January not only brings a brand new year of possibilities but also brand new Scoobies of the Month! We are so proud to bring you interviews with:

Our awesome January Author of the Month: ClowniestLivEver

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

One day, I decided I wanted to read Spuffy fanfic because some friends in a different server liked them. Then I started watching the show. Still haven't finished it after all this time, but I've gotten through quite a few episodes.

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

I live my life and then bunnies pop into my head. Sometimes other people have bunnies that get me thinking. Sometimes I come up with a scene or scenario I want Spuffy in and then I write that. And of course, challenges. I love challenges. Long story short, I get inspired by so, so many things, and never have enough time in the day to write all the stories I want to.

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Buffy. She's my favorite character in the entire Buffyverse. I love her personality, her way of speaking, her internal narration. I especially love writing her when she's more violent or darker. I love intense moments, and I love an intense Buffy, and most of all I love an intense villain death. But yeah, Buffy is my favorite and will probably always be my favorite to write.

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

I'm very proud of Twice Broken, Thrice Burnt. It ended up being 91k, and I was blown away by the fact I wrote that many words for one story. There aren't a lot of stories that were hard to write. There were some I needed breaks from writing due to overexposure, but there aren't any stories that have been particularly hard to do. The closest I can get is a story that I haven't crossposted on any archives yet, even though I would like to. It was my chapter for the EF Exquisite Corpse. I did have trouble writing that one due to some good old depression.

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

Oh, where do I start? Giles' character assassination for one. If you need to get him out of the story, there are better ways to do that than him abandoning his daughter figure while she's going through a deep depression. Xander and Willow facing consequences, and not just expecting Buffy to fix things. Buffy can't be expected to ignore her feelings because her friends want things to go back to "normal." Seeing Red definitely, both the infamous scene and Tara's death. Seriously, we already buried Larry, we can't bury another gay! Replacing Andrew in season 7 with Jonathan. Look, Jonathan being around in season 7 and then dying to protect Anya would've worked so much better in my opinion, especially with his character arc over the entire series being that he wants to be someone important. Have him learn from his terrible actions and sacrifice himself for someone else, letting everything culminate into one last selfless act. Am I allowed to get rid of Riley entirely? I'm just kidding, but I would've preferred him to be a lot more interesting and also face consequences instead of his bad actions being justified. Okay, sorry, got a little wordy there. For specifically Spuffy, I would give them more interactions during the season 4 era. And I'd include Spike in season 3 as the Scoobies' wet cat friend drunk out of his mind and heartbroken as he goes on a hunt for the Gem of Amara and tries to get his evil groove back. 

Thank you, Liv! 

And our wonderful Commenter of the Month is: Tessa

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

I was in high school when the show aired, I must have been around 14 years old and was a Bangel shipper through and through. When Angel left the show, poor teen-me felt devastated and I stopped watching mid-season 4 in the late 90’s and I sadly missed out on all the Spuffy. My siblings were gushing over Spike and I was NOT interested in him haha. So stubborn teen-me never gave him a chance. 

The show was a huge hit in my country and most kids my age watched it and we’d all talk about it in school. I’d print out images of Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz to decorate my school planner and I still have those old planners, it’s so much fun to see how much young me enjoyed the show. 

Late January 2022 I found out the show was available on Disney Plus and I persuaded my partner to watch it with me. He’d also seen the show when it aired and for both of us, it was nostalgia of our teenage years. This time, when Spike was introduced I immediately loved his character and his chemistry with Buffy. I love the bickering, the UST, and the complexity of the characters. 

After Chosen, I wanted and craved more and an offline friend told me she read fanfic when the show aired. I’d never heard of it before. One Google search later and I got very invested in my first long story I found over at AO3 which led me to EF and SAD. 

 What motivates you to leave comments? 

I started lurking over at EF without an account for a few months, devouring all the workplace-friendly stories and I finally decided to try NC-17. I seemed to be missing out on a LOT. I guess this is the sole reason why most of us end up with an account. 

I checked my EF profile for this interview and my first ever comment was to MaggieLaFey! With an awful misspelling of the word ‘sharing’. Joining this fandom has definitely improved my English vocabulary and grammar. 

I wanted to encourage writers and let them know how much I appreciate their love for Spuffy and how they give us the most amazing stories for free in their spare time. It’s even nostalgic to read my first comments and to find out I am now friends with those amazing authors! Yes, scratchmeout, you’re one of those first authors I left my first comments to, our friendship was meant to be. I could have never guessed these amazing friendships would happen when I first started leaving comments to anonymous people on the internet. 

So much has changed for me in the past year, I got to know the most awesome people and when I comment now, it feels like I’m hanging out with my friends cheering them on, on their Spuffy and writing journey. Of course, I still comment on stories of authors who are new or who I don’t know yet. Commenting is such an easy and fun way to connect to others in this fandom. 

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader? 

I also write! I did not plan this at all. I’d never written anything before the Sunnydale After Dark drabble event in March 2023. I remember freaking out over the pressure I put on myself of wanting to deliver something good and funny and sexy and getting so stressed. I almost gave up because of how much I was pressuring myself to write something perfect. When I let go of this, I felt free to just have fun and write what I wanted to read myself instead of trying to please others. That’s when the fun really started for me as a writer. 

Being an author myself now, I really value when people take time to leave me a comment or a like. It’s not my main motivation to write, I mostly write to make myself laugh. I fell in love with knitting Spike and his group of knitting poker demons and I can’t stop writing them. I find so much joy in writing all dialogue established post-series, bickering Spuffy. It's my happy place in this fandom. 

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

Yes, I definitely was a lurker for quite some time. I started lurking without an account in March 2022, subscribed in May 2022 and left my first comment in July that same year. 

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

I always appreciate it when an author responds to my comment but I don’t get upset when they don’t. There are so many reasons for people not being able to do so, which I understand. I just hope my comments and likes will give them encouragement as I try to point out the part of the story that spoke to me or made me laugh or cry. 

Thank you so much, Tessa! 

We hope all of you are enjoying this brand new year. Let's make 2024 the biggest YEAR OF SPUFFY yet, y'all! <3

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