Title: Tony’s Soundtrack by amejisuto (NC-17)
Fandom: NCIS/Numb3rs (passing mention of a CSI: Miami character)
Pairing: Tony DiNozzo/Ian Edgerton
Categories: Slight AU, Crossover, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Length: Long
Warnings: n/a

Author on LJ: amejisuto @ IJ
Website: n/a

Review:
Kate finds a way to make Tony stop mooning over Gibbs.

Ian Edgerton has long been one of my favorite characters out there so when I stumbled upon this crossover, I jumped at the chance to read it. Starting with ‘I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair’, with a lonely and frustrated Tony having dinner out with Kate, this series is chockfull of humor, movie quotes, and NCIS-centric fun. Though it never really delves too deeply into Ian and Tony’s relationship – I would say it barely scratches the surface, which is a shame – I still thoroughly enjoyed what we were given, especially once the series got going and we were allowed to see just how well these two fit each other.

Tony's Soundtrack (read them in descending order)

I honestly couldn't decide which fic by this author to rec for this month's theme week so you're getting two recs for the price of one. :)

Title: New York State of Mind by amejisuto
Fandom: CSI:NY/CSI: Miami
Pairing: Danny Messer/Tim Speedle
Categories: Crossover, Romance
Length: Medium (2000+)
Warnings: n/a

Author on LJ: amejisuto @ IJ
Website: n/a

Review:
Danny's new lover comes to New York for a visit on vacation.

I won’t deny that this fic is relatively short – it just barely squeaks by the medium mark by the community standards – but there’s something really charming about it. Written in a slice-of-life style, I really enjoyed this snapshot into Danny and Speed’s relationship, which has just tipped from friendship into something that has the potential to be much more. Though, again, there’s not a lot of meat on the bones of this story, on the whole it’s a solid little fic that won me over for this pairing.

New York State of Mind

Title: Everyone Comes to Pan's
Fandom: Bandom/Greek Mythology/International Folklore
Pairing: Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Mikey Way/Ray Toro
Categories: Amnesia, AU, Crossover, Frienship, Romance, Supernatural
Length: Epic (42,000)
Warnings: Sex between Mythological creatures

Author on LJ: roxy_palace
Artist on LJ: heyhoolou
Website: n/a

Summary: "Second street on the left, and straight on till Mornington Crescent. Tell them Pete sent you."

Review: This is an awesomely mind bending fic that mixes up old Folklore with present day chefs, amnesia, and magical prophesies. It's fast paced and fun, but more than that it doesn't gloss over the darker aspects of fairydom.

Some fairy related lore you might recognize from Shakespear, some from Greccian Mythology, some from old fairy tales, and some are just awesome allusions to Bandom.

Even if you don't know or have much interest in fokeloar you'll probably still enjoy this fic.

Everyone Comes To Pan’s(ART)
Everyone Comes To Pan’s (FIC)
Not!Fic Sequel Pan Goes a Courting

Title: #krisallenpinkranger series
Fandom: American Idol RPF/Power Rangers
Pairing: Kris Allen/Adam Lambert
Categories: AU, Crossover, Romance
Length: Medium (18,400)
Warnings:

Author on LJ: eirana
Website: Eirana's Ao3

Summary: Kris is like the Daphne of the Power Rangers.

Having a boyfriend who is also a Power Ranger is awesome. Except for how it isn’t because his stupidly shiny suit makes him a ridiculously easy target.

Review: Fluffy and lovely and a heck of a lot of fun this series is a straightforward superhero story with some awesome dialog and an utterly adorable teenage romance.

The fact that Eirana manages to work in an obsession with pink plaid and silver nail polish and cast Kris as the Damsel in Distress just makes the story more hilariousness. 

