Happy October, everyone! Are your Halloween decorations up?
We are thrilled at the amazing job you all did with Legend Has It and we're just as delighted to bring you the October Scooby of the Month Interviews.
First up, we have our Author of the Month: Rea
Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.
How did I get into Buffy? Honestly, I don’t really remember. The show started airing in the UK when I was 10. I remember watching it on BBC2 on Thursday evenings after The Simpsons (I think). I was sold even then. Then I moved to France and my interest in Buffy hit a hiatus because 1) it was dubbed into French there (which, not a fan), and 2) it aired stupid late. Some years later I got the DVD boxset of S4 and that just kickstarted it all again. I had S1-4 on DVD, 5 and 6 on VHS, and I watched them all repeatedly. Then I left home, before S7 was available, and I never watched it. I started rewatches multiple times over the years, usually getting to S3 or S4. It wasn’t until late 2021 that I decided I was going to watch the whole series through. So I did. And I was left bereft at the end of S7. I mean, I already knew some stuff about the future of the characters as presented in Angel or the comics, but it was still my first experience living these moments with the characters. Afterwards, I didn’t just want more, I needed more. I tried to watch AtS. I couldn’t. It ended up feeling like a chore and each time I was more and more reluctant to turn on the TV. It didn’t take me long after that to find fanfic. I binged a whole lot of fanfic over a few months, and yet I know there are so many great stories I’ve not yet read.
Where do you find inspiration for your stories?
Sometimes it’s an image, sometimes a song, sometimes it’s something someone said in passing. Occasionally, I read the challenges; I’ve found that I tend to vibe with the vague ones more than the ones that provide a lot of context. Sometimes the kernel of an idea will just come to me. Usually, I don’t know where the original idea is going to take me. Talking to someone (👀😘) about the kernel usually helps me to orient myself and get a clearer idea of the rest of the story.
Who is your favorite character to write and why?
Probably grouchy Spike cuz I can totally vibe with him and he’s a lot of fun! Also, perhaps surprisingly, depressed Buffy. I find her easier to connect with than young, peppy Buffy.
Which story of yours are you most proud of and which was the hardest to write?
Most proud of? Whenever you ask me this, it’ll probably be the last one I worked on. So, currently, that would be Catch My Fall. It’s set in the Iron Age, and I had a lot of fun researching that period to try to keep things as close to accurate as I could. I also pushed my own boundaries with it and just generally had a blast writing it (once I’d figured out what, exactly, it was that I was writing).
Hardest to write? I’m gonna go with Come Hell or High Water. I’ve only posted two chapters so far, but I’m currently working on chapter 10. There’s this big melting pot of historical accuracy and cultural accuracy that I’m trying to deal with as delicately as I can. The story takes place during a historical event that most of us probably still remember well. And so there is a lot of research going into this: documentary after documentary; article after article. And then sometimes the characters go on strike and won’t help me figure out what they’re doing or how they’ll react to certain events, and I just feel like I’m pulling teeth. But I am steadily adding to my first draft, which I’m taking as a win.
As a writer, what would you have changed on the show and why?
I’m going to go with the overarching plot of S4. They had a really cool plot that they started with, and then they didn’t really look at any of the hard questions, changed the big bad (in a way that didn’t work, unlike in S2, mostly because Adam, while he had potential, just wasn’t fleshed out enough), and had too many filler episodes in the second half of the season that took attention away from the murderous human-demon-robot-hybrid thing that was loose in Sunnydale. There were so many opportunities to look at what the Initiative was doing and the moral greyness of how they were treating the demons, and I feel like the writers shied away from really addressing the parallels with certain historical events that they wrote into the story. Luckily for us, plenty of talented fanfic authors have addressed this in a variety of ways.
Thank you, Rea! We appreciate you!
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Next up we have our Commenter of the Month: Alyot
Tell us how you got into Buffy the show and Buffy fanfic.
