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graycardinalLong letter is long; it's kind of a feature for this exchange, and also of the way I build requests for it. I am contemplating ways around the issue, but in the interests of posting while the iron is hot, for this year the Epic remains an Epic.
First, of all, thank you. This is, I think, up at the advanced-mastery level of fic exchanges, and I am grateful to anyone who braves its challenges. And of course it's also one of my favorite exchanges - crossovers are a big part of my fanfictional universe as both a reader and writer, and I'm always delighted to have an excuse to jump into this briar patch.
So: let the Epic begin.
Why I'm Here
Three words: flexibility, challenge, and surprise.
As a writer, I come for the challenge. While I’m careful to offer for fandoms I know I can write, I tend to offer them in combinations that I also know will stretch my internal idea generator and my storytelling muscles. And I’ve offered – and will continue to offer – fandoms in clusters of four to six so that I absolutely won’t know ahead of time what my matches will look like. Much of the fun for me is in the range of what I might be asked to do. I want to be surprised by my recipient’s requests, and by the nature of the specific challenge facing me in any given year. Up to now, specific matching protocols notwithstanding, there’ve usually been several options open to me from among my recipients’ requests, and I hope that remains true this time around.
As a requester, I come bearing flexibility. As with offers, I tend to cluster my requests in groups of four to six, because – again, notwithstanding the specific match AO3’s Sorting Hat may generate – I want you to have choices too. In a way, I think of this as the thematic opposite of Yuletide, where we often do request specific heart-fandoms and hope for particular elements in the stories arising from them. Here, I am looking not for the story I’d write, or even the story I’d most like to read – rather, I’m looking for the story a given pair of crossed fandoms makes you write, because that’s most likely to be one I would never have thought of.
Thus, as both a writer and reader, I come to Crossworks for the surprise. I enjoy being surprised by the stories my muse draws from the match(es) I’m handed, and I very much enjoy being surprised by the stories your muse draws from the one(s) I’ve supplied for you. This is why I tend to give broad, general prompts rather than specific ones for this exchange. Having said that: if you would like more specific prompts than what I’ve supplied, please contact the mods, and I will cheerfully amplify on any of my individual request-clusters – which won’t spoil any surprises on either end, since only you will know the specific combo on which the original match was made.
Likes & Dislikes:
My tastes in fic are wide and eclectic -- I read and enjoy gen, het, and slash (both flavors) at all ratings and have very few outright squicks aside from noncon, incest, and adult-child kink, but I am not typically attracted to stories for erotic content or angst quotient. Rather, I like good characterization, authentic-sounding dialogue, effectively sneaky plotting, and well-developed wit. I am equally intrigued by clever use of canon and thoughtfully developed AUs, and I am disturbingly fond of crossovers [obvious much?] and well-woven meta threads.
As to romance: where crossovers are concerned, I'm hardly ever drawn to write one for pairing-related purposes, and within individual fandoms I normally gravitate to canon-consistent pairings -- but in the crossovers I read, I've been wowed by a startling range of intriguing cross-fannish relationships (up to and including Buffy Summers and a Ninja Turtle. That said, I add the observation that in my book, well-sustained UST (heavy on the T) is often as good as or better than actual sex, in crossovers as well as canonical relationships.
Broadly speaking, my interests run more toward crossovers than to fusions - although technically, quite a lot of my own work occupies the fuzzy middle of that diagram (that is, where both source canons exist "side by side" in the same background world, often with one source timeline shifted to some degree to allow the characters to encounter each other at a particular point in the merged timeline). That said, I’m absolutely not opposed to fusions, especially in some cases; there will be more about that in the request-cluster notes. And it's definitely true that my own writing also reflects the kinds of things I like to read; my AO3 archive is here, and you're welcome to prowl.
Fandom-Specific Notes
Unless the notes specify otherwise, assume I’ve seen or read all of a given series’ primary screened or published canon, but not any bonus/extra/sequel content (particularly including post-series comics).
