I like AUs. I also like crossovers and what ifs. I think they're fun ways of getting to the essence of a character. Yes, experiences make people who they are, but then I'm curious as to what remains when those characters have different experiences, or the same experiences in different contexts, and what that makes them. (To be fair though, I'll read anything that's well-written and makes me believe in the premise. Bring me all the stories!)

As a general thing I see AUs as the characters from the Avengers placed in other contexts, even the 'verses of other fandoms. It's when they start interacting with characters from other fandoms that I'd call it a crossover. I know a lot of fics where the Avengers are still in the Avengers 'verse but some things are different to 'canon' (that mysterious thing that even Marvel is unsure of *cough*) are labelled as AUs, but I tend to think of those as more 'what ifs'. So fics from flying_android's Bows and Catapults (PG) which might possibly have happened to fics like gyzym's The Only John Wayne Left In This Town (Teen and Up) which obviously haven't happened, but, you know, could and would fit...I'm leaving those to one side. (*cough*sneakyrecs*cough*)

Some of my favourite Avengers AUs then, that focus on Clint/Natasha:

History's Mistakes by bob5fic (link goes to LJ tag; alternative link listing parts) R+, warnings/triggers: Smut and general inappropriateness. Mentions of deliberate self harm. Summary: Clint is a college professor and Natasha is his student. Is there anyone not reading this? The realism bites, the sex steams, and the story grabs you by the heart and refuses to let go.

30 Seconds of Mindless Panic by _samalander (link goes to AO3) THE Modern High School Theatre AU series that starts with Naked Pantomime In The Dark where Clint Barton is drafted into the theatre department, a well known fic in these parts for good reason, continues with two more stories with a Steve/Tony focus, and has a fourth installment with the summary A Coda: On the life and times of Clint and Natasha. (Series ranges from G to Explicit - check each story for rating and warnings)

the waters and the wild by ashen_key (link goes to AO3) was written for the promptathon and is, hands down, one of the best fairy tale AUs of anything ever. Rated Mature, warnings/triggers: murder, horror, undead. Summary: The girl in the water opens her eyes, and they are glowing green with witch-fire. *points to icon*

Clint Barton, Vampire Slayer by flying_android was another fic written for the promptathon (link goes to prologue on LJ). Rated R, warnings/triggers: violence, sexual content. Summary: The adventures of Clint Barton, Vampire Slayer. Or, how to be a Slayer while working for SHIELD and with the Avengers. Yes, the Avengers exist in this fic, but this is not a The Only John Wayne Left In This Town type of AU, it's a fusion with Buffy The Vampire Slayer that is wonderfully Whedonesque and I can't praise it enough.

Brown and Gold by cybermathwitch (link goes to AO3) I confess was for one of my prompts at the promptathon - it's a Dragonriders of Pern fusion that is spot on, which I rambled on about at the promptathon here :) but basically, if you like theme of Natasha reclaiming herself, if you like Clint being extraordinary for what he does with what he has rather then for being extraordinary, and if you'd like to see Natasha learning what it means to be truely accepted as only someone chosen by a dragon can, then this is a fic for you.

The promptathon was great for AUs: we also had olympics from lar_laughs (PG13) and working at a pharmacy (PG13, some language), anuna_81 wrote them as social workers (PG13, warning for child abuse), workerbee73 delivered noir (PG13), and I'm sure there are others that I'm missing. To the promptathon!

Speaking of noir AUs, the one that got away by bob5fic is very wow.

scargeear on deviant art has fanart of all the Avengers as in the 2012 Olympics - this link goes to Natasha but also has links to all the others. Fun!

The Avengers as Avenging Angels fanart by azriel on tumblr. Gorgeous and just begging for a fic ;)

And I had Harry Potter fussion AUs fanart and fics, but they seem to have wandered off, into the depths of my bookmarks collection or the far reaches of the internet. Sorry about that.

As for AU fic ideas, I need to have a fic finishing month *shakes head at self*.
1) His Dark Materials fusion combining two prompts from the promptathon - Natasha is a witch with a Black Widow daemon and Clint is a hunter from the north with a hawk daemon. There is muder and hopefully some intrigue.
2) A Firefly fusion. I'm finding the chatter about matching Avengers characters to Firefly characters above interesting, because instead of my brain matching characterisations I thought about what roles a successful crew would need to be filled and which roles each Avengers character would best suit.
3) Circus AUs. Many of them. Many.
4) And other AUs from promptathon prompts, but the first three are the ones eating my brain and that I WILL FINISH, I WILL :)

Dude!!!! You took so many of my recs. What a fabulous list. <333333333333333333333333333

I hadn't posted a huge recs list in ages. This was theraputic! lol

::twirls you::

Thank you!

I rec what I love *showers you with sunshine*