the second

the original but i turned up to saturation a bit (it looks more like the actual drawing now though. unless my computer screen's just weird.) 

(also the next part should be out soon) 

okay so the plotting at the opening is annoying me – not only is the tension nonexistent, i had fairly different ideas of where it was going to lead. I think I'll be starting over. because of that it'll probably be a while before I can post next, unless I draw something or ramble. which is likely, but possibly less interesting.

Okay so basically: I'm going to be continuing this, but I think I'll be making a new thread, and there will be a few changes. I'll give more updates as time goes on, and eventually the new one will start. but basically I had too many thoughts and didn't plan it out enough and ended up wanting to make changes but couldn't. I'll update more in a bit. i appreciate everyone who commented and made a character! 

okay, so first off, thanks for the support. more practically, if you're still interested in this story, please leave a comment and i'll be sure to keep your character in the next version. Celine, Moon Wolf, Silver Crystal, and Sempreverde are certain to have their characters kept because of their very very constant support, which i really appreciate. Hawkstar, Periwinkle, and Hex are also certain. Other characters may be removed if you do not comment. If you commented before and do not see your name on this list, please let me know! 

@Sempreverde, would it be okay if I changed it so Hana isn't a monk? I'm really not sure how to write that, but if you want, i'd appreciate a few details. to keep the rest the same, maybe ae grew up in the mountain town, and now is traveling around different countries?

I hope to get the story started again in a few weeks, but I am going to try to do a lot more planning this time so it doesn't end up going to pieces XD  

Letter from the Author

Hello, readers, and happy Halloween! Today is my favorite day of the year. Naturally, I’m sick and haven’t even finished my costume – which means that this will likely be the first year in all history that I won’t trick-or-treat. Ah, tragedies – but Halloween is all year long, if you do it right.

You may be wondering what this is. Welcome to the first issue of the Library of the Stars Newsletter! While completely unimportant to the story itself, this project has many goals.

What goals, you may ask? One is to give readers more influence and chances to interact with the story. for instance, if I’m unsure of what should happen, I may give a poll to ask what you would want. Or, I might have fun ways for simple changes to happen. Whatever I need. There is already a way for you to change the story – keep reading to find out how! 

Another is to expand on the world and characters inhabiting the place – and other figments of my imagination. Beyond the obvious benefits of me getting to write random meaningless rambles and force my characters into writing random meaningless rambles, there is a benefit for you! In the end, this is a ski lodge, and also a story with a very large cast. Some characters are not going to have as much time as others. Therefore, I can bring them into this, and whoever dies first will not be eternally forgotten.

Lastly, though none of this gets me any money, I have long cherished a desire to try my hand at this type of writing. In case you’re confused, this is a reference to Tchaikovsky’s letters referring to Swan Lake, his first ballet: “The directorate of the Opera have commissioned me to write the music for the ballet Swan Lake. I accepted the work, partly because I need the money and partly because I have long cherished a desire to try my hand at this type of music.” (though he likely also helped come up with the idea, especially since he had already writen several things on similar subjects, which makes sense since he was gay. also the music for Swan Lake captures a lot of aspects perfectly in my opinion. even Cyril Beaumont author of many books about ballet, including The Ballet Called Swan Lake, writes that “although Tchaikovsky’s name does not figure among the authors responsible for the scenario of Swan Lake, it is difficult to resist the feeling that he had some part in it", albeit for different reasons.)

As it turns out, however, I am not new to this type of writing. I have actually have worked on several youth newspapers in my life, though at the time of writing all of them have fallen apart, usually because they couldn’t get enough content. I did indeed soley put that note there so I could ramble about Swan Lake.

I would edit this far more heavily if I didn’t want to get this out on Halloween, because Halloween is the best day of the year. But i’m sure you know that. Rambles aside, the following writings are slightly less boring and cumbersome, so i’ll leave you to them!

~

Breaking News: You Lizards Have *Influence* 

Editors of the Library of the Stars

In an attempt to make this story more interactive, the cherished readers of the revival of the Library of the Stars Ski Lodge have a chance to influence the course of the story. It’s your choice: Should Hideto and Reshinerr have a friendship? Or should it be something in between a qpr and a romance, but not quite either? (for simplicity, it will be referred to a qpr for the rest of the article.)

