#academyproject

[writingbypaigek]

my fave Aspen and Vance sibling vibe moments so far

Vance leaned against the frame, glanced back at the hall, then whispered, "We're throwing [redacted] a party, right?"

Aspen grinned and closed the book. "Definitely."

"So, when's her birthday?"

"May 27th."

Vance hummed in contemplation. "Next week. Do you think we can prepare everything in time to have the party this weekend?"

"I'm up for the challenge if you are."

"You know it." Vance matched her grin and added, "Shopping on Friday, then? I'll drive."

Aspen nodded. "I'll make a list."

***

Aspen was distracted from admiring the scene by a hand reaching for a strawberry. She shielded the bowl with her hand just in time. Vance frowned.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "[redacted]'ll be here in a few minutes. You can wait."

"Yes, ma'am," Vance muttered. He leaned against the table and sighed. "Unbelievable that I don't get snacking privileges as co-party planner."

Aspen rolled her eyes.

***

"When's your birthday?" Aspen asked.

"Middle of September," Vance answered.

Aspen grinned and rubbed her hands together. "Perfect. I have my next party to plan."

"But we'll have yours to plan first," [redacted] said. She looked at Vance and explained, "She's an August baby."

Vance smirked. "I bet I can plan a more epic party for you than you can for me."

"You've got yourself a bet!" Aspen extended her hand and Vance shook it.

***

"I need your help, but you can't ask me why," Aspen said.

The eyebrow on the same side of Vance's face as his uncovered ear rose. He fully removed the headphones and said, "That's an interesting way to greet someone."

"I'm serious, Vance."

He frowned and looked her straight in the eye. "Can you at least expand on how you want me to help?"

***

Aspen smiled too, but her expression was quite sheepish. "Now?"

"Seriously?" Vance hopped out of the chair. "You waited until the last moment to ask me?"

As they walked out of the room, Aspen explained, "I didn't know how this would go! If you kept being difficult, I was going to bring up the time to put pressure on you to decide."

Vance stopped in the middle of the corridor and looked at her. "I don't know if I should applaud you because that's a smart trick or lecture you for using it against someone already on your side."

Aspen put on her sweetest grin and said, "You can think about it while you're waiting in the car!"

[writingbypaigek]

Asking for lore on Sienna!/if ofc

:]

Hiii - I wanted to post the Academy Project Overview before I answered this so you would have more context for the story she's from ^_^

But, um, I fear I cannot give you too much of her lore ;-;

You see, Sienna is shrouded in mystery in the first book, and most of the information about her is tied into The Big Plot Twist™ about halfway through the book... And even then we still don't know much about her. All her big lore gets spilled in the early part of book two.

Yes, I'm very annoyed with myself because of how many details in this project must be secret because of spoilers -_-

But here are some pics of what she looks like!

I said she would get along with Tara because Sienna is very jaded about life. She has trust issues and is pessimistic about people. This was caused by quite a tough childhood.

She's a really good foil to Aspen because they had very similar childhood experiences, but Aspen holds onto more hope and gives people benefit of the doubt.

Girlie needs to talk through stuff and could learn some things from Aspen (spoiler alert: Aspen does help her find a healthier outlook on life! ^-^)

[writingbypaigek]

Academy Project Overview

Duology | Past Tense | 3rd Person | Single POV

Introduction

This is my main project! The first book is fully drafted and I'm about a quarter of the way through drafting the second book. There's a kinda fun story behind the inspiration for this story - it's proof of how an idea can come from anything. XD

In 2023, my family took a trip to Europe. In the middle of that very exciting trip, during a random quiet moment in a hotel room, a scene flashed through my mind. A teenage girl stood next to a cobblestone wall in a city, and I think she was doing graffiti. But the most important thing about that scene was the emotions I felt seeping out. It was rough and edgy, with a touch of hopelessness. I realized this girl had been through a tough life and I wanted to figure out her story.

I began working out her story when I got home, but I was also in the middle of Tiny Explorer at the time, so I only dabbled in this project. But once Tiny Explorer was published, this became my main project and has remained such.

I'm sure the majority of the content I post on here will revolve around this story for now. I have a lot to say about it (but way more that I want to say but can't because spoilers T-T)!

