| Summer Crossover Series 2003: Annotations By Kuzibah |
| I: Don�t Mess with Texas Notes: The title was once an official tourist slogan of the Lone Star state. II: Potions 101 Bit of Harry Dresden news. James Marsters has since recorded book two of the Dresden Files, Fool Moon. Buy it here. (Hint, hint, Santa�) Jim Butcher is also shopping the books as a possible TV series. Click here to read a letter I received on the author�s fanlisting regarding a possible TV series. III: Dragula Notes: The title comes from a song by Rob Zombie. As some of you noticed, the design and build teams were made up of various Cross-and-Stakers: A.C. Zamperla=Anthony (Zamperla is also a leading manufacturer of amusement park rides); Simon O�Geegee=Simon; Bubba Raven= well, duh; Bill �Wild Man� Lobo=wwolfe; Tere Flower=Delerium; David Penguin=David; Jennie �The Shark�=Jennie; Edina Nigam=Enigma. According to the geocities site statistics, 46% of the people who viewed this page found it by typing �how car flamethrowers work� into google. Oy vey. IV: Fair Warning No notes. V: Shadow Gypsies Notes: The bed and breakfast Oz and Bema stay at in Liverpool is the same one Spike stayed at in last Summer�s story series. VI: Tear in Your Hand Notes: The title is from a Tori Amos song. She and Neil Gaiman are friends, apparently, and reference each other�s work in their own. The first of two IKEA references in the series appears here. The first two dreams Dawn travels through refer to 1)a Hackensack Karaoke bar that a group of Cross-and-Stakers visited after a party at Anthony�s house, and 2)the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Bellagio, narrated by Liza Minelli. The third dream is, of course, from �Restless.� Death asks Dream about the movie, �Pirates of the Caribbean.� VII: Rose-Tint My World Notes: The title is from a song in �The Rocky Horror Picture Show.� One of the designers, Laurie Hickson-Smith, looks a lot like Claire Kramer, thus the reference to Willow giving her a funny look. The red-orange color in the formatted version is the color Faith and Robin�s room was painted, the blue is the color of Willow and Kennedy�s. I had a lot of fun writing the descriptions of the rooms. I kind of want the black leather headboard for myself. Second IKEA reference. VIII: Azuke Notes: The title is Japanese for �Custody.� Banpaia means �vampire.� IX: Sharp Dressed Man Notes: The title comes from a song by ZZ Top. All the shops are named after pets of mine. The names of Xander�s boss and his wife are from the fanfic epic �Repossession� by Lazuli, a beautiful (and very long) work in progress. X: And Now My Charms Are All O�erthrown Notes: The title is from Prospero�s final monologue in �The Tempest,� Shakespeare�s final play. This follows the pattern of the comic, where all issues are titled with quotes from �Hamlet.� The coffee chain, Java Heaven, has been mentioned in a couple of my other stories. Their mascot is Joe, the dancing coffee cup. The Nuckelevee is an actual Scottish faerie, noted for leading travelers astray (and presumably to their doom.) Black Annis is another Scottish faerie, noted for eating children. The last bit, about the Dark-Hunters and the Peltiers in New Orleans, is a reference to another book series, The Dark Hunter series, by Sherrilyn Kenyon. XI: Everyone Hail to the Pumpkin Song Notes: The title comes from a line in the score of �The Nightmare Before Christmas,� written by Danny Elfman. Dru and Will, are, of course, miniature versions of Drusilla and Spike. Awww. The landlady, Mrs. Bathory, is named for Elizabeth Bathory, a Transylvanian Countess who lived from 1560 to 1614. A psychotically cruel woman, she was known to have tortured as many as 650 of her servants to death, and was said to have bathed in human blood to preserve her youth. Her legendary exploits are believed to have contributed strongly to the vampire folklore in that area (as did those of another native son, Vlad Dracul, known as the Impaler.) In the film, no human adults are ever seen, which is why Wesley must appear as his child self to visit there. This story contains allusions to a few other works: The idea of the whole universe being imagined by an autistic boy came from the final episode of St. Elsewhere. The idea of the town in a jar comes from an issue of Sandman comics (see story VI: Tear in Your Hand). Stories Yet Unwritten A few Crossovers I wasn�t able to develop. If a plot bunny bites you, feel free to adopt it. Andrew on �Enterprise�: The ultimate Mary Sue story. Angel at �Moulin Rouge�: This movie takes place in 1899, during the lost time between Angel�s re-souling and the Boxer Rebellion. Might he not have been in Paris, drowning his pain in absinthe? An �X-Men� Crossover: Loved these comics, love the movies, couldn�t figure out how to cross them with Buffy. Dawn and �Bring It On�: She�s sexy! She�s cute! She�s popular to boot! And now that Torrance is graduating, the Toros need a new captain! Let�s see those spirit fingers! Buffy and Dracula: Oh, wait� A �Lupin III� Crossover: I would have had to start with an insanely clever caper, and my muse was not cooperating. A 19th-century Slayer joins the �League of Extraordinary Gentlemen�: Unfortunately, this delightful comic is now forever associated with a movie that really sucked. As usual. The Buffyverse meets the View Askew-niverse: The slackers of Kevin Smith�s movies meet the bitchin� babes of Joss Whedon�s shows. Lots of potential, no actual plot bubbled forth. Drusilla and �From Hell�: Again, the comic. But, this would have required a lot of historical research, and I didn�t have enough time. The Fanged Four with �Interview with the Vampire�: Done. To death. Spike and Ken Russell�s �Gothic�: Unfortunately, everyone on Earth hates this movie but me. The same with the �Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde� Crossover. Xander and �Magnolia�: No, just kidding� And so another Summer comes to an end. It�s been fun. Hope you all enjoyed, as well, and thanks to those who sent feedback. Main Menu ~ Return to Crossover Menu |