Scene Building: If You Don't Have Anything Interesting To Say--don't Say It.

fluffy scenarios and actions that make my heart melt

prompt list by @novelbear

going in for a kiss and either bumping noses or foreheads

that warm feeling they get when they successfully make the other laugh out loud

brushing their hair for them and smiling fondly as they just ramble about their day

^ or even drying it when they're too lazy to when they just get out of the shower

peppering kisses all over their face nonstop, making the other laugh out a plead for mercy

lying together in silence, one playing with the string of the hoodie on their lover's chest

playing with their hair until they fall asleep

spraying whipped cream on the other's nose and kissing it off

one gaming (or focusing on something) normally whilst the other styles their hair in silly little ways

wrapping themselves around the other to help them out with something (baking, working out, etc.)

pictures being taken while out on dates, making sure to compliment their lover after each one they capture

walking together hand-in-hand and having their arms swing slightly

holding them close and noticing the smell of their shampoo in their hair

asking the other to sing for them

reading together

^ one reading aloud as the other is lying on their shoulder, dozing off to the sound of their voice

burying their face into the other's chest/shoulder when they get embarrassed or shy

when they go over to sit on their lap and cup their cheeks, lovingly staring into their eyes oh my god

Ref Recs for Whump Writers

Violence: A Writer’s Guide:  This is not about writing technique. It is an introduction to the world of violence. To the parts that people don’t understand. The parts that books and movies get wrong. Not just the mechanics, but how people who live in a violent world think and feel about what they do and what they see done.

Hurting Your Characters: HURTING YOUR CHARACTERS discusses the immediate effect of trauma on the body, its physiologic response, including the types of nerve fibers and the sensations they convey, and how injuries feel to the character. This book also presents a simplified overview of the expected recovery times for the injuries discussed in young, otherwise healthy individuals.

Body Trauma: A writer’s guide to wounds and injuries. Body Trauma explains what happens to body organs and bones maimed by accident or intent and the small window of opportunity for emergency treatment. Research what happens in a hospital operating room and the personnel who initiate treatment. Use these facts to bring added realism to your stories and novels.

10 B.S. Medical Tropes that Need to Die TODAY…and What to Do Instead: Written by a paramedic and writer with a decade of experience, 10 BS Medical Tropes covers exactly that: clichéd and inaccurate tropes that not only ruin books, they have the potential to hurt real people in the real world. 

Maim Your Characters: How Injuries Work in Fiction: Increase Realism. Raise the Stakes. Tell Better Stories. Maim Your Characters is the definitive guide to using wounds and injuries to their greatest effect in your story. Learn not only the six critical parts of an injury plot, but more importantly, how to make sure that the injury you’re inflicting matters. 

Blood on the Page: This handy resource is a must-have guide for writers whose characters live on the edge of danger. If you like easy-to-follow tools, expert opinions from someone with firsthand knowledge, and you don’t mind a bit of fictional bodily harm, then you’ll love Samantha Keel’s invaluable handbook

[EN] Video Game Writing Resources!

Hello! My name is Andrea--I have been writing for games since 2018, and even worked as a writer at Firaxis Games from 2022 until April of 2023. So, I knew a few things about narrative design--but what the fuck is it? Recently, I gave a talk about the fundamentals and history of the field of narrative design. In Spanish. So, let's talk about it in English--the "what," "why," "how," "when," and "who," of narrative design! What is narrative design? Narrative design is not just writing--it's a huge part of it, but designing a narrative system involves implementing narrative content into the build of the game. So there is a technical learning curve to it. Personally, I watched and obtained certifications in Unreal Engine 5 and Unity in order to be aware of the limitations of each engine. I used the free trial of LinkedIn Learning, but courses about this engine are available in these websites: - https://platzi.com/ - https://www.arkde.com/ - https://www.domestika.org/?query=unity - https://www.coursera.org/ Why do we need narrative design? In order to create an interactive story that the player feels a part of, narrative designers are mandatory. It's not a responsibility that can be placed on other designers (then we would be entering crunch territory) rather someone who specifically specializes in both creative writing and game design is needed to explain within the context of the game's story why the mechanics work in a certain way. Imagine if a Telltale game did not have dialogue, for example--what would we be left with? Or if The Last Of Us did not convey a narrative through its environments.

