elysianfieldsarchive

[elysianfieldsarchive]

Buffy and Spike have one critical thing in common: they are both caregivers at their core, often at the expense of their own feelings or wellness. Our current features examine this tendency, whether they are taking care of others or each other.

We Need to Talk by FoolForSpuffy PG-13 ✓

In The Dark With You by Geliot99 R ✓

What Love Looks Like by DeamonQueen Adult Only

Animal I Have Become by CheekyKitten NC-17 ✓

Incarnate by Sigyn NC-17 ✓

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As you know (or ICYMI), our Events Coordinator, EllieRose101, announced last week that she has stepped down from the admin team. In the course of making this decision, Ellie was kind enough to give us advanced notice, which allowed us to plan for how best to proceed.

We are beyond pleased to announce that MillennialCryBaby has joined the Elysian Fields Mod Team as Events Coordinator! MCB has been one of our stalwart behind-the-scenes champions for a long time now, creating art for site skins and our current Features on socials, as well as doing the occasional troubleshooting whenever we need someone to try to break features we’re working on before we unveil them. And extra lucky for us? Events management is her jam.

Many of you already know MCB, but just in case you don’t, here she is in her own words:

Hey everyone! 

I’m MillennialCryBaby (or MCB if you’re into the whole brevity thing), and I’m super excited to be joining the Mod team here on EF! 

I first got into Buffy by deciding on a whim to rent the first three episodes of Season One from Blockbuster (RIP) and rushing back the next morning to rent the rest of the season. I was instantly hooked. Now, 25 years later, I have what can only be described as my own Buffy shrine—an ever-growing collection complete with in-universe props, wacky 90s merch, a 6’ coffin-shaped bookshelf that sparks mild concern from visitors, and a dedicated Spuffy shelf that brings me more joy than Riley ever brought anyone. 

Outside of the internet, I’m an event planner, so I’m used to organizing chaos and coordinating vibes. I’m hoping to bring those skills to EF, just with less tent-hauling and more fic-tag-wrangling. 

You can often find me deep in a new fic, cuddling my cats, and enjoying a damn good cup of coffee. 

Please join us in giving MCB a warm welcome and try not to scare her off, please! We want to keep her.

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I don’t remember where exactly (pinterest, I guess?), but I once saw a comment saying that Buffy didn’t love Spike at the end of the show and only said “I love you” to comfort him.

And that feels so strange to me, because it completely goes against her character arc.

Buffy is afraid of opening her heart to people. Back in s4, she even talks to her mom about how it would be easier not to open up at all—just to avoid the pain.

Open your heart to someone, and he bails on you. Maybe it's easier to just not let anyone in. ("Fear Itself")

Because in the end, everyone leaves Buffy. To the people around her, she’s just a phase in their lives, not someone who stays part of it—and that hurts her deeply. So deeply that she ends up building armor around her heart and stops throwing words around carelessly.

But then something terrible happens—Joyce dies. And after going through the loss of the person dearest to her, Buffy realizes she never said those three little words to her mom.

And I loved her more than anything, and... I don't know if she knew. ("Intervention")

For her, the words “I love you” are the hardest thing to say. She forgot how to express what she really feels—and now it’s too late.

Maybe being the perfect slayer means being too hard to love at all. I already feel like I can hardly say the words. [...] Giles... I love you. Love, love, love, love, love.. ("Intervention")

And then comes the ending of s7. Buffy knows Spike is about to disappear—just like her mom did. But this time, she has the chance to speak—and she takes it.

I love you. ("Chosen")

To me, this isn’t just a moment of realizing her feelings for Spike and reconnecting with her inner fire.

It’s one of the moments she was able to open her heart again and honestly say how she feels out loud. The moment her love was stronger than the fear of what might happen if she says about it directly.

The fact that Spike didn’t believe her—that’s his reaction, shaped by his own experience throughout the show. But the fact is—now he knows how she feels. Because Buffy didn’t hint at it—she said it outright.

That’s why I don’t think it was just about comforting a dying man. Because “I love you” means way too much to Buffy for her to say it lightly.