Antiques Roadshow RPF
I've been watching this series (US version, not British) long enough to feel almost antique myself - but only recently realized that the show is a near-perfect crossover magnet. All you need is a suitable McGuffin, and fun can be had whether by stumping the appraisers with impossible artifacts, having an appraiser establish that your McGuffin is definitively real (or fake) as the plot demands, or staging a heist or other shenanigans right under the appraisers' noses. One caution: while there's a lot of potential for comic action here, I do *not* want fic that makes the appraisers look incompetent or impugns their integrity. Do feel free to work with the celebrity-visit format we've seen in the newest episodes; there's potential there, too.
Batman Beyond
I've seen the full series plus Return of the Joker and the JLU episode "Epilogue" (in which there's significant BB backstory).
Carmen Sandiego (2019)
For all that the third season climax tied things off pretty darned well, I would still dearly love to see a 4th season - and failing that, postcanon fic will certainly do. (Not that I'm opposed to pre- or during- fic, mind you, not in the least.) I want to see way more of Shadow-san, more back story (and front story) for all the Acme characters (Julia especially), and a bit more action for Player. The VILE crew? Deserves all the grief they can be handed, possibly from that *other* Acme where Wile E. orders his traps.
Castle
Great series so long as one stays clear of all the long-term "arc" plotlines (Johanna Beckett's murder, Bracken, Loksat, the missed wedding/amnesia wackiness, Castle's PI agency). I'm not a fan of Pi or Hayley, and convinced that "Jackson Hunt" is NOT Castle's father regardless of what canon thinks it says. The late-series writing for both Alexis and Martha gets increasingly weird; especially for Alexis, I'm open to post-canon material that better grounds her future in what we actually saw onscreen in the first half of the series. Crossover romance for either or both of Alexis & Martha is absolutely OK if you have ideas in that direction.
Columbo
I'm sure I've seen most to all the episodes at one time or another over the years, though never in really organized fashion. The attraction here is that Columbo isn't fazed by much of anything, no matter how off-the-wall - which is what prompts me to group him here with folks who are either just as unflappable but in different contexts, or who are way, way outside his usual orbit.
Doctor Who (2005)
Thanks to the recent no-frills releases, I now own a near-complete run of Doctors Nine through Thirteen on disc (thank you, BBC Video!); there are gaps in what I've *watched*, but I'm reasonably conversant with the overall arcs. Sadly, I am *not* well-versed in the Big Finish audio canon, so you'll be best not drawing closely on that material. Of the modern Doctors, I am fondest of Ten, least fond of Nine, and fascinated by Thirteen. Missy is the first modern Master I've warmed to. I'd love to see more of new!UNIT with Kate & Osgood (any of her); also, I will always enjoy the Doctor rambling in Earth history. Companion-wise, I'm least partial to Rose and Donna, and delighted with any and all pre-Nine companion drop-ins (esp. Sarah Jane & K-9).
Gargoyles
I have not managed to keep up with the post-series comics. OTOH, I have prowled extensively in the online reference wikis while researching my own fics and so have broad general knowledge of what has come before and since the events of the show as aired.
Indiana Jones (Movies)
I mostly liked Crystal Skull, but I'm OK with overlooking it if your muse prefers.
Jacqueline Kirby series - Elizabeth Peters
I've read all of Jacqueline's adventures (and also virtually all the rest of the Peters canon). I mention this because my personal head-canon is that Jacqueline is in fact the Nameless Editor of the Emerson family papers - the archives having been donated or sold before Vicky and John learned of the relevant ancestral connections. Others are totally not required to adopt this headcanon, but it's offered just in case it comes in handy for connecting dots.
Leverage
I'm a latecomer here in the formal sense, but have been hovering around the show's edges for years, and have now assimilated most of canon plus some of the tie-in novels and a good deal of fanfic. Caper yarns have always been my jam - "Let's go steal a [whatever]" is never a bad pickup line - and I am on board for most of the popular fannish pairings/OT3s, etc. The best thing about this team? No matter how weird things get, they don't (visibly) lose their game faces, so it's fun to test the limits of the weirdness quotient.
