#this novel is so well crafted i literally cant get over it

[its-no-biggie]

mannnn rereading orv really makes it clear just how well the constellations represent readers. like literally from chapter one, so many times a constellation sends an indirect message and im like "omg thats what i was thinking!" and just in general, the way they comment on the story in such a detached way really feels like readers leaving comments on a webnovel.

but thats just the superficial aspect: orv takes it so much further than that. cause first of all, we have the way constellations can band together to change the outcome of the story. even if its cruel, even if it wont lead to the right ending, they can force the direction of the story with donations (and the unspoken threat that theyll leave if they dont get their way). the dokkaebis practically have no choice- they live for donations. no viewers means they get demoted and no one will watch their story. (which is an incredibly relevant struggle to any artist who wants to do it as a career- feeling like you have to choose between artistic integrity and paying the bills.)

like, you ever wonder why most successful tv shows keep running until theyre no longer good? because the people want more content! you know how long fans have been BEGGING alex hirsch for more gravity falls content, even though the finale was the perfect ending for that show? the fans dont know whats good for the story, they just follow what theyre feeling in the moment. and when the writers cave to that (in order to avoid losing their job) the story suffers.

but theres ALSO the aspect of not only commenting on and interfering in the story, but dehumanizing the characters. now, this one isnt so much a criticism of real life, but more of an exploration of what it would be like from the characters perspective. from uriel shipping joongdok, to the constellation banquet where all the constellations are trying to project their own stories and experiences onto the "characters", to the "chemistry awards", to every instance where the constellations demand to see the incarnations struggle for their own satisfaction..... at every turn, the constellations dont treat the incarnations as people. theyre just entertainment. and these are all normal fan behaviors, which obviously isnt a problem irl because fictional characters dont have feelings. but when seen from the perspective of the character its incredibly fucked up. no wonder yjh hates the constellations so much, i would too!

and i especially like this aspect of it because instead of it being a commentary on the reader/writer/character relationships irl, it becomes about them growing past the roles of constellation/incarnation/dokkaebi and seeing each other as people. this is really shown when kdj becomes a constellation and yjh has to come to terms with that (and similarly with tls123, much later in the story). but also, over time kimcom makes genuine connections with both constellations and dokkaebis, and a lot of the characters sort of shed those roles and start to work together for the sake of telling the right story together.

[bonesandthebees]

hi! given everything I'm distancing myself from the fanbase, fanfiction included as while I love it, Ik I'm someone who struggles to distinguish life and fiction sometimes and don't want to align his fictional character with the shitty actual one.

That being said, I just want to thank you for everything you've written in the space. Several of your stories have been some of the best I've ever read over several years of different fanbases and quite literally thousands of fanfics. The way you craft stories and characters and dynamics is insanely impressive.

After reading stars I was completely in love with your writing. your portrayal of characters and the way you crafted dialogue was incredible, and had me rereading it a dozen times over. I genuinely didn't think I'd read something else on the same level- and then you released tagd and proved me completely wrong.

I know not every fic writer's aim is to eventually be published in mainstream fashions, but if that's part of yours I can't wait to see what it would be - to be frank, with how well crafted stars and glass are I could easily see a change of names getting them published properly.

I'm rambling a bit now but yes. Thank you for writing some of the coolest pieces of fiction I've ever read and i cant wait to see what you do next, in or outside of the fanbase, I hope that cretin has not discouraged you in anyway

this is so kind thank you <3 sorry to see you go from the fandom but do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself. I'm so glad my writing has given you so much enjoyment over the years

actually, yes, I do have goals to be published in the traditional mainstream kind of way. my dream since I was a little kid has been to write and publish my own novel, and all the love and support I've received over the years I've been in this fanbase gave me the confidence to think it could actually be possible. and, well, my current project I'm working on to be published is actually a completely rewritten version of glass divine :) it's not just a change of names, the characters are wholly different people. I just need to sit my ass down and actually write it

don't worry, the cretin hasn't discouraged me from writing. if anything this whole mess kind of just gave me the shove I'd been waiting for to step away from dsmp and shift my focus onto other things. it was a long time coming anyway.

take care of yourself <3

[dreaming-of-assclass]

3-E Bedroom Aesthetic Headcanons Part 1

I’m simply bored rn so why not?

