The Relationship Between Me and Crossovers · 3:32am May 14th, 2014
Mostly this is to get that giant image off my main profile.
Crossovers are a fun idea. Getting two different casts from two different works to meet and interact forms a fresh-seeming dynamic for how one group reacts to a group that doesn't operate like them to some degree. Like any other type of fanfic, crossover fics have their place. There are some good ones, as anyone who's watched Turnabout Storm or read Aitran will tell you.
And then you get to the inevitable: the bad crossover fics. You know, the sort that make you wonder if the author knows anything about one or even more of the series involved. And when at least one element in the crossover is of a video game I'm really into and have a deep personal knowledge of, and thus get the impression that I know more about the component works of the fic than the author, followed by not immediately finding a better fic that uses the crossover concept, one thought inevitably sneaks into my mind at some point:
"I could do better."
The evidence is right in my story list with Death Wish. Looking at the comments for it, you might run across this one from coolbond:
well finally someone makes a fanfic based on this game with sissel in it =))
If you looked up Ghost Trick on this site before, and in fact do so now, you'll know that there is another GT crossover fic. Well, the concept crosses over at least, as it doesn't feature any GT characters. It has Gilda in the role of Sissel as the ghost with tricks but no memory, what I can only assume is Pinkie Pie in a daisy as Ray, and Derpy as Lynne. It's... weak, to put it mildly. It substitutes in water pipes for phone lines, for one, a move I actually considered doing anyway while writing chapter 3 only to remember it's stupid and doesn't serve the game's theme of connections. And Gilda decides to get her memory back by dawn because... reasons. And this was the only MLP x GT crossover on FIMfic.
And this is by no accounts the first time. I have read other bad pony crossover fics and have jotted down ideas for how to do them right. A few are on my hitlist, but one of the ones I read via someone else's riff (and thus have no plans to riff myself) was a crossover with Minecraft that is steps below the story I'm riffing in my main line now in terms of plot and typesmanship (which is freakin' saying something, if you've looked at what I'm riffing). I don't have enough of a Minecraft jive to fully write out a fic for it, but I did jot down the ideas I had. Basically: the working title was Ponycraft: All the World is Square; it would consistently follow Twilight in third-person objective; the Mane Six would be trapped in "Minecraftia" and scattered across its cubic landscape by a magical cubic globe from the Canterlot Archives that Twilight found; Twilight would spend the first day wandering looking for her friends and finding she was brought down to telekinesis only (the same would be shown to apply to Rarity later, as well as the pegesis' flight getting nerfed), get cornered by mobs at night, and be saved by Applejack who figured out the first few steps on her own; at least one of them will die, only to find they respawn while dropping their equipment when they die; and it will be revealed that they can only get home after defeating the Ender Dragon. Y'know, basically what I felt ponies being in Minecraft should probably be instead of whatever the travesty of a plot the other fic had.
Also, each chapter title would be a "cube" or "square" pun. Because why the hell not.
A lot of fics lined up for pony riffing in the immediate future are crossovers due to the fact I'm more of a gaming nerd than a pony fanatic, and many of them have invoked this "start my own" reaction. Time will tell whether or not any of those ideas pay out and a fic comes out of it like it did with Death Wish. I basically poured out the Minecraft one here since it's unlikely I'll actually write it given my best friend stopped playing it with me ages ago and it was too lonely without him. The others I haven't thought out as much except for a few key points.
Hmm, I wonder if specializing in crossover fics is a thing... Lord knows my pure pony attempts haven't worked out since I don't love the show so excessively as many bronies. Something to think idly about over the summer.
You know, I really like the minecraft idea you presented for some reason, and I wouldn't mind helping with it, if you'd like the help. ^.^'
Though I'm pretty pressed on time these days, even my own story is starting to suffer for it.
I could see when they reach Fluttershy, they find out she's somehow tamed a creeper and a spider. xD
...
You just gave me Minecraft/pony ideas. And I haven't even finished my other crossover yet.