#system aestheic

[horizon-verizon]

I think it could be correct to say the Radowski article can feel accurate for ASOIAF when the rest of the storyline would really turn out as this better written version of GoT some fans always seem so eager for. The illusion they fall victim to is we would have a 'good' story then, because it would be technically better written. But 95% of the writer's criticism would still stand, and we'd still end up with pointless, toxic, unsatisfying shlock overdoing the subverting expectations shtick.

Disclaimer: This post will undergo several edits even after publishing because I am that person.

Anon's talking about my Twitter thread HERE about a 2021 article writer's critique of GRRM and ASoIaF. And they are referring to the last post about it HERE. And their post kinda reminds me of the latest ozymalek/pheonixashes quote here:

However, I wouldn't say "95%" because:

more than once, Radowski's goes into parochial stances that turn out to be incorrect and relying on what others have said of the text rather than what is in the text--they often actually more reveal how we've been guided into looking to Dany as the readers' AND commonborn's/HUMANITY's hope both by narrative and our pro-feminist/class-conscious selves (ASoIaF being "anti-fantasy" or "having no fantasy/a-fantasy"when that is really just some stupid fans' interpretation)....and this really undermines their point about ASoIaF being even technically horrible

they/she used a particular literary element incorrectly in their critique of how GRRM writes his characters

I'd instead say "70-80". Or that several times, the writer makes their good points, and then sometimes messes it up.

A)

I start to question what do critics mean when they say "well-written"? Morally vs technically, and when "technically" just means aestheically vs moral criticism; is the line blurred there, or do people blur it themselves? "Technically", to my understanding, refers to paragraph formatting, pacing, spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary (i.e., diction); all those things that writers and speakers use to convey meaning almost poetically, that itself could develop a certain style or rhythm either familiar or more on the original side. All are meant to convey the psyche of the character, and the stakes of the events/scenes, and ultimately contribute to the moral spirit of the story. One person says: "I-the-reader am a brain parasite. the characters think thoughts they would never tell me. I see their worst impulses, their immediate instincts, their intrusive thoughts. a lot of it is unsavory, but it's done in such a way that it all feels deeply real and true to life." Does this not mean that the story is written better than what Radowski thinks it is? I'd say "yes".

B)

There is this:

AND

a.

It's weird and self-sabotaging to assume that because (some) fans interpreted the Starks pre-Ned-death as the moral standard of the story that is what the text offers.

The Boltons have been the Starks' ancient enemies--not quite to the level of the brackens and Blackwoods' enmity bc: the Starks always managed to come out on top; there was had lasting "peace" intervals of cohabitation; and the fighting itself reasoned/characterized not by the Blackwood-Bracken Romeon-Juliet family feuding so much as the Boltons being eternally ambitious and ruthless. I think that because they take on their flayed skin and ruthless ambition as their house identity, the feudal system itself creates the Boltons and we have an interesting enough tension of what makes identity/the villain in such a fantasy story. It's philosophical. But hey, I haven't heard or seen criticism of this beyond OP's oversimplification of the Boltons' presence.

Yes, of course, we all can see the Bolton's final end coming from the Starks and yes they are obviously evil. The question is not whether their conflict is complicated so much as the questions about identity present in such a conflict married to the feudal/Westerosi militant preference for male "strength" that makes the Boltons develop pride in such violence that I definitely think produced the crazy, off-the-wall Ramsay Bolton. Another character we can attribute such a social phenomenon to is the ironborn revving/raping society's effect on how men like Euron Greyjoy become who they are.

Oh well, a missed opportunity.

Even me just pointing out how Ned's death launches his family to become many different people is a testament to the deaths/violence/bursts of emotion creating the plot points the OP critic claims do not exist at all.

b.

Like I said in that Twitter thread, the writer makes very true & good points about sexual violence against women, and I personally don't much care for Brienne's story in the way it's almost written for Jaime's not-morally-redemptive-but-self-redemptive arc (as presented by fans as morally redemptive bc it's supposedly getting Jaime away from the "true" abuser/source of evil in his life, Cersei), and I have taken the "soft" goal of identifying where and when GRRM makes his repackaged/reversed subverted tropes because this wasn't a part I pondered as often as I should have.

