It’s Summer in the Winter! Behind the Scenes of [Summer Shorts] - Full Series Wrap-Up with a Special Guest

Hi!,

It feels like Summer was so long ago, yet, we made through a full 23 episodes of [Summer Shorts] not too long ago. For those of you that may be new, you can check out the full series here! 

PLEASE NOTE: This audio contains a fair bit of spoilers so please if you plan on listening to the series, leave this audio LAST.

After the series completed, I didn’t really have a chance to reflect on all the work that went into it and your wonderful support that kept me going, so I asked my friend Avalon/Everdistant-Utopia to listen to the series and help me moderate a sort of “podcast” episode that is a behind-the-scenes look at how it all came together.

“The Process” & Ideation

This series means a lot to me as I truly felt like I was “going out on a limb” to offer something that wasn’t the usual audio roleplay, but the idea came to me after thinking about the full experience I wanted to provide to give you the best listening experience possible. Avalon asks me A LOT of questions about the different decisions I made on Day 1 vs throughout the series and I found the questions super insightful. I made sure to insist that he not “prep” me with any of the questions ahead of time and I had a blast being candid AF with you all :D

Why have a guest moderator? 

Avalon and I have known each other for years and have often pushed each other to do more creative projects, he also has stood in as a guest voice in a few audios and frequently asks me about my motivations for wanting to or not wanting to do a particular thing. It felt right that he assist me with this task to get the best responses and insights for you <3 

Reflecting 

Looking back on the experience of Summer Shorts, and remembering how I felt when I released the last episode, and removed the pinned post (I was v sad), I’m happy to take the opportunity to revisit Lakeview and also begin to consider what could come next. Exploring how to keep this format for the future while still keeping it fresh makes me really happy going into 2025. 

Wrap Up & Thank You!

Since the series concluded, I’ve considered what might my favorite moments be and I know that they’ve been your reactions :D your comments, your hearts and appreciation for the story and the characters have been so inspiring. I can never thank you enough for allowing me to experiment with passion projects like this. Whether you’ve been with me from the first episode or just joined us at the end, your support means the world to me. This community is everything, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to share this story with.

What’s Next?

That’s the fun part, we get to decide and experience what’s next together :D 2025 is gonna have a LOT in store. I’m grateful for each of you sticking around and indulging in me, V! 

💋 V 

art by FinallyV || "Citadel Theme" Music by VincentFern || Moderator: Avalon