by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel - Thor/Lilo & Stitch, gen, crossover
Loki fell from the Bifrost. He landed on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i. He's not the first non-Midgardian to end up there, as it turns out.
Any story that mixes with a Disney cartoon ought to be considered crackfic, right? Nope! This one does credit to both fandoms and takes things seriously. It's practically a Hurt/Comfort fic, with Stitch understanding Loki's situation and Lilo and her family opening their hearts to another lost alien being. There's even a few little sequels to this adorable short fic that prove no matter how different their origins, in the hands of a writer like this some characters just belong together.
4. The Dresden Fillies by psychicscubadiver - Dresden Files/My Little Pony:FiM, gen, crossover, series
Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, is just looking for an escape from his latest set of enemies and happens to teleport into Equestria. Surely nothing could go wrong with that set-up.
With the third novel-length story currently in-progress, this series is an unexpected gem where Friendship really is Magic! Like with the previous recommendation, you'd expect anything crossing 'real world' humans with magical cartoon ponies to be utter crack. And sure, there is some hilarity included - but no more than you'd expect given any character of Harry Dresden, Wizard PI's, famed snarky sense of humour. Because this author does an absolutely amazing job of writing both fandoms so well, both vastly different sets of characters reading exactly as they should and yet the incredulousness you feel as Harry meets adorable talking ponies is shared by the character and passes easily as the story goes on. Even Pinkie Pie's reality-warping craziness has a logical explanation, making the blending of these two wildly divergent fandoms scarily possible. I eagerly await every new chapter to be written!
5. Sailor Trek: The Dilithium Dilemma by Bill Harris - Sailor Moon/Star Trek:TOS, gen, crossover, series
A rip in the space-time continuum sends the Enterprise to an alternate universe, where the crew gets embroiled in a fight with the Negaverse.
The only thing I don't like about these stories is that the version of Sailor Moon the author writes is the crappy American dub one with Usagi as Serena. Other than that, these stories are miraculous mixes of not just one Star Trek franchise, but each one in turn. There are four stories in the series, the first linked above. The other three continue the theme of seamlessly blending the ridiculous nature of Sailor Moon with the scifi awesomeness of Star Trek with A Borg to Remember (TNG), A Sailor Paradox (DS9), and Where No Scout Has Gone Before (Voyager).
Given these stories were all written back in the 1990s, and still hold up today as awesome action-packed novels? That's even more impressive! All the characters are amazingly in-character, the canon never deviates, and the history builds upon itself to great result. Also, the author must have been one hell of dedicated Trekkie because his tidbits of Star Trek knowledge are deep, subtle, and enrich the entire story. A masterful effort of storytelling!
As I think will become my "thing", I've got one more fanfic recommendation for you. A crossover fic that does blend two fandoms you might have already conceived of crossing, but never so well as this author does it!
Bonus Fic Rec: The exception that proves the rule!
6. God's Eye by Todeswind - Dresden Files/Stargate:SG-1, gen, crossover
Harry Dresden gets misplaced after the events of the Darkhallow. Suffice it to say tossed to the edge of the galaxy, he still manages to stir up trouble. After all, the universe exists to trouble Harry Dresden. Takes place immediately after Dead Beat and around season three of SG-1.
Completed recently at 174,761 words, this story is easily one of the most incredibly well-written masterpieces of ingenious worldbuilding and fandom-blending you can possible imagine. The way this author takes Dresden along for the ride of his life is smart, suspenseful, and utterly brilliant. It's a fast-paced adventure with characterizations so true you'd think it was Jim Butcher himself writing it, with consequences so clever that though you never saw it coming it makes total sense in hindsight. I was always on the edge of my seat reading this fic, and view it as one of the best crossovers out there. Even better, there is currently an SGC-focused companion story being written in the same 'verse and hope for a sequel to the main story!
This entry was crossposted from Dreamwidth, and it currently has
comments there. Comment wherever you prefer.