However, it is actually incorrect for this person to say that it's "never" explained why Brienne wants to be a knight or imply that her "idealization of knighthood" doesn't itself come from her experience with gender.

I don’t understand why Brienne couldn’t stay at Evenfall Hall and be her father’s Castellan or Captain of the Guard. She’s the only surviving child (and heir) of Lord Tarth, so I’m confused why her father would let her roam Westeros as a hedge knight. It’s also never explained why Brienne wanted to be a knight in the first place.

So just because Brienne is her father's only surviving child, she must, morally, become the lady instead of following her dreams and being a knight (what the original writer leaves us to believe)? The first actual female knight to be customarily trained or to become the better/needed version of the knighthood that real knights (all men) have abandoned in their responsibility and cynicism?

So, there is only one way to live morally, and it is to act inauthentically, to ignore the pleasure one finds in the sword and self-defense, and to be another's more direct "guard"? A guard is an inferior "career" choice for a GNC woman?

The writer expresses that they can't fathom being a knight when there's the option of being a lord or the equivalent. Maybe they should read the book and accept different people, including women, have different perspectives and reactions to whatever empowers them, different developments of being? Not everyone wants to or should hold political positions of power that move & practically organize large groups of people/a community. Some people prefer to just be musicians or writers, poets or parents, doctors but not scientists or philosophers, etc.

blankwhiteshild says it way more eloquently than I in various posts, but the purpose of Brienne and Jaime is to highlight a constant thing GRRM does with his characters: making the marginalized the heroes of the story. The writer of the article winds up reinforcing some "toxic" and misogynist ideas in the process, which in turn puts into doubt their abilities to read or be totally or even well-entrusted to inform people about what's going on in the story and in the characters' minds.

The OP is under the impression that Brienne is trying her damndest to become like a man, transition or be a transgender man, or truly just to reject all modes of traditional femininity (that is really just socially-coded and enforced, constructed femininity) just because she loves to use a sword and does not conform to the Andal ideals of feminine looks. They should have been clued in about the falseness of this sort of thing with there being a politics of desirability and an insufficient binary enforced through femininity characterized as the "opposite" of masculinity--by how she's constantly described as "ugly" and "too much" of a "man". A commentator in that thread pointed out:

So the original critic seems not to have understood where Brienne was coming from, how young she is, or even familiar with her history...which is the entire impetus behind many characters' conflicts with the system GRRM is criticizing but choosing not to criticize through more characters other than Dany & Arya.

Not only that, Brienne "acts like a man" not because she hates women or thinks them inferior and hates herself as Ceresei does. She does not hate herself because she does not take her womanhood as the justified cause for her society subjecting her to abuses or reserving power away from her towards men--she did not develop that sense as Cersei has. She takes up the sword because her build allows and inspires her the confidence and opportunity to protect herself and others, which psychologically fulfills her. Plus she greatly admired and loved Catelyn Stark, who is not at all "mannish" in the social paradigm of Andal feminine beauty at all--Catelyn is rather known for her physical beauty as well as her sense and practice of responsibility. Catelyn also struggles with seeing her past labor of directing her Tully household and being a sort of new authority after her mother dies, having learned all her life that what she performed as a man's job. She constantly vacillates between marrying what women/girls acting out their obedient, subordinate roles versus herself using and wanting more political duties coded or suggestive of "male" from both necessity and necessity-self-generated desire. In all of this, Brienne admires Catelyn, wanted to be her sword shield forever at one point, and never said that Catelyn should be something that she wasn't. The text gives us that Brienne left her father's castle because she knew that she would never fulfill that lady-lord role despite her being able to fight (again, not everyone should be or can be or wants to be a leader in that way), so she left to follow her dreams.