Narrative designers are needed so that all of the departments are in sync and understand the story that they are trying to tell. For example, if a game takes place in a haunted house that was abandoned, we need all hands on deck. The narrative designer can explain to the environment artists why there are so many holes in the living room--perhaps the last tenants of the house were a rowdy bunch. Or, they can tell the sound designers which planks of wood are the most rotten and need a loud sound effect to highlight how it has been abandoned. How do I become a narrative designer? There is no one way to become a narrative designer. Some people start in QA and transition into the field, I have also witnessed engineers and doctors wanting to get into narrative design. I do recommend having the following (at least): - A passion for storytelling. - Deep understanding of the mechanics of the game and the player experience. - Communication skills are incredibly important--can you describe your story in a concise way to your peers in a Confluence page?

Documentation skills are also a massive plus.

Very basic understanding of game engines and limitations. You don't have to be a computer science major, but know what your requests will entail. If you have an idea of a cutscene, can the engine handle it? Will the animators have enough time? Is it within scope?

If you can, attend game jams! They are an amazing way to network with amazing people and get a feel of what the game production pipeline is like.

Additionally, I highly recommend the following resources: First, the free resources! ~It's free real estate~

Look up Twinery tutorials. (https://twinery.org/) Not only is it free, but you can use it on your browser. More importantly, you will learn about branching narratives and can create your own games within a few minutes--the interface, though it requires a bit of coding, is incredibly easy to use and there are a lot of tutorials available online.

Download Ren'Py (https://www.renpy.org/) and watch tutorials. It's free, and there is a huge community of visual novel developers who may need help with narrative designers, writers, editors and even translators. An amazing resource that a colleague shared was this Discord with visual novel developers--if you have an idea, feel free to connect with artists and voice actors here! https://discord.gg/nW5yn4FE

Network, network, network! Follow narrative design and game writer groups on Discord, Facebook and even LinkedIn. -- An amazing convention that is online, free and accessible regarding narrative design is LudoNarraCon.

If you go to itch.io you will see a list of game jams that you can attend to for free! Some game jams that I have attended and had a positive experience are the following: - Woman Game Jam. I encourage folks from marginalized genders to attend this game jam, as we have a large pool of mentors willing to help in every single discipline at any time due to the global nature of it. It is a safe and inclusive space for women and nonbinary folx who want to get into the gaming industry! - Global Game Jam. Self explanatory, it has some in-person opportunities but you can also attend remotely. - Greenlight Jam. Do you have an idea that can not be done in only 48 hours? The Greenlight Jam is amazing, as it lasts four weeks--which allows narrative designers to develop complex narrative systems and even record voice lines for a more complex project. Side Note: Even though most game jams have a time limit, I do encourage narrative designers to develop and polish the prototypes and levels created during game jams to have portfolios and writing samples that stand out!

Work With Indies is a job site that publishes job opportunities--including ones in writing and narrative design. Additionally, their Discord has some networking events with writers so you can connect with them.

Other websites that not only publish jobs but include networking events are Hitmarker.net (this is their Discord), IndieGameAcademy (link to Discord),

Newsletters! A lot of experienced game writers have newsletters dedicated to the craft, to name a few that I highly recommend: -- Greg Buchanan's newsletter. Rounds up game writing news every Tuesday, and includes job opportunities. -- Bright Whitney's newsletter. A studio founder with amazing insights regarding game design and thoughtful narrative, Whitney's threads are extremely insightful. -- Susan O'Connor's blog on The Narrative Department. In addition to providing free knowledge regarding world building, narrative design, game writing and other specifics of the craft Susan interviews industry professionals and alumni who offer testimonials that have amazing advice. -- GDC talks about narrative design. Though I recommend the GDC vault as well in the next section, I highly recommend the GDC talks regarding not only narrative design but the development of your favorite titles!

