Field Reports

I had a hankering to read some Wesley/Faith recently, what with Angel the Series ending. Last season's Faith arc had some great moments between the two, but overall it left me unsatisfied -- I didn't need resolution for the characters, per se, but there's a way of resolving the need for "more" by giving us just enough non-resolution, if you will. Glass Shard Substitution by Nicole Clevenger addresses that need with a dark encounter in a dark motel room just before Faith leaves L.A. It's not the tour de force of Wes/Faith that is Roseveare's Return (recommended previously here, and which I mention because I think Wes/Faith kind of demands "tour de force") but it hits all the right notes even so. Cutting Room Floor, by the same author, deals with Faith's lingering dreams of Angelus during the car ride from L.A. to Sunnydale. The ending, a brief exchange with Willow, is particularly strong.

As flame to smoke by shrift takes place during "Five by Five." Wesley gets tortured by Faith, and that's hard enough, but then Angel comes to the rescue, and that's even harder -- because really, who is Angel there to save? I sometimes wonder at authors who write happy Angel/Wes, as if their relationship isn't one of the most mutually destructive on television -- even more so because of the familial bond ostensibly created between them. But as always, shrift knows what she's doing: this is the inside of Wesley's head, and what the episode should have given us in the first place.

Wasteland by Jennifer-Oksana is an apocalyptic AU of sorts, and what better survivor in the Jossverse is there besides Faith? It's a chilling story on many levels, with Faith and the world stripped down to the bare essentials, and Oz's appearance midway through catapults the fic to the level of ultra-cool.

Zahra's Faith series brings in a kickass original character who puts Faith through the ringer mentally and emotionally, and explores her many, many, many issues with all the depth and complexity they require.

ETA: As of January 2012, I can't find this story anywhere on the Internet. Would be grateful for links!

Visiting Hours by Christina Kamnikar is a gentle look at Faith post-"To Shanshu in LA," and fits her nicely with Angel at a point when most of the drama is over.

For Angel fic, begin with Rheanna, whose Vivere blew me away, whose co-effort Splinter with Yahtzee has way-cool plot, and whose In the Waiting made me fall head over heels in love with the Angel characters.