I've probably suggested these sometime in the past, but here again:
Dominion: Reprise
I'm not sure if FFnet still has this, but here's the whole version.
It's a DBZ fic. And it's good. Very good. Yes, the very thought is paradoxical. Maybe my standards have risen considerably since way back when I first read this, but I thought this was a really good piece of work. The plot's very complex. Involves lots of different dimensions, timelines, etc. Very epic.
Battletech: The Saotome Gambit
(I haven't checked the files listed. The original author's site is down, and I'm pretty sure FFnet no longer has it, since the fic has adult content in a few of its chapters. Fortunately, I have the whole fic saved on my hard drive so if anyone wants the whole thing, I can email it to them).
A Ranma 1/2 and Battletech fusion fic. One of THE two best fanfics I've read. Ever. The merging of the two universes is flawless. Just that alone is a work of art. The story itself is a greatly engaging epic. The author works the Ranma characters with a flair and quality you wouldn't expect from something coming from a mindless comedy anime like Ranma 1/2.
The plot builds and builds as the story progresses, and explodes in a climax at the end like how any great epic should do. I just can't say enough just how well this story builds and builds.
I said the Ranma characters are utilized with a master-like flair. It's not just Ranma 1/2 that's been given 5-star treatment. The Battletech elements are done superbly well also. The author knows his battletech. You don't get the feeling that one is at disjoint with the other. I can't say enough just how well these two VASTLY different universes are fused so well together in this story.
Awesome mech action and Battletech politics, mixed with Ranma's brand of craziness and often over-the-top'ness and characters, and the whole kabang infused with a romance that grows over the whole story and an incredible sense of an epic adventure.
An awesome piece of work.
Shampoo 1/2
(Another fic that I'm not sure is on FFnet anymore. This time the author's site is still up, and I also have the fic on my hard drive just in case)
This is the other fic of the two very best fics I've ever read.
This time it's purely just a Ranma 1/2 fic, so non-anime fans might not find the motivation to read this. If you are interested in any way with this fic, then I strongly recommend that you do take some time to read at least some of it.
Basically, Ranma's not the only one who get's the gender-switching treatment in this fic. That's the basic premise of the fic.
And from that comes this long, engrossing, and totally AWESOME romance epic of a fic. Remember how I said the author of Saotome Gambit gives a quality and flair to the Ranma characters that you wouldn't expect from Ranma? Same here. The author gives a depth to these characters, and builds them up over the course of the whole story. Character development, sorely lacking from the original Ranma, is given front-row treatment in this story. The story takes the Ranma characters in directions and surpasses what most people would've expected out of them. You'd think a mindless martial arts comedy anime couldn't possibly get any kind of depth to its one-dimensional characters, but Shampoo 1/2 takes these one-dimensional characters and utterly shatters that conception. It's amazing how it's been done.
This fic is also an epic. And, as with Saotome Gambit, the story builds anticipation up over the whole story and toward an awesome climax at the end. The setting's been ramped too. Depth has been added to all the little backstories and histories. There's an actual history and depth to the setting now.
And maybe it was just me back then, but I think the romance was done superbly in this fic. A damn far better sight than most anything Hollywood has put out. Like Saotome Gambit, the romance starts light, and slowly builds with meaningful steps across the whole fic, with pitfalls and setbacks and obstructions in-between.
I should also say that this story and Saotome Gambit have the absolute best endings of any fic I've read. There's a supreme sense of satisfaction and a feeling that you got something out of reading these that you don't get with most other written pieces of work. You feel
rewarded for taking the time to read these's authors' works.
Okay I'm done raving now.