Title: Martian Manhunter
Author: Mediancat
Genre: Action/Adventure
DLP Category: Misc
Status: Abandoned
Published: Feb 2007
Updated: May 2012
Chapters: 98
Words: 250,528
Pairing: None
Summary: Veronica Mars ends up in the Buffyverse, knowing what's coming and unable to do anything about it -- so she thinks . . .
Link: Twisting the Hellmouth

It's a self insert, except that she can't tell anyone in universe about the future, and the one doing the self inserting is a television character herself. That being said, it's Better Than it Sounds. I'm thoroughly enjoying this story even without any previous knowledge of Veronica Mars whatsoever, and the frantic "many balls in the air" feel combined with the dangers inherent in being a squib on a Hellmouth keep you on the edge of your seat. Twists and surprises abound, and the update rate has recently become pretty incredible at ~1 3k word chapter a day for about two or three weeks going.

Perhaps the most remarkable part of all this is that it's a non-shippy Buffy fic that:
1) Features most of the cast
2) Doesn't suck
3) Is over 100k words
and 4) Looks like it will probably be completed

 

Your last rec sucked. This one is about a SI who is a squib?

...

No.

EDIT: I decided to read past the first chapter based on yak's review (Still dude, first chap was weeeaaakk) and its sorta decent. 2/5 for some originality and decent writing...

 

Fail.

The writing, as far as I can tell, isn't too bad. But this isn't self insert this is just a crossover. Also the excuse the author uses to not explain how the new addition to the Buffy cast is just being lazy.

From what I've read it's just btvs with Veronica Mars in it.

Fail.

 

First things first: shame on you for not watching Veronica Mars. Shame.

That is a horrible description of Martian Manhunter; it's obviously not a self-insert, though it does borrow the oft-used ploy of the protagonist having detailed knowledge of the future plot.

Martian Manhunter is far from perfect, but it is still an enjoyable read. MedianCat really brings Veronica Mars to life as a living, breathing character, and definitely not as a thin veneer over an author surrogate as weaker writers would. The Veronica Mars and Buffy universes are fused for this crossover, and they more or less work well together, with most of the uncomfortable inconsistencies being laid at the feet of the demonic god-like character who has spliced these timelines together.

Now that I think about it, if any character is the author's surrogate, then it would be the demon-god who occasionally pops in to torment and test Veronica Mars in this fused universe.

The basic premise is extraordinarily weak: Veronica Mars is a BTVS fan whom made the common folly of claiming that she'd do things better in the Buffy-verse than the canon characters. Some passing demon-god takes that as a challenge and throws Mars into the Buffy-verse while merging enough of the Veronica Mars-verse into it that Mars' existence in Sunnydale is natural and unquestioned: she's always lived in Sunnydale, her dad used to be the sheriff there before being fired (for the same reasons as in the Veronica Mars TV show), etc. Once you get past that, there are only a couple of other bumps in the road to suspension of disbelief. The story improves as it progresses, and I know that I'm looking forward to new chapters every day.

Veronica Mars is still a private detective (of sorts) who shares a lot of witty banter with her PI father, as in the show. MedianCat doesn't shy away from writing good father-daughter dialogue with just the right touches of humour and patriarchal concern. Veronica is troubled by both her inability to act (limited by the demon-god), and conversely by the potentially horrific consequences from things that she attempts to improve. We've recently seen a large number of people killed, including a character who plays pivotal roles in future events. Veronica is just as manipulative of those around her as she is in the TV series, except that she seems to value whatever friendships she maintains slightly more than she did in canon, probably due to lesson's learned. She's also a bit less cold-blooded than I recall.

I have more things to criticise and praise about Martian Manhunter, but that'll do for now. If you've watched Veronica Mars and Buffy then this is a fic that I can recommend, providing that you can pass the aforementioned weak bits which are mostly in the early chapters.

 

I read a lot of this a while back before the author disappeared for a year long hiatus. From what I remembered it was a rerun of Buffy with VM popped in. Virtually no originality. The author writes a good Veronica; she's got her voice down pretty well. It would have been a much better story if it veered away from canon instead of rehashing all the episodes.

Now that my review is complete, when the hell is the Veronica Mars movie coming out? I miss the biting dialog, and delich dish that is VM. 'Heroes' just didn't do it for me. She's supposed to be little miss FBI in the movie.

 

It's not looking good for the Veronica Mars movie.

From July 2009:

- http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/07/02/ask-ausiello-spoilers-on-lost-house-24-and-more/

 

*sigh* They waited too long I suppose. That sucks.

 

I've only recently started reading this and have been following the updates as they come.

If you are looking for something that is A class fiction with incredible characters and story line, this is not your story.

If you are looking for a quirky, fun fic that fuses Veronica Mars with Buffy the Vampire slayer, and does it well, then this is what you are looking for.

And looky there, it's just updated.

/me goes off to read