farewellv

[currently working on Debajo] Toyis | writeblr I attempt to write again Main | Los WIPS

[farewellv]

oh look, a wip intro by @farewellv !

D E B A J O - - - - - - - - - - -  w h e r e     g r e e d    g i v e s

G E N R E - - - - - - - - - -   f a n t a s y  //  w e s t e r n  //  n e w  a d u l t

T O P I C S - - - - - - - - - - -  t o x i c     a m b i t i o n  //   k i n s h i p  //    f a m i l y     l e g a c i e s //  a v a r i c e  //  f o u n d     f a m i l y  //  s e l f-l o v e  //  r o m a n t i c     l o v e  //  p l a t o n i c     l o v e  //  u n r e q u i t e d     l o v e  //  s t r u c t u a l     v i o l e n c e  //  d i r e c t     v i o l e n c e  //  m o r t a l i t y

W A R N I N G - - - - - - - - - - - death, violence, implied abuse, torture, drug use, murder, gore

S Y N O P S I S  : 

After the fall of the Fleischer clan, Debajo is in chaos. Rivalling mafia families, Bravo and Larin, drag with them destruction as they war for the precious resources once coveted by the Fleischer’s. The race for gem and drug opens a desperation for power that drags along with it the lives of all within Debajo.

Set on a western backdrop where the most influential family has collapsed, Debajo recounts the lives of distinct families within the soulless land of Debajo as they navigate the fallout of a war for drug and gem. Loyalties are put on trial and family legacies are questioned as ambition leads to destruction and for the few that are especially cunning: wealth, glory and a chance for their name to live on for eternity.

G E N E R A L  T A G  L I S T : 

@sautrns , @nothingisliteral , @ahowlinwolf

C O M I N G  S O O N : character introductions

C H E C K  O U T : intro post & reasons for my wips 

[lyralit]

ᴛɪᴘꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇʀꜱ [ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴀ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇʀ]

don't let your skill in writing deter you. publishers look for the storyline, not always excellent writing. many of the greatest books came from mediocre writers—and also excellent and terrible ones.

keep writing even when it sucks. you don't know how to write this battle scene yet? skip ahead. write [battle scene here] and continue. in the end, you'll still have a book—and you can fill in the blanks later.

find your motivation. whether it's constantly updating That One Friend or posting your progress, motivation is key.

write everything down. everything. you had the perfect plot appear to you in a dream? scribble down everything you can remember as so as you can. I like to keep cue cards on my nightstand just in case.

play with words. titles, sentences, whatever. a lot of it will probably change either way, so this is the perfect opportunity to try out a new turn of phrase—or move along on one you're not quite sure clicks yet.

explain why, don't tell me. if something is the most beautiful thing a character's ever laid eyes on, describe it—don't just say "it's beautiful".

ask for critique. you will always be partial to your writing. getting others to read it will almost always provide feedback to help you write even better.

stick to the book—until they snap. write a character who is disciplined, courteous, and kind. make every interaction to reinforce the reader's view as such. but when they're left alone, when their closest friend betrays them, when the world falls to their feet...make them finally break.

magic. has. limits. there is no "infinite well" for everyone to draw from, nor "infinite spells" that have been discovered. magic has a price. magic has a limit. it takes a toll on the user—otherwise why can't they simply snap their fingers and make everything go their way?

read, read, read. reading is the source of inspiration.

first drafts suck. and that's putting it gently. ignoring all the typos, unfinished sentences, and blatant breaking of each and every grammar rules, there's still a lot of terrible. the point of drafts is to progress and make it better: it's the sketch beneath an oil painting. it's okay to say it's not great—but that won't mean the ideas and inspiration are not there. first drafts suck, and that's how you get better.

write every day. get into the habit—one sentence more, or one hundred pages, both will train you to improve.

more is the key to improvement. more writing, more reading, more feedback, and you can only get better. writing is a skill, not a talent, and it's something that grows with you.

follow the rules but also scrap them completely. as barbossa wisely says in PotC, "the code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules". none of this is by the book, as ironic as that may be.

write for yourself. I cannot stress this enough. if what you do is not something you enjoy, it will only get harder. push yourself, but know your limits. know when you need to take a break, and when you need to try again. write for yourself, and you will put out your best work.

