Hiya! Our August SOTM interviews are here! Enjoy!

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

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

I didn't get into Buffy until very recently, as in just this past year! A few years ago in college I tried starting it, but I stopped a couple episodes into Season 1. I'm pretty sure Xander's character annoyed me into taking a break. IMO he was so much worse in the earlier seasons.

Last winter I was enjoying the break between the fall and spring semesters of my 2L year (I'm a law student), saw the show recommended on Hulu, and thought I'd give it another try. I started to really love SMG's acting and pretty much everything about her Buffy, and kept on watching every night. I am incredibly impatient so by the time I was on season 3 I was on AO3 checking out Spuffy fics because there is only so much live-action Bangel I can take in one sitting. I think I'd sorted Buffy fics by kudos and found ship content that way, and I already hugely enjoyed Spike's character and the growing chemistry between the two, so I was overjoyed to see how much fanfic is out there! Obviously I was quickly spoiled for just about everything that would happen, but I still loved seeing it play out on the show.

I finally finished the show this April and started writing fic because the endings of S6 and S7 both left me with so many feelings and I had to get them out on the page. At the same time I've been working through the archive of older and newer fics and totally reveling in all the different predicaments and settings and emotional arcs we can read Spuffy in. I'm glad to be able to contribute just a tiny bit to the community. There are soooooo many fantastic authors here and I love how dedicated the commenters are. And such talented artists!!! I'm so glad to have found my way here.

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

My stories are basically my own wish fulfillment of canon divergences that could have happened for the betterment of Spuffy. I wrote Sojourns in Heaven because I thought the ending of S6 - specifically, everything after Seeing Red - SUCKED and so much wasn't properly addressed in S7. I'm also using it to fix my gripes about Angel the Series and give Spuffy a unique setting to process their shared and individual trauma in. Caught You is a fix-it set right before Spike and Anya sleep together because seriously that did not have to happen, and I wanted to see what it would take for immediately post-break-up Buffy to confront her feelings.

I've got a lot of unpublished fics in the works that similarly explore different 'what if' scenarios - what if Buffy brought Richard to the wedding? What if Buffy kept Holden around to be her therapist in S7? What if Spike didn't get what he wanted out of the trials? - just to list a few floating in my Scrivener, and all of these explore the ripple effects these premises would have on the rest of canon and on Spuffy more generally. Since these stories are kind of my own wish fulfillment, you'll never see me write anything but Happy Endings. I need these guys to be endgame, S12 and reboot be damned!!!

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Buffy is my favorite character in general and I love exploring her headspace when I get to write from her perspective. She's fascinating to me because her actions and thoughts and desires and words all seem to disagree with each other at times, and you can tell she's got so much going on in her head all the freaking time. Which, yeah, if the fate of the world is on your shoulders and your love life is a mess and you feel like you can't live up to anyone's expectations, you would too! I think some shippers can be a little hard on her, but she strikes me as such a realistically flawed character who is still so GOOD and forgiving and badass, so I will always support her and kind of stick up for her in my writing by giving her the space she always needed to process and breathe and be loved. Buffy Summers ily.

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

I'm most proud of Caught You, mainly because I actually finished a fic. I usually have so much I want to get out of something I'm writing but I managed to wrap this fic up with just 2 chapters! It was also my first time writing such extensive smut, and any smut at all between these characters, so it was a creative challenge as much as anything else.

Un-Doomed, my Wanderlust fic, is my shortest fic but has also been the hardest to write, which I think is a result of it being my first experience writing time-travel and also a less angsty story. Angst comes the easiest to me when I'm writing for some reason, so it's been a challenge finding a different tone to the fic.

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

I'm exploring everything I would have changed in my fics and will continue to :)

But first and foremost, hear me out…. I want soulless Spike. I want him to get the chance to be properly good, to find something like redemption, and to see acceptance from Buffy - without the soul playing a role. I want him to put in the hard work to do better, slowly and steadily and consistently, because he's capable of it. This guy spent a whole summer protecting a teenager and patrolling Sunnydale, for absolutely nothing in return. We could have seen more of the selflessly devoted side of him. We could've seen him grow without the soul. Maybe that's why all my fics thus far have him unsouled - I just want to give that version of Spike more chances. In general I would have given him more chances.

You are so amazing! Thank you for being here and sharing your stories! 

_________

Next up is our Commenter of the Month: GhostsInLove

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

That’s a funny story. It all started when teen Ghosts was obsessed with mystery crime dramas – Criminal Minds, Psych, and (if you haven’t guessed already) Bones. Which starred one Captain forehead…. Or David Boreanaz if you’re feeling proper.

One day as I was looking online for Bones clips, I came across a scene with Booth and Daphne from the live-action Scooby-Doo movies. Intrigued, I watched the video. Little did I know, I was watching one of television’s most iconic and emotional scenes as Buffy kisses then stabs Angel, sending him to hell. My thoughts? Mushy and melodramatic – so not interested.

A few years pass and I’m home alone after some college courses. Feeling bored I decide to turn on the television, looking for anything new and interesting to watch. Somehow Buffy the Vampire Slayer catches my eye, so I tune in for a couple of episodes. I was way more interested than I had been previously, and started looking up additional clips, which is where I discovered….Spuffy!! I was fascinated by Spike and Buffy. Their chemistry, dynamic, and their scenes together were so entertaining yet compelling. Unfortunately, my obsession could only last so long as school, work, and lots of other distracting circumstances kept me from diving more into the show itself.

Fast forward even more years later, and I have a group of online friends demanding we watch Once More with Feeling from BtVS. As we watched the episode, the obsession once more began to grow and I found myself over the next few months binging every episode of BtVS and Angel the Series. Once there were no more episodes to consume, I did what any engrossed individual would do – I moved on to the world of Spuffy fanfiction. And what a beautiful community of writers and readers I found.

What motivates you to leave comments?

More than anything, I want the creator to know that someone is viewing their work and loving it! Whether it’s an old fic, or a WIP – every submission is important and deserves love. I try not to overextend myself in commenting for fear of burning myself out or sounding too generic, but I do try and leave at least one comment on every fic I read now. But in case I don’t say it enough – Writers and Artists, you are amazing!! Thank you for all the amazing content you create and share with us!!

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?

 I dabble in writing. I have lots to learn and room to grow as a writer, but I do hope to continue working on the craft. Even if I am a more consistent reader than a writer currently, I do think fanfiction is a great space to encourage one’s passion and skill in the art of storytelling.  

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

 I have been a lurker for YEARS in multiple fanfiction communities. I was very shy growing up (still am a little), so I never thought I had anything interesting to contribute to fandom. Some therapy, healthy boundaries, and better friendships later I have learned that I have a voice, and it matters. Thus I slowly began being more vocal in fandom spaces, and it’s been a wonderful journey so far.

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

 When I receive a reply to a comment from an author, it makes me happy! Knowing that they saw my comment and it encouraged them in some small way, or made them laugh, or furthered some sort of discussion makes the fandom feel more like a community with a shared interest. All that to say, even though replies make me happy, I don’t expect a response in return. Fanfiction is an unpaid work of love - it’s a hobby that should always be fun!

We are so happy to have you here, GhostsInLove, and can't wait to see what you do next. 


________

And that's a wrap! See you next month! :)

Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and GriefCounseling