Hey, everyone! Here are the Scoobies of the Month Interviews! I'm so sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoy them! 

Commenter of the Month for April 2023, violettathepiratequeen

How did you come to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

I was watching it out of obligation at first! Some friends of mine had always pointed to it as their favorite show, so in February 2020 I picked it up and was like OKAY I will drag my way through this probably corny supernatural show, because I know people who say it’s the best. 

But RIGHT away I fell in love with Buffy and all her Scoobies, and even though it was still just a cute thing I was just watching out of obligation, the minute Angel lost his soul I sat up and took notice like “oh, this is a REAL show!” And ummm it only progressed from there, and by the time Spike died in the Hellmouth it was my favorite show.

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

I definitely decided to write first, because I noticed S7 has some missing scenes just begging to be filled, and since I was on A03 anyway I just looked up the Buffy/Spike tag to see how others were writing them! I was really just floundering at first because I wasn’t sure what I wanted, lol, so there were a multitude of stories I read in those early days that I wouldn’t read now. When I discovered the existence of exclusively Spuffy sites, my world changed in the very best way, and it became so much easier for me to find what I liked and who were my favorite authors to read! I’m still so excited there are exclusively Spuffy sites. I’m just blown away by HOW much love and excitement there still is for this ONE specific pairing that there’s still such an active and engaged community for it!

Why do you love Spike and Buffy?

I loved Buffy right off the bat for ALWAYS being clear on what the right thing to do was. She strove for other things— normality and cheerleading and having friends and boys and a social life— but she always set that aside without question to either save the day or just be a good friend. “Witch” is my favorite S1 episode because of… many tiny little things, but one in particular: Willow casually mentions that she and Amy used to have brownie pigouts on the sly, and when Amy (or who we thought was Amy) doesn’t make it on the cheerleading squad, Buffy immediately invites this girl she just met over to her house for brownies. This is the THIRD episode, and already this perky little valley girl is showing how kind and empathetic she is! 

I took a little bit longer to get on the Spike train… and I think, again, it was his goodness that got me there. His truce in Becoming Part 2. Did he go to Buffy for selfish reasons, and there really wasn’t a speck of goodness to be seen there? YES, but the fact remains that he DID put aside his demonic tendencies and teamed up with the hero to save the world, sticking to his word so that Buffy was able to fight Angel alone and not have to worry about Dru (or Spike!) attacking her, too. And every time after that he did something endearing or funny or so inexplicably GOOD, I just fell more in love with him. He tries so hard, even if he doesn’t always get it right!

And I love them TOGETHER because their journey to romance makes a lot of sense to me. I’m actually really picky about romances in the media, and a lot of the time I just don’t buy the love they’re trying to sell. I’ll like two characters together, sure, but usually just as a “meh” thing, and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen two characters with personalities and similar journeys and both the need and ability to love in similar ways and who just CLICKED so well that I need them to be together, always, and not have any other character come in between that. It’s definitely an obsession, lol, I’m not proud.

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

Just be positive in whatever you’re saying!  Writing fanfiction is a hobby and means of escape and no one is getting paid for it, so unless the author has explicitly noted that constructive criticism or feedback is okay, it’s safer and kinder just to mention what you liked, and not point out the flaws or anything that didn’t sit well with you.

From VeroNyxK84:

As a commenter and reader do you have a favorite ‘setting’ (i.e. season, genre, category, etc) that will make you click on a story right away, even with an overflowing bookshelf?

Season 7 is like a siren call for me; I always jump all over one of those stories when I find a new one! There aren’t too many S11 fics, but if anyone writes one of those I can guarantee I would devour that immediately, too. And this is very specific, but Spuffy between S2 and S3? Chef’s kiss. HappyWhenItRains, scratchmeout, and handwithquill all have fics set in that time that are definite comfort fics for me!

WIPs vs Completed: do you have a preferred ‘status’ when you start reading a new story?

Completed, definitely! I try not to start WIPS at all but I sometimes will if I know it’s being regularly updated (I started reading Dusty during “Pretty Petals,” because I was so impressed that she was updating every day or so!) If I come across one that hasn’t been touched in a while I won’t touch it either… my heart just can’t take that, haha. 

Is there a story (or more) that completely wrecked your emotions but ended up making the list of your top fav?

