Rec: Rolling in the Black (Firefly fusion; Sam/Gabriel, Dean/Castiel, Chuck/Becky)
Title: Rolling in the Black, by dragons_muse, art by sumer_starlight).
The Ladies: Becky and Kali
Rating: M
Relationships: Gabriel/Sam, background Castiel/Dean, Becky/Chuck, former Gabriel/Kali.
Spoilers: None for Supernatural; some plot twists for Firefly/Serenity
Word Count: 18k
Summary: Firefly fusion (no canon Firefly characters appearing). For ten years, Gabriel and his motley crew have traveled through the black on the tempestuous ship, Morningstar. It's a hard life, complicated by Gabriel's other persona as Loki and an uneasy relationship with Alliance. When two passengers come aboard, everything will be threatened.
Warnings: discussion of traumatic events, including medical torture in line with original Firefly canon.
Why you need to read it: For the ladies: Kali and Becky aren't major characters - the four boys are front and centre - but despite that, these are portrayals of both women that are going to stick with me. They manage to be very much themselves without being the stereotypes we often see in fics, and they have a palpable life and existence and priorities outside of supporting the male storyline. And that's without getting into Kali's awesome backstory, and her ability to put Gabriel firmly in his place.
Generally: Because of awesomeness. Shoo. Just go and read it.
I just love the slow discovery of the characters' backstories here. I started out expecting a straight "okay, Gabriel is Mal, Chuck's the pilot so he's Wash, Becky's Chuck's wife but she's more like Kaylee in her sweetness and her role within the crew" sort of parallel to Firefly/Serenity, but the layers with which these characters we know are built into this world are maybe the most exciting thing about this story (and it is part of the story, not just background). And we still have (eg) Castiel raising Dean from his own perdition, and we still have all these recognisable elements and structures from Firefly, but they work so magnificently together to create something that reflects beautifully on both Supernatural and Firefly, the way the best fusions do. And the ship who is at the centre of everything!
I also really enjoy the fact that, while this is in the world of Firefly and some plot elements (such as taking on the two passengers who are fugitives from the Alliance, and the less than legal activities that the crew gets involved in while pretending just to be a virtuous little cargo ship) are recognisable as being particular to the Firefly and Mal's crew, this ship and this crew are not (as often happens in fusions) a straight-up replacement for those characters and that story. They have their own story, and the canon characters may very well exist somewhere else in this world. In fact, we have a direct hint towards the end that this may be very literally the case... dammit, sequel please.