Pack your bags and board that ship!

Check your car’s fluids and hit the road!

Hop on a plane and fly to places unknown!

Travel back in time to the past, or leap into the future!

We don’t care how you get there, as long as you get there! Why?

Sunnydale After Dark is giving you 30 vacation days to take a trip!

This June, event fics and art entries will revolve around traveling. All forms of travel are permitted. Road trips! Airplanes! Cruise ships! 1980s DeLoreans with flux capacitors! Portals to another dimension! Who doesn’t love a good travel story? Art is also welcome. Maybe it’s a postcard from our favorite couple hand-crafted by you! The only limit is your imagination! Look at all these exclamation points!

• Your story must be a one-shot of at least 1000 words to qualify. Multi-chapter fics are also allowed, and they can continue post-event if you don’t complete them during your Wanderlust vacation. Drabbles do not count–your chapters must be at least 1000 words. 
• Artwork can include banners for other fics, and/or standalone piece submissions. 
• All entries must be posted by June 30th at midnight site time to receive an award. 

Speaking of awards… let’s talk more about them!

• All authors will receive the Travel Agent award!
• All artists will receive the Concierge award!
• All betas will receive the TripAdvisor award!
• And if you leave 15 comments of 15+ words, you will receive the Sightseer award!

But wait, there’s more!

In addition to these awards, we’ve put together a fun challenge with extra Wanderlust vacation days. If you decide to take the challenge, we will give you a passport to travel to different locations* and collect stamps. 

*A location is a story or an art submission posted only for this event, and you earn your stamp by leaving a comment with no less than 15 words. You only receive one stamp per story, so get your comfy walking shoes on and go sightseeing! 

Participants who traveled everywhere will earn the Mile-High Club Award! That means you left at least one comment on every single submission and stamped your passport to win this award–no exceptions. It’s the most illustrious of awards, so you gotta earn it! 

We SADmins understand how difficult this might be with last-minute submissions, so we’ve extended your “vacation days” to catch up on all the locales you missed along the way.

You have until July 7th at midnight site time to turn in your passport to the SADmin team to earn the award. Delivery instructions are in the Passport.

Get your passport now! Please save it as a Google Sheets File so you can fill it out as the event rolls on. Downloading it or saving it as another file type will not carry over the correct formatting, and you won't be able to "stamp" your location!

I hope you’re excited, because we sure are! Start brainstorming travel stories & artwork now, because Wanderlust 2025 begins on the first of June! 

Let’s get the heck outta here!

-SADmin Team

Short & Spuffy Drabblemania has come to a close, and we could not be more proud of our community! At the time of this post, all awards have been distributed. If you have not received your awards, please contact the SADmin team so we can help get you squared away.

Before we get to the pretty, pretty awards, we have some stats to share. Who doesn’t love stats?

26 authors wrote a total of 32 Short & Spuffy stories, consisting of 857 drabbles.

3 authors submitted their very first story to Sunnydale After Dark for this event. Welcome!!

71 new members joined the archive during this event. Welcome to you, too!!

132 members left comments on the Short and Spuffy stories for a grand total of 15,042 comments and 14,785 likes. Wow! That’s a lot of love!

One wheel ruled them all on Discord. Thank you, wheel. We all love wheel.

Now let’s take a long, heavy-breathed gander at these gorgeous awards made by our very own scratchmeout!

Aren’t these so beautiful? The talent on this site continues to amaze us. Every author, artist, beta reader, reader-reader, and commenter deserves a huge pat on the back. And probably a long, much-needed nap! 

Thank you for making this another awesome event!

Until next time… 

The Short & Spuffy drabble event has officially begun! 

We will be updating this list daily by 12 a.m. site-time with the randomly-selected prompts for the day.

If you would like to join the fun on Discord and be there for the prompt selection ritual, errrr I mean the random prompt selection and discussion! then go here!

Remember that the prompts do not need to be used in the order they are revealed! All event rules and reminders can be found here. Please always feel free to reach out to an admin with any questions you have. 

MASTER PROMPT LIST:

1. Harmony

2. Surprise Phone Call

3. The Heart Line

4. Lies and Lullabies

5. Butterflies

6. Something You Forgot

7. Not My Fault!

8. "You've done it now!"

9. Wildflowers

10. "You need a spanking!"

11. Frogs

12. Pillow Talk

13. Confusing Tears

14. Hole in my Soul

15. Drunk Confession

16. "She's a hero, you see."

17. I like you.

18. Scavenger Hunt

19. The stars rearrange

20. Don't say it

21. Resistance

22. Not afraid

23. Easy-peasy

24. Playing hard to get

25. Don't Move

26. Stay with me

27. A turn for the worse

28. Metamorphosis

29. Someone's jealous

30. Buffy or Spike gets a love bite

31. *FREE DAY* (This is an optional, promptless drabble day if you need a buffer to wrap up your story)

Happy Drabbling!

Hello hello! We are super happy to bring you the new interviews! Settle in and enjoy! 

First up is our Author of the Month: acekoomboom

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

Reruns! I was born in ‘99, so I didn't see any of the show while it was airing. But I was a tv kid for sure, and I strongly remember season two always being on one of the rerun channels I liked when I was in elementary school.

Get ready to throw tomatoes, okay? I started reading Spuffy fic in middle school, and I started on Nauti Bitz’s website. Yes! The hardcore smut. I look back sometimes and I'm like… I can't believe 13/14 year old me was watching BtVS season six and reading Don't Stop. But I was also watching, like, The Tutors and Sex In The City, so I was seeing things I should not have been from all sides.

After that I found the Bloodshedverse, then Elysian Fields, then eventually AO3. I don't read Spike and Buffy on archive of our own anymore because I enjoy the community aspect of Spuffy so much, how this fandom has endured and revitalized itself, how alive it truly is so long after the show came out. Then I found SAD and started posting here too :) Which, side note, I really enjoy how unique this website feels in how image-centric it is. When you post a fic, it's the banner that pops up on the homepage. There are so many image and animation options when you're writing something in the shoutbox, chapter notes, comments. The banners that go along with the transcript library, the Scoobies of the month, the event announcements, all so freaking gorgeous. I have been loving that about interacting with this website. That part of it feels so very its own.

I haven't transferred all of my back catalog to SAD yet, mostly because I was writing as a cringy teenager and don't want to have to look at those stories. But cringe is dead and every stone placed is a piece of the journey, so I think I'll get around to it eventually. If you're curious to see any of it in advance I thinnnk it's all on Archive already.

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

Mostly other art. Watching a movie that the Buffy characters would work well in or in an interesting way if they were in that setting, watching a show that's plot would be cool to plug into Sunnydale, hearing a song that strikes a chord with how the characters did/would feel. I have been writing a Spuffy time travel fic that uses Doctors Who (Matt Smith era) plots for over five years. It's my baby and I love it and it takes me sooooo long to add to it because I lose motivation and switch hyperfixations so often. It's only at about 60k words after all these years, but I'm going to finish it one day and it's going to be cool! You'll see XD

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

I think Spike, because oh how deeply and obviously he feels emotions, and how those emotions are wrapped up in over a century of conflicting emotions and traumas and defense mechanics. He such a strange dude, and it's really fun to get in his head.

Which story of yours are you most proud of and which was the hardest to write?

