Fandom: THE O.C./Smallville/Harry Potter
Pairing: Ryan/Seth, Clark/Lex, Harry/Draco
Author on LJ: crimsonclad
Author Website: Fanfiction by Morgan
Why this must be read: Haven’t you ever wanted to give Ryan a puppy to make it all better? Or wept over the torture Lex endures from his father? Or thought that Draco wouldn’t be nearly as snippy if he’d had a loving father? Their devoted boyfriends try to make up for the trauma. I laughed like a loon reading this.

An excerpt:

HARRY: (nodding) Exactly. Draco knows his father is evil, but somehow still thinks of him as this devoted patriarch. Given his rotten childhood, it's a wonder he hasn't snapped.

CLARK: Same for Lex.

SETH: Same for Ryan. He still has trouble believing that people can care about him without any ulterior motives.

HARRY: Yeah, try telling a Slytherin that friendship doesn't need to involve motives.

CLARK: Seriously, if one more woman marries Lex for his money and then tries to kill him, I don't know what I'll do.


In the Window

Title: Death and the Captain, by Trinity Day
Fandom: Pirates of the Carribean/The Sandman
Pairing: Gen
Author on LJ: trinityday
Author’s Website: Fanfiction.net Profile
Why this must be read:

Though I haven’t read much in the way of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman (yet!), I’ve often met his characters as visitors to other fandoms. Here, Captain Jack Sparrow meets Death after being marooned by Barbossa:

“Oh, I wasn’t here earlier,” the girl told him.

“You weren’t?”

“No. I had some business in the neighbourhood and decided to drop by when I realized someone was here.”

“What sort of business has brought you to this tropical paradise?” He spread his arms out to take in the entire godforsaken island that his treacherous first mate and mutinous crew had marooned him on. It didn’t take much. It wasn’t very big.

She did not respond to the bitterness in his voice, nor did she seem concerned with the pistol that was still in his hand, which he was waving about carelessly as he pointed out the sights, as monotonous or maddening as they were. “A sea turtle, actually.”

Death and the Captain

Fandom: HORNBLOWER
Author website: unknown
Author on lj: severa
Pairing: Mostly gen, but a little Hornblower/Bush
Why this must be read: I've always wondered about Bush's relationship with his sisters, and this story illustrates it exactly as I've always imagined it. The writing is excellent, and it's one of the best Bush characterizations I've seen. I love it.

The Chichester Cottage

Fandom: KNIGHT RIDER
Title: Another Knight, Another Dream by Janeway
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: blazingskies
Author Website: Heart of the Sunrise

Why this must be read:

There aren't that many good crossovers in the Knight Rider fandom -- there aren't that many crossovers, period. But there are a few. Some crossed with expected fandoms like Forever Knight, Viper, The X-files, and of course the immortal Highlander. Others with less expected fandoms like Batman Beyond, Independence Day or even my own Magnificent 7: ATF AU crossover. And they are all effective and interesting, but Janeway's story is one of my favorites.

It's short as all get out, more of a set-up than an actual story -- and I've always wished blasingskies would write more of it -- but it's bloody brilliant even as is. It's clever, it's full of possibilities, and it inspires you to dream of a future. It is not crossed with any particular franchise of the Star Trek Universe, just set late 24th century. I've always preferred to think of it as post-TNG. (I have visions of Kitt encountering the Enterprise or running into Voyager whenever I think about it. ::snerk::)

And yes, don't worry, just because it's set a few centuries in the future doesn't mean the author has forgotten about Michael. After all, how could anyone break up such a perfect partnership? :P

Link to Story: Another Knight, Another Dream by Janeway

Title: Mr Bad Example by FayJay
Pairing: Lex Luthor/Lindsey McDonald
Author on LJ: pandarus
Author Website: Fic by FayJay

Why this must be read:
FayJay has written a couple of other Angel/Smallville crossovers (Changeling and Hell Money), but Mr Bad Example is my favorite of the three because it features those two bad boys of fandom, Lex and Lindsey. I could have chosen other stories for Crack Van Collisions day because I like crossovers in general; it was hard to choose just one story to share. I picked this one because of the characterizations mixed in with the smut.

Mr Bad Example
Mr Bad Example Part 2: Splendid Isolation

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Gen series. No pairings per se.
Author on LJ: I don't believe so.
Author Website: Cindy Combs

Crossovered with: Charmed, Nash Bridges, MacGyver, Voyager, ER, just to name a few.

Why this series must be read:

I love AUs with big, juicy, plots. I adore well-written stories where an author creates such a convincing world that you are simply glued to your computer screen until the end of the story and then you pray that there's a sequel and rejoice when you discover there is one.

Roachia is an AU set in the distant future. Settlers looking for a better life leave the overcrowded Earth in search of a new home and they find it on Roachia. Unfortunately, Roachia is populated by large bug like creatures. The Roachians want the land the humans occupy and the humans have no where else to go. War ensues. In an act of terrorism, the Roachians destroy Mountain Center, which was the training center for Sentinel and Guides. Every day the humans lose a bit more ground.

