It almost slipped my mind with all the holiday madness! Today is the third monthly installment of Crack Van Collisions, a.k.a. cross-over day.

On the 15th of each month (today!!) our worthy volunteers are encouraged (but not required) to rec one fic that crosses over their fandom with another.

Interested volunteers, please post crossovers in the following format:

Subject: Fandom/Fandom (Rating)

Title: Title by Author
Pairing: (no abbreviations, please)
Author on LJ:
Author Website:
Why this must be read:

(link to story)

Title: Parenthetical by Cimmerian Willow
Pairing: Trip/Malcolm, Horatio/Archie
Author on LJ: cimmerianwillow
Author Website: Vinegar and Sugar
Why this must be read:

Admittedly I know nothing about the Horatio Hornblower fandom. The sum of my knowledge of the characters is the twenty minutes I watched of the latest movie on A&E last week. However, I had no problems following this story at all, and given that it's part of Cimmerian's much larger (unfinished) The Laurel and the Rose HH universe, that's saying a lot for her ability to craft a story that stands on its own merits.

What we've got here is time travel, lives snatched back from the jaws of death, and lots of unapologetic romance. I could live without the pet names, but given the tenor of Enterprise it actually isn't that unbelievable that the characters might use them. I can't speak for the HH characterization, of course, but Cimmerian does a good job with Trip and Malcolm, I really enjoyed her Phlox and her T'Pol, and, of course, she does a wonderful job of capturing Captain Archer's earnestness as well as his temper.

This is a long story, so you'll want to settle into it when you have time to let the action pull you along. Given how few ENT crossovers there are out there, it's nice to find one that does the characters and the universes justice. Thanks go to ealgylden for pointing me toward this one.

Parenthetical

Title: In the Dark, by Kellie Matthews-Simmons and Julia Kosatka
Pairing: Duncan MacLeod/Guinan, Joe Dawson, Mulder, Scully
Author on LJ: kelliem
Author Website: http://kellie.mrks.org/
Why this must be read:
Three way collision! Of course Immortals are right up the X-Files alley - they're like a built in wet dream for both Mulder and Scully. I've seen a few crossovers between XF and HL, and have loved them. But when I first started reading HL, I remember thinking that there must be some crossovers with the Trek universe. I mean, they're Immortal, and eventually some of them are going to live long enough to venture out into space.

A bit of background for non-TNG fen: Time's Arrow (I & II), one of my favorite TNG episodes, takes the crew of the Enterprise back to late 19th century San Francisco. Where they discover Guinan, an El-Aurian who is studying Earth culture, who's also the hostess of Ten Forward back in the 24th century.

In this story, set during the late 1990s, Guinan is still on earth studying humans and their culture, and she's in Seacouver. Of course, the *only* spot to visit in Seacouver is Joe's bar, and she befriends both Duncan and Joe. Meanwhile, Scully brings Mulder a curious case involving a serial murderer who decapitates all his victims. The victims are found in pairs, and one of each pair has a distinctive and identical tattoo on their wrist. Our intrepid duo track the killer to the Pacific Northwest, and then the fun really starts.

The second half of the story brings Duncan and Guinan together again, nearly four centuries later, after Mac's transport crashes on an uninhabited planet, and the Enterprise responds to the distress beacon.

This story brings all three of these fandoms together in unique, unexpected, and touching ways while being true to each character's nature. Guinan is one of my favorite secondary characters in TNG, and I enjoyed the author's interpretation and elaboration of the woman we see onscreen. I also enjoyed seeing Mac in the 24th century, as seen through the filter of the Trek universe.

There are two versions of the story, if you're not interested in explicit hetsex:
In the Dark (NC-17)
In the Dark (PG)

I will post links to the sequel in a separate post.

Title: Into the Light and Daybreak, by Kellie Matthews-Simmons and Julia Kosatka
Pairing: Methos/MacLeod/Guinan
Author on LJ: kelliem
Author Website: http://kellie.mrks.org/
Why this must be read:
The sequels to In the Dark show us the progression of Duncan and Guinan's relationship, with the added bonus of Earth's oldest immortal joining the fun. HL slash fen might find this intriguing for the continued and renewed tension between Methos and Duncan, and fully unexpected development that may change a fundamental belief held by all Immortals. TNG fen might enjoy seeing a different view of Guinan. Fen of both series might enjoy this smutty little romp with three fascinating characters that have a surprising number of things in common.