As this answer section might show, I'm very verbose. Ya girl can talk and talk and talk. For some reason, though, that does not translate very well to fanfiction. I have a really hard time making anything more than a couple thousand words. I'm a one shot author most naturally, that's just what I am likely to actually finish. I'm trying to commit to and actually cross the finish line on more long-form Spuffy, so we'll see what the future holds.

That being said, I feel like I need to break my answer for this up into categories. Multi-chapter, I’d say Pillar of Strength. I wrote the prequel and first chapter for it in 2016 and posted them, then lost the rest of the story when I lost my old ipod (I just so happened to lose it at the same convention where I saw James Masters live in concert with Ghost of the Robot when I was a preteen! It was such a small and intimate set, they did so good, it was amazing. Good Night Sweet Girl is still my favorite song by them) and abandoned the fic because it was so upsetting to have chapters of work disappear before I could post them. But I reworked and changed what that story ended up being altogether in 2023, and didn't finish the very last chapter until this year which should be up on here soon <3 

For drabbles I am feeling Holy Ground, because it shows so much of their history and their dynamic and puts a few fun headcanons in there that my mind can't stop thinking about.

For one-shots, my answer is Five Times Buffy Fell Asleep on Spike's Watch, Plus One Time They Look Forward To It. A classic 5+1 story that is actually an inverse of that trope, where the original five are short glimpses and the main chunk of word count is spent on the +1. Also, it was a Secret Santa gift for violettathepiratequeen and started an entire friendship between us, so it will have bonus points forever in my eyes :P 

As for the hardest fic I have written, it's absolutely the Doctor Who one I talked about in my first question. It has been five years, and the plot is all sorts of crazy complicated, and it's a very big bite to chew that I have created for myself. But I genuinely love it and am really hoping I'm able to make it into the fic I know it can be. I've had it titled as A Song From The River the whole time, so I think that's the name it will still have when it does get shared with the world 🫣

As a writer, what would you have changed on the show and why?

So, I feel like there were a bunch of different things I could have said for this answer, but I decided to go for one of the more silly ones to which turned out to be something I actually feel serious about now that I'm writing it out haha. I vaguely remember the writers talking about how they had planned from the beginning to make one of Buffy's friends gay and so they were planting seeds in both Willow and Xander in the early seasons before they decided which one to have that storyline with. I one-thousand-million percent think it should have been Xander.

Of all of the side ships on the show, Willow and Oz are my favorite. I don't wish he stayed around, I like that he left in the fourth season and the things that breakup did to Willow's character, but with the show coming out when it did the bi erasure is so real. Willow truly loved Oz and enjoyed her physical relationship with him, and so I always headcanon her as bi and not lesbian. Irl queer people sometimes take a while to find their true orientations too, so it isn't odd to think that Willow was still discovering herself and hadn't found the right label yet or even known that she needed to.

You know who would have fit much better in the gay not bi category? Xander! The insecurities his character has, which has been attributed in most of the show to him not having any powers unlike nearly everybody else? Yeah it's that, but also his internalized homophobia. Xander cheats on the most popular girl in school? He's not actually attracted to her. With his childhood best friend that he could have had this whole time because she's always had a crush on him? He's not actually attracted to her either. The way he trips over himself to have a crush on the superhero new student, bubbly blond valley girl? Nope, not a real attraction there. It's always the girl he's “supposed,” to like that he does. It's performative masculinity and gender conditioning, and him realizing that he's not actually into women and having to deconstruct that—get a little bit more into his childhood drama and broken home then we did in canon—I'm telling you I have thought about it so many times lol. Maybe I'll make it a B plot in a fic one day. But considering my track record with being able to commit to long form… I highly doubt it haha.

It feels almost painful to think of depriving the world of the wlw representation of Willow and Tara, the first lesbian couple to ever kiss on tv. And the so-clear answer of which one of Buffy's show besties should be gay is Xander. So I propose bi Willow and gay Xander both existing. It's not all that odd to have a disproportionately ratio-d friend group when it comes to any kind of minority, considering people with similar life experiences or values tend to find each other. So yeah. That's my official answer.

Thanks you guys :)

Thank you, acekoomboom! We're so happy to have you here!

______________

Next up is our Commenter of the Month: harmony99

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.
I’m thinking I watched the movie in the theater because, hello, vampires and Rob Halford from Judas Priest had a song on the soundtrack 😂 I enjoyed the movie, so when the show came out I watched seasons one through six as they were broadcast (with periodic re-watches of the season one DVD that I was gifted by my sisters for a birthday). A cross-country job move and the bad taste of season six meant I didn’t watch season seven until I did a re-watch in 2012. 

I was feeling sentimental late 2022, did another rewatch and somehow stumbled on Passion4Spike’s author site that December and found more fanfic sites through her links. I discovered SAD when Dusty posted that her new works would be found here. 

I love how fanfic fixes some things and in other instances creates completely divergent worlds with the characters we know and love (and sometimes we also are treated to OCs).

What motivates you to leave comments?
I have such respect for our authors and the gifts they give us. These fabulous, amazing people give us such wonderful stories and I get so much enjoyment from this community. Also, when I see a new writer posts something or an author asks for comments, I want to let them know how their work touched me or made me laugh (or cry, as the case may be). Through chatting with people on Discord and reading authors’ notes, I have come to understand how nervous some people are about putting themselves out there and I try to honor and support them by taking the time to let them know they’re appreciated with a comment.

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?
I have some “artwork” stories but I am primarily a reader.

Were you a lurker before you started leaving comments or did you comment right away?
I typically read while I walk on the treadmill and I have a bad habit of intending to leave a comment or thinking I’ve left one and I never get around to actually doing it, which I feel terrible about (Bruskiboo, I know you are one of the SADvent participants that I highlighted different parts of your “Santa Con Comes to Town” while I was on the treadmill and I don’t think I ever managed to comment--SORRY!).

So, to answer that question, I left comments right away but sometimes I am so engrossed that I don’t stop to comment on a chapter that I am really enjoying, resulting in commenting gaps. If I’m on the computer instead of my e-reader I am much more likely to comment.

How important is it to receive a reply from the writer when you leave a comment?
I know how crazy it can get to reply to comments, so I don’t mind if I don’t get a reply, but I do enjoy the dialogue that sometimes results.

Thank you, Harmony99. You are so amazing! You rock!

___

And that's a wrap! Thanks for being here, everyone!
Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and GriefCounseling

Warmest wishes for a very happy new year, everyone!

Though our SADvent Calendar event has come to a close, the story and art gifts that were exchanged shall remain evermore! If in your busy holiday season you didn’t get a chance to enjoy them all, we highly recommend checking them out here.

Participants, all awards have been distributed at this time. Please contact one of your friendly neighborhood SADmins if you haven’t received an award you feel you should have received.

And now that it is January 1, 2025, we just want to pause and acknowledge the joy of this past year. This community is always evolving. No two years feel the same. As admins we’re always trying to facilitate the fun but then step back and let everyone else take over. We can step back and let you peeps lead and share because everyone is so kind and generous and supportive to one another. So thank you for making 2024 so fantastic, and here is to another year of creating, reading, and general Spuffying with all our fic friends!

PS, definitely check out D'Hoffryn's new custom Recommendation Generator if you haven't already! The Bookshelf menu got a revamp so that you can easily find it and all your favorites. The generator is also located in your Account Info menu.

