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Thinking of writing a x-over and would like some advice.

Discussion in 'Fanfic Discussion' started by GrayFox, Mar 3, 2012.

  1. GrayFox

    GrayFox Slug Club Member DLP Supporter

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    This goes here right?

    Anyway, lately I've been reading a bit of Star Wars fanfiction and was playing with the idea of a crossover with HP. If I do this it will lean more toward the Knights of The Old Republic, time of the Star Wars universe. What I'm asking, is can you, the users of DLP, forewarn me about cliches I should make an effort to avoid before I even start writing?

    Little Info:

    *Story shall take place during/within Star Wars

    *Harry is the 'outsider character' and only character from the HP-verse we will see in the story. Leaving some memories of his.

    *Yes Harry will have magic and the force, but I have plans to make sure he isn't OP.

    *If you are familiar with the game Knights of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, that is the time in which the story will start.

    *Expect characters from previously mentioned game to be staples in the story

    *And I'm not going to follow Star Wars canon to the letter, as I'm not knowledgeable enough of the story arc other than videogames and movies. I will kinda do whatever I want, within reason.

    *No I don't have a web, this is just an idea right now

    Any question feel free to ask, I will answer to the best of my ability.
     
  2. Heather_Sinclair

    Heather_Sinclair Chief Warlock

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    Plot Bunnies might be a better place for this. It's used to work out the kinks of story ideas, and this seems to be what you're asking for.

    Known cliches:
    How are you getting Harry to the SW universe? DoM Veil and random Killing Curses are very cliche.

    If he uses magic and has Force powers, wouldn't he be a tad overpowered?

    Consolidating the two is also a cliche. (i.e. Yoda announcing that magic and the force are the same thing or are closely related, etc.)

    I'd suggest not having Harry understand anything technical like being able to instantly know how to fly a ship just because he's good on a broom. I'd personally play up the "How the hell does this thing work?" angle for a bit.

    It would help to have a skeleton plot to look at to really expound on this any further.
     
  3. Red Aviary

    Red Aviary Hogdorinclawpuff ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    I would also suggest that you have Harry use either magic or the Force, not both. Magic would probably be better, it would make him unique.

    On the subject of the relation between them, there is a subset of Force-knowledge called Sith Magic that has some unique properties compared to the usual psychic abilities of Force-sensitives. If you're set on making them related, pursue that route. Though it is Sith Magic, meaning deeply routed in the Dark Side, so keep that in mind.

    Be very careful if you're going to give Harry a lightsaber.

    I'm all for any SW fiction set in the Sith Lords period. There's lots about the first game, but the second seems to be very under-represented. Probably because it's a lot more complicated.

    As Heather Sinclair said, more information would be necessary if you want more help.
     
  4. GrayFox

    GrayFox Slug Club Member DLP Supporter

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    As for how I'm getting him there, he will already be there.

    I was going to have Harry be AU. During the battle against voldemort he is severly injured. (Insert random person from the order here) puts Harry under a stasis charm until they can get to St. Mugo's(SP?). While there the Healers decide to leave the charm on (and tie the power into Harry's core) while the work on whatever debilitating injury my sick mind can come up with.

    Overnight the hospital is broken into by (inset surviving death eater). Same death eater hides harry in a magical vault with the intent of torturing him later. While out at knockturn alley he is arrested by aurors for being a death eater. He is tried and sentenced to azkaban where he later dies.

    Upon realizing Harry has been kidnapped, the now reduced Order search for him. After years of not finding him, because they didn't ask the kidnapper where he was since he was associated with the crime. The Order slowly starts to lose hope. Eventually it is left to whomever I have as his bestfriends as the only searchers. Many years pass to where whoever was left are now extremely old, then because of some twist of fate they find the vault he is in, Because the stasis charm was tied into his core and he is voldemort/dumbledore level of power, he hasn't aged.

    When they find him, whoever is left of his loved ones decides to build a small tomb/crypt where the entire place is covered in a stasis charm to further back up the other one. They leave his effects, some odds and ends, and a video/holo recording of whats happened.

    They tie the new stasis charms into the natural liegh lines of magic focused through a crystal that judges the energy as light magic or dark. If the crystal ever resonates further than gray or is removed, it will cause the charms to break thus waking or hero up.

    Problem is, he is still injured after his battle and his magic is near completely drained. Where is he? Why he is on Earth, except it hasn't been called 'Earth' for a long time. It's new name is Dantooine.

    Harry is awaken in a crypt below the Kinrath crystal cave. Upon his awakening what remaining magic lashes out, sending a plus through magic/the force so that its owner may be healed. He is found by Meetra Surik(aka the exile).

