So sad! But very convincing, to have Giles struggling with the Council's cold-blooded wisdom in the face of real people with real feelings. I hate to think of them returning after The Gift to point out all his mistakes, but it's terribly convincing.

Lovely piece!

Thank you! I've always found the Council fascinating - they seem so out of touch, but somehow managed to remain influential (at least until they ran headlong into Buffy Summers!).

The staid dictums of the Council matched with Giles experiences and decisions - a very effective way of telling this story.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! :)

You've fueled my fiery hatred for the Council and its policies. I wonder how long Slayers generally last when their Watchers go by the book? If Kendra is any indication, not long.

Bless Giles for seeing through the sham of non-attachment and acting like a human being.

Nicely done.

I've always thought most Slayers don't last very long. Buffy wouldn't even have survived the Master if she hadn't had friends to CPR her back to life.

Thanks for reading! :)

this is a really nice fic, but a problem with the logic of Buffy needing her friends to survive season 1's finale occured to me a while ago. Buffy went to face the Master because she heard the prophecy that she would die. Giles only discovered it after Angel delivered the Codex to him, it wasn't a book in his collection. So if ANgel's help wasn't welcomed she'd have never have heard the prophecy.

Joss made Buffy's friends so important to her, and then constantly made them a problem for her.

Hmmm, I didn't even remember that Angel had provided them with the Codex. But wouldn't Buffy have faced the Master anyway? At some point, she would've had to. Then again, maybe she wouldn't have lost the fight if she hadn't been terrified by the prophecy. Interesting possibilities all around.

I agree that Buffy's friends often cause her problems (kicking her out of her own house, argh). Perhaps the Kendra approach to Slaying has its advantages. Still, I doubt any of Buffy's friends would see it that way.

Thanks for reading and for your perspective!

Check out the notes section on the episode guide for the 12 ep of the first season

http://www.buffyguide.com/episodes/invisible.shtml

I basically meant that the prophecy was only meant for that day. If she hadn't gone down, he couldn't have broken out. And really then he's stuck, so who says she would have to go down there.

Thanks for the link, it looks useful!

sad but nice. Good job.

Thank you! :D

Love it.. the last sentence especially. Very Joss-y with the sadness.

Can I have it read on my fanfic podcast - Strangely Literal?
http://www.strangelyliteral.com/

Thank you very much! You can certainly have it read on your podcast if you wish. I'm bookmarking the link (looks great BTW, I had no idea this existed!).

Your fanfic is up on Strangely Literal!
Thanks again for letting us read it!

http://www.strangelyliteral.com/2011/02/strangely-literal-episode-104-youre-going-to-kill-that-girl-buffy/

Yay! \o/ Thank you - it's wonderful and I'm honored.

I think this is very nicely done. 8 ]

Thank you! :)

This shows such a nice evolution of Giles from Watcher to an understanding mentor, unapologetic rebel, and caring friend to his slayer. It provided how a divide between the distant council and the 'on site' supporter should be a must if the slayer is to survive anytime at all. And to me the main turning point was when Buffy stated she was only sixteen and didn't want to die. The look on her watcher's face said it all. He had become totally committed to her.

Thank you! That scene in Prophecy Girl is one of my absolute favorites. ASH and SMG were both wonderful.

Oh, this is excellent! I think it does an amazing job showing how Giles' relationship with Buffy grew over the series, and how he handles his position as a Watcher.

Thanks very much! I felt a little iffy about the characterization, so I'm glad you liked it. :)

This is beautiful! I like the way you've shifted through time, and included those quotes--they create a nice arc, and an excellent portrait of the various pressures Giles faced. Thank you!

I'm glad you enjoyed it - thank you for your comment!

I really loved this fic. You did an excellent job flashing back and showing Giles' emotions for Buffy at varioust time periods. And your reasoning behind why Giles didn't cry at Buffy's second death made complete sense, I'd never quite thought of things that way before.
I really liked Giles response to Travers' accusiation in the end too. He must have had incredible restraint to not kill Travers!

Thank you so much! I'm very glad you liked it. :)