PPS, January Top's Commenters will again get to submit prompts for our annual Short and Spuffy event in March. It's a good month to show our creators some love and get rewarded for it.

Happy December, everyone! We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! And we can't wait to see all your SADvent contributions! We're off to a great start already!

Our December SOTM interviews are great! Enjoy.

First up, we have our Author of the Month: Maxine Eden

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

Well, you might’ve heard me talking about it on discord, but to keep things light, Buffy as a show was there for me at a very hard time in my life. The show really became an escape for me but also showed me how much of a strong person I could be and how I really had to go on through all of it. I had to keep showing up every day for myself. I had originally watched the show in entirety (along with Angel) probably 3-4 times at other periods in my life so I feel like it definitely came back around when I needed it the most. As for fanfic, well, I knew as I was watching early on reruns of Buffy how much I loved her and Spike. And while I searched other sites, I couldn’t quite find the niche I was wanting until I posted on Reddit and got directed to the Spuffy sites and here I am with no sign of leaving ever. 

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

Everywhere? My gatekeeper Sammi listens to me talk about how this inspired me or that inspired me and how I could turn this idea into Spuffy. Most of my fics are inspired by music though. I love to hear a great song and attribute it to Spike and Buffy in whatever scenario the idea fountain in my brain seems to want to churn out. 

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

I would have to say Buffy. I really feel a lot of similar parallels to how the character was written within my own life and I’ve always loved a badass female lead with a girly side.

Which story of yours are you most proud of and which was the hardest to write?

I think the fic I am most proud of is Cherry On Top which is my first piece of Spuffy fanfic that I wrote. If I hadn’t written that one, I never would’ve written all the other fics I’ve published. The hardest one would probably be a tie between The Boyfriend Swap and Unravelling. One features Buffy/Other which was hard to write even with Spuffy being endgame and Unravelling was hard to write too because of how the characters progressed and what happens to Buffy in that fic. I really had to get into a certain mindset to be able to convey the emotions I wanted to in the latter. 

As a writer, what would you have changed on the show and why?

More Spuffy time? A happy ending for them? No Spike dying on the Hellmouth? They are all great for rewrites but my biggest issue is Buffy always listening to her friends and being scared of their judgement towards her especially when she saves their butts all the time!

We are right there with you on the happy ending for Spuffy, Maxine Eden! Thank goodness we have fanfic! Thank you for your answers! You are outstanding! We are so happy to have you here with us.

________

Next up, we have Passion4Spike as our Commenter of the Month: 

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

I came to be a BtVS fan after the series had ended in a kind of backwards way: I enjoyed DB in Bones and Christian Kane in Leverage, found them both on ANGEL and I actually watched the entire Angel series before I ever watched any BtVS.  Needless to say, I was on team Angel when I did finally watch Buffy, but that all changed when Spike showed up; he's clearly the OTP for Buffy!

What motivates you to leave comments?

As a writer, I appreciate comments soooo much, so I always try to leave comments for other writers to let them know all the blood, sweat, and tears they put into their writing is worth it!

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?

I also write. After reading for a long time, I tried my hand at it and fell in love with creating worlds for Spuffy to be happy (and sad and then happy again) in.

Were you a lurker before you started leaving comments or did you comment right away?

I started leaving comments pretty early on because I was so thrilled with the happy endings I was finding, which was clearly missing from the show! It touched my soul so hard, I had to let the writers know that they healed my broken Spuffy heart.

How important is it to receive a reply from the writer when you leave a comment?

I really like having interaction with the writers, but I also understand that writers can get overwhelmed with comments and can't always reply. I do like getting replies, though, because I've made some incredibly great friends that started from comments/replies and evolved into chats and in person meetings. I treasure these life-long connections! 

Personal note:

Thank you so much for the Commentor of the Month honor! I can't tell you how much it means to me. I also want to say, if anyone doesn't know, the reason my story 'Love Lives Here' has stalled is that I lost my home to flooding from Hurricane Helene and have been in survival/recovery mode the last couple of months. I do plan to get back to it and finish it as soon as I have some brain space and emotional bandwidth to spare. 

Passion4Spike, I think I can safely speak for all of us when I say that we absolutely miss your updates, but completely understand. And we all wish you the very best as you rebuild your life. We're here if you need us. We adore you! You're incredible. <3

And that's a wrap, SAD. Have a wonderful December! Stay safe, stay hydrated, and make good choices. ;) 

Happiest of Holidays to you all,
Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and Grief Counseling

ETA: We have a banner! Huge thanks to VeroNyxK84 for her work on this! SAD is so lucky to have you!!

It’s never too early to start thinking about the holidays… 

Have you ever wished upon a star for the Spuffy fic of your dreams? (Have any of us not done that?) Do you have an idea banging around in your head that you would love to see but have no idea how to do it yourself? Would you just like to enjoy more of the thing you adore because you adore it forever and you just need more more more?

Then you might like to participate in our upcoming SADvent Calendar event! (Forgive us. We live for wordplay.)

This event will be something new for SAD. In the past we’ve done prompt exchanges. We’ve done free for all gift exchanges. But this year we are doing a full on custom fic/art exchange.

Here’s how it works!

You will sign up here, describing the gift you’d like to receive. You’ll be able to share your maximum rating tolerance, genre preferences, and a custom prompt describing your ideal gift. You can be as vague or as specific as you like here. You’ll also describe any type of fic/art that you are unwilling to make for others in exchange for your gift (so that we don’t accidentally pair you with a prompt or rating you’re uncomfortable with!).

After everyone has signed up by October 31, the SADmins will go about pairing your prompt with the perfect creator for what you’ve requested.

By November 7, you will receive an email with the name of your giftee and their story requests and preferences. At this time, you’ll also sign up for the specific day you would like to post your story in December. Days will be reserved on a first come, first serve basis. 

Our goal is to have a daily posting throughout the entire month (you know, like the advent calendar). That way everyone reading along has something to look forward to every day.

Some rules and deets because sometimes you need them rules and deets:

• Fics should be a one shot completed story with a minimum of 1000 words.
• Posts should be made on the day you sign up for— no earlier, no later (please see the site time below the Scooby Chat if you’re unsure of timing). If a conflict arises where you know you’ll be unable to post on your day, please reach out to the SADmins ASAP so that we can work with you to rearrange the schedule.
• Keep your giftee and the date of your posting SECRET. Why? Because it’s FUN. That’s why.
• Please avoid particularly triggering topics in your fic request (i.e. character deaths, sexual assault, etc.)
• Try to keep your prompt realistic for the length of the event and allow for your gifter to interpret the prompt as they will.
• The prompt you receive should be followed as best as you can manage. Please do not willfully disregard the wishes of the person you’re gifting to. It’s Christmas for crying out loud. If there is an issue with the prompt you receive please inform the SADmins immediately so that we can help you find a solution.
• If you have a question about the prompt you’ve received and would like to ask your giftee something, please reach out to the SADmins who will communicate with them on your behalf.
• Please refrain from publicly complaining about your prompt or the stress of writing it. We don’t want anyone to feel discouraged or embarrassed.
• When posting your gift, make sure you check the event box and also include your giftee’s name in the Gift To section of your story info so they receive an email alert that their gift has been posted!
• Promptly thank your gifter! Even if you feel the prompt was interpreted "incorrectly" or you didn't receive what you expected, someone still worked hard to custom-create a story or piece of art just for you. They will be waiting on pins and needles to hear from you! So, like, don’t leave them hanging. It’s just not cool. 