To argue that the text says she is inherently mannish because of this ignores the text AND actually repackages Brienne's struggle with society's evaluation of her worth/her experiences with sexual assault as unreal and unworthy of discussion. It reinforces, ironically enough, that Sansa-stan bullshit of women tending naturally having to be as little as "masculine" as possible to be both considered real women and worthy of admiration. What happened to the love for gender-nonconforming women AND the truth of GNC also still being victims to misogyny and sexual violence--hello, the consequences of anti-trans bathrooms hurting Black/PoC, physically GNC white women and girls! You are attributing sword-wielding and martial activities to only men, just as how medieval men used to justify women being kept out of higher positions of power (Rhaenyra; written by mononijikayu). Again, just bc even I--the reader--am uninterested (at least as I am of Dany) or stupid, doesn't mean that this theme and logic isn't there for anyone to see and observe if they simply applied themselves.

I also find the Starks-as-a-unit uncompelling as hell, esp without their women. Their roles pre-NED-death as sort of societal "fixer-uppers-but-by-being-conservative-and-non-confrontartional-until-the-social-feudal-order" is ethically unsound and thus tiresome. Their individuals Arya, Jon, Bran Sansa (and in that order) are interesting and compelling...but the Starks before Ned dies? Eh.

It's clear that they were meant to be the narrative's designated feudal honor keepers, which really isn't very "honorable" at all (the unraveling/unseating Stark supremacy "traditional values: honor, justice, responsibility, and family" that's really just maintaining the integrity of the oppressive feudal social order). I'd argue that the Starks' dissolution was both needed and necessary to the points GRRM strives to make about class and gender roles. It pushes things off to position the Big 5 as who they need to be for the Long Night, by putting them in positions where they must navigate around constrictions against their transitioned states/identities to prepare Westeros and become leaders in their own right.

There is something visceral and pleasant and morally satisfying to be said about being the socially ostracized/marginalized person, even though not their own intentions, becoming a crucial element to saving the world by redirecting the societies that seek to destroy or limit them. There is something like a grand poetic "compromise" (this is not the right word, but the right word escapes me) there that draws me in because it's often the case for marginalized people to be capable of living in this world ethically confidently and with as much sense in their own agency as possible...as much as they can anyway.

Yes, I would say the draw for GRRM's work and ASoIaF is that it puts us into these people's minds without relying on a stream-of-consciousness POV like that of Virginia Woolf.

Bran's becoming the 3-eyed crow and showing that disabled people are worthy and can "do" or be able at important tasks and roles while being still imperfect; Sansa coming into her own against Littlefinger coming from being a bully against her sister from said classism & sexism that favors her; Tyrion, like Bran, his own flops and struggles in living as a disabled man but still being an aristocratic man (Shae)...I'd say that yes, there is a lot of conflicts (not "internal") many characters of ASoIaF go through. Problem is that they are not as actively trying to upend or explore other options as Dany. Jon maybe is closest, but even he still uses slavery with not as much compunction about it as Dany locking up her own dragons to protect her Meerenese people, so...

C)

a.

About how to write violence in a way I do not think is the only effective way to write violence (regarding Oberyn's fight w/the Mountain vs. Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters):

vs

However, to say that Oberyn's death itself was unsymbolic and totally absent of anything higher in meaning, that the random stableboy's death did not itself refer to something other than a random stableboy getting smashed is incorrect:

"The luckless stableboy [sic] behind him was not so quick. As his arm rose to protect his face, Gregor’s sword took it off between elbow and shoulder. “Shut UP!” the Mountain howled at the stableboy’s scream, and this time he swung the blade sideways, sending the top half of the lad’s head across the yard in a spray of blood and brains […]".

I would argue that the stableboy getting hit and killed in the crossfire conveys his and other "peasants" protection from higher borns' military, violent activities. The randomness, as we know it now or should now, is meant to convey the randomness begotten from a privileged lack of compassion. That is not an absence of meaning by definition.

However, it becomes trying and consequential when there's very little to no real pushback from those little guys elsewhere in the narrative through collective actions or inside looks at how these people may protect themselves against these people. That perspective is missing and thus undermined. It then is GRRM is saying that there is no out nor even escape/relief. And then you are exhausting your reader more than you should--not to say that you should push your readers' mental and emotional capabilities, but you must be aware of what can bring them (a particular audience) to an unforgiving point of frustration and hopelessness. It may not be intentional, but for writers tasking themselves to be as critical of societies like this and failing to notice such a thing in their own writing is a serious failure that needs to be addressed.