As the story starts off, Captain James Ellison and his team have been captured by the Roachians while trying to get civilians out of the occupied territory. They are placed in a basement where they find a tortured young man. Evidence indicates that they were trying to extract information from him, but what could they want from someone so young?

This may not be a crossover in the true sense. The author has taken a lot of known television characters, kept their personalities and put them in this world. It's a great deal of fun trying to pick them out.

While this story is not slash, you owe it to yourself to give it a read.

The Roachia Series
Links to individual stories:
Before Dawn
Home By Sunset
Under the Cover of Darkness
Harry's Promise

Be sure to leave feedback for the author if you enjoyed the story.

Title: Samhain by Allan Woodward
Pairing: n/a
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: unknown

Why this must be read: I am completely unfamiliar with the Halloween movie franchise. All I know is what I've seen on broadcast TV, and that mostly involved Jamie Lee Curtis scrabbling around in a white nightgown and screaming a lot. But that isn't an issue here because the fic gives you all the backstory you need, setting up the plot to merge seamlessly with the world Mulder and Scully live in. It's one of the best horror stories I've read in this fandom, suspenseful and well-paced.

    "This is it," Sam said. He leaned his stick against the wall by the door, hung his vest on a coat rack. "The house that Loomis built."

    "Really?" Mulder put his coat next to Sam's.

    "No, not really. Belonged to some old town father," Sam said. "Dad got it on a good deal. It was supposed to be haunted."

    "I guess it isn't," Mulder said.

    "Not by ghosts, anyway," Sam said.

Samhain

Title: Beauty's daughter by Melina
Pairing: Methos/Dana Scully
Author on LJ:melina123
Author Website:Melina's Den of Fine Repute
Why this must be read:

Watching Methos fall for Dana and vice et versa is something interesting and lovely to read. Methos can court with the best of them. Of course it helps to have the voice the character had on the show.

I enjoyed the slow, comfortable pace of the relationship after the shock of the first meeting. I like that the author didn't push aside Alexa 's memory.

Set after the demon arc in season 6, the story does have a sequel: Thine be the Gladness

Beauty's daughter

Fandom: MAN from U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo
Author on LJ: not at present
Author Website: not at present
Why this must be read:

One thing that canon MFU is spades is a sense of humor, even the absurd. And also a healthy sense of competitiveness between Our Glorious Heroes. This story uses both to good effect, being both funny and well characterized, not to mention liberally basted with nearly every bit of fanon in the MFU handbook but in a way that renders it gentle rather than vicious mockery.

Here's a short quote: ( Read more... )

The No Affair Affair by PaulaH

Fandom: Star Wars Franchise
Author: Minuet (threefourtime@hotmail.com)
Author website: N/A
Author on lj: unknown
Pairing: Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon
Rating: G

Why this must be read:

I love this story. It's a teeny glimpse into Qui-Gon's past, centred around a particular and much-loved chair. His contemplation of a simple piece of furniture is a clever literary device which allows Minuet to describe Qui-Gon's differing relationships with his padawans.

It's sweet, but the kind of sweet that brings a lump to the throat rather than the kind that oozes with gooeyness.

Extract:
"Talk to me, my padawan. Tell me who you are and why you're here and what you cherish."

The Chair by Minuet

Fandom: Star Wars Franchise
Author: Jane
Author website: JaneFic
Author on lj: 3jane
Pairing: Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon
Rating: PG-13

Why this must be read:

I like reading fic which bears very little resemblence to its summary: Qui-Gon wanders off. Obi-Wan gets lonely. Qui-Gon comes back. Obi-Wan is mindful of the future. Yes, that's accurate but fails to get across the superb quality of the writing, the coolly painful flash-forward, the quiet angst of the present. Using Qui-Gon's absence as a device, Jane uses Obi-Wan to explore what familial bonds mean to the Jedi and how these are translated into comfort. It is impossible not to hurt for Obi-Wan, but it is a wordless pain.

A great deal of fiction in this particular pairing likes to forget the events in Phantom Menace, nevermind where Obi-Wan ends up (living on his own in the middle of a desert, possibly watching over young Luke Skywalker, with most of his friends dead). Jane's strength is that she not only acknowledges it, but in doing so, it makes her fiction
stronger and more believable. It's very rare that a piece of fanfiction has made me re-evaluate the original material but after reading this, I realised that I thought about the canon fates of both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon slightly differently.

This is the first in a loose series - all of which are well worth reading and a cut above most fanfiction (in any fandom) by the sheer beauty of the writing and the depths of understanding of both the characters and what motivates them both as humans and as Jedi.

Extract:
In the Temple, he slept in Qui-Gon's quarters, usually, tucked on the pallet across from his Master's bed. He had quarters of his own, but he'd never used them for anything more than storage. His whole experience of the Temple was sleeping in shared space. Privacy was infinitely less important to him than the contact between Jedi.

