Title: Rising Sign by ninety6tears 
Pairing: (Kirk)/Kara/McCoy
Author on LJ: ninety6tears 
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read:

This fic has some of the best dialogue and relationship development I've seen for Kara...and it's her completely separate from her normal universe! You'd think that all her baggage would be distracting, especially in the shiny Star Trek world, but it's not; you fully believe that this is what could happen when Kara went through that maelstrom. The language of this story is rich with character description, the dialogue is spot-on for the characters, and the characters themselves are always realistic. (While there is some shippiness, most of the story is gen.) The author manages to tell a story that's funny, gritty, heart-breaking, and epic all at once. A perfect fit for Kara Thrace in any crossover.

Rising Sign

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Scully/Other (although it IS about the Mulder/Scully relationship)
Length: (30k)
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: The Underground
Why this must be read:

The funny thing about stories in this fandom that aren't specifically shippy for Mulder and Scully that still feature them as main characters is that they are still really, for the most part, about the Mulder Scully relationship. This one included. This is a story told by Richard, about Scully and her former FBI partner (that he didn't know existed) who showed up on his doorstep one day.

Scully and Mulder have a conversation while Richard observes them. Like Richard, we never discover what the conversation is about, but we do see its aftermath. I think this story really sums up Mulder and Scully - two individuals so deeply entwined that no matter what happens, what they do, or who they try to become, they'll always be a part of each other.

This is a wonderful story about that aspect of their relationship. Scully has left, Mulder has found her, and now we're learning what happens next.

China

Yay! It's crossover day at crack_van. \o/

Title: Somewhere Between Perception and Reality by Spike
Pairing: Sam/Dean with a side of UST Don/Charlie
Length: 12,535 words
Author on LJ: spikedluv
Author Website: spikedluv's Supernatural fic tag at her journal.

Why this must be read: I am not real fan of crossovers or an OTP person except when I am – I aim for consistency. So a crossover featuring my two OTP couples is surely going to be a win but it's shooting stars, bulletproof win because it is written by the talented spikedluv. The story is riveting case fic and the first time I read it I hadn't a clue where she was going with it until the events culminated in an excellent showdown between the two sets of brothers and the big bad. Further, what I love about this fic is that each character has a specific voice that sounds like it's straight from the canon, which is very difficult in a crossover, and even more difficult when dealing with two parallel sets of characters. Dean, Sam, Charlie, and Don sound like Dean, Sam, Charlie, and Don. The story is labeled as slash and pre-slash but I call it a case!fic with a side of clever innuendo and such an amazing story that even if you don't typically read Sam/Dean or Don/Charlie, this might just work for you.

Somewhere Between Perception and Reality

Title: Her Attention by nikitangel
Pairing: Sort of Mia/Letty, Faith/Letty. Faith's a big flirt.
Author on LJ: nikitangel
Author Website: Fic Tag on LJ
Why this must be read:

(Note, this was another story written for me. Because have I mentioned I really push Faith/Letty on people? A lot? Yeah, I do.)

"Her Attention" nicely captures all three women and their various attitudes. Set after Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended but before The Fast and the Furious, it revels in the way powerful women can size each other up and check each other out, and the way there's an edge to their flirting. Faith's awareness of her own sexuality is wonderful, as is her knowledge that she turns on other people just by strutting into a room.

There's some subtle bite to the exchanges between Letty and Mia, too, the way Letty demands so much from the people around her and how Mia is awkward in her love.

And, as always, there's Dom in the background, not even the point of the story, but always, always there.

"Her Attention" by nikitangel

Title: Dancing in Illusion by Vanzetti
Pairing: Gen; Yoda, River Tam
Length: 1,331
Author on LJ: [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]
Author Website: Wrestling with Proteus
Why this must be read:

I love River's lyrical view of the world, and this author was able to capture that important facet of her character in her musings on reality and the universe. Having Yoda train River is really an inspired idea, their interactions together left me just wanting more.

( Excerpt )

Dancing in Illusion

Title: Zombies Ate Your Idols (They Were Delicious)
Pairing: genish
Length:  3,200 words
Author on LJ:  solarcat05
Why this must be read: Yeah, I don't think I can top the author's summary: In which Gerard Way takes a stand against discrimination, Adam Lambert discovers the importance of dice, Kris Allen is not kidnapped against his will, and the folks at 19E learn to love the stage!(?)gay. Welcome to the Zombies Ate Your Idols tour, 2010!

Zombies Ate Your Idols (They Were Delicious)

Title: At The Hour When We Are Trembling by frostfire
Pairing: John Sheppard/Daniel Jackson
Length: 36,000 words
Author on LJ: frostfire_17
Author Website: fanfiction by frostfire

Why this must be read:

The only fic I've read this pairing in, I know at first I was cautious. If I'm not reading McShep, I'm usually reading John/Cam or John/Lorne. I like the flyboys together. But the author makes some lovely parallels between Rodney and Daniel and the setup makes the pairing very realistic. The two didn't know each other so the story weaves the connection for you without ignoring the past. It's a unique look at Daniel, too. I think most of us liken Sheppard to O'Neill, but this author captures the differences nicely, just in the interpretation of the archeologist.

It's an apocalypse-on-Earth fic with John longing for Atlantis and the Wraith destroying the SGC and Area 51. It's sad and desolate. It's a wonderful psychological look at our heroes we don't often get. Even in some of the most tragic apocalypse fics where lovers and brothers die, somehow, our heroes keep going on. And sure, we're worried they'll crack. But the author makes it clear and somehow so much more real in this fic than many others. The boys aren't going to die by running out of food or because of a virus. They're going to crack, plain and simple. But still, there's hope.

