Hey everyone! I hope you are having a great weekend. It's after midnight here, so I'm going to post. (I'm going to be pretty busy tomorrow.)

I wanted to pick a theme, but I found so many varied stories I like, that today is going to be quite a mish-mash of stories.

First for today is a story that is old, yet new. (And admittedly not quite done yet, but it will be.) I'm so excited to see this one. I think i read the first two chapters to this story about a year ago and I liked it very much, but it was incomplete. Well, I'm so completely psyched that the author is now back in the fandom and writing again and she's taken up this story again. The story starts us out in Sunnydale and Rupert and Buffy have settled their fights. (I want to say this is in season 6. It diverges from cannon in that they are working happily together, Dawn, Willow, and Tara are in England, and Anya and Xander are married and expecting a child.) When the story starts, we see a small kingdom in the Carpathian mountains that loses their king to vampires. When the genealogist looks into it, guess who the only living heir to the line is. Right! Rupert. So he packs to go there and Buffy decides the Watcher/Slayer combo shouldn't be split and goes with him. When they get there, they discover she can't be around him as she has no title. No problem. Rupert gives her one. The Duchess of Buffionia. (Yeah, I laughed too.) From there we get to see her estate and find out who the former owner was, we see a scheming noblewoman who wants to marry the new king, and we get to see how Buffy and Rupert feel about each other. It is well written, fun, and totally kept my interest.

Now, I need to admit that it's not completely finished yet, but it will be by the end of Summer of Giles. (I'm a beta reader for this, so I know what the plan is.) So this is your chance to read the 54 pages in the first eight chapters to catch up and be ready when the rest of it goes up. It is totally worth the read. The story is Terennoaptre by Gylzgirl and the first eight chapters can be found here.

My next choice is actually a couple of drabbles. I liked them both, so while they don't really go together, I'll listen together here. The first one was a response to the word, "Cross." Now, with a vampire themed show, you'd expect something involving holding off the undead with that cross, but I like how it was used here. This is after Buffy is dead and some of Rupert's thoughts on it. It's not got a title, but it's by Fairygothmum and can be found here. The second drabble was in response to the prompt, "key." I rather expected something about Dawn, but instead we got a great scene from Band Candy involving Ripper, Joyce, Ethan, and handcuff keys. It's a must read. Again, it has no title, but follow the link to read this key drabble by Fairygothmum.

And my last choice is seasonal. It is after all the Fourth of July here in the States. So I went with a story that celebrated the holiday. It's the summer after season four and the core four are all over at Rupert's on a very hot July 4th celebrating. They play outside and have a cookout and Rupert gives them a very short lesson on why they celebrate. And then the story gets even better. Our group decides to go to the park to watch fireworks and while they wait for it to get dark, they play Wiffle Ball. Rupert is pretty good at the game and Buffy is very competitive, and that leads to them crashing into each other, with her landing on top of him. Who knew he could make her stomach flutter? When the fireworks start, Rupert and Buffy share a blanket and a lawn chair and that leads to fireworks of their own. The give and take and sexual tension is amazing and so well done. It is cute and well written and I love the romantic ending. So I totally have to rec Fireworks by JBG.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy reading!

As London seems to be in the middle of a heatwave, I'm going with the theme of "heat" today.

My first rec is Tenderly Ripped Apart by Cap. Buffy and Giles become trapped in a tomb, the heat rises and one thing leads to another. Although, everything may not be what it seems, especially their reasons for being in the tomb in the first place.  This fic has an FRAO rating.

My second rec today is a short piece by Holly, entitled Ripper au Natural. Again, its a Buffy/Giles pairing with Buffy finally getting her Watcher out of his tweed suit .... or does she? :) This one is also rated FRAO.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hey all! I'm sorry this is so late, but I've been out celebrating my anniversary. And in that spirit, I'm going with a marriage theme with my stories today.

