AU recs
Avatar the Last Airbender
Enslaved by sharkflip. Het, Katara/Zuko. WIP (ca. 98,000 words so far)
In this AU Zuko is captured by the Water Tribe and adapts. It's still a WIP and I'm enjoying the worldbuilding with the Water Tribe, though I'd really like to find out more about when and how the war went differently in the past on the larger scale. Still, it's very enjoyable.
Merlin
The Peasant King, by a8c_sock. Slash and some het, Merlin/Arthur, Balinor/Hunith. (ca. 37,000 words)
This rec comes with the caveat that the story misses the final editing polish (I'm not assuming this merely because of the remaining typos, but because some beta notes in brackets are still in the posted version), so you need a certain level of tolerance for this. However the premise is quite cool in that Ygraine survives rather than Uther, and flees with her infant son to protect him from the ensuing chaos. Arthur grows up with Merlin and Will, and eventually he tries to win back his throne.
The Young Dragonlord, by Eldee. Gen, with some background Balinor/Hunith and Uther/Ygraine. (ca. 58,000 words)
In this AU Balinor stuck around to raise Merlin. I enjoyed both the background story and how this changed the present.
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc ('After this, therefore because of this') , by hitome_bore. Slash, Merlin/Arthur. (ca. 95,000 words)
This mixes Merlin with The Sword in the Stone, that is Arthur finally finding out about Merlin's magic has gone horribly wrong, so Merlin decides to time travel and befriend a younger Arthur as his teacher.
Arcane Asylum, by new_kate. Slash, Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Edwin. (ca. 126,000 words)
I can only rarely get into Modern AUs in Merlin, but this one has great worldbuilding. It still has magic and prophecy and all the fun stuff, and both characters and certain plot elements form the series were transplanted well into the present day, without it seeming forced or too contrived.
Numb3rs
Lucky by Leah Harper. Gen. (ca. 24,500 words)
In this AU Don and Charlie's estrangement lingers longer, and I enjoyed this angstier version of their relationship.
Sherlock
Asterioidea and Highly Intelligent, Observant, and Destructive When Bored, by etothepii. Gen, Sherlock and Mycroft, and Slash, Sherlock/Watson. (ca. 1,850 and 5,000 words)
This is a His Dark Materials fusion with a great twist.
Star Trek: Reboot
Homo homini lupus, by Casspeach and Chaosraven. Slash, McCoy/Chekov. (ca. 13,600 words)
This is a Viking AU done as collaboration for the Trek Reverse Bang. The art was lovely, and Bones as somewhat reluctant Viking raider was great.
Knives in the Water, by green_postit and steam_pilot. Slash Kirk/McCoy. (ca. 18,500 words)
This is a collaboration done for the Trek Reverse Bang, and the art is very stylish, with a stark, noir-like atmosphere. The story is a gangster AU, and it had me really hooked, even though I'm normally not that into Star Trek AUs not somehow still set in space. It convinced me of them as mob for the duration of the story, and how Bones was drawn into this was great. Also, normally I don't emphasize warnings again in my recs that the header gives, but the warning for torture and abuse on the story is really not kidding, it was great, but brutal and intense.
Like A Riot (Don't Need Order), by Jane Potter. Slash, mainly Kirk/Spock. (Some stories are finished, but the universe is still a WIP.)
In this AU Vulcan is isolationist, and Earth has an alliance with the Orions. Meanwhile Kirk, Spock & Co. set out to become space pirates. The universe is still a WIP and I like the first story more than some of the later parts, and some of the characterization (in particular of McCoy as this kind of alcoholic) doesn't really work for me, however this is still quite a lot of fun to read.
In Which We Change, by salvaged_pride. Slash, Kirk/McCoy. (ca. 14,160 words)
This is a AU with Kirk as werewolf, and I really like the werewolf premise here that the wolf is not aware of the human self, and how it was handled.
X-Men
The Uncertain Trumpet, by bliumchik. Het, Scott/Jean. (ca. 525 words)
This is just a short comment fic, but with the cool premise that the material for Scott's glasses hadn't been developed, and yet he still manages as a member of the X-Men in the field (through his connection to Jean) while truly blind.