American enslaved people not only physically rebelled through weapons and organized themselves in secret meetings or ran away. The ones who stayed or didn't fight poisoned their masters; held up work; destroyed tools; made as of they were too ill to work; made emotionally healing hymns that themselves were instructions or hidden messages; learned skills "from blacksmithing to dressmaking, to increase their indispensability to those who profited off their labor and to decrease their chances of being sold and separated from loved ones".

The consequence of not letting students know about various ways enslaved people resisted their conditions: "But because insurrections were so rare, when they are taught in isolation, students are left with the impression that the vast majority of enslaved people who did not rebel accepted their bondage. Some even interpret this to mean that African Americans were complicit in their own enslavement."

While common-born people are not slaves because they cannot be sold off and/or separated from families, they also were not completely considered important enough and in many cases "enough" of humans themselves. I mean, even in Essos, do we often hear of how the slaves (slaves by class and war, not race, but it is still the complete objectification of humans for the economic prosperity of a few) resist?

This is why Dany is also even more beloved--she is that "out" and possible rescue., as she--above all the other characters--is thinking about people across and under these class distinctions for their own sake. She embodies the goal that more ethically conscientious readers are looking for (esp those who are the more progressive...and morally correct, tbh).

And I must point out that I agreed with the paragraph formatting the article writer pointed out. If It were me, I would have separated & isolated much of the sentences to convey the quickness of the battle and to emphasize that stabelboys'd eath. If you're going to convey the randomness of his death, why not the isolation of this death by rewriting it to:

Spectators screamed and shoved at each other to get out of the way. One stumbled into Oberyn’s back. Ser Gregor hacked down with all his savage strength. The Red Viper threw himself sideways, rolling. The luckless stableboy [sic] behind him was not so quick. As his arm rose to protect his face, Gregor’s sword took it off between elbow and shoulder. “Shut UP!” the Mountain howled at the stableboy’s scream, and this time he swung the blade sideways, sending the top half of the lad’s head across the yard in a spray of blood and brains […]

Not only is this less drag on my eyes and brain, I have made sure to readers that this moment is emphasized and to be remembered. Of course, with a later hint of some malice or rebellion targeted towards the mountain from maybe a friend or family member of that poor stableboy.

Therefore, the OP comes off of being more like describing how they think fiction writers should write--conflating style with overall storytelling, not the grammar and formatting. And thus, it becomes a lot easier for anyone else to believe this person that they just do not like high-fantasy fiction as a genre, and thus cannot conceive of how speculative, self-subverting, and subtle the genre could and can be. It doesn't help that they used a nonhigh fantasy example for the technical writing for their analysis of violence-creation.

b.

Quentyn Martell was a bit redundant. However, "irrelevant to the narrative" is simply false. With his death, we now anticipate how Dany is going to use or interact with the Martells if and when she ever lands on Westeros and searches for allies....the Martells being those who supported her brother in Robert's Rebellion and from whom Oberyn, the guy who tried and failed to exact revenge for Elia on the Mountain (another theme the OP ignores in their critique of GRRM presenting"bad writing"). It's almost as if the answer to Elia's justice is not going to come from male-on-male "honor" killing, even out of her brother's love so much as Dany having to reckon with her own family's decisions face to face. Apparently, this is not an exciting enough prospect.

It also goes into how the OP thinks how characters' deaths somehow, someway mean nothing in the plot or that GRRM uses expected unexpected death for no reason at all. Which, as I already showed, is untrue and an exaggeration.

So, ironically, by criticizing GRRM's use of character death, and his lack of blatant critique, the OP practices what I think is GRRM's real issue: a liberal lack of real critique on their own absolutes and exaggerations that undermine their credibility.

Let me reiterate: what makes ASoIaF problematic is the lack of perspective and paired over-exaggeration of some violence (most esp the sexual kind against women and girls) for the sake of emphasis that was already emphasized and to make a point that would have already been made without such "emphasis", thus normalizing such violence, even claiming it "necessary". The violence isn't "pointless" as much as it goes beyond the necessary and repeats itself with no relief or seeking hope w/o Dany's anticipatory and present critical role, thus it seems pointless.