[letterful]

anyway! i love stories about disillusionment and bitterness and resentment and casual cruelty and senseless betrayals and festering grudges and lost causes and unhealed traumas and unbreakable cycles and all-encompassing and all-consuming conflicts that have been going on for so long that no one can even recall how they actually came to be. and also divorce.

[letterful]

& on a related note: i love thought experiments and ethical dilemmas and psychological gordian knots and exercises in value shifting and competent yet empathetic storytelling and narratives that don’t resort to handholding their audiences when engaging with darker and/more complex themes ❣️

[rossa-motte]

are we writing magical realism?, blog.

Sorry if something reads awkward, I wrote and made this on the phone!

So, first of all, my credentials:

I’m latina… that’s enough for some people, oops.

I’ve studied it

I read it

I write it, I think

I’m not going to distract ourselves so much with history, Internet already has a lot of that. But we can say it originates in Latin America at the beginning/midst of the 1900s, but is written in other parts of the world as well.

Most of the time, the definition we heard is something on the lines of mixing reality and the fantastic, treating the unreal as real. Also, a lot of people see it as fantasy for latinos.

But all this is quite vague and ends in lots of people from countries where isn’t common thinking it just means contemporary fantasy, fantasy for literary writers, or thinking it is an… aesthetic… *shivers

Well, if it’s none of that, what is? How do I know if I’m writing it? Everybody says something different… And, yeah, a lot of people don’t see eye to eye on this, so this is as far as I know and my personal opinion. But here are eight things I think defines magical realism (particularly differentiating it from fantasy):

i. Yes, it’s fantasy, but the point isn’t magic.

In fantasy the point is magic, is people thinking “oh, how crazy! the magic, the other world!”. Even if is a contemporary low fantasy, the fantastical elements are the focus (most of the time, at least, there are always exceptions).

In magical realism magic is just there. It has a relevance in the plot, character, or setting as much as cup of water, a ride on a bus, or the night. Nobody is going to stop for it nor explain it.

The story in fantasy is about, for example, about a magical girl. In magical realism is about the girl, who so happens to be magical.

ii. And one of the reasons for that it’s because it’s character driven.

While magical realism is not “the fantasy for literary writers” I think it has that in common with litfic: the plot can be a more… quiet one. Maybe not 100% character driven, but with a subtle plot. And if the plot is not that strong, fantasy can’t shine in the plot either.

And, if there’s a strong plot (let’s say, action with spies or some shit) magic has nothing to do with the premise. It’s not a “I’m a secret agent and I read minds but nobody can know about it”, more like an “I’m a secret agent in this Totally Normal World where sometimes someone reads a mind”.

iii. Because magical realism is not a classic genre either.

If I tell you I’m writing an epic fantasy, most people know the type of story I’m talking about. In other world, inspired by the past, high fantasy, probably with this magic journey as a plot, and with very specific clichés an archetypes as options.

We can’t do that with magical realism. It’s more like saying we’re writing historical fiction. It’s just one factor of the plot (or setting), and we can have a romance that is historical, as well as a thriller that is historical.

Magical realism is too broad to even have clichés or archetypes.

iv. And it’s too vague: we’re not writing hard magic systems here.

A really thin line divides magical realism with a low fantasy-soft magic system. I think there are lots of stories that fall in a awkward in-between.

Maybe the difference, really subtle, resides in magical realism “making less sense”.

This other type of fantasy usually has some kind of rules that bend a lot, or some thematic focus. While magical realism looks more like surrealism, kind of dreamlike in a sense, where different unconnected stuff can happen without any sense of logic.

This doesn’t really mean it doesn’t makes sense. Usually it does but in other ways, like an emotional one.

v. Not only that, but sometimes, magic is not magic.

In a fantasy, the fantastic element resides in magic itself or a concrete thing, but once again, magical realism looks like surrealism. Sometimes the magic resides in the uncanny, in a weird version of reality.