    Stuff happens, in which Harry is taken before Atris to be healed to her best ability(she is the archiver, so she most know more about the force that those whom are left). She agrees after sensing the pureness within harry, and says she will contact 'the exile' when completed.

    I was thinking that when he is finally healed and awoken, he will have difficulty feeling his magic because it has been used up and he is now on a different planet than 'earth' and a dead planet on top of that. When awakened he will few his message left by (insert person) and have a small(read small) breakdown, because come on he is x years in the future, on a different planet, with no idea how to do anything save dress himself.

    Fearing his magic lost, he will begin to train in the echanti methods with, you guessed it, brianna. He will be on par with her, but less than her sisters. Atris, not sensing anymore force within him than 'the last of the handmaidens,' will not object. She will however, force him from the temple once she is sure he can handle himself.

    Anyway stuff happens, Harry is deemed able to survive, and is loaded into a shuttle for a one-way trip to citadel station. He is given a few credits, a his personal effects, and a vibroblade for protection. He speaks with the local pd to get an alias set up and is given the apartment they had reserved for 'the exile.'

    Unkown to anyone, Brianna, had snuck aboard and than off the shuttle to travel with the 'only person to treat her as a friend and equal'. Estatic to have someone he knows with him, Harry begins to open up to her. Sad stories, stories of triumph, yadda yadda. They get to know each other while adjusting to life.

    While this is happening, we will sporadically check in with Meetra and her crew on there journey. However, since this is the OLD republic, I'm going to dumb down their faster than light technology too a week or 2 a lightyear.

    Back with Harry, his magic is acting up causing some slight problems in the form of a slight fatigue and interfering with nearby electronics(see all of them). Brianna, seeing whats happening, mistakens it for the force and has harry go through what she remembers from atris' collection, which she routinely inventoried. He learns enough meditation techniques that he fools his own magic into acting like the force, except his 'magic' doesn't feel as strong as it used to. Worried that he is losing his powers he continues to train in combat. In reality he has created a partition in his magic that is now dedicated to imitating the force. But because it is an imitation it isn't as good.

    Stuff happens, 'The Exile' returns to Telos for some reason or another. Senses Harry's sudo-force, and proceeds to convince him and Brianna to come and help him.

    There I've succeed in putting brianna and harry on board the Ebon Hawk to help 'The Exile.'

    Story would continue from there, but for now give me your advice on what I'm doing right, and what I've done wrong.
     
  5. Skeletaure

    Skeletaure Magical Core Enthusiast ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    I have problems with the idea of Harry's magic being used up. It's well established now that a wizard's magic is located within his scrotum; Harry's magic being gone implies castration.

    All this talk of a partition further confirms my worries.
     
  6. GrayFox

    GrayFox Slug Club Member DLP Supporter

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    ehhh......................really don't have a response to that, though if you reread what I wrote, his magic isn't gone, he is just having problems with it.
     
  7. Skeletaure

    Skeletaure Magical Core Enthusiast ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    They should give him Viagra, then.
     
  8. GrayFox

    GrayFox Slug Club Member DLP Supporter

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    right, uhh jedi don't have viagra?
     
  9. Thaumologist

    Thaumologist Fifth Year ~ Prestige ~

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    Taure's talking about the well known fact that all wizards' power is related to the surface area of their scrotum, and witches get their magical power from semen.

    Ever had morning wood?

    That was a witch with a disillusionment charm. And it explains why you can't cast spells. She stole your magic.



    I see several problems inherent to crossovers, and then a few other things.
    1. Why Harry? Make sure you keep HP as HP, and don't turn him into an OC with the same name. This happens more than you'd think.
    2. Why SW? If you are unfamiliar with that canon to the point you know it won't be correct, you're wading in new waters for you, and anyone who recognizes it might just think you're a terrible author.
    3. How will things change with the addition of HP? I recently read a HP/Jak2 crossover, and it had no visible changes to the Jak2 storyline. Which didn't make sense, considering there was now a magical creature that hadn't been seen in a thousand years. Don't do that.

    If you want to keep the Force and magic seperate, or at least different, then just have the Force be what magic is now. with ten thousand/however many years having gone by, wizards mostly died out. There were still muggleborns, but they didn't ever get instructed, so they could never do the more advanced levels of magic, they could only stick to purposefully directed 'accidental' magic - levitations, strong gut feelings, and so forth. Over time, they figured out what was going on (to a point), and that is what the force is.
    If you keep 'the force is in everything', make it semi-evolving, and because it has only been used for force-realted stuff for so long, that's all it can do well. So Harry can still do all his old magic, but much, much weaker, and the new stuff not as well.

    Give him a lightsaber if you want. But make him work for it, not just find one in a bin and be insta-awesome.