Now, for resources that may not be free--but I highly recommend, as someone who used them first hand. - The Narrative Department. This post is not sponsored by them at all, however it is rare to find an instructor as kind and hard-working as Susan O'Connor who has been a narrative designer in historic AAA, AA and independent titles. Known for her contributions in Tomb Raider, Batman: The Enemy Within, and BioShock to name a few (imdb is: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1897248/) her Game Writing Masterclass offers a certification in everything related to game writing. A few subjects she touches on are: -- Characters and how to make them compelling. -- Barks and ambience writing. -- Dialogue, backstories and scripts. -- How to work with other departments. And more! Additionally, you would obtain access to a huge alumni network full of game writing professionals working in independent, AA and AAA studios! Not to mention that all of the assignments completed in the class will look amazing in a portfolio as game writing samples. - GDC Vault. Though I have an opinion on the price tag of GDC tickets and the vault, I would definitely include it as it has resources from several studios, writers, narrative designers and more! When was narrative design formed? When can I become a narrative designer?

That's a wonderful question. Narrative design, as a term, was first used around the 90s but became more established between the 2000s and 2010s. So, although the field is relatively new, and there are not a lot educational resources available, consider yourself part of an innovative field that is exponentially growing! Recently, a game developer asked when was the best time to keep an eye out for job openings. And a harsh truth about the gaming industry is that it is extremely volatile--layoffs, downsizings and startups rise and fall. This is not meant to deter anyone from pursuing a career in narrative design, but rather I am including it for the sake of transparency. We cannot predict when a studio is going to layoff their employees, or when they cancel unannounced projects. Unlike most industries where we know for a fact that recruiters keep a sharp eye for candidates in Q1 and Q3, a piece of advice I received from a mentor of mine was to try to predict when projects are going to need more stories. There's the release of a game, and then there is the addition of additional narrative content--and for this, they will more than likely need associate/entry/junior level narrative designers, writers and quest designers. But--this is related to searching for a job as a narrative designer, and I can write a novel about that (and will edit this article to redirect folx into it.) So, keep an eye out for huge game announcements. Then, cater your resume to what the studio is looking for in a narrative designer. Now, to finish off this article: Who is a narrative designer? If you have a passion for storytelling and games, and have participated in game jams, congratulations you are a wonderful narrative designer! Make sure you always include that you are a narrative designer, and not an aspiring narrative designer--it makes you stand out amongst applicants. That's all I have for now--feel free to interact, comment and share! Let me know if I missed something and I will be sure to add it.

Some tips for using a few words to describe voices:

1. Tone Words: Use tone words to convey the emotional quality of a voice. For example, you can describe a voice as "melodic," "soothing," "sharp," "gentle," or "commanding" to give readers a sense of the tone.

2. Pitch and Range: Mention the pitch and range of the voice. Is it "deep," "high-pitched," "raspy," or "full-bodied"? This can provide insight into the character's age, gender, or emotional state.

3. Accent and Diction: Describe the character's accent or diction briefly to give a sense of their background or cultural influences. For instance, "British-accented," "Southern drawl," or "formal."

4. Volume: Mention the volume of the voice, whether it's "whispering," "booming," "murmuring," or "hushed."

5. Quality: Use terms like "velvet," "silken," "gravelly," "honeyed," or "crisp" to convey the texture or quality of the voice.

6. Rate of Speech: Describe how fast or slow the character speaks, using words like "rapid," "slurred," "measured," or "rambling."

7. Mood or Emotion: Indicate the mood or emotion carried by the voice. For example, a "quivering" voice may convey fear or anxiety, while a "warm" voice may express comfort and reassurance.

8. Resonance: Describe the resonance of the voice, such as "echoing," "nasal," "booming," or "tinny."

9. Timbre: Mention the timbre of the voice, using words like "rich," "thin," "clear," or "smoky."

10. Cadence: Highlight the rhythm or cadence of speech with descriptors like "staccato," "lilting," "rhythmic," or "halting."

11. Intonation: Convey the character's intonation by saying their voice is "sarcastic," "apologetic," "confident," or "questioning."

12. Vocal Characteristics: If applicable, mention unique vocal characteristics, like a "lisp," "stutter," "drawl," or "accented 'r'."

Glucosify's Quick Start Guide to Twine's Sugarcube for Interactive Fiction

Or GQSGTSIF for short.

