Besting Blunders

[lieryl]

Spoiler: love you, tef

Word Count: 711

I was not wearing any skin protection when I tripped onto the forest floor, my bare legs catching against the jagged sticks littered beneath me as I braced my body with both of my hands. The sun had started to set, and I was tired of the green scenery obscuring most of my vision. Had it been any other day, I could have enjoyed the sight of the tall evergreens, but today they were nothing but a hindrance. Shaking my head, I got to my knees and sat up, deciding against immediately standing. Everything in that moment seemed to be in disarray, from the marks on my tired body to the mangled present discarded on the floor beside me.

It was currently August 3rd and I was supposed to be on my to celebrate some dude’s birthday. What was his name again? Tef? Ted? I wasn’t sure, and I definitely did not care at that moment. This would be the last time I accept an invite to a stranger’s birthday party, especially if said stranger lived in the middle of a densely packed forest. Some party this was. A cold wind suddenly broke my negative thoughts, weaving through the emaciated trees and into the cracks of my holey sweater. I did not shiver, opting instead to get on my feet, picking up the fallen gift as I rose.

Regrets still clouded my psyche as I willed my body to keep moving, the only light in the forest now coming from the heart-shaped bopper situated atop my head. As much as it pained me to admit it, I was lost. I had been lost, ever since losing my comrade earlier in the evening. He’d run off into the trees, his lanky form blending into theirs as I lost sight of him completely. We had arrived together, poised to take the trek through the woods as a pair, but I simply had been unable to keep up with his quick pace. Had he made it to the party? Was he eating cake right now as blood ran down my knees? Wasn’t my problem. I had bigger fish to fry.

My pace quickened as I hiked on, the intense want to be safe and warm ringing in my mind. Taking a sharp turn left, I was met with the trunk of a tree as my face slammed into tough wood, the impact knocking my bopper off of my head. The sound of the collision echoed as I stilled in shock. Truly I was over it. With scratches on my face, bruises on my legs, and cuts on my hands, I looked like I had crawled out of a low-budget zombie apocalypse film. The minutes stretched on as I stood in place, having a staring contest with bark, the moon rising higher into the sky above me, completely and utterly defeated.

After some time, the world around me shifted. In my peripheral vision, I could make out a faint green light making its way towards me. Splendid. It was finally my time to go to the great beyond. My body slumped against the tree as I resigned to accept my fate, relief flooding my tired mind. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), the light turned human as the person drew closer, their form now illuminated by the faint moonlight. It was this island’s representative, a friend of mine, sporting a green glow-in-the-dark bopper. She was someone who knew this place well and who could finally get me out of this decrepit forest. Relief ran through me again but for a different reason. Forget the stupid party, I just wanted to go home. This Tef guy could live without me present on his special day.

Her face lifted as she stopped in front of me and offered a smile.

“Are you here for Tad’s big birthday bash?”

I groaned and slumped further into the floor. “Of course, his name would be Tad.”

-----​

And on we went, leaving the dark forest behind us and waltzing right into the loving arms of Ted's Tad's birthday party. And what a grand party it was.

Was it worth the painful time I had getting there? Probably not. But I was too enamored by the food and the company to care anymore.

 

[digimon]

 story title: anniversary cake, but hold the eggshells please!

 word count: 1056

Spoiler: ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

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 A shining sun and a dazzling sky. A warm gentle breeze that carried the sweet smell of midsummer. Yes, this was the perfect day to host a picnic. I set out with all the materials I had brought along with me to hold the most amazing summer picnic. Merengue and Puck were both supposed to meet up with me in the meadow by Nook's Cranny to start setting up before the other villagers started to arrive. With a spring in my step, I lugged the baskets of food, utensils and the blanket over on to the meadow. It looked so lush and green, with spots of shade where the light filtered through the leaves on the branches. “Wow! It looks like we couldn’t have picked a more perfect day for this get together!” I said to myself before glancing over to see Merengue carrying two baskets of goodies over. “Merengue! You’ve really outdone yourself! Did you end up finding the recipe for the peach pie?” I asked as Merengue and I started to lay out the gingham picnic blanket. “No it turns out I didn’t have enough peaches for the recipe, so I substituted the peaches for cherries!” She continued on about how she went about working through the recipe as we started to unpack the plates and baked goods from the baskets. “Wow! Everything looks so delicious!” I couldn’t help but snap a few pictures on my NookPhone™ “Say….everyone else should be getting here pretty soon….Have you heard anything from Puck? He was supposed to be in charge of the anniversary cake.” Merengue pulled out her NookPhone™ to see if she received any messages from him. “No, last I heard from him was when he asked me if it’s okay if eggshells fall into the cake batter.” I checked to see if I had received any messages from Puck. “Oh no, I haven’t heard back from him either. Hmmm maybe making the anniversary cake was a bit too much for him. He did insist that he wanted to bake it and that it’d knock the socks off of us.” A sudden feeling of unease started to settle in the pit of my stomach. “Let’s try video calling him to see if he’s on his way!”

 We waited for the line to connect and after a few tones, the video call connected. The sight to see on the other end looked pretty horrific? On the screen Puck could be seen looking like he was wearing most of the ingredients he was using. Behind him was what it looked to be a giant mountain of dirty dishes. “Puck? Is everything alright buddy?” I asked trying my best to sound not extremely worried. “Oh hey guys!” Puck said cheerily. “I’ve been working on getting that cake done but boy it’s been a real doozy. The bugs totally read the recipe wrong the first three times we tried to make this thing” Merengue’s jaw dropped. “Bugs?! Three times?? BUGS?” I tried to hold back the look of concern on my face. “Well, this is our seventh attempt. We’re totally gonna get it right this time, right guys?” Puck beamed through the phone screen. Suddenly in the background behind Puck, plumes of thick greyish black smoke started to puff up. “Uhhhhh Puck….” I started as the panic in me started to rise. “Is something burning back there buddy?” Puck looked back. “OH NO! NOT AGAIN!” could be heard through the line before the call cut. “Let’s go Merengue! I think he’s in some serious trouble! We gotta help him!” We left everything we brought as is and started our mad dash to Puck’s house. As we got closer, we could see spirals of black smoke coming out of one of the windows of his house. We entered when we reached it only to see Puck and a handful of bugs all screaming and running around the kitchen. The oven was enveloped in a thick black smoke and flames. “We gotta put this fire out guys! Stop panicking!” I rushed over to grab the table cloth from the kitchen table and started to smother the flames that were coming out of the oven. I kept pressing and patting down on the cloth until the flames disappeared. Everyone stood as they were, frozen in their spots and panting.

 “Whew that was so scary……” Puck started as he sank to the ground in relief. Merengue and I sunk down right with him, still trying to catch our breath. “I really thought the eighth time would definitely be the charm guys. I just really wanted to show you guys I could do this on my own…..Now I ruined everything” Puck said sadly, obviously disheartened by his failed baking attempts. “It’s alright Puck! Not everyone is good at everything” Merengue started and I shot her a discreet thumbs up and continued on. “Yeah Puck! It’s okay. Everyone has their own thing that they’re good at! And I know you were trying really hard to make the cake on your own without us, but wouldn’t it be so much fun to work on it together?” I asked as I gave Puck’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “We still have a bit of time to make it before the others start showing up for the picnic. What do you say Puck? Shall we go over to my house and make the best cake in the whole entire world?” Puck suddenly jumped up and let out a joyous yipeee! “We’re gonna knock the socks right off them right guys?” Merengue and I let out an excited yipeee in unison before we jumped up and went off to my house to get started on the cake. And in no time, with each other’s help, we had the cake baked, decorated and we were all washed up and ready to go head out to the picnic. “Look everyone is just starting to arrive! Looks like we made it just in time!” The picnic went off without a hitch! You couldn’t have guessed that Puck nearly burned his house down merely a few hours ago. Everything seemed to go smoothly and exactly the way the picnic planning trio envisioned. It was all so perfect….well. That is, until Puck saw the damages bill he received from Nook Inc. ™ Talk about scary stuff.​

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[Zerous]

Word count: 514

Spoiler: Echoed laughter on an empty stage.

Echoed laughter on an empty stage.


The world stopped. The music fading, I could only hear my heart beating in my chest. Pushing through the crowd, I saw my father slumped over the table. His proud, strong face lay pale, puddles of cold sweat collecting on the tablecloth.

“Dad?” I called out to him, my voice shaking. The walls cracking around me, I reached out and managed to grab his hand, which lay cold and clammy in mine, yet weakly held me back.

I turned to the side and saw my younger sister staring in shock. I saw her begin to shake, and tears beginning to form. Taking her hands, I leant down to her and looked into her eyes, bringing her back to reality.

“Go, call the ambulance now. Tell them the address, that a man in his 40s has collapsed mostly unresponsive, is short of breath, and is cold and clammy.” She hesitated, not wanting to take her eyes away from her fading father.

“Go!”

She stumbled away.

Watching her pale figure push through the forest of balloons to grab her phone, I hoped that being given a job would hold off her panic for a little longer.

The eyes of the crowd, people who I’d known for years, coming to celebrate my dad, now felt like strangers, an audience coming to witness my world crumble around me.

The joyous music rung like an echoed laughter.

The spotlight shone down as I reached for his hand once again.

“Dad? Stay with me please. Squeeze my hand if you can hear me, okay?”

A faint squeeze met my hand with a weak groan that buried its way into my heart. I’d never seen my dad like this before. I- I couldn’t panic, the spotlight was still on me.

“Eric! Help move the table back a bit!” I shouted at my cousin. “Sammy, help me lay him on the ground!”

The statues came to life, quickly moving into their roles on the stage.

“Dad? Hey, I’m still here for you, okay? We’re just going to carefully move you down onto the floor, okay?”

Another groan, another pang in my chest, the panic desperately beating at the walls of my heart, trying to escape, trying to crawl their way out into my throat.

I swallowed, ready for the next act.

Sammy moved towards his legs as I gently pulled back my dad’s chair, and firmly looped my arms under his. “On, 3.. 2.. 1..”. And he was lifted. In the heat of the spotlight, with the faint beating of the music, he felt almost weightless. The three of us dropping to a bow, I looked up to see the face of my sister, with more actors coming to join the stage for the final act.

The ambulance had arrived, and the dance had begun.

Heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen, lift. Adrenaline, more checks, it was time to shift.

Reciting my lines in turn to the man, telling him all that I possibly can.

And with one final bow, he was taken away, and I was left broken on an empty stage.

~~

This was loosely based on a real experience I had earlier this year ​

 

[LoveGraceMarie]

Everyone had been looking forward to this day. The streamers were hung, striped and dotted party hats on, confetti ready to go. Everything was prepared for Kody’s big surprise birthday party. His fellow islanders were all gathered in Peanut’s house, waiting for him to arrive. He had no idea he was about to walk into a cheer of “surprise” by his best friends, and a big blue birthday cake!

