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buffyversetop5At least, this Spuffy shipper did. Love them or hate them, Buffy/Angel was the 'ship that started it all and I have nothing but respect for it because of how it influenced the characters' journies, their choices over the course of the show, and their future relationships. As it turns out, I like my Bangel the same way I like my Spuffy - with lots of angst. A majority of the following fics go AU from canon at some point, are creative, hauntingly beautiful and well written. You won't find any cotton candy romance here.
1. and every breath we drew was (hallelujah) by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
biggrstaffbunch
Hard R, covers BtVS S3 - AtS S5
Summary: Angel, Buffy, and reunion. Happy endings don't come easy. Sometimes they don't come at all. Six times our star-cross'd lovers never made it to their final act.
Review: I love thoughtful, canon character studies and this is one of the best I've seen. You not only come away understanding Buffy and Angel as a pairing better, but also as individuals who are deeply flawed. The writer alternates between POVs in each vignette using the 2nd person, which could be distancing or confusing, but only adds to the intimacy and sad reflection these characters undergo in this piece. Her prose is beautiful, dramatic, and captivating as she takes us through some pivotal moments in the Bangel relationship. She's the type of writer I look at and wonder, "Where have you been all my life?" Clearly dabbeling in the Bangel waters, that's where.
2. A Brief History of Time (A Love Story) bycarlyinrome
R, AU spin on S5-6 of BtVS
Summary: Now she realizes that, had they never met, she wouldn’t be. She’d be some other girl, some other Buffy.
Review: Gutting is what this fic is. Absolutely gutting. In this AU, Angel is stricken with the visions that Cordy should have had and it's not a pretty picture. Stripped of his sanity, he's now an empty vessel for the PTB. Or is he? After years of estrangement, the fang gang and the Scoobies reunite to work a murder case together with Angel as their source of information. carlyinrome's world weary Buffy is reminiscent of her turn in S7 and her emotional distance from Angel seems like a yawning chasm in this story. Beautiful in its prose and style, I can't recommend this enough. The moments that Tara and Angel share together are also especially poignant. As it turns out, in the end there is always hope.
3. Gamble on Destiny byleni_ba
PG-13, AU of "The Wish"
Summary: Suppose Angel avoided getting staked, and then managed to save Buffy from the Master. The story starts an hour after the worst of the battle has passed.
Review: It's hard to come up with really original plots, which is why this fic blew me away. Leni tells this story through a series of one hundred 100-word drabbles. Quite a feat that. Not only does she do it well, but still manages to keep the pacing, characterization, and originality at a high caliber throughout the fic. The slow evolution of hard-bitten Buffy's trust in Angel and the unfolding of their uneasy alliance and Buffy's backstory is compelling and exciting. I don't tend to read long fics, but I couldn't pull myself away from this one. Her AU twist on Wesley and cameo appearances by Joyce and Travers were also icing on the cake.
4. The Burning Girl bytrixiefirecra
R, AU after "Two to Go" in S6
Summary: Thou shalt not suffer a slayer to live.
Review: What if Buffy had been blamed for Willow's breadown and world-destroying ambition at the end of season 6? This fic takes a look at the frightening consequences had the Council taken measures to return things to status quo. Trixen's jumbled time frame and surprising reveal at the end makes this fic one of the best I've seen to match tone to character state. Buffy is sick through most of this story and the prose does an amazing job of conveying her disorientation, her will to keep running, and her will to live. I was pleasantly surprised and hope to read more like it in the future.
5. For Him, While Dreaming bytrixiefirecra
R, set after NFA with references to "Chosen"
Summary: Los Angeles is gone, so what’s a Slayer to do?
Summary: Wow. Just wow. I have always been a big fan of grief, but this euology is utterly breath taking. The whirlwind of Buffy's scattered thoughts, her immersed sadness and its ties to her memory are beautifully heartbreaking. I could just see her, like Dido to Aeneas, drowning in the current of her own sorrow. Her last meeting with Angel is also powerfully conveyed in their raw, manic, passionate, and downright dirty coupling. I was surprised. Shocked even. They could be that way? As trixen deliciously shows us, oh yes, they certainly can.
1. and every breath we drew was (hallelujah) by
biggrstaffbunch Hard R, covers BtVS S3 - AtS S5
Summary: Angel, Buffy, and reunion. Happy endings don't come easy. Sometimes they don't come at all. Six times our star-cross'd lovers never made it to their final act.
Review: I love thoughtful, canon character studies and this is one of the best I've seen. You not only come away understanding Buffy and Angel as a pairing better, but also as individuals who are deeply flawed. The writer alternates between POVs in each vignette using the 2nd person, which could be distancing or confusing, but only adds to the intimacy and sad reflection these characters undergo in this piece. Her prose is beautiful, dramatic, and captivating as she takes us through some pivotal moments in the Bangel relationship. She's the type of writer I look at and wonder, "Where have you been all my life?" Clearly dabbeling in the Bangel waters, that's where.