Floating World by Jane

Fandom: Star Wars Franchise
Author: Sian (sian@randomadventures.com)
Author website: Sian's Fiction
Author on lj: unknown
Pairing: Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon
Rating: NC-17
Warning: Sex between consenting minors (I'm only including the warning because the author did - they're both over sixteen)

Why this must be read:

Oh, this is fun. Obi-Wan Kenobi is pretty much the best Jedi Padawan on Coruscant and Bruck Chan really has it in for him. The news that Jedi Master Yoda is returning to Coruscant with his own Padawan threatens to shake up the natural pecking order. Master Yoda's enigmatic Padawan is, of course, a young man by the name of Qui-Gon Jinn.

So much of the fanfiction in this particular pairing hinges on their roles as Master and Padawan and it's refreshing to see such a successful attempt to write them in another way.
Qui-Gon is utterly charming as a shy and over-sized Padawan trying to fit in and suffering from a terrible crush on a fellow Padawan... (I'll give you a hint - it's not Bruck).

Obi-Wan, despite being kind, intelligent and gorgeous, is not exactly having an easy time either, thanks to Bruck's machinations.

( He shot his glance toward Kenobi, ready to again challenge the other's reaction, but instead of the amusement on his behalf, Kenobi's face held something more akin to sympathy, or at least commiseration. Qui-Gon let go of the hostility he wanted to direct at the other and offered a tentative smile. )

Top Dog

Title by Author: Repo Men by khaleesian
Pairing: Brian/Dom, Van/Deaq
Author on LJ: khaleesian
Author Website: Reflections in the Inward Eye
Why this must be read:

A too-pretty undercover officer, and his fast-driving risk-taking dark-skinned sidekick...these two fandoms match each other like Mary-Kate and Ashley. This story reads like an episode of Fastlane, as it builds around an assignment for the guys. There's action, adventure, snarky banter, and smart details from both fandoms mixed in pretty seamlessly. And lots of gay love.


"Two theories," Deaq held up two fingers. "Maybe he's turning. Maybe he's more con than cop and he needs the moral gray area like a junkie needs the spike. Hollywood wouldn't be nearly exciting enough for him."

Van had gone still. "What's your other theory?"

"Maybe he’s just like us, partner," Deaq smirked at Van's bemused look. "Maybe he's just a fucking idealist."

Van grinned again, a real grin this time. "Idealists. Is that what we are?"


Repo Men

Title by Author: if you go chasing rabbits by Jane St. Clair
Pairing: Frodo/Marrow
Author on LJ: 3jane
Author Website: Janefic
Why this must be read:

Please, don't run away screaming from the pairing. This was written for trollprincess's Pairing List That Ate Fandom challenge, and is one of the best gems to come out of it. Jane took a random pairing out of a hat and turned it into something dark, seductive and beautifully ominous.

This is an excellent look into the minds of both Frodo and Marrow. We see Frodo in the middle of his quest, tossing and turning at night, the Ring weighing on his mind; we see Marrow from the point of view of an outsider, someone completely alien to the Marvel universe. Both characterizations are spot on.

The feel of this fic is just so foreboding and dark, and when I finished reading it I had shivers running down my spine. I love Marrow, and this is such an excellent look at her through the eyes of someone completely foreign.

( Excerpt )

if you go chasing rabbits

Title: Morgan by Judith Proctor (G)
Pairing: 
Author on LJ:
Author Website:http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7/
Why this must be read:


Avon comes around from unconsciousness in what he discovers to be 1980s Wales, with no memory of how he got there, and no idea of why there is also what he takes to be a clone of Blake in 1980s Wales. The last thing he remembers is being on Liberator some months after the Andromedan war, with Blake still missing. Avon has to cope with a society and mores very different to the one he grew up in--and finds that he can cope with its bureaucracy rather better than Morgan can. Even so, he needs Morgan's help and support while he tries to discover how he came to be there, and until he finds that out, he has no chance of returning home. It's a tale of how two profoundly damaged men form a friendship that allows them to deal with having lost everyone they ever cared for.

The story plays off the fact that Gareth Thomas, who played Blake in Blake's 7, then went on to play Welsh hill farmer Morgan in the BBC series Morgan's Boy. It's written so that you need no knowledge of that series. It does have a spoiler for the last episode of Blake's 7.


Morgan - the whole story on one page

Morgan - first page of 22

Title: At the Fifteenth Annual Evil Masterminds Convention by Basingstoke
Pairing: Scott Evil/Lex Luthor.
Author on LJ: basingstoke
Author Website: Bas website

Why this must be read:

It's funny, and the mental picture of Seth Green and Michael Rosenbaum is hot. But if that's not enough for you:


"A farmer? A farmer as your dad's sworn enemy?" Scott laughed. "I'm sorry, dude, but that's pretty lame."

and

"I'm seducing an innocent, Dad! It's on the checklist!" Lex looked down at Scott, smirking.

At the Fifteenth Annual Evil Masterminds Convention