Very simplified guide to making interactive fiction on Twine, using Sugarcube. This won't cover how to change the UI or anything like that, it's really the bare bones on how to make passages, variables, choices etc. There are multiple ways and syntaxes to do these things, I'm covering the ones I use but it's really not the only way to write code and to do these things ^^ This is not a replacement to the documentation, I'll link relevant parts of the documentations throughout the guide but it's really going to be your best source of information Let me know if there's anything else you think I should add in there ~ 1. Passages & StoryInit 2. Variables 3. If statements 4. StoryMenu (bonus)

First of all, assuming you've already downloaded Twine and opened a new project, make sure that your default story format is Sugarcube (in the top left of the window, go to Twine -> Story Formats and click on Sugarcube then at the top left 'use as default format')

Now, go back to your project. In the top left, click on Passage -> New : this is how you'll create new passages.

Passages are what makes the game essentially, it's where you write your story. Whenever you play an if and you click on a choice and it progresses to a new passage of text, that's how it's done. Make sure to name your passages in a way that makes sense to you, two passages can't have the same name. It's probably best the names aren't super long either considering the names are what you'll type in your code to make the player go to this or that passage.

Special passages :

there are some passages that have special functions. Create a passage and name it StoryInit : this passage is used to store variables. Whenever a new game is started, it will load up the variables states as they are in the StoryInit passage. This is essentially a default state where no progress has been made in the story so for example : all stats would be at 0, all relationships points would be at 0, the MC wouldn't have a name yet etc. We'll store our variables there. Variables are attached to values, these values change as the player goes through the story. A variable's value can be many things, it could be a string which is anything that you'd write inside double quotes "" and would be printed as is in the string. For example :

<<set $mcName to "">>

$mcName is a variable. Its value changes to whatever the player chooses for the MC name. As you write your code, you just have to type $mcName and it will be changed to whatever name the player has set it to. A variable's value can also be a number, in this case, you wouldn't write it in double quotes.

<<set $confidence to 50, $maxConfidence to 100>>

It can also be a true or false statement.

<<set $IrisRomance to false>>

Figure out what needs to be a variable in your story and add them accordingly in your StoryInit passage, you'll add more variables as you go. Remember to give them a value, even if the value is 0 or "". Common variables would be for the MC's name and different physical traits, personality stats, pronouns, character's relationships stats etc. For this tutorial, write in your StoryInit :

<<set $mcName to "">>

Now, let's test our variable. Create another passage, call it start. In the top left bar, select Start Story Here : you should now see a little green rocket attached to your start passage. This is the passage the players will first see when they launch your game.

Inside the "start" passage, let's make a way to enter your own name with a simple text box.

<<textbox "$mcName" "Enter your name">>

Under it but still inside the "start" passage, let's write a simple link that will let us go to the next passage when we click on it.

<<link 'click here to confirm your name' 'next'>><</link>>

((the first string in the single quote is what will be displayed on the screen as the link, the second word in quotes, in this case 'next' is the name of the passage this link should direct you to))

Now make a second passage and call it next. Inside that passage, write this :

My name is $mcName.

Let's see if it works : in the top left, go to build -> play.

It will open an html file in your default browser. Considering we haven't touched the UI, it will have the default Sugarcube UI. You should have a textbox on the screen and a link under it in blue. If your link is red or if you have an error, go back to your code and check for misspellings or make sure you have the right amount of quotes etc.

Type whatever name you want inside that text box then click on the 'click here to confirm your name' link. It should now have changed the $mcName we wrote in the next passage into the name you input in the box. Congrats, you've learned how to set, change and display a variable :^) Now, let's say you want personality (or relationship) stats that change when you select a choice. Back in your StoryInit :

<<set $confidence to 50, $maxConfidence to 100>>

If you want to have a visual elements like actual bars and meters, I would suggest making it easy on you and just getting Chapel's meter macro. You just copy the minified code inside your Javascript file (top left -> story -> Javascript) and then write in your StoryInit and in your relationships / stats / profile page as explained on his demo. Go back to your "next" passage. Under the first sentence, let's write two choices link, one that will lead to an increase in confidence and one that lowers it.