We will be giving out standard writer, artist, beta, and commenter awards for this event. As always, to win an artist (for banners) or beta award the writer must credit you in their story info. To earn the commenting award, make 15 comments of 15 words or more!

If you have further questions, feel free to comment, reach out privately, or join the community conversation on our Discord server.

Well, friends, you’ve done it again! It’s been, dare we say it— oh, of course we’re gonna say it!— a legendary event this September here at Sunnydale After Dark.

Thanks to you, our Spuffy fic world is all the richer with fairies, dragons, princesses, even a Bigfoot or two! You can enjoy all the event entries here. (Pssst! Don't forget that all our past event collections are always located in the Browse dropdown menu!)

34 new pieces of fic and art were added to the site for this event! Our Top Commenters left over 1000 comments throughout the month.  5 members received their very first event award. And 3 members earned every single event award! A big special shout out to the most legendary ClowniestLivEver, Rea, and Harlow Turner for this awesome achievement.

Our gorgeous awards were created by the incomparable Grief Counseling. Let's all pause to ooh and ahh over those: 

All the awards have been distributed. Please contact us if you feel you earned an award that isn't located in your profile!

You all rock and are the reason these events happen. Thank you as always for the positivity and support you spread every day. Much love!

It is crazy that it's already August but with the new month ... comes brand new Scoobies to celebrate. Who are we kidding? We celebrate all of you and thank you ALL for your contributions here. 

First up, we have our Author of the Month: myrabeth

*~*~*

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

I'll begin with a hearty thank you for the nomination and award. It was very kind of you to think of me. 

Like many fans of an age with Buffy, I missed the show when it would have been most timely for me, because my teens and early 20s years were busy and chaotic. A few years down the line, a musical-loving friend watched the show, became obsessed with OMwF, and started showing me clips from that episode. She eventually talked me into watching the whole series.

That must have been around early 2008, as my first bit of toe-dipping into fanfic was that year. I didn't stay long. Another short visit into this world happened in 2010. I read a lot. Wrote a little. Never finished a story.

In the fall of 2014, I started digging through some of my digital clutter and found my collection of fanfic drafts. One of them caught my attention. It was novel length by spring, fully posted to an archive by summer and my belief that I would "get this out of my system and move on" was quickly shattered.

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

Sometimes what kicks off a project is a conversation with my beta/brainstorming partner about a canon arc or characterization choice that veers into "What if" territory. Sometimes, it's a scene that appears in my head I have to study and contemplate to figure out the story around it. And sometimes, I'm staring at a blank doc, feeling like I have something to type, but not knowing what, until a story starts appearing on the page.

But I wouldn't use the word inspiration. That sounds like I'm looking for story ideas. I'm not. I've spent my entire time in fanfic wishing I had fewer of them, actually. I'm constantly overwhelmed.

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Most of my stories center heavily on Buffy. Specifically, what happens if she's given the breathing room (or impetus) to mature in varying circumstances. When I started writing, I thought my goal was to give Spike what he wanted, but I quickly came to understand that a maturing Buffy was the best vector for doing so, so she became my star.

But I still don't know that I'd call her my favorite. When Dru pops in for a cameo or a post-season 3 Faith rolls into town, I always have a good time. They're fun and interesting, and pairing them with my altered-by-the-circumstances Buffy is guaranteed to be a great scene.

Which story of yours are you most proud of and which was the hardest to write?

Of my completed multi-chapter stories, A Touch of Her Style may be my best writing, as far as quality and consistency. Pieces is by far my best completed drabble story, and among my best one shots. Both were projects where once I got rolling with them, they snapped together like puzzle pieces, with very little effort. My best work is always the stories that tell themselves, the ones where I get out of the muse's way and let it flow.

"Hardest to write" is a toss up among a few long standing WIPs. One because Spike's logical, in-character reaction to the scenario I built wrecked my vision of the story, and I've never figured out how to reconcile the situation. Another is a highly technical, tightly formatted piece (season long drabble story) that is difficult to write for those reasons, but at least the characters are behaving as expected, so it's not a miserable experience. Another is a rich, complex story with a big cast (12 narrators, 5 of them OCs) that I absolutely love, but it's an emotional, often depressing journey that thus lends itself to being put on the shelf for long mental health breaks.

As a writer, what would you have changed on the show and why?

So, so much. But that's what makes BtVS so fic-able. It's full of interesting characters and great stories, but it left mountains of potential on the table, in very easy reach. It's just as full of "what ifs," gaps, inconsistencies, and loopholes. BtVS really is a fanfic writer's candy land.

My top three changes would be:

1. To not ruin Buffy's growth and maturation arc just to keep Angel on screen in season 3. The production team sacrificed the characterization of their star for the sake of prepping a spin off and Buffy as a character never fully recovered. Faith got short-changed as a side effect, never getting enough screen time for us to truly understand her. Lose, lose.

2. To not let Anya and Tara slip into the roles of "Scooby arm candy" and leave them there. Tara got it worse, but Anya's a victim, too. They were both loaded with potential that went untapped. Anya was given throwaway comedy lines that made her look dumb when her knowledge and experience should have a powerful tool in the Scooby arsenal on a regular basis. Tara's gentle, accepting personality would have made her the perfect confidant for Buffy, easily her best friendship match in the later seasons, but we only got a glimpse of than in canon, no on-going development for that relationship. Or for Tara herself. She deserved better.

3. (Here's where I get booted from the fandom for heresy.) To have never produced OMwF. Season six is packed full of half-baked ideas, irregular and ill-logical characterization, and story arcs that were badly paced, leaving a lot of debris on the ground for season 7 to pick up (or fail to), when season 7 did not have that kind of time. If the hiatus between seasons 5 and 6 wasn't spent putting endless hours into producing a musical, that time could have -and probably would have- been spent getting plans for the entire season ironed out and locked down. We got one episode that contributes nothing to the larger story that couldn't have easily gone into the surrounding episodes, in exchange for the quality of the entire season. Again: lose, lose. So yes, I think the first bit of BtVS I ever saw is among the show's worst missteps.

And this is why fanfic exists.

Thank you, myrabeth! We love having you here and can't wait to see what you'll write next. <3

___

Our Commenter of the Month is the lovely Grief Couseling.

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

A guy wearing a trench coat in a dark alley accosted me one night, opened his coat all sneaky-dickens-like (Not Charles Dickens-like), and had all these DVDs attached to the inside panel. He was like, "Hey, man, you wanna take a wild trip?! Watch this show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer." And I was like, "Joke's on you, I've already seen it!" Because I had, because my sister who used to write fanfic for the show forced me to watch it in the early 2000s alongside Angel in episode succession just as it aired on TV and I was immediately hooked. By the way, that man in the trench coat? He now owns Amazon.

What motivates you to leave comments?

I'm not an avid reader, I have to be honest. Getting this award was shocking (but thank you so much!!) because I feel like I fail fandom by not gobbling up as much as I could - but I've been in this fandom since 2006 so it's not as typical for me to go on those days-long reading binges like I used to. BUT! When a man in a trench coat says, "Hey, pretty lady, you wanna take a wild trip? Read this story!" And then sneaks me a NC-17 tale? You bet your butts I'm commenting. There's not much motivation involved. If I read it? I comment on it. I might not hit up every single chapter if the story is complete, but I absolutely give it some love. It's impossible NOT to. By the way, that man in the trench coat? He used to be Steve Jobs.

