We are pleased to bring you our interviews with the November Scoobies of the Month! Can you believe it's already November? This year has flown by!

Congrats to our author of the month: all_choseny

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

I started watching Buffy when it first aired. I was sixteen at the time. I look back and laugh now because my little sister showed me the promo, and I remember thinking, "This is so dark. Why is the show so dark?" I was a fan of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, and the show seemed so different. It was different but in a good way! I'm glad I gave it a chance despite my initial reservations. I'm still a fan of the movie; it will always hold a special place in the part of my heart that loves camp. However, the show got me through my teenage years, and it still resonates with me today. 

I got into the world of fanfiction right after this little social media site called Myspace imploded. I used to roleplay on Myspace as several characters in the Buffyverse, including Buffy, Kendra, Anya, Darla, and Cordelia. I also had several original characters. Eventually, Myspace started purging accounts that were considered in violation of their policy, and you guessed it, RPG accounts were the first to go. I migrated over to LiveJournal but learned the platform was too hard to continue roleplaying on. That's how I discovered fanfiction. I started reading fanfiction and thought, "Wait, I can write a whole story by myself without having to wait for someone to comment back to me to continue the story!" And that's how I got into fanfiction. In 2010 I went on a nine-year hiatus from fanfiction and the fandom, and returned in 2019 when the writing bug bit me again, and the rest is history. 

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

I find inspiration for my stories from all kinds of things. Sometimes, I might hear a song that reminds me of a character. Other times, I'll watch a movie, and the plot seems interesting enough to put my own spin on it. I definitely find inspiration from books and literature. Conversations with other people who are part of the fandom might inspire me as well. I've even had dreams that have inspired my stories. 

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

My favorite character to write hands down is Buffy. However, lately, Harmony has had quite a few cameos in my fics, and she is a hoot to write. 

I think I like writing Buffy the most because I grew up with her. We were in high school at the same time. We were freshmen in college together. Buffy feels like someone I've known my whole life, and I think I have a decent handle on her character, which makes her fun to write.

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

It's hard to choose, but I'd say the story I am most proud of right now is A Marriage Of Inconvenience. It's a Spuffy Regency Romance, and it is only my second all-human fic (I took down my unfinished WIP of the other AH). Not only is it all human, it's historical fiction, so I had to do a bit of research for it and strike a balance between authenticity and accessibility. I also finished that story in about 20 days, writing and posting a chapter a day. That was a huge first for me. 

The story that has been the hardest to write is my Chosen One series. I am basically rewriting the Buffyverse starting pre-series. In this fic, I've brought Buffy into the 2010s. Reimagining the Buffyverse and striking a balance between familiarity and freshness is a challenge. I often find myself getting discouraged while writing it, but I will continue to keep pushing until this story is complete. 

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

I definitely would have changed the circumstances around the reason Spike wanted to get his soul. I hate that episode that I will not name. I think it could have been done differently without the violence. I also think it was out of character. 

I would also change the ending of the series and not have Spike "die" in "Chosen." He could have gotten out of that cave. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it! 

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And another congrats to our commenter of the month: Double Dutchess

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

I never caught the show when it was on TV, but in 2008 a friend recommended it to me (he'd been rewatching the episodes with his wife). That year I found myself at home with what I then thought was a burnout, and I remembered the recommendation. I asked the Season 1 DVD set for my birthday, and the rest is history. I enjoyed the first season, and after that I got all the DVD sets one by one. I was working only half days at the time, and I could afford the time to watch around 3 episodes a day -- the closest to binge watching anything I've ever come! After finishing Buffy I went on to watching Angel, and then reading the comics as I was hungry for more content. I didn't really get into Buffy Season 8, but I loved After the Fall a.k.a. Angel Season 6. And, in my search for more Buffyverse content online I inevitably came across fanfic. I devoured the stories on All About Spike, but also on writers' own websites, LJ etc. I still happily re-read the classic stories I discovered then, mixed with the new stories that get published every day. It's so great that people are still producing lots of new fannish content for a 25+ years old show to this day!

What motivates you to leave comments?

I like to show appreciation for the people who put in the time and effort to create the content I just consumed for free. As a creator myself, I know how nice it is to hear from people who enjoyed the things you made. 

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?

I don't write, but I like to make fan art, such as banners, and fanvids. With vids you can also tell a story, just not through writing but by combining video images with words from others (song lyrics). Or just by combining video images in  new ways, in case of an instrumental piece. I'm glad that SAD opened up the possibility for artists to post their work as well, and I'm very slowly bringing over the things I've made over the years (at least the Spuffy-oriented portion of my creations). I try to make banners for whatever I'm posting, which means I still get the fun of making something new in the process of posting something old. 

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

Oh, I was a total lurker for several years. It wasn't until I became active in fandom communities such as BuffyTube and LiveJournal, where people actually created things in addition to just discussing the shows, that the thought of leaving comments even occurred to me. This also coincided with getting active as a creator myself. This taught me the joy of being on the receiving side of comments, and that was also a motivation to leave my own, as I mentioned in answer to one of the previous questions.

Nowadays I try to leave comments on everything I read, at least on websites where I have an account. That said, I do still lurk a lot (in the more general sense) in several fannish spaces. This is because I can't handle being active in too many places at the same time, but I'm still curious about what's going on elsewhere! Fortunately, being a Sunnydale Herald editor fits in perfectly with these lurker tendencies :-)

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

It's nice, because it makes commenting feel more interactive and less like you're leaving a review. That said, it's no problem at all if there is no reply. I don't tend to remember exactly what I commented on anyway, so I usually don't even notice it if the creator doesn't reply, and it comes as a nice surprise if they do.

Thank you both and again and many congrats! You guys deserve it!
Chelle, Dusty, Get It Done, and Grief Counseling