Maybe it has elements that exists but are so strange and unknown that it feels unreal. Or things that could happen but the chances are so low and the conditions so precise that it kind of doesn’t make sense (like surviving with a tiguer in the ocean).

And sometimes it feels like a strech to reality: something that could happen but a little too much, like exacerbated. Think about the gothic subgenre, or these post on Tumblr listing a specific setting + gothic. I remember one about university, telling for example, that the answer is always communism, in any class even math, or that time doesn’t pass. Is interesting and funny because is somehow relatable, it feels like that even if we know that’s not realistic.

vi. And sometimes the magic is ambiguous.

A lot of the times we have explicit magic or magical elements… but we can’t be sure if they are really an out of (our) world thing or it has a logical explanation.

For example, ghosts are super common in magical realism… but also in real life. Most of us probably know somebody who has a experience with a ghost (some of us ourselves), or know some legend about spirits in our place.

So, if a character sees a ghost in magical realism, we, as readers, have to ask ourselves: is this character really seeing a ghost or it’s just imagining it? 

Same if we have a witch who hex someone and then bad things happens to that person. Or tarot cards telling that something is going to happen and then it does… All that can happen in reality, and it can be real magic or just coincidences.

vii. Related to that, this ambiguity exists because a lot of the time the magic is based in real beliefs and lore.

Let me put it in other words to get across the point:

vii. Magical realism doesn’t has to be in Latin America to work, but it needs to have a heavy setting and folklore.

Just as in gothic literature, setting is just another character, and is super common to base the magic in the folklore of that specific setting… and that usually creates this ambiguity.

In fantasy there’s a lot of focus on being original, but magical realism (usually) is very traditional. We work with what we already have in our settings.

And this also means… sometimes… magical realism and reality has more in common that one would think.

For example, Border is a Swedish movie with trolls… this only works in Sweden (or near it) because it’s part of their stories. In Latin America it would be too alien for us. But, for example, Argentina has a lot of lore with duendes (like elves or gnomes).

viii. Finally, magical realism is not an escapism.

People usually thinks about fantasy as escapism. While I think is incorrect, sometimes it is like that… Even if not, the fantasy part is super romantic and we want to be in that world.

In magical realism not so much. It has a love-hate for life and reality. It’s not bad but it has a comment to make about it. Magic is beautiful but mundane, life is cruel and romantic, all bittersweet.

And yes, usually, in Latin America, that means talking about colonialism and poverty.

If any of you want to add something, don’t doubt it!

[chauceryfairytales-archive]

Excuse me, I’ll take the invitation! I was thinking a lot about this post last night, because OP did such a great work to sort out the mess of opinions about magical realism and define some main characteristics of the genre. And in a pretty post?? So I’ll just add my favorite tip for everything, which is:

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel? Magical realism is a rich tradition, and you can draw from it in your story! If you want to see how these things show up in practice (and see common tropes and themes and stuff), just read magical realism books and watch magical realism movies!

Take a look at the Latin American canon that defined most of these characteristics! One Hundred Years of Solitude and The House of the Spirits are two of the most famous examples, but there are loads of others.

And take a look at works from other countries that are commonly accepted as magical realism to see how similar circumstances and/or storytelling techniques create a local brand of magical realism! Idk, watch that Swedish movie OP mentioned, watch Pan’s Labyrinth, read Murakami, read Beloved or The Metamorphosis. Read The Ocean at the End of the Lane to see where a story starts to draw away from fantasy into magical realism territory, without being fully magical realism yet. (In my opinion. We can disagree, but I’d be very wary of calling this book magical realism because the magic is still too structured and central to the story. For me, it’s one of the awkward in-betweens.)

Just read a lot and watch a lot of movies! Because it’s fun and you can excuse it as research if anybody asks ;D

[rossa-motte]

aaww, you calling my post pretty and a good work made my day! 😊🥴

Also I’m currently reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and I thought of leaving it for a while because I wasn’t really getting into it, but now that you describe it like that, I’ll keep going 

p.s.: I thought I followed you? but I don’t… So I’ll follow you now lol

[chauceryfairytales-archive]

It’s pretty and an excellent work ❤️

Ah, yes!! I actually disliked The Ocean at the End of the Lane the first time I read it, because I bought it thinking it was 100% fantasy. But the story gets close to magical realism at some points. (I wrote an essay about it, and I’m always one inch away from dumping it on everyone here, but this isn’t the post for it.) Umm, how not to spoil everything… the ending is open for interpretation.   