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?

Well, I like to think I'm a writer, but that's up for debate. When a man in a trench--okay, joke landed. The point is, I see a lot of dudes in trench coats and they're always famous in a few years. What gives, science? Yeah, I write. Like, a lot. And I used to write under another name to hide from the FBI. It's been a decades-long hunt to catch me for thousands of cereal killings (I love me some Cheerios) and they'll NEVER CATCH ME.

Were you a lurker before you started leaving comments or did you comment right away?

I lurked for about three to four months on livejournal. I didn't really know about all the archives (there were so many more back then) but I'm not a very shy person so if I liked something, I tackled the author with praise. Maybe a little TOO much praise back then, because I was in my 20s and hadn't yet learned about being in your 40s.

I think I instinctively knew how important it was to give others feedback when an author responded to one of my comments, who apparently had received none and was so touched to have literally anyone say something. If I could brighten someone's day by thanking them for sharing their art with the world? Man, that's pretty easy! It literally takes no effort on our parts to give even a simple thank you, or an "I loved it or liked it", or send a man in a trench coat to their comments box to give them bootleg copies of Chance on DVD.

How important is it to receive a reply from the writer when you leave a comment?

I actually never think about the author's response when I leave a comment. It's not about that for me. Like, when you give something to someone (For instance, bootleg copies of Chance) it shouldn't be about the thank you you get in return, it should be about the gift. I also know how stressful it can be as a writer to have a lot of comments to reply to, and sometimes you're stuck thinking "I sound robotic, or repetitive, or maybe not as grateful as I actually am" so I never expect the author to take that step to say thanks. I know they appreciate it, because of all the spyware I've installed in everyone's houses to keep track of how many times a day they smile from comments. Is that weird? ;)

Thank you, Grief Counseling, and yes ... it's a little weird but we love you so we'll welcome it. But if you see anyone in hair rollers ... it's on you. :) 
___

And that's a wrap on interviews. Now stop reading this and go go go create for our new event. Take us on epic adventures and introduce us to the monsters from your nightmares! :) 

Take care,
Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and Grief Counseling

So excited to bring you our July SOTM interviews! Hope you guys are staying nice and cool wherever you are. :)

First up, our Author of the Month: hulettwyo

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

First, I want to say a million-billion thank yous to the person who nominated me!  Oh, the scream I scrumpt when I got that email!

I was aware of the show and vaguely aware of the characters, but I didn’t properly watch the show until 2010 when I was 38 years old.  It was on the TV in the living room, and I wasn’t really paying attention because I was dinking around on my laptop.  I asked, “Why’s that guy in a wheelchair if he’s a vampire?”  Back to season one, episode one we went, and I watched it all the way through two or three times.  I wanted more of that world and those characters, so I started reading fanfic, then I started writing it, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

For my first story (trying desperately not to cringe – I’m reworking it and will eventually post the new version), the question, “What could’ve happened if Spike hadn’t burned up in the Hellmouth?” popped into my head and wouldn’t go away.  I typed out a rough first chapter and thought it would, but it didn’t, so I kept typing.

My ideas for my other stories came from random places.  Songs, bits of TV shows, movies, or books, one idea came from a meme I saw on Facebook, and one was a Spuffyfied rework of a funny post I saw somewhere about waxing your hoo-ha.  I’ve written one story from a prompt about mind-reading, another story came from a discussion in a chat room when Ghost of the Robot was doing Stage-It shows, one came from a Spike statue I used to have, and one came from walking around the carnival that comes to town each June.  Most times, I’ll see, read, or hear something and think, “I can totally make that Spuffy,” and off I go.

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Spike is my favorite character of all time.  There’s just so much you can do with him.  In my stories, he’s an abused teen, the Master of the Hellmouth, a wealthy businessman, a vampire prostitute, a recovering addict, a drummer, a sex slave, a time-traveler, an agoraphobe, a boyfriend for rent, a carny, and a celebrity bodyguard, among others. 

My muse does love to torture the poor guy – he’s so damn pretty when he’s hurting – but I do try to make my muse give him some happiness and comfort.

Which story of yours are you most proud of and which was the hardest to write?

Trying to pick a favorite story is like trying to pick a favorite child.  Probably ‘Service Unit’ or ‘Coming Through’ for my Spike is a vampire stories.  I’m rather partial to ‘Not Long to Wait’ as well, although that’s Spike/Dawn and not Spuffy.  For my Spike is a human stories, probably ‘Oblivious’ or ‘Clean Slate’ or ‘It’s Easy Time, Until It’s Not.’  It’s really hard to choose.

The hardest to write, as far as researching and hoping I’m not completely screwing everything up, is probably ‘Bruises.’  It’s been a minute since I was a teenager, so trying to write how teens would act or react is a bit difficult.

As a writer, what would you have changed on the show and why?

I’d have yeeted Angel out of Sunnydale long before the end of season three.  Not that I don’t like Angel, I just really really don’t like him with Buffy.  And bringing his brooding butt back in season seven to basically undo all the Spuffy would not have happened.  I also wouldn’t have killed Tara because she's fricking awesome and I love her.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! We are so glad to have you at SAD! You are amazing and we appreciate you!! 

____

Next up is our Commenter of the Month: VioletMoon

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

Getting into the show was such a journey, so forgive me if I get long-winded.  BtVS premiered when I was in high school, but I couldn't get into it even though I had loved the movie. I gave up after the first episode, but I vaguely knew of Buffy and Angel's romance, and thought it made for an interesting story.

Fast forward to 2006 - I had just finished binging the amazing Farscape, and was looking for a new fantasy show to love.  Bones was on the air at the time, and I was enjoying David Boreanaz’s role so much, that it made me curious to see him portray a vampire. I went on YouTube to watch some clips, but I kept seeing scenes of Buffy and Spike (and obviously, we know how amazing they are, so I was very intrigued). 

And then a friend of mine had sent me her old BtVS videotapes to watch, and this time I got hooked immediately. I ordered all the DVDs right after. 
I became obsessed. I knew all the lyrics to the OMWF soundtrack, before I even got to the third season, kind of obsessed. The love for that show, and Spuffy, hit me really hard. 

As for fanfiction - I was already reading and writing fic for another show (Third Watch). Members from that community were actually the ones who had recommended Farscape and Bones, and had also sent me the Buffy VHS tapes. So I feel like this all paved the way to the BtVS fandom.  

I mainly read Spuffy fics now...and the reason I started reading them is because I wanted more :) I still do. I want to see them have the happy ending they deserve, but also see explorations of them in other universes, angsty scenarios, comedies, etc. I  just want it all!

What motivates you to leave comments?

• I want the author to know that someone is reading and enjoying their hard work. 
• I’m being provided with free entertainment about two of my favorite characters of all time. You bet I’m going to appreciate that and leave you some love. 
• If I feel any sort of emotion - sadness, happiness, comfort, etc. 
• Even if one line sticks out for me - something romantic, a joke, a haunting description, etc. I want to make sure I highlight that line and comment about it. 

This also goes for artists and their art work! I've definitely squeed over art that has been posted here. 

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?

I also write! Which is another reason why I love commenting - I want to give an author/artist the same giddiness and motivation that I get each time I receive a new comment. 

