Multiverse 2009: Fandom List

[andraste]

Before anyone passes out from shock: no, I didn't plan on there being another one *g*. However, last week I lost my job and today is my last day at work. While the economic crisis sucks, one of the benefits of abrupt unemployment is that I suddenly have a lot of free time.

In any case, the format of the Multiverse challenge will be changing this year so that I will have a lot less to do. This will be better for everyone, as I've been a pretty terrible mod the last couple of years.

What we're doing is moving to a format like springkink and lgbtfest. Anyone who's interested can suggest as many space show crossover prompts as they want. Writers then claim one or more prompts and post them to the community on a particular day. (The day will be in June.)

This means a number of things:

1) You can make requests even if you're not a writer or have no interest in signing up for crazy space show crossover duty.

2) Writers get to choose their own prompts. This means a broader range of fandoms will be available and requests can be much more specific, since there will be no assignment matching.

3) Any given contributor may or may not have their suggested prompt(s) selected by a writer. The writer can do anything they want with the idea - you don't get to determine the rating or the type of story produced.

Although most ficathons of this type don't restrict themselves to particular fandoms, I'll still be providing a list for you to choose from when you write your crossover requests. The reason is to keep the ficathon focused and cut down on the ammount of prompt filtering I have to do. (Without a list of allowed fandoms, someone is bound to request crossovers between canons I've never heard of, and I'd rather not spend the entire suggestion period running around trying to establish if any given show/book/anime is set in space or not.)

However, it will be a BIG list. All you have to do to get your obscure source included is to ask me to include it now - I'll doublecheck it's thematic eligibility and then you can request away. I don't care if nobody has ever written fic about it before, now is your chance to request that Ulysses 31 crossover.



Astro Boy
Cowboy Bebop
Crest of the Stars
Dragon Ball
Gundam Wing
Legend of Galactic Heroes
Martian Successor Nadesico
Outlaw Star
Space Battleship Yamato
Trigun
Ulysses 31
Voltron
Dune
Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Vorkosigan Saga
Alien(s)
Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick
Star Wars
Titan AE
Futurama
Transformers
DC Universe
Marvel Universe
Star Craft
Andromeda
Babylon 5
Battlestar Galactica (Original)
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Blake's 7
Crusade
Doctor Who
Farscape
Firefly
Lexx
Red Dwarf
Sarah Jane Adventures
Space: Above and Beyond
Stargate: Atlantis
Stargate: SG-1
Star Trek
Torchwood



As you can see, I'm focusing on the original remit of the ficathon here: sources that are set in space, at least partially. I've made an exception for Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures since they're the earthbound offspring of a galaxy-roaming parent show.

I've included the Marvel and DC comic book universes because they have significant space elements, but I'll be weeding out prompts that don't fit with the general theme. This is not the ficathon to suggest a story where Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark meet at a swanky party *g*.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/]

This is not the ficathon to suggest a story where Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark meet at a swanky party

What if they meet at a swanky party IN SPAAACE? (I am joking, promise.)

Kidding aside, so much YAY for this, and I like the format change. *bounces*

[andraste]

What if they meet at a swanky party IN SPAAACE? (I am joking, promise.)

I suspect I would enjoy that story, inappropriate to the challenge though the prompt may be *g*.

Kidding aside, so much YAY for this, and I like the format change. *bounces*

I have high hopes it will allow me to retain much of my remaining sanity!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/]

I suspect I would enjoy that story, inappropriate to the challenge though the prompt may be *g*.

I love that answer. Also, I'm all in favor of you hanging onto as much sanity as possible!

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Squee! Well, not about you losing your job, obviously. I'm sorry about that. But, man, I've missed Multiverse so much! Of course, this format will mean not getting that heady experience of receiving a batch of utterly insane prompts and discovering that, hey, I can do something cool with one of them after all. But getting to make as many suggestions as I want will go some way towards making up for it. I've always hated trying to whittle down my requests. :)

[andraste]

Squee! Well, not about you losing your job, obviously. I'm sorry about that. But, man, I've missed Multiverse so much!

There are definite positives to this unfortunate life event, and being able to do this again is definitely one of them! I also have high hopes that once I get this format up and rolling, it can continue on without my having to put in loads of effort.