Miraculous Ladybug
Have seen Seasons 1 thru 3 plus the New York special, but no season 4 as yet (side-eyes Disney for putting it on the Channel but not the + stream). Four notes: (1) I agree with the fanon theory that Our Heroes are at least 16 by the end of season 3 (or 5, by 'Flix-count); (2) my pairing-of-choice is Adrienette, though I'm not opposed to adding Kagami as OT3; (3) as needed for crossovers, I'm on board for historical/AU OCs as alternate Miraculous wielders in other times/places; (4) I'm very curious as to how Miraculous Cure might work (or not) where no akuma is in play (i.e. a crossover villain). [Marinette's comment in the NY special does not strike me as wholly authoritative.] Per above, I'm not opposed to mature teens being intimate with one another if they're responsible about it, but I don't see it as the focus of any given crossover or fusion.
Power Rangers Time Force
I've seen and own the full series, the WildForce crossover, and the much later "Dimensions in Danger" crossover. I'm totally in favor of postcanon Wes/Jen (and wrote a story enabling it).
Mrs. Pollifax - Gilman
Have read all the books plus most of the rest of the Gilman canon; sadly, have never seen the TV movie where Angela Lansbury played Emily (the local station bumped it for *golf*, damnit!). Like the Leverage team, I see Emily's great virtue as her unflappability - no matter what you throw at her, she will apply common sense, home-made baked goods, and/or karate as needed.
Questor Tapes (1974)
This was a Gene Roddenberry/D.C. Fontana project - there was a movie-length TV pilot, and Fontana later produced a novel based on the movie - that centered on a mysterious android and his human partner roaming the world doing good deeds. (Structurally, think the Bixby "Incredible Hulk" series or "Highway to Heaven", only starring a really early version of Data from Star Trek:TNG. Indeed, decades later, various Trek novelists spun out a long and complicated continuity that essentially makes Questor a lineal ancestor of Data's.) I have both novel and disc release (!); I don't know how easy these would be to find today, though they're worth hunting down.
Relic Hunter
It's been a long while, but I watched this beginning to end as it aired, and really liked Tia Carrere as action heroine Sydney Fox. The writers here kept the UST between Sydney and Nigel perfectly balanced throughout the series, and danced neatly back and forth across the line between semi-realistic archaeology and the fantasy world in which Sydney and Indiana Jones sometimes live.
Remington Steele
Possibly my all-time favorite non-superpowered crime-fighting partnership. Despite going a bit off the rails in the fourth and fifth seasons, the writers ultimately ended things on a high note, and Brosnan and *both* Zimbalists were fantastic throughout. Depending on the canons being crossed, I'd be glad to see this team (definitely including Mildred Krebs) either during or post-canon - and it occurs to me that Major and Minor Descoine might make an excellent pair of crossover villains.
Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)
Note that we're talking Nicholas Cage here, not Mickey Mouse. I liked this movie quite a bit and would have been on board for a sequel. I'm particularly open here to fic set prior to the movie, with Balthazar active in whatever historical setting is needed for a crossover to happen.
Star Trek: Rihannsu - Diane Duane
These are among my very favorite Star Trek novels (and also my very favorite SF novels in or out of the tie-in realm). For crossover purposes, it's clearly more likely that the Doctor or the Time Force rangers would show up in Rihannsu territory than vice versa. I'm honestly not sure how one would shoehorn Indiana Jones into a pure crossover absent a time-shift McGuffin (OTOH, a fusion in which Indy is native to the Trek era might be fun to do). Likewise, I could see a Questor/Rihannsu story in which a version of the Questor Project from the movie is being conducted on ch'Rihan - either in Ael's and Kirk's time or possibly a generation or two back in Rihannsu history.
