Congrats to both Chelle and scratchmeout for being our Scoobies of the Month for November 2022! Hope you enjoy their interviews below!

November 2022 Commenter of the Month, Chelle:

How did you come to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

I was absolutely gutted when My So Called Life was canceled in 1995. I was starving for another 'teen' type show to lose myself in. I saw a little article in TV Guide about Buffy the Vampire Slayer airing as a replacement series in 1997 and fell in absolute love with the photo that accompanied the article. It was Sarah Michelle Gellar standing in the foreground in a red/burgundy dress and Xander, Willow, Giles in the background. It had a gothic vibe and I just knew I was going to love it. And I did. Vampires have always appealed to me. I canceled plans to tune in to the first episode and I think I watched it three times in one night. It felt so different than anything I'd EVER seen at that point. It was funny and their language was quick witted and full of puns. It became a weekly appointment for me and I couldn't get enough. I did worry nonstop that it would be canceled like My So Called Life but I hung in and I'm still hanging in to this day.

When and why did you decide to read fanfiction for the show?

I actually started writing fanfic when I was a teenager in the 80s (for a soap called Santa Barbara and for movies) and would swap stories with friends at school and then in a group at the local library. It was all typewritten or handwritten. But feedback was important and we'd type out reviews to give back with the stories. LOL!! Once the internet arrived, I got into all kinds of fanfic. I stumbled on Laure Alexander's fanfic for Buffy and just lost myself in it. I can remember reading at a place called UnConventional Shippers and finding all these unique pairings. Then I found Saber Shadowcat and Lynx and so many others. It was so amazing to write and read as the show was airing. It went from being a sorta hobby to an almost full time job I spent so many hours reading and writing. And I'm obviously back in that place. I can't get enough. SAD's creation has really inspired me to read and write again.

Why do you love Spike and Buffy?

I think I wrote my first Spuffy fic after School Hard. There was just something about the way Spike watched Buffy dancing at The Bronze that woke me up in all the ways. I was all in. ALL IN. I think for me, their banter and wit and unreal sexual chemistry just bounces off the screen and the page. It's breath taking and interesting to an extent that keeps me riveted. I love the way he sees her and knows what she's thinking before she even does. And I love the way she supported him and believed in him, even before he went and got a soul. I adore that SHE was his soul for a really long time and made him go completely outside of himself and his instincts to be someone she could lean on and trust. And I wouldn't be me if I didn't mention how dang smutty sexy they are together. I love love love all the ways that writers get them into bed or out of bed doing dirty stuff in many many many ways. It's hot. They're scorching hot. :)

What words of advice would you give other fans who comment or are considering maybe commenting on fanfiction?

Please please please leave feedback if you like a story. Even if you don't like a story but you took the time to read it ... kind constructive criticism is usually welcomed because it helps a writer improve. Feedback is the only payment a fanfic writer gets. That's all. And it truly means the world to hear what resonated, what didn't, and how the reader was affected by it. I tend to leave long rambly three hundred word comments because I feel like a writer puts so much blood, sweat, and tears into their work and I want them to know that I noticed and spend time thanking them with my own words. But even if you only leave a sentence ... it matters. SO much. It's important to feel seen and that people recognize what you're contributing to the fandom. So please PLEASE leave feedback. That's a paycheck for a writer and even if it's five words ... it's the best feeling in the world to be noticed.

Thank you so much! Everyone who is part of SAD is amazing and I'm honored to be a part of it.

November 2022 Author of the Month, scratchmeout:

How did you come to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

The first episode I watched was "Witch" and I thought it was fine. I loved the movie, so I was a bit on the fence about it being a TV show. I saw IKWYDLS and really enjoyed Sarah (I had also watched her in "Swan's Crossing after school sometimes). Then, there was an ad for "Halloween" in TV Guide and thought I love Halloween episodes, I'm going to check it out. And that was it. Completely hooked from then on!

When and why did you decide to write fanfiction for the show?

The very first fic I wrote was immediately after "Innocence" aired and it was so long. I never posted it anywhere, I don't even think there's a copy that exists sadly because I'd be very curious how that would look ;) I started writing again towards the end of Season 7. I joined Crumbling Walls and was introduced to so many good stories and All Human fics which was a revelation. I decided to start with that kind of a story, it felt safer than writing in canon! So I started Marriage, Sunnydale-Style about two weeks before "Chosen" aired because I knew, without a doubt, that I was about to get my heart torn out and I wanted something fluffy and happy. It remained a WIP until about a month ago when I edited, added to it, and completed it! As I grew more confident, I started writing in canon. I took a break from all fandoms around 2010 and then came back after the 25th, started reading fic again and felt the need to finish a story idea I had started back then (Finding Her). I write them because I want them to be happy because I'm a big, sappy softie. 

Why do you love Spike and Buffy?

When I started shipping them (during their truce), it was probably more the simple fact that I wanted their faces on each other's faces ;) But then they had to go and give them depth (and pretend like they didn't). I really fell in love with Spike loving Buffy and exploring what that looked like without his soul. I loved them in early season 6, loved them less post-Wrecked, and felt that they earned back the OTP title in season 7. The way that they evolve and learn with one another, how they come to trust each other again, to have each other's backs, to accept their good and bad traits, and that deep understanding they have for one another...it's so beautiful to watch. And the bonus being that the groundwork is there for all of us to write them in any season, really, because each variation of Spuffy is intriguing.

Which three fanfics that you’ve written are your favorite? Why are they your favorite?

This question is a hard one! So I think, as of today because this is constantly changing the more I write (which is a good thing, I think!), my 3 favorites would be:

As I'm Leaving - this was my second non-AH fic and I decided to do it in Spike POV and I loved the challenge of it. Time travel is always fun and I was heavily inspired by The Time Traveler's Wife, which is a favorite.

Finding Her - I love a story with B/S/D family unit and I wanted to dive into what would have happened if Dawn had jumped and Buffy quit slaying and came to Spike to help her, as well as explore what was happening in Sunnydale without them there.

No Remedy for Memory - I loved the way this turned out and I really wasn't sure what the hell I was doing when I started, which is not like me. It definitely ended up someplace different than my initial outline, but once I knew and understood the story and what I wanted to explore, it came together nicely. I really loved AlternaBuffy and wanted to protect her at all costs.

What words of advice would you give other fans who write or want to write fanfiction?

This isn't anything groundbreaking, but write what YOU want to write. I can easily get Imposter Syndrome and can get really down on myself, especially if comments are questioning the choices I've made.  But if I'm telling the story I want, I know I'm more likely to be successful at both writing it and finishing it. So, really figure out what you're comfy with. If you love AH and that's where you want to be, do it! Everything isn't for everyone. You'll find your audience by writing things that you're excited to explore. 

I'd also recommend finding a beta you trust, that you can have open, sometimes difficult (because we're writers and we're all sensitive about our work) conversations about the story/the writing. I've known mine since Crumbling Walls and LJ and when I decided to try writing again, I reached out to her and it's been an amazing relationship. She makes me a better writer because I swear everything would be Boston double negatives, no commas, and would look like a screenplay!