Too many to count, lol. I’ve got three that stand out in my head as ones that both destroyed me and left me lying flat on my face for a solid week just thinking about them, but also ended so beautifully that I crawl back to them for rereads. None of them are on this site unfortunately, but for those who know… West of the Moon, East of the Sun by KnifeEdge, Because He Needs Me by DreamsofSpike, and Sideways by GoldenUsagi. I’m in serious danger of just ranting for hours here about why those were so amazing to me, but here’s some hints: Mr. Gordo, a Spike who trusts Buffy implicitly even when he’s seemingly broken beyond repair, and ALL the cuddles I could hope for. 

Thanks to whoever nominated me— last month was such a CRAZY one for comments that anyone could have won this, and I’m blushing so much that you guys picked me!

Author of the Month for April 2023, VeroNyxK84

How did you come to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

I already gave an extensive answer to this question in my Commenter of the Month interview back in January, so I'll try to be concise.

Long story short: Year 2000, a classmate in high school made me try to watch but I didn't like it (I tuned in to 1x06 The Pack) so I dropped it without a second thought. 

Year 2004, spring, Italian TV had a S1-S5 re-run marathon with daily eps, preparing for the release of S7 (yeah, a whole year later… don't get me started). They skipped S6 because I think they were afraid of a parents movement called ‘MOIGE’ (battling against what they deemed to be inappropriate TV content, and Buffy made it into their black list - the level of censorship we’ve had, sometimes even when airing at night, was insane) 

Anyway, I got hooked because of the marathon so I watched S6 on DVD and S7 too, because DVDs were released in October while our stupid TV aired it in December. The end… or was it just the beginning? 😉

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

It was shortly after I joined SAD last summer. I spent a while just reading stories (even before registering) and it took me some time to come out of my shell with comments, too. 
But there was this Challenge I found in my early exploration of the site that wormed into my brain and before long I started playing with different scenarios in my head, imagining how a story following that Challenge could turn out. So I kept having these scenes crowding my head and they were demanding to ‘come to life.’

At the time there was a Grand Opening event going on, which was what tempted me to try. So I opened Google Docs and I put together what ended up to be the first chapter of my WIP… and I was super nervous about it because I was attempting to write fiction in English (not my native language) for the first time and there was a part of me who kept saying “What do you think you’re doing with this? Did you read the other stories on here? Do you really want to make a fool of yourself like that?”. I can be my own worst enemy. 🙈

Thankfully I have a native friend who is also a BtVS/Spuffy fan and she graciously agreed to check my work to make sure my English was acceptable and readable. For a short chapter there were a few things that I definitely got wrong, so I’m glad she checked it first. 😂 And then I made that nagging voice in my head shut up and I published my first chapter, right on the Grand Opening event deadline. So I got my first award and my first super kind and encouraging reviews. 

The rest is simple… I was infected with the writing bug, and I haven’t stopped since then. Looks like you’re stuck with me. 

Why do you love Spike and Buffy?

Again, I already gave an extensive answer to this question in my previous interview, so I’ll shamelessly copy-paste a few sentences from that. 

I love Spike and Buffy because they’re deep, complex and layered both as individuals and as a couple. Their journey from enemies to unexpected allies to somewhat enemies again to reluctant partners to friends to lovers… it was bumpy and tumultuous, at times painful but also undoubtedly fun, and it touched so many aspects in their relationship which I believe is part of what makes them so special.

They inevitably drifted apart but found their way back into each other’s life, cementing their bond with the strongest adhesives: trust and acceptance.

They made me laugh and cry, feel sad and happy and furious, they broke me and then healed me. It was one hell of a ride, but darn, it was ‘bloody well’ worth it in the end.

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

Mmh… I only have 9 stories in my bag at the moment (and two of them are artwork collections), but I’ll try to answer.

Perfect Clarity—This my current WIP, my first ever Spuffy story and my baby. It’s the one that opened up the world of fiction writing for me, and despite the title it’s probably full of imperfections, but I know I’ll always cherish it also because of what it meant to me in a trying period of my life. About the story: Simply put, I’m mixing elements and events from S7 to make more room for a Spuffy romance. That was the core request for the ‘Selflessly Yours’ challenge, in short.

Deliverance—A missing scene one-shot set in S7 after Buffy frees Spike from the cave where he’d been held captive by the First and Turok-Han. Surely done a million times before, but I decided to write it anyway because for plot reasons I skipped Spike’s capture in Perfect Clarity and I needed to fill that huge blank that was left on the show for such a pivotal moment in Spuffy’s journey. How did they go from the cave to Spike helping with the training of Potential Slayers? That’s the question I tried to answer.

I’ve Been Feeling Everything—This one was my entry for the Scooby Celebration event and it’s a ‘hybrid’ story with 2 artworks and 1 one-shot (last chapter). 

