Luo

< doesn't know what magatama is but understood the rest ofit

This is the best advice anybody can give you, but it's not fun and it's shitty to execute: the only way to get better at writing is to write a lot.

I'm not going to say that there aren't people who have a better intuitive capability at writing than others, but no matter how much innate talent someone may have, nothing will ever take the place of the journeyman grind of writing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pages. From the first story I ever wrote to the last one I churned out, the difference is immense -- and while yes, I've grown in experience, vocabulary, literary reference and maturity, the only way I was able to deploy those new tools and refinements was by continuously throwing myself bloody against the brick wall of writing yet another story.

The best way to be a good writer is to be a bad writer for a very long time, in essence, and to be able to grit your teeth through that process. That last part, the endurance sport of it, that's the thing a lot of people can't do; even once you're a quote-unquote good writer, writing doesn't get much easier, because you hold yourself to a higher standard, and chipping blood out of the rock of your frontal lobe so your story can have a climax is the same agonizing process it's ever been -- regardless of how you avoid thesaurus abuse these days.

Re: the realism and atmosphere, I wrote a long thread about my process there years ago (thanks @cherrysolitary for the off twitter link!) which now I'm thinking I should probably transcribe into Tumblr at some point.

​This AO3 skin was inspired by antique books featuring elegant gold foil stamping.

​Truth be told, I am not entirely satisfied with the day mode. It might not be as comfortable for extended reading as some of my past designs. However, I am absolutely in love with this purple and background color combination—it evokes the feeling of writing and sketching with purple ink on old parchment. The purple foiled motifs also carry a slightly mottled texture, as if gently faded by the passage of time. Perhaps I will update the palette if I discover a better match one day?

​I actually began with the night mode and tested several color schemes. I attempted a red, gold, and black palette, but it was a miss. During the process, the contrast felt far too glaring, and the black background was suffocatingly heavy. This purple and gold, on the other hand, reminds me of the beautiful gowns of noble girls in classical oil paintings. I am truly delighted with how it finally came together.

​⚙️ Quick Installation Guide

​The installation process is almost identical to the famous "🌹 𝕸𝖎𝖉𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖒 🌹" skin, but with just one extra step: the base file.

​You will need to create 4 skins in total. First, create the base, the Day skin (Violet Parchment with light mode checked), and the Night skin (Gilded Velvet with dark mode checked). Finally, when creating your Master Auto-Switch Skin, add them as Parent Skins in this exact order:

​Faded Gilt - base

​Faded Gilt - Violet Parchment

​Faded Gilt - Gilded Velvet

​📌 A Quick Note

​Just a quick heads-up: Since this skin is highly optimized for mobile devices, the position of some decorative assets might shift slightly if you use it on a desktop or a larger screen. Please don't mind it too much! The layout and immersive reading experience are absolutely at their most perfect on a mobile phone. 📱✨

​📢 Disclaimer

​Non-Commercial: This skin was created purely for fun and personal interest. It is shared for free and is not intended for any commercial activity or profit.

​Language: Please note that English is not my native language. There might be some grammatical errors or awkward phrasing. No offense is intended—if any wording feels inappropriate, it is purely unintentional.

​Assets: All visual materials and decorative assets used in this skin were sourced from the internet. All credits go to the original creators.

​Content: The works shown in the screenshots are for demonstration purposes only. They are not my own writing; I have only used them to showcase the visual effects of the skin.