More Tea Parties | Content warnings
Hello, everybody!! Pineapple here! With the epilogue of Harris Institute for Gifted Students posted, we’re officially done with all the scheduled content for JAAM! It’s been a long journey but we’re wrapping things up today. Before anything else, let’s take a look back at our most recent story, Harris Institute for Gifted Students!
First impressions of the story vs impressions now?
Pineapple
I love it!! I’ve said it before several times, but this is a story that’s been in my mind for 10+ years! Actually, at first, I wanted to make a visual novel type story to explore each character in depth, which is part of the reason it’s been so long in production. I finally decided I’d tell it this way, and I’m actually really so happy with the way it turned out. I don’t think it was going to be this… final originally. There were, of course, some things that were planned that there would be no going back from, but overall the tone was originally lighter and more middle grade.
Apple
As soon as I heard about it, I was excited! I grew up on superhero cartoons and comics and video games, so I immediately knew I was in for a good time, especially with Pineapple doing the writing.
Knowing how fantastic Pineapple is at putting characters into beautiful, heart wrenching situations they don’t necessarily come out of, I tried to keep myself prepared for some characters deaths, but Pineapple really can pull off all kinds of stories and endings, and what she went with for HIGS was absolutely perfect. I could feel the gravity of what the characters went through but also the warmth. It was the equivalent of reading a big hug.
Who’s your favorite character?
Pineapple
Mickey and Greyson were the first two characters that I came up with, so they have a special place for me. But I actually love all the cast! I hope everybody got enough screentime and development so that the audience could love them as much as I do.
Apple
I’ve adopted all of them! This is literally asking me to choose a favorite child! I can’t, haha. Especially with the way they all banded together in the end. There were so many moments of fear and uncertainty, but seeing them become more powerful mentally and physically as the trust and openness grew between them has made all of them my favorite—teachers included (minus Alaric, of course). There’s even an episode called “Together” near the end!
Favorite moments or scenes?
Pineapple
One of my ultimate favorite scenes was the reveal about Greyson and Sam! This was one of those no-going-back scenes I’d come up with early on and that I knew had to happen. I’ve basically been waiting 10 years to write this scene.
Also, I didn’t expect that writing Ray and Sofia would be so fun! I liked how their parts came out a lot. The intro chapters came out really well thanks to my friends and editors!! I couldn’t have asked for better input on those. They came out fantastic.
Apple
Alaric’s hidden building was such an amazing trial to read! The descriptions were top tier—the cracks in the barrier like spider webs and the door closing behind them by itself! Deliciously spooky! The way their powers developed and worked together was also so exciting! And finally getting all the answers to the story’s mysteries! My conspiracy-loving brain was going a mile a minute taking it all in.
I also really liked the outfits! Marjani going into battle in heels and Vanessa in her sportswear—they’re both icons! And I can’t forget the twins! Their transformations were always so good! Thinking of the way it tied into their characters puts me in my feels too because what do you mean Sugi hides his emotions by projecting pink bows and a smile while Sumire hides hers beneath a helmet? I just think about it, and my heart breaks for them all over again.
Are there any fun behind the scenes moments you’d like to share?
Pineapple
Ha ha. I mentioned that these were characters that have been with me for a long time. I have soooo many sketches of these guys that have accumulated over the years, but actually Mickey has remained the same. I think Samuel was actually originally named Christopher… but I had so many C names in How Journeys End that I wanted to avoid them. But then this time I had too many S’s!
Apple
There’s one episode that I read while I was sick, and it happened to be the one that revealed a ton of new information—but I was too out of it at the time to realize it! I got to reread it recently and oh my goodness! The gasps I gasped! It was even better reading it the second time! I’m so grateful to be here to fangirl with you all, and I’m especially grateful to Pineapple for writing such a fun story!
As you may have noticed, our posting has slowed down a lot over the last few months. This is because actually, we’ve decided to move on to different things!
Why don’t we take a look back on our time with JAAM together?
Do you have a favorite JAAM story or character?
Pineapple
Of course, I liked everything we put out! My personal favorite is probably my last one, Harris Institute for Gifted Students. It’s too sentimental for me. Chrysan from How Journeys End was a fun character to figure out, too! I really enjoyed trying new things with all of the Stream of Consciousness stories; I don’t even know if I could pick a favorite. And I love that I left it open ended, ha ha. I don’t want to say I’ll never come back to it, so I left the possibility open for myself.
In terms of stories that weren’t mine… I’m still a big fan of Tied to You! It was such a fun story and the characters were so lovable. I can’t ignore Holly and Nick, either. They had such good chemistry!
Favorite JAAM moments?
Pineapple
Maybe the beginning? It was always fun, talking about the possibilities and having such big hopes and dreams for what we might do. Getting to write Harris Institute for Gifted Students was like a dream come true for me, and I really appreciate that JAAM gave me the space to do that.
Do you feel like you learned anything from your time in JAAM?
Pineapple
I’m the kind of person that believes I learn something from every experience, though I really couldn’t say what it is at the moment, ha ha. I think that I definitely grew as a writer and maybe even as an editor. I feel as though I accomplished a lot and I’m happy with what we achieved. Everything that we did, I’ll carry with me as I move forward.
Anything else you want to say?
Pineapple
First, I want to say thank you to everyone for reading! Thank you for the support!! Please continue to look after us all in the future!
I’m not sure what I’ll do next. I’m thinking of focusing on illustration for a little bit before jumping into my next big writing project. If you’re interested, you can follow me at bluesky or at my art blog!
As of now, we don’t have any plans to delete any of the official JAAM Writing socials or the blog, but we won’t be renewing the domain name here on WordPress. You can still reach us here through the blog or through our email! Contacting us through the socials is possible, but for something more reliable, I’d recommend a comment here or an email.
Lastly, I want to extend our most heartfelt thanks for joining us on this journey! Thank you!! It was so much fun!! I hope you enjoyed what we put out into the world!!
JAAM Writing 