Of course, this format will mean not getting that heady experience of receiving a batch of utterly insane prompts and discovering that, hey, I can do something cool with one of them after all. But getting to make as many suggestions as I want will go some way towards making up for it. I've always hated trying to whittle down my requests. :)

I'm really going to miss prompt matching day, with its traditional Matching Day Pizza. However, not having to tear out my hair looking for pinch hitters will more than make up for that.

Also, congratulations on being the first person to submit prompts! I hope somebody picks up the Vila and Chiana request; those two would be hysterical together.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

I also have high hopes that once I get this format up and rolling, it can continue on without my having to put in loads of effort.

It does seem like it should be pretty low-maintenance.

Also, congratulations on being the first person to submit prompts!

Not that I'm eager or anything. :) But, man, I always had tons of fun thinking up character combinations for Multiverse, and vaguely frustrated at not being able to use more than three of them at a time. So, um, I hope you really meant it about submitting as many prompts as we want. ;) I've already got a second batch to add.

I hope somebody picks up the Vila and Chiana request; those two would be hysterical together.

They would! I can't remember whether I've requested them before or not. I think they may have gotten struck off my list at the last minute in favor of something else.

[andraste]

It does seem like it should be pretty low-maintenance.

All I've had to do so far is sort the prompts with a random number generator, fix a few formatting issues and field some inquiries. This is SO much easier than the other way.

So, um, I hope you really meant it about submitting as many prompts as we want. ;) I've already got a second batch to add.

I really meant it! If we do get so many that things are likely to become unwieldy (like, more than three hundred or so) I'll just extend posting dates into July.

I think they may have gotten struck off my list at the last minute in favor of something else.

I'm having fun digging up all the ideas I've had over the years and throwing them on the list. I often ended up tailoring my requests to whoever got assigned to me, and while that was fun in its own way, it's also fun to be able to match up any crazy fandoms I want.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

If we do get so many that things are likely to become unwieldy (like, more than three hundred or so) I'll just extend posting dates into July.

Hmm. You do realize that that might be an incentive to submit a lot more of them. ;) (I thought of another one last night, too. I don't remember what it was, but I think I did write it down somewhere so that in case more came to me I could post them all at once.)

I often ended up tailoring my requests to whoever got assigned to me, and while that was fun in its own way, it's also fun to be able to match up any crazy fandoms I want.

It is ridiculously fun, really. :)

And, you know, I'm almost toying with the idea of re-creating the traditional Multiverse experience for myself by picking out all the prompts I'm qualified to write, using a random number to choose three, and deciding on one of those. :)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I hope the job situation will improve for you, but I'm really happy about more Multiverse, and think the new format is promising.

Space: but what about a show like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which is earthbound but definitely sci fi?

Marvel and their space element: does that mean I could ask for something involving my beloved Agent Brand? She's half alien and the fourth arc of AXM took place in space!

[alara-r.livejournal.com]

I think there's a distinct difference between "science fiction" and "science fiction in space." A story about genetically engineered superhumans is science fiction but there's no space element. Same with Terminator. No space in it anywhere.

It's Andraste's call, but personally I would not consider Terminator to qualify for Multiverse, because it's not remotely a space show. However, if I ever got around to doing the Weird World ficathon, which focuses on sf and fantasy set in a world that is plausibly similar to our own, Terminator would qualify.

[andraste]

However, if I ever got around to doing the Weird World ficathon, which focuses on sf and fantasy set in a world that is plausibly similar to our own, Terminator would qualify.

That would be a very nifty ficathon, I think - I can't help feeling that Terminator is easier to cross over with Supernatural than with Star Trek even though it's firmly science fiction.

[andraste]

I hope the job situation will improve for you, but I'm really happy about more Multiverse, and think the new format is promising.

As much as sudden unemployment sucks, there are certainly benefits. I really didn't want to let Multiverse go, and now I don't have to!

Space: but what about a show like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which is earthbound but definitely sci fi?

I'm afraid that earthbound sci fi sans aliens would be a whole different challenge. I haven't even included every show where there are aliens on earth. (Notably, The X-Files and Smallville are still exempt.)

Marvel and their space element: does that mean I could ask for something involving my beloved Agent Brand? She's half alien and the fourth arc of AXM took place in space!

