Drive By Recs
If anybody wants some great recs that covers various characters in multiple (gen/het/slash/poly) variations of Avengers fic, go check out everything turnonmyheels has rec'd over at crack_van for February.
Two quick Merlin recs via the lovely destina :
One of the Wonders by versaphile (M/A, 2243, G, canon!AU)
This is the missing scene from "The Darkest Hours" and is a great Arthur study. And in which Arthur's considers his reaction to Merlin dying, Merlin's devotion to him and despite everyone assuming such, draws his own conclusions about Merlin, I loved how Arthur realized exactly what losing Merlin would be like and where his own heart lies. Lovely one-shot.
Dying to Return by StormDancer (M/A--past A/G, implied L/G, 19869, PG-13, canon!AU)
I may have said this before, but there's not nearly enough long canon fic so reading this fic made me incredibly happy. It's sweet and angsty and like the first rec is also very much a character study on Arthur. Gwen left him for Lancelot and Merlin disappeared years ago, and Arthur is muddling along alone until a sorcerer comes breaking the law against using magic. When the sorcerer cannot be killed no matter whatever they try, Arthur reluctantly finds himself in an odd "friendship" with the sorcerer. It's has some lovely lines with great emotional beats, but the best part, IMHO was how gradually as he gets to know the sorcerer, Arthur's own feelings about Merlin seem to crystallize more for him.
ST! Reboot Rec:
The Ending Has Not Yet Been Written by Corpus Invictus (K/S, 29504, NC-17, AOS)
Probably one of my favorite ST reboot stories and my favorite by this author which remixes the period between the 5 year mission and the first TOS!film (and now has finally been posted on AO3!). It's well-written with great characterizations and some lovely dialogue. The third chapter, IMHO has one of the best scenes written between Spock Prime and Spock. In many ways, the fic ends up resolving some of the questions that were left unanswered in TOS such as why did Spock leave after the mission. Some of you may find the language a bit purple-prosy but the tension and angst keeps the story moving forward. And I love her take on Spock's characterization and the choices he makes. Also this fic has a lovely cameo with Bones and Joanna.
*She's uploaded all the rest of her stories, including the super popular (but one I wasn't so keen on) Take Refuge in What You Know (it actually is a very interesting and well-written AU in all fairness). I would definitely rec checking out her work---despite being heavily K/S-centric, her style noticeably various among the various fics and she's a solid writer---her handling of Spock tends to be very nuanced and her love of TOS is easy to spot within her stories. Fair warning though---if I remember correctly some of her stories were written for the kink meme, so please pay attention to trigger/warnings!
Other fandom things of possible interest:
*While the Rare Women Fic Exchange sign ups have closed, you could still go and fill in various requests as treats. List of requests here.
*The Oh Canada Comment Fest is still going on it seems, you can check out the fills here (mostly Merlin & TW).