“He’s on his way over!” Marshal called out, checking his nookphone as he’d just received a new text. “Everybody get ready!” Everyone began rushing around the room excitedly as they set out to make sure the birthday party would be perfect.

Suddenly, in her haste, Merry nudged the corner of the table. A glass fell and smashed near her feet. “Oh no!” She cried, “I’m so sorry! I’ll sweep up the mess.” “Please hurry!” Portia replied. “We can’t have Kody walking into a mess now, can we?”

Merry grabbed a broom hanging on the wall, and in doing so, accidentally caught the end of a string of party lights, which lightly fell to the floor. “Not the lights!” She exclaimed. “It’s okay, they’ll be fine on the floor, right?” Rosie suggested, “they’re still working anyway! Let me help you throw away the glass mess.”

In a hurry, Rosie crouched to clean the floor, and accidentally lost grip of a bunch of balloons the villagers had put together for Kody. Filled with helium, they began to float to the ceiling. “No!” Everyone cried as they scrambled to catch them, but it was too late. They made contact with the ceiling surface with a dull thud.

“Great! Our balloons are now unreachable.” Chrissy sighed. “Well, they’ll float down in a few days!” Goldie suggested with a laugh. And all of a sudden, she put her hand down onto the table. The table with the birthday cake on it. And now, the birthday cake had a big paw print right in the middle.

Every villager was speechless, and looking around at each other, their eyes widened as they heard the door knob turn. Kody strolled into the house and stopped as he noticed the scene. All of his friends gathered wearing party hats, lights fallen to the ground, balloons in the air, and a paw print embedded birthday cake. In the shock of the moment, no one remembered to pop the confetti. “Surprise!” Marina feebly whispered.

“Wow…” Kody managed as everyone looked on worried. “I… LOVE IT!!!” His eyes widened and a bright smile crept across his face. “You… love it?” Peanut asked. “Of course! Everyone looks lovely in their little hats. Look at the pretty lights shaping the dancefloor!” “…shaping the dancefloor!” Merry repeated as she looked on at the fairy lights surrounding the floor space.

“Look at the balloon chandelier! How cool!” He commented gazing at the balloon bunch on the ceiling. “Chandelier…!” Rosie gasped as she noticed they did indeed look pretty up there. Suddenly Kody gasped, “wow! What a unique cake!” “Unique?” Goldie asked. “I love the paw shape! It’s so cool!” Kody replied as everyone exchanged a small smile and Goldie subtly wiped icing off her paw behind her back. “And look at all of this unpopped confetti! I love popping confetti! Thanks everyone, what a great gift!” Kody beamed. “You’re- you’re welcome!” Peanut stammered.

As it turns out, Kody loved his birthday party regardless, and everything that went wrong was for the best after all! This was a party none of the friends would ever forget.

588 words

 

[The Pennifer]

Nowhere to Run
A Snapdragon Story​

5:38 AM.

Gulls.

Crashing waves in the distance.

Palm trees swishing in the breeze outside my window while I stared at a random ceiling in yet another random seaside hotel room.

Boredom can look an awful lot like paradise.

The life of a semi-famous detective can lead you away from home to help other islands augment and “upskill” their staff. I’m on just such an island, wrapping up yet another training program… my life now full of giving presentations, fielding questions, and drinking coffee.

I really hate PowerPoint.

At least my life has calmed down. Foxton is cleaned up. The villagers are all healthy, happy, and safe. Even Tom Nook has walked the straight and narrow, lifting Foxton up onto a million different blogs spouting rubbish like “10 Best Islands to Visit 2024. #4, Foxton.”

“You must visit Foxton’s pristine beaches and beautiful tulip fields…!”

Boredom can also look a lot like hell.

Rubbing the last bit of sleep from my face, I placed both feet on the floor next to the hotel bed. Ready to face another day.

A day that just happened to be my birthday. Like I cared. Or anyone else cared, for that matter.

“Ding!”

Grabbing my phone from the bedside table and lifting the screen to my still sleepy eyes, the words on the screen brightened my day. Finally, something to sink my teeth into.

It was Tom Nook. I was going home.

Time to call the DAL ticket service line.


1:21 PM.

Age.

It’s literally just a number.

Who decided, ages ago, that just because the earth traveled one full revolution around the sun, we were magically another full digit older?

“Congratulations! You can now go to school. Get a job. Drive. Vote. Drink. Become mayor. Senator. President. Retire. Draw down your pension. Social security.”

What was so different about me 24 hours ago? Do the cells dividing in my body know this?

I pondered this while the seaplane landed down gently on the waves next to the beaches of Foxton.

My home.

I grabbed my bag from the overhead and walked through the gates of the airport, the familiar sounds and smells of Foxton giving me a slight spiritual boost. Stepping outside into the sun, I saw Blathers waving urgently from the boardwalk.

“Jack, welcome back! I’m so glad to see you! And I believe also Happy Bir-”

I cut him off. “Good to see you too, Blathers. Tom texted me early this morning. Sorry to cut to the chase here, but what’s the issue with the Vermeer?”

He vigorously shook his head so hard I was afraid he was going to lose some feathers. “Deary me, the Wistful Painting is gone! I noticed it this morning while I walked towards Brewster’s to grab my morning café latte. It was definitely there last night, so it had to have been taken sometime between 10pm and 5:30am!”

Having a precise timeline was a good start. “Any chance of a reasonable explanation? Restoration, maintenance?”

Blathers shook his head again. “Absolutely not. I control the schedule for those kinds of things, and it’s in perfect shape! It’s just gone… someone took it!”

Looking at the state of him, I was afraid there were going to be tears. I did the only thing I could think of.

I patted his back.

“I’ll get to the bottom of this, Blathers. Let me drop my bag off at home and then stop by island services to talk to Tom and Isabelle, find out any details of on any recent events on the island. Then I’ll stop by the museum sometime a bit later for some additional questions if that’s okay?”

He nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes! I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll be there all day!”

Nodding my head, I turned towards the middle of the island. Started walking. Thinking. An obvious theft like this is asking for attention. And a fast escape.

There was no chance of this going unnoticed for very long. The thief had to know this. Which means the thief had to have a way off quickly.

Could a visitor have taken it? Just in time to catch a flight or boat back home…?


3:34 PM.

Standing in line.

A snail’s pace.

It was like Tom and Isabelle were purposely taking their time.

Every villager picked today to be in island services, picking up packages, making loan payments. I was in the back. Considering the topic of my own query, I was reluctant to skip the line and cause a stir. So I waited. And waited. Until I was finally the only one left.

Tom brightened when he looked up. “Jack, you made it home! I wish it was under better circumstances, but it’s still so good to have you here for your birth-“

I cut off the nonsense. “I’ve started checking into the issue you texted me about, Tom. Caught Blathers outside the airport about the missing Vermeer. Do you have a list of all the visitors on the island?”

He shook his head sadly. “That’s the thing Jack, with the season winding down we’ve shut the hotel for maintenance. We have so many vacationers now that we need a good couple of weeks to get set up for the holiday crowds. Even the boat service is shut down for the rest of the month.”

The implication struck me immediately. “Wait, we have no visitors at all right now?”

He looked me in the eye sadly. “No, no one.”

My heart sank.

This was bad news. The thief was someone on the island.

Likely someone I knew very well.


4:57 PM.

Someone I knew.

There had to be another explanation.

After a very late lunch and a walk to think about possibilities, I stopped by the museum to talk to Blathers. I caught him in the foyer, looking agitated and nervous. He looked up when he saw me.

“Jack! Any news?”

I shook my head. “Nothing yet. I stopped by island services to talk to Tom. Didn’t realize we are shut down to visitors right now. Can you think of anything unusual over the last week or so? Anyone lingering by where the painting was? Any villagers?”

Blathers shook his head. “No, nothing. It’s been completely normal here, except for the quietness due to the end of the vacation season. Well, wait. There is something…”

Blathers suddenly looked terrified. Something about his eyes. “Except what?”

I heard the door to the museum open.

A voice spoke behind me.

“Except I took it.”

I spun around in time to see Tom Nook dashing back through the museum's front door.


5:01 PM.

It made absolutely no sense. Why was he running? Why would he take it? He was the one that texted me in the first place!

And he was fast.

But I’m still faster. Seeing him head for the island square, his options were about to be limited.

He had nowhere to run now.

I was gaining on him when he rounded the front corner of the island services building. I surged after him with another burst of speed. “Stop, Tom! You have nowhere to ruuuuuuuun?……”

The words died on my lips as I screeched to a halt in the middle of the island square. The scene in front of me was flabbergasting. Tables set up with treats, cookies, cake. Chips. Drinks. Balloons.

A “Happy Birthday” banner in obnoxious colors.

And all of the villagers looking my direction with genuine happiness to see me, drinks and paper plates in hand.

And in the middle was a slightly out of breath Tom Nook. And Blathers right next to him. Tom just gave me a genuine smile and said “Happy Birthday, Jack. Apologies for the subterfuge to get you back here, and getting you to run after me. It was the only way I could figure out how to get you here on time. You always need a mystery to solve, Jack. Luckily, the only mystery here is the flavor of the cake Audie made for you.”

Blathers just laughed heartily. “I haven’t had to fly that fast to beat you here in a loooooooong time. You’ll be happy to know that I took down the Wistful Painting before you got back to the island, and it will be put right back up before I go to bed. Which reminds me, flying so fast and staying awake all day is making me sleepy…”

One by one, all of the villagers wished me happy birthday. Shook my hand. Hugged me. Tom hugged me last. “Thank you for all that you do for the island, Jack, and all the other islands on this great big ocean.”

As it dawned on me that maybe Foxton really is a great island worthy of those blog lists, the words of Louis Armstrong’s most famous song came to me. What a wonderful world.

But the world is not wonderful… not even close. It can be ugly.

Mean.

Stomp you when you’re down.

But there can also be empathy.

Kindness.

It can give you friends that lend you a hand to get right back up again. Friends that will give you a surprise birthday party, knowing that a measure of trickery would be needed just to get you to show up.

A wonderful world? No.

But it can be… okay. Especially at a surprise birthday party.

If you open your heart.

I really loved and enjoyed this story - love the writing style!

