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memento-morri-writes · 2 years

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Happy STS Morri!!! I hope you are having a good day/night!

@ink-fireplace-coffee here, so get ready to answer some questions if you don't mind me asking...

If you could only eat one (1) dish or food from All the Queen's Horses, which one and (if its a dish) what is it made of? why would you choose that one?

Do you have any alternative titles for ATQH??? Were you deciding in between more options?

Is there a favorite deleted scene you can show us?

Tells us about a time when you were proud of yourself bc of your writing

Give us 3 (or more) songs that you associate with Duncan

If Nora was a color/place/object/food/element, she would be...?

If you could insert any of your characters in any other universe (think books, series, movies, whatever) which character would you choose, in which universe and, would they be happy there?

tell us about the Moment (tm) when you decided to start writing! Not just this wip but ✨writing✨

Oooh, okay!!! This is fun!! Thank you so much for all the questions, Carmen!!

If you could only eat one (1) dish or food from All the Queen's Horses, which one and (if its a dish) what is it made of? why would you choose that one?

Hmmm... I honestly have no idea. There's these straberry jam pastries that Fallon loves, but doesn't eat much because they remind her of her mom, but the problem is...... I don't like strawberries. So, maybe I'd just want some very fresh hommemade bread, because I fucking love bread.

the rest under the cut!

2. Do you have any alternative titles for ATQH??? Were you deciding in between more options?

I am 100% sold on the title ATQH. I'm never going back. But, when I started writing it, it had a horrible, horrible temporary title that was abbreviated RTQ. (Romancing the Queen) I only even named it that temporarily because I needed to call it something other than "that story in my head", and all I knew was it was going to be a romance. Although I very quickly stopped thinking of it as anything other than RTQ, and sometimes I forget that RTQ actually stood for something, ajsda.

3. Is there a favorite deleted scene you can show us?

Not a deleted scene, but oneshots that take place in the wrong timeframe to be included! I actually have two!! HERE and HERE.

4. Tells us about a time when you were proud of yourself bc of your writing.

There was this short story that I wrote in 9th grade that I entered into a short story contest. My teacher (who was a harsh critic) said it should be in the top 10 for the contest. It didn't make it, but I'm still pretty damn proud of it! Maybe I should revisit it and post it on here... It was a really kind of strange experimental short story about aliens finding Earth, but all the humans are gone, and what they assume about us based on what we left behind.

5. Give us 3 (or more) songs that you associate with Duncan

Oh god, I don't know. I actually don't have a single song I associate with him. It's sad, but I'm really picky about my songs. They have to be spot on perfect or else I won't associate them to anything. I have songs for Fallon and Kris, and for the whole story/certain scenes, but none for Duncan. Which is TRAGIC. I love Duncan. He deserves better.

6. If Nora was a color/place/object/food/element, she would be...?

Nora is definitely purple. I associate her very vividly with the color purple. All of my characters have A Color, and hers is purple, adsjak. As for an element, I'm thinking water, since yk, she's a pirate, and also because water can look calm on the surface, but have very strong currents.

7. If you could insert any of your characters in any other universe (think books, series, movies, whatever) which character would you choose, in which universe and, would they be happy there?

Can I say our universe?? I really just want to bring Kris here and give him a hug, or Fallon and have her be my badass older cousin. Fallon would absolutely rock a pantsuit, btw. I think if she were here, it would be very freeing for her to not have the weight of being Queen on her shoulders. She'd find a way to make herself be able to do something though. Maybe she'd run for office, maybe she'd be a businesswoman, maybe she'd start a charity, I don't know. But she would do something, because she can't do nothing. And Kris would just be happy to be where Fallon is, and also he'd be happy to be out of Oryn.

8. tell us about the Moment (tm) when you decided to start writing! Not just this wip but ✨writing✨

Carmen, I'm going to be honest and say I don't remember. I've been writng my whole life. When I was in 3rd grade, I wrote 42 pages about the Titanic. When I was in 7th grade, I wrote an epilogue to a book we read in class and successfully predicted the plots of the next two books in the seires. When I was in 9th grade, I wrote that short story. But I was never able to get more than a few pages into something until ATQH. Before ATQH the only projects I had ever finished were short stories that were for class. Because I never was this invested. I don't remember learning to read (I taught myself and was reading road signs by 3.), and I don't remember starting to write. I've always done it, even if it was just making up random stuff in my head. When I was a kid, all my toys had to have plots. The lego girls knew a secret portal into the dinosaur world. The little animal figurines had very complicated politics. Everything had a story, I just didn't write them down.