<<link 'You are not confident. Life is hard.' 'sadface'>><<set $confidence to Math.clamp($confidence - 10, 0, $maxConfidence)>><</link>> <<link 'You are very confident. Life is great.' 'happyface'>><<set $confidence to Math.clamp($confidence + 10, 0, $maxConfidence)>><</link>>

((Math.clamp might look intimidating but don't worry too much, it's just to make sure your variable's value doesn't go over the min and max allowed so you can't go below 0 or above 100 in this case. You write the variable you want to change then a + or a - followed by how many points you want to remove / add - in this case, 10. Then the 0 is the minimum and the $maxConfidence is the maximum value.))

Now create two new passages, one called sadface and one called happyface. To make sure your variable changed, type $confidence in both of the new passages and play your game.

On one of the statement, it should now say 40 instead of 50 and 60 in the other one. Congrats you've learned how to change a stat. :^)

But what if you want two choices to lead to the same passage but to display different informations depending on how high / low a stat is? Welcome to the world of if statements. Back in StoryInit, you know the drill :

<<set $idiotLove to 0, $idiotMaxLove to 100>> <<set $idiotRomance to false>>

New passage, call it LoveCheck. Go back to your "next" passage :

<<link 'Click here to get 25 love points with the idiot.' 'LoveCheck'>><<set $idiotLove to Math.clamp($idiotLove + 25, 0, $idiotMaxLove)>><</link>> <<link 'Click here to get 50 love points with the idiot.' 'LoveCheck'>><<set $idiotLove to Math.clamp($idiotLove + 50, 0, $idiotMaxLove)>><</link>> <<link 'Click here to get 100 love points with the idiot.' 'LoveCheck'>><<set $idiotLove to Math.clamp($idiotLove + 100, 0, $idiotMaxLove)>><</link>> <<link 'I\'m allergic to idiots.' 'LoveCheck'>><</link>>

((you need to add a \ before your apostrophe when it's supposed to be part of the string, otherwise, the program will just think that's a closing single quote and not an apostrophe))

Alright, so now go to your newly created LoveCheck passage and let's write your first if statement. An if statement is basically a condition that you set, if the statement is 'valid' so like if it's a match then the program will ignore every other 'if' possibility. This is important because it means the order of your if statements matters. An if statement can be as simple as :

You are a person. <<if $idiotRomance is false>>You are not in love with an idiot.<</if>>

((this means that if the variable is false, then the second sentence will be displayed but if the variable is true, then the second sentence wouldn't be displayed to the player.)) An if statement can have an else :

You are a person. <<if $idiotRomance is false>>You are not in love with an idiot. <<else>> You love an idiot, I'm sorry. <</if>>

Note that this is the same as this, using elseif :

You are a person. <<if $idiotRomance is false>>You are not in love with an idiot. <<elseif $idiotRomance is true>> You love an idiot, I'm sorry. <</if>>

What this does is, if the variable is true, it will show the third sentence and not the second one and vice versa if the variable is false - because an if statement will only display the first statement that matches, if the variable is true then it will ignore any statement that require the variable to be false. As I said earlier, the order of your statement matter especially with variables tied to numerical values. You'll understand better once you try it - let's do it in the wrong order first (still in your LoveCheck passage), we'll print the $idiotLove variable to see its value :

$idiotLove <<if $idiotLove gte 25>> You like the idiot a little. <<elseif $idiotLove gte 50>>You like the idiot quite a bit. <<elseif $idiotLove gte 100>>You've fallen for the idiot, it's too late to save you. <<else>> You don't even know who the idiot is, good for you.<</if>>

Click play and let's look at the problem. If you click on all the links, the number will be different but the sentence will still say that you like the idiot a little, even if you have 100 points. That's because gte stands for greater than or equal to, 100 is greater than 25 so the first statement is always valid so long as you have at least 25 points. The program sees the first statement matches and is valid so it has no need to read the rest of the if statements. To remedy this, we just change the order :

$idiotLove <<if $idiotLove gte 100>>You've fallen for the idiot, it's too late to save you. <<elseif $idiotLove gte 50>>You like the idiot quite a bit. <<elseif $idiotLove gte 25>>You like the idiot a little. <<else>> You don't even know who the idiot is, good for you.<</if>>

Now it works. If statements will be your most used tool I imagine, especially if there's a lot of variations in your story. You can use if statements for pronouns, for stat checks, romance checks etc.