[rossa-motte]

now drop that essayyy, you know you want tooo

But of course I’ll read it when I finish the book…

[homunculus-argument]

One thing I’ve learned about writing is ”give everything a face”. It’s no good to write passively that the nobility fled the city or that the toxic marshes were poisoning the animals beyond any ability to function. Make a protagonist see how a desperate woman in torn silks climbs onto a carriage and speeds off, or a two-headed deer wanders right into the camp and into the fire. Don’t just have an ambiguous flock of all-controlling oligarchy, name one or two representatives of it, and illustrate just how vile and greedy they are as people.

it’s bad to have characters who serve no purpose in the story, but giving something a face is a perfectly valid purpose.

[tlbodine]

This is the real heart of “show don’t tell”

[politicalmamaduck]

Writing about a child rapist did not make Vladimir Nabokov a child rapist.

Writing about an authoritarian theocracy did not make Margaret Atwood an authoritarian theocrat.

Writing about adultery did not make Leo Tolstoy an adulterer.

Writing about a ghost did not make Toni Morrison a ghost.

Writing about a murderer did not make Fyodor Dostoevsky a murderer.

Writing about a teenage addict did not make Isabel Allende a teenage addict.

Writing about dragons and ice zombies did not make George R.R. Martin either of those things.

Writing about rich heiresses, socially awkward bachelors, and cougar widows did not make Jane Austen any of those things.

Writing about people who can control earthquakes did not make N.K. Jemisin able to control earthquakes.

Writing about your favorite characters and/or ships in situations that you choose does not make you a bad person.

It’s a shame that in this day and age these things need to be said.

[nyarnamaitar]

Or, in short: the narrator =/ the author.

[oblakom-deactivated20200302]

You know what else is a shame? This nowadays tendency of putting on the author the responsibility of teaching their readers morality.

Authors are allowed to write morally ambiguous characters.

Authors are allowed to write downright despicable characters - and guess what they are even allowed to make despicable characters charismatic and likeble and the protagonists of their stories if they wish - because absolute monsters exist only under the bed.

It is not up to the author to spoonfeed the readers about morality and Yes I know this character did a bad thing and I am going going to show it in the story and make other characters call them out of it and– Bullshit.

The authors should be able to write what they want without having thousands of people jumping and their throats claiming to know them, their ideas and their morality based on what they write.

It’s not up to the author to teach you about what is right and what is wrong.

[theanishimori]

It’s not up to the author to teach you about what is right and what is wrong.

[burlbread]

What always bugs me about this post is Tolstoy. 

More like “Writing about a woman being sorry for adultery didn’t make him regret his own cheating.”

Which also fits in “Writting about pure and healthy romantic situation with perfectly morally save ship doesn’t make you a saint neither” espesically if you bully people who write about harsher stuff.

[stormharbors-archive-deactivate]

you know we always talk about girls in fiction and letting them be strong and independent and powerful, which is really important! of course it is! because girls absolutely should be allowed those things! but also it’s important to let boys be soft.

we’re used to hyper masculinity, but boys (everyone, really) should be allowed to feel! they should get emotional, cry, hug their friends, and just be human. but for some reason we associate feeling in these ways as effeminate, and for some reason that’s a bad thing. but it shouldn’t be, because there’s nothing wrong with feeling things. it doesn’t make you weak to be human.

anyway. let people be strong! let people be soft! let them be both, better yet. we’re all human, and fiction should be allowed to reflect that.

[stormharbors-archive-deactivate]

a GOD TIER addition to the post, YES platonic affection is so good and we need more of it!!!