Remember, this shit was written in the 80s-90s, published in the 90s, and is now being read and critiqued by people in 2023 who have gotten much more conscious of the need to critique the status quo...but also can themselves fall into reinforcing it when they do not choose to engage with the taboo text/moments with a more distanced lens. And GRRM is still a rich, liberal white man.

#asoiaf asks to me #asoiaf articles #accidental substantive editing #grrm critical #asoiaf writing #fandom discussion #fandom debate

[lifestylecreep]

How I Run/Stream The Sims 3 Without My Computer Blowing Up (Yet)

Hi, I had someone while I was streaming TS3 last night ask about my computer and begged me to post a response.

The main reason why my computer handles TS3 well is because I shopped for a laptop with the sole purpose of running it and TS2 in mind.

I did A LOT of research before buying. I have to give credit to r/SimsPlayer2765. Their responses on this Reddit post provide the foundation of what one should look for in a gaming laptop to run TS3:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Sims3/comments/lsbblo/which_laptop_is_perfect_for_the_sims_3/

SimsPlayer2765 recommends:

"I5 or better processor

8 GB System Memory or better

256GB or better SSDGTX (Nvidia) or Radeon Graphics. or what is sometimes called Dedicated graphics.

Onboard graphics like Intel UHD Graphics may only give you low to med graphics. And will likely not be able to play with all expansions installed."

So which did I buy?

The second laptop recommended:

ASUS TUF Gaming A15 Gaming Laptop

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0865THZCL15.6

144Hz Full HD IPS-Type Display, AMD Ryzen 5 4600H, GeForce GTX 1650, 8GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe SSD

I confess, the aestheic look and price of this laptop are what made it a winner over others. I love just as much as I did when I bought it two years ago, and it was worth the investment. Getting a quality computer is going to make all the difference, and I feel fortunate I was able to do that.

Now that I stream and do video editing, prioritizing upgrading the hard drive and RAM was important. I significantly upgraded my drive space and plan to upgrade my RAM in the near future.

I looked up SimsPlayer2765 to write this and they are still active on Reddit providing tech and software suggestions for quality TS3 gameplay! If you're reading this, I want to thank you for your dedication and sharing your knowledge with us less tech-savvy folk.

Other programs I use to help my game run smoothly:

LazyDuchess Smooth Patch

https://modthesims.info/d/658759/smooth-patch-2-1.html

CC Magic https://modthesims.info/d/461888/cc-magic-custom-content-management-and-game-launcher-updated-07-15-2012-works-with-supernatural.html

4GB Patch (there's debate over if it's helpful, but I've seen improvement since using it) https://ntcore.com/?page_id=371

I recommend exploring the internet for more information, there's likely stuff I missed. I'm really not an expert. 😅

P.S - Don't upgrade to Windows 11 lol

#The Sims 3

[bo-wilting-retrospect-coining]

Hello hello and welcome to our coining blog!!

This blog is run by our system, @buds-of-wilting-retrospect ! Please read dni under cut before interacting <3

We do lots'a stuff!! We only ask you tw things that commonly need tws when requesting and either write/send pictures of want you want in specific or tell us explicitly something like "[other] details up to you!" (this is really important cause we get all anxious about people not specifying)

[things we do, queue, tags, helpful stuff for new mogai creators n' such, and dni under the cut!]

Some of the things we do are...!

-emojis !!! --dni banners -banners (of flags/patterns mostly) :> ! --icons (pride/aestheic/etc!) -gender coining n related! (mogai!) !!!!!!!!!!!!!! --system term coining!! -name n' pronoun help! (we're not the best but we do try to gather as many possibly related things for ya when asked!)! --flag makin/combining/alternatives! (not coining!)! -mood boards!

We do not do...

-anything with the intention or use in a negative demenor! (ex hate/cringe/flop) --coining for stuff we cant claim! (ex ocd, we will make flags! not definitions :<) -stimboards, sorry! (they for some reason make us very uncomfortable)

anything not specified here, feel free to ask about! We'll simply decline if uncomfortable!

x - - queue list [ here ] ! - - x

Tags (ask us to tag/tw things as needed!)

