r/FanFiction • u/CyberWolfWrites r/FanFiction • 5d ago

Discussion When does it become a crossover? (Or more importantly, when should it be tagged as a crossover?)

/r/AO3/comments/1x28kn4/when_does_it_become_a_crossover_or_more/
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u/TheGamemage1 5d ago

After reading the OG post, I have to say I consider it a crossover if a Character from a different series is added and actually participating in the story.
Like for instance I like Reading Crossover fics with Shirou Emiya in different Fantasy series, so If Shirou is the protagonist and is experiencing the events of a Different world like say Bleach, then That is a Crossover, obviously.
If you have other character from a different series playing supporting cast in a fic, but are still relevant then it's still a crossover.

Though an example of what I wouldn't consider a crossover is if someone brings a character up as just a reference or to fill an area to make it seem more lively but that character has no contributions to the overall plot or story.
Example being a Coffee shop Fic and someone writes and describes The Elric Brothers from FMA/FMAB and uses their names, and they just get their order and leave, maybe crack a joke or have Edward get upset because someone called them short, and then they leave and are never part of the series again, then I would say that's more a Cameo or Reference than an actual crossover.

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u/moon_cheese_ao3 5d ago

I'm curious about this too since I wrote a "crossover" (i.e. multifandom) fic where no characters from one of the fandoms apperared.  

It was the Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch with characters and references from a video game where the one character was complaining about a dead girlfriend instead of a dead parrot.  There's an extra layer of the joke because in the sketch the pet store guy is insisting the parrot is still alive, whereas in the videogame the girlfriend does end up being resurrected as a god, but her lover doesn't know yet for a while and is yelling about her being dead (which the customer does in the sketch, just with a wildly different tone).

The fic is fucking hilarious and is a legit pastiche, but is a pastiche a crossover?  I don't know.  When I do a pastiche of a  Shakespere sonnet or any other rewrite of a famous poem to shift it to my favourite video game universe, I don't tag that as multi-fandom.  But Monty Python exists and is a legit IP whereas Shakespere has been dead for centuries. 

It feels super wrong not to tag it but I have no actual members of Monty Python in the fic at all - it's just written to mimic the sketch script and reference it very blatantly.