My first offering is actually the beginning of a very long series by Froxyn. There are about 26 parts to this series, so don't plan on reading it all in one go. (And to make it longer, each part has chapters. Like the last one that she just posted has 5 chapters.) So this is going to keep you reading for a very long time. But, it's a good series. Now, here are the reasons that I like it so much. It's AU and in this reality, Buffy marries Giles, Willow marries Oz, Xander marries Anya, and eventually, even Ethan shows up and he marries his boyfriend. They all have kids (This last part takes us through the birth of Buffy and Giles's fifth child.) and everyone helps Giles, who becomes head of the Council. This is the happy ending that I would have wanted to see. They are all friends and everyone supports each other and it is so nice to see it. Now, don't think everything is all sunny and sweet, because it's not. These stories cover Angel kidnapping Buffy and Rupert's son, relationship ups and downs and several demon incursions. But, unlike in the series, when everything goes crazy here, the group bands together and gets each other through it. I keep asking myself why the show couldn't have gone this way. I love to see everyone actually happy and I'm a sucker for a good ending. I'm going to give you two links to this. The first one is to the first chapter of the first part, Life on a Hellmouth - Part 1, which starts us in Sunnydale, before Buffy and Giles get together. I'm also going to take you to Froxyn's Story list page, so you can see all the stories in the Giles Family Series.

The next one doesn't take us all the way to marriage, but I do like it. In this one, Buffy dies while out on patrol with Giles and when she leaves her body, she sees Jenny. The two talk for a minute and Buffy hears a desperate Giles begging her not to leave him. She realises he loves her and she loves him and then she comes back to her body, she knows she will spend forever with him. It's well written and a nice way to get them together. It's called Afterlife by Gabrriele Schultz.

And my last choice for today is a cute little scene between Buffy and Giles. They have been married for eight months, but Buffy startles him by climbing in his lap and telling him "Happy Anniversary." She tells him something important happened six years earlier and now he has to guess. But in the end she has an interesting gift for him that changes his whole life. It's well written and totally adorable and I love the ending. It's called The Anniversary Gift by Gileswench.

Have a great weekend and happy reading!

Today’s rec is very much out of season, being a Christmas story, but I do like the way it portrays Giles’s sense of affection for his young charges. It’s called Nothing Is Of Greater Value by Della Mills

Having delivered Christmas gifts to Buffy, Willow and Oz, Giles pays a visit to the Harris household. Unable to find Xander and after an altercation with Mr Harris, Giles spends his day searching for the missing teenager and finally finds him in the most obvious of places.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Today's rec: Emergence by antennapedia (Giles/Buffy - FRAO). I know I recced this a couple of years ago, but I've had these lines running through my head lately, and I can't let them go:

"It would be the summer holiday, if he were still a school librarian, which he was not."

"It would be a lull between prophecies, if he were still a Watcher, which he was not."

I love fourth season stay-at-home Giles. And antennapedia's characterizations and attention to detail make her first fic one of my absolute faves. Check it out.

Hey everyone! I hope you are having a great weekend.

Today I thought I'd go with a Giles/Faith theme. I know it can be a harsh pairing, but I think in some ways, he really understood her longing to fit in and the pull the darkness had on her and she felt his loneliness and saw him as so much more than a text book with arms.

My first choice is set right after Buffy dies. Faith comes and finds Giles and the two find an odd sort of comfort and love. It's not sweet or romantic, it's born out of sadness and pain, but they hold each other up, none the less. What I like about this is the way the words flow together and paint a picture of two angry, empty people who find each other and try to survive. It won't leave you all warm and fuzzy, but I think it's very well written and worth the read. It's called Without by Firecracker.

My second choice is short, but I really wish this scene had been in the show. It's set in season seven right after everyone votes to follow Faith instead of Buffy. Faith is freaked out and asks Giles when he is going to step in and stop this and he tells her he's not. She asks how he could let the bad Slayer run the show and he proceeds to tell her a few things that make her realise that maybe she isn't so bad after all. It was a well written scene with some much needed comfort and absolution that bolstered up a girl who was emotionally bleeding and allowed her to do what she needed to. Great piece. It's called Hard Truths by Vesica and you should really read it.

This next one is set in season three. Giles is in his library office working late when Faith comes in. He questions her, trying to figure out exactly why she's there, only to have her climb in his lap and flirt with him. Determined to teach her a lesson so that she won't pull this on the wrong guy, he turns the tables and plays wolf. Unfortunately for him, Faith likes wolves and he ends up kissing her with his hands in interesting places. His mind reminds him there are still three long months before she is legally shaggable and he sends her on her way, though he finds himself counting the days until she turns eighteen. It's all from his point of view and I liked how it was written. It was fun and hot. It's called It's All In How You Play The Game, also by Vesica.