Furthermore, if a qpr is chosen, should there be a small subplot about explaining it to each other? The author stated, “I swear I won’t let it take over the story. Who do you think I am, one of those YA book marketers who go on about the original world and fascinating magic and ignore the fact that the book is actually just “your eyes are beautiful, flecks of gold and silver, blah blah, ~romance~”?!” However, it was also emphasized that due to this being the CB, "there will not be a huge difference either way”.

The author’s hope is that by taking your feedback into consideration, the story may appeal to the majority of its readers. The deadline for feedback is November 8 of this year. However, if you’re late, you can still express your opinion. it will still be considered, but the outlining may be done by then.

At the time of writing, the author expresses a slight leaning towards a qpr. in the original book (and several of the many spin-offs from the original book), the characters are “boyfriends, but in a qpr way, of course.” Also, in Reshinerr’s case, nonbinary. from the crazed rambles of the author: “Also yes Reshinerr’s nonbinary but he legitimately likes the term boyfriend, i feel like gender and being gay are kind of related for him idk. I should know, he’s literally my character. There are so many random but important things about him I just don’t know. I don’t know his last name. I haven’t even figured out what pronouns he uses, for goodness sake…” The quote has been edited for clarity and length, meaning it was even longer and more incomprehensible beforehand. You’re welcome.

~

Suggestions Wanted! 

Blackfooted Bobcat

Are you lizards overly obsessed with anything? If so, join the club. But perhaps, then, you would enjoy it being worked into the story. Or, perhaps you wouldn’t, because i might get something wrong about it and then your day would be ruined – not just once, but any time you thought about it. That’s relatable too, fair. 

Regardless, you can suggest a theme for the room – at any point in the story! Despite the opening, anything will do – technically, you don’t have to be interested in it. technically you could hate it, though i highly suggest not doing that. The possibilities are endless – a bakery, an old fantasy nautical lighthouse, a room of clocks. anything. I will do my best to honor all suggestions – however, I do have to keep the story cohesive, so I may have to edit or remove ideas. In the case that one must be removed, a small detail related to the theme will be added to the story for one installment – regardless of how cohesive it is.

Stay Tuned!

Those who look to the future

Perhaps you have adored boba tea all your life; perhaps you have never tried it. Either way, stay tuned to try something from the Star Boba Cafe*! Whether you make your own flavor or choose from the pre-existing menu, it will come complete with a drawing, a written description, or even both. Forms and menus are coming soon – don’t miss out! 

*name not finalized. as in, i literally just made it up for this newsletter. I am nothing if not underprepared in really bizarre ways, while overprepared in others.

Letter from the Author

I don’t particularly care for Thanksgiving – the food is mediocre at best, and in general i’m not into racist colonialist narratives. So the only thing to do is join the crowd: skip right past fall into winter and the holiday season, ignoring that fall is way better.

The autumn wind brings fallen leaves and lost 30-dollar paper snowflakes from the seasonal store. It’s finally Nutcracker Season! Meaning, it’s time to see Nutcracker-themed objects everwhere and seethe with fury – is that really all the Sugar Plum Fairy is to you!? No, the season to watch The Nutcracker is all year long – but now is the only time to get merch >:D (editor's note: as much as we disapprove of the emoticon in a serious newsletter, the author was threatening mutiny if we did not comply.)

One might say that it seems like seasons are going to pass before there’s any more of this story. Unless you’re watching the Season Fairies in Prokofiev’s Cinderella, my plan is that this won’t happen. But, as the story is still in development, I’d like to cast a light on what’s happening behind the scenes. (Besides procrastinating.)

Ski lodges are a strangely difficult genre. The amount of characters is huge, and you have to introduce most or all of them before the deaths start. But introduce them all at once, and they’ll blend together. The audience has to be able to keep track of them – and so does the author. Naturally, my worst skill by far is plot!

And though the beginning might be in many ways the most crucial part, in this story, it is by far the hardest. The world itself is hard to explain, and beyond that, there’s a lot of background the audience needs to know before the plot will have its full impact. Much of what’s necessary can be worked in with hopefully-immersive description, but that’s rarely enough to interest people. the best place to start for the plot and the amount that the audience needs to know are constantly at odds.