( Mini Teaser )

At The Hour When We Are Trembling

Crossover day! Yay! We had a splendiforous crash today.

Title: Summer House, Shore Leave, and Sabbatical by Pru
Rating: PG-13 / PG-13 / R
Pairing: John/Rodney
Length: 3,000-5,000 each
Author on LJ: rageprufrock
Author Website: Glitterati
Why this must be read: A great little crossover where John and Rodney come to Eureka. Rodney, of course, is well known to his fellow (lesser) geniusi. Particularly Fargo, who is convinced Rodney's out to eat his soul. Which he very well might be. Jack and John bond over a mutual love of non-simulated sports. And while in Eureka, John and Rodney sort a few things out...

The day the McKays moved into Eureka Jack got approximately a dozen phone calls from Fargo, who was hiding under a desk in his office at Global Dynamics.

"Do you know when I last saw Rodney McKay?" Fargo whispered through the telephone line. "I last saw Rodney McKay when he was threatening to kill me using a protractor during a seminar he was leading in graduate school! This was before he started to lose his hair! Can you just imagine what a safety threat he is by now?"

Summer House
Shore Leave
Sabbatical

Title: That Guy and That Other Guy by vinniebatman
Pairing: John McClane/Matt Farrell
Length: 5,518 words
Author on LJ: vinniebatman
Author Website: LJ Memories - Writing Entries
Why this must be read:
This is an amusing Die Hard AU, a crossover with with DC Universe/Justice League, and the sheer novelty of that combination is what first caught my attention. Then the summary was irresistible: John McClane becomes the new Green Lantern, and Matt Farrell AKA the Flash, develops a crush. And when I read the story, I was struck by how apt the crossover roles turned out--the choice worked with the canon characters of both guys.

That Guy and That Other Guy

I've fallen behind in my recs, but I'm making an attempt to catch up! There should be two more by the end of the weekend.

Fandom: ANGEL/PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Pairing: Illyria/Captain Jack Sparrow
Length: 1000
Author on LJ: voleuse
Author Website: moodfic
Why this must be read: Both characters are rather strange. Illyria is a long-forgotten god-king in a slender human vessel. Captain Jack Sparrow is a half-crazed, often drunk pirate. Together they... get along rather well, actually. I love Jack's acceptance of the fact that Illyria is divine and his off-centre flattery that would actually amuse a being such as herself. Despite the community name, this didn't hurt my brain as much as I thought it would. (As a note, the author rated it R, but it's pretty tame.)

Sometimes Blessings

Title: Four Shots Taken in a Game of 'I Never,' by Angel_grace
Pairing: Abby and Angela friendship, Abby/Gibbs
Author on LJ: angel_grace
Author Website: Fic Tag
Why this must be read:
This is precisely what it sounds like - a fun, fluffy look at how Abby and Angela might interact, with some Abby/Gibbs thrown in to keep you on your toes.


Four Shots Taken in a Game of 'I Never'

Fandom: FIREFLY/PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Pairing: Gen
Length: 7,727 words
Author on LJ: pandarus
Author Website: just her lj
Why this must be read: This is what the pilot episode of Firefly would have looked like in the PotC 'verse, with just a bit of Tam Lin thrown in for extra flavoring. What's amazing is how seamless this crossover is, and how completely FayJay makes it all work. The voices are perfectly in-character, yet shifted just enough to be appropriate through the lens of PotC. All the landmarks of canon are still there, but FayJay reinterprets them brilliantly to fit with PotC (and Tam Lin) canon as well. To top all that off, this is a wonderfully inventive tale with sparkling dialogue, sharp characterizations, and a shiny plot.

( read an excerpt )

A Change In The Wind

Fandom: FIREFLY/BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: Roj Blake/Inara Serra, Kerr Avon/Simon Tam, Hoban Washburne/Zoe Alleyne-Washburne, Ronaldreagan Xiang/Kaylee Frye-Xiang
Length: 37,094 words
Author on LJ: executrix
Author Website: just her lj
Why this must be read: I will start by giving you E'trix's own summary: "In an alternative version of the events at Gauda Prime, General Blake continues the struggle against the Federation of Allied Planets, facing new challenges--including a novel form of chemical warfare. The former members of Serenity's crew are important to the efforts, although not necessarily in the ways Blake wanted them to be." I think E'trix manages to integrate these canons very well---so well, in fact, that it's easy to forget that they weren't always merged like this. I also really love her OCs; Kaylee's new in-laws in particular are wonderfully fun. There's also a meaty plot going on, interesting character dynamics, and a fascinating underlying theme of growing up and learning to let go of impractical and childish absolutes. I think what I always enjoy most about E'trix's work, though, is the way she infuses her stories with her dry and erudite wit; her clever turns of phrase, apt allusions, and snappy word-play are ever and always a delight.

( read an excerpt )

Unacknowledged Poets

TitleToo Old For This Shit, by Basingstoke
Fandom: HIGHLANDER/STAR TREK
Pairing: GEN
Length: 1,145 words
Author on LJ: basingstoke
Author Website: Stories archived at An Archive of Our Own
Why this must be read: A little bit crack, a little bit loopy, a lot of fun. Duncan MacLeod, crewman on the Enterprise, in a Red Shirt, and you know what that means! (But of course it doesn't slow him down for long.) By accident (something to do with the Healing power) MacLeod catapults McCoy into the future via a damaged transporter, giving the poor Bones a vision of the future that will keep him awake at nights for decades…

( Boldly going… )