Here's an idea I've been playing around with for a while. In light of the recent posts on Doolittle's World and the Game Theory clip in Crossovers that Should be, it seems appropriate to go ahead and throw it out here. I don't know if I will ever get around to writing stories about it but I enjoy it as a world-building exercise with Yosho of Tenchi Muyo as a sort of linchpin and secret €œbig good€ holding everything together. I invite others to contribute additional ideas or comments on the presented ideas.
Premise: Yosho/Kasuhito, Tenchi's grandfather in Tenchi Muyo, hasn't spent the last 700 years as just a simple shrine keeper. He's been involved in a number of major incidents over the years and has accumulated a network of acquaintances, allies, and outright agents in his service. Also, Ryoko and Ryu-Ohki may not be the only dangerous thing that has been buried at the shrine for safekeeping. This could be handled as something happening behind the scenes in most of the respective series, or as something that makes for full-fledged AU divergence as Yosho takes actions or puts people from group A into touch with people from group B for mutual assistance. Some of these series would have to be modified in some way to get back stories regarding human history or the nature of the universe to fit. So I've been playing around with finding stuff that fits or can be made to fit.
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Events: Yosho, in my world building, has grounds and motivation to get involved in alien incursions (as a prince of Jurai), people of mixed heritage (as he is sympathetic to their plight and tends to offer them a haven), anything involving sword fighting (as a master of the blade), characters with strong religious beliefs and affiliations (he is a priest), and anything involving magical or otherwise empowered plants (as the Jurians are basically very advanced techno-druids).
InuYasha -- Not only would Yosho offer a haven to various hanyo characters, but If yokai and ambitious mortals were running around looking for mystic jewel fragments 500 years ago, it seems likely that some of them would have come around the Masaki shrine to investigate legends about Ryoko's three jewels of power. A number of the non-human or half-human characters could still be around at the time of Tenchi's adventures.
Soul Calibur -- People with swords fighting over and because of manipulations from intelligent swords of power might draw him in. Again, there are some characters with non-human or modified human natures that could still be around.
Blue Seed -- Plant monsters, angry gods, and partially-human hybrids.
Assorted Tokusatsu -- Anything involving invading aliens or mythological beings. (Which covers most of them)
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Characters -- Again, Yosho tends to become involved with or atract the attention of people with mixed heritage, a focus on sword skills, involvement in spiritual matters or aliens, etc. You may notice that there are far more female than male names on this list. I like the idea that Tenchi's grandfather also tends to attract women of beauty and power. Additionally, female characters have more potential for complicating Tenchi's life. I try to justify characters being around in the late 1990's as I am also trying to build a semi-coherent timeline for all this.
Donavan Bane -- Darkstalkers video game series -- Half-vampire, wandering Buddhist monk, uses a magical sword that has some degree of intelligence.
Mikoto -- Samurai Shodown video game series -- Mixed, complicated, but definitely non-human ancestry that could result in slow aging so she would still be around. Proficient with a blade, used to be a priestess / object of worship for a cult during a dark period in her youth.
Momohime/Oboro -- Muramasa: the Demon Blade videogame -- A woman who merged with the ghost of a samurai about 300 years ago and spent time in spirit realms, which may have affected her aging rate. Practices a sword style that revolves around using cursed blades with special powers while resisting the €œcursed€ part. Giving her swords from other sources adds additional crossover posibilites.
Ahega - Omamori Himari manga and anime -- Hinoenma (vampiric/succubus) with a taste for blood from spiritually-strong bloodlines. Uses a sword, has a sidekick that is a master sword smith, gets Tsundere for men who can both stand up to her and will stand up for her.
Igam - Hikari Sentai Maskman -- Former dark general that had a heel-face turn and became a Buddhist nun at the end of the series. Skilled with a rapier-like weapon.
Arashi Kishu -- X/1999 -- Sword wielding Miko.
Minerva -- Spinnerette webcomic -- Anthropomorphic Cerberus with both sword and sorcery abilities, tasked with hunting down evil escapees from hell. Either an AU equivalent so that the rest of the webcomic cast is'nt around or events take place before her involvement with the rest of said cast.
Ali and Ann -- Sailor Moon anime -- Reconciling the history of Earth and the galaxy from Sailor moon with that of other series takes some doing, but makes for an interesting mix. In this, I propose that the Doomtree was actually a Jurian tree that got lost or went off on its own, and at the end of their story arc instead of relocating to another world these two and the purified sapling locked onto the tree's €œaunt€ at the Masaki Shrine.
Jiyo Nanohana and Freesia Yagyu - Jubei Chan the Ninja Girl - At the beginning of the series, Mr Nanohana moved out to the country to get some peace and quiet so he could concentrate on his writing. If he wanted peace and quiet, maybe the countryside in Okayama wasn't such a good choice.
Devil Hunter Yohko - Hereditary monster slayer / magic girl with a sword. Yosho's been a friend of the family for a while now.
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Other possible sources:
DC comics: chosen over Marvel due to a fondness for Project A-ko. I'm uncertain about to including characters from this because the DCU as a whole (or almost any western-style superhero universe) comes with a lot of baggage. Black Orchid, as envisioned by Niel Gaiman, might have ended up at the Masaki Shrine instead of the Amazon rain forest when drawn to a place with a strong connection to "the Green". Raven of teen tians is another possibility, etc.
Starwars: Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, someone had a truly spectatular hyperdive malfunction and ended up in the vicinity of Earth. Jedi or lighter shades of Sith could fit right in.
Revolutionary Girl Utena - Swords, spiritual and phylosophical matters, but do I really want to deal with this much mindsrew?
Magic Knight Rayearth - Magical girls with swords, but everything happens off in another world/dimension.