Stargate SG-1
I'm conversant with the full series plus the two post-series movies, though my viewing of the last couple of seasons was rather scattershot (loved Vala, didn't care for the Ori at all). I have no strong pairing 'ships here, save perhaps for Jack/Sam if a situation allows for it. Bonus points for thoughtful reappearances of notable guest characters (esp. Cassandra, the alien girl adopted by Dr. Fraiser).
Tom Swift IV - "Victor Appleton"
These books are my favorite Swifts for the solid SF plots combined with a crisp, modern setting, and Swift Enterprises would be easy to cross into most present-day fictional spaces. For Batman Beyond, one might go the time-travel route...or I can think of multiple angles into a fusion (Tom lands in the Batsuit instead of Terry; Bruce has partnered with Swift Enterprises somehow; Xavier "Black Dragon" Mace is still around and falls into Batman's orbit).
Young Wizards - Duane
I have and enjoy both the original and New Millennium texts right up through Games Wizards Play, plus most of the canonical ebooks. Feel free to use whichever continuity you need (original or New Millenium) to make a crossover/fusion work.
Specific Requests
Carmen Sandiego (2019) • Castle • Gargoyles • Mrs. Pollifax • Stargate SG-1 • Young Wizards - Duane
We'll call this the "modern mischief" cluster. Three of these are firmly grounded in modern New York, and the others are geographically mobile, so no two should be difficult to shove into each other's orbits - what's entertaining is what happens when they intersect.
Key questions to ask: who in any of the other canons may already be a practicing wizard who's sworn the Oath and packs a manual? What if Castle had fixated on Elisa Maza rather than Kate Beckett? Could David Xanatos successfully pull one of his gambits on the Goa'uld (and/or how scary would it be for him to partner with Vala on some project or other)? Suppose Carmen and Vala find themselves going after the same McGuffin? Might Carmen lure Alexis Castle into a life of not-exactly-crime? And how might Emily Pollifax react to living gargoyles and/or accidentally getting co-opted into an off-planet adventure?
Other characters to look at for crossover potential: Martha from Castle, Macbeth and/or Owen from Gargoyles, Daniel Jackson from SG-1, Carmela from Young Wizards. (With specific regard to Martha and Macbeth, I would be mightily amused with the notion that Macbeth is actually Castle's father in that AU.)
Antiques Roadshow RPF • Carmen Sandiego (2019) • Gargoyles • Relic Hunter • Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)
This is the "McGuffin magnet" cluster; clearly, almost any crossover between two (or more) of them should involve some sort of conflict over who actually ends up with the relevant McGuffin (and whether said McGuffin is actually as exotic or dangerous as it's presumed to be). I could also see Relic Hunter's Sydney or possibly Gargoyles' Macbeth (in his civilian "Lennox Macduff" persona) being tapped as an actual Roadshow appraiser under certain circumstances.
Batman Beyond • Kim Possible • Miraculous Ladybug • Tom Swift IV • Young Wizards - Duane
This is the "teen superpowers" cluster - whether the powers are tech-based (Batman, Tom Swift, Kim Possible) or magical (Ladybug, Young Wizards). Some of these will require a bit of dimension-shifting or time travel to connect, but there's precedent for that in several of the canons and wiggle room in the rest. I'd be especially intrigued by meetings between Marinette and Kim, Nita, or Dairine, gadget one-upsmanship between Kim and Tom or Terry, and Tom or Terry having to cope with a magic-based problem with the wizards' or the Miraculous-wielders' aid.
Doctor Who (2005) • Indiana Jones series • Power Rangers Time Force • Questor Tapes • Star Trek: Rihannsu
And here's the almost-pure "sci-fi action" cluster - although in the case of a Doctor/Indy crossover, it's likely to be period-flavored sci-fi action rather than heavy futuristic technomancy. The Doctor, of course, can turn up just about anywhen, as can the Time Force rangers. Questor is something of a wild card - on one hand, he could easily run across an artifact left over from one of Indy's adventures, but parts of extended Star Trek lore strongly imply a connection between Questor and the various Soong androids, which could theoretically draw him into a Rihannsu scenario. (What Ael and her people would make of the Doctor is another matter entirely....)