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Yesterday, EllieRose101, who has championed EF events since 2022, announced she was stepping down as an Elysian Fields Mod following massive (but positive) life changes.

For us, this is bittersweet. Ellie helped redefine EF events and was one of the forces that led the community into a new, wonderful era. We're so happy for her, sad for us, but most of all thankful for the work she did. Elysian Fields as it exists today is thanks in no small part to her hard work and contributions.

Read her announcement here and join us in wishing her nothing but the best as she embarks on a new, exciting chapter of her life.

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We just wrapped up our second Drabblemania event, celebrating the unique ability to tell compelling stories with a limited number of words. But we love our longer stories, too. Those that keep us clicking "next chapter" and thinking "Sleep, who needs sleep when there's Spuffy to enjoy?"

Charms of the Clarion by Eurydice NC-17 ✓

Forward to Time Past by Unbridled_Brunette NC-17 ✓

Life Hard by Soulburnt NC-17 ✓

Liebestod by Iamblichus NC-17 ✓

Magic Man by Touchstoneaf Adult Only ✓

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I’m hoping you can help me track down a fic! Alt universe Riley gets Buffy pregnant with twins but abandons her. She’s on her own in LA. One night walking home spike corners her and is going to kill her but realizes she’s pregnant. He ends up helping her and living with her through the pregnancy.

This ring any bells?

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How do you get your birthday to show on your account? 👉🏻👈🏻

It's in your preferences!

Go to: https://dark-solace.org/elysian/user.php?action=editprefs

Add your birthday in and then save!

Below is mine for reference:

[elysianfieldsarchive]

Drabblemania is underway on Elysian Fields Archive, but once the month ends, we'll return to our regularly scheduled Featured Works. These are handpicked every two weeks, but our Features Mod needs help. So, Spuffy fans, what say you? Post-series? Secret baby?

Shanshu stories? Vampire!Buffy? What sort of works are you hungry for? The more suggestions, the merrier. It'll keep our Features Mod very busy, and she loves being busy.

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In 2022, our membership voted to celebrate July with alternating events, and in 2023, we launched our first Drabblemania.

We're thrilled to announce it's back, with amazing artwork provided by @scratchmeout.

What: Drabblemania

Where: Elysian Fields Archive

Who: Spuffy fans of all kinds! Authors, artists, readers, commenters, betas, stand-abouters.

When: July 1-30

Why: Because Spuffy! And you get awards if you participate. Bronze award for one drabble, Silver for full Bingo, Gold for a Bingo Board Blackout, and Platinum for the overachievers among you who complete all three boards.

How: Write a single drabble. Write a drabble series. Write a story filled with drabble chapters. Create prompt-inspired art. Comment on entries. Beta read. Make an author a banner. However you best Drabblemania.

So join us for a drabbleific July at Elysian Fields! All submissions must adhere to site rules. Visit Elysian Fields Archive for complete event guidelines or to dive into Spuffy!

A list of all prompts is also available in text form.

We hope to see you there!

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While Elysian Fields has long been a fanfic archive, we've happily ventured into other storytelling mediums over the last few years (with a much beloved nudge from @isevery0nehereverystoned whose comic, shared initially on our Discord community, served as our inaugural narrative artwork debut). Our current features celebrate the many ways there are to share Spuffy stories.

Back to Life by EverythingElse R ✓

Anything We Want by scratchmeout NC-17 ✓

It's Been Occurring To Me by acekoomboom PG ✓

She's Hell on the Old Skins by HappyWhenItRains G ✓

Those Who Hold With Fire by Dirtyaim PG-13 ✓

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Our favorite idiots certainly have their moments. The current features showcase Buffy and Spike in a variety of side-splitting shenanigans. And to the surprise of no one, things might heat up...

Stitched Up by bewildered NC-17 ✓

OUT OF CHARACTER! by Passion4Spike, Holi117 PG-13 ✓

Of Doom and Bondage by Girlytek NC-17 ✓

Let Me Love You by scratchmeout NC-17 ✓

Meow by CheekyKitten NC-17 ✓

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Hiiii sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you guys knew where I could find Imitation of a Man by darkapple? it’s a season 6 dead things fic that used to be hosted on livejournal but has since been taken down and I can’t find it anywhere. 😭

Hello!