I remember watching Buffy as a kid. My brother had an afterschool club on Thursdays and I would be left home alone for that time, during which they showed Buffy on BBC. I absolutely loved it even then, although I think I stopped watching around Season 5 as I didn't remember any of the stuff about Dark Willow or the Potentials when I came back to rewatch as an adult. I rewatched in 2021 when the show was on a free UK streaming service and I was Spuffy from Becoming. I blazed through the show in record speed, in part due to my crazy obsessive pregnancy hormones which amplified my desperation to see more Spuffy on-screen, and when I finished I came straight to fanfic. I hadn't and still haven't engaged in any other fic from other fandoms, so I didn't realised just how spoilt you are as a Buffy –and especially Spuffy – fic reader until later.
What motivates you to leave comments?
I'm motivated by sharing joy and wanting to feel like I'm a part of group of people all united by something they love. I like the conversational and community aspect to SAD in particular. I love telling my internet pals when I've really enjoyed they've put effort into creating!
Do you also write or are you strictly a reader?
I do write yes, but this definitely feels more experimental as I don't have a great deal of experience with creative writing! I'm probably a reader first and foremost and often get distracted from writing my own fics because I'm reading someone else's!
Were you a lurker before you started leaving comments or did you comment right away?
I wasn't lurking, I was just standing about. It's a whole different vibe. Ahem, sorry that was obvious of me.
How important is it to receive a reply from the writer when you leave a comment?
I love getting replies! I just really enjoy being able to geek out together about our shared love of these two soppy heart smashers. I love replies and authors notes that let me know a bit about what the author was thinking when they wrote a scene, what they enjoyed about it etc. But it's an added bonus for me, I understand everyone has busy lives with other stuff going on and so I don't expect it either.
Thank you, Alyot! We are so grateful to have you both here!
And that's a wrap!
Happy Halloween in advance!
Chelle, Dusty, GetItDone, and GriefCounseling
--Chelle on 10/05/24 04:42 pm 4 Comments
Rea, my hat is off to anyone who researches history for their fic. I avoid time travel history writing stories because I just cannot! You should definitely be proud of all the work you're putting in! And I agree there's a lot of MORE that could come from S4. There was definite potential (lowercase) there.
Alyot, HMMM my Spuffy obsession kicked into gear during my pregnancy as well. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?! I find it wild that you think of your writing as experimental. I mean I guess it all is, but you're so good at it! AND you're excellent at the comments. Obviously. It's why we're here. So thank you for your awesome commenting!
Oh my goodness, Rea! The fact that you do literal actual research for your fics is so commendable. I don't know that I'd ever run with an idea that required me to do all that supplementary work, so MAJOR props to you for being willing to! And I really love the way you described the characters going on strike sometimes, making writing them feel like pulling teeth. I'd never thought of it like that, but I can completely relate to that feeling. I can also completely relate to you not really remembering how you started getting into Buffy. I wish I did, but I just don't Anyway, I'm glad that you did, and that you're here with us at SAD
Alyot--you're so sweet! I love your take on commenting, and how you just wanna make sure your internet friends know you appreciate their effort. You leave really amazing comments. Anyone who receives one is very lucky! And we're all lucky to be able to read your fics! You know I love your writing, so I'm very glad you made the jump from pure lurker (stand about-er?) to reader to writer. Can't wait to read more of your work!
Rea, I agree, S4 had some great episodes, but it did feel disjointed and like they could have spent more time developing the Initiative. We got so many great Spike moments and some killer Spuffy scenes though, and I will never be mad at that!
Alyot, I love have that back and forth in comments as well. It's so fun to find out what people are thinking when they are reading or writing a work. It gives so much extra insight and it's such a great way to develop fandom relationships.
Congrats to you both!
Well done to Rea for Author of the Month - I voted for you, hehe. You definitely should be proud of Catch my Fall, what an epic story.
It sounds like we have pretty parallel introductions to BTVS watching on the BBC on Thursday evenings. It was after the Simpsons, you're right!! Haha. Did you also watch Neighbours before that, and CBBC Newsround before that?! Honestly, what a bumper run of terrestrial TV programmes.
I remember actually hiding behind the sofa in Reptile Boy, I was so wee and scared!