Sense, Nonsense, and Not-Sense

Wandered in via network, hope you don't mind me chiming in!

Figure out what makes Peridot Peridot to you, preserve those elements. Figure out what makes Draco Draco to you, preserve those elements as well, toss them in the blender and sort out any contradictions. It sounds easy, but that's the essence of pulling off the successful fusion.

This is on my mind because I've been talking over fusion details with a friend lately for something she's writing, but to me, the most important element by far is keeping the essential details of the original character. That is, what's interesting to me about AUs and fusions is seeing how the canon characters are different under different circumstances. I'm not familiar with Peridot as a character, but as a reader, I really don't want Draco characterization elements infused into the other character; what I want is to see what the other character would be like if they were raised like Draco, and how they might end up similar and different.

I'm not sure if this sets me apart from the majority of readers or not, but I do know that I have a knee-jerk "do not want" reaction to fusions in which the canon characters are being warped too drastically into their AU roles. I would much rather see the fusion canon flex and bend to accommodate in-character behavior from the characters I'm reading it for.