We decided we wanted to do something extra special with Scoobies of the Month! One of the things we loved that is somewhat lost about fandom are the stories that members tell about how they came to love BtVS and in our case, Spike and Buffy. So, we thought that one way to add to the history of fandom is to have our Scoobies of the Month do an interview about their history in fandom! Eventually, these will be archived here like the stories and art and comments from our community, but for now, until we have the space figured out, they will be in the Sunnydale Press! 

So, without further ado, here are some words from teragramm and Slaymesoftly, Sunnydale After Dark's first Scoobies of the Month! 

August 2022 Commenter of the Month, teragramm:

How did you come to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

It was after 9/11 in 2001.  Everyone was watching "comfort TV" (Friends).  I wanted to watch a girl kick the bad guy's butt.  So between the first run shows on UPN and reruns on FX, I caught up pretty quickly.  

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

I'm not sure it was a conscious decision. I think I found fanfiction looking for show spoilers and just fell down the fandom rabbit hole. I remember somehow finding Livejournal and all the authors on LJ and the rest is history.

Why do you love Spike and Buffy?

First of all, I don't think I have ever seen a couple on TV with more raw sex appeal.  Aside from that, it's the little thing that always got to me.  How they fought side by side like a well-choreographed dance, how he would throw her a stake (or her throw one to him). How he never spoke to her like she was a child and the unspoken language between them, how one glance said so much.

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

Your comments don't have to be long or even profound. Just speak from your heart, and maybe mention a part of the story that touched you or tickled you. Try to say something besides "more please".   Remember all positive comments are welcome.

August 2022 Author of the Month, Slaymesoftly:

How did you come to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

I've always loved vampires and always gave any new show involving them a try. Didn't see the movie, but after I read some glowing reviews about the show (witty, fun, etc), I wanted to see it. First few years I had to catch it if and when I could as we didn't have much in the way of TV and I was dependent upon being somewhere I could see it. But I saw enough to know I wanted to watch more of it. As soon as we got satellite TV reception, I began watching in real-time as well as playing catch-up for the first few seasons to fill in the gaps. Because, obviously, I was hooked immediately. Not, of course, because of the vampires, but because of the wonderful writing and acting. Spike's arrival in season II was the icing on the cake.

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

Oh wow... I discovered fanfic about the show (something I had no idea even existed until I went searching for info about Spike and the actor who played him) pretty early on and began reading everything I could. And read and read and read. By the time season six rolled around, I'd read mind-bogglingly good fan fic (basically lived at All About Spike for a very long time.) as well as some mind-bogglingly bad other places. I felt a crying need to "fix" season VI, and scribbled out a short fic in which Spike tried to leave Buffy. Turned out he wasn't very good at it, and she didn't want him to go, so....   It was pretty awful, and I had to work at it for a long time in order to make it actually work as a story (at first it read more like a screenplay for an episode than a story meant to be read). I also learned that, as much as I thought I was going to be writing about Spike, I spent more time in Buffy's pov. It was interesting, and I've no idea now how long I fiddled with it until it felt remotely like something I might have read on a fanfic site.  I'd been reading at Innamorti - a very small archive with a mix of very, very good (Lizerrbeathan, for instance) and some more pedestrian stories. I thought I'd send it to the owner and ask her if it seemed like an actual fic that someone might read. She was very sweet and said if I got a beta, she'd be happy to archive it. By that time, I'd actually written quite a few more short fics set in season VI (determined to "fix" it!), so after I got a quick reminder of the importance of proofreading, and some reminders of punctuation and grammar rules that I should have remembered from 8th grade English, I resubmitted it.  I really had only started out writing for myself to make things work out better for Buffy and Spike, but finding out others would actually read what I wrote, I ventured to post a few more on there, and suddenly, presto! I was a fanfiction author! Once I'd begun, the ideas just flowed and instead of spending my down time at work reading, I was spending it scribbling in a school spiral notebook. It's been downhill from there!

Why do you love Spike and Buffy?

Well, Spike.... he just intrigued and attracted me.  Vampire freak, remember?  That attraction is what brought me in to begin with, and it just grew as his character added layers and changed.  And Buffy was just so awesome. Quippy, perky, and capable of kicking butt. My kind of girl. LOL  TBH, as far as her romantic life goes in canon, I was on her side wherever she was in it on the screen. If she loved Angel, I wanted her to have Angel, if Riley seemed like a good fit, I wanted her to have Riley.  But, at the same time, I was still loving Spike, and reading so much fic about the two of them... Yeah. They were perfect together. By the time Spike fell in love with Buffy in the show, I was already there from having read so much fanfic and having settled on that pairing being my primary reason for reading.

