The Great Pumpkin Bake-In

"The Great Pumpkin Bake-In" is a story written by Greta Jia-Kang Cabrel. It originally ran in Issue 123 at https://www.shousetsubangbang.com/mirror/the-great-pumpkin-bake-in/.

Summary

Blaize hadn't planned on joining a fraternity, but Tau Rho Pi was the oldest and oddest Greek organization at his college, with a marked tendency to induct mad scientists, lovable losers, and other iffy fellows instead of the corporate heirs, former class presidents, and ex-varsity athletes sought after by conventional brotherhoods.

It's where he belongs, and not just because of the taro boba and other treats on offer.

Author's Notes

I started this story more than two years ago, and I probably have the seeds (cough) of at least five more tales within the thousands of words I drafted and cut en route to arriving at the version in this issue. I have so many snapshots of cucurbitae (many from Flying Ghost Pumpkin Patch) in various states of display, dismemberment, and in some cases decay, stashed in a research folder in case I wanted to riff on their use in Tau Rho Pi rituals. (In fact, I think I'll stop by the patch this week and celebrate this story being done by picking up some more Blaze pumpkins to play with....)