Fuwa

It’s very obvious she’s into mangas/anime’s lmao

Has a lot of merch and posters all around, as well as cute plushies

Likes to keep it dark most of the time so she can watch/play on her TV. If she wants to read or write, she can just turn on her lamp.

Bed is a standard size, but filled with a ton of pillows and blankets so she’s comfy while doing whatever. It’s also perfect for building blanket forts or starting pillow fights with friends

Looks like this but maybe less intense haha

Nakamura

Has a fairly spacious room that she loves

Prefers sunlight so she keeps her curtain open for as long as she can

Has a few posters of singers that she really likes

Her room overall has a pretty indie vibe. It’s super chill though

Literally never makes her bed. Ever.

Has a desk but she likes to do homework on the floor for some reason

Looks like this but a lot messier

Isogai

He has the smallest bedroom in his house, and he completely offered to take it.

It’s very cramped :( He only fits his bed, desk, and dresser inside there.

Doesn’t spend a lot of time in his room though because of his very busy schedule

Cant fit a bookshelf so he keeps his textbooks and such under his desk.

His room is tidy for the most part but it’s probably just because he’s barely there

The lighting is pretty awful. He once saved up some of his money to buy a proper lamp that would be better for studying

Sugaya

I know y’all weren’t expecting him to be a plant mom lmao, but listen: his parents are into artisan crafts, his sister travels, they are an artsy family ok?

So his room has a lot of greenery inside, and he takes care of all his plants UwU

His room is very much a reflection of himself and all his rebellious energy. So he’s painted his walls, put up posters or quotes he resonates with, etc.

His bed is minimalistic because he’s barely in it tbh. Whenever he wants to chill or draw, he has a mini sofa. It’s also seating for whenever he brings friends over.

Room’s kinda cramped but he prefers it that way

Looks like this

Okuda

Her room is very minimalistic but has a sweet vibe to it

Likes open-lighting but has a habit of leaving the curtains closed even after finishing her experiments

Has a view plants that she takes care of very responsibly

Doesn’t like having a boring white room, so she’s put up flower images and art around, just to give it more life.

Her desk area is kind of a mess filled with papers and such haha. Despite that, she still makes room for when she wants to carry out another spontaneous experiment

Her lab equipment is all in a spare room in the house, solely for her use. So there’s not much in her room but you might see a vial of poison randomly somewhere lol

Looks like this

Muramatsu

Has one of the smaller rooms in his family’s apartment above the restaurant and it annoys him sometimes

At least he doesn’t have to share with his brother anymore though....

Anyways yeah. It’s pretty minimalistic. He doesn’t use a desk, and instead works on the floor or in the living room. Usually studies with his friends.

His clothes take up most of the room lmao, boy cares about his wardrobe a lot

Bed is always messy but he tries not to leave piles of clothing around, or leaving any dirty dishes.

Full-length mirror so he can check out his outfits every morning and take selfies

Leaves tissues, a few graphic novels, cookbooks by his bed, as well as some other things on his lil makeshift nightstand

Sleeps with a fox plushie. Will deny that its his vehemently, even if it’s right there in front of you.

Hara

Gets the best room bc she’s the eldest and the only girl hehehe

Her room is honestly the definition of cozy

A very soft rug covers most of the floor, and it’s great to just lay on tbh

Always has very warm lighting because she prefers that vibe. Sometimes lights up candles if she’s feeling it

Has a lot of storage space so her room is never really cramped or full. Also keeps it very tidy all the time.

Hides her private stuff away from her little brothers, who snoop around a lot

If no one else is home, sometimes she clears her floor and tries out wrestling moves or fitness stuff on her rug.

Mimura

HE HAS A FILM PROJECTOR!!!

Keeps a very huge extensive collection of all his fav movies in a corner of the room, stored in a box

His room is medium-sized but he has so much shit that he hasn’t organized yet, it’s a bit tight

His desk is near his bookshelf, and he prefers to study during the day. Then at night, he can chill with some movies and snacks

He has a lava lamp and he loves it. It was a gift from Fuwa for his birthday actually

Tries to be tidy but he just doesn’t have the energy to go through all his stuff and organize it

Doesn’t have a rug and he really wants one bc it’s hell every morning, to step onto the freezing wooden floor and yelp loudly at 6am

Bonus:

Kanzaki’s gaming corner

[shanastoryteller]

how do you actually sit down and write stuff? I want to write stories, i want to be able to craft words, to be able to merge them with my pictures(which is my actual main focus, im an artist first), i want to be able to get my characters across the way you and others of my favorite writers do, but i dont know how to start. the generic advice is just do it, just start writing, practice it. but i dont know how to do that, i dont know how anybody can. i'm either constantly getting bogged (cont)

bogged down in the details, or unable to find the rightwords for how i imagine said details, sometimes because it's always changing,and i cant get them out right consistently. and i dont know how to practicethat, i dont know how to practice writing anything. i love finding words but ifeel like i use the specific ones too often, or otherwise im always resortingto metaphors that usually only make sense to me. (2/3)

im sorry if this is all kinda rambling and unclear. at thispoint, several minutes into thinking about what to say, and being unable tolook at what i already sent, im kinda unsure exactly what my question is beyond"how do you do it, and do it so well?" which is something difficultto answer with anything beyond the generic. it's too broad. thanks for, iguess, listening to me vent. i'd like to hear your thoughts, if there'sanything. you can ignore these though. (3/3)

 hi! so i’m answering this publicly because this ended upbeing kinda long and i’ve gotten some similar asks before, and my answer isalmost always ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ because i honestlyjust have no idea what i’m doing 100% of the time

so the thing is, my answer is just likeeverybody’s answer, and equally unhelpful: you have to just write. and you haveto write a lot.

i think something that people get bogged downwith when they try anything new is that they just aren’t good at it, and theyknow the level of good they want to be but since they can’t replicate it immediatelythey get frustrated and disheartened and stop. you’re an artist, so think aboutwhen you started drawing or painting or whathaveyou – you were probably prettycrap at it for a really long time.because with things like art and music and writing, there’s a horrendously bigspace between where we’re all kind of terrible before we get the hang of it.full disclosure: there’s a lot of time i’m convinced i’m still in the awfulstage of writing, and hoping if i just write enough i’ll get over it one day.

not to be a cliché, but i really do think that ernest hemingwaysaid it best: we are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes amaster.

so don’t stay upset when things don’t come out how you wantthem too. almost nothing i write comes out how i want it to. when i posted myfma fic ‘know the difference’ where i made the main characters angels i wastotally convinced that nothing i’d tried to say had come across right and i’djust spent 9k sounded long winded and stuffy. i literally almost just deletedthe whole thing because it wasn’t where i wanted it to be, but i couldn’tfigure out how to get it there and i was so upsetand frustrated.

but i posted it anyway because hey, it was words that i hadwritten, might as well – and a lot people liked it! so there’s that.

this is all vague and pep-talky, so here’s some actual realadvice:

1.  you don’t have to writeprose! i spent a long time before i started writing prose just doing poetry.really, horribly bad poetry, but poetry is good when you just have this onespecific thing you want to say. some people will say poetry is easier. that’slike saying it’s easier to build a boat inside a bottle with tweezers. sure, it’ssmaller with less stuff, but is ittruly easier? no.

2. you don’t have to write full stories! just write thescenes that matter to you, write your beginning and ending and say fuck it tothe middle. write random things that don’t matter, jot down scenes andcharacters doing mundane things like buying coffee, or doing something likehiding a body or being transported to the moon or having a swordfight. it doesn’tmatter if it doesn’t make sense.

3. write things that you’re excited about. if you’re not having fun, if you’re not enjoyingwhen you write, it will show. and also, what’s the point? don’t worry aboutsounding serious or smart or important. who cares about any of that crap, it’sboring. write things that make you happy. write about a magical princess on themoon, about your favorite characters finding happiness, write soulmate aus andmermaids who control the sea and imperfect people finding perfect love. life isshort. the things that you enjoy writing are the best things to write about.period, end of discussion.  

4. one of the longest pieces i wrote in the beginning thatreally helped me get a handle on writing was awful. it was about vampires and werewolves and a magical people calledan ‘ambivalence’, with ancient Egyptian priestesses thrown in for good measureand a god for every zodiac sign meddling in everything. seriously, writewhatever you want. but something i did for this is i just wrote all the scenesi cared about in a row, and then i went back and wrote all the connecting bitslater. fun stuff first. everything else later. i don’t write like that anymore,and actually it would probably drive me crazy if i tried. but it was reallyuseful before i figured out how to have the patience to write everything inorder.