[encrucijada]

So you are bored: from a latina to other, what do you think it's the difference between magical realism and a low fantasy-soft magic system? I was just drafting a post about this, maybe you have a interesting insight 👀

ayyy latina, hola hola 💞

this is interesting! i actually always have to look at the magical realism wikipedia to fact check the requirements for magical realism because it's really kind of blurry. magical realism i think is about the atmosphere most of all and also the setting. some people might come at me for this but i am of the opinion that if a book isn't set in latinoamerica and/or has latine protagonists then it cannot be counted as magical realism, even if it checks all the boxes. this Might be gatekeeping but i honestly think we've earned it lmao. the atmosphere of a magical realism book is extremely dreamy and the narrator, whoever they might be, is always nonchalant or unfazed about the fantastical elements happening in the story. i read la casa de los espíritus and every mention of clara's powers or rosa's "angelicness" was mentioned with the same sort of matter-of-fact tone as everything else in the book. it frustrated me a bit tbh lmao because i wanted more of an exploration on rosa being labelled an angel for her green hair but then it wouldn't be magical realism because that's explaining the fantastical.

this is from the wikipedia on realismo mágico which i think explains it pretty well!

i had a whole crisis regarding my book from the mouths because i didn't know if it was magical realism or contemporary fantasy (and if it was pretentious of me calling my own book magical realism) but i think it's contemporary fantasy with soft worldbuilding... key: i think...

[encrucijada]

another thought: the fantastical elements aren't the focus of the story either in magical realism. la casa de los espíritus isn't about clara's powers or the fact her sister had green hair and was labelled an angel, it is about this period-accurate high class family in chile as seen through three generations

[rossa-motte]

ah, mierda, my future post goes kind of the other way around, I try not to be too much gatekeepy (if that's a word), while also drawing the difference with fantasy.

We are going to confuse the gringos! 😩

But I do agree magical realism doesn't focus so much about magic

[encrucijada]

confusing the gringos is what keeps me young 😌💕

[rossa-motte]

... no voy a discutir con eso 😏

Ladies, gentlemen, and spirits: are you writing magical realism? Even in Latinoamérica we don't know. Good luck and good night.

[farewellv]

get to know me: thanks for the tag @melonmilk ! 

tagging: @farrradays @ahowlinwolf @infinitely-empty-pages @indeliblewrites @ljscrawls

favorite movie/s: 

the fall 

the grand budapest hotel

safety last

la vida es bella 

como agua para chocolate

favorite band/s:

Porter

Beirut

Belafonte Sensacional

Malice Mizer 

day or night: night nicknames: toyis zodiac: libra mbti: ENFJ (although I took it many years ago so a doubt it is accurate) favorite vehicle: floo powder  pets: Mixtli the cat and Loreta the birb

[thewritingumbrellas]

Writing advice from my uni teachers:

If your dialog feels flat, rewrite the scene pretending the characters cannot at any cost say exactly what they mean. No one says “I’m mad” but they can say it in 100 other ways.

Wrote a chapter but you dislike it? Rewrite it again from memory. That way you’re only remembering the main parts and can fill in extra details. My teacher who was a playwright literally writes every single script twice because of this.

Don’t overuse metaphors, or they lose their potency. Limit yourself.

Before you write your novel, write a page of anything from your characters POV so you can get their voice right. Do this for every main character introduced.

[appendingfic]

Sometimes writing is crafting intricate foreshadowing and themes that delight your readers and sometimes it is realizing you forgot an entire character existed.

[fragmentedink-archived]

Symbolism

I thought I might not be the only writer out there who likes to put symbolism in their stories so I found some things and what they represent!!