This is a fic that a lot of people ask about. You might try our Shoutbox or, if you're a member of our Discord, the #find-a-fic channel. Some members have saved copies of work no longer widely available, and as long as the title isn't on our Do Not Distribute List (which this one isn't), you're free to ask members if they're willing to share their copies.

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As devoted fans of William the Bloody, we love us some poetry.

Summers Hands by medievalchic G ✓

A World Away by DauntlessGrace PG ✓

Haikus Illegal in Several States by thenewbuzwuzz R ✓

The (bad) Poems of William S. Pratt by Julikobold G ✓form of...

Poems Within Moments by FoolForSpuffy PG ✓

[elysianfieldsarchive]

there’s a connection; you rely on him, he relies on you

[elysianfieldsarchive]

So, things on the archive have been a bit dicey the past month as the Mods have been investigating the ongoing DDoS attack and various options available to us to mitigate both the current attack and future attacks. I’ll lead with the big thing.

Planned Archive Downtime

The archive will be down for a bit as we configure the new security settings on the back end. The downtime could be as little as a few minutes or up to 72 hours and we anticipate some people will get access sooner than others. We don’t like it, but it’s for the best, and will hopefully allow us to resume full accessibility to all members.

When Is the Site Going Offline?

Approximately 9PM EDT, May 13 (Tuesday evening). While you have a couple of days, you should start preparing immediately.

Prepare? What Do You Mean By That?

Mostly, just be forewarned that the downtime is coming. Don’t panic if you can’t access the site or receive an error message.

You might want to take the time to download any ePubs for fics you are reading or plan to read soon. Likewise, while we don’t anticipate this will impact the site’s content, it’s never a bad idea to back up important things, such as story comments.

What’s the Security Solution You’re Implementing?

A very common, highly trusted, and broadly used security solution called Cloudflare. It’s the same that AO3 implemented following their DDoS attack. We have completed troubleshooting this solution on our test site.

How Did You Troubleshoot?

Once we got Cloudflare up and running, the Mods went to the test site and tried to break it. We wanted to replicate the errors we initially experienced, like the Forbidden/Forbidden 403 error message. A solution that works for only some people isn’t a viable long-term solution.

This is an imperfect process, but we were able to post stories, comments, news items, images, emojis, and all other normal archive activity without incident, while maintaining the strictest security settings available on the back-end.

What Happens if I Still Experience an Error Once Everything Is Back Up?

All members should continue reporting any unusual errors, messages, and so forth as they occur to elysianfieldsarchive@gmail.com. 

How Do I Stay Updated While The Site Is Down?

Important updates will be made on all of EF’s active social platforms: Instagram, Bluesky, Threads, and Facebook. You may also join our Discord server. Please note that only EF members are allowed in the Discord server, and your server name must match your EF username.

Why Was EF Targeted?

No clue, and we’re not going to speculate on who is behind it or their motives. Doesn’t matter — Spuffy always walks through the fire and emerges stronger. So will we.

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Elysian Fields has been blessed with many new members over the last few months, so we thought it might be time to introduce the Mods as fellow writers/artists/creators, not just the ones trying to keep things running smoothly. Errr, as smoothly as we can.

Love's Gift by pfeifferpack NC-17 ✓

Operation: Vampyre by DarkVoid116 NC-17 ✓

Floodgates by EllieRose101 NC-17 ✓

Blip by Holly R ✓

Sending My Love from The Other Side of the Apocalypse by cawthraven NC-17 ✓

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I was wondering how you feel about people writing fanfiction of your works, there's not a lot out there but they are some fun stories inspired by your own on Ao3.

once an artist puts their art onto this timeline it begins to change and bloom and grow in unexpected ways. that is the wonderful thing about the trot of a writer or painter or director buckaroo.

fan fiction is just a part of the original art it is a flower blooming that i never knew was planted just an exciting seed that makes another flower then another until we have a garden that we are all sharing and watering together.

write all the fan fiction you want this proves love