Suggestion number three comes with a sequel! It's set about a month later, right after Gingerbread, and the Scoobies are having a meeting. Giles is lecturing and Faith, while listening to the sound of his voice, isn't hearing a thing he is saying. All she can think about is how hot he is and how she only has two months left. I really liked this one because it highlights some of Rupert's great attributes. He's smart and sexy and moves so well and I like how she savours each thought. It's called All I Have To Do, of course by Vesica.

Anywhom, I hope you have a good weekend and happy reading!

Hi all,

I’ve been in an odd mood this week, but a long chat with my best friend and a little bit of fluffy reading goes a long way to helping.

Today’s recs are two stories by Masked-Spangler. In the first fic, Little Ladybug, a future Giles is telling his daughter a bedtime story. The fic is written entirely from Giles’s side of the conversation and I do so love imagining what his daughter is saying. I also adore the idea of a VampSafe Colouring Book. And Giles in a tutu? :::Snigger:::

The second fic is The Pirate, The Dragon and the Fairy Princess, which is the sequel to the first fic. Again, it’s told entirely from Giles’s side of the conversation.  Having read numerous bedtime stories to my kids over the years, I can almost feel Giles’s frustrations at the many interruptions he endures.

Have a great weekend and I hope I haven’t overdosed you all on fluff and sweetness too much. ;)

Hey all! Sorry this is so late. My son needed the computer for some last minute school thing and it ended up lasting all day. :::sighs:::

Anywhom, my stories today are friendship stories for our guy. Two stories where someone acknowledges what he's done for them and how much he means in their life.

My first choice today is a sweet story of comfort between Giles and Dawn. It's set in season seven, while the house is full of SITs (Slayers In Training). One night, there is a moment of unusual quiet and Dawn decides to talk to a very over-stressed Giles about what is on her mind. In this conversation she admits she read his Watcher Journals and knows he was going to kill her and that she understands. The two of them are able to talk about things that have bothered them both over tea and cookies. It was nice to see this slice of support for our Watcher in a season where nobody even noticed he was there. It's called Thanks by WickedFox.

And my second one is set in season one, right after Nightmares. Giles is still slightly haunted by his dream of Buffy dying and he goes on patrol with her to talk. He wants to let her know how he feels and where his loyalties lie. This is a sweet story, something I desperately wish the show had done, where Giles could show her she was more than a weapon to him and that he might be a Watcher, but he works for the Slayer, not the Council. It would have saved a lot of heartache in later seasons. Anyway, it's sweet and emotional and ends in a very cute way. I very enjoyed it. It's called Giles' Sword by Gileswench.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. Happy reading!

Note: I edited the links Monday afternoon so as to compensate for the downing of Vampire Cows. Sorry about that if you tried to read them and couldn't!

I've been in the mood for some angst recently and after rewatching Helpless, I thought it would be interesting to see the inevitable conversation which took place between Buffy and her Watcher.

Strength by Jeanne DeVore, shows us one option of how this conversation could have played out. Buffy wants to be angry with Giles, but something within her realises she can't do this job without him. She begins to see that another of her illusions of childhood has been shattered. Even those we love and trust with our lives, sometimes let us down.

Tonight's rec: One Night (Giles/Buffy - FRT) by Lily2332, season 4. When a new Watcher is assigned to Sunnydale, Giles has only one night left to make Buffy his own. What can I say? I'm a sucker for these early stories, guys. They make me happy.

Hey all! I hope your weekend is going well. For my offering today, I give you three Rupert Gen pieces. Two of them are a bit sad and made me want to love the Watcher all better and the last one was just...odd.

First off , here is a little story that brought tears to my eyes. (Am I sappy that every time I read something where Rupert suffers, I get all teary?) Anywhom, this one is set right after Buffy dies in The Gift, before Rupert knew she'd come back. The thing that caught my attention is that it's written first person, but that person isn't a Buffy character. It's from the point of view of a priest on a plane to England to visit his sister. On the flight, he sits across from a man who looks like he's lost everything in the world. I very much liked getting to see our suffering Watcher from the perspective of someone who had no idea who he was or what he'd been through. It was well written and touching and the end left me sniffling and needing to hug our guy. The story is called Air Lines by Ruth. (Also known as Tweedisgood.)