First, of all, thank you. This is, I think, up at the advanced-mastery level of fic exchanges, and I am grateful to anyone who braves its challenges. And of course it's also one of my favorite exchanges - crossovers are a big part of my fanfictional universe as both a reader and writer, and I'm always delighted to have an excuse to jump into this briar patch.
So: let the Epic begin.
Why I'm Here
Three words: flexibility, challenge, and surprise.
As a writer, I come for the challenge. While I’m careful to offer for fandoms I know I can write, I tend to offer them in combinations that I also know will stretch my internal idea generator and my storytelling muscles. And I’ve offered – and will continue to offer – fandoms in clusters of four to six so that I absolutely won’t know ahead of time what my matches will look like. Much of the fun for me is in the range of what I might be asked to do. I want to be surprised by my recipient’s requests, and by the nature of the specific challenge facing me in any given year. Up to now, specific matching protocols notwithstanding, there’ve usually been several options open to me from among my recipients’ requests, and I hope that remains true this time around.
As a requester, I come bearing flexibility. As with offers, I tend to cluster my requests in groups of four to six, because – again, notwithstanding the specific match AO3’s Sorting Hat may generate – I want you to have choices too. In a way, I think of this as the thematic opposite of Yuletide, where we often do request specific heart-fandoms and hope for particular elements in the stories arising from them. Here, I am looking not for the story I’d write, or even the story I’d most like to read – rather, I’m looking for the story a given pair of crossed fandoms makes you write, because that’s most likely to be one I would never have thought of.
Thus, as both a writer and reader, I come to Crossworks for the surprise. I enjoy being surprised by the stories my muse draws from the match(es) I’m handed, and I very much enjoy being surprised by the stories your muse draws from the one(s) I’ve supplied for you. This is why I tend to give broad, general prompts rather than specific ones for this exchange. Having said that: if you would like more specific prompts than what I’ve supplied, please contact the mods, and I will cheerfully amplify on any of my individual request-clusters – which won’t spoil any surprises on either end, since only you will know the specific combo on which the original match was made.
Likes & Dislikes:
My tastes in fic are wide and eclectic -- I read and enjoy gen, het, and slash (both flavors) at all ratings and have very few outright squicks aside from noncon, incest, and adult-child kink, but I am not typically attracted to stories for erotic content or angst quotient. Rather, I like good characterization, authentic-sounding dialogue, effectively sneaky plotting, and well-developed wit. I am equally intrigued by clever use of canon and thoughtfully developed AUs, and I am disturbingly fond of crossovers [obvious much?] and well-woven meta threads.
As to romance: where crossovers are concerned, I'm hardly ever drawn to write one for pairing-related purposes, and within individual fandoms I normally gravitate to canon-consistent pairings -- but in the crossovers I read, I've been wowed by a startling range of intriguing cross-fannish relationships (up to and including Buffy Summers and a Ninja Turtle. That said, I add the observation that in my book, well-sustained UST (heavy on the T) is often as good as or better than actual sex, in crossovers as well as canonical relationships.
Broadly speaking, my interests run more toward crossovers than to fusions - although technically, quite a lot of my own work occupies the fuzzy middle of that diagram (that is, where both source canons exist "side by side" in the same background world, often with one source timeline shifted to some degree to allow the characters to encounter each other at a particular point in the merged timeline). That said, I’m absolutely not opposed to fusions, especially in some cases; there will be more about that in the request-cluster notes. And it's definitely true that my own writing also reflects the kinds of things I like to read; my AO3 archive is here, and you're welcome to prowl.
Fandom-Specific Notes
Unless the notes specify otherwise, assume I’ve seen or read all of a given series’ primary screened or published canon, but not any bonus/extra/sequel content (particularly including post-series comics).
