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THIS IS THE 'AUTHOR'S NOTE' ON WATTPAD. PLEASE READ
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
(If you're reading this on Ao3, Fierra is not my real name. It's a fake name I created as a child that was a combination of fire and a girly-sounding name. Idk, but this site won't let me change my username to 1DRIA22 so...)
Hi, I'm Dria. I've been writing fanfics for a long time, but I've been incognito since 2019. I underwent many changes in my life and lost my passion for doing anything I once enjoyed. By now, all of my followers are no longer interested in my writing, but hopefully, they all come back for this fun project I've been working on since lockdown.
'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' has been my favorite coming-of-age teen drama since I was nine. When we couldn't afford cable, my father blessed me with seasons 1-2 on DVD back in 2009, and I binge-watched every episode repeatedly. It was the first "mature" TV show I've ever seen that I fell in love with. I was obsessed to the point that I grabbed a notebook and started writing my own Slayer adventures.
When my parents finally paid for cable, I would watch random episodes from seasons 1-3 on the gay channel LOGO (For some reason, they were the only ones showing reruns of Buffy. And I don't know why because Willow was technically straight in the early seasons). It wasn't until 2015, when we had Netflix that I could watch the show in full with a better understanding of the material. That time, I only got to season 5 and stopped watching the show for personal reasons. I'll explain later...
When I discovered One Direction in 2011 and started writing fanfiction about them, I eventually wrote a 1D version of Buffy with Louis as the slayer in 2013, which never got published on Wattpad or YouTube.
Fast forward to 2020, the year everything turned to shit. Everyone is jobless, getting severely ill or fearing illness, and being stuck at home for the entirety of that year—I was in a horrible place during lockdown, as I assume everyone else was too (but I've always kinda lived in a dark cloud). I desperately needed a distraction to take my mind off everything. That's when I started writing again and binge-watching my favorite TV shows like Buffy, Vampire Diaries, and Supernatural. During this time, I was also craving a good Louis Tomlinson fanfiction that didn't involve him being with one of his bandmates. I wanted to read a story with Louis and a random person, but I couldn't find anything that sparked my interest. So, as I'm re-watching Buffy and searching for a solo Louis fanfic, I suddenly remembered the fanfic I wrote in 2013 collecting dust with the rest of my old notebooks...
I dug it up, read it, cringed, and thought about how much I wanted to write a good Buffy story when I was a kid. Now that I'm old enough to do so, I want to do it right. I made sure to read all the non-canon books, study every episode, watch all the DVD commentaries, read Mark Field's 'BtVS: Myth, Metaphor, and Morality' book, and binge-watch Passion Of The Nerd's YouTube videos to fully understand the show.
Despite my excitement to get this going, I was scared that my 1D followers wouldn't be interested in reading a Buffy-inspired story. But ever since Sarah Michelle Gellar starred in 'Do Revenge' people have been getting into her filmography (finally) and discovered Buffy. I now feel relief knowing the show is gaining momentum again.
Now let me quickly explain why I stopped watching the show in 2015. As much as I love and appreciate 'BtVS' and the fact that they were so ahead of their time, I realized they weren't always ahead of the times...I picked up on some things about the show that rubbed me the wrong way, and it got to the point where I needed to take a mental break. The writers could have been more concise with certain topics, but since it was the 90s, I'll give it a pass. I am glad I waited until I was 20 to finish the entire series though because seasons 5-7 were very dark, and I don't think my 9/15-year-old selves would've been able to understand it.
Part of the reason I was thrilled to write this fanfiction is that I want to correct some things I did not enjoy about the show. I understand that the writers came from a time when mental health was taboo and grooming was overlooked, but I don't feel comfortable writing about these topics the same way they did. For example, Buffy and Angel's relationship...I went about this a lot differently in my version.
Whether you're a 1D fan or a Buffy fan (or even both), I hope you enjoy my story. I had a lot of fun writing it and it's been a huge part of my life for the past 5 years (2020-2025). I have so many books, manuscripts, notes, Word documents, etc that helped me write this story to the best of my ability. It's the best fanfiction I've ever written so please give it a chance, some love, and constructive feedback. I'm definitely going to need that.
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STORY STRUCTURE:
Since this story is inspired by a television series, I had to break it down into Arcs, Volumes, and Books.
Arcs represent seasons.
Volumes represent episodes.
Books represent stories.
- Arc 1 will have 10 volumes.
- Each volume with have 1-2 books
(plus a B-Side story, if necessary).
- Each book will have 5-10 chapters.
(Think of it as 10 books with 2 stories that are all part of 1 arc in a series)
- Each arc follows the 'Hero's Journey' structure.
- Each volume follows the '7-Point Story' structure.
- Only B1 in V7 follows the 'Fichtean Curve' structure.
- I created my own structure for V1 called 'Rebirth to Origin' that will be used again in Arc 3.
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ARC STRUCTURE:
Each arc will follow a set of themes that all fall under the 'Path to Adulthood'.
Plus, each arc will have a color scheme.
🔴 ARC 1: Responsibility & Choices
🟠 ARC 2: Ephebophilia & Grooming
🟢 ARC 3: Sexuality & Shadow-Selves
🟡 ARC 4: Identify & Individuality
🟣 ARC 5: Family & Sacrifices
⚫️ ARC 6: Depression & Redemption
(I haven't finished planning Arcs 7-10)
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VOLUME STRUCTURE:
Volume 1 is the introduction of the Slayer and the world he's been thrust into, along with easter eggs that hint at the rest of the series.
Volumes 2-6 will introduce the rest of the main characters, their inner conflicts, the "little bads", and how it all relates to the Slayer.
Volumes 7-9 will center back on the Slayer, the main antagonist, resolving the main conflict, and tying up the necessary loose ends of Arc 1.
Volumes 10 will always be the epilogue that foreshadows the next Arc.
B-Side stories are canon events that happen in between the main plot of each Arc. In other words, they are "filler/candy episodes".
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BOOK STRUCTURE:
Books under one volume are not 2-parters. They are different stories that share the same theme.
Every volume will have 2 books, but some of them will be B-Sides within another Wattpad book (not sure how I will go about this on Ao3)
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AUTHOR'S COMMENTARY:
In a separate book, I will be giving commentary on each volume to explain the plot, the metaphors, the characters, the symbolism, the small trivial things, and the inspiration I got from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'.
I can't dive deep into everything here, but you should pay close attention to most details. Nothing is meaningless in this story.
I hate when authors treat readers like they have the memory of a goldfish or the comprehension skills of a toddler. So, I won't reiterate points or overly clarify metaphors and symbols unless it's necessary for the characters.