Love Hina / Negima - The Shinreiryuu School offers lots of possibilities.
(edit: Still trying to get the font size straight)
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No, I don't believe the world has gone mad. In order for it to go mad it would need to have been sane at some point.
Premise: Yosho/Kasuhito, Tenchi's grandfather in Tenchi Muyo, hasn't spent the last 700 years as just a simple shrine keeper. He's been involved in a number of major incidents over the years and has accumulated a network of acquaintances, allies, and outright agents in his service. Also, Ryoko and Ryu-Ohki may not be the only dangerous thing that has been buried at the shrine for safekeeping. This could be handled as something happening behind the scenes in most of the respective series, or as something that makes for full-fledged AU divergence as Yosho takes actions or puts people from group A into touch with people from group B for mutual assistance. Some of these series would have to be modified in some way to get back stories regarding human history or the nature of the universe to fit. So I've been playing around with finding stuff that fits or can be made to fit.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Events: Yosho, in my world building, has grounds and motivation to get involved in alien incursions (as a prince of Jurai), people of mixed heritage (as he is sympathetic to their plight and tends to offer them a haven), anything involving sword fighting (as a master of the blade), characters with strong religious beliefs and affiliations (he is a priest), and anything involving magical or otherwise empowered plants (as the Jurians are basically very advanced techno-druids).
InuYasha -- Not only would Yosho offer a haven to various hanyo characters, but If yokai and ambitious mortals were running around looking for mystic jewel fragments 500 years ago, it seems likely that some of them would have come around the Masaki shrine to investigate legends about Ryoko's three jewels of power. A number of the non-human or half-human characters could still be around at the time of Tenchi's adventures.
Soul Calibur -- People with swords fighting over and because of manipulations from intelligent swords of power might draw him in. Again, there are some characters with non-human or modified human natures that could still be around.
Blue Seed -- Plant monsters, angry gods, and partially-human hybrids.
Assorted Tokusatsu -- Anything involving invading aliens or mythological beings. (Which covers most of them)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Characters -- Again, Yosho tends to become involved with or atract the attention of people with mixed heritage, a focus on sword skills, involvement in spiritual matters or aliens, etc. You may notice that there are far more female than male names on this list. I like the idea that Tenchi's grandfather also tends to attract women of beauty and power. Additionally, female characters have more potential for complicating Tenchi's life. I try to justify characters being around in the late 1990's as I am also trying to build a semi-coherent timeline for all this.
Donavan Bane -- Darkstalkers video game series -- Half-vampire, wandering Buddhist monk, uses a magical sword that has some degree of intelligence.
Mikoto -- Samurai Shodown video game series -- Mixed, complicated, but definitely non-human ancestry that could result in slow aging so she would still be around. Proficient with a blade, used to be a priestess / object of worship for a cult during a dark period in her youth.
Momohime/Oboro -- Muramasa: the Demon Blade videogame -- A woman who merged with the ghost of a samurai about 300 years ago and spent time in spirit realms, which may have affected her aging rate. Practices a sword style that revolves around using cursed blades with special powers while resisting the €œcursed€ part. Giving her swords from other sources adds additional crossover posibilites.
Ahega - Omamori Himari manga and anime -- Hinoenma (vampiric/succubus) with a taste for blood from spiritually-strong bloodlines. Uses a sword, has a sidekick that is a master sword smith, gets Tsundere for men who can both stand up to her and will stand up for her.
Igam - Hikari Sentai Maskman -- Former dark general that had a heel-face turn and became a Buddhist nun at the end of the series. Skilled with a rapier-like weapon.
Arashi Kishu -- X/1999 -- Sword wielding Miko.
Minerva -- Spinnerette webcomic -- Anthropomorphic Cerberus with both sword and sorcery abilities, tasked with hunting down evil escapees from hell. Either an AU equivalent so that the rest of the webcomic cast is'nt around or events take place before her involvement with the rest of said cast.
Ali and Ann -- Sailor Moon anime -- Reconciling the history of Earth and the galaxy from Sailor moon with that of other series takes some doing, but makes for an interesting mix. In this, I propose that the Doomtree was actually a Jurian tree that got lost or went off on its own, and at the end of their story arc instead of relocating to another world these two and the purified sapling locked onto the tree's €œaunt€ at the Masaki Shrine.
Jiyo Nanohana and Freesia Yagyu - Jubei Chan the Ninja Girl - At the beginning of the series, Mr Nanohana moved out to the country to get some peace and quiet so he could concentrate on his writing. If he wanted peace and quiet, maybe the countryside in Okayama wasn't such a good choice.
Devil Hunter Yohko - Hereditary monster slayer / magic girl with a sword. Yosho's been a friend of the family for a while now.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Other possible sources:
DC comics: chosen over Marvel due to a fondness for Project A-ko. I'm uncertain about to including characters from this because the DCU as a whole (or almost any western-style superhero universe) comes with a lot of baggage. Black Orchid, as envisioned by Niel Gaiman, might have ended up at the Masaki Shrine instead of the Amazon rain forest when drawn to a place with a strong connection to "the Green". Raven of teen tians is another possibility, etc.
Starwars: Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, someone had a truly spectatular hyperdive malfunction and ended up in the vicinity of Earth. Jedi or lighter shades of Sith could fit right in.
Revolutionary Girl Utena - Swords, spiritual and phylosophical matters, but do I really want to deal with this much mindsrew?
Magic Knight Rayearth - Magical girls with swords, but everything happens off in another world/dimension.
Love Hina / Negima - The Shinreiryuu School offers lots of possibilities.
(edit: Still trying to get the font size straight)
----------
No, I don't believe the world has gone mad. In order for it to go mad it would need to have been sane at some point.