I can always make another guide for the UI but for now, I'll just show you how to add another link in the sidebar of the default UI, using StoryMenu.

Make a new passage, call it StoryMenu :

<<link 'relationships' 'relationships'>><</link>> <<link 'stats' 'stats'>><</link>>

Make two new passages called relationships and stats. Write whatever you want in them, if you're using Chapel's meters, you could use the <<showmeter>> macro here to display your stat bars.

Scene Transitions

                Transitioning between scenes is something that you’ll have to do a lot. A good scene transition blends seamlessly into the next so we hardly notice it occurring—or it stands out in order to heighten an emotional impact.

                I remember teachers saying, “transitions should blend seamlessly” to me in school without ever explaining how to do that, or what it looks like. The good news is, you’ve probably read so many books and consumed so much media that you’re already subconsciously transitioning your scenes. If you’re struggling, though, here’s what to watch out for:

1. The emotion ends off and begins at the same place.

This isn’t necessarily a hard rule, but it certainly helps maintain a sort of flow to the work, and asks a lot less from your readers than putting them through an emotional rollercoaster. This counts whether it’s transitioning from the same POV or different ones.

                For example, if your character is being chased by the police and the scene cuts off without knowing what happens to them, the next scene needs to begin in this heightened sense of urgency and anxiety.

                However, if your character is being chased by police and dives unnoticed into their hideout, the next scene should begin within this sense of relief. From here, you can take it wherever you want—just maintain a consistency between chapter cuts, POVs, or other time/place skips.

2. Finish what you start

Unless you’re intentionally keeping the audience in the dark about something (which would require at least some acknowledgement that there are answers, they just aren’t being revealed), you should finish what one scene starts.

Say your previous chapter ends off with the character finally reaching the end of the line for the super scary haunted house attraction. The next should probably begin with them getting to enter the house. If it begins the next day, we’ll be so caught up in the missing time and the obvious lack of answers surrounding the haunted house it’ll take us completely out of the scene and make a notable cut.

                An example of a story that does this notable cut really well is ‘A Face Like Glass’ by Frances Hardinge, in which nearing the end, Hardinge inserts a page that playfully acknowledges the complete jump in time and space without revealing anything to the readers about why it’s there, leaving them to discover later on what occurred in that space.

                I wish I could quote it exactly but I don’t have the book with me. If anyone does, please reblog this with the page! You’ll know the one I’m talking about.

3. Keep it the same

Don’t switch to a new POV in the middle of the story when you’ve never seen it before unless intentionally making a point. Do transition your scenes however you’d like, but maintain consistency throughout the story. That way, if you ever need to make a point, you can break all the rules you’ve followed to really hammer home the impact.

                Good luck!

It's OK if you’re not OK right now. I’m certainly not. Mothman isn’t. We’re devastated. There’s a hollow crater in my chest where my heart ought to be. I’m sick with worry. But I can’t let it consume me. So we’re going to allow ourselves to grieve and then find actionable ways to counter what lies ahead.

That will look different for everyone, but one thing that will be universally required in the days and years ahead is compassion and an unshakable commitment to kindness.

We will help each other through this. We will find ways to help other people. We will protect the people we love and even those we don’t to the best of our abilities. Because that’s the only option we have.

We will do it angry, we will do it sad, we will do it terrified. But we will do it.

Please be gentle with yourself. Please don’t do anything to harm yourself. The world needs your light. It needs your anger and your hope. It needs you.

things people do after having a nightmare that isn’t crying

struggle to catch their breath

grab onto whatever’s close enough to ground themselves in reality

become nauseous / vomit

shake uncontrollably

sweat buckets

get a headache

things people do to combat having nightmares if they occur commonly

sleep near other people so they can hear the idle sounds of them completing tasks

move to a different sleeping spot than where they had the nightmare

leave tvs / radios / phones on with noise

just not sleep (if you want to go the insomnia route)

sleep during the day in bright rooms

things people with insomnia do

first, obviously, their ability to remember things and their coordination will go out the window

its likely they’ll become irritable or overly emotional

their body will start to ache, shake, and weaken

hallucinate if it’s been long enough

it becomes incredibly easy for them to get sick (and they probably will)

add your own in reblogs/comments!