5. so i know everyone has really mixed emotions about elmoreleonard and his ten rules of writing, and i think a lot of them are worthless,but he gave me the most import writing advice i’ve ever received: leave out the parts that people skip. iknow my writing is kinda off from a lot of other people, because i don’t spend alot of time explaining stuff and going through all these scenes showing howthings happen, like what i should do logically, because if something isimportant it should be shown. but sometimes important things are boring and canjust be referenced later. and i know there are people who wish i didn’t writethis way, but i just get too impatient and it starts to seem boring to me, so ijust … don’t do it. i trust that my readers are smart enough to keep up andknow what’s going on without me having to explain it all, and that seems to beworking? so if you’re writing a scene and its seems boring an unnecessary,chances are it is and you can skip it. if you don’t want to write it peopleprobably won’t want to read it.

6. i know this isn’t what anyone who’s just getting intowriting wants to hear, but i really think you need to write at least a half millionwords before you’re a good writer, ithink it takes about that many before you get the hang of it and it starts cominga little naturally to you. to put that in perspective, that’s 50k ten times,aka the equivalent doing national novel writing months ten times. i think atthat point you’ll start to beginfiguring it out. and also, i just don’t know if there ever comes a point whereyou’re 100% satisfied with your writing. if there is, i certainly haven’tgotten there.

but really, truly, honest to god, the only writing advice thatmatters is do whatever the fuck you want.

don’t worry if it seems like crap. don’t worry if it seemssilly, if it’s incomplete, if it’s haiku or a just some scenes, if the words aren’tperfect or you devolve just into a series of metaphors. if you’re writing, it’sgood. the end.

[theboykingofhell]

9, 15, 16, 18, 26, 31, 32, 34, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47, 49, 51 for TSG, 54 :*

ricky found fucking dead in miami after looking at these PROMPTS,

9. Least favorite trope to write.

what a weirdly phrased question because if i hate it, i ain’t gonna write it... UHH. i really don’t like bringing dead characters back to life???? i don’t like writing scenes for shock horror... well, that’s a lie, i DO like to horrify the reader through my writing, but i don’t want to cheapen the emotional ~journey~ they go through by being like ‘JUST KIDDING! everything actually DOES work out in the end!!’

i have a story where narratively its kind of leading to a place where i have to make a ‘dead’ character come back (chaos actually, since i use her in red’s actual story) and it’s making me so mad like wtf thought we had a deal

15. Where does your inspiration come from?

SONGS... and just insp in general but i get a lot through music and nnnh... there’s just so many good aesthetics and quotes on my dash tbh i’m like constantly and consistently inspired, it’s great

16. Where do you take your motivation from?

imma be honest, the thing that motivates me most sometimes is either reading a rly shitty novel or seeing a shitty show and just getting livid and writing out of spite because THAT DRIVEL WAS PUBLISHED????? MY SHIT IS SO MUCH BETTER WTF... or i think to myself ‘what the fuck, what if i die tomorrow????? with my damn novel unfinished?!?!! HELL NO’... pretty much anything that reminds me that my stuff is Great but no one knows how great it is because it’s not DONE and OUT THERE yet makes me get off my ass

18. What’s your revision or rewriting process like?

depends! for books it mostly just consists of rereading after a long period of ignoring my story and just tweaking lines that seem out of place or that ruin the flow i’m imagining. if i’m rewriting, then i have two word documents out (which the program scrivener makes SO easy god BLESS that program) and just... rewrite it word for word while STARING at the old version. that always makes the prose come out slightly different, it smooths out stuff or lets me cut away or add things i really like and, most importantly, it adds length, which i tend to struggle with a lot because i like just being TO THE POINT

with playwriting though it’s mostly about the format.. i write all plays like i write everything online... in lowercase with little regard to actual grammar. so i gotta actually pretend i give a damn about the english language and format it all properly and add stage directions cuz in a first draft for plays, i always just focus on dialogue and that’s it

26. Standalone or series, and why?

standalones are far more fun and way more satisfying and, quite honestly, require way less fluff. i keep FORGETTING how much fluff is needed in a goddamn novel. MULTIPLE BOOKS OF FLUFF no FUCKING THANKS

31. Hardest character to write.

in the rp: tyler (because he dissociates in a way that literally cuts me off from? any parts of his character? which is like the ESSENCE of his character but it’s VERY unenjoyable to write tbh) and nicki (because i put too much pressure on myself to make her seem a certain way instead of letting it happen naturally)... tbh canon characters and/or characters that are based on people are generally just rly hard sometimes cuz there’s SO MUCH IMAGINED PRESSURE TO MAKE THEM GOOD!!!

