Oh God, this is just unreal. This is almost like nothing else I've ever read. I guess, and again, and you keep me guessing, and I never get it right, because I never know what you're going to do, and you surprise me every minute. It's annoying! I'm usually excellent at guessing the outcome of *anything* I read! But this?

I love it. :D

I mean, Lindsey and Cordy undercover? Like Angel with the Black Thorn? That was my favorite part of season 5 (and You're Welcome, of course.) I know many people don't, but I loved the way it ended.

Cheers for all the heroes. 'Nuff said.

-Wings

Lack Of Communication - it's the WORST thing in the world.

Cheers for Angel and Cordy! I *knew* it had to be something like this - actually, I didn't, but I hoped so much. And unfortunately I can see it happening. I mean, unfortunately that Cordy would assume somethnig like this and that Angel would send such a short message. Fortunately that they fell in love.

Buffy was right in that. "Once you've truly loved another person - it's like your heart learns what that really means. How important it is, how good. It gives you strength. Makes you know who you are, and who you want to be. And all those things make you more able to fall in love again, not less. A person who could only feel love one time, ever - he wouldn't be worth knowing." I love this, and it's why I hate it when writers say that Angel never really loved Cordy and other things like that.

The stuff about what's Buffy like now, how she isn't even tempted by a normal life - I totally agree, and it's partly why I don't like the idea of her and Angel getting back together later. "Nothing anybody could ever do to her would stop her." That's true, too, I think. But she had too much done to her. You know, I actually don't like her or the way she deals with things too often, but she did always pull herself back together, even if she made it harder than it had to be sometimes. And I don't even know what I'm saying, here. I admire her strength; but... she shouldn't have been resurrected. I feel so sorry for her for that. She deserved peace and happiness. She deserved Heaven, not being dragged back to fight when she hates it but does it anyway.

...But I don't like that she hates it. And I don't like the way she treats Angel - season three, when she kept leaving Angel then taking him back, the way she thought she was the only one hurt when he had to pretend to be Angelus, or when he broke up with her, then the way she attacked him, especially in Sanctuary... That was simply cruel, and Angel had absolutely nothing to apologize for.

I really hated The Girl In Question. Sure it was funny, but it was like a parody, *and* it totally ignored You're Welcome and what Angel felt for Cordy. Same can be said about Angel's appearance in End Of Days and Chosen - it's like those scenes were written for those who only watched Buffy and never Angel. He's just been through probably the worst few months of his existence (not counting Hell and possibly being cursed first) with Angelus, Jasmine, Cordy falling into a coma and Connor going insane so he had to sell himself and his friends to W&H and kill Connor just to give him up and probably never see him again - and then he's in Sunnydale smiling at Buffy like nothing happened at all, acting exactly like people who only watched Buffy would expect him to? Please!

I'm either writing an AU fic for that (it's half-written in my head) or I'm explaining it away by saying that he was putting up a front, deliberately acting like Buffy expected him to, because 1. he'd have fallen apart if he acted like he was feeling, 2. he didn't want to distract Buffy from her Apocalypse with his issues, cause there really wasn't time for that, 3. he didn't want to deal with her questions and, frankly, her bitching if she found out he loved Cordy. Instead, he acted like she expected him to and gave her a little comic relief with his jealousy of Spike. And I think he'd have gladly died in that fight - I mean, he meant to wear that amulet. Okay, so he probably didn't know exactly what it would do, but he knew it was dangerous, didn't he?

Wow... how did my review turn into such a rant? Sorry... I'll stop now. :)

-Wings

This story is one of those that is painful for me to read and yet so good that I do so more than once.

ok i loved that. please tell me there is more?

it was way to short.

i loved how you made it so believable. i had no idea what was going to happen till the end.

Here's to you, kid.

I absolutely loved "Phoenix Burning" but I wasn't sure I would like this story... But I found myself really enjoying it! Even knowing how it was going to end, in the context of "Casablanca," the ending was still surprising and satisfying. I can't say I believe all of it is in character (particularly concerning Lindsey not being evil), but most of it was, and it was all entirely entertaining. Thanks for a fun ride. ]

Absolutely fantastic. The dealing of the love trianlge all the characters the twist in the end. Cordelia was amazingly well done.

Oh, that was just lovely. I've always been troubled by the Bufy/Angel and Cordelia/Angel conundrum, I've always liked the idea of a well-done Lindsey/Cordelia pairing, and I've always *loved* post-apocalyptic world fics. This really was the answer to my prayers:) I do have one question, though - I hear tell this was a crossover. What was it a crossover with? I'm inclined to say either the Age of Apocalpyse for mood or the Tad Williams books for prophecies that pull the rug out from under you, but other than those, I'm at a loss.

Anyway, thanks for writing - this was wonderful.

Wow that was an amazing story. I love how you can twist a plot so that you never see whats coming. The paperweight thing. Hilarious! You write the characters soo well. Their traits, character flaws. Fear, anger, petty jealousy. Keep on writing!

I watched Casablanca again last night, and I thought of this story. I think I've read this a dozen times and not left a review, so I'm making up for that now.

I love this story. I love how you follow the movie so closely, and yet give us a twist at the end. Lindsey as Renault...a wonderful surprise. Also I love that you cast Angel as Ilsa, instead of Buffy. It's not what we would expect, and it lends the story the dynamic that carries it through from the first chapter right up to the very end.

I'm printing this one out. Thank you for such a wonderful story, and this beautiful homage to a classic film.

Absolutly fantastic, a winner all the way.

This. Was. Amazing. One of the best fics I've read in a long time. You had me hating Cordy one minute and loving her the next. You made me wish for Angel and B to stay together then Angel to get with Cordy. You. Are. Brilliant. I've never read a fic where there were so many twists and turns that completely and utterly had me gripping the edge of my chair. Bloody great work!

.
I haven't seen Casablanca, though I do know the basic storyline, but I don't think that that's really important. In case you couldn't tell (this is me being sarcastic) I love this fic, and what's more, I think that you're an amazing writer.
Why is that?
Well, first and foremost, you made me want Cordelia to get Angel.
This is an astonishing feat. I'm one of those stock-still, can't-be-budged Buffy/Angel shippers, and I was upset when they ended up together! I wanted Cordelia to get Angel, not give up everything and then end up paired up with Lindsey. I was amazed at myself. Maybe it's just that I'm a sucker for happy endings, and no one really ended up being happy.
Moving on, I thought you wrote Cordelia brilliantly. Her return to form as the icy Queen C was fantastic, and the way she developed in the story to the ending where she got back the headachy visions and gave up Angel for the world that had ultimately screwed her over; well, that was great. I liked the use of Lilah in conjunction to Cordelia, as I've always felt that they were a little similar, deep down.
The universe you set the characters in was also interesting, as I haven't really read many fics that focus on what happened if the apocalypse wasn't averted. The flashbacks of pre-battle were really sad and tragic in light of what actually happened in the battle, as was the actual fact that the world sucked because they'd tried so hard to save it. Of course, it was more complex than that, but that's me, doing summaries in the style of Xander :D.
There's probably more that I could discuss and tell you that I liked, but I can't think of any of it right now, though I probably will in about two hours time. Whatever, I really enjoyed this story, and I think that you're an amazing writer. Truly.
- Emma

That was a great story! It's now one of my favorite stories. You are a wonderful writer.

the best!