The saga of the Bangel fic I've been working on for iwry_marathon continues on like an evil, rabid animal. I've been having a lot of problems writing it. I think I'm intimidated. It could be so good, but I'm unsure if I can meet my own expectations. I haven't been this scared and unsure about a fic since Drive it Home, which I posted in July 2007! And it's just so long. *sigh* I have a week and a half to finish it, so... fingers crossed!

To compound my "scared" and "unsure," I'm having all four of my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow. I've never had surgery before or been under anesthesia, so there's that little part of my brain shrieking, "What if you don't wake up!?" I'm also not looking forward to the pain. No doubt, I'll be quite close to my codeine prescription for the next few days. I'd like to be able to write while bedridden, but I don't know if I'll be coherant enough to do so.

I've also been responsible for a lot of betaing and judging obligations recently, so I feel a little torn between that and working on my own material. I haven't read one entry at seasonal_spuffy this round, so if you want to rec your Top 3 favorite fics, go for it. I don't want to have to slog through the entries.

And, to the original purpose of my post - recs! I have been keeping up with the iwry_marathon entries, and boy, there have been some good ones. These are Buffy/Angel fics. No surprise, I'm not particularly well-versed in that ships bullpen of writers. So, without further ado, two new-to-me writers and two incredible fics that should not be missed. 

and every breath we drew was (hallelujah) by biggrstaffbunch 
Rated: R
Summary: Angel, Buffy, and reunion. Happy endings don't come easy. Sometimes they don't come at all. Six times these star-crossed lovers never made it to their final act. 
Comments: 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 and (be still, my heart!) uses the 2nd person, which is a new stylistic kink for me. Her prose is beautiful. thought provoking, and clean. She's the type of writer I look at and wonder, "Where have you been all my life?" If you like my work, you're going to like this fic.

Gamble on Destiny by leni_ba 
Rated: PG-13
Summary: This fic is an AU spin on the WishVerse. 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.
Comments: 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.