Do you enjoy what you are doing?
Once upon a time, maybe. Now though? You’re not so sure. You enjoyed it at first, you know that much, hell, you even loved it. And of course you did, you were a kid who was suddenly handed a lot of attention, admiration and “love” by simply being in front of a camera. Sure it requires more than that and there’s more depth to acting, but that’s sort of the gist of it. And you, with acting, were a natural. You still are. Now whether that is because it was simply in your blood or because you were far more gifted than just mere genetics could give you, will always be up for debate. But being a natural didn’t mean that passion you had for acting, that love and enjoyment you felt after delivering every line would stay. No, eventually that passion, that love, that enjoyment, died. Not quickly, no, but slowly. Sizzling out after movie after movie, after series after series, after scene after scene, after line after line, after shot after shot, after smile after smile. Until… you felt like this.
Empty.
Lost.
And so unhappy…
...
You cannot dwell on that for too long though or else you’ll be stuck in an endless loop of thoughts and your packed schedule doesn’t allow you to get lost in those endless thoughts, so you do what you do best besides acting. Avoid. Push. Hide. Smile! Avoid those thoughts. Push them far far away. And hide them in that box in your mind that is already overfilled with stuff you have pushed aside for years, that you should probably (most definitely) talk to a therapist about. But most of all, do not forget to smile for the camera!
STARBURSTER is an Interactive Fiction (currently a WIP) where you play as the biggest movie star of the 21st century. It’s rated 18+ due to its heavy mature themes such as explicit language, tobacco, drug and alcohol abuse, sexually explicit themes (possibly fade-to-black), mental and physical abuse, morally questionable behaviour, mental illnesses and more (every single TW will be stated in the actual fic and before every chapter, it’s advised to read the full extended warning list beforehand.)
FEATURES:
Full customisation of your MC, The Movie Star: from appearance to personality, ethnicity, gender and sexuality and so much more!
Befriend and romance (or not) a cast of characters
Act your heart out in your new movie project
Try not to have too many breakdowns… your schedule does not have time for that
Tiptoe your relationship with your parents, meet your sweet grandfather every now and then and perhaps get a pet?
Navigate your life in stardom, attend red carpets, gala events, don’t disappoint fans, don’t slap the persistent paparazzi, and most of all smile for the camera!
RO CAST:
THE ACTOR/THE CO-LEAD: Jocelyne/Jameson Harlowe — |28, m/f|
Elegant. Sophisticated. Unattainable. Jocelyne/Jameson Harlowe is one of the biggest acting stars of the 21st century. A fact that would have pleased many. But not Jocelyne/Jameson. Because they, no matter what they do, have always been second to you, always been compared to you. And that heavily irks them. It doesn’t matter to them that they have reached the stardom that many dream of and could only wish for, because you are always one step ahead. And they hate that. They hate you. But could that hate twist to something else now that you and J are cast together as lead actors for Hwang Hae-sung’s latest project?
Romance trope: enemies-to-lovers
THE ROCKSTAR: Odessa/Orlando Stavros — |26, m/f|
Charming. Flirtatious. Effortlessly likeable. Odessa/Orlando Stavros dominates the music industry with their electrifying, gritty and relatable lyrics. You met them years ago and ever since then O has been your closest friend. In fact, they have been your only real friend. But is that all to it? The line between friendship and… whatever lies beyond that can be tricky after all, so be careful how you navigate that with the usual confident rockstar suddenly turned very shy?
Romance trope: friends-to-lovers
THE MODEL: Hwang Tae-eun/Taeyang — |25, m/f|
Vain. Dismissive. Arrogant. Hwang Tae-eun/Taeyang is the face of many of the global brands, or at least the famous ones they consider worthy of their face and time. Now the question is, are you worthy of their time? Or will T act like you are nothing but dirt underneath their designer heels?
THE THESPIAN: Amara/Archie Castello — |23, m/f|
Kind. Compassionate. Genuine. Amara/Archie Castello has not yet hit the big leagues, something that may have annoyed many in their shoes but not A. They’re just happy where they are right now, and happy for their role in one of Hollywood’s biggest theatre stages. Perhaps you can help them hit the big leagues? Or don’t. It’s up to you, but spending more time with them may be a good idea for you, considering they’re a breath of fresh air in the midst of your polluted life.
ADDITIONAL CAST:
FATHER: Donovan "Don" — famous American actor
MOTHER: (name will wary) — famous actress
GRANDFATHER: Ernest — famous American actor during the 20th century
YOUR NEW BOSS: Hwang Hae-sung — famous film director
The intro got me very intrigued and I'll be waiting for the demo to drop :D If you don't mind questions about your IF, are you planning on having any poly and/or love triangle routes in the story?
I’m so glad to hear that! Genuinely. I was so scared when I posted the intro that I immediately closed the laptop and ended up throwing it (very lightly) on the bed afterwards, and not opening it or my phone for some time because I was so nervous. So I’m really happy to hear it got you very intrigued!
And I don’t mind questions at all, so keep them coming :)
Now to answer your question, anon: currently I haven’t thought of having any poly routes or love triangles in the story, moreso focusing on the ROs routes individually. But the IF is in such early development that it might very well change. I think the most likeliest that would happen then is a love triangle between some ROs rather than a poly route.
There won't be any RO who is from, uhmm, normal world with pretty normal life? I mean, no celebrity or an aspiring celebrity?
When planning STARBURSTER I thought a lot about incorporating a/any RO from a more normal aspect of the world. But I always felt like it didn’t really fit in with the plot of the story, and I couldn’t really see it work no matter how I thought of it. This does not mean that there might never be a “normal” RO in the story, since this is after all in very early development, so we’ll see if my thinking process may change along the way. But for now there won’t be any.
hello!! tumblr recommended me your intro post and i got curious. do T and A have any romance tropes to their routes?
Hellooo! I’m very happy to hear the intro to the story got you curious :)
And to answer your question: they don’t really got any special romance trope to their route unlike J and O. However, there will be an option for the MC to be very enamored with A when they first meet, so sorta-ish like ‘love-at-first-sight’ kind of vibe. But other than that nope!
Hope that answered your question!