This also ties in to what motivates me to leave comments  - for me, writing is very personal, and putting myself out there could be scary. So when I receive kind words on something I bared a piece of my soul on, it makes me really happy. And I want to be able to give that back. 

Were you a lurker before you started leaving comments or did you comment right away?

I can't really remember, but I think I started leaving comments pretty early on. I definitely remember being so excited when I first discovered fanfic, it just felt like a whole different world. 

How important is it to receive a reply from the writer when you leave a comment?

Not very, because I totally understand that life gets busy (I even have a bunch of comments that I haven’t replied to yet).  But I do love the interactions and reading the author's responses, especially when they give an insight into what they wrote. 

Thank you thank you thank you, VioletMoon! We love having you here and you bring so much to the community! 

____

And that's a wrap! Hope you're all having a great summer! Hydrate! :) 

Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and GriefCounseling

I think we all collectively blinked, and two years passed without us even realizing it.

That’s right, it’s been two years since Sunnydale After Dark first launched, and we have all of YOU to thank for its success! We cannot thank all of you enough for the time and energy you’ve devoted to the 1,646 works currently housed on the site made up of more than 24 million words! 

We are blown away every day by the talent and dedication of our authors and artists. But we can’t forget all of our faithful readers and commenters who have contributed more than 39,000 comments in that time - without them, we’d be an archive but not a community, and over and over again we’ve heard from you that our community is what sets us apart. We appreciate all of the positive energy you pour into this place and we are honored that you’ve chosen to spend any portion of your busy lives with us. 

Just a quick year-in-review… We kicked off our second year with our Spiral Spuffy team challenge, followed by Spooky September. D’Hoffryn fixed us up with the ability to ‘gift’ fics and artworks to each other just in time for the ‘Tis the Season!’ gift event coupled with a commenting challenge. Of course, we cannot forget about the much anticipated return of the Short & Spuffy Drabble Event (with prompts submitted by our Top Commenters) in March where you all outdid yourselves as usual, and then we spent a month in recovery from the hectic drabble season before launching our current Pen & Paint event! (No big deal or anything, but P&P has already generated 112 brand new works and we’re still going strong!)

Meanwhile, D’Hoffryn’s been hard at work behind the scenes helping improve our user experience at every turn. Along with gifting, he gave us the (long overdue) ability to credit our valued betas and banner artists. He’s created visual carousels on our homepage to show off all your pretty banners and he’s updated our epub functionality to support images and incorporate banner art into the covers for each downloaded fic. He’s probably also tackled hundreds of bugs troubleshooting requests that get fixed so quickly we barely notice they were issues in the first place. All hail D’Hoffryn!

No matter how you fit in this community - and there is a place for ALL of you here - we genuinely appreciate that you’ve chosen to be part of Sunnydale After Dark. This place would not exist if it weren’t for all of you, and on behalf of your SADmin team, we are endlessly grateful to get to escape real life with you each and every day.

You guys! How is it already May!? We are so excited to share the Scoobies of the Month Interviews with you but we can't even believe it's already MAY! Anyone looking forward to summer?

By the way, you guys are already killing Pen & Paint! Way to go! 

And here we go! 

First up, our Author of the Month: Gabby

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

I was lucky enough to be a Scooby of the Month in June of last year so I don't want to bore you all with the details again, haha! To make a long story short: I started watching the show when I was about 12 or 13. Reruns would be on in the mornings so I'd catch an episode or two before school. I re-watched it a few times in high school and college with a particular focus on the Spuffy Era, then promptly forgot that the show even existed until I picked it up again in 2021, which was also when I got into fanfic because I just needed more Buffy and Spike content. I still do!     

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

Here's where I start to feel like an imposter because I'm so new to the writing game. I only have two stories posted on the site, so it's not like I have a ton of examples to draw from for this answer! But I've got a few ideas floating around in my brain that I hope to get to eventually. 

Mostly–like I assume is the case for a lot of authors–those ideas were inspired by concepts that I personally like to see in Spike/Buffy fanfic. What better way to make sure there are stories covering plots, genres, dynamics, etc. that you like to read than to just write them yourself?! 

But I recently came up with a premise based on a Taylor Swift song, so music has been a source of ficspiration, too. To be honest, thinking of ideas is hard for me. I'm envious of people for whom this comes so easily! So if I end up writing something then that just means the story really excited me and got my creative juices flowing.     

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Hmm… Well, even though she's the hardest for me to write, I'd have to say Buffy! And that's because she's so challenging for me. It takes me an embarrassingly long time to write her dialogue and POV, thinking of exactly the right words and phrases to use. Spike's voice is so clear in my head and his lines just flow from my fingertips to the keyboard. Buffy is more difficult, and I'm not really sure why!

But it's just so satisfying when I sit back and read something I've written and think, "Ah ha! Nailed it!" Those moments are few and far between, but the rush I get when they happen makes her my favorite character to write.   

Which story of yours are you most proud of and which was the hardest to write?

Definitely the story I wrote for this year's Short & Spuffy! I'm enamored with the S7 Spike and Buffy relationship and how they become mutually supportive friends with just a hint of something more in that season. I love a slow burn that builds a solid foundation for the grand romance that follows, and it was a lot of fun to try to develop Spuffy gradually and organically 100 words at a time. 

It was also the hardest fic to write. I felt so creatively dry about halfway through and started hating everything I wrote. Nothing new for experienced writers, I'm sure, but this newbie was like, "What's happening?! Why is this so difficult?!" Luckily some friends talked me off a ledge and I pushed through, and I'm glad I did. I ended up loving that story and I'm really proud of pulling off a cohesive narrative while at the mercy of the wheel (whom I love).     

As a writer, what would you have changed on the show and why?

Lemme preface this by saying: I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer warts and all. It's one of my favorite shows of all time. However, I would've liked to see more diversity (in race, ability, gender identity, etc.) for sure. To get on my soapbox for a second, representation in fiction matters. It also just isn't realistic that we only see one Latino student (I think) across all 7 seasons when Sunnydale is only a couple hours away from Los Angeles. So definitely more of that!  

And I feel pretty strongly that there needed to be a more serious discussion between Spike and Buffy about what happened in Seeing Red. It was a very big deal! And even if she has an apparently easy time separating the Spike who did that from the newly souled version, I still think it's healthy for them to explicitly hash that out (along with all the other toxicity, maybe) so they can move past it once and for all. 

All that said, I love the show so much, and am happy it exists even with those shortcomings. I also love the SAD community. Y'all are the best. Thanks for making me a Scooby of the Month, and mega congrats to all choseny, too!

Gabby, you're amazing and we are so grateful to have you here with us! Thank you!

_______________

Next up we have our Commenter of the Month: all choseny

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

I shared a bit about my "Come to Buffy" moment when I was awarded Writer of the Month (Thank you all again for nominating me!). So, I'll keep my short story even shorter. I was a fan of the movie before it ever became a television show. I recall BtVS was a mid season replacement (for a show I don't remember), and at first I wasn't into it. I think the WB aired it again the Saturday after the premier, and because it was a lazy Saturday afternoon, I watched it and was immediately hooked. 

