5 Buffyverse Writers Who Posted Classic Fic to AO3 in 2013

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Goodbye, JustRewards.com. Farewell, spikeskat.rogue-poet.com. Au revoir, The-Sandlot.com. You still may be partially available via Wayback Machine, but I miss you in all your full-functionality.

When websites die, some excellent but not well-distributed fics die with them. Which is why I am SO EXCITED when favorite writers start to put their old stuff up on Archive of Our Own, where it will presumably gain immortality a longer life. In addition, AO3 and some other sites allow for ePub download to reading devices, something that wasn't around when the stories were originally written. Thanks to AO3, Elysian Fields, and The SpuffyRealm for keeping up with new technologies — but especially thanks to the writers who care enough to feed the fic-hungry beast*, even if they aren't active in the fandom anymore.

Here are just a few, in alphabetical order:

celesteavonne (celesteavonne): Atmospheric, plotty, inventive and character-true post-Chosen epics are the speciality of this writer. Spuffy, ensemble, and Andrew-centric work available.

dutchbuffy (aka dutchbuffy2305): This writer can do lots of things and lots of pairings, from short and funny to long and bittersweet. For now, her Spike's (Frustrating) Adventures With Santa are up on AO3 and a lot of fun. *wants moar*

kalima (aka lordshiva): A few of the best shorter fics in the Buffyverse are by this author. They might be funny Spander, or heartbreaking Spuffy, but they are always worth a read.

mintwitch (mintwitch): An author with a wide range of Buffyverse stories, only a couple of which are on AO3. Check out her wonderful story about Spike's date to Xander's wedding, Bit Parts, and ask yourself if you wouldn't like some more, please.

rowan (aka littlerhymes): This author specializes in short stories, but don't expect your heart and mind to be the same after reading one.

Comment and encourage them to put ALL their stuff up there!

Special bonus:
sadbhyl (aka mydeira) finished putting everything on AO3 this year, as far as I can tell. sadbhyl wins!

UPDATE! Hot off the presses!
I've just been informed that you can now find on AO3 just about all of the stories that were on the late, lamented spikeskat.rogue-poet.com, including the much requested Lost In Time! Here's the link: seductivembrace on AO3. Whew! That's a relief!

Extra special bonus for classic Spuffy writers who are paralyzed with how much effort it would be to repost:
You only need to give permission to Elysian Field's adorable mod Susan (sjp9920 on LJ) and she will post for you! That's why all of Herself's (herself_nyc_fic) Spuffy fic is on EF now! What's stopping you?

*The fic-hungry beast is me. And you. Admit it.

Comments

[chasingdemons.livejournal.com]

So gratifying to know all this work is still available. This is a great list!

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Every time I get down about what's not out there anymore, I get cheered up by what is!

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

It is so sad when websites pass away...


Gabrielle

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Yes. Then I get mad. Don't they know that they are taking away MY FIC!???!?!?!!!! Give it back! *pant, pant* Then I cry. Bitter, bitter tears. Then I find something that got archived and all is rainbows...until the next time.

[yourlibrarian]

Which is why I am SO EXCITED when favorite writers start to put their old stuff up on Archive of Our Own, where it will presumably gain immortality a longer life.

Amen to that. The amount of fic and archives that have disappeared is truly sad to contemplate. And so, so true about having a one-click download, especially now when so many people are reading on other devices or on-the-go.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Librarians everywhere weep. But all is not lost! Just some. :(

[jacobs-muse.livejournal.com]

Huh, Spike's Kat's site was still up some time in 2013. Must have let it lapse recently.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Yep. I've tried to contact her, as have others, but so far no response. That and Just Rewards are recent losses.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

She just peeked in to say that she put her stuff up on AO3 last month! Hurrah!

http://archiveofourown.org/users/seductivembrace/pseuds/seductivembrace

[ladycallie.livejournal.com]

An excellence Top 5! Thank you for sharing!

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Sure! Even the Wayback links are better than nothing, I think.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

A good reminder of things we may be losing. Last time I checked, All About Spike was still operational, but it was a while ago. But you're right, so many places are already gone. *sigh*

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Don't even say it! I talked to the mod/owner of All About Spike at Writercon 2009, and she seemed surprised at how much interest there still was in the site, but said she didn't plan to let it die. That was awhile ago, though. I wish there was a mechanism for people who are thinking of letting sites go to pass them on to interested parties. Because LOTS of people are still interested.

