Hexed Concludes

It's very rare that I ever self-promote on this blog, but those who follow also my fanfiction, I wanted to share some news. I have concluded writing my Hex Girls fanfic, Hexed, and just published the final chapter today. Although I didn't plan it, it worked out great that the last chapter was published on Earth Day, since the girls are eco-goths haha.

The fanfic is set in the year 2000; one year after the events of Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost, but before any of their other appearances in Scooby-Doo and Legend of the Vampire, What's New, Scooby-Doo?, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?. We never get to see how the girls go from being a small town group in Witch's Ghost to a world famous band in Legend of the Vampire, so I thought it would be fun to write a fanfic exploring that. The story begins with Thorn, Dusk and Luna attempting to make their first album and performing music around Oakhaven. However, the cheap venues they are forced to play in makes them want more. After the girls become discovered by a record label executive (Gus Boggs from the Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated episode "In Fear of the Phantom"), it seems they might finally achieve their dream of becoming a famous band. However, they quickly realize that fame might not be what they thought after they get tangled up in a dangerous mystery involving a cursed object. There are 20 chapters in all. One of the most enjoyable parts of writing for me is including references to other content, especially Scooby content, so there are quite a few references to various Scooby media (and sometimes other pop culture references) sprinkled throughout the fanfic.

One of my favorite things about writing this fanfic was the research. Without giving anything away, the girls begin traveling to a few different cities after they become discovered. I wanted this story to be as accurate as possible, so before writing each chapter, I spent hours researching each of the cities the girls visited to ensure the places the girls were going were accurate to how they actually were in 2000. This involved researching restaurants and hotels in those cities at the time, looking up the history of famous places and landmarks, and even looking up the tiniest details like exit numbers the girls would take, or "Did Starbucks sell muffins in 2000?" when the girls stopped for coffee before one of their shows. (For those wondering, the answer to that question is no; Starbucks didn't start serving breakfast until 2003). Although it was a lot of work, it was so rewarding to create a story that was historically and geographically accurate, and I'll really miss doing it.

Moreover, this fanfic had a lot darker tone than previous fanfics I had written. I definitely am a fan of including humor in my stories. While this fanfic wasn't completely humorless, it was a lot more serious than previous works I'd written. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it at first, but I grew to really love the edgier tone. Without giving a spoiler, there's a pretty major twist towards the middle, which was probably one of my favorite chapters to write. The twist was in fact so shocking, it's made reviewers exclaim "Holy macaroni!" (to be fair, that was an actual review I got, which I appreciated haha). Although it took me a little while to get a rhythm for writing this fanfic, I would say it's probably my favorite thing I've written to date.

If you're interested in checking out this fanfic, you can now read the completed story on Fanfiction.net and Archive of Our Own. As always since I like to have the creative freedom, this fanfic is rated T and may not be appropriate for very young audiences. However, I do want to note that none of the content is actually vulgar; I would call it more playfully edgy, like one of the girls (usually Dusk) swearing on occasion, or slightly mature jokes.

Thank you for reading this far if you did (although maybe I don't need to say that, since only the ones who have read this far will see this lol) and I truly hope you enjoy this fanfic if you decide to check it out!