I came to fanfic through Roleplaying on Myspace many moons ago. When Myspace imploded, I went on LJ and discovered the wonderful world of fanfiction. If you're curious about Myspace RP, a few months ago I was feeling nostalgic, and I tried to recreate my old RP page as best as my memory would allow me. I was in my 20s when I rp'd. I'll be 42 on May 30th.  You do the math LOL. (Being nominated was a wonderful Bday present, btw). Anyway, if you're curious, go here: 

https://spacehey.com/peachy_keen

 I am not actively roleplaying. I was bored and some guy made a myspace dupe. 

What motivates you to leave comments?

Just like writers get that shot of happy when they receive a comment (and a like), I feel that same excitement when leaving a comment. I also think it's nice to let the writer know that someone is reading and enjoying their work. My philosophy when leaving comments is to always be kind. Kindness is free, and it goes a long way. You never know what kind of day the author might have had, and seeing that comment from you might make a difference. So, I also like to leave a little kindness for someone who is taking the time to entertain all of us for free. 

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?

Yep, I write, too. :) 

Were you a lurker before you started leaving comments or did you comment right away?

Goodness, that was so long ago. 2007-ish. I want to say that I might have lurked a little at first when I joined LJ. I recall quickly getting over that and leaving comments for writers. 

How important is it to receive a reply from the writer when you leave a comment?

It's not very important. After Short and Spuffy, I realized that comments can pile up pretty quickly, so hats off to the writers who reply to every comment you receive. I salute you! But while it's not super important, it's appreciated when they do reply. :) 

Thank you, all choseny! You are magical and we appreciate you! 

Well, that's it, folks! We hope your seasonal allergies aren't killing you! Ahhh, springtime. :)

All the best,
Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and GriefCounseling

We want to start by thanking you guys again for making Short & Spuffy such a success! Everyone who participated nailed it! And all the commenters were amazing, too! Thank you, everyone.

Our April Scoobies of the Month Interviews are ready! 

We are starting with our Author: SomeKindofDeviant

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

Oh man, I started watching it shortly after it started airing on the BBC, I must've been 11 or so. I don't remember which episodes I started with, but School Hard is the one that got me hooked, I was obsessed the moment Spike and Drusilla appeared. Alongside rifling through the Young Adult section of the library and discovering Point Horror and Christopher Pike and the like, it kinda opened up this chasm of a supernatural/vampire hyperfixation that may have stuck around a lil while. 

My tween internet time was pretty much a mix of neopets, aol chat, and searching Buffy. Somewhere in between quizzes, windows themes/wallpapers, and wondering who on earth Buffy Sainte-Marie was, I discovered fanfiction and fell in love. Though it'd take me a couple decades or so to read Spuffy fic for the first time, after a rewatch where I finally came to see how much there is to love about the ship and to jump on board with it, and til last year for me to try my hand at writing fic myself for the first time. 

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

Chatting with friends about this, that, and everything and then noodling away on things. Poetry and music and fragments of dreams, too, often spark inspiration when it comes to vibes and themes, but all kinds of things can throw something up in the air to latch onto and chew on.

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Drusilla. When I first started writing, I thought I'd find her hardest, but I think I've come to find her headspace the easiest to slide into. Which may say something worrying about me, but there we are. Writing her lets me have all the fun I want with imagery and the bits of my brain that fit together oddly, to let them run free and chase them down tunnels. It's oddly comforting. 

I will say I've enjoyed writing Buffy more than I expected and had a great deal of fun with her in my last story, which helped me work through a lot of the nerves I had about it. Her dialogue and thoughts are so bouncy!! 

Which story of yours are you most proud of and which was the hardest to write?

I've only written a couple of Spuffy pieces, and I'll stick to those in this answer! I'm proud of both, for different reasons, but my chapter of The Mystery of the Disappearing Scoobies was the first time I tried my hand at the pair, and so there were all kinds of nerves there. I'm very proud about how it came out. I tried to bring a lil bit of something fairytale to it and I think I managed to achieve it.

I think The Dreaded Lurgi was the hardest of the two, for all that it's a bit of a crackfic, because it required actually considering an arc and plot resolution rather than just throwing things in the air and letting the next author handle the consequences of where those things landed. 

As a writer, what would you have changed on the show and why?

I am torn because, flaws and all, the show was lightning in a bottle and has managed to keep such a place in my heart and the hearts of so many others for so many years in just the shape it is. Still, we do all have our pet peeves. I think I would change Lies My Parents Told Me. It was such a wonderful opportunity to show growth and painful confrontation of the past that I think was in some ways quite wasted, and I really wish Robin had been centred a bit more, framed more sympathetically, and that Spike had given him the coat. 

Thank you so much, SomeKindofDeviant! We appreciate you and your contributions here so much.

_____

Next up is our Commenter of the Month: bee_davie

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

My older brother was always in charge of what we watched on television, so five-year-old me watched Buffy as it aired in 97. The episodes I specifically remember watching were Witch, Teacher's Pet, and What's My Line, parts 1 & 2. I wholeheartedly believed in magic, and that the evil creatures from the show really existed, so I was obsessed with fighting bad guys like Buffy. I even had a game plan for stomping out bugmen in my white Reeboks. 

I watched a lot of reruns and episodes here and there, but I didn't watch the show in order or anything post-season 5 until I was a teen. As a teen, I made mistakes and was initially into Angel. As soon as I saw him kissing Buffy through her bedroom window, I knew he was the one. Their story had all the elements I thought I wanted in a romance until, of course, our blonde baddy hit the scene. Spike has had a chokehold on me ever since.

I loved the show, but I always wanted more from the ending. I need my love interests to be together. FOREVER. This led to many late nights trying to fix the show in my head and create a happy ending for Spike and Buffy. My journals throughout the years are full of times when I am rewatching the show for comfort, questioning what Buffy would do in my shoes, and going through lots of Spuffy thoughts. I went through phases where they would walk around the house with me (in a totally normal, not at all obsessive way.) I was just not over them.

Fast forward to my first real job out of college. I sat beside a girl on the bus who told me she wrote Buffy fanfiction. She was the second person I ever met who loved Buffy. That conversation sent me on a hunt for fanfics and into a land where all my dreams came true. The first fic I ever read was The Butterfly Effect by cousinjean, followed by A Chance in Hell by SAD's very own Grief Counseling, who went by a different name back then. (When I discovered this connection, I was so chill. So. Chill!) 

What motivates you to leave comments?

Fics that cause:

• Deep, intense emotions
• Nonstop squealing 
• Glances in the mirror that say, "Oh my god, did you just read what I just read?!"
• Honest and true fangirling thoughts

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?

I am strictly a reader with ideas that I wish to write. I get preoccupied with a scenario or a witty/sexy sentence and then construct a story about it in my head. I have a dedicated Spuffy ideas notebook, but that is as far as it goes at this point.

Were you a lurker before you started leaving comments or did you comment right away?

I used to hardcore lurk. Spuffy was my guilty pleasure, and I didn't feel the need to share it with anyone, until one day I did. I got into a fic bingeing cycle, and after reading banger after banger, I needed to talk about it. I joined Discord to discuss, but I still didn't leave comments until The Time We Had (as everyone probably knows). Props to Dusty, who made me cry for days with such a lovely fic that led me to leave my first comment. It is what brought me to SAD. The rest is history.

How important is it to receive a reply from the writer when you leave a comment?