Antiques Roadshow RPF
I've been watching this series (US version, not British) long enough to feel almost antique myself - but only recently realized that the show is a near-perfect crossover magnet. All you need is a suitable McGuffin, and fun can be had whether by stumping the appraisers with impossible artifacts, having an appraiser establish that your McGuffin is definitively real (or fake) as the plot demands, or staging a heist or other shenanigans right under the appraisers' noses. One caution: while there's a lot of potential for comic action here, I do *not* want fic that makes the appraisers look incompetent or impugns their integrity. Do feel free to work with the celebrity-visit format we've seen in the newest episodes; there's potential there, too.
Batman Beyond
I've seen the full series plus Return of the Joker and the JLU episode "Epilogue" (in which there's significant BB backstory).
Carmen Sandiego (2019)
For all that the third season climax tied things off pretty darned well, I would still dearly love to see a 4th season - and failing that, postcanon fic will certainly do. (Not that I'm opposed to pre- or during- fic, mind you, not in the least.) I want to see way more of Shadow-san, more back story (and front story) for all the Acme characters (Julia especially), and a bit more action for Player. The VILE crew? Deserves all the grief they can be handed, possibly from that *other* Acme where Wile E. orders his traps.
Castle
Great series so long as one stays clear of all the long-term "arc" plotlines (Johanna Beckett's murder, Bracken, Loksat, the missed wedding/amnesia wackiness, Castle's PI agency). I'm not a fan of Pi or Hayley, and convinced that "Jackson Hunt" is NOT Castle's father regardless of what canon thinks it says. The late-series writing for both Alexis and Martha gets increasingly weird; especially for Alexis, I'm open to post-canon material that better grounds her future in what we actually saw onscreen in the first half of the series. Crossover romance for either or both of Alexis & Martha is absolutely OK if you have ideas in that direction.
Columbo
I'm sure I've seen most to all the episodes at one time or another over the years, though never in really organized fashion. The attraction here is that Columbo isn't fazed by much of anything, no matter how off-the-wall - which is what prompts me to group him here with folks who are either just as unflappable but in different contexts, or who are way, way outside his usual orbit.
Doctor Who (2005)
Thanks to the recent no-frills releases, I now own a near-complete run of Doctors Nine through Thirteen on disc (thank you, BBC Video!); there are gaps in what I've *watched*, but I'm reasonably conversant with the overall arcs. Sadly, I am *not* well-versed in the Big Finish audio canon, so you'll be best not drawing closely on that material. Of the modern Doctors, I am fondest of Ten, least fond of Nine, and fascinated by Thirteen. Missy is the first modern Master I've warmed to. I'd love to see more of new!UNIT with Kate & Osgood (any of her); also, I will always enjoy the Doctor rambling in Earth history. Companion-wise, I'm least partial to Rose and Donna, and delighted with any and all pre-Nine companion drop-ins (esp. Sarah Jane & K-9).
Gargoyles
I have not managed to keep up with the post-series comics. OTOH, I have prowled extensively in the online reference wikis while researching my own fics and so have broad general knowledge of what has come before and since the events of the show as aired.
Indiana Jones (Movies)
I mostly liked Crystal Skull, but I'm OK with overlooking it if your muse prefers.
Jacqueline Kirby series - Elizabeth Peters
I've read all of Jacqueline's adventures (and also virtually all the rest of the Peters canon). I mention this because my personal head-canon is that Jacqueline is in fact the Nameless Editor of the Emerson family papers - the archives having been donated or sold before Vicky and John learned of the relevant ancestral connections. Others are totally not required to adopt this headcanon, but it's offered just in case it comes in handy for connecting dots.
Leverage
I'm a latecomer here in the formal sense, but have been hovering around the show's edges for years, and have now assimilated most of canon plus some of the tie-in novels and a good deal of fanfic. Caper yarns have always been my jam - "Let's go steal a [whatever]" is never a bad pickup line - and I am on board for most of the popular fannish pairings/OT3s, etc. The best thing about this team? No matter how weird things get, they don't (visibly) lose their game faces, so it's fun to test the limits of the weirdness quotient.