in original shit: honestly i’m really tempted to say aaron and that’s just because he’s so... unlikeable to me???? but also i think it’s just because i’ve really only written one scene for him (i always write in order unless a scene is just KICKING MY ASS to write, like this particular scene) and... he seems like a Lot... of annoying bullshit to have to write out lmfao that bitch

32. Easiest character to write.

red because i’ve been writing him for like 7-9 years now, i would hope he’d be easy by now... honestly, really explosive and dramatic characters too like bert or nora come SUPER easy for me, they’re so fun to write (especially dialogue-wise) because they’re very emotional and i can get PARAGRAPHS based on one reaction. characters who try and hide shit from everyone, INCLUDING ME, are so annoying,

34. Handwritten notes or typed notes?

typed because they’re legible,,,,, but then again, my handwritten notes make more sense because they’re kind of fully crafted ideas like ‘***make nisha and aaron meet at 42nd street for transformation chap???’ while a typed note will be like... ‘42nd street+aaron’... what did that mean, ricky-at-5am... why did you do this to us

41. How many stories do you work on at one time?

two... kind of as a minimum, sort of as a maximum... like there’s usually the MAIN story and then there’s something i’m kind of doodling in the side, something that’s just sort of cooking in the backburner that i’m not too serious into the process of it, but it’s goin... i’ve never tried to do 3 stories at a time but i feel like my attention would be too divided and it wouldn’t work

42. How do you figure out your characters looks, personality, etc.

UHH........................................... i’m very fond of faceclaims cuz idk i just kind of... feel how they look... i don’t ever really envision a full person though, i get like traits... i’ll be like... oh she has long black hair and she’s not white and her eyebrows look like this... and then i’ll see a pic of pooja mor and be like THAT’S HER THAT’S EXACTLY IT. idk what it is about eyebrows and why that’s literally always the deciding factor of how a character looks, but there it is

personality just kind of... man, characters just poop out of me, i don’t decide any of this shit wtf jhsfjg

45. Worst piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten.

once someone told me to stop making the boys kiss in the first chapter of my story so i made the boys fuck instead

46. What would your story _______ look like as a tv show or movie?

scrolls WAY up... sees you didn’t add a story as a prompt WELL i’m still riding the tsg train here so

a tsg movie better look like the 90′s, goddamnit.. not like... found footage really, but i want something in the quality to be a little fuzzy and sort of tinted that one kind of grayish brown color i always associate with the 90′s for some reason... like, i can’t stop thinking about all these amber lighting and how dull everything looks, and how higher in quality things look the further and further it goes, like, it’s something i would concentrate a lot on visual cues with because i focus so much of the storytelling of tsg on nisha’s narration. sometimes you don’t know how many days have passed because nisha doesn’t know how many days have passed, if she dissociates, i’d want that shown on camera, if she keeps repeating the same number over and over again, i’d want to watch one little piece of a scene getting repeated again and again. it’d be VERY disorienting as a movie tbh but it’d be fun...

47. Do you start with characters or plot when working on a new story?

characters!!!! plot is such a backburner thing for me, if you have rly great characters, you already have a great plot right there. the plot is just set so i can see how characters react to things, man... 

49. What do you find the hardest to write in a story, the beginning, the middle or the end?

THE MIDDLE, FUCK THE MIDDLE.... endings are literally the easiest thing for me, beginnings similarly so, it’s just getting from that BEAUTIFUL starting scene to that GORGEOUS ending that fucking kills my poor undeserving asshole

51. Describe the aesthetic of your story _______ in 5 sentences or words.

low-res pictures of old cemetaries... that’s five words right there, i’m sorry but the END IS IN SIGHT, I’M ALMOST FREE AND CANT BE BOTHERED

54. Any writing advice you want to share?

can’t stress how useful having an insp blog is... creating a story through the unconscious collection of pictures and quotes that just feel relavant is just SO useful not just when it comes to really constructing a character an an atmosphere to your story, but making a fucking plot????? my tsg blog is like my most perfect insp blog because i got the idea to seperate it by chapters, and i’ve found that i can literally just... go into the chapter tags... and make connections and build on plotlines that i had NO IDEA ABOUT when i made or filled those tags, IT’S REALLY FUN and it keeps me inspired to write