Thank you so much for the ask!! And I'm sorry I don't have good answers for some of these.

#Morrigan replies #storyteller saturday #Carmen ☕#ink-fireplace-coffee

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morrigan-sims · 1 year

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Morrigan's Milanote Mess

aka "a look at how I plan my story using Milanote"

[Note: I have a subscription, so I'm not limited by the number of cards I can have, otherwise this level of detail would be impossible. My subscription was a gift, though.]

So, this is the "landing page" for my story. The left column has my "poster", and underneath that is the summary I have on my info page on my blog. The other two columns, on the right, have links to the boards that make up this mess.

This is the "outfit catalogue" board. It has pics of the outfits for every sim involved in the story, along with notes on how I have used / will use them. (The order here is meaningless. The top row is just the order from my character page on my blog, and the other ones are just grouped by their relevance / if they actually show up.)

This is what part of the outfit catalogue actually looks like. I note what I might use the outfit for, and also any notes about it. (Is it out of character for said sim? Would it only be worn for specific occasions? Is it formal or casual? Is it for warm or cold weather? etc.)

This is the main worldbuilding board. Each kingdom on the continent has a section, and there's also a place for all my rambles about the world. (Anvia is on there, just cut off.)

Each kingdom's board looks like this. There's a couple more sections underneath, along with a doc for more in-depth rambles.

Now onto the actual planning portion!!

I've shared this pic before, but this is my overall timeline for the story. (It really needs an update, though.) I have mapped out the dates of when certain key events occur, as well as when the transitions between the Acts happen. (Blurred for spoilers.)

This is the main landing page for my planning though. Each Act has a spot that includes the timeframe, a summary of events, as well as what I want to accomplish during that act to move the story forwards. (Acts 4 and 5 not included for spoiler reasons, plus Act 5 doesn't fit on the screen without scrolling.)

Each individual Act looks like this, but with more chapters (again, they don't all fit without scrolling). This is a look at Act 2. I have a column for each chapter, with a list of scenes, as well as the timeline of the chapter.

The board for each scene looks like this. I have a super short summary, the location (including which of the 6 copies of Windenburg said lot is in), who's involved, and what they'll be wearing (cross-referenced with the Outfit Catalogue, ofc.). Then there's a more detailed summary that summarizes the beats/themes of the scene, as well as has some insight into what the characters are thinking and feeling. The poses section varies from scene to scene, but the top section is for me to list any accessories I need, or any existing poses I have that might suit my needs, as well as rambling about the poses I might need to make. The checklist part is for the poses I need to make myself, usually. The writing section contains two versions of the scene. A full-length prose version (since I do that sometimes for fun and practice), and the actual script. The script is essentially what I type on the screenshots, as well as was goes in the transcript under the cut.

This is what the scratch board looks like. It's where I dump all of the screenshots I take for the scene, and sort them out. I decide which ones I actually want to use, and put them in the right order. Then I decide what portion of the text is going to go on which screenshot. (Better example below)

Phew! Okay, that's everything!! (Except for the character boards but those are kind of spoilery and I'm in the process of replacing them anyways.) Hopefully this was at least kind of fun to look at. It honestly amazes me how organized this is, because literally nothing else in my life is even remotely organized, lol.

I should also note that it was @mellindi who originally keyed me into the idea of using milanote for story-planning, and some of my layouts take inspiration from hers.

#morrigan.txt #*rtq extras #*rtq behind the scenes #milanote

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morrigan-sims · 7 months

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This is so satisfying to look at. The giant gap in my plans is... less satisfying.

#I literally have no idea what to make happen in Chapter 3 #it's a problem.#I have a couple of vauge ideas but nothing that I really love.#morrigan.txt #*rtq behind the scenes #this is my ''quick reference'' set up. So I don't have to scroll through my blog to check for consistency and shit.#I like it a lot.#the fact that I've only posted 11 scenes over the past ~2 years is a bit sad.#but oh well. Hopefully I'll be posting at least a little more consistently going forwards.

