Fandom: ROSWELL
Pairing: Tess/Liz/Max
Author on LJ: I'm not sure - if anyone knows, let me know.
Author Website: Her fics are archived at http://www.ficorama.net/
Why this must be read:

"A Trick of the Light"

Maggie's (Whirling Girl's) "A Trick of the Light" is perhaps my favorite Roswell fic. It deals with the survivors of death (yes, there is character death here, but mostly as set up. The surviving is what this fic really deals with.) With a deft, dreamlike hand Maggie weaves a story of being lost and being found. It's an interesting take on Tess and how she feels with the world she thought she had in ruins around her. It's very simplistic and looks at the tiny everyday details of life when many of the things and people you counted on are gone. This isn't smut, although there are romantic overtones to the relationship she develops with Liz, and eventually the one they both develop with Max. Mostly, it's just a well-written, beautiful story that deals with what Roswell does best - it's characters.

Fandom: X-MEN COMICVERSE
Pairing: Various, mentioned in passing.
Author on LJ: 3jane
Author Website: Janefic

Why this must be read:

Before we get on to why you should read this: don't read it at work or anywhere else you wouldn't want to be caught with pictures of naked people. You see, this isn't so much fanfiction as the artistic equivalent of fanfiction: a series of photos representing the X-Men characters with some or all of their clothes off. Obviously only adults who have no problem with artistic nudity should visit this page.

It's a brilliant and original idea, and offers a fantastic introduction to many of the dizzying array of characters who inhabit the X-Men universe. Jane showed a great talent for choosing pictures that captured the spirit of the characters if not all the details of their physiology, and the accompanying 'interviews' show equal insight.

Not all of the pictures are linked to text, so technically it's unfinished (although not a WIP since it will likely remain that way.) But there's no narrative linking the sections, so what there is stands up alone.

I chose this for my first rec because anyone who reads it should have a pretty good idea of what the X-Men and their supporting cast look like and what they do by the end. Plus: pretty naked people. What's not to like?

Imaging the X-Men

Fandom: Angel
Title: The Serpentigena Sequence
Author on LJ: piedmargaret
Author's Website: Magpie's Fanfiction
Pairing: I'm not gonna spoil anything. Just read it.
Spoilers: Through AtS S3 and BtVS S6

Why You Must Read This: Honestly, this is one of the most amazing pieces of fanfiction I've ever read. Magpie's fic has a deep, dark, complicated plot and while it's got it share of dark and angsty pieces, it isn't bleak or hopeless. Angst, romance, porn, adventure, redemption. There isn't anything that this series doesn't have. Magpie's Faith voice astounds me, and the incredibly effective switching of POV between Faith, Spike and Wesley will blow you away.

And When He falls by Torch
Fandom: Good Omens
Pairing: Crowley/Aziraphale
Author on LJ: flambeau
Author Website: The Flambeau Factory

Why this must be read: Because it reads like the last chapter you were hoping would be there and never was. As someone else (who I sadly can't remember) said: 'Torch wrote the scene that Terry and Neil forgot to write, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale finally get it on.'

And they do, and it's funny and sexy and charming. Aziraphale uses the phrase 'billy-o', which you have to love in itself. Crowley, as a matter of form of course, tempts Aziraphale with the sins of the flesh, except you feel that eventually it's Crowley who is really the one being seduced, and by his own hand. (If that's the phrase I'm looking for!)

Fandom:STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE

Pairing: Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan & a Cast of Thousands, including het.

Author on LJ: Beats me. Anyone know?

Author Website: http://www.squidge.org/~foxsden/kitchen/terrisindex.html

Why this must be read: Because you have nothing to do for the next several months of your life? Seriously, folks, if you like 'em long and complicated, this is the story for you. The original series contains 30 episodes. And then there is the post-Wheel series and the spinoffs. That's a lot of reading, and all of it is topnotch.

The premise: While constructing a new lightsaber in the aftermath of TPM, Obi-Wan discovers how to move through alternate realities. Adventure ensues as Obi-Wan goes from reality to reality searching for a way to be with Qui-Gon again.

It's a wild ride. Some of the realities are wonderful and some are bleak. Things occasionally get ugly. Heed the warnings if you're not a fan of the dark.

Riding the Wheel of If

Fandom: STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE

Pairing: Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan

Author on LJ: yahtzee63

Author Website: http://www.thechicagoloop.net/yahtzee/index.htm

Why this must be read: Short and sweet, to make up for the monster I recommended a moment ago.

Consolations takes place several years after TPM and is an AU in which Qui-Gon survives the fight with Maul. On the eve of a mission to capture Palpatine, they meet again six years after severing their bond.

This is a beautiful story about forgiveness and reconciliation.

Consolations

ETA: Added information obtained from the lovely and very helpful marag

Fandom: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: Not that I know of
Author’s Website: None
Why this must be read: MFU canon sets us down in the U.N.C.L.E. universe after Napoleon and Illya have already gotten acquainted; it’s up to fanfic writers to envision the circumstances of their first meeting and the early days of their partnership. Many have taken up this task, and the results are varied, but often these stories are a good way to get to know the characters as they get to know each other. This story is a perfect example of that phenomenon. Things get off to a rocky start in Kate’s story: she adeptly shows us how the differences that will eventually lead to the complex and successful partnership Illya and Napoleon enjoy could easily cause animosity, especially initially. Her characters are complex, well-drawn, and true to canon, and the dialogue is marvelous. Most of the rest of Kate’s work is slash, and this story can certainly be read as pre-slash, despite its “Gen” label. Plus, it’s a Christmas story!

http://file40.net/file40g/begin.html

Fandom: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Author on LJ: N/A
Author’s Website: http://www.dwordslist.net/RAC_MfU.html
Why this must be read: This is an alternate (and more recent) look at the nascence of Napoleon and Illya’s relationship. Personally, I love the idea that the boys were friends (and more!) before they were partnered, especially since certain (Illya-lite) episodes in the first season seem almost to necessitate this interpretation. This story takes us back to the very early days, when Solo was solo and Illya worked exclusively in Research and Development (or so it would appear). With the help of some new-and-improved gadgets and a shared enemy, Napoleon and Illya develop a great repartee and then a close friendship. Both of the characterizations are strong, though I have a special fondness for this nerdy!Illya (he’s almost Q-like (Bond, not ST) in his gadget-enthusiasm, which is most amusing), who, as Napoleon finds, is so much more than a simple scientist. The dialogue made me laugh out loud at times, but the story is also sweet, suspenseful, action-packed, and includes really hot first time sex! Plus, there’s a very subtle innocence that hangs over both guys in the story which I found appealing; you get the idea that a lot of their strength comes from their relationship, and they have to be together before they can follow realize their true potential.

http://file40.net/file40s/gadget.html

Fandom: Farscape
Pairing: John/Aeryn
Author on the web: The Janissary
Author on LJ: no

Why this must be read:
Several of Maayan's stories have been recommended already on Crack_Van, and for good reason: she's one of the very best writers in the fandom. Possibly the best, depending whom you ask. Among her many qualities is the ability to channel the character of John Crichton in a way no one else can match.

Asystole gives us a Crichton in the wreckage after the Aurora Chair, trying desperately to put himself back together with some wires, solder, and a little help from his friends.

His crewmates look at him like they expect the human to just pick himself up, dust himself off and move on. Who would've thought? Calvinists in space.

Short, scattered, shocky, and very hot: this is Asystole. Read it, savor it, and send feedback to the writer.