    I'd read it, as i enjoy HP/SW crossovers (there just aren't many that are even readable), but I'm completely unfamiliar with anything past episodes 1-5, as I never saw 6, and never read any of the books; although I plan on rectifying that.
     
  10. Kang

    Kang Denarii Host DLP Supporter

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    He's taking the piss, bro.

    Your idea is crap. It's just a crappy idea having his magic imitate the force and blah blah blah. It would require a massive amount of effort on the readers behalf to overlook that and expect better from the rest of the fic.

    Is this your first fic? If so don't write a crossover.

    Is this your 100th fic? If so don't write a crossover with a universe that is notoriously finicky and so more explored than Harry Potter. It's rare enough to find a decent HP fic and a decent SW fic these days.

    I can count on one hand the authors who would have the ability to write out a decent crossover between the two 'verses and not have it spiral into hardcore fail.

    That aside... Good luck!
     
  11. enembee

    enembee The Nicromancer DLP Supporter

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    My primary issue is that Star Wars starts every film with 'A Long Time Ago', so having Harry placed in stasis from our time puts him 'A Very Long Time Ahead'. Or have I missed something?
     
  12. Oruma

    Oruma Order Member

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    in that case it's time to break out the "Time Room in DoM sent Harry to a long time ago" cliche.
     
  13. Warheart

    Warheart Sixth Year

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    "A Long Time Ago" makes some sense actually. One can imagine the Force being a primitive, underdeveloped sort of Magic that evolved in time to Magic as we know in the HP universe.

    The temporal displacement, however, requires careful handling. One could always make the case that the trip to past affected Harry's ability to handle magic somewhat adversely, which would allow the author to continue his storyline involving weakened!Harry.
     
  14. Jormungandr

    Jormungandr Prisoner

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    I'm sorry, but I honestly can't see this working without resorting to using well-known cliches; although the character interaction sounds a bit unique, the story itself would just be lumped in with the 'other' crossovers.

    Not a good thing.
     
  15. GrayFox

    GrayFox Slug Club Member DLP Supporter

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    I know that SW takes place "A Long Time Ago, in A Galaxy Far, Far, Away......." but I couldn't figure out a way to send Harry back in time that hasn't been done to the point of cliche.

    The Force as a primitive form of magic, kind of makes since except when you need midiclorians in your blood to access it. But hell maybe all wizards have them.

    Oh and when I said I'm not knowledgeable of the story arc, I meant to supplementary literature. I've seen all the movies, the cartoon, and played a lot of the videogames. But I haven't read any of the novels.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2012
  16. Scrib

    Scrib The Chosen One

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    You could just use those cliches? Cliches aren't bad if you're a good enough writer to put a good spin on them. Seriously, no one really gives a shit /how/ Harry goes to the SWverse as long as it doesn't create plot problems later on.

    Everyone gets so caught up in avoiding cliches they just take the long road for no reason.
     
  17. LittleBlackGoldfish

    LittleBlackGoldfish Third Year

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    Honestly, I'm kind of more interested in reading a story where magic is related to scrotum surface area and witches steal magic through sperm now. Purely as some demented crack fic.
     
  18. GrayFox

    GrayFox Slug Club Member DLP Supporter

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    If a wizards power was based on scrotum size, than that would explain why dumbledore wore those crazy robes. His had to be dangling past his knees.
     
  19. Heather_Sinclair

    Heather_Sinclair Chief Warlock

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    It's really not 'for no reason'. Using tired, relentlessly beat upon cliches is lazy writing. Thinking up a different method doesn't necessarily mean long convoluted methodology, it just means different.

    In most SW/HP stories that I've read, the beginning chapter is always a random fight scene in the DoM and ends up with Harry falling/leaping/whatever into the Veil, and then *poof* he's in the SW universe. I tend to scan the dozen or so Avada Kadevra's, Reducto's, Stupefy's and click on the next chapter so I can get on with the story.

    It's simply a wasted and lazy effort of writing when the author could alter it to something like a running attack at the ICW, while hunting down whomever, and interrupting some ritual/study/experiment, or a dozen other reasons.

    It's basically the same idea, substituting the ICW for the DoM and the Veil for whatever reason, but it's something that I haven't seen used and it encourages the read to actually read the chapter instead of skipping tired drivel once again.

    Is that the kind of spin you were talking about?

    Frankly, I'm a fan of skipping all of that crap and just have Harry "already there, " with a sketchy memory of how it happened, thus avoiding the entire problem.
     
  20. Thaumologist

    Thaumologist Fifth Year ~ Prestige ~

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    Unless the method of arrival plays a part (IE, Harry now having curtainaphobia), I agree with Heather - just stick Harry in whichever universe you want, with a hazy memory of something important happening.
     
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