Post automatically merged: Aug 24, 2024

 story title: anniversary cake, but hold the eggshells please!

 word count: 1056

Spoiler: ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

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 A shining sun and a dazzling sky. A warm gentle breeze that carried the sweet smell of midsummer. Yes, this was the perfect day to host a picnic. I set out with all the materials I had brought along with me to hold the most amazing summer picnic. Merengue and Puck were both supposed to meet up with me in the meadow by Nook's Cranny to start setting up before the other villagers started to arrive. With a spring in my step, I lugged the baskets of food, utensils and the blanket over on to the meadow. It looked so lush and green, with spots of shade where the light filtered through the leaves on the branches. “Wow! It looks like we couldn’t have picked a more perfect day for this get together!” I said to myself before glancing over to see Merengue carrying two baskets of goodies over. “Merengue! You’ve really outdone yourself! Did you end up finding the recipe for the peach pie?” I asked as Merengue and I started to lay out the gingham picnic blanket. “No it turns out I didn’t have enough peaches for the recipe, so I substituted the peaches for cherries!” She continued on about how she went about working through the recipe as we started to unpack the plates and baked goods from the baskets. “Wow! Everything looks so delicious!” I couldn’t help but snap a few pictures on my NookPhone™ “Say….everyone else should be getting here pretty soon….Have you heard anything from Puck? He was supposed to be in charge of the anniversary cake.” Merengue pulled out her NookPhone™ to see if she received any messages from him. “No, last I heard from him was when he asked me if it’s okay if eggshells fall into the cake batter.” I checked to see if I had received any messages from Puck. “Oh no, I haven’t heard back from him either. Hmmm maybe making the anniversary cake was a bit too much for him. He did insist that he wanted to bake it and that it’d knock the socks off of us.” A sudden feeling of unease started to settle in the pit of my stomach. “Let’s try video calling him to see if he’s on his way!”

 We waited for the line to connect and after a few tones, the video call connected. The sight to see on the other end looked pretty horrific? On the screen Puck could be seen looking like he was wearing most of the ingredients he was using. Behind him was what it looked to be a giant mountain of dirty dishes. “Puck? Is everything alright buddy?” I asked trying my best to sound not extremely worried. “Oh hey guys!” Puck said cheerily. “I’ve been working on getting that cake done but boy it’s been a real doozy. The bugs totally read the recipe wrong the first three times we tried to make this thing” Merengue’s jaw dropped. “Bugs?! Three times?? BUGS?” I tried to hold back the look of concern on my face. “Well, this is our seventh attempt. We’re totally gonna get it right this time, right guys?” Puck beamed through the phone screen. Suddenly in the background behind Puck, plumes of thick greyish black smoke started to puff up. “Uhhhhh Puck….” I started as the panic in me started to rise. “Is something burning back there buddy?” Puck looked back. “OH NO! NOT AGAIN!” could be heard through the line before the call cut. “Let’s go Merengue! I think he’s in some serious trouble! We gotta help him!” We left everything we brought as is and started our mad dash to Puck’s house. As we got closer, we could see spirals of black smoke coming out of one of the windows of his house. We entered when we reached it only to see Puck and a handful of bugs all screaming and running around the kitchen. The oven was enveloped in a thick black smoke and flames. “We gotta put this fire out guys! Stop panicking!” I rushed over to grab the table cloth from the kitchen table and started to smother the flames that were coming out of the oven. I kept pressing and patting down on the cloth until the flames disappeared. Everyone stood as they were, frozen in their spots and panting.

 “Whew that was so scary……” Puck started as he sank to the ground in relief. Merengue and I sunk down right with him, still trying to catch our breath. “I really thought the eighth time would definitely be the charm guys. I just really wanted to show you guys I could do this on my own…..Now I ruined everything” Puck said sadly, obviously disheartened by his failed baking attempts. “It’s alright Puck! Not everyone is good at everything” Merengue started and I shot her a discreet thumbs up and continued on. “Yeah Puck! It’s okay. Everyone has their own thing that they’re good at! And I know you were trying really hard to make the cake on your own without us, but wouldn’t it be so much fun to work on it together?” I asked as I gave Puck’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “We still have a bit of time to make it before the others start showing up for the picnic. What do you say Puck? Shall we go over to my house and make the best cake in the whole entire world?” Puck suddenly jumped up and let out a joyous yipeee! “We’re gonna knock the socks right off them right guys?” Merengue and I let out an excited yipeee in unison before we jumped up and went off to my house to get started on the cake. And in no time, with each other’s help, we had the cake baked, decorated and we were all washed up and ready to go head out to the picnic. “Look everyone is just starting to arrive! Looks like we made it just in time!” The picnic went off without a hitch! You couldn’t have guessed that Puck nearly burned his house down merely a few hours ago. Everything seemed to go smoothly and exactly the way the picnic planning trio envisioned. It was all so perfect….well. That is, until Puck saw the damages bill he received from Nook Inc. ™ Talk about scary stuff.​

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I enjoyed you story so much and laughed all the way through it! You had me at eggshells!! *shudder*

 

[Bob Zombie]

I really loved and enjoyed this story - love the writing style!

Post automatically merged: Aug 24, 2024

I enjoyed you story so much and laughed all the way through it! You had me at eggshells!! *shudder*

Thank you so much I loved your story too!!!

 

[amemome]

Spoiler: my story

Celia pulled on a blue raincoat as she tapped her feet as quietly as possible into some rubber boots and whisked away a plastic umbrella. A small cloud wisped forth from her mouth as the wet dawn breeze slid through the open front door. Ah, it’s chilly. But she was determined to make it to the bakery before her sleepy roommate Paula arose — carefully, she locked the door behind her and opened her umbrella to meet the soft pattering rain. It was Paula’s birthday and Celia wanted to make sure it was the best day of Paula’s life! After trekking the meandering paths towards the center of town, Celia could just make out the familiar glow of the lights of the bakery. Smoke billowed from the bakery chimney, and Celia found herself racking her umbrella before entering the bakery doors. As always, Maddie was carrying a rack of freshly baked croissants.The smell of butter and sugar permeated the room. Celia cleared her throat.

“I’m here to pick up Paula’s birthday cake,” Celia announced, half expecting her voice to crack but being very surprised and happy to hear that it didn’t. “I think Vic called in the order last week.” Maddie glanced over and gleamed.

“Hi Celia, I have it in the fridge in the back! Let me go grab it for you.” As Maddie hurried away, Celia grinned to herself. Everything was going so perfectly!

The cake box was quite hefty when Maddie gingerly placed it in Celia’s arms. She could tell that she would likely need two hands to keep the cake balanced. But it was raining outside… Celia decided that she would just walk extra carefully and balance the cake with one arm while holding her umbrella over it with the other. With a quick nod and a round of thank-yous and good-byes, Celia made her way out of the bakery with slow, calculated steps. Left, right, left, right: Celia could barely see the outline of her front door beyond the trees. With a sigh of relief, Celia took a big step — right into a deep puddle! The world seemed to slow as Celia watched the cake box slip from her hands. She felt her body reel forward as she lost her balance. And with a dramatic thud, she watched Paula’s cake land upside down in the mud, the cardboard box crumbling over itself. Oh. No.

Celia stared blankly at the destroyed cake. Paula was due to wake up at any minute and the rest of the guests should already be on their ways. It would be too late to run back to the bakery for another cake. Was this cake salvageable? Probably not since the box was dented too severely. Celia grabbed the destroyed cake and made her way home, head hung in despair.

Upon opening the cake box, Celia’s worst fears were confirmed: the cake was smashed beyond recognition, the beautiful icing cracked and crumbs spread over it. Celia grabbed a spatula from the kitchen and tried to reshape the cake, only for the icing to mix with the cake crumbs. The cake began to become like a batter again, the crumb held together with the icing. As Celia kneaded together the smashed cake, she had an idea: make cake pops with the smashed cake!

Celia’s hands moved as if they were on fire, mixing together the cake to form a firm batter. As Celia got ready to press the batter into balls, she was interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. Vic, Ava, and Benjamin had arrived. Celia quietly explained the cake situation to the guests.

“Celia, we’ll help make the cake pops! With all of us making them together, we’ll be done even faster,” Vic patted Celia’s shoulder as Ava and Benjamin hurried to set their gifts down and wash their hands. Celia smiled at Vic.

“Thanks, Vic. I’m so sorry about the cake…” Vic shook his head, nudging Celia back to the kitchen.

“It’s ok. What matters is that we’re all here to celebrate! Let’s get prepared so when Paula comes down, she’ll be surprised we got this all set up without her knowing.” Feeling slightly better about the blunder, Celia looked to her friends, who had all started to roll up the cake batter into neat little balls. The four friends began to roll and plate up the cake pops, quietly chatting amongst themselves as the sun rose higher into the sky. And as Paula sleepily came down the stairs, the four friends had finished making their new cake.

“Happy birthday, Paula!” Paula’s eyes widened as she saw Vic, Ava, Benjamin, and Celia waiting in party gear, presents and plate of cake pops in hand. With an excited yelp of joy, Paula ran to hug her friends. Celia sighed in relief as she saw Paula’s smile. It seems that despite the cake blunder, the party was still going to be perfect.

 

[JellyBeans]

Spoiler: can you tell at what point i gave up

I hum absentmindedly to myself as I scrub down the final bowl. I love baking, but it somehow always manages to require every single piece of equipment and crockery I've ever owned... and this time I even had to borrow Merengue's electric whisk. Content, I leave all my washing up on the drying rack so I can take a little break before I deal with putting it away. Jeremiah's 'welcome to the island' party isn't until the evening anyway, so there's loads of time to tidy up my house. Besides, I deserve a coffee after all that hard work. I freshen up my outfit (flour stains probably aren't a socially acceptable fashion accessory) and head out the door. One of the perks of being island representative is if I want to put the coffee shop a two minute walk around the corner from my house, nobody can stop me! As I step inside Brewster's I'm enveloped by the warm smell of fresh coffee and still-warm pastries. Apple waves me over to the cake display, clearly overwhelmed by the number of choices.
"Which one do you think I should get, cheekers? I've been stood here for ten minutes and Brewster looks totally fed up with me hovering," she asks. "I'm thinking a croissant but I can't really decide what type."
"Ooh... tough choice," I reply, scanning the options. "I normally go for the hazelnut one, but I can't see any. Brewster, did you really sell out of them that quick? Maybe people have actually started listening to the recommendations I put on the bulletin board."
".. hmm?" Brewster asks, looking up from where he's been polishing the same glass this entire time. "Coo... New guy Jeremiah is allergic to nuts... not worth the cross-contamination risk." I feel my face pale more and more with each word Brewster says.
"He's... he's what?" I ask, brain whirring. "Did nobody think to tell me that BEFORE I made his cake for the party slathered in nutella icing?" Now Apple looks just as stressed as me.
"Oh cheekers, it'll be okay!" She quickly switches back to her normally peppy self, trying to stay optimistic. "You've got the whole afternoon ahead of you! Do you still have ingredients left?" At the sight of my still panicked face, she realised I had definitely used almost everything I had. "Okay.. okay it's still fine. Why don't you go and see if Merengue can help you?"
"Merengue! Of course! She's bound to have something. Gotta dash!" Now fuelled by adrenaline, I decide against the coffee and run round to Merengue's house, nearly bursting down her door with my frenzied knocks.
"What is it, shortcake?" She asks, looking flustered as she pulls the door open. "What's got you in such a tizz?"
"I used almost all my ingredients baking Jeremiah a nutella cake for the party, and I just found out he's like SUPER allergic. Is there any chance you have some going spare? And maybe a new recipe? And like... a few hours free to help?" Merengue pulls me in for a hug, squeezing tight and running her hands up and down my back.
"Oh shortcake.. firstly, take a deep breath." I lean out of the hug and do exactly that, feeling my shoulders lower all the way down from my chin as I do so. "Okay. Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to find an easy recipe and start measuring out ingredients. You're going to go home, tidy up the mess I imagine you left in your kitchen, and then bring my whisk back here. Between the two of us, we'll get this sorted in no time." With each word Merengue says, I feel more and more adrenaline leaving my body. Nodding, I take the short walk back to my house and put on my favourite playlist to revive my spirits. In no time, the kitchen is clean, and I even manage to spruce up my living room and put the final touches on the decorations which, thankfully, I put up last night.
By the time I make it back to Merengue's house, electric whisk in hand, her kitchen counter is covered in small bowls of perfectly measured ingredients, and I spot a cookbook opened to 'easy victoria sponge recipe'. In what feels like one blink of an eye, we manage to whip up one of the tastiest cakes I've ever eaten (if I do say so myself) and carry it over to my house just in time for the party to begin. As it turns out, victoria sponge is Jeremiah's favourite! No harm, no foul.