You definitely can. Half-aliens certainly qualify.

[alara-r.livejournal.com]

Wow, this is timely. I was just collecting Multiverse appearances of Q for my recs and links LJ, and feeling rather sad that Multiverse was gone, because it generated so many cool stories. I also think the new format will really help; I'm still resentful (not at you, at the writer) of the person who was supposed to write a story for me one year and basically lied about it, claimed multiple times that she had sent it to you and told me twice that she would send it to me, and refused to admit she just plain didn't write one until it was far too late for a pinch hit. (To my knowledge she never *has* admitted she didn't write one, but the fact that it never went up on her web site and she never emailed it to me despite telling me twice that she would sort of gives it away.) That won't happen with the new format.

Some space or vaguely spacy fandoms you may want to include:

Captain Harlock/Galaxy Express (anime)
C J Cherryh's Chanur universe (books)
For that matter, Cherryh's Union/Alliance universe (which is technically the same one, I think, but there's only one human in the Chanur universe) (books)
Alien Nation (doesn't take place in space, but the whole thing is based around the open arrival of aliens from space, so it may qualify) (tv)
Kurau (anime) - is interplanetary, not interstellar, but I think a mostly terraformed Moon and energy being aliens qualifies as pretty spacy.
Planetes (anime) - also interplanetary, not interstellar, but the entire plot of the anime is the importance of space garbage collectors. :-)

It may be a good idea to compact universes. So instead of Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures being separate fandoms, make them the Doctor Who universe (which would imply that internal crossovers don't count, but honestly I don't think they should; there's an entirely different dynamic to "Picard and Janeway meet for drinks" vs. "Picard meets John Crichton.") Same with Babylon 5 and Crusade. You're already doing that with DC Universe, Marvel Universe and Star Trek because they have good portmanteau names.

Also, can I ask that you *don't* require a prompt beyond the characters or universes you want combined, although do allow such a prompt? That is, the prompt "Q and Scorpius" would still be allowable even though it contains no hint of desired plot, if the prompter wants to leave it wide open, but the prompt "John Crichton and Mal Reynolds, swapping tall tales about their exploits" would also be allowed if the prompter has a specific idea about the story.

[andraste]

Wow, this is timely. I was just collecting Multiverse appearances of Q for my recs and links LJ, and feeling rather sad that Multiverse was gone, because it generated so many cool stories.

I really didn't want to let go of the ficathon, because I doubt anything else I ever do in fandom is going to result in such a high concentration of awesome stuff.

I also think the new format will really help; I'm still resentful (not at you, at the writer) of the person who was supposed to write a story for me one year and basically lied about it, claimed multiple times that she had sent it to you and told me twice that she would send it to me, and refused to admit she just plain didn't write one until it was far too late for a pinch hit.

Chasing down late stories and arranging pinch hitters has always been my least favourite part of the whole thing. Multiverse has always had an absurdly high default rate. People didn't get to specify what they could and couldn't write to any precise degree, and finding people who can pull of a crossover between two particular fandoms at the last minute is hard. I still feel bad that there are people who never got their stories, but at least it will never happen again.

It may be a good idea to compact universes.

Yeah, everything has been compressed so fandoms are listed with their spin-offs AND fandoms only have one entry no matter how many alternate versions there are. I'm not making a separate entry for Gundam Wing vs. Gundam seed or the Transformers movie vs. Armada vs. Beast Wars vs. ... well, you get the idea.

Also, can I ask that you *don't* require a prompt beyond the characters or universes you want combined, although do allow such a prompt? That is, the prompt "Q and Scorpius" would still be allowable even though it contains no hint of desired plot, if the prompter wants to leave it wide open, but the prompt "John Crichton and Mal Reynolds, swapping tall tales about their exploits" would also be allowed if the prompter has a specific idea about the story.

Since people will get to pick their own prompts, they can be as vague or specific as people want.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm doing the finishathon at the moment, but I'm up for this too!

[andraste]

Yay! I'm doing the finishathon at the moment, but I'm up for this too!

Since there'll be posting through the end of June and there's no minimum length requirement this year, I think even people busy with other ficathons should be able to post something *g*.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I'll just have to think up some prompts!