Miraculous Ladybug
Have seen Seasons 1 thru 3 plus the New York special, but no season 4 as yet (side-eyes Disney for putting it on the Channel but not the + stream). Four notes: (1) I agree with the fanon theory that Our Heroes are at least 16 by the end of season 3 (or 5, by 'Flix-count); (2) my pairing-of-choice is Adrienette, though I'm not opposed to adding Kagami as OT3; (3) as needed for crossovers, I'm on board for historical/AU OCs as alternate Miraculous wielders in other times/places; (4) I'm very curious as to how Miraculous Cure might work (or not) where no akuma is in play (i.e. a crossover villain). [Marinette's comment in the NY special does not strike me as wholly authoritative.] Per above, I'm not opposed to mature teens being intimate with one another if they're responsible about it, but I don't see it as the focus of any given crossover or fusion.
Power Rangers Time Force
I've seen and own the full series, the WildForce crossover, and the much later "Dimensions in Danger" crossover. I'm totally in favor of postcanon Wes/Jen (and wrote a story enabling it).
Mrs. Pollifax - Gilman
Have read all the books plus most of the rest of the Gilman canon; sadly, have never seen the TV movie where Angela Lansbury played Emily (the local station bumped it for *golf*, damnit!). Like the Leverage team, I see Emily's great virtue as her unflappability - no matter what you throw at her, she will apply common sense, home-made baked goods, and/or karate as needed.
Questor Tapes (1974)
This was a Gene Roddenberry/D.C. Fontana project - there was a movie-length TV pilot, and Fontana later produced a novel based on the movie - that centered on a mysterious android and his human partner roaming the world doing good deeds. (Structurally, think the Bixby "Incredible Hulk" series or "Highway to Heaven", only starring a really early version of Data from Star Trek:TNG. Indeed, decades later, various Trek novelists spun out a long and complicated continuity that essentially makes Questor a lineal ancestor of Data's.) I have both novel and disc release (!); I don't know how easy these would be to find today, though they're worth hunting down.
Relic Hunter
It's been a long while, but I watched this beginning to end as it aired, and really liked Tia Carrere as action heroine Sydney Fox. The writers here kept the UST between Sydney and Nigel perfectly balanced throughout the series, and danced neatly back and forth across the line between semi-realistic archaeology and the fantasy world in which Sydney and Indiana Jones sometimes live.
Remington Steele
Possibly my all-time favorite non-superpowered crime-fighting partnership. Despite going a bit off the rails in the fourth and fifth seasons, the writers ultimately ended things on a high note, and Brosnan and *both* Zimbalists were fantastic throughout. Depending on the canons being crossed, I'd be glad to see this team (definitely including Mildred Krebs) either during or post-canon - and it occurs to me that Major and Minor Descoine might make an excellent pair of crossover villains.
Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)
Note that we're talking Nicholas Cage here, not Mickey Mouse. I liked this movie quite a bit and would have been on board for a sequel. I'm particularly open here to fic set prior to the movie, with Balthazar active in whatever historical setting is needed for a crossover to happen.
Star Trek: Rihannsu - Diane Duane
These are among my very favorite Star Trek novels (and also my very favorite SF novels in or out of the tie-in realm). For crossover purposes, it's clearly more likely that the Doctor or the Time Force rangers would show up in Rihannsu territory than vice versa. I'm honestly not sure how one would shoehorn Indiana Jones into a pure crossover absent a time-shift McGuffin (OTOH, a fusion in which Indy is native to the Trek era might be fun to do). Likewise, I could see a Questor/Rihannsu story in which a version of the Questor Project from the movie is being conducted on ch'Rihan - either in Ael's and Kirk's time or possibly a generation or two back in Rihannsu history.
Stargate SG-1
I'm conversant with the full series plus the two post-series movies, though my viewing of the last couple of seasons was rather scattershot (loved Vala, didn't care for the Ori at all). I have no strong pairing 'ships here, save perhaps for Jack/Sam if a situation allows for it. Bonus points for thoughtful reappearances of notable guest characters (esp. Cassandra, the alien girl adopted by Dr. Fraiser).