 

[Chere.]

This story is bittersweet (Maybe a little more bitter than sweet?). My character, Eris, is already not fond of her birthday month—December, for a few reasons already, but something goes wrong on her birthday one year, which sours the month even more for her. The challenge is trying to see past her bad experiences with December and her birthday, and the solution ultimately being her own resolve and mindset (with the aid of her best friend)— to not let negative experiences ruin the present for her, and realizing her self-worth, even if it's just a little bit at a time.

There's also a brief cameo featuring @/Irescien's ACNH rep, Aspen, since they're canonically in the same universe.

Word count: 1995 (I accidentally went past the 2k limit and had to cut things down, oops. Rip the scene of Aspen and Eris I was cooking... you will be missed.)

Spoiler: December 8th ❄️

She blows out the candles, and everyone starts to clap.

“Happy birthday Eris!” Piper exclaims excitedly.

“Here’s to another year!” Daisy cheers.

“I hope you made a nice wish! You can tell me about it later.” Sherb teases, to which he receives an elbow jab from Aurora.

“Come on Sherb, let our girl have her moment.” Aurora chides, though her tone is light.

“24 years, huh? Hope you’re not feeling old yet.” Aspen chuckles.

“Thank you all, I love you guys.” Eris beams as the clapping slowly dies down. Piper grabs a knife to cut into the custom-made cake Daisy had ordered. While Eris tries to remain present in the moment, the chatter turns into background noise as that irking thought that has plagued her mind for hours rings even louder in her head.

He still wasn’t here.

And he wasn’t going to be. No one dared to bring it up, but Eris knew that everyone else was aware that Wolfgang was supposed to be here. What a disaster. To think that merely two weeks ago they were celebrating his own birthday as well.

Piper had rented out a venue local to Valentia and decorated to the fullest— streamers strung along the ceiling, balloons embellishing the walls, tables, and the over-the-top birthday banner (that Piper had made herself), and dazzling multi-colored lights that cascade the entire room. Eris sits at her place adorned in a purple party dress, her strawberry blonde locks styled in a beautiful side bun with voluminous braids, and makeup that took hours to perfect, only for the most important person in her life— her boyfriend of all people— to be a no-show.

It was humiliating.

It took everything in Eris to pretend like it was okay. Piper insisted on hosting this party, despite knowing that Eris wasn’t too enthusiastic about having parties for her birthday. Though she was touched by Piper’s eagerness to “make this one different”. Despite the current issue at hand, Eris had never been fond of her birthday month as a whole. She always felt rather depressed during the winter season. It was too dark. Too cold. And of course there was that one incident. But nevermind that. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on the past. Piper was trying her best to make this a nice experience. The least she could do was return that energy for her friend. Regardless of the bird’s bubbly energy, Eris could tell that she was secretly furious with Wolfgang as well. She knew to expect Piper to give him a piece of her mind when she next saw him.

—

Eris manages to pull through the evening, and while everyone is able to keep up the relatively cheerful atmosphere, there was a lingering tension in the air throughout the event. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as people started leaving. Her social battery had almost all but run dry at this point.

The last group of friends take their leave. With only Piper and Sherb remaining, Eris can feel Piper’s stare on her. Their eyes lock instantly, and Eris can see it in the bird’s expression— she’s about to rant her head off about what no one could bring up the entire night.

—

A year passed by, and it felt like an eternity. Eris wakes up at 10AM to yet another cold, snowy December 8th morning. The first thing that flickers in her mind are the memories of last year, and everything that happened after that— Piper seething after everyone else left. Sherb trying to calm her down, while also being angry himself. Getting a text from Wolfgang late at night well after the party with a poor excuse. Her wanting to forgive him anyway. Wolfgang breaking up with her a couple weeks after. Wolfgang moving away from Valentia. Shutting herself off from her friends and family for months. Things got better in time, but it was impossible to not recall how she was feeling last year.

Eris had been firm on no more fancy parties like the one Piper hosted, though Sherb— whom she had moved back in with after the break up with Wolfgang— had convinced her to let him throw a simple party at their house.

He promised it would be small, with only their closest friends being invited this time.

Eris had convinced herself it was fine, but in the moment she couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. She mulls it over while she gets ready for the day. She didn’t know if she had it in her for another party, even if it was small. What if something goes wrong again? What if she ruins the celebratory atmosphere by being too gloomy? What if her friends don’t actually want to be here? The pit in her stomach only grew.

Eris takes in a deep breath and pulls a cardigan off the hook of her door before she exits her room. She heads downstairs to see Sherb on the couch watching TV, who immediately whirls his head around to face his roommate.

“Hey, good morning! And happy birthday, Eris!” Sherb proclaims, a smile curving on the corners of his lips.

Eris returns his smile. “Thanks, Sherb.”

“You ready for the party later today? I’m gonna need you to lock yourself in your room while I do some last minute prep-”

“Sherb, wait.” She interrupts, and the smile fades from his face. “ I need to talk to you. About today.” She tugs at her cardigan.

Sherb turns the TV off and pats the empty spot on the couch next to him, gesturing for his friend to sit down.

Eris plops down next to him, though she finds herself unable to meet his eyes. She swallows a lump in her throat. “I… I don’t know if I can do the party today.”

Sherb is silent for a moment before he speaks and puts a hoof on his friends back in reassurance. “Hey… I know you’ve been a bit back and forth with the party.” He pauses for a moment before continuing. “Are you really sure? I’m fine with calling it off if you really don’t think you can handle it.”

Eris fiddled with her fingers, still failing to meet the goat’s gaze. She could already feel tears welling in her eyes. So stupid. She thought. Why was she so pathetic? Why can’t she articulate herself properly? She’s always at a loss of words when it matters the most.

“Eris?”

“Uh.. yeah maybe not… I mean, I don’t mean to be ungrateful but I just thin-”

“There’s no need to explain.” Sherb murmurs tenderly. “You’ve told me before, and I completely understand.” Another pause. “I actually have a little something prepared for you. Well, everyone contributed.”

“Eris finally looks up at him and furrows her brows in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Sherb grabs the TV remote and changes the settings. Eris hadn’t even noticed that his laptop was connected to the TV, and in the next few moments he pulls up what seems to be a video. “Watch this. You’ll see.”

The video starts with Sherb appearing on screen. “Hey Eris! Happy birthday! I know I always get kinda sappy, but I just want to remind you how important you are to me. I’m so grateful to call you my childhood friend and my best friend for the past 20 years. You’re incredibly funny, but you’re super grounded and mature when it matters, and you’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.” Sherb’s speech goes into much more— ranging from funny moments they shared, to expressing his gratitude to her for sticking by him during some of his tougher times. “I know I’ve been bugging you about potentially holding a party at our place for you, but this is something I made as a backup in case you don’t wanna go through with it. I want you to know that we all understand that this is a hard time for you, and we’re chill to do whatever you want. This day is about you, after all! Love you!”

Eris feels a tear finally streak down her cheek, though her eyes are still glued to the screen as she reaches for the tissue box on the coffee table.

Her close friends appear one by one, each having a speech to recount how they met Eris and how their relationship with her has progressed over time. They retell specific moments she’s had with them, and Eris is completely immersed, albeit tears staining her cheeks and multiple crumpled tissues on her lap.

Eris is full on sobbing by the end of the video. She turns to Sherb and he pulls her into a hug. “I- when did you even put this together?” She sniffles, reciprocating the hug.

“I have my ways.” Sherb chuckled and stroked her back. “Eris, we all love you so much, and we just… don’t want your birthday to turn into a day you hate. I know December is a rough month for you, but we’re here for you. We don’t want a repeat of last year. We just want you to be happy.”

“Thank you.” is the only thing Eris can utter through her tears. The two share a hug in silence as Eris calms down, with Sherb perfectly content to allow her all the time she needs.

—

“I-I changed my mind.” Eris says finally. “We can go ahead with the party.” She wiped some more tears with a tissue.

Sherb leans back to study her face. “Wait, are you sure? Don’t push yourself. It’s really no issue if you want to call it off.”

“Yes, I am. I mean, yeah, I’m a mess right now.” Eris laughs, a wry smile forming on her lips. “But we talked about it being later in the afternoon, right?" Another sniffle. "I think it’ll be good… and this video really did help me realize that I was kind of letting all of my thoughts get the best of me earlier.”

Sherb’s eyes softened. “Of course. I’ll let everyone know that the party is still on, then.”

—

The hour of the party arrives in the blink of an eye. All of their friends had arrived by 3PM. Everyone’s in casual, cozy winter clothing. No fancy suits or dresses. No formal decorations. Sherb had put up a few party banners and some fairy lights, and that was it. Eris liked that. It feels like there’s less pressure. Less pressure to make everything perfect.

The afternoon goes smoothly. Everyone is having fun playing board games, chatting away, and filling up on one too many snacks. The gathering is smaller and feels more intimate as a result, and any nervousness Eris had felt earlier in the morning had all but melted away.

And when they dim the lights to bring out the cake and start singing Happy Birthday, Eris’ cheeks flush pink as all eyes land on her.

Daisy sets the cake— a homemade butterscotch cake that Fang had whipped up for the occasion— in front of her as they continue singing in unison. As the song comes to an end, Eris glances at everyone around her. She purses her lips for a moment as if in thought, before she dips her head down towards the cake.

She blows out the candles, and everyone starts to clap.

Her friends start to congratulate her and she finds herself laughing at the silly banter that comes afterwards. Daisy grabs a knife to start cutting into the cake and serving the slices immediately.