For both of these obstacles, my strategy is to have a major source of tension from elsewhere that can be put on the backburner until the end, since it’s less urgent, while also developing an important aspect of the story. that too comes with its own issues: the plot has to feel cohesive, even with multiple conflicts.

Planning any story is a huge endeavor, but the workload only increases when it will be published in installments, more or less real-time to writing them. My style of plotting is also generally opposed to writing a story in sections. In general, I have a loose overarching outline laying out the major plot points, then make a more detailed outline by section, adjusting as I write. It’s hard for me to gauge tension and pacing from an outline, especially considering the amount of tension that comes from characters and their emotions. i may under or overestimate how tense a scene will be, so I switch scenes around a lot. 

But that doesn’t work here. In this sort of story, I have to have a full outline. There is much less room for mistakes, so I have to do a lot more questioning and planning beforehand. And if i do find an issue, I have to remedy it in upcoming installments, rather than fixing it where it was made.

My intention, therefore, is to write as much as I can before beginning to post. I enjoy writing, and it helps me catch things i may have overlooked in editing. But it’s time-consuming. Words themselves can be a challenge, in all forms. I often zone out or am unsure what has to happen next. And this story in particular is full of metaphors and description and internal thoughts – all of which have a lot of potential to feel like they stretch on forever.  And as always, I have tons of work on viola and violin!

So in the end, it still might be a while before I begin posting the actual story. In the meantime, I hope to get a newsletter out every 1 or 2 weeks. Imaginary or not, newspaper writing is fun! Especially when you hugely rush editing because you actually want to get it out, but we’re just ignoring that i’m doing that, of course.

~

New Product!

The Star Boba Cafe

At the Star Boba Cafe, we always strive to improve our products, and there’s no better way to do that than listening to our guests. And so, due to feedback from the Newsletter, the Star Boba Cafe is proud to stock new, high quality mango smoothies! Our mangos are taken straight from the backrooms, and we have strict quality standards so only the finest mangos are utilized. Due to spontaneous disappearances of our mango room, mango smoothies may not always be available – grab one while you can!

~ 

AD: Simple Homes Fireplace Logs: Guaranteed to last 2,000 years! 

Simple Homes Incorporated

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Simple Homes Starfire Logs are the perfect solution. When life passes in a blink, your fire has to last longer. So with Simple Homes Starfire Logs, you can keep your fireplace burning without the effort. Our logs are guaranteed to last 2,000 years or more – or your money back*. 

We’re all about making things easier. Download our free app for a quick and easy reminder when your fireplace is out of fire! With our “pyro-sync” technology, it’s guaranteed to be accurate. It’s got to be simple: Simple Homes.

Only available at the Celestial Depot, “where sales are big for all eternity!”. For the biggest selection of patterns, go to our flagship store at 238 Not-A-Nebula Cluster, Andromeda Galaxy, “Local Group”

*refund covers 1% of total retail price. This offer does not apply to items bought at sale prices

~ 

Notice

The Editors 

Boba orders coming soon – but not yet!

~ 

Hint

Anonymous

Try commenting on the content – ask a question, perhaps, or ask for something mentioned. A surprise may await – not, of course, that I said anything about it.  

apologies for being nonexiwstent for a while.

Illustration number one, which actually does make sense with the story i promise, i just expanded on the world – it's not as bad as it probably sounds/looks from the drawing – though technically this part of the forest doesn't really come in a ton but COLOR SCHEMES

anyway. Hideto, if you can't tell. have i had any full-body pictures of him on here before…? also ignore the random scribbles on the edges. anyway now i'm just stalling so you have something to look at instead of this if you hate it XD

i'm strangely nervous to post these… anyway, Reshinerr at the Star Boba Cafe. (i need a new name for that…) i feel like this going to look awful once it gets put on the CB, since it's mostly about the color details. i did crop it so it would show up better. if anything, it added to it XD the texture in the background is supposed to be clouds, idk if it looks like it. also the wall behind the counter very much should be black or something that isn't bright purple/pink but yeah. but i can't point out all my mistakes!