Which Super Smash Bros Fan Fiction Features Unique Crossover Pairings?

Man, the whole "Tournament Aftermath" plotline is ridiculously overdone at this point, but I guess that's the appeal? The premise of the fighters having to figure out what to do after the tournament ends basically writes itself. I always find myself re-reading the ones where they have to deal with the consequences of all that magical or interdimensional energy being unleashed, or the ones where a neutral party like Isabelle or a civilian has to organize a support network for the injured combatants. It's a sandbox for exploring characters who never got a chance to interact, or asking what a Mario or a Samus would actually do with their downtime. The best ones don't focus on fighting at all; it's all about the bizarre found-family dynamics that come from stuffing all these personalities in a shared space. I'm less convinced by the ultra-serious 'what if a fighter died' arcs, though. They can feel a bit melodramatic, especially when the tone clashes so hard with the source material. Give me a silly fic about Villager and Isabelle running a chaotic bed-and-breakfast for the roster over a grimdark Kirby tragedy any day. The aftermath stories work because they embrace the inherent weirdness of the crossover, not in spite of it.

If you're after a steady flow of Super Smash Bros. stories, Archive of Our Own, or AO3, is basically the main hub nowadays. Its tagging system is a lifesaver for something with such a massive cast. You can filter by specific fighters, pairings, or even by crossover elements from all the different series represented. I've found some incredibly thoughtful character studies there, like ones exploring Samus and Ridley's history beyond just being enemies, or slice-of-life stuff with the Animal Crossing crew causing chaos in the mansion. Honestly, FanFiction.net still has a huge back catalogue, especially for older fandoms. The search function is clunky, but if you dig through the 'Super Smash Bros.' section under Games, you'll uncover classics from like 2008 that have a completely different vibe—more focused on the tournament premise itself rather than the expansive crossover universe it's become. For more niche or meme-driven content, sometimes I lurk on certain subreddits or Discord servers. They don't host stories directly, but people often link to their work or do short prompt fills in the comments, which feels more like a community workshop than an archive.

Most SSB fanfics lean into the silly, chaotic premise of a party brawler, which honestly leaves character rivalries a bit shallow. You’ll see a ton of predictable stuff—Mario and Sonic constantly bickering about who’s faster, Link and Meta Knight having a silent, honorable duel, Samus glaring at Ridley across the cafeteria. It’s fun fan-service, but rarely digs into the why. What I find more interesting are the niche crossovers between specific Nintendo lorelines. A story that treats the whole roster as traumatized fighters plucked from their own dying worlds and forced to ‘play’? That’s where rivalries shift from sport to survival. Snake and Fox bonding over being soldiers in a kids’ game, or Kirby and King Dedede’s history actually mattering beyond the stage. Those fics are rarer, but they treat the characters like people, not just game assets. I’d skip the generic locker-room banter and search Archive of Our Own for tags like ‘psychological’ or ‘canon-compliant’ to find the good stuff. That’s where the real tension simmers.