#friend's coining #wilting retrospect coins! #wilting retrospect flags #wilting retrospect talks! #wilting retrospect's important stuff! #tw [trigger]

x - - helpful condensed guide for people looking maybe start their own mogai blog n' related stuff [here] !! - - x

DNI (do not interact if you are/fit any of the following)

"Basic" dni -> racist/bigots of any sort -> ablest -> map/pedo Anti lgbtq+/exclusionist to good faith identities -> Transmeds/TERFS/etc -> Anti mogai (a given-)/neo/xenos/etc -> Anti m-spec lesbians and related Wish to include this blog in any discourse -> Discourse blogs may interact but do not bring discourse into our blog. Thanks.

#pro mogai #mogai community #mogai friendly #mogai blog #mogai safe #mogai intro #blog intro #liom identity #liom safe #liom blog

[wingsnbones]

a moodboard for Comic, one of our Sans introjects(specifically from an au the hosts made) and the systems primary caretaker. he spends a lot of his time sleeping, but is basically a big brother figure to the whole system

#moodboard #aesthetic #system moodboard #system aestheic #caretaker #fictive #actuallydid #actuallyosdd #actuallymultiple #actuallyplural #actuallysystem #did #osdd #multiplicity #system #serifsys

[princess-71]

#blue #aestheic #solar system #stubbornaestheticprincess

[relaxmurrell]

Geometric connections between patterns and nature, and the art that emerges

Matila Ghyka’s book “Geometry of Art and LIfe” analyses that there is harmony and proportion in human life, nature & finest art, rather than by chaos & chance. He made this connection through an exploration of simple mathematical equations that have been backed up by renowned scholars in human history.

Plato explains all things established their shapes from the “Great Ordering One”. These Systems that ordered art are:

o    Pre-existing proportion

o    Dynamic symmetry

o    Musical eurhythmy in time

o    Pythagorean way of meaning music note intervals

This produced

o    Combination of ratios

o    Systems of proportions

“Everything is arranged according to number” – Pythagorean creed

(Patterns, themes of symmetry, spirals) discovered in living forms and living growth are found used in Greek and gothic architecture. These were:

-           “the divine proportion” luca Paciali

-           “one of the two jewels of geometry” - kelper

-           “the golden section” – commonly known

The Proportion of space and time. Ratio the comparsion of 2 things. “Proportion is the equality of two ratios” a/b = c/d

The simplest example is The Golden Section. This is based upon the fibonacci series (each term is equal to the sum of two preceding ones). (1.618...) It is able to continuously keep ratio as shape increases/decreases

The Golden Section.

The Geometry of Life:

-           “science of space” – the study of life geometry

-           “secret perspective” – what luca Paciola in renaissance researched

o    Cubist art emerged

-           Geometrical patterns with “constellation”

-           “love of nature” – applying to inorganic systems was to use principles to produce a state of equilibrium (balanced energy)

o    Eg snowflake triangle patterns

-           Golden section relates to “gnomic growth” – growing

o    Eg flowers

o    Eg seashells 

Geometry is linked to the human proportions too. The more natural geometry someone’s face is, the better aestically pleasing a person appears. Hence why symmetrical faces are highly valued.

Transmission of geometrical symbols and plans. Application of geometry in art is shown in human history:

o    Medieval art

o    Greek Architecture. eg temples

o    Renaissance, eg in baroque artworks

o    Modernism – le Corbusier

This Symphonic composition or “dynamic symmetry” of Vitruvian, from the end of 17 C were gradually forgotten. it is rare and interesting to find symmetry in modern artworks. 

The mathematical connections to the beautiful and seeminly chaotic nature is really interesting. Nature’ geometrical connection is what makes it aestheically pleasing to the eye. 

Source:

Ghyka, M 1991, The Geometry of Art and Life, Dover Publications, INC. New York

[pastelpolitoed]

What are YOUR top 5 game OSTs, and your top 5 favorite system's controllers (for functionality or aestheics)?

