AO3 Recommendations

A blog dedicated to no-slash-fic reccommendations from Batfam, MCU, Merlin, ect.

[fic-recs-ao3]

Welcome!

This blog is dedicated to all of my (many) bookmarks on AO3. My focus will be on gen or only background relationship fics that will range from anywhere from tooth-rotting-fluff to tortuous angst. Fandoms will include: Merlin, MCU (specifically Spiderman primarily), Batfamily, and a touch of other works.

You can submit fic recommendations for me to assess and possibly add to the blog.

Happy reading!

[fic-recs-ao3]

Burn Ban

Stats: Teen And Up; No Archive Warnings Apply; Gen; Dispatch (Video Game); Words: 5,814; Chapters: 1/1

Synopsis:

Flambae and Sonar are the only flight-based heroes left on Z-Team now that Coupé is cut and Phenomaman is... too sad to function. That means more work for the guy who can fly 100% of the time. Stressed and pissed off, Flambae makes a mistake on mission and as everyone knows, if you fuck up ever, you can never fix it. AKA: Sonar gets injured on a dispatch and Flambae has a normal reaction to it.

Review:

I have been ravenous for Dispatch fics, and this one was lovely. Good introspective character study and character dynamics. 100/10

Burn Ban - starkraving - Dispatch (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

Facing the Truth

Stats: Teen And Up; Gen; Merlin (TV); Words: 75,824; Chapters: 18/18

Synopsis:

"Great, just what he needed, something else trying to off the prat on the way home."

Merlin, Arthur, a very large spot of prison-cell-shaped trouble, and a lot to work out. Basically, a fix-it for all of season 5.

Review:

A delightful mix of physical and emotional angst building to a magic reveal. 100/10

Facing the Truth - Chapter 1 - SanguineInk - Merlin (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

Mondays, am I Right?

Stats: Teen And Up; No Archive Warnings Apply; Gen; MCU, Spider-man (Tom Holland Movies); Words: 31,533; Chapters:5/5

Synopsis:

“I finally saw the footage of Coney Island. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking we probably wouldn’t crash. Actually I wasn’t, uh… you know how you sometimes just operate on that part of your brain that was, like, originally reserved for hunting woolly mammoths?”

“That’s an exceedingly verbose way to say ‘I was a fucking dumbass’.”

Peter laughs. He rolls his head to the side to smile at Tony. “You know, Mr. Stark. I thought you were gonna be way more upset about all this.”

“It’s been a long day,” Tony says.

-

Or: Tony dealing with the plane crash on Coney Island for a whole Monday. Shouldn’t take long.

Review:

How does a self-absorbed and self-destructive playboy/ superhero become an actual mentor to a teenager, get engaged, and get his life generally back on track? A healthy dose of perspective and stewing it out in a time loop might help. 9.5/10 would recommend

Mondays, am I right? - Chapter 1 - Bergen - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

The Story’s Come Back For You

Stats: Teen And Up; No Archive Warnings Apply; Gen; Merlin (TV); Words: 3,981; Chapters: 1/1

Synopsis:

When Arthur, Gwen, and the Knights are captured by a malevolent spirit, none of them expect Merlin to be the one to rescue them.

Merlin didn't expect it either.

Review:

I always love a good magic reveal. 10/10

The Story's Come Back For You - Nebula5030 - Merlin (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

A Different Perspective

Stats: Mature; Graphic Depictions of Violence; Gen; Batman– all media types; Words: 15,792; Chapters: 7/7

Synopsis:

When Tim and Damian are captured by Ra's Al Ghul, Tim must find a way to keep his family safe. What would he be willing to do to protect his loved ones? What would he be willing to sacrifice?

Will Damian accept Tim as family, or will he continue to shun him despite the danger?

Review:

Tim and Damian speak very different languages. They are in desperate need of a translator, but apparently whump works just as well. 100/10 feels

A Different Perspective - Chapter 1 - TheMaidenOfWords - Batman - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

Crossing the Line

Stats: Gen; Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings (Graphic Depictions of Violence); Gen; Merlin (TV); Words: 4,167; Chapters: 1/1

Synopsis:

In which Merlin gets bludgeoned, strangled, attacked, smothered, shot with glass, and tossed out a window, burned, whipped, stabbed, thrown down stairs, nearly drowned on dry land, and harpooned, and still manages to save Camelot from seven evil sorcerers, before lunch.