Enslaved by sharkflip. Het, Katara/Zuko. WIP (ca. 98,000 words so far)
In this AU Zuko is captured by the Water Tribe and adapts. It's still a WIP and I'm enjoying the worldbuilding with the Water Tribe, though I'd really like to find out more about when and how the war went differently in the past on the larger scale. Still, it's very enjoyable.
Merlin
The Peasant King, by a8c_sock. Slash and some het, Merlin/Arthur, Balinor/Hunith. (ca. 37,000 words)
This rec comes with the caveat that the story misses the final editing polish (I'm not assuming this merely because of the remaining typos, but because some beta notes in brackets are still in the posted version), so you need a certain level of tolerance for this. However the premise is quite cool in that Ygraine survives rather than Uther, and flees with her infant son to protect him from the ensuing chaos. Arthur grows up with Merlin and Will, and eventually he tries to win back his throne.
The Young Dragonlord, by Eldee. Gen, with some background Balinor/Hunith and Uther/Ygraine. (ca. 58,000 words)
In this AU Balinor stuck around to raise Merlin. I enjoyed both the background story and how this changed the present.
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc ('After this, therefore because of this') , by hitome_bore. Slash, Merlin/Arthur. (ca. 95,000 words)
This mixes Merlin with The Sword in the Stone, that is Arthur finally finding out about Merlin's magic has gone horribly wrong, so Merlin decides to time travel and befriend a younger Arthur as his teacher.
Arcane Asylum, by new_kate. Slash, Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Edwin. (ca. 126,000 words)
I can only rarely get into Modern AUs in Merlin, but this one has great worldbuilding. It still has magic and prophecy and all the fun stuff, and both characters and certain plot elements form the series were transplanted well into the present day, without it seeming forced or too contrived.
Numb3rs
Lucky by Leah Harper. Gen. (ca. 24,500 words)
In this AU Don and Charlie's estrangement lingers longer, and I enjoyed this angstier version of their relationship.
Sherlock
Asterioidea and Highly Intelligent, Observant, and Destructive When Bored, by etothepii. Gen, Sherlock and Mycroft, and Slash, Sherlock/Watson. (ca. 1,850 and 5,000 words)
This is a His Dark Materials fusion with a great twist.
Star Trek: Reboot
Homo homini lupus, by Casspeach and Chaosraven. Slash, McCoy/Chekov. (ca. 13,600 words)
This is a Viking AU done as collaboration for the Trek Reverse Bang. The art was lovely, and Bones as somewhat reluctant Viking raider was great.
Knives in the Water, by green_postit and steam_pilot. Slash Kirk/McCoy. (ca. 18,500 words)
This is a collaboration done for the Trek Reverse Bang, and the art is very stylish, with a stark, noir-like atmosphere. The story is a gangster AU, and it had me really hooked, even though I'm normally not that into Star Trek AUs not somehow still set in space. It convinced me of them as mob for the duration of the story, and how Bones was drawn into this was great. Also, normally I don't emphasize warnings again in my recs that the header gives, but the warning for torture and abuse on the story is really not kidding, it was great, but brutal and intense.
Like A Riot (Don't Need Order), by Jane Potter. Slash, mainly Kirk/Spock. (Some stories are finished, but the universe is still a WIP.)
In this AU Vulcan is isolationist, and Earth has an alliance with the Orions. Meanwhile Kirk, Spock & Co. set out to become space pirates. The universe is still a WIP and I like the first story more than some of the later parts, and some of the characterization (in particular of McCoy as this kind of alcoholic) doesn't really work for me, however this is still quite a lot of fun to read.
In Which We Change, by salvaged_pride. Slash, Kirk/McCoy. (ca. 14,160 words)
This is a AU with Kirk as werewolf, and I really like the werewolf premise here that the wolf is not aware of the human self, and how it was handled.
X-Men
The Uncertain Trumpet, by bliumchik. Het, Scott/Jean. (ca. 525 words)
This is just a short comment fic, but with the cool premise that the material for Scott's glasses hadn't been developed, and yet he still manages as a member of the X-Men in the field (through his connection to Jean) while truly blind.