Opening Lines

A particularly harsh gust of wind funneled through the alley - a sure sign that autumn had arrived and winter would not be long to follow. Aspen wrapped her tattered brown jacket tighter around her body to shield from the breeze. She watched a newspaper page flutter through the air and then plummet to the ground a few feet away. The date printed on the paper claimed it was issued the previous Thursday, and the stains splattered across the sheet were evience that it had already been on adventures throughout the city before finding its way to the alley.

Supporting Cast

Declan - Aspen's best friend

Sienna - Aspen's roommate

Margaret - housekeeper

Aldredge - headmistress of the academy

Estelle - upperclassman who helps Aspen during her first days at the academy

Voss - professor who supports Aspen through her first weeks of academics

(book two additions - can only share so much because spoilers)

Vance - highkey like an older brother to Aspen

Liam - lwk like a father figure to Aspen

Soundtrack (shoutout @amelias-unwanted-opinions for help picking out songs!)

Remember You Omnichord - Trillian

Year of the Young - Smith & Thell

Make Believe - The FAIM

Secrets and Lies - Ruelle

Found - Nicky Youre

Hold Up - Victor Lundberg

Life in the City - The Lumineers

These Streets - Bastille

[writingbypaigek]

Meet Aspen, the protagonist of the Academy Project

This is my first drawing of her, and it happens to coincide with me getting to 25k words on the first draft of her story yesterday!!

[writingbypaigek]

On the subject of Aspen

I hit 15k on book 2 of the Academy Project yesterday!! Aspen's already been through quite a variety of situations in this book, and there's so much more to write ;-;

I mean, she already went through a lot in book 1, but in book 2 there's a lot going on.

Aspen's been a really interesting and fun main character to explore! Her backstory combined with her circumstances makes for many varied responses to situations. She's definitely the most nuanced MC I've written thus far. And I'm still getting to know her as I continue to write!

^ reminder of what she looks like

The development of her character has been really interesting so far. In the very first chapters, she portrayed herself as somewhat over-confident and sassy when interacting with other characters:

"My only 'crime' is being on the streets, and since I doubt you plan to do anything about that-"

"Thanks, but I'm just homeless, not lost."

But when she found herself in a completely unfamiliar environment and new social dynamics at the academy, she became way more timid and unsure of herself.

The confidence was a defence mechanism. It kept her safe on the streets. She was used to being unseen. Now, people were perceiving her and *gasp* trying to understand and get to know her??

As she got more comfortable at the academy, she gradually became a little more outgoing again. Some of her sass returns in how she teases her friends. It's a lot more natural though, rather than coming on strong like at the very beginning of the story.

And the whole time the way she outwardly portrays herself is shifting and changing, she's also working through a lot internally. For the first time, she believes there are options for her future. She begins to hope, to dream. But she also has to navigate a resurgence of memories and emotions about the family she lost. She often grieves their loss of a future even as she's finding hers.

And then, halfway through the first book, everything gets turned on its head and new dynamics are introduced. They are lightly explored in the second half of the book on top of the elements already discussed, but then they move to the front and are pushed further in the second book.

if anyone has questions or curiosities about elements of this project, pls pls don't hesitate to ask, I'd love to yap more! :D

[writingbypaigek]

❣️ 💘:💞:❤️

For the ask game!

Thanks for asking!!

❤️I'm confident on the series title. It'll be the academy's name (which I am keeping to myself until much closer to publishing). But I have no idea what to name each book ;-; Anything I think of feels too cheesy or on the nose. I will very likely be taking suggestions from beta readers lol

❣️The inbetween moments have been most difficult to write. It's important for some chapters to show Aspen experiencing simple little life moments, but I have a hard time coming up with a variety of simple little things for her to do.

💞There are two Big Reunion™ scenes for different sets of characters near the end of the second book. I've got a long way to go before it makes sense to write those scenes, but I can't wait to explore those dynamics!

💘Aspen is technically betrayed by both her roommate and her best friend at different points in the first book :)

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go write!

[stalkersince1993]

✅😧 #academylife #artacademy #academyproject #bookdesign #illustration #thepictureofdoriangray #oscarwilde #illustratorsofinstagram #illustrationoftheday #bookcover #drawing #pencildrawing #drawingoftheday #artwork #doneanddone

[matstijmes]