Top 5 OST’s (in no order): Pokemon Heartgold/Soulsilver, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Shovel Knight, Ni No Kuni, Kingdom Hearts 2(Bonus runner-ups: Dear Esther, Scott Pilgrim video game).Top 5 controllers (for both functionality and aesthetics!): Steam controller, Playstation Dulashock 4, Gamecube, N64, annnnnd the Switch Pro controllers!!!Thanks dude!

[henbooks]

Writing Update 10/5/17

...I have a problem.

Well, I’m going to be adding two new stories to my list on this blog pretty soon.

Since the bulk of these last few days has been focuses on getting these ideas out of my system, I haven't been writing as much as I’d hoped. I wrote 1,060 words on TCotMK, but have otherwise been trying to flush this brand new story out of my system. Thus, I’m just going to tell you about my two latest ideas right now, rather than updating the status of my story.

Since this is long, these are all under the cut. :)

One of them is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with a working title of Joie. It’s pretty well developed in my mind, as I first came up with the idea about three weeks ago or so. I just need to map out the last quarter of the book, which is the easiest part for me. I’ve set the plot up pretty well at this point, but only have a little on the characters, so this is a very plot-heavy look at what I have, but here goes.

I’m really focusing this story inwards towards the town, meaning that the castle is not hidden. It is front and center in the city if the capitol of a kingdom, but the people are so fearful of the beast that lives inside of it, they followed his orders, and thus a working society kept up, and it has kept up for as long as anyone can remember. The legends say that it’s been centuries. 

That’s where Joie comes in. Without getting into too much detail, she is in a family struggling to pay off debts left behind by their mother. Her father works for the beast as a tax collector, and is out most of the time, so she and her older brother are the main caretakers of the household. Joie, during this, gets wrapped up in a revolution sweeping the city of people who are tired of the beast’s reign, and seek to strike him down. It isn’t until they also start to target people working for the castle, and subsequently her father, that she starts to think the revolution may not be for her. When her father is accidentally pushed into the castle during a riot, Joie follows him and barters with the beast to take his place.

That’s the setup, more or less. It’s going to be a magical fantasy-adventure with a romance. The main draw to me is the revolution plot-point and the closeness of proximity that the castle is in. I really wanted this book to be very centered on the town and the castle, so I thought putting them directly in contact would be really helpful. I had a lot of fun playing with it, and it’s a major theme throughout the story. The same goes for Joie- while I never fully plan out a character until i begin writing them, what I do know of Joie is really working for me.

The other story I’ve been working on is currently called The Bronzemarked.

In comparison to Joie, I don’t have much on this book at all, but it is less than a week old at this point.

This book is an adventure book about a mother and son. Both are a Bronzemarked, who are people who have transgressed against the gods. These people are cast out of the city’s walls, left to survive in the desert outside. A Bronzemarked is unable to touch iron- the metal’s surface is excruciatingly painful for them.

Roek and Madrian (My main characters) have found work escorting merchants from town to town, and on one of their journey’s, they meet a fellow Marked One who convinces Roek to try and cleanse his sins with Iron. Madrian has been such a protective mother that Roek has never before touched it, and when he does, he finds that the metal doesn’t burn him, but rather he corrodes the metal.

This book is about 98% aestheic at this point, if I’m to be level with you. I have the skeleton of a plot, but nothing is concrete except for what is above. However, I have the look of this world down- Red, orange, and metallic gold and bronze being the main colors of this book. I’m picturing a setting in a vibrant desert with a lot of influences pulled form ancient Egypt, India, and the Middle East. 

Other notes are mostly about how I love the dynamic between Madrian and Roek. To give some context not given in the summary above, Roek is adopted. Madrian found him already marked outside the walls of the city as a newborn, and having just lost her own baby, she took him in, seeing him as a present from the gods. (Her baby died because she was marked after becoming pregnant, and the baby was stillborn because it’s really hard to have a safe delivery when your touch causes excruciating pain to the child. It, sadly, died from shock before the birth.) Madrian doesn’t know what Roek is marked, and doesn’t understand how a newborn could have transgressed the gods already, but she’s more than willing to raise him as her son.