2. A Brief History of Time (A Love Story) by
carlyinrome R, AU spin on S5-6 of BtVS
Summary: Now she realizes that, had they never met, she wouldn’t be. She’d be some other girl, some other Buffy.
Review: Gutting is what this fic is. Absolutely gutting. In this AU, Angel is stricken with the visions that Cordy should have had and it's not a pretty picture. Stripped of his sanity, he's now an empty vessel for the PTB. Or is he? After years of estrangement, the fang gang and the Scoobies reunite to work a murder case together with Angel as their source of information. carlyinrome's world weary Buffy is reminiscent of her turn in S7 and her emotional distance from Angel seems like a yawning chasm in this story. Beautiful in its prose and style, I can't recommend this enough. The moments that Tara and Angel share together are also especially poignant. As it turns out, in the end there is always hope.
3. Gamble on Destiny by
leni_ba PG-13, AU of "The Wish"
Summary: Suppose Angel avoided getting staked, and then managed to save Buffy from the Master. The story starts an hour after the worst of the battle has passed.
Review: It's hard to come up with really original plots, which is why this fic blew me away. Leni tells this story through a series of one hundred 100-word drabbles. Quite a feat that. Not only does she do it well, but still manages to keep the pacing, characterization, and originality at a high caliber throughout the fic. The slow evolution of hard-bitten Buffy's trust in Angel and the unfolding of their uneasy alliance and Buffy's backstory is compelling and exciting. I don't tend to read long fics, but I couldn't pull myself away from this one. Her AU twist on Wesley and cameo appearances by Joyce and Travers were also icing on the cake.
4. The Burning Girl by
trixiefirecra R, AU after "Two to Go" in S6
Summary: Thou shalt not suffer a slayer to live.
Review: What if Buffy had been blamed for Willow's breadown and world-destroying ambition at the end of season 6? This fic takes a look at the frightening consequences had the Council taken measures to return things to status quo. Trixen's jumbled time frame and surprising reveal at the end makes this fic one of the best I've seen to match tone to character state. Buffy is sick through most of this story and the prose does an amazing job of conveying her disorientation, her will to keep running, and her will to live. I was pleasantly surprised and hope to read more like it in the future.
5. For Him, While Dreaming by
trixiefirecra R, set after NFA with references to "Chosen"
Summary: Los Angeles is gone, so what’s a Slayer to do?
Summary: Wow. Just wow. I have always been a big fan of grief, but this euology is utterly breath taking. The whirlwind of Buffy's scattered thoughts, her immersed sadness and its ties to her memory are beautifully heartbreaking. I could just see her, like Dido to Aeneas, drowning in the current of her own sorrow. Her last meeting with Angel is also powerfully conveyed in their raw, manic, passionate, and downright dirty coupling. I was surprised. Shocked even. They could be that way? As trixen deliciously shows us, oh yes, they certainly can.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 10:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 10:31 pm (UTC)Oh, I also wanted to rec Gamble On Destiny!
I know. It's so hard trying not to duplicate the recs. I've had to revise several lists myself.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 10:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 11:13 pm (UTC)This is so true. It's good to see another B/A list.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-11 01:37 am (UTC)I haven't read Carly's yet, but you've picked some delicious stories here. Don't you love Trixie? If you're interested in Dawn/Spike (some B/S 'shippers are), then check out her stuff. Lord knows that if it weren't for her, I'd have never looked twice at the pairing. Or maybe I would. Spike is just too pretty....
no subject
Date: 2009-01-11 02:02 am (UTC)LOL. Gave you trouble, did it? I have so much respect for you. Writing true drabbles is hard. Making a long fic out of them? Woof. That's an undertaking, but you did it. You really did, so pat yourself on the back.
I haven't read Carly's yet, but you've picked some delicious stories here.
Thanks. I'm not really familiar with the usual suspects of Bangel writing as it's a pretty new pairing for me, but boy was I pleasantly surprised how good some of the fic is. Like, damn. Carly's was definately one that made me feel all achey (in a good way) after reading it. I participated in IWRY as lark, but it was really rewarding as a reader and as a writer. I'd never written Bangel before it and although it was difficult, I have a lot of love for the story I produced.
Don't you love Trixie? If you're interested in Dawn/Spike (some B/S 'shippers are), then check out her stuff.
I do love Trixie. A lot. I came across her for the first time this fall when she posted at
no subject
Date: 2009-01-11 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-11 10:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-12 03:34 pm (UTC)Suspect I'll always be a bit wary of other people's B/A fics, though.