Into the Light
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six

Daybreak
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

Title: A Sloe Comfortable Screw by Lilla
Pairing: CJ/ Sam Carter
Author on LJ: babylil
Author Website: Strike a Pose v2.1
Why this must be read: I must admit, I was a bit stumped when trying to think of Stargate crossovers. I was very lucky to have a friend recommend what seemed like a good story but being completely unfamiliar with the other fandom I felt ill qualified to recommend it. Then I remembered this little gem. Written for The West Wing Wing Swing this is probably the first Stargate story I ever read - and rereading it now, I can't help finding it incredibly cute. It's snappy and fun, and completely irrestible in parts. Read it for the cool dialogue, the funky bar scenes and the innuendo, but most of all, read it because tall girls rock and roll.
A Sloe Comfortable Screw

Fandom: HIGHLANDER/STAR TREK
Pairing: none

author's webpage: kevinrobnett.com

Why this must be read:
A novel-length crossover set well into the future (some few years before "Star Trek: Voyager," I think), "A Dish Served Cold" sees Richie having made a place for himself in Starfleet, and Immortals spread out among the stars along with the rest of humanity. (Oh yeah, that "Archangel" mess at the end of season 5? Ignore it.) And of course, all the problems of Immortality, human-Klingon relations, and deep-space exploration combine to cause trouble in the good life Richie has made for himself.

Also featuring Methos and Duncan, an appearance or two by Lwaxana Troi, Sarek, and some other familiar Trek faces. "ADSC" is densely plotted and filled with flashbacks. It has a slight tendency to "Forrest Gump"-ify Richie, but the details and tone make it feel like a true piece of Star Trek, and Richie's various decisions and motivations are an excellent extension of "The Messenger."

A Dish Served Cold

Please allow me to apologize for my lack of reccing this month. 'Tis the season to be busier than a one-armed paper hanger. I'll try to do better.

Fandom: STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE

Pairing: Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan

Author on LJ: Unknown

Author Website: http://www.digitalmidnight.net/lilith/

Why this must be read: When I first read this story, I could barely see the screen through my tears. After all these years, it has stuck with me.

Much like Riding the Wheel of If, which I previously recommended, this is a time travel story. Obi-Wan is sent 20 years into the past where he has the opportunity to teach a younger Qui-Gon how to defend against Darth Maul's fatal blow. His interference has unforeseen consequences.

In My End is My Beginning

Fandom: STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE

Pairing: None

Author on LJ: Unknown

Author Website: Unknown

Why this must be read: One of the few gen TPM gen stories that I actually enjoyed. Cast My Soul to the Sea is an AU that tells the story of what might have happened to Obi-Wan had Qui-Gon not taken him as an apprentice. And folks, it ain't pretty. Obi-Wan falls in with an unsavory bunch and becomes addicted to a drug from which withdrawal means death. In the meantime, Qui-Gon is captured by the aforementioned unsavory bunch and Obi-Wan must choose whether to sacrifice himself for the man who abandoned him.

This is a very dark story. Proceed at your own risk.

Cast My Soul to the Sea

Title: Honeymoon by Twinkledru J.
Pairing: Tara/Willow, Tara/Han
Author on LJ: twinkledru
Author Website: I'm Not Bitter

Why this must be read: I admit that it's been a while since I've read this, so I'm fuzzy on the details. If you want details, read the fic. It's a long, well-written crossover of Star Wars and BtVS that manages strong characterization and a real live plot without taking itself too seriously-- 'cause, dude, it's a Star Wars/BtVS crossover. There's no way to take that seriously and live to tell about it.

Honeymoon

I forgot it was Cross over day.

Title: Valse a duex temps

Author: Laura JV

Pairings: Ray Kawolski/Benton Fraser & Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg

Author on LJ: jacquez

Author's website: Devilmonkey

Why You must read this:

I read this story after reading a bunch of Sentinel stories and knowing the background of the show fairly well. However I hadn't really started reading Due South fic yet and hadn't seen the show since the first two seasons aired. I still loved the story and while parts of it confused me (first Ray? Red ships? wha?) it did help to rekindle my interest in Due South. Laura did a fantastic job of keeping all four characters in character and capturing the feel of both worlds.

Due South and The Sentinel are both shows where really unbelievable things keep happening to our heros and where mysticism or magic plays some kind of role. As well while Jim is a bona fide Sentinel with super senses, Benton Fraser just seems to poses heightened senses without being anything special. Other than a Mountie.

Laura takes the concept of Fraser's heightened senses and combines it with the world of Sentinels. The story is set after the end of both shows and Ray and Faser are living in the wilds of Canada and Blair gets a letter from Fraser indicating that he might be a Sentinel and off Blair and Jim go to meet Benton Fraser.

Told from Blair's point of view we get to see the the way Ray and Fraser interact from an outsiders point of view, the things they say to each other that make sense to them but to no one else. The talk of a 'first Ray' or 'other Ray'. The highly improbable situations they get themselves into and of course we get to see Blair and Jim in action and to see them hook up after Blair speculates about Ray and Fraser.

http://www.squidge.org/dsa/archive/drama/valsea.html