Tom Swift IV - "Victor Appleton"
These books are my favorite Swifts for the solid SF plots combined with a crisp, modern setting, and Swift Enterprises would be easy to cross into most present-day fictional spaces. For Batman Beyond, one might go the time-travel route...or I can think of multiple angles into a fusion (Tom lands in the Batsuit instead of Terry; Bruce has partnered with Swift Enterprises somehow; Xavier "Black Dragon" Mace is still around and falls into Batman's orbit).
Young Wizards - Duane
I have and enjoy both the original and New Millennium texts right up through Games Wizards Play, plus most of the canonical ebooks. Feel free to use whichever continuity you need (original or New Millenium) to make a crossover/fusion work.
Specific Requests
Carmen Sandiego (2019) • Castle • Gargoyles • Mrs. Pollifax • Stargate SG-1 • Young Wizards - Duane
We'll call this the "modern mischief" cluster. Three of these are firmly grounded in modern New York, and the others are geographically mobile, so no two should be difficult to shove into each other's orbits - what's entertaining is what happens when they intersect.
Key questions to ask: who in any of the other canons may already be a practicing wizard who's sworn the Oath and packs a manual? What if Castle had fixated on Elisa Maza rather than Kate Beckett? Could David Xanatos successfully pull one of his gambits on the Goa'uld (and/or how scary would it be for him to partner with Vala on some project or other)? Suppose Carmen and Vala find themselves going after the same McGuffin? Might Carmen lure Alexis Castle into a life of not-exactly-crime? And how might Emily Pollifax react to living gargoyles and/or accidentally getting co-opted into an off-planet adventure?
Other characters to look at for crossover potential: Martha from Castle, Macbeth and/or Owen from Gargoyles, Daniel Jackson from SG-1, Carmela from Young Wizards. (With specific regard to Martha and Macbeth, I would be mightily amused with the notion that Macbeth is actually Castle's father in that AU.)
Antiques Roadshow RPF • Columbo • Jacqueline Kirby - Peters
• Leverage • Remington Steele • Stargate SG-1
Antiques Roadshow RPF • Carmen Sandiego (2019) • Gargoyles • Relic Hunter • Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)
This is the "McGuffin magnet" cluster; clearly, almost any crossover between two (or more) of them should involve some sort of conflict over who actually ends up with the relevant McGuffin (and whether said McGuffin is actually as exotic or dangerous as it's presumed to be). I could also see Relic Hunter's Sydney or possibly Gargoyles' Macbeth (in his civilian "Lennox Macduff" persona) being tapped as an actual Roadshow appraiser under certain circumstances.
Batman Beyond • Kim Possible • Miraculous Ladybug • Tom Swift IV • Young Wizards - Duane
This is the "teen superpowers" cluster - whether the powers are tech-based (Batman, Tom Swift, Kim Possible) or magical (Ladybug, Young Wizards). Some of these will require a bit of dimension-shifting or time travel to connect, but there's precedent for that in several of the canons and wiggle room in the rest. I'd be especially intrigued by meetings between Marinette and Kim, Nita, or Dairine, gadget one-upsmanship between Kim and Tom or Terry, and Tom or Terry having to cope with a magic-based problem with the wizards' or the Miraculous-wielders' aid.
Doctor Who (2005) • Indiana Jones series • Power Rangers Time Force • Questor Tapes • Star Trek: Rihannsu
And here's the almost-pure "sci-fi action" cluster - although in the case of a Doctor/Indy crossover, it's likely to be period-flavored sci-fi action rather than heavy futuristic technomancy. The Doctor, of course, can turn up just about anywhen, as can the Time Force rangers. Questor is something of a wild card - on one hand, he could easily run across an artifact left over from one of Indy's adventures, but parts of extended Star Trek lore strongly imply a connection between Questor and the various Soong androids, which could theoretically draw him into a Rihannsu scenario. (What Ael and her people would make of the Doctor is another matter entirely....)
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