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

My personal favorites? TBH, it changes all the time. LOL  Some of my favs were because they were fun to write, some because I set myself a challenge to write a particular theme or style and feel like I managed it, and some just because I like what I did with the two characters, or with all the characters. Um, if I have to pick three.... Sunshine and Shadows, What if I Loved You?, and To Save a Lady.  Ask me tomorrow, and it could be three totally different ones. LOL  Or, ask me specifically which are my favorite sexy stories, or my favorite relationship stories, or my favorite angsty stories, or..... Yeah. They're all flawed and they're all my babies. Some are just babier than others. :)

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

LOL Have a beta. And be realistic about your own skills. If you think you need a reminder about the rules of English grammar, look for someone who knows them (who may not be your best friend, just FYI). If you aren't sure about your plot idea, run it by a couple of people and see what they think (friends are fine there).  But, mostly? Just start writing. It might take a while to find your comfort zone, but it can't happen unless you just do it. If you've got an idea you like, start putting it onto paper. The more you write, the more you will find yourself enjoying it, and the easier it will become.

Hello dear members!  

Based on everyone's extremely helpful feedback, our friendly neighborhood vengeance demon, D'Hoffryn, has been hard at work behind the scenes to make this archive better and better on the daily.  

Here are some things he's been up to in July:

• Every story now has a button to share it to Tumblr or Twitter
• Co-authors can now be selected from mobile devices
• Co-authors also appear together in the Top Lists
• The Donation page is now functioning

And the biggest addition is that the commenting feature has received a major upgrade! The previous commenting system was clunky and it was easy to lose entire comment threads but difficult to respond to responses. Even typing such a sentence makes me feel icky and gross.

The new commenting system is a more modern thread-like system. Authors and commenters can now reply to ANY comment. All of your own comments can be edited and deleted as necessary. If you do delete a comment that has responses, though, keep in mind that all those responses will be deleted as well.

We are hoping this new comment functionality helps facilitate conversation and grow community connection. Now, if someone comments on a chapter with something brilliant that you hadn't thought of, you can join in and discuss!  

Authors, the "unresponded comments" in the Manage Comments section of your profile will only keep track of the initial comment made on the story itself, not all replies. The main story comment count, though, will count and track every comment, including the replies.

If you have any questions or encounter any errors or difficulties with the new commenting feature, please let us know! You will get the quickest response by going directly to the D'Hoffryn Support channel on Discord, but please feel free to comment on this post or use the contact us page.

Please remember as always, to be kind and courteous with your commenting. Let us all lift each other up and have fun doing it!

Happy commenting! 

Week 1 is in the books!

Sunnydale After Dark officially has:

• 231 Members
• 345 Comments
• 393 Stories
• 7,013,051 Words

It's only been a week, y'all! This is pretty amazing! 

We want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to the site so far. Thank you to our beta users who leaned in with testing out the site AND our new members who are using it regularly. We really appreciate everyone who has alerted us to issues, errors, and problems with the site so we can continue to make this place flourish.

Our techromancer, the great and almighty D'Hoffryn, is still tweaking and adjusting the site based on everyone's feedback. You can always get in touch with him via the "D'Hoffryn support" channel of our Discord! Feel free to contact any of the admin team with concerns as well. We may not be as helpful with the tech thingies, but we do at least know a guy. And knowing a guy is half the battle. 90% even!

Thank you again, so much, for helping us make Sunnydale After Dark the best experience possible! It's been a thrill for us all to watch this place grow and develop its own wacky and wonderful personality thanks to all of you. Cheers and here's to many more weeks of fun! 

We want to especially thank every new community member of Sunnydale After Dark who helps us grow this site from the very beginning! That’s why we’re hosting The Grand Opening event. Everyone who participates in this event will earn a sparkly, shiny, sexy new Founding Member award in their profile. How do you get one of your very own you say?! Two ways:

 Post a fic! Make sure you check the box during Add Story that says “The Grand Opening.” If you post more than one fic this month, please only mark one for the event.

 Make 15 comments of 10 words or more between now and the end of the event on July 24.

Thank you for helping us build this archive. Your stories and your comments are what will make this fresh community the hopping, fabulous place we know it will be!

Much love,