I found another one by the same author that I liked. This one is set in season seven, right before the big battle. Everyone is paired off, doing the snuggly comfort thing. Well, everyone but Rupert and Andrew. I liked how this one gave us some insight into Rupert's pain, into how alone he felt, how much he wanted to make things right, but knew that he couldn't. I think she did a good job of capturing his loneliness and frustration. It's called Untouched, also by Ruth.

And now, to change the pace and take you away from depressing land, I'm going to leave you with a very odd story that I ran across. Did you ever wonder how it was that unemployed librarian man had enough cash on hand to outright buy the Magic box and two last minute transatlantic plane tickets? (I know I've wondered that a time or two.) Well, in this story an over-sugared Slayer wonders the same thing and when she falls asleep, the answers that she dreams up are interesting indeed. (Porn star Giles??) I found this one just plain silly and fun. It's called Where’s the Money Coming From? by Cyberwulf.

Hope you have a great Saturday and have fun with the reading!

thisiszircon: "Sunshine", part 1, part 2 - Giles/Buffy friendship, FRT

Anya helps Giles walk out of the Magic Box post-"Grave", and then... people talk. Secrets are told, relationships realigned, giggle fits averted. There's a spicing of Giles-Anya flirtation and friendship, but mostly this sweet little story is about Giles reconnecting with Buffy. It's everything I want in my friendship fics.

Hi all.

This week I’ve been re-watching VR5 and enjoying seeing ASH’s episodes again. After a recommendation from one of my flisties, my first rec today is a Buffy/VR5 crossover entitled, Oddly Colored Life by Gibberish, in which Buffy assists Oliver to rescue Sydney. Buffy goes into the VR and has to face some of her own personal demons. With a little help from Spike and the rest of the team and a few surprise guest appearances along the way, Buffy’s mission is a success and she makes it back to the safety of Giles’s apartment and the man himself.

My second and third recs today are fairly new fics by lily_diablo. In Beginnings, we meet an OFC, Grace, who I liked from the first moment I started reading these fics. She’s every bit a match for Giles and I hope we see more of her in the future. (*hint, hint*) :)  We meet up with Grace and Giles again in Piece of Work, which follows their lives together during season 3 of Buffy. The links are to the first chapters of each fic and subsequent chapters can be found in Lily’s LJ.

Have a great weekend everyone and to anyone in the UK, let’s hope the weather holds for our public holiday on Monday!

Today's rec: Blood Oranges by theblackmare (gen - FRT) post-Hush. Giles spends the day with Buffy making marmalade and reading Kipling. Beautifully written by one of the most talented people in BtVS fandom. Enjoy!

Hey all! I was planning to put a couple of Rupert gen stories up, but I got sidetracked by these and for some reason I just can't walk away from the image of Rupert in a sexy situation. So, today I bring you two Rupert/Willow stories.

The first one is set in season four. Willow has been having sexy dreams about our Watcher guy, but this dream is different. In it, Giles keeps insisting that it's his dream and there's danger and...lava? And whatever did he mean by, "To be honest, I thought it would be easier for me to--"? Then when she's awake there seems to be something different about how he's looking at her. She's really going to have to have a talk with him, if she can get past how yummy he looks. It's called His or Hers by Darsynia.

The other one is also set in season four, but during that time they are hiding in Xander's basement from Adam. Willow is out for the day, working on ideas to help with the fight against Adam and she comes back to find Giles has fallen asleep while reading. She watches him, thinking about how she's never fallen out of love with him since her days of crushing on him. Then he wakes up and notes that while she is intently studying a book, it's upside down. Oops. Once they start talking, she mentions her feelings that she's not being useful enough. He makes the mistake of calling her reliable. We all remember how she reacted when Buffy called her "Old Reliable", don't we? She's not noticeably warmed up to that nickname. Their little spat ends in him pining her to the bed and goodness ensues. (Okay, not that much goodness. It is a PG-13 fic after all.) It's called  A Moment of Understanding (With a Side of Internal Bliss) also by Darsynia.

I hope you have a great weekend and happy reading!