As Eris absorbs the atmosphere around her, she can’t help but become a little teary eyed. How lucky was she— to have friends who were fine with calling off the party if she needed to. To see the worth in this date—December 8th— as much more than just a cold winter day. To see it as something worth celebrating, because it was her day.

 

[LambdaDelta]

Spoiler: Gift

Please don't be too late. Please don't be too late, thought Ione, as she rushed to the shopping district of the island she had called home for some time now. Turning the corner, she eyed the local general goods store she and her fellow neighbors frequently shop at, lights indicating it was open still on.

Good, I made it in time.

All she had to do was rush in, and inquire about the item she had been tipped off on being in the store today, thanks to an unwittingly helpful informant. Even if the closing time happened during the inquiry, it wouldn't matter. She knew while the shopkeepers duo were punctual to a fault about their hours of operation, they also would never turn away a customer that had expressed direct interest in anything they had on hand for the day to them.

Barging in, she heard their customary greetings, but paid no mind to them, as she quickly scanned her surroundings for what she had sought to purchase. Spotting it, she rushed over until she was right in front of and there was no confusion as to what she was here for.

"Excuse me! Can I as-"

DING DONG

Her heart sank.

"Um... As much as we do enjoy your company... it's past our closing hours for today. But we'll look forward to seeing you here again another time! ...another time!"

"wait! I just wa-"

She had been escorted out before she could even finish. Behind her, she could hear the sound of the door closing and locks locking

Now what?, she thought. her hopes to purchase the surprise gift she had been envisioning were dashed.

That's right, she wasn't going over for herself, but for a good friend whose birthday was tomorrow. She had promised to meet him first thing tomorrow to celebrate it, saying she'd bring him a surprise unlike anything he'd ever seen. Then, as she was stressing over what to get after her boisterous declaration, as luck would have it, she was informed of a certain item that she was sure her friend would be surprised by and love. She was aware it cost a touch more than she usually commits to spending, but that was fine. She had a small stash of extra funds saved up for special occasions, and this was a special occasion.

But now, it seems her luck had run out.

Stupid! Stupid!

Why had she spent all that time at Shino's house before, letting herself lose track of time, when she had other commitments? She wanted to go back to Shino's house and yell at her, but knew she bore no fault.

She's not the reason I was too late. It was me. I was the one who decided to drop on by for a visit, and she didn't even know I had plans. All she did was chat and play, as ever. I could've told her I needed to run an errand, and I'm sure she would've understood.

Completely crestfallen, Ione had no idea what to do. She had made such a grandiose promise, and in several hours time, she'll have nothing to show of it. It almost made her feel like packing up and leaving out of sheer shame and embarrassment. Knowing there was no more point to being out anymore, she elected to drag herself back home.

"Ione! There you are, okaaay. Did something happen? You rushed out without a word, and now you look totes miserable."

There, near the intersection that divided the paths to their two houses, stood Shino. Ione wasn't sure, but it seemed like Shino had been looking for her.

"Oh, gleam. Thanks for the trouble, but it's nothing you need concern yourself with. I'll figure out this problem on my own."

"Nope. Nuh-uh. The only trouble right now is clearly the one my friend is in, and I wouldn't be a friend if I left you to wallow in your misery, okaaay. You're coming with me, back to my place."

Shino could be surprisingly forceful, sometimes. A fact that Ione had forgotten in her despair. She really didn't want to drag someone else into her own mess, but she knew once Shino made up her mind, there was a better chance at shopping at Nook's Cranny after hours, and she couldn't even manage that.

She had come back to and was now sitting inside of Shino's home. A far more muted and antique style a home than her own, which was bolder with modern furnishings. Shino said she'd be right back, and left to grab something from her storage.

Returning, Shino carried a tray with cups for the both of them. If Ione remembered right, this is what was supposedly called 'green tea'. She remembered it being surprisingly strange a taste at first, but she had since grown accustomed to it.

"So. What's up, okaaay?"

"Well, you know how Tiansheng's birthday's soon?"

"Soon? You mean tomorrow, right? What about it?"

"See, I kinda promised him a really special gift."

"Oh? Like what?"

"I... Actually didn't know at the time, gleam. I must've gotten caught up in the moment and blurted it out without thinking."

"So... You left to go find him a gift, okaaay?"

"No, actually, I already found a gift. Another neighbor of ours mentioned to me about Timmy and Tommy selling it, during a conversation I had earlier today. So when I left your house before, I was rushing over to go and purchase it. Which I made it to the store in time, but just when I was about to ask about the item..."

"The clock chimed?"

Ione could only meekly nod in assent.

"Still, doesn't this mean I'm partly to blame? I'm so, so sorry, my bestie. I just didn't know."

"No, no. Please don't apologize. As you said, you didn't know."

Despite her earlier feelings of wanting to yell at Shino, seeing Shino apologize only made her feel worse now.

"Still," Shino laughed. "I'm glad. I thought something really bad had happened, with how you ran out like that."

"But something really bad did happen!", Ione spat out. Her voice raising to a slight anger.

"No, see. I mean something really really bad, y'know?"

"Oh. Sorry."

Feeling ashamed for having gotten worked up at her friend who had simply been trying to help, Ione could only take a sip of the tea in front of her. Then, she pretended to take a lengthy drink, so she could hide behind the cup for just a bit longer. She knew Shino would get suspicious if she kept this up any more though, so she eventually set the cup back down.

"So okaaay. Let me make sure I got this right. You promised Tiansheng a super fab gift for his birthday, but haven't been able to find anything. Then, when you did find something, you missed out on getting it for him?"

"That's correct." Ione sat dejected, eyes downcast.

"In that case, why don't you just make something?"

"What!?", Ione blurted out. Her voice, a mix of confusion and astonishment. "But, I couldn't... "

"Sure you could! It won't be as fantastic as what I have planned, but I'm positive you could make something super great."

"So wait, gleam. What did you get him?"

Ione asked, thinking that perhaps she could be given an idea for her own gift. After all, Shino seemed to exude confidence when she mentioned having gotten something for Tiansheng's birthday.

"Why, a special performance by Pure Key's one and only hottest rising idol, me!", Shino exclaimed. With both her voice and mannerisms betraying not a hint of confidence.

They both laughed.

Afterwards, they continued the conversation with idle chatter. Though she was still unsure at what exactly to do, her good friend had given her an idea she hadn't thought of until now.

Why didn't I think of that to begin with? It's so simple. I must've been so caught up in trying to find a gift that the idea of making one never crossed my mind, Ione mused

After a time had passed, Ione finished her tea and got up.

"Well, it's getting late, and I should really get going to be started on my gift. Thanks for everything, gleam!"

Anytime, bestie!", Shino's face beamed. "I'm positive you'll have something très fantastique soon. I can't wait to see what it is, at the party!"

After saying goodbye and being seen off, Ione proceeded to head back on the path to her home, her mind refreshed. She wasn't sure of the time, but knew there was almost no chance at running into someone else this late, as she made her way through the darkness, guided only by the moonlight.

Thankfully, she thought, our homes are rather close.

Indeed. Simply taking a left from Shino's place at the section where two of the island's paths meet, and then continuing to follow that path, would lead one to Ione's, as the first house.

After a brief moment, Ione had gotten back home. As expected, she didn't cross paths with anyone else. Even the bugs that come to the island didn't offer her company. A result of the island currently being in the middle of a frigid winter.

Making her way inside, Ione first made to glance at the clock, now noticing that it was a bit past 1.

I've really gotta do something about my losing track of time when I'm with Shino, Ione noted, slightly frustrated with herself, for letting the cause of her current mess happen again.

With precious few hours left before she was to meet Tiansheng for his birthday, she did not have any time to waste. Setting about quickly to figure out what to make, she eventually found something that she thought he'd like that could be made in time for their meeting.

But it's so simple, she noted. A far cry from anything as grand as she had boasted about days earlier, this was almost embarrassingly basic. So basic, in fact, that Ione was sure someone else would bring something similar to the party.

Still, I don't have time to be picky anymore, thought Ione, noting that it was now close to 4. I'll just have to apologize and hope he accepts.

A short period later, her "surprise unlike anything ever seen" was finished. Wryly thinking to herself well, it's not wrong. What she had ultimately settled upon was a recipe for cupcakes she found that she thought Tiansheng would at least enjoy the flavor of, if nothing else.

Looking at them now though, she almost felt like tossing them and simply apologizing. She had misremembered what ingredients she had on hand, so had to make several substitutions. And if that wasn't bad enough, owing to the time constraints, they were all hastily decorated as well. Only barely being able to make out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIANSHENG!" on them. One would be forgiven, for thinking this was the result of having dropped the batch prior.

Ultimately, she made her resolve, and gathered the shoddy cupcakes into a container. Proceeding to Tiansheng's home, just a few houses ahead of her own.

"Happy birthday, Tiansheng!", Ione exclaimed, entering into a kitchenesque home.

"Oh, sick! Is that my present? Can I see?" said Tiansheng, rushing over and grabbing the container before Ione could react.

"Wait, I-"

Tiansheng laughed. "Well, this is certainly a surprise. Can I try one?", Tiansheng asked, quickly scooping up a cupcake into his mouth.

"I'm sor-"

"These. Are. AMAZING!"

"Huh?"

"how'd you know this was my favorite flavor? And check this out, wuwu", Tiansheng boldly declared, while flexing a cupcake from his hand to his mouth. "Like this, I can show off how ripped I am and enjoy your gift at the same time!"

Somehow, the substitutions had been the key to making his ideal flavor of cupcake.

"This is the best present I've had in ages. Thank you!!!", Tiansheng grinned.

"Yes, I'm glad", Ione smiled back. "Now, let's get decorating!"

 

[digimon]

I enjoyed you story so much and laughed all the way through it! You had me at eggshells!! *shudder*

omg thank you so much pen! i myself as the writer was stressing out for puck LOL

 

[jadetine]

Under normal circumstances, Blathers was quite composed.
Under normal circumstances, he was not in the heart of a jungle, teeming with unseen insects, wriggling in a futile attempt to escape the vines of a carnivorous plant. And yet, as the sun sets, there he was...

The day started out like any other-- he awoke with a snort to the sound of the morning announcements echoing through the entrance to the museum. September 7 had dawned and Blathers smiled to himself, reminiscing about the day his sister hatched all those years ago. Belatedly, he realized that it was the day of her birthday and he had not prepared a gift.

All morning, Blathers scavenged through the various rooms in the museum in search of loose items or trinkets or ideas for what present he should bring. It was fortunate that his old friend Nat had left a few tomes open in the entomology office, for there he saw what was described as a butterfly with a star-shaped pattern on its wings. Blathers stared at the page, his eyes boring into the illustration. He eyed the gangly legs protruding from the butterfly's thorax. The longer he stared, the more alive they seemed to be, and he shivered with the thought of those legs landing on him and the butterfly slathering his feathers with its disgusting pheromones. Time was of the essence and surely he could overcome his fear and capture this creature for dear Celeste.

