Guest post written by Foes & Con author Georgia Bowers
Georgia Bowers lives in Bedford, where beds were invented. More comfortable with fictional characters than real people, she pledged her allegiance to Melvil Dewey (the Fairy Godfather of librarians) so she could hang out with library books exclusively. Equal to her passion for books is her love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is the same height as David Boreanaz. Georgia co-hosts the Delete My Browser History podcast with Cynthia Murphy where they chat with authors about warm and fuzzy topics such as leeches, death by escalator, and taxidermy. A winner of the SCBWI Undiscovered Voices competition and the Slushpile Challenge, Georgia has also achieved her width and length swimming certificates, and can deadlift 100kg. No-handed.
About Foes & Con: Set in the convention world of the fictional show Vampire Falls, this is a story that celebrates the inclusivity of conventions, the passion of fandoms and meeting friends for life. Released June 4th 2026.
Even though Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired last century, I still think to myself WWBD on a daily basis (and that’s just one of the reasons I’m devastated we won’t get to see what her red power suit was about in the reboot pilot, RIP). Buffy may have lived on a Hellmouth, lost her virginity to a vampire and had a ball of energy for a sibling, but we could all relate to her as she struggled through life in Sunnydale.
Perils of dating
He’s great, but he goes evil when he gets a happy. He’s a beefcake, but has an off-peak membership for the local vampire brothel. I like him, but he has the same accent as my father figure. There are usually a few duds before we meet the one. Poor Buffy fell in love with a demon who tried to kill her and end the world. We’ve all been there, Buff. And Riley Finn. He was polite, had a steady job with the government, and no issues with direct sunlight. But he knew he was the rebound guy, and he, too, became a monster. I just don’t have the word count to analyse Spuffy, but all Buffy’s experiences made us feel better for falling for someone who changed overnight or swiping right just for some killer abs and razor-sharp cheekbones.
Monotony of life
We too can feel like we’re going through the motions. Another Zoom call? Must be Tuesday. Sometimes the five day nine to five can feel like trying to capture an ancient mummy hand in a magical time loop.
People can change
We’ve all had close friendships that have suddenly imploded. Should we give people a second chance even though they went rogue and joined the big bad’s side/tried to frame us for murder/swapped bodies with us, slept with our boyfriend and nearly got us incarcerated? Yes, because everyone deserves to redeem themselves to play a pivotal role in the fight at the end of the world, and also make a guest appearance in the spinoff show. It’s all five by five, B…uffy.
Approach technology with caution
What we wouldn’t give to hang out at the Sunnydale High library all day, even if it doesn’t stock the Off-Campus series. Giles was right to choose his books over all else. We saw Willow catfished by Moloch the Corruptor online, so we approached internet dating with extreme caution. And AI girlfriends? They won’t put marzipan in our pie plate, bingo, we can assure you of that. The Scoobies made fun of Giles’s book clutching but the getting of knowledge should be tangible and smelly. We would definitely opt for a nice ogre over a computer right now.
Note– we’ll make an exception for the mighty floppy disk, without which the Ritual of Restoration would never have been found. Imagine if Jenny had saved it to her iCloud.
Uni isn’t for everyone
If you don’t look back on those three years with a heart full of fond memories, you probably feel like you did something wrong. But our hero didn’t settle in, either. The rest of the Scoobs eased right into UC Sunnydale life, but Buffy’s only new friend, Pedro Pascal, was turned into a vampire, and she struggled with her super-fun demon roommate. Why didn’t some of us flourish at university? Because it’s not a perfect fit for everyone. Not even a slayer.
People make mistakes
Another Sunnydale life lesson was that sometimes people close to you screw up. Your friends and family are only human (most of them, anyway) and they don’t always get it right. If your bestie forgets your birthday, forgive her and move on. If your mate borrowed your stylish yet affordable boots and returned them all scratched, confront her. If your friend gets a bad box dye, goes all veiny and tries to end the world, you should probably have some kind of intervention.
Family isn’t always blood
Of course, there’s a flip side to the above. The Slayerettes were more than friends, they were Buffy’s family. Some of us are lucky enough to have friends who would be beside us at every single apocalypse. People who know us better than we know ourselves are true gifts. You don’t need loads of friends to form a support system, just two or three will do, and maybe some series regulars. But don’t get too attached to some of those series regulars, which leads us to…
It’s not always a happy ending
Buffy dropping out of college. Xander standing Anya up at their wedding. Giles and Jenny. Kendra. Joyce. Tara. That bomb beanie. Because life isn’t bliss. Life is just this. A lot of us grew up on films and TV shows that made us think bad guys have pointy horns and everybody lives happily ever after, which *looks around* isn’t the case. All those happy, laugh out loud moments in Buffy were balanced with rip-your-heart-through-your-ribcage moments, just like real life. Watching Buffy struggle against life demons like grief and financial hardship as well as the horned kind prepared us for *looks around again* all this.
You are capable of anything
Hey, Buffy died twice, but she didn’t let that stop her saving the world and working a very badly paid day job (you just know the Scoobs would have launched a GoFundMe if it had been a thing back then). There are moments in life where it would be so easy to just get into our Yummy Sushi pyjamas and live in a cave (if it has cable), but anything worth doing isn’t easy. If you have your Scooby support system, class protector umbrella, and iconic oversized hoop earrings you will always defeat the Big Bad. The hardest thing in this world is to live in it, but Buffy taught us to be brave.