Review:

I am consistently delighted by an opportunity for Merlin to show off how awesome he is. BAMF Merlin. 100/10

Crossing the Line - Ultrageekatlarge - Merlin (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

Why the fuck is it working

Stats: Teen And Up; Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Gen; Dispatch (Video Game); Words: 1,659; Chapters: 1/1

Synopsis:

It was supposed to be a joke.

It was supposed to be a one-off thing to mock the team for how immature they were being.

So why the fuck was it working??

Review: 

Wonderful crack fic. 100/10

why the fuck is it working - Anonymous - Dispatch (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

And I fought (for breath)

Stats: Teen And Up; No Archive Warnings Apply; Gen; Batman– all media types; Words: 3,859; Chapters: 1/1

Synopsis:

“The fuck are you doing here, Replacement?”

Jason doesn’t sound as dangerous as he once did, prowling the streets of his section of the city full of Lazarus Pit rage and hurting in a thousand ways he had never been able to name without a weapon. Instead, there’s an exasperation in his voice, like he’s resigned himself to finding Tim crawling through the window of his safehouse, and bitterness. Always bitterness.

But it’s not Tim’s choice. Well, it is his choice, but that's not the point. He’s just glad he’s caught Jason before his predecessor had left for patrol because he’s desperate, he’s struggling, and he’s quickly running out of both time and air.

Review:

 Tim and Jason being brothers is so special to me. Ultimate sheep dog covered in wolf blood dynamic. 10/10 love it every time.

and I fought (for breath) - mballyntyne - Batman - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

What to do With a Lazy Manservant?

Stats: Teen And Up; Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings (implied sexual harassment but nothing ; Gen; Merlin (TV); Words: 27,310; Chapters: 5/5

Synopsis: 

Merlin has a reputation for being lazy and incompetent. It almost gets him into trouble with the King, but Uther decides to take a closer look and learns the truth.

Merlin is not the useless idiot that he is assumed to be. This is the third story in the series 'Five Times Merlin Surprised People with Unexpected Skills'

Review:

I will happily dance on Uther’s grave, but I can respect him here. Congratulations on not being a full asshole here and at least acknowledging in a small way everything Merlin does 10/10

What to do With a Lazy Manservant? - Chapter 1 - Smcstrav - Merlin (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

Never mind, it’s over your head

Stats: Teen And Up; No Archive Warnings Apply; Gen; MCU, Spiderman (Tom Holland Movies); Words: 35,647; Chapters: 6/6

Synopsis:

“So what have you been up to this weekend?”

“Family picnic,” Peter says.

“Oh, great, great fun,” Tony says and swipes away from the article about Spider-Man wrestling a giant spider on the roof of the Chrysler building.

It’s quite obvious that Tony knows he is Spider-Man, but decided not to acknowledge it; decided to keep the secret going. For what reason, Peter doesn’t know. Maybe Tony thinks he can use the information in his favor, or maybe he just doesn’t want Peter to freak out. Either way, it serves Peter just fine, because Tony tries so hard to keep up his oblivious act that he never prods too hard or looks too deep.

Which means all of Peter’s far bigger secrets are still safe.

Review:

Again, I show my IronDad colors. This fic is an interesting look about what would change (and more importantly, what would stay the same) if Peter’s father hadn’t died when he was a child. Spoiler alert, this is not a good thing for Peter. Good thing he has Tony and Pepper to fall back on for support. 10/10 no notes

Never mind, it's over your head - Chapter 1 - Bergen - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

The One Where Tony is Vision’s Weakness

Stats: Teen And Up: No Archive Warnings Apply; Gen, F/M; The Avengers, MCU; Words: 21,715; Chapters: 7/7

Synopsis:

“The amendment is non-negotiable. Either you sign and hand over your technology and designs willingly, or I can arrest you and they become government property anyway—the synthezoid included.”

