You guys are already killing this new event! LOVING all the fantastical places you guys are taking us! Wonderful, y'all! 

First up, our Author of the Month: NautiBitz

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

I randomly caught the Season 1 finale when it first aired, and was immediately hooked—but I didn't go completely feral for it until Spike's dream about Buffy in S5. Something about a bad boy who falls for the good girl and hates her and himself for it? And she's like, Ew, I'd never, let's banter and grapple flirtatiously instead? Yes, please.

When the finale of S5 cut out my heart and tossed it into a dimensional portal, I thought, "Maybe there's fanfic where that doesn't happen, and instead they have crazy sex and fall in love." And yes, yes there was. 😁 When there was nothing left to read, I wrote my own. ("In Heat", which is still the most fun I've ever had writing anything.) After I posted that, the fandom welcomed me with open arms and I never looked back.

Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

I was mainly inspired by the show and how I wanted to fix it, or how much I wanted it to be NC17. In other words, I tried to shoehorn Spuffy smut into every timeline.

That, and dreams. I dreamt a lot about those two.

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

I love writing almost all of them, but my favorite has always been Spike. I love the cadence of his speech; it feels like music on the page. Plus he's such a layered character, you can take him in just about any direction: Lovesick Fool, Cocksure Enemy, Hilarious Pot-stirrer… so many Spikes to choose from.

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

I'm most proud of "Don't Stop", because it's just so goddamn GOOD. 😎🤠 It's vivid, true to voice and character, and every beat hits right. And, for the first time, I saw fight scenes like a choreographed dance and magically translated that to paper. I think it shows how much I learned after nearly a decade of consistent writing, but it also feels like a fluke. It all came too easily, so there must be a catch. 😅

"Heart Don't Lie" was a struggle. I'm not a big plot spinner, so it took me years to figure out where to go with it. I like how it turned out, but I also wish I'd gone in a more imaginative direction with the villain. Also I wish I'd called it Lust Bunnies, because how could I have missed that opportunity? (I called the overall series Love Bunnies, but for some reason never thought of Lust Bunnies, which is a far superior pun and I'm sad).

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

100% the AR scene in Seeing Red. I could go on about how much it didn't fit with ANYTHING we'd seen before it, and I've been apologizing about loving Spike ever since. DAMN YOU NOXONNN ::feeble fist shake::

As a whole, Season 6 broke my heart. I know a lot of fans loved the dark drama, and I get that, Spike and Buffy's story was moving and complex, but that wasn't *my* Buffy. For 5 years, she was a sunbeam in the shadows… and then she was a husk. The show I fell in love with was full of hope and joy and optimism. Yes, there was heartbreak, yes there was death and horror and major PTSD, but there was an innocence that was completely lost after S5, and most of my fic is an attempt at getting that back. And at getting Spike and Buffy naked and horny. These things are not mutually exclusive. 😇

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Our commenter of the month is Gia and she had this to say: 

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

When I got into the show it was when it came out back in the late 90s but then I stopped watching it after Angel left.  Then one day I got caught in watching it a couple years ago and instantly picked up where I left off.  After giving it whirl watching it, after 5th season I fell in love with Spike.  After the watching the painful ending to this show and the disappointment after watching the end of Angel I felt lost.  Then I found all the BtVS comics but was once again felt disappointed because of how things were left between these 2 characters.  I felt like I needed more.  Luckily one day I came across someone's page on IG and I was on cloud 9.  I go through stories so fast I can't stop.

What motivates you to leave comments?

If it makes an emotional impact, funny or profound, I let the author know about it.  Otherwise I'll just like on it because I just wanna continue reading.

Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?

I'm more of a reader.  I used to write poems when I was a kid but stopped. 

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

I commented on some but mostly like on fics now.

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

It helps to know they received the compliment I give in the comments but I'm so wrapped up in moving on to other fics I don't go back to check on them. 

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Thank you, Gia and Nautibitz for every wonderful thing you bring to the site. We appreciate you (and you and you and you) so much! Thanks for helping Sunnydale After Dark continue to be everything we hoped it would be.

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