The Angel Investigations Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever
by Jennifer-Oksana
Humour; Script Format
Bwaaa. And also ha. Angel, Wes and Gunn make their own entertainment (not in a slash way) on a rainy day by playing…. Angel Investigations. This is hysterical. I love the "no, YOU'RE Wesley!" argument. Completely surreal and Python-esque.

Angels and Demons
by Firerose
Crossover; alt S3
Longish story that sees Lex Luthor hire the AI team to investigate a certain young farmboy in the Kansas town of Smallville. Managing to merge the two universes very well, I'd love to see this on TV. No ships, although there's mention of Lex's slightly non-platonic feelings for Clark… but if you watch Smallville that should come as no surprise, frankly.

A Stitch in Time Book One: The Tenth of Never
by Yahtzee and Rheanna
Action/Adventure; post Sleep Tight
I am forever going to feel upset that this novel-length story wasn't an episode of season 3. Drusilla's worked out how to get back to Romania in 1898, the night before Angelus was cursed, and she intends to make sure he never gets a soul. Angel, Cordelia, Fred and Gunn travel back in time to stop her, but their own presence causes changes in history and may lead to exactly what they're trying to stop. This does a great job of giving all the characters something to do (especially Fred), and it has the best Dru voice ever.

A Stitch in Time Book 2: The Eleventh Hour
by Yahtzee and Rheanna
AtS Ensemble (Angel/Cordelia UST, past Spike/Dru, Angelus/Darla)
Action/Adventure; post-Sleep Tight
The continuation of The Tenth of Never, this is just as good as the first. The gang have to travel back in time again to make sure Dru doesn't change history - and in doing so, destroy the world. The characters are still exactly true to canon (I loved the Angel/Cordelia relationship in this), and 2002 Drusilla in 1898 is marvellous. Novel-length, and the writers should sell these two stories to the publishers of the tie-in novels.

Breakdown
by Jennifer-Oksana
Character Study; S3
Wes, Gunn and Cordelia take a much-needed break in a coffee shop, and talk about getting away from Angel Investigations - for a weekend, a vacation, forever - even though they know it's futile. One of the best depictions of exhaustion and despair I've read, this made me look at these three with new eyes.

Domestic Piranhas
by Mad Poetess and James Walkswithwind
Spike/Xander, Angel/Wes/Gunn, Ensemble cast of both shows
Humour, AU
Mad as a box of frogs (or a tank of carnivorous fish). Spike and Xander are living in the Hyperion with their pet piranhas, and planning their wedding. It's a loopy and hilariously funny series that made me laugh my ass off more times than I can count. Everyone's great, but Dru shines as the auntie to the piranhas.

How to Date a Beautiful Woman in Less Than One Week
by Melissa Flores
Humour; Romance; Action; Angst; pre-Birthday
Angel/Cordy, Wes/Faith, Fred/Gunn
The Fang Gang all have love woes. The Host and Kate get good stuff to do as well. Fun and cool novel-length story with a satisfying end for all our couples.

No Place Like?
by Alex
Humour; Romance
Angel/Cordy (pre-ship) and Wes/Gunn
This is an incredibly sweet short piece about love and family on a summer day. I have no words for how much I loved the discussion about Hitchhiker's Guide and Tony Blair vs Mayor Wilkins.

The Pickup
by Dannyblue
Humour; S1/2
An innocuous original character arrives at Cordy's place to pick her up for a date - and faces interrogation from Wesley and Angel, doing an amusing good cop/bad cop routine. Any woman with older brothers (or male best friends) will recognize this scenario. Fun little bit of fluff, which goes a long way to explaining why someone as hot as Cordy has had so few dates on the show.

Small Fry
by Mad Poetess and James Walkswithwind
Humour
Anya/Spike/Xander, Wes/Gunn, Willow/Tara
Officially my Favourite Buffyverse Fic Ever. It's been done before - a spell transforms the characters into four-year-olds - but this is the best one out there by miles. Very, very funny as Spike and Xander run riot, Buffy is a little princess and l'il Giles just despairs at the immaturity of the other three, while Willow and Tara go gooey over the sweetness of it all. This is too adorable. Slash warning because Spike, Xander and Anya are a "couple" in this. Oh, and so are Wes and Gunn. Somehow the authors manage to avoid any squickiness, even though Spike is still sex-mad in his new, shorter state. His first reaction to (grown-up) Angel (rocketing towards him shrieking "DADDY!") had me on the floor.

Son of Small Fry
by James Walkswithwind and Mad Poetess
Humour
Anya/Spike/Xander, Wes/Gunn, Willow/Tara, Angel/Lorne
The sequel to Small Fry, this is just as much fun as the first - this time round it's Willow, Tara, Giles and Wesley who get turned into four-year-olds. There's an angsty, romantic scene with Spike and his two lovers that made me sniffly. And Ethan's in it! Ethan's always great. The characters all got to shine. Four-year-old Tara was so cute she made me melt in a big puddle of goo. If you never read any other slash, ever, please read these two stories.

Throwback
by Gidgetgirl
Faith-centred, ensemble
Humour; Fluff; Angst; AU season 1 Angel/season 4 Buffy
Angel and Faith are accidentally transformed into four-year-olds with no memories of their adult lives. I have something of a kink for these types of fics and this made me giggle for ages. Has two standalone installments, Seek and Destroy on Halloween and The Bad Word Game.

The Uninvited Guest
by Yahtzee
Drama; Character Study; Futurefic
Angel/Cordelia, Gunn/Faith, Buffy/Angel, Buffy/Spike, Fred/Connor, others
You know how sometimes everyone is telling you how great a story is and so you avoid it because you think it can't be that good? This is one of those. And it really is that good. Set a few years after Willow's rampage destroys all of the Sunnydale crew save Buffy and Spike (who appears in only one scene but whose fate left me screaming at the screen), this sees the AI gang taking in both Buffy and a recently-paroled Faith. Buffy appears only in flashback, though - the main storyline is set a year after her vicious murder, as the Watchers close in on the suspect. Essentially it's a whodunit, but it's a lot more complex than that. The story's style means that the voices are vital - each chapter is narrated by a different character - and the writer pulls it off brilliantly. The main 'ship is A/C, but just about everything (canon and non) gets a nod. It's not a shippy story, anyway. Just read this one. Oh, and it's a novel, so leave yourself some time: once I started it I couldn't tear myself away.

All characters