#krisallenpinkranger
Fade to White

Title: Chill out and Learn to Love your Pussy
Fandom: Bandom/Sailor Moon
Pairing: Gerard Way/Tuxedo Mask
Categories: AU, Crack, Crossover, Cross-Dressing, Frienship, Genderswap
Length: Medium (12,500)
Warnings: Gender related issues

Author on LJ: halfeatenmoon
Artist on LJ: komakoma
Website: Half Eaten Moon's Ao3

Summary: MCR are charged with defending the universe from evil, which is pretty cool. They have to transform into women to do it, though, and that makes things complicated. As much fun as it is fighting monsters, they seem to spend as much time trying to figure out what this gender thing is about as they do saving the world.

Review: Utterly cracky and surprisingly deep. This is a lovely fluffy fic mixed with a dash of superhero/secret identity/gender identity drama.

Also there is Brian as a cat.

Chill Out and Learn to Love your Pussy (ART)
Chill Out and Learn to Love your Pussy (FIC)

Title: The Dresden Omens
Fandom: Good Omens, The Dresden Files
Pairing: Harry Dresden/John Marcone, Aziraphale/Crowley
Categories: crossover, humor, a bit of action/adventure
Length: Long (17,879 words)
Warnings: Spoilers for Good Omens, and the Dresden Files novels through book ten.

Author on LJ: shiplizard
Author Website: shiplizard

Summary:
In which a demon (who did not fall from grace so much as saunter vaguely downward) is sent to tempt a hero (who's reluctant at best) and has some trouble with the job.

Review:
Crowley gets assigned to tempt Harry Dresden; this does not go well. Every avenue he tries backfires (the car, the dog, the apprentice, the brother), Aziraphale is busy not answering his phone or checking his messages, and the Legions of Hell won't cut him any slack. Fortunately, Crowley's manipulations (and a little help from friend) finally have some surprising, and unexpected consequences.

I love Crowley, and this fic lets him shine, trying his best tricks and running into a wall each time. The rest of the main characters don't come in until nearly the end, but each are quick and snappy and so much fun. The author does a great job mixing up the two fandoms seamlessly and coming the two fandom's flavors of humor, though the focus is slightly more on the Good Omens characters.

The Dresden Omens (AO3) (LJ pt.1, pt.2, pt.3)

Title: Lifelines
Fandom: Doctor Who/ Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: Gen
Categories: Crossover, Action/Adventure, Drama, Friendship, Repeating Time (sort of: see summary)
Length: Long (22,237)
Warnings: Character Death (Is reversed when time rewinds)

Author on LJ: jinxed_wood
Author Website: Jinxed Wood's Hideout

Summary: It is the year-that-wasn't, and Martha needs to spread the Doctor's message, but in order to do that she needs to stay alive - something Derek Reese is very good at.

Review:
A brilliant blending of the two Universes. Both Martha and Derek are in character throughout the story and the events are believable within both story-lines.

I always love well written stories of Martha's journey during the year-that-wasn't and this is one of the best I've found.


Lifelines:
AO3
LJ
Teaspoon
Author's Website

Here comes our Crossover recs week...

Title: Shaman you
Fandom: The Sentinel/Dresden Files
Pairing: Gen
Categories: Crossover, AU, File Case
Length: long (~20000words)
Warnings:

Author on LJ: idontlikegravy
Author Website: subcircus

Summary:
When the police of Cascade are troubled by a ritual serial killer, they call in the services of the only professional wizard in the book.

Review:
This fic takes place after "Summer Knight", the 4th book in the Dresden Files verse by Jim Butcher and after the end of the "Sentinel" tv show. You can read it quite easily with only a passing familiarity in any of those fandoms. (I'm almost sure you can also understand it without any knowledge of them. But as I knew them before reading it, I can't guaranty this)

This is a well-written fic, using the best of both canons. The use of Dresden voice to narrate this story is a great choice, especially as the author really nailed Harry's voice. The characterization of Blair, Jim and Harry is spot on. And no character overwhelmed the other ones. Both universes are well-balanced and each character gets to shine. The plot is also interesting. And the tension gets higher in every part.