It’s my first and only (for now?) NC-17 written content, a Chosen fade-to-black missing scene about the night before the final battle. I’m fond of it because it made me come out of my comfort zone, attempting to write my first smutty scene in what, in my view, was also a meaningful context. 

I wanted to make them ready to cross that line again while entering a new territory which felt both familiar and entirely different at the same time. I wanted to give a bit more build-up to Buffy’s ILY at the Hellmouth, and I also planted the seed for a post-series story in their final dialogue. Which will be my next long-fic project after I finish my current WIP. (Read my answer to violettathepiratequeen’s 1st question below for better explanation on this point) 

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

As a newbie writer I don’t think I’ve got much to say to anyone who’s already writing… most people here have been doing this for so much longer than me, I can only learn from them.
I could probably be more helpful to those fans who are just starting or would like to start but are feeling nervous or unsure. I’ve been there not long ago (about 8 months, give or take) and I remember perfectly what it feels like to hit that publish button for the first time: scary and exciting. I still feel some of that even now, I’ve simply learned to roll with it and enjoy that bit of adrenaline rush. I can't talk about other sites because I’m exclusively on SAD, but I’ve found the most welcoming and encouraging environment here, so if you have a story idea… take a deep breath and go for it! And be prepared to never stop. There’s no coming back, and you won’t want to. 😉

As for what to write, follow your heart. I worried at first that my story(-ies) would not be what people wanted to read, but I soon realized there’s many people with many different tastes and you can’t possibly please everyone. So I’m just writing what I feel is right for me and my stories and I’ve been enjoying it immensely. Whenever I find someone enjoying the journey with me, it’s a beautiful feeling and a gratifying added bonus. But basically I learned to be my own fan first. 😘

From violettathepiratequeen:

Is it easy for you to stay focused on whatever you're currently writing, or are you tempted to start new stories whenever the idea strikes?

I try not to be tempted. I have a Google Doc with a list of ideas and sometimes I go back to it, especially when I’m a little stumped with my WIP. A couple of times I wrote one-shots just to get my mind in a different mindset. So far I’ve eagerly and happily been part of all SAD events, which always provide a fun break and exciting challenges.

I regularly check the Challenge section and save those which sound like something I’d like to write, but if they require more than one-shots I just let them be for the moment. 

Because I’m stubbornly refusing to start any other WIP before I finish the one I’m currently working on. Depending on the moment, I’m finding it hard to keep a regular writing schedule and I hate to leave a story waiting for updates for too long. It’s a personal issue I have with myself, and I can’t even think of keeping more than one WIP going at a time. I mean, technically I have 2 artwork collections that are also WIPs and even those are nagging me! 🙈 So I only let myself be tempted by one-shots and events. I seal all other ideas in boxes for later use. And if I lose the momentum for a particular story… I sigh and move on. 😉 

There are so MANY great Spuffy scenes, but are there any that still have a big impact on you when you rewatch them?

Wow… tough question. All of them? 😝

There are a few that always make me wish I was watching them for the first time. Over and over! And I’m aware it’s a very predictable list, but it is what it is. The iconic scenes from School Hard and Becoming pt II are at the top of the list together with Fool For Love and Touched. The beginning of After Life follows closely and I have a soft spot for drunk Buffy on a kitten poker not-date with Spike. 😂

What are the kinds of tropes/concepts/scenes you're ALWAYS excited to write when the time comes for them?

Once again, I fear I’m quite predictable.

I love to have Spuffy bickering and teasing each other, sometimes driving each other mad, too. I love to have scenes where they have a connection and understanding with little to no words. Where they’re supportive of the other, but also ‘brutally’ honest and don’t refrain from calling the other out if needed. Last but not least, I also love to shove them in domestic and fluffy settings. I’m currently having them adjust to the joys of platonic bed-sharing (ok, maybe Spike is not 100% joyful about that XD)… snoring, covers hogging, kicking, clinging, personal space invasions, uncomfortable crotch reactions and morning bickering about all the above. Probably not the most exciting scenario for many people, but I’m a big old softie at heart and I can’t escape from that… I’ve already given up and accepted my fate. 😝

I’d like to close this by saying I’m honored to share this month’s SotM with violettathepiratequeen, both her fics and comments are an absolute delight, and so is she.
Thank you everyone for the incredible support you’ve shown from the start. SAD is my happy place — I’m grateful for every single word of encouragement and praise, and also for all the stunning stories that are hosted here. My bookshelf and my heart will never be empty. ♥️