Animals

Alligator - stealth, survival

Ant - diligence, industry, community, remarkable strength, hard working, success, patience

Antelope - action

Armadillo - boundaries, self protection

Badger - aggressiveness, passion and drive

Bat - rebirth, longevity, joy, good luck

Bear - gentle strength, dreaming, introspection, power, protection

Beaver - builder, accomplishing goals

Bee - divine messenger, love, service, gathering, community

Bird - enlightenment, perspective, swiftness, vision, prophetic knowledge

Boar - nature-based wealth, prosperity, success, protection, courage

Buffalo - prayer, abundance, survival needs met, good fortune, healing

Bulls’ horns - a good symbol in meditation for motivation

Butterfly - rebirth, the soul, transformation, the three phases of life

Cat - feminine energy, mystical power, used to keep the wearer safe in travel, wholeness

Chameleons - ever-changing future, inconsistency

Cheetah - speed, focus

Cougar - power, swiftness, balance

Cows - red cows are a symbol of hope, inspiring symbol for nurturing efforts

Coyote - trickster

Crane - longevity. A pair of cranes symbolizes “Long Marriage”

Cricket - good luck charm, singing, Spring, fertility

Crow - sacred law, gateway to supernatural, shape shifting, illusion

Deer - graceful gentleness, sensitivity, compassion, kindness

Dog - companionship, health, service, loyalty, protection, future prosperity

Dolphin - manna, joy, childlike play, helpfulness, breath of life, harmony, intelligence, self connection

Donkey - fertility, easy childbirth, efficiency, health, well-being, and luck

Dove - peace, innocence, fidelity, love, gentleness, kindnes

Dragonfly - good fortune, magic, vision, dreams, luck, and ancient knowledge, illusion

Dragon - wisdom due to long lives and potent magic, royalty, Emperor, eternity, courage, strength, rain, Spring

Eagle - courage, spirit, bravery, strength

Elephant - commitment, strength, astuteness

Elk - stamina, pride, power, majesty

Fish - miracles, providence, sea/water magic, good luck and prosperity, foresight, fortune, salmon in particular, are associated with knowledge

Fox - camouflage, adaptability, integration, tricksters, shape shifters, and possessors of great magic

Frog - healing, cleansing, messages, health, honesty, fluidity, purification

Gazelle - awareness

Giraffe - grounded vision

Goat - tenacity, diligence, can help to achieve goals, endure criticism, and stay safe. Goat’s fur or foot - an anti-evil talisman.

Goose - safe return, love of home

Grasshopper - nobility, prosperity

Hawk - nessenger, strength, foresight, truth

Hippopotamus - emotional depths

Horses - power, stamina, speed, transportation and communication - A black horse with a white marking on its forehead is lucky

Hummingbird - joy, pure love, celebration of life

Ladybug - delight, trust

Lamb - filial piety (dutiful respect or regard for parents).

Lion (baby) cubs - inspire mercy and gentleness.

Lion (grown) - inspire strength, courage

Lions - pride, nobility, cunning, courage, just laws, fairness, the sun, images can protect sacred ground.

Lizard - dreaming, foresight, ancient secrets

Lynx - secrets

Monkey - benevolence, drives away evil

Moose - self-esteem, assertiveness

Mountain Lion - wisdom, leadership

Mouse - frugality, rebirth, scrutiny

Opossum - strategy, diversion

Otter - medicine (woman), balanced feminine energy

Owl - deception, wisdom, clairvoyance, magic

Ox - evil spirits that disturb lakes, rivers, and seas

Peacock - wholeness, dignity, beauty, recognition, self assurance, pride

Pig - rebirth and rejuvenation

Porcupine - innocence

Rabbit - fear, fertility, moon magic, speed, swiftness, longevity, courage, strength