And so, calling in a few favors, either Timothy or Thomas was manning the museum while the Dodo brothers whisked Blathers to the location listed as the last sighting for the Celestial Butterfly. Blathers thanked both sets of twins and trekked into the jungle, his pack laden with all the equipment and supplies he could think of needing for a jungle adventure.

Within the first hour, his pack was wrested from his grip, and spirited away into the dense underbrush by some mischievous monkeys. Blathers was left with only his pith helmet, multi-pocketed safari jacket, and his NookPhone (which was unable to receive cell signal this far in and was also depleting its battery quite rapidly). Blathers cursed himself for his folly; how could he possibly capture such a creature while lost without any tools, much less make it home in time for Celeste's birthday celebrations? Tucking the phone back into one of his many chest pockets, Blathers stumbled onward through the foliage.

Taking a moment to rest upon a rock, Blathers checked his phone again. He was busy attempting to dismiss his alarm when a creeping vine had wrapped around his body. The vine, once coiled, pulled taut and constricted him in its grip, causing him to drop the phone. Other vines began to wrap around, and Blathers turned his head and wiggled in an attempt to peck the vines loose. In a few minutes, "K. K. Lament" began to play again, Blathers having snoozed rather than dismissing the alarm the first time. After a few more failed attempts to escape, Blathers relaxed into the grip of the plant, which at this point had lifted him from his feet and flipped him into a position that allowed him to face the jungle canopy. The sky was turning orange through the gaps in the leaves. Blathers heaved a heavy sigh.

"Is that K. K. Slider I hear?" called a familiar voice from below.

"Nathaniel?" Blathers responded, his voice strained from the pressure of the vines around his body.

"Perhaps I can assist you, old chap..." Nat made quick work of cutting away the vines at their base, and Blathers could feel the air returning to his lungs as he drew full breaths.

"Thank you," Blathers gasped, leaning on his knees as he struggled upright. "Without you, I would've breathed my last."

"Well, staring at the sunset, wrapped in a verdant embrace, listening to the dulcet sounds of K. K. Lament... there are worse ways to go!"

Blathers and Nat exchanged a few words and both explained what they were doing in the jungle; they were both in search of the Celestial butterfly. Nat had already captured one for his din- er, research--but he was willing to part with it for Blathers' noble cause.

"It was about time I checked in on my son, anyway," he said, referring to his red-scaled offspring. "Shall we head to the party?"

Nat led them to a private helicopter, emblazoned with the pattern of a rich villager who had struck gold (rocks) and was freely sponsoring the retirement of several of their friends. It must be nice to have so many bells. The two of them landed on the green plaza at the center of town, and rushed up the cliffside to the party.

Celeste was opening her presents, as stars flew across the night sky. She turned to them as they approached.
"Brother! Where have you been? And Uncle Nat! So good to see you," she greeted them both.

"Happy birthday, Celeste!" They chimed in together. Nat produced a bug cage housing the Celestial Butterfly.

"Oh my, how lovely! I was just saying I needed another one for my collection..."

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

Spoiler: Gawa and the King's Cake

Gawa was a goblin of modest means. He lived in a small hut on the outskirts of the goblin kingdom of Parkrek. While Gawa was confident in many things, his greatest pride was that of his baking. He had learned it from his Granny Gob many years ago and took every effort to put all the love and care into every single baked good. He never once considered himself to be of royal stature despite his immense pride in his baking skill.

Alas, here he was, busily gathering all the very best ingredients he could possibly find. The rarest of berries. The finest of flour. The eggiest of eggs. Why? Because the royal guard had informed him the previous day that he would be given the great honour of baking King Goblin’s birthday cake.

Both frantic and excited, Gawa burst into his kitchen. He laid out all the ingredients and got to work. The flour was fine. The eggs were eggy. But the berries - the berries were his strongest point of pride. He had found three perfect Glubgon berries among the many thousands. Big and juicy, it was the exact amount he needed. The exact amount Granny Gob used to make the best cake Gawa had ever eaten.

He sifted. He stirred. He beat.

Finally it was time to decorate the cake -- the second most important part of cake making. He gathered his many piping bags, bottles of food colouring, and bowls full of different coloured frosting. Getting into the zone, Gawa began painting a scene with frosting. The scene depicted King Goblob standing atop his throne, as he was known to do often and with gusto.

Nearing the end of his artwork he took a moment to stand back and reflect.

Suddenly, a swampclap bird crashed into the kitchen window! Gawa jolted in fright, knocking over all of the food colouring bottles. Most of the food colouring hit the walls and floor -- all except for the blue. Instead, blue had spilled over the entire cake, destroying all of his hard work. Gawa was heartbroken. Then the panic set in. Gawa’s mind raced. Not only was his art ruined - King Goblob hated the colour blue! So much so that he moved the entire kingdom into a valley under a thick canopy so that he didn’t have to see the blue sky ever again.

Yet there it was. A blue cake. And only minutes before he would have to leave to present it to the king and his guests. Gawa was lost. He was seeing stars. To serve a blue cake to the King would be a literal crime, on par with murder and tax evasion. What could he possib—suddenly, an idea came to Gawa. An exciting idea. This just might work!

The Ploy

Gawa paced nervously back and forth in the hallway beside his cake, ready for the doors to open. He had been provided a cake cart with which to deliver the cake, furnished with a silver platter and lid. Finally it was time. He took a deep breath and marched forward into the long room. At the end of the decadent table of royal guests sat the King himself. A burly and jovial goblin. All the guests talked amongst themselves, laughing and eating.

Gawa rolled the cake cart along the outskirts of the room and stopped where he had been instructed. He bowed and removed a tray from inside the cart. This immediately caught the eye of the King who was clearly very excited about dessert.

Gawa lifted the tray and presented it with yet another bow.

“Your grace,” he started, catching the room off guard, “I present to you not only one of the finest desserts your gracious kingdom allows to exist, but also a game, if you will.”

“A game, you say?” Scoffed the King, momentarily taken aback. But quickly a wry smile touched his lips. “Go on, then. Let us hear it and we shall judge your proposal, highly uncommon as it is, I do love a good game!”

Perfect, Gawa thought.

“Judge, you will. For this game is one only those in this room are suited to play.” Gawa tried his very hardest to portray himself as a humbled servant in the presence of greatness, when in reality he felt only fear. “For this game is one of tasting!” He yelled, beckoning forth the tray in his hands, showing that instead of a cake it held ribbons of many colours (excluding blue, of course).

“Speak plain or not at all. I’m hungry!” Demanded one of the goblins in military garb.

“Apologies, my lords,” Gawa bowed lower. “This game is a game of tasting, for only those in this room have the palette and ability to taste divinity in its purest form.” This sentence tickled all in the room, including the King who sat up accepting the statement to be of truth and nothing less. “Therefore, I provide you all with the richest of silks so that you might don them before eating this, the fruits of many years of labor, and then see who can name the flavour and fruit of the cake without looking!”

At first, the room was silent and Gawa felt sweat building on his forehead. But all tension vanished the moment King Goblin clapped loudly.

“A game! And cake! Yes, this is superb!” The King clapped more.

With that the rest joined in and everyone donned their blindfolds excitedly.

To Gawa’s great reassurance every last crumb was eaten before anyone had seen even the slightest speck of blue. Many guesses were thrown around at the answer to the cake’s fruit, and many friendly arguments ensued.

But at the end of the day Gawa had saved his great moment, and the King had decreed a new royal birthday tradition.

A story about a goblin baker!

 

[Irescien]

Spoiler: story

Its a beautiful sunny day, the scene sets on Cookie’s house, the naturally talkative pink dog is scrambling around her house cleaning and putting up decorations. Behind her is a large sign that reads ‘Happy Birthday Nana!’ Her friend Broffina is helping her as best as she can, analyzing and nitpicking every single detail of decor.

“Couldn’t we move the banner just a smidge that way? It doesn’t look good not centred on the couch darling”

Cookie pulls the ladder over and begins shifting it as her friend tells her to move “more, more, more- woah!”

They’re interrupted by a slam at the door, in barges in Antonio and a sheepish Hornsby trailing behind him. Cookie grasps the ladder she almost fell off of and Broffina huffs

“Don’t give us a heart attack darling, whats the rush?” She chirps

Antonio takes a deep breath “Bad news bros” he starts “I know you all trusted me with the snacks, I dont need them when ive got my super healthy protein bars, but! someone over here got his big nose into them” he says as he glances over to his big blue friend behind him.

Hornsby had barely left the entrance of the door “I didn’t know they were for the party…” he mumbled sheepishly

Broffina squawked the most dramatic gasp, “Oh must we take care of everything ourselves?? This is the worst news ever!! Surely you must still have the cake?” She asked looking back at Hornsby again. The blue Rhino looked like he wanted to run right out the door in shame “You glutton! You mustn’t have eaten a whole cake yourself?”

“No!” Hornsby blubbered back, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment, “I accidentally dropped it when Antonio scared me…”

Broffina’s face grew redder with anger and Cookie finally came over and held her back from attacking the poor guy. “Alright easy, lets all relax everyone” she pipes in and the birds flails to get away from her“Antonio, could you go buy the snacks were missing?”

Antonio nods, “I’ll make Hornsby come with, but what about the cake?” The anteater asks twiddling his thumbs nervously, he knew he had to say something but he feels bad about having to rat out his roommate

Cookie thinks for a moment and pulls out her phone, she opens a group chat labelled ‘secret party planning!!’ She quickly types out a message “urgent!!! We need another cake as quick as possible for tonight!!! ;m;”

She immediately gets a ping and a response from their friend Cherry “what happened???????”
“Hornsby dropped the cake” cookie responded

“…..”

“He’s sorry”

“……I can bake another one”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“I have some ingredients leftover already okay, it’s gonna make me late to the party though”

Cookie looked up from her phone “Okay good news! Cherry can make a cake, but I think we should make the party later” she says and then hears another ping from her phone

“Hey, I can distract Nana a bit longer if you need it.” In piped in their other friend Avery

“Yes!”

“That’d be great!!!!!”
The two dogs pipe in at the same time.

“The party is now at 7pm, don’t be late!!!!”



…..


The time of arrival is getting closer, the dog and chicken have now gotten dressed in nicer clothes and are anticipating the arrival of all their friends. First to arrive are Antonio and Hornsby, they’ve arrived with even more snacks than before to make up for the loss, Hornsby gifts Broffina one of her favourite snacks as a peace offering, she reluctantly accepts. Next comes in Cherry making it fashionably just on time and delicately carrying a cake container

“You’re all lucky I'm so awesome” she states as she places the cake on the counter

With them all there and ready to go, they all head into hiding places. Soon enough they can hear someone opening the door

“SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!”