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morrigan-sims · 8 months

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random dialogue tag

I was tagged by the AMAZING @simlit! Thank you!!! <3 (I've done this once before. You can find my answers from last time here.)

Rules: Share a random line of text from your current WIP or a line or two of dialogue from one of your characters. Do not give any explanation or context, and see what your followers think.

From RTQ:

“You look… well,” “And you, Your Majesty, look stunning.”

also

“Are you hurt?”

and

“And that was sufficient? You’re not worried about her?” “Of course I’m worried about her."

Feel free to make your guesses about who's saying what, or what the context is... I'll gladly listen to them!

I'll tag @simgerale @armoricaroyalty @panicsimss @druidberries @wavvi @omgkayplays (no pressure, and sorry if you've already done it!! But feel free to share more lines! <3)

#morrigan.txt #*rtq spoilers #behind the scenes #tag game

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morrigan-sims · 9 months

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WIP Line Tag

I was tagged by @salemssimblr

Share a random line of text from your current WIP or a line or two of dialogue from one of your characters. Do not give any explanation or context, and see what your followers think. Then, tag a few friends to keep the randomness going!

I tag @literalite @retro-plasma @rebouks @warwickroyals @softpine

I'll put some screenshots of dialogue under the cut... (really vague spoilers for RTQ)

Sorry, you guys don't get to know who says any of this shit, lmao.

#morrigan.txt #*rtq spoilers #behind the scenes #tag game

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morrigan-sims · 10 months

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symbolism / imagery for my Rulers edit under the cut <3 (For some context and additional info, see here.)

Symbolism - Fireplaces

Fallon's fireplace is lit, because she's a warm and loving person who genuinely cares about her kingdom. She loves her people, and wants to do the best for them. But like a fire, she tends to push away the people who get close to her, burning them with her words. Pierre's fireplace is cold and dark, because that's how he is. Cold and uncaring. To everyone, but especially his people. Not to mention that he uses up all the resources of Oryn until there's nothing left. (Or at least he would if he was immortal and went unchecked... But he has his sons to follow his business model.) The Empress's fireplace is filled with decor, not ever used for fires, because she's vain and cares about appearances over functionality. Everything in her Palace is there for aesthetic reasons above anything else. (Plus Oraine (and Villecourt in particular) is really hot, so they'd never use fireplaces.) (Fun Fact: the climate gets colder as you head west-northwest on the continent, rather than straight north or south like on Earth.)

Symbolism - Paintings

Above Fallon's fireplace is a portrait of her mother, because her family means a lot to her. Fallon will be facing away from the portrait, but she always feels like her mother (and her grandmothers) are watching her, and that she should live up to her mother's expectations, even now that Rosalynn is dead. Above Pierre's fireplace is a small portrait of an early King of Oryn. (Potentially the king who started the war with Anvia??) Because Oryn in general is focused on their past, and their history is important to them. The nobles tend to think highly of themselves and their kingdom, and Pierre is no exception. The Empress's picture is a portrait of herself, because she's self-absorbed. She sees herself as the most important person in the kingdom, and in general. As long as she and her ever-changing court of favorites are happy, she's okay with how the kingdom is going.

Symbolism - Poses

Fallon is standing, posed regally. She refuses to accept help or lean on anyone or anything for support, so there isn't so much as a chair in the picture. She cares about maintaining a good reputation and connection with the kingdom, so she maintains an elegant appearance and behavior with others at all times, even when she's upset. (Aside from the people she's afraid are too close to her.)

Pierre is relaxed, lounging on a chair. He's a lazy ruler and all that matters to him is his own comfort, even if that means having to break or abuse the people of his kingdom, using them for his own gain.

The Empress is looking at her own portrait, admiring it. She's caught up in her own small problems and oblivious to the wider world of her kingdom as a whole. Her position is still regal and elegant because she cares about her appearances and being liked and admired by her court.

Symbolism - Bonus

Go listen to Eat Your Young, and then maybe you'll understand how Pierre runs his kingdom. </3

(I tried finding songs that fit Fallon and the Empress as rulers, but I couldn't think of any in time to include them in the post.)

Also, the rulers are positioned in the frame where their countries fall on the continent. Oraine to the right/east, Anvia in the middle, and Oryn to the left/west.

#morrigan.txt #*rtq extras #symbolism #behind the scenes

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