Secret Santa 2017 - Story collection

[Oddball]

Kinda sucks if some people aren't getting their stories. Maybe we should ask for anyone whop wants to volunteer to finish them off.

[brythain]

Kinda sucks if some people aren't getting their stories. Maybe we should ask for anyone whop wants to volunteer to finish them off.

I'd volunteer, if that's acceptable.

[ProfAllister]

According to the Prof there should have been 18 submissions in total.

We know gibzx, WillDFly and Visionary have received a story but have not yet submitted any; there should be one more.
I think WillDFly should have written the one for monkey, because apparently there were three late applicants.

Not sure if we can yet expect those submissions at this point...

Confirmed - I received 18 prompts (15 on-time submissions, and 3 late submissions). The following participants have not received their story yet:

ProfAllister
scratchminus
QuietlySomething
monkeywitha6pack

Of the participants who have yet to submit, 2 have provided excuses, 2 have provided radio silence.

On balance, 18 volunteers to participate is itself amazingly successful. A 78% completion rate is also a pleasant result. A couple people have contacted me privately volunteering to cover the delinquent prompts. At this point, I figure I'll most likely release (i.e., give to a volunteer) the silent prompts; still trying to decide on the excused prompts.

Anyway, my take on what we do have completed:

Fresh Snow - Considering the number of attempted pseudoroutes, I have trouble swallowing HisaoxMiki as "unusually paired", but I leave it to the prompt writer to cry foul on that point. A standard does of the cute sugary sweetness we expect this time of year.

Our Holiday Vacation - I personally prefer my own Secret Santa-Prompted Shizune Proposal fic, but it's amusing that something so specific happened more than once. It's fun, and sweet, and has a few nice touches here and there. Like a few others, I was distracted by the idea of expensive jewelry being given for free as an apparent impulse, especially something as specific as a sapphire S, but there are worse things than a little bit of Hollywood here and there.

Unlikely Shopping - It's always fun to jump into Misha's head (unless Doomish is writing). Shizune seemed a little "off", but not too bad.

From Time - It's always refreshing when someone takes a simple, straightforward prompt, and takes it new and interesting places. The idea is excellent. The execution was a little rocky with clarity and readability, but overall very well done.

The Christmas Party of the Yamaku Anime&Manga Club - You took a rather challenging prompt from a very demanding reader, and did a good job with it. Not much I can add to what Mirage said.

Better Than A Blanket - I've said before that Lilly and Hanako fluff isn't exactly my cup of tea (geddit?), but this is probably strongest for its look at a healthier Hanako.

Shizune's Silent Night - Short and sweet. You may feel bad about not writing a novel, but bite-sized is often all you need. That and it's a clever twist on the prompt.

The New Year - Nothing like obsessive stalkers spying on you from the bushes to get you in the Christmas spirit. Taking open-ended prompts in an unexpected direction is half the fun of this format, so good on you.

Pet Story - Rin is one of the most inconsistently-written characters from author to author. That's part of what makes her so fun/interesting. Lots of typos, but that's almost your "thing". It pretty much hits the main notes of the prompt and nothing more, but it fleshes everything out so much that there's no reason to complain - it does what was asked for, and does it well.

Lights Out - A few of the prompts were practically begging for sexytimes, but no one bit. This one throws a bit of a curveball by going AU on us, but no harm done. Well-written, and different enough to catch your attention, kind of leaving you wanting more.

Dark Winter Sky - Plenty of praise for this one, and all well-deserved. A bit of a rollercoaster, especially the several unexpected swerves, but that's hardly a bad thing.

Two Turtledoves - Blind POV and dealing with the ever-popular phantoms of Hisao's past. Very nicely done. My only complaint, and a mild one at that, is that it almost feels that every encounter between Hisao and his past is nearly identical, no matter who's writing it.

Truth and Consequences - I'll be honest: I read the prompt and thought "How the hell would I work with that? Glad I didn't draw it." Natsume's presence and semi-prominence threw me off a bit, but I must say that I'm impressed with how you pulled off a difficult prompt in a very satisfying manner. Hat's off to you.

And with that, I feel we can safely formally adjourn the 2018 Seasonal Solstice Secret Santa Short Story Sharing Session. As for what that means, just that I'm done with any formal organization duties. People are more than free to finish their submissions if they're late, write consolation submissions for the prompts that are released, and (of course) continue to comment on the stories.

[brythain]

Hi Mirage,

I've managed to respond to the QuietlySomething's prompt, in the piece called 'Festival'. I think it gets slotted in before 'Cripple Your Enthusiasm' in your list in the first post.

Thanks, and enjoy!

[ProfAllister]

A Christmas Sketch


When I first came to Yamaku, I never would have guessed that I'd become an artist.

No, I’m not an artist. Not really. But I’ve definitely found that I have a love for the craft. It seems like every moment of my free time I have my sketchbook in hand, forever capturing random, almost trivial moments. But if anyone knew the value of time, it would be me.

Mr. Nomiya - no, he insists that I call him Shinichi now - has been thrilled with my improvement over just a few short months. He says that I may have a talent for this. No ‘spark of genius,’ but having seen what that does to someone, I think I’m okay with that.

“Hisao? Are you okay? You stopped drawing.”

I look up from my sketch and toward the subject of it, reflexively smiling. It’s funny that such a simple action used to be so difficult, but now comes naturally. This has been a hell of a year.

Looking at who I’m drawing, I concede that it’s pretty hard to not smile at such a beauty - her long dark hair, soft eyes, full lips, even little things she gets self-conscious about, like the way her teeth peek out between slightly parted lips.

“I’m fine. Just… thinking.”

She giggles, her hand reflexively covering her mouth in an oh-so-proper way. “You’re always thinking, Hisao. Honestly, I can’t take you anywhere.”

“Then it’s a good thing I can walk on my own, now isn’t it?”

She shoves me playfully, and I allow myself to fall backwards onto the picnic blanket. Right next to the bucket of fried chicken we just shared.

We’re not far from this year’s illuminations - at a popular retreat for couples in the summer. Not nearly as popular in the winter, it seems. But today wasn’t terribly cold. And no snow, unlike the last time we were here.

It feels like so long ago, even if it was just earlier this year. We barely feel like the same people. High school is effectively over for us - she’s going to take the standard route of entrance exams, aiming for Tokyo University, just like anyone else. As for me - Shinichi put in a good word for me at a pretty significant art school. They care more about my portfolio than my academics, so I have an interview scheduled in a couple weeks. Shinichi insists that it’s as good as done, and, given his connections, I don’t doubt it. But I’ll feel a lot more comfortable when it’s official.

I feel the nearby movement as she elects to lie down next to me.

“What are you thinking, Hisao?”

What am I thinking? How to put it into words?

“I’m not really sure. I guess I’m thinking about how life is a journey, and you really have no way of guessing what comes next.”

“Getting philosophical again?” she asks, her tone full of mock annoyance.

“That would imply I ever stopped.”

Another light shove.

“Merry Christmas, you big dork.”

“Merry Christmas to you, too, Iwanako.”

____________________________________


Okay, Story Time.

After posting this year's S9 announcement and linking back to the S8 announcement, I decided I needed to clean up the links so that people could read everything that was submitted last year. In doing so, I realised something terrible - one of the participants never had his prompt fulfilled.

monkeywitha6pack requested "a Christmas date with Hisao and Iwanako"

I figured that someone should step in and try to make things right. It's not much, and late by a year, but Merry Christmas, monkey.