They all scream in unison as Avery and Nana walk in, the look of surprise and happiness on Nana’s face was worth all of the stress and struggle they all went through

“Thank you everyone!!” Says Nana through teary eyes “This is so amazing”

They all huddle around her in a huge group hug, everything worked out perfectly, with the help of all of her friends

Word count: 721

 

[daisyflowers]

The final Fireworks Festival of the month on bayleaf are about to start. I need to make sure it's the best yet! As the fairly new (and currently financially challenged) Island Representative, I've loved getting to know my villagers - especially during the ceremonial sharing of snacks under the fireworks on Sundays in the long warm August evenings.

After speaking to Isabelle at the plaza about tonight's festivities I head back into my house and put on the colourful flower boppers that I received last Sunday and the green coverall coat from my wardrobe. Dressed for the crisp dark night I step outside my house and begin the walk to the plaza, admiring villagers as they admire the first set of fireworks burst pop and fizzle into the air.

Stepping foot onto the plaza I see Vesta and Sylvia sitting together on the bench, sharing their frozen treats with one another. Bubbles is next to them, showing off the green balloon that she won from the raffle. I look over at the queue for Redd and spot a worried Ozzie searching his pockets for bells and asking himself whether or not he could part with one of his bug friends in exchange for another shot at the lucky dip. He leaves the front of the line and approaches me.

'Mayor Daisy, I’m out of bells and I’d really like a blue sparkler from Redd. I’d like to get one for Bam too!', Ozzie explains

(I had just upgraded my house for the first time and gave all of my savings to Tom Nook, but I had to make sure that he got his items tonight).

'Alright’, I agreed, ‘I'll try to make sure you have enough bells to have a chance of winning!’

I had been inundated with paperwork since moving to bayleaf which meant that I hadn't explored the outer reaches of the island yet. There must be some orange trees left that I haven't seen yet. I turn around, take my ladder and walk in the direction of some clifftops. I hear Bam reassure Ozzie that I will know what to do.

After locating a bundle of orange trees and achieving maximum fuel-boost from pocket snacks, I climb my ladder, stuff the oranges into my inventory, sell my items at the drop-off box and then head back down to the plaza. I want to joke with Ozzie that there was nothing to be seen but decide against it because he seems far too stressed out.

‘I have collected enough oranges to earn the bells you need’. Ozzie’s face glows with excitement. As soon as I give him the bells he bounds over to Redd and tries his paw at earning the blue sparklers that he is after.

A little while later I see Bam pat Ozzie’s head warmly and thank him for gifting him a sparkler to use. Ozzie puts one of his bug friends onto his shoulder. They stand beside one another and draw their names in the cool night air.

 

[Doo]

Spoiler: Here’s my monstrosity

“Go on Pietro, you should perform this time! As much as I hate to say it, Tom Nook is getting tired of my jokes now. I can barely make him smirk. We need something new. Something special just for him. You’re the perfect villager to perform! Trained by the best!” Dr Shrunk explains, with a wink.
“B-but I… I can’t do it. There will be so many villagers!!” Pietro says, flustered.
“Of course you can! You have a hilarious routine. Everyone will be thrilled to see something new. Just take deep breaths and stay calm. Everything will be just fine.” Shrunk tries to persuade him.
Pietro nods, defeated. Shrunk is stubborn. He won’t get anywhere with him. The best thing he can do now is perfect his signature routine (performed only to his Dreamy Unicorn Toy and Dr Shrunk) and hope that all goes well on the day and Tom Nook likes it.

One week later:

“Now we have Pietro the Clown!” declares Frillard.
He feels the adrenaline rush through his body, and manages to stumble to the centre of the stage as the crowd cheers him on. He’s all too aware of their high expectations, and how difficult it is to make Tom Nook relax and have a good time. This all depends on him.

Frillard limps off the stage and Pietro prepares to start his routine, but… it doesn’t work. He opens his mouth to speak and the words don’t come out. He panics and tries to begin without an introduction, but he can’t move. He’s frozen in place at the centre of the stage at Tom Nook’s 50th birthday party!! The crowd is silent. Pietro is silent. He feels the twenty pairs of eyes staring straight at him. He isn’t sure what’s real anymore. Is this really happening? Where is he? It’s as if he’s floating…

He blinks as K.K. Parade starts playing at the back of the room. He looks over to see DJ K.K. gearing up the music, and Amy, the Resident Representative, looking at him worriedly. She pulls out a pack of cards and starts performing tricks for the audience, who are now all facing away from Pietro. He runs off the stage.
“I can’t believe I just did that! I ruined the whole party!” Pietro wails, as he buries his face in his trotters.
“Remember what I told you,” says Dr Shrunk, “You’re a brilliant clown. They’re gonna love you. Just stay calm and you’ll all have a great time. Trust me!”

Ok. 5 things you can see. Confetti, neon lights, smoke machine, bubbles, Mom’s Handmade Cake. He walks back towards the main party room. 4 things you can hear. Excited guests, cheering, applause and Amy telling jokes. He walks through the door. 3 things you can touch. His soft fleece, jester costume and red nose. He holds his head up and walks past the crowd. 2 things you can smell. Cotton candy and popcorn. He heads towards Amy and she smiles at him encouragingly. 1 thing you can taste. The Snack Bread he had for lunch. He takes a deep breath and joins Amy. She hands him a balloon and he twists it into the shape of a Bell Bag, before letting go of the balloon and sending it to fly around the room as it deflates. The crowd cheers. Tom Nook is chuckling and having a brilliant time. Pietro is doing it!

571 words

 

[Mokuren]

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Party of the year: Zucker celebrates his Birthday!

30 min ago
Mokuren
BBN-News

Zuckers birthday party “is the most anticipated event this year” a local resident of Aurea island said. More then 20 people are expected to attend the birthday celebration, the event is now held for the 20th time and marks an anniversary for Zucker.

“The jubilee will be extra special and hopefully people will appreciate all the work that went into the preparation”, party organiser Mokuren says.

The celebration takes place on the 25 August and kicks off with a special song from K.K Slider: Happy birthday. Organisers said audiences can immerse themselves in rock and pop music combined with some classical tunes. “We even have D.J. K.K in the evening ready to party!” music expert Airy said.

K.K. Slider also performed last year on Zuckers birthday party and said people can expect to have the time of there lives.

“Zuckers birthday party is always my highlight of the year. Everyone is welcome and the visitors are just killing it with there good vibes”. K.K Slider told BBN News.

Whatever you want to listen to music, eat cake, play party games like pin the tail, Jackbox games, coloring lineart or watch fireworks at the ocean, the activities include something for everyone. “Zuckers parties have a reputation for bringing the island together”, said local resident Octavian. “It’s not only a birthday party but an island tradition at this point”.

The highlight of the festival is the firework display that lights up the sky over Aurea. “Watching the fireworks over the ocean is just magical” Zucker said, “It’s the perfect ending to a perfect day”. Besides these activities guests also get treated to delicious snacks and local fruits with Zuckers famous Takoyaki taking the spotlight. “It would not be Zuckers party without his signature dish,” joked Raymond, another party attendee. “Everyone looks forward to it”.

The event also offers special merchandise including limited-edition posters and T-shirts featuring Zucker. “This year’s designs are really fire”, said Isabelle, an organiser for the birthday party. “They capture the tastiness of Zucker just perfect”. There is even rumoured to be a special guest appearance of the TBT-founder Jeremy.

The birthday celebration is the biggest there ever was on Aurea and marks a record for the small island. “We never had this many visitors on the island before” an employee at the community center said. “It will be great to get more victim… I mean tourists on the island!”.

Organiser Mokuren said that there is a lot of traffic to be expected and that it’s recommended to bring a tent along. “We are not prepared for having so many guests over in Aurea! There is no hotel here”.

Everyone interested in the party can also follow the livestream that can be watched on the local BBN-Channel. There will also be a livetracker for all the latest news regarding Zuckers birthday party.​

New mirror dropped: Kakashi holding a love ball in front of the Eiffel Tower

Yoshi in court for evading taxes

TBT mod found to have forgotten important quiz night during TBTWC '24


Liveblog
Day 1
01.06.2024 00:41 by Mokuren

10:21 am --- The festival preparations are nearly done and most of the guests arrived already. They are hanging out at the town plaza and are running around like airplanes in anticipation! The mood is really good!

10:58 am --- The party animals are awaiting K.K Slider. His gig will mark the start of the celebration!

12:32 am --- It seems that there is a problem with the set up for the performance. The cord extension cable for the microphone is missing! The gig will probably be cancelled at this rate. I see various people running around in search for a proper solution. I will keep you all updated!

12:50 am --- There is still no solution in sight but I saw birthday boy Zucker offering his help just now. I really hope his birthday celebration will not be a flop.

01:34 pm --- Crisis averted! The missing extension cord has been found, thanks to the quick thinking of Zucker.

01:55 pm --- In 5 more minutes, K.K Slider will start is performance! The crowd is on fire cheering on K.K Slider to come on stage!

01:57 pm --- The crowd erupted in cheers and whistles as K.K Slider took the stage with his microphone in his paw!

02:40 pm --- K.K Slider’s performance is in full swing! He is now playing a mix of his greatest hits and the crowd is loving it. The festival attendees are dancing, clapping and singing along, turning the plaza into a dance floor! The atmosphere is electric!

03:00 pm --- K.K Slider wraps up his set and the festival activities kick off with a bang! There are different games and stalls set around the plaza including various food stalls, games and merchandise.

03:43 pm --- The birthday celebration in full swing. The various food stalls are busy as villagers enjoy various treats. There is even a stall offering DIY crafts, where villagers can make their own festival souvenirs.

04:32 pm --- A surprise announcement from TBT-founder Jeremmy! He is hosting a special raffle with some rare collectibles for grab – including all imposter wands! The crowd is cheering and some are even breaking down crying in excitement!

07:00 pm --- The sun begins to set and covers the festival ground in a warm orange glow. Villagers are starting to gather near the beach for the grand finale: The firework display!

08:30 pm --- The fireworks have begun! The sky is alight with different colors, reflecting off the water. Villagers are oohing and aahing at each burst of light.

10:00 pm--- The festival grounds are quieting down, but the memories of today’s festivities will surely linger for a long time. Thanks for following along with this live blog! See you next time!







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[himekirako]

Spoiler: an innocent blunder

As the month reaches the middle of June, the summer air wraps the island of Asteria in a sizzling hug. The days stay hot, the bugs are singing, and the flowers are dancing so vibrantly during the dazzling sun.

With the sound of cicadas singing so loudly outside, Marina is the first to wake up before Zucker. Knowing her husband won’t be getting up for a while, she takes her time during her morning routine. She will enjoy a nice, warm glass of tea as she looks out her kitchen window before she starts her day. Every day she will visit Maple in the morning because she’s another early riser and they will both spend some time outside tending to the crops and flowers. The hours will pass by quite quickly when they get engrossed in the task and before long, Apple will be calling them over to have lunch. This is when she will politely decline and head back home, knowing that Zucker would be awake now.