On AO3 :
Shaman You

On livejournal
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

Edited to add links on AO3

Title: Keeper of Souls
Fandom: Dark Angel/Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: Alec/Derek
Categories: action, sci-fi
Length: long (17.500 words)
Warnings: violence, cyborgs

Author on LJ: hunters_retreat
Author Website: n/a

Summary: Everyone learned to keep secrets and Alec was better at it than most. He needed to be after all, he had more to hide. When a raid goes wrong though and he's forced to work with a human named Derek Reese, he begins to trust. Derek seems on the up and up and so they make their way through the resistance, fighting for humanity and trying to keep each other alive. But what happens when Derek finds out that Alec isn't part of humanity, but a Transgenic from Cyberdyne’s Manticore facility? What will happen when humanity's last hope for survival rests on a man that isn't human at all?

Review:
The only thing I knew about the Terminator universe was Arnold Schwarzeneger's "I'll be back" but I knew and liked Dark Angel. I thought why not give it a try. The bonus of the Apocalypse setting lured me further into actually reading the story.

Keeper of Souls makes you think that both universes DA and Terminator are actually one universe. The settings are perfectly woven together. I enjoyed this bleak but still hopeful apocalyptic fic and revisit it from time to time.

Keeper of Souls

Title: Fragments of Truth by cruisedirector
Fandom: Lord of the Rings (movie-verse)
Pairing: Aragorn/Arwen, Aragorn/Boromir (past)
Categories: Angst, Drama, Post-Canon
Length: Short (500+)
Warnings: n/a

Author on LJ: cruisedirector
Website: cruisedirector @ AO3

Review:
What Aragorn does and doesn’t tell Arwen when he sees her again.

There’s something quietly heartbreaking about this story. Written as part of a contrelamontre challenge, this fic, though short, manages to be poignant in its briefness, touching on Aragorn’s character in a way that is both powerful and telling. If you’re looking for something brief and bittersweet, I’d definitely recommend this.

Fragments in Truth

Title: Intemperance
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes
Pairing: John Watson/Mary Morstan; past Sherlock/OCs
Categories: AU, Friendship, Mpreg, Transgender
Length: Medium (17,800)
Warnings: Mpreg sort of;

Author on DW: basingstoke
Website: Basingstroke's Ao3

Summary: "Intemperance," a story from the secret journals of Doctor John H. Watson, intimate friend and long-time companion of the infamous Sherlock Holmes: A most curious and instructive report of the great man's improbable fecundation, gestation, and parturition.

Review: This fic starts out after Holmes discovers that he's become pregnant and can't bring himself to do anything but carry it to term. So he turns to the only Doctor he can trust with such a delicate matter. What follows is a story in which Dr. Watson gets an education, Mary is BAMF, and Holmes can't help but be a detective even when bedridden.

This fic deals a lot with matters of sodomy and being transgender during Victorian times. I can't say how accurate it is since I don't know much about that time period, but the narrative is believable and very true to the characters despite the differences in their lives from canon.

I was particularly impressed by how kept the language more Victorian in nature without bogging the story down with style.

Intemperance

Apologies for the late post; I fell right into bed after work.
Thanks to chibifukurou and slyprentice for letting me play in their usual fandom area

Title: Freefall & Landing
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Thor & Avengers
Pairing: gen, with Thor/Jane
Categories: AU, Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Family
Length: Long (11,230 + 16,977 words)
Warnings: Depression and attempted suicide. Spoilers for Thor and completely AU for Avengers.

Author on LJ: galaxysoup
Author Website: galaxysoup

Summary:
Loki falls. Thor catches him. This does not solve as many problems as Thor was hoping it would.

In the sequel, Thor and Loki settle in to life at Avengers mansion. This process is about as complicated as one would expect.

Review:
Turning AU just at the end of Thor, Freefall takes the angst and drama of Loki's situation and turns it up to the nth degree, while also turning up Thor's concern for his shattered brother. Instead of lashing out, Loki collapses with depression, and Thor flees with Loki to Midgard to protect him. He meets Jane and her friends, and in time SHIELD and the Avengers, but his primary concern is his brothers total descent into silence and depression. Thor may not know how to do it, but he's devoted to helping Loki.