The symbolism of flowers

Flowers have a long history of symbolism that you can incorporate into your writing to give subtext.

Symbolism varies between cultures and customs, and these particular examples come from Victorian Era Britain. You'll find examples of this symbolism in many well-known novels of the era!

Amaryllis: Pride

Black-eyed Susan: Justice

Bluebell: Humility

Calla Lily: Beauty

Pink Camellia: Longing

Carnations: Female love

Yellow Carnation: Rejection

Clematis: Mental beauty

Columbine: Foolishness

Cyclamen: Resignation

Daffodil: Unrivalled love

Daisy: Innocence, loyalty

Forget-me-not: True love

Gardenia: Secret love

Geranium: Folly, stupidity

Gladiolus: Integrity, strength

Hibiscus: Delicate beauty

Honeysuckle: Bonds of love

Blue Hyacinth: Constancy

Hydrangea: Frigid, heartless

Iris: Faith, trust, wisdom

White Jasmine: Amiability

Lavender: Distrust

Lilac: Joy of youth

White Lily: Purity

Orange Lily: Hatred

Tiger Lily: Wealth, pride

Lily-of-the-valley: Sweetness, humility

Lotus: Enlightenment, rebirth

Magnolia: Nobility

Marigold: Grief, jealousy

Morning Glory: Affection

Nasturtium: Patriotism, conquest

Pansy: Thoughtfulness

Peony: Bashfulness, shame

Poppy: Consolation

Red Rose: Love

Yellow Rose: Jealously, infidelity

Snapdragon: Deception, grace

Sunflower: Adoration

Sweet Willian: Gallantry

Red Tulip: Passion

Violet: Watchfulness, modesty

Yarrow: Everlasting love

Zinnia: Absent, affection

Reading fantasy again, I've started thinking about how odd it is how in books like that, the non-human races invariably scoff at human frailty and vulnerability, even those that they'll call friends. Like that's mean?? Why would you be a dick to your friend who you know is not capable of as much as you are, and it's not their fault they were born like that. That's mean.

Like consider the opposite: Characters of non-human races treating their human companions like frail little old dogs. Worrying about small wounds being fatal - humans die of small injuries all the time - or being surprised that humans can actually eat salt, even if they can't stomach other spicy rocks. Being amazed that a human friend they haven't seen in 10 years still looks so young, they've hardly aged at all! And when the human tries to explain that they weren't going to just unexpectedly shrivel into a raisin in 10 years, the longer-lifespan friend dismisses this like no, he's seen it happen, you don't see a human for 10 or 20 years and they've shriveled in a blink.

Elves arguing with each other like "you can't take her out there, she will die!" and when the human gets there to ask what they're talking about, they explain to her that the journey will take them through a passage where it's going to be sunny out there. Humans burn in the sun. And she will have to clarify that no, actually, she'll be fine. They fight her about it, until she manages to convince them that it's not like vampires - humans only burn a little bit in the sun, not all the way through. She'll be fine if she just wears a hat.

Meanwhile dwarves are reluctant to allow humans in their mines and cities, not just out of being secretive, but because they know that you cannot bring humans underground, they will go insane if they go too long without seeing the sun. Nobody is entirely sure how long that is, but the general consensus is three days. One time a human tries to explain their dwarf companion that this is not true, there are humans that endure much longer darkness than that. As a matter of fact, in the furthest habited corners of the lands of the Northmen, the winter sun barely rises at all. Humans can survive three weeks of darkness, and not just once, but every single year.

"Then how do they sane?" Asks the dwarf, and just as he does, the conversation gets interrupted by the northland human, who had been eavesdropping, and turns to look at them with an unnerving glint in her colourless grey eyes, grinning while saying

"That's the neat part, we don't."