True to her intuition, she comes back home and finds her husband already in the midst of cooking their lunch. While setting all of her gardening equipment down, she noticed a card on the table and flipped the card over before putting it back in the envelope. With the exhaust fan being on, he didn’t hear her come in and was pleasantly surprised when he turned around to see her.

“You came back just in time! Come eat while the food’s still hot, bloop!” he said with a beaming smile

The afternoons were her favourite time of day because lunch was always spent eating the delicious meals Zucker makes, she can always taste the care and love he puts into all of her meals. She will always notice the way that his plate will be less decorated than hers and how he tries to sneak bits onto her plate so that she’ll eat more. His love language is clearly through food and it clearly shows.
After filling him in on what she was doing in the morning, he suggested to her to go out and hang out with Ruby and Ankha after they finished their meal. Despite trying to argue with him to at least let her do the dishes, Zucker gently urged her out of the house and sent her on her way to her friends’ place. Once arriving at Ankha’s place, she couldn’t say she was that surprised to see Ruby already there and recounted how strange Zucker was acting to which the girls simply giggled before distracting Marina from thinking any further.

Back home, Zucker was calling Apple and Sparro for help. Now he is by no means bragging but Zucker is a good cook, though when it comes to baking… that’s simply another story. For the past couple of weeks, he’s been taking Marina’s outings as an opportunity to learn how to bake a cake for her upcoming birthday but it was proving to be harder than he initially thought. The first cake simply didn’t bake through enough, the cake after that one didn’t taste right, the next cake was burnt beyond saving because he might have accidentally forgotten to set a timer and took a nap. The cake in front of him was something unworthy to be shown to his precious wife. Everything was going so well until he started decorating the cake, the butter knife he was using was slowly crumbling the cake, the frosting he made was seemingly melting before his eyes off the cake, and the layers are now so lopsided that the cake seems to be seconds away from falling over!

That was how Apple and Sparro found him, dejected in a messy kitchen with a half decorated cake. They helped him clean up the mess, carefully coached him as he remade the cake, advised him to properly chill the cake before decorating, the wonders of a crumb coat, how to stabilize frosting, and in the end, helped him make the best vanilla sponge cake with pink frosting.

As the three of them were busy cleaning up the kitchen, for the second time, Zucker heard the sound of someone knocking on the door and wondered who it could be. To his delight it was the other residents of Asteria! Sparro had sent out a group message about coming over to help Zucker set up the birthday party a day earlier than intended since the cake had been made and Marina was out of the house, so it was the perfect time to do it. While everyone was rushing to make sure everything in the house looked right, they knew it wouldn’t be long until Marina came back so they only had so much time to get everything ready. The table was set, streamers were hung up, balloons were blown up, a birthday banner was stuck up, all that was left was to hide and wait until her arrival. Like a true woman of routine, the sound of chatter from Marina, Ankha, and Ruby would be heard on the other side of the door right at 5PM.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINA!!” everyone cheered out as she opened the door

---

As the couple settled in for the night, Zucker wanted to know if she enjoyed her surprise.

“I loved it, you always show how much you care and love me so I have nothing to ever complain about, blurp! It was a truly magnificent birthday”

She turned over to turn the bedside lamp off

“Even though I already knew about the surprise party because you left an invitation card on the kitchen table and Sparro added me in the group message earlier today.”

 

[Flyffel]

Blathers' Big Anniversary

September 24th. Everything was ready for the big day. It was not a regular birthday, after all. It was Blathers' special anniversary, and the celebration that the whole island had been preparing for a whole week was a big rave in the fossils section of the museum of Viennali.

Poppy had the big idea and she spread the word. Merengue was responsible for the sweet treats while Reneigh took care of the salty apartment. Blanche prepared tea and homemade lemonades. Diana and Erik coordinated the gift selection. Marshal volunteered as the DJ of the night. Kevin came up with a dance choreography that the whole village would perform. Kyle had even come up with a rave choreography for the fossils - yes, he would make the old bones of the T-Rex dance! Dobie on the other hand said that he was too old for this stuff and he'd see if he'd even show up at the party...

The big evening. From Isabelle and Tom Nook, to even much more rare faces like Gullivarr and Redd, everyone was there, and the museum was truly bustling with visitors!

"So many visitors in my museum! And they are here for my birthday! I could cry from joy!" Blathers was overcome by his emotions.

The evening was off to a good start! The snacks and drinks were delicious. And although several of the villagers were worried about the group dance, under Kevin's lead they pulled it off more than just fine!

At some point, Isabelle noticed Dobie sitting in a corner and stuffing his mouth with a huge slice of cake.

"Nothin' to see here... Move on gal", he let out with a full gob. Even though he didn't want to show it, it was obvious that Dobie was in a particularly good mood.

When Kyle started moving the T-Rex for the "Dino Rave", Blathers was worried that the fossil would get damaged. However, Kyle was masterful with how he played with the marionette strings, and he made the master of the dinosaurs perform several dances. Soon Blathers had forgotten his worries and started dancing with the dinosaur and everyone else! The laborious preparations had been worth it, as everything had gone without a hitch!

Finally, it was time for the climax of the evening! The big gift exchange! Blathers' eyes were sparkling with joy as he opened the wrappings that revealed carefully selected and curated gifts. Diana was proud of her job well done while observing the owl's reactions. One gift box was particularly big, so it was saved for last. In fact, it was so big, that Blathers tore it open by grabbing one side with his talons and flying off. What it revealed was a shock to everyone except Erik and Dobie, who had prepared the gift together: what seemed like a hundred different insects crawled, flew, slid and wandered out of the box!

"Eeeeeeeeeeeek! Insects! Take them away! Nooooooo!" Blathers screamed from the top of his lungs.

Diana was terrified and started cursing at Erik:
"You said that you wanted to prepare a huge surprise and it was a hundred live insects? Are you out of your mind?! No, don't even bother to answer, I don't want to hear your lazy excuses, you ruined everything!"

Everyone was scrambling to take out their nets and start catching the insects that had invaded the fossil section of the museum, while Blathers was running around and screaming.
"Aaaaaaaaah, a grasshopper! I could tell you more about it, but this may not be the best time... Aaaaaaaaah! A wasp! Aaaaaaaaah! A fly! Help! What, Dobie you want to know more about the fly? Well... Aaaaaaaaah! A man-faced stinkbug!"

And thus Blathers fainted.

Erik tried to explain himself to Diana: "You know, there is still a bug missing from the museum collection, but I couldn't remember which one was missing, so Dobie and I came up with the idea of just catching all of the bugs that we could so it might be among them..."

"The rainbow stag! The rainbow stag is missing from the museum! Why didn't you just ask me?!" Diana countered.

"Oh, I didn't think of that, Diana. Sorry. You know, thinking is pretty tiring, so you should understand... And you were stressed coordinating with everyone else anyway, right?"

Right at the that moment, Erik saw a bug fly by, and he swung his net casually.

"See, I caught the rainbow stag", Erik declared proudly as he walked up to Blathers. "Look Blathers, I'll gift you the last missing bug from the museum collection."

"Ooooh! How terrible! How terrific!" Blathers had recovered from his shock. "I am overwhelmed by my joy of the collection being complete now, but to be honest, if I may wish upon a rainbow, then I wish to stay very far away from this horrible rainbow stag!"
Everyone laughed.

Soon, the rest of the bugs had also been caught and sold to Tom Nook. And despite the somewhat unpleasant surprise, Blathers would remember that particular birthday as one of the best days ever!

Word count: 844 (847 with title)

 

[Emolga59]

Here's my entry! Word count is 714.

Spoiler: The star that has yet to shine

Maddie’s cozy living room was a burst of holiday cheer. Strings of twinkling lights had been hung with joy, and ornaments glistened like her diamond heart necklace on the Christmas tree. It was the kind of scene that could melt one of the most frosted hearts, but as Maddie stepped back to admire the scenery, a horrible feeling hit her. She had forgotten the star.

The star was not just a small decoration. It was the centerpiece of her Christmas tradition. The nearest Nookmart was only ten minutes away, but tonight, the angry snowfall had completely had fallen like bricks of a wall outside her apartment complex. The blizzard outside showed no signs of stopping.

Frantically, Maddie glanced around the room. She did not want to disappoint her dearest friends, who were eagerly waiting in the condos that surrounded her and she couldn’t let them see the tree missing its shining glory. She felt a surge of panic, but she quickly pushed it aside.

She rummaged through the attic, hoping to find something that had the sparkling aesthetic of a golden star. Old boxes, dusty decorations, and forgotten party favours filled the space around her. Amidst her struggle, Maddie’s eyes landed on an old paper mâché angel she mad back in Nookington Elementry School. It was missing one wing and its face was a little cracked, but it had been a part of her family's decorations for as long as she could remember. In her childhood, each sibling of Maddie's would have one angel, and they would all be displayed together with care and pride.

With a bit of repair work and a fresh coat of gold paint, the angel began to shine like it did all those years ago. Maddie worked with determination, her hands moving with practiced skill as she fixed the petite figurine. A few well-placed diamond stickers and a starry white ribbon gave the angel a touch of glamour, transforming it from a forgotten relic into a glittering ornament.

When the angel was finally ready, Maddie climbed the ladder to place it on top of the tree. As she positioned it carefully, she felt a sense of warmth. She felt as if everything had stopped to stare at the angel. She heard no noise of holiday cheer across Floor 4 of her apartment complex, she could feel like the twinkling sensation of her wall string lights, and she felt the blizzard subside as if it was a calling from the golden angle. It may not have been the star she had wanted, but it was a symbol of her determination, effort, and what mattered most, her memories of the past.

As guests started arriving, the house was filled with laughter and the aroma of festive treats. When they saw the angel crowning the tree, there were curious glances and intrigued stares. Maddie quickly gathered everyone around.

“I have a little something to share with everyone who was kind enough to show up today,” she said with a warm smile. “This angel has been with our family for years, and tonight, it has been painted and glamoured up to stand in for my usual gold star It’s a reminder that even when things don’t go as planned, the feeling of regret won't last forever. The most important take away is the memories that have been created, which will serve us for a lifetime.”

Her friends nodded, touched by the sentiment. The angel, with its newfound sparkle, fit perfectly into the spirit of Christmas. It wasn’t the traditional star, but it was a representation of the love, joy and jolly atmosphere that make Christmas so special.

The night went on with conversation and laughter, which not only filled the room with liveliness but also Maddie's spirit with a sense of accomplishment. The snowstorm outside, while still present, seemed to fade into the background for everyone in Maddie's vicinity as the warmth of the party filled the room.

In the end, the Christmas party was a success. As Maddie looked at the faces of her friends and family, she knew that this Christmas would be remembered not for the beaming, bright gold star it lacked, but for the love and creativity that lit up the stars in the sky that lingered above them.