Thor and Loki end up joining the Avengers. I particularly liked that Tony was able to draw Loki out of his shell a bit with science. Eventually they have to deal with a re-connection to Asgard, where Thor is welcomed home but Loki is not, and politics complicate everything. The characterizations of Odin, Frigga (who is AWESOME), Sif and the Warriors Three are all interesting and nuanced; each doing what they see is best, while Thor struggles with how much he has changed and how differently the world sees Loki. While Asgard will never be a home for Loki again, they both find a place on Earth with the Avengers.

I loved how this fic dealt with the fall out of Thor's family drama, and depression and attempted suicide in a genuine and thoughtful manner. Thor is still Thor, well meaning but a bit blundering, and underneath the depression Loki is still a genius maverick. That said, if depression and attempted suicide are at all troubling or triggering for you, you may want to give this fic duo a pass, since both are a major focus of the story.

( Click here to read an excerpt. )

Freefall & Landing

Title: Five Times Methos Met the Doctor
Fandom: Highlander/Doctor Who
Pairing: Gen
Categories: Crossover, slightly AU, Drama, Humor, action/adventure
Length: Medium (5,249 words)
Warnings: N/A

Author on LJ: kesomon
Author Website: Teaspoon

Summary:
And one time that has yet to occur. When a man bound to the slow path is the oldest of humankind, it's only natural he should run into a man who can travel anywhere, anywhen. A crossover of Highlander and Doctor Who, with a smidge of Torchwood and a dash of AU.

Review:
For some reason Highlander and Doctor Who always seem to mix well for crossovers.

Methos keeps stumbling across the Doctor at all the wrong times, sliding across the edges of some of his livelier adventures. Methos is in character throughout the story, which isn't easy when you're jumping through so many different time periods. The Doctor remains mischievous and infuriatingly cryptic. Although I think my favorite bit of the story is that it follows the fanon belief that Jamie McCrimmon and Jack Harkness are immortals.

Five Times Methos Met the Doctor: On Teaspoon || On HL Fic Archive

Title: Those the dragons heed
Fandom: Dragonriders of Pern
Pairing: Gen
Categories: Action, Hurt/confort
Length: Long (~34000 words)
Warnings: N/A

Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: astrokath

Summary:
What do dragons look for in their riders? Martonal thought he knew the answer, or at least part of it - whatever it was, it was something he lacked...

Review:
Ann McCaffrey's Pern books were one of the staples of my teenage years. I remember they were some of the first fantasy stories I've read and enjoyed.
Here, Astrokath creates her own characters and follow them during a search and the following days till the dragons Impression. All of her characters are well-crafted and the relationships between the riders, the candidates and the weyr inhabitants are very well-written. You can feel the elation, the stress and the fears of Martonal (her main character) during this few days especially as he has already been a candidate in a previous disastrous hatching ceremony. I just love how she manages to makes the preparative of the Impression so very much true.
Lastly, the plot of this story is well done and the narration is full of suspense. It's truly a great read, and if you have ever enjoyed a Pern story, I'm pretty sure you will love this fic.

Those The Dragons Heed

Title: By Any Demon’s Name by Cara J Loup
Fandom: Star Wars
Pairing: Han/Luke
Categories: AU, Angst, Drama, Dark, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Romance
Length: Epic (40,000+)
Warnings: Mental manipulations, dubious consent, torture, and dark themes.

Author on LJ: n/a
Website: n/a

Review:
Instead of handing Han over to Boba Fett in Cloud City, Vader decides to turn him into a Dark Side agent and send him back to an unsuspecting Luke.

I’ve been going through something of a rough patch lately with fics - nothing I’ve read seems to be what I’m looking for or even really satisfying– so re-reading fics like this one has definitely helped ease the frustration. Set during the always memorable events at Cloud City, the author does a wonderful job of creating an AU twist that is as insidious as it is compelling, forcing both Luke and Han to suffer in a way that only can be expected from a manipulative Vader. Though I hesitate to say that this fic has a hundred percent happy ending – there’s far too much that happens in the interim for it to – it does have a satisfyingly hopeful one that fits nicely into the universe and makes it well worth reading.

By Any Demon’s Name