The two have a really special bond that i already love- I’ve always wanted to see a fantasy between a a mother and child just because i love the dynamic it could have. 

So, that’s what my brain has decided to pop out lately. I’m really excited to write these, someday. Probably not for a while- at least until I finish TCotMK. I may do one of these next, but that’s uncertain. I love them, but I love a lot of ideas. 

When these are better plotted out, I’ll put them on my page officially. Until then, this will have to do.

I’m going to go and write a bit, now that I’ve gotten these out of my system. I’m dreadfully behind on my wordcount for this week, and I would like to try and keep up.

#writing update #new story ideas #amwriting #writer #author

[metanoiastudies-blog]

hi! I'm starting highschool in August and I wanted to start doing a journal like thing to keep me more organised. Do you have any tips on how to start? (Btw I love how aestheically pleasing your blog is ^_^)

Thank you so much, sweetie

Color code your stuff. For example, a special event or meeting that you have to attend to can be highlighted in a different color so that it’s more obvious (esp with how many things you unload on your bujo)

Don’t key in too many things and have a system! On your first few weeks, don’t try too hard to put in so many things that you need to get accomplished by the day is over, it can really discourage someone so if you ever feel upset, remember that it’s completely normal! Re-organise and try again ^^ Also, you can bullet your points or square them, but make a little legend for what each symbol on your bujo means so that you can easily refer to them when you forget the symbol. ie. when a task is done, when a task has been moved to a different date etc.

It may be tough to start a bujo with so many free space, so try and have a couple of pages customised for certain things. Ie. academics tracker, assessment tracker, timetable, hobbies, movies that I want to watch, a monthly calendar, etc. Try folding your pages into half so that it’s easier to organize your tasks and try and fit your week within two pages so that you can see your whole week and see what you have to get done by then. 

My friend has opted to write her bujo in collumns of 7, so there really isn’t a wrong way or right way, just try and arrange your bujo accoording to what works best for you. 

For me, I like to track my expenses and weekly agendas in every week’s spread, so I definitely recommend a habit tracker! Improving yourself and learning about your mistakes is one of the key points in bujos that people tend to miss out on. So if you want to, definitely try and have a space catered for weekly reflections/thoughts, emotions or if possible, daily mood sentences, so that you can see how you improved mentally :) 

This was all I could think of right not, so I hope this helps! Ask me more questions if you need help :D

Love, Ella

#mailbox #anon #answered

[wingsnbones]

a moodboard for Dove, our soother! they’re a humanoid with angel wings, and are super kind and caring, even if they sometimes don’t understand human social cues

#moodboard #aesthetic #system moodboard #system aestheic #soother #actuallydid #actuallyosdd #actuallymultiple #actuallyplural #actuallysystem #did #osdd #multiplicity #system #serifsys

[wingsnbones]

a moodboard for pike, janusian and (more recently) co-host! he found out that hosts get more weight in major decision making so he became one, none of us really have any idea how. he’s very blunt and can be a bit of an asshole(someone else is always around to filter for him when speaking to others out of system) but deep down only wants the best for the system and others he cares about

#moodboard #system moodboard #aesthetic #system aestheic #alter moodboard #alter aesthetic

[wingsnbones]

another moodboard, this time for Schlatt, our Jschlatt factive and persecutor. hes aggressive, confrontational, and gives the body lots of headaches, but deep down he really does care about the system(and also cats. he loves them, even manifested one for himself, an orange tabby named Jango) ~Serif System

#moodboard #aesthetic #system moodboard #system aestheic #persecutor #factive #actuallydid #actuallyosdd #actuallymultiple #actuallyplural #actuallysystem #did #osdd #multiplicity #system #serifsys

[wingsnbones]

a moodboard for our co-host and social protector, Charlie! hes very social and flamboyant, loves people, parties, and fast cars, his favorite band is hollywood undead and his favorite color is green!  ~Serif System

#moodboard #aesthetic #system moodboard #system aestheic #co host #social protector #actuallydid #actuallyosdd #actuallymultiple #actuallyplural #actuallysystem #did #osdd #multiplicity #system #serifsys