Sooo, I know this is probably a silly question but I've never known; What exactly is 'Spark'? Why is it different from Dokuga?

Good question, I myself have wondered the same. I think that it was like the predecessor of Dokuga or maybe a sister website?

Just my guess. I never thought to ask.

A single spark was the original Kagome and Sesshoumaru fan fiction site that was around for years. When it closed down a few years ago, it was integrated into Dokuga so all of the stories could still be accessed.

I believe there are still a lot of stories there that were never posted on Dokuga as well since some of the authors are no longer doing fan fiction. A single spark was not only a fan fiction site, but it also had its own awards. Dokuga was originally an awards group on yahoo I believe and when it seemed A single spark was shutting down, Dokuga stepped in to continue carrying the torch.

That's a great synopsis, Hairann!!

A Single Spark was created by a lovely lady named ~Winter~ - and I want to make sure we all remember that, because it was ~Winter's~ inspiration and creation that spurred everything that came after!! If not for ~Winter~ there would never have been a Dokuga.

After running A Single Spark for many years, ~Winter~ needed some help and some respite... so she passed the reins along to another. Things sailed along smoothly for another few years, but then the site ran into trouble. The hosting company was bad, the site needed donations, and things really didn't run very well after that fiasco. ~Winter~ had pretty much turned the whole site over to the others, so there was little she could do either.

In stepped our creator, Miss Kagura. She had ideas that she felt could help make A Single Spark better, but people were not receptive. So, in her usual fashion, Miss K just decided to create her OWN Sess/Kag site and see where it went. And, voila!! Dokuga was born!

A Single Spark limped along for a few months, but it was clear that the site needed some major help. ~Winter~ regained control of the site and decided, for personal reasons, to close it. Rather than lose that incredible archive of classic Sess/Kag fanfiction, Miss Kagura approached ~Winter~ with the idea of conserving it. Miss Kagura promised to preserve all the images and stories in as much of the same format as possible.

It turned out that preserving the A Single Spark layout was more resource-consuming than Miss K thought, so it all had to be rolled into the Dokuga layout, but Miss K kept her promise that the A Single Spark archive would remain a separate entity.

And that is how, in 2008, two creative, talented, and dedicated ladies came to an agreement that allowed us to host some of the most fantastic stories written in the Sess/Kag 'verse!! My hat's off to both ~Winter~ and Miss Kagura. Not only will they forever hold a place of honor in the Sess/Kag fandom but, as long as I'm here, I will work to make sure that their contributions are not forgotten!

~~Wiccan~~

I'm so glad the archive at A.S.S. was saved through Dokuga. Some great fanfiction has been lost for various reasons, and I think that is so sad. All the hours spent writing and creativity just gone. I think about my beloved fanfiction as though it were an endangered species, or like the art Sir Kenneth Clark protected in the underground during the Blitz. We have to do whatever we can to protect fanfiction both from archives closing and from government interference. Maybe it would be a good idea for writers of non Sess/Kag stories to post to Archive Of Our Own so that if their work gets taken down at FF.net, or if a small site closes, their stories won't be lost.

And for the curious.....

First story posted on Spark by Winter (Errr.. at least first in the archive ).

--- Rated R (a.k.a. MA ... no YIM's ... yadda yadda) ... ---
Obscurity of Fate
SUMMARY: At age 28, Kagome reflects on how she's built the perfect life... with Sesshoumaru. Citrus warning.

-J

You mods are great for helping create this wonderful site. I cried when A Single Spark shut down, but now there's Dokuga!

BelovedStranger wrote:
You mods are great for helping create this wonderful site. I cried when A Single Spark shut down, but now there's Dokuga!

Well, we can take credit for keeping the site running, but all credit for its creation goes to Miss Kagura. Without her, her vision, and her ideas, we might have lost the entire A Single Spark archive as well as a home for our favorite pairing.

Thank you so much, though, for your participation on Dokuga... without our authors and donors, we wouldn't be here either!

~~Wiccan~~

Wow! I never would have known that the history was so complicated!
I'm glad that NicoRavenPen thought to actually ask.
Not such a silly question when it comes with such an amazing answer.
Thank you Nico! And a big thank you to bother ~Winter~ and Miss Kagura as well as all our lovely admins!

<3
~Starfyre

While we're talking about Spark, I wonder how many Spark Authors are still hanging around, particularly those who are still writing S/K?

Well haven't been around as long as the others, but I'm still here and writing K/S for now. Started posting on A single spark back in 07' so it wasn't too long before the site closed down.

Same for me, really. I started writing SessKag in 2006 so I wasn't on A Single Spark for that long, either.

I suppose a bunch of authors have moved to other fandoms or been swept away by the Real Life along the years...
But I'm sure there are a few of us who are still around and writing.

My first story was posted in 05/06 on Spark.... and I'm still around and writing.