Raccoon - dexterity, disguise

Raven - magic

Robin - growth, renewal

Rooster - courageous, warlike disposition, warmth and life of the Universe

Scorpion - the “fire within” that often needs careful tending

Seal - inner voice

Sheep - sacrifice

Snake - cunning, evil, supernatural power

Spider - destiny, fate, weaving

Squirrel - gathering

Swan - grace

Tiger - courage, bravery, fierceness, strength, being in the now

Turtle - mother earth

Weasel - stealth

Whale - record keeper

Wolf - teacher, A Guide to the Sacred

Zebra - Individuality

PLANTS

Aloe- Healing, protection, affection

Amaryllis- Pride

Anemone- Forsaken

Angelica- Inspiration

Apple blossom- Preference

Arborvitae- Unchanging friendship

Aster- Symbol of Love, Daintiness

Basil- Good wishes

Bay- Glory

Begonia- Beware

Bittersweet- Truth

Black-eyed Susan- Justice

Bluebell- Humility, kindness

Candytuft- Indifference

Red carnation- My Heart Aches, admiration

- White carnation- Innocence, pure love, women’s good luck gift

- Pink carnation- I’ll never forget you

- Yellow carnation- Disdain, disappointment, rejection

Chamomile- Patience

Chives- Usefulness

Chrysanthemum- Cheerfulness

Clover, white- Think of me

Coreopsis- Always cheerful

Coriander- Hidden worth

Crocus- spring, Youthful gladness

Cumin- Fidelity

Cyclamen- Resignation and good-bye

Daffodil- Regard

Daisy- Innocence, hope

Dill- Powerful against evil

Edelweiss- Courage, devotion

Fennel- Flattery

Fern- Sincerity

Forget-me-not- True love memories

Gardenia- Secret love

Geranium- oak-leavedTrue friendship

Gladiolus- Remembrance

Goldenrod- Encouragement, good fortune

Heliotrope- Eternal love

Holly- Hope

Hollyhock- Ambition

Honeysuckle- Bonds of love

Horehound- Health

Hyacinth- Games and sport, playfulness, rashness

– Blue Hyacinth- Constancy of love

– Purple Hyacinth- Sorrow, forgiveness, regret

– Yellow Hyacinth- Jealousy

– White Hyacinth- Loveliness, prayers for someone

Hydrangea- Gratitude for being understood; frigidity and heartlessness

Hyssop- Sacrifice, cleanliness

Iris- A message

Ivy- Friendship, continuity

Jasmine- white- Sweet love

Lady’s-mantle- Comforting

Lavender- Devotion, virtue

Lemon balm- Sympathy

Lilac- Joy of youth

Lily, calla- Beauty

Lily, day- Chinese emblem for mother

Lily-of-the-valley- Sweetness, purity

Lotus Flower- Purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration, and rebirth

Magnolia- Love of nature

Marjoram- Joy and happiness

Mint- Virtue

Morning glory- Affection

Myrtle- Good luck and love in a marriage

Nasturtium- Patriotism

Oak- Strength

Oregano- Substance

Pansy- Thoughts

Parsley- Festivity

Peony- Bashful, happy life

Pine- Humility

Poppy, red- Consolation

Rhododendron- Danger, flee

Rose, red- Love, I love you.

Rose, dark crimson- Mourning

Rose, pink- Happiness

Rose, white- Purity, heavenly, I’m worthy of you

Rose, yellow- Jealousy, decrease of love

Rosemary- Remembrance

Rue- Grace, clear vision

Sage- Wisdom, immortality

Salvia, blue- I think of you

Salvia, red- Forever mine

Savory Spice-  interest

Sorrel- Affection

Southernwood- Constancy, jest

Sunflower- Adoration

Sweet pea- Pleasures

Sweet William- Gallantry

Sweet woodruff- Humility

Tansy- Hostile thoughts

Tarragon- Lasting interest

Thyme- Courage, strength

Tulip, red- Passion, declaration of love

Tulip, yellow- Sunshine in your smile

Valerian- Readiness

Violet- Loyalty, devotion, faithfulness, modesty

Wallflower- Faithfulness in adversity

Willow- Sadness

Yarrow- Everlasting love

Zinnia- Thoughts of absent friends

Color

Red: Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate, sincerity, happiness (Only in Japan)

Pink: love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm.

Beige and ivory: symbolize unification. 

Ivory: symbolizes quiet and pleasantness. 

Beige: calm and simplicity.

Yellow: signifies joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard and friendship.

Dark Blue: Symbolizes integrity, knowledge, power, and seriousness.

Blue: Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant.

Turquoise: calm. 

Teal: sophistication. 

Aquamarine: symbolizes water. 

Lighter turquoise: a feminine appeal.

Purple: Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, honor, arrogance, mourning, temperance.

Lavender: femininity, grace and elegance.

Orange: Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.

Green: Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, service, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigor.

Brown: Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort.

Gray: Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring. Silver symbolizes calm.

White: Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical.

Black: Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical color, mourning, death (