[ladypeyton.livejournal.com]

All About Spike was there last week.

I was on the Just Rewards site when it went down. It was traumatizing. :(

Thanks for this post. There are a couple authors I haven't read in years and will enjoy catching up with.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Don't suggest the demise of All About Spike. It makes me itchy. :( I hope the mod/owner knows that there are people out there willing to take over, if she's done with it.

Just Rewards is a sad, sad loss. A whole archive of nothing but good stuff? Irreplaceable.

[shapinglight]

Wonderful news.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Well, some of it (the closures) is not so great, but I try to look on the bright side!

[rahirah]

I admit I cheered when I saw some of those old stories coming over the Herald's AO3 feed. :)

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

It's kind of giddy-making, when somebody who you haven't heard from in ages pops up with a gift like that! There ought to be a medal or something.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I've heard several people say that they don't get nearly the same amount of traffic for their fics on AO3 as ff.net, but I prefer to read fics at AO3, so kudos to you for pimping the site! Part of it is admittedly because I have an account there (from ten years ago when I wrote for Moulin Rouge fandom) and thus I tend to associate ff.net with a few gems buried in a ton of dross, whereas most of my favorite authors in this fandom post to Ao3 as well as their journals. But I also love the clean, easily readable graphic layout, the ability to group fics together by fandom, etc.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Yes, AO3 is much prettier and more functional. I'm always a bit suspicious of ff.net, because a) there is a lot of dross over there, and b) they've changed their rules and regs and deleted author's works without any prior notification. That last one is pretty much unforgivable, in my opinion. I mean, I want things to stay up, so the archive taking them down for their own arbitrary reasons is counter to my wishes. And that's what's important, right?

Seriously, ff.net has periodically decided to take down all things deemed "inappropriate" (by whom, I'd like to know) including stories with "inappropriate words in the title or summary". This includes the word "bitch" which meant some awesome non-explicit fics about Faith were removed without warning. It reminds me of when AOL decided to ban the word "breast" and all the breast cancer groups got wiped out with the stroke of a key. Fuck. Them.

[lynnalso.livejournal.com]

Thank you SO much for posting this - these are all good reads.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed these! Anything we can do to encourage the maintenance and retention of ALL THE FIC is for the good of all.

[sjp9920.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the mention in the extra special bonus :). Yes, we will definitely load classic fics on EF on behalf of the author as long as we get permission, so any authors out there, just let me know if you're interested. Feel free to pass this message on to authors of fics you'd like added to EF as well. You can reach me at the site email: ssolace at gmail.com.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

As I think I've mentioned before, you are a doll! A kickass, world-saving doll! A million thanks for all your efforts.

[snickfic]

Oh man, Just Rewards is dead? I was just thinking about it the other day. When it disappeared briefly a couple of years ago, I went in after and saved the stuff I really cared about, but that was a dozen or two dozen things.

Woe.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

It's still there via Wayback, but it's wonky. *cries*

[cordykitten]

You still may be partially available via Wayback Machine, but I miss you in all your full-functionality. I hear you *sigh*

I was collecting stories from The Sandlot and then it was gone. The Yahoo Groups are still there (BA Gutter at last) but it's a pain to collect stories from there. As for the EF + TSR they have the age restrict and the WBM can't go in there to collect data. That's what I think it is that there weren't any storries last time I've checked (been some time).

I'm glad that the stories come back to archives like AO3. When the personal websites expire or archives are lost, so are the stories. (Or LJs getting FO.) That's so sad.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Oooooo. Yahoo Groups predates my fandom involvement, but if you have a link, that'd be cool!

I'm not sure what the WBM is, but EF & TSR allow for 1-click ePub download now. AO3 has multiple formats, but I'm not sure that EF or TSR do.

Just got the good news that "Lost in Time" and other stories by the same author are on AO3 as of last month:

http://archiveofourown.org/users/seductivembrace/pseuds/seductivembrace

Victory!

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

I've just started celesteavonne's Wishes and ... Wow!