--------------------------------------

Thaddeus Ross orders Tony to sign an amendment to the Sokovia Accords that requires him to hand over all Avengers-related technology—which Ross believes includes Vision.

Review:

This entire series is really fun from a whump/ angst and from a character dynamic perspective. There’s so many relationships in the MCU that we don’t get to see explored very much and that are rather neglected in the fandom at times. 11/10

The One Where Tony is Vision's Weakness - Chapter 1 - JinxQuickfoot - Multifandom [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

Nine Yards

Stats: Gen; No Archive Warnings Apply; Gen; Batman– all media types; Words: 21,686; Chapters: 7/7

Synopsis:

Bank Robber raises his gun.

Damian’s chin tucks, his eyes glare, his muscles tense in preparation. Tim knows he’ll take that bullet. He’ll take the bullet, the injury, the pain. He’ll take the scar, the video, the risk. He’ll take it silently. Like he was trained to do, like he always has.

Except that’s Tim’s little brother.

And he can’t let him.

Review:

Damian and Tim’s relationship is always fascinating. They hate each other to hell, but will protect each other every time. Tim especially has such a loaded history with Damian, but he still takes his job as older brother seriously. 100/100

Nine Yards - Chapter 1 - Muddell - DCU [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

Grounding Robins

Stats: Teen And Up; No Archive Warnings Apply; Gen; Batman– all media types; Words: 2,533; Chapters: 1/1

Synopsis:

Jason Todd would like the record to show that he is a dangerous, vicious person and that he will kill his replacement as soon as look at Robin. That record would be incorrect, but it's best to let him keep his delusions.

AKA that fic where Jason actually talks to Tim and decides to adopt him on the spot. Co-starring feral Tim Drake.

Review:

Tim and Jason being brothers is very special to me. Very fun series all around. 10/10 crack.

Grounding Robins - TheMaidenOfWords - Batman - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

Immortal Guilt

Stats: Mature; Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death; Gen; Merlin (TV), BBC Merlin; Words: 23,844; Chapters: 5/5

Synopsis:

Merlin was told that his purpose lies in protecting Arthur and bringing about the age of peace for Avalon. He was not told that he had any worth outside of destiny. The constant sacrifices and battles that Merlin faces in his quest to protect Arthur take their toll, and everyone has a limit.

Review:

Merlin is such a character. All of the things that he went through in the show? My man deserves a break, but instead, he will break. Whump/ 10

Immortal Guilt - Chapter 1 - TheMaidenOfWords - BBC Merlin [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

Rats and Rogues

Stats: Teen And Up; Graphic Depictions of Violence; Gen; MCU, Spider-man; Words: 49,985; Chapters: 15/15

Synopsis:

"Peter honestly didn’t understand how he got into these situations. One moment he’s swinging his way towards home for dinner– May had been adamant that meals needed to come before patrol– and the next he was plummeting towards the dirty New York pavement."

Summary: When Peter is captured by HYDRA along with the fugitive Captain America and Winter Soldier, he will have to band together with the rogue Avengers to survive and escape. Tony Stark is searching desperately for Peter, but will he find him in time?

Review:

Peter deserves to get to hang out with Steve and Bucky. He just will have a hard time while doing it. A narcissistic 9/10

Rats and Rogues - Chapter 1 - TheMaidenOfWords - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

[fic-recs-ao3]

For Want of a Court Sorcerer

Stats: Teen And Up; No Archive Warnings Apply; Gen; Merlin (TV); Words: 3,992; Chapters: 1/1

Synopsis:

Arthur decides he needs a court sorcerer, and he has one very specific person in mind; Emrys. All he has to do now is find the bloody man!

Aka. Arthur is blind, the knights are little shits and Merlin wishes that for once he wasn’t surrounded by idiots.

Review:

My idiot sons. I love the look at a post-magic reveal infrastructure and trying to rework decades of harmful laws. 100/10

For Want of a Court Sorcerer - Minted_Midas - Merlin (TV) [Archive of Our Own]