I am not going to lie—the endorphins I receive when I see "New Reply" in my inbox are spectacular. I love and appreciate getting replies, but I understand that responding to every comment is impossible. I never wait for an answer or feel bad if someone doesn't respond. I comment because I want to. All the work writers put into stories is more than enough for me. 

Thank you SO much, bee_davie! You are incredible and we appreciate you! 

Happy April, everyone! Ready for the world-ending eclipse? ;) 

Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and GriefCounseling

We're stoked to bring you the interviews with this month's Scoobies! So well deserved. 

First up, we have our Author of the Month: Girlytek

Girlytek politely declined our offer for an interview but she had this to say: Swonderful writes amazing comments and I’m super glad to see them here, and I’m honored to be SotM with them. <3

We agree, Girlytek, and you totally earned your spot as author this month! We're so happy to have you here posting your stories.

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Next up, we have our Commenter of the Month and as the name implies, they're wonderful: Swonderful

Thank you so much for naming me Commenter of the Month!  I'm honored to be recognized for what I consider a small repayment for the many, many hours of joy I get from the works of so many talented and generous authors, artists, betas, editors, admins, and mods. 

Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.

I was channel-surfing and caught the very first minute of the very first episode when it first aired, and was instantly hooked.  I was soon online, reading everything I could about episode recaps and upcoming episodes, and from there, I found BTVS fanfiction.  It's such a pleasure to see the characters evolve, live on, and often improve. I particularly enjoy it when fanfiction rights the wrongs of the show but in realistic and logical ways.  

What motivates you to leave comments?

It's a combination of wanting to thank and encourage writers and becoming so invested in their stories that I feel compelled to react. I try to make it clear that when I'm annoyed or irritated by something a character does or says, I'm annoyed at the character, not the writer. It's much like Spike getting impatient with Pacey while watching Dawson's Creek. He was not upset by the writing, he was responding to the character as if he was a real person. When I get excited, or angry, it's not a criticism of the author, and it's almost always a compliment to their skill. I think that's true of many other reader comments, although sometimes authors seem to feel personally attacked, although that doesn't appear to be the commenter's intent.  BTVS characters are imperfect, as they should be. When readers are incensed, they don't always think to mention that they're upset at what Giles, Angel, Xander, or Buffy did, not at the writer who created that scenario.   

Having written for and edited national newspapers and magazines, I'm amazed at the caliber of writers here. The quality of their writing is better than some professional writers I worked with, who had to be heavily edited. These authors continue to write without financial compensation, which is remarkable, and very generous of them.  And for some writers here, English is a second or third language!  

I also appreciate the emotional maturity and psychological and political insights many authors bring to their stories, and, through their writing, to readers. BTVS, unfortunately, normalized a number of flawed perspectives, such as the TA/student personal relationship between Riley and Buffy, and I appreciate it when writers bring those issues to readers' attention so they can be better informed in their personal lives. 

  Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?

I was a non-fiction writer and editor for national news media (magazines and newspapers), as well as a university journalism instructor. For fanfiction, I am strictly a reader, although often I will privately message writers when I see errors. In rare cases, if it's a medical or similar error that could have RL repercussions, I will mention it in the comments. 

 Were you a lurker before you started leaving comments or did you comment right away?

I was a lurker for decades before I started commenting. When I registered on sites, I didn't even use my real name; I combined the names of my friends Marilyn and James. Once I felt safe commenting, I  felt an obligation to support all the contributors who have created and sustain this community.   

How important is it to receive a reply from the writer when you leave a comment? 

Unless it's a WIP, I often skip the other reader comments, thereby missing any replies to my own, and until recently, I didn't even know I could have replies sent to me. A moderator, either here or at another site, told me how to opt in for that, although it may be automatic here. 

It's amazing that authors take the time to respond because they're doing the heavy lifting of writing, as well as their Real Life responsibilities.  I think it's kind of them, but nonessential and unexpected.  It's been a pleasure to have discussions with several authors, both in the comments and private messages. Most recently I discovered  VeroNyxK84 here and have been reading and commenting on her old stories.  To my surprise, when she responds, it's clear she's not only read my comment, she's gone back to re-read what she wrote a year or more ago. Dusty also does that, even when I'm rereading and commenting on The Time We Had for the second and third time.  I appreciate that, but it's well above and beyond an author's role.  You're already giving so much! There are many, many other authors who have similarly responded. I'm not going to name them because I don't want to inadvertently leave someone out. 

The often unsung heroes who deserve a plethora of positive comments are the admins, mods, and other support who keep the site going and manage all the glitches, and also each person who supports it financially.  Where else can we go for excitement, distraction, support, and comfort 24/7 without leaving our homes? 

For a variety of reasons, some readers comment rarely or not at all.  Sunnydale After Dark is giving more pleasure, insight, hope and satisfaction than is evident from the comments. I'm so glad the site exists to support, disseminate and preserve these wonderful works.   Thank you, everyone!

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Thank you both so much for helping to make SAD such a wonderful, welcoming, and encouraging place to be. We wouldn't be here without every single one of you and we are so grateful every day that you choose to be here with us! 

Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and GriefCounseling

Hello hello, everyone!

Hold onto your hats because starting in March, Short and Spuffy will be back!

This event is one that we knew we had to repeat, and based on our community survey last year, you all agree!

Here’s how it will work:

We’ve gathered up drabble prompts from January’s Top Commenters. For the first 30 days of March, a new prompt will be chosen daily and at random on Discord. Join us there for lots of fun discussing the day’s freshly revealed prompt! The prompt list will also be updated in a centralized Sunnydale Press news post for easy access. 

Just like last year, we’re embracing the challenge of writing exactly 100 words per drabble! Feel free to interpret the prompt in any way you want. You do not have to use the literal words from the prompt in the drabble.

Never heard of a drabble? Wondering what this funny word is? Want loads of inspiration? Check out last year’s event here.

You may post the drabble at any point during the month of March, so it does not have to be shared on the day the prompt is revealed. This also means that if you want to wait, you can post your drabbles in the order you see fit to use the prompts. March 31 will serve as a catch-up day with no new prompt. If you’d like to write a promptless bonus drabble on this day, you are welcome to!

Your drabbles do not need to connect narratively (unless you want them to!), but please organize your drabbles for the event into one story and post each drabble as a new chapter. This will make it easier for us to count at the end. You’re welcome to make your drabble story part of a series if you want to connect it to another work of yours, possibly even last year’s drabble story!

Now for the awards, which we know you’re going to want to collect as many of as possible since loveisntbrains has graciously agreed to design them for us!

You can earn awards in three ways this year: by writing, by commenting, or by designing a banner. 

For commenting and writing, you will accumulate more awards the more drabbles and comments you write.

For commenters:
15-39 Comments = The Comment Hero Award
40-69 Comments = The Comment Champion Award
70-99 Comments = The Comment Slayer Award

If you write 100+ comments, you earn the ultimate grand prize! The Naked Buffy Award.

For writers:
1-9 Drabbles = The Drabble Hero Award
10-19 Drabbles = The Drabble Champion Award
20-29 Drabbles = The Drabble Slayer Award

For completing all drabble prompts, you will earn the highly coveted Naked Spike Award!

Artists will earn an award for banner contributions. Writers, please be sure to credit your banner artist!

So, in total, there are 9 pretty awards up for grabs for this event! The more you do, the more you earn. 

As always, don’t forget to check the event box when you post! And reach out if you're unsure about anything.

We can’t wait for the March madness to begin!