- Giles/Oz creeps me out. This even though some of the stories are very well-written, the Giles/Oz pairing having attracted some skilled authors. I haven't figured this one out. It's not the age difference-- Giles/Xander is a relationship I love, and of course Giles/Buffy works for me. I enjoy Oz as a character plenty. It doesn't help that some of the writers set the stories after season 1. Or that often Oz is so broken, or Giles is so broken, in many of them. Hmm, perhaps that's getting at the problem.
- Giles/Willow doesn't work for me either, but I understand why not, and believe a good writer could talk me out of it. Willow isn't strong enough for Giles: not feisty enough, not playful enough, not resilient enough. I think he likes his partners a little bit wicked. Consider what Ethan and Jenny have in common. Olivia we don't see enough of, but we do see her being fairly strong-willed about "enough small talk" in "Hush".
- There needs to be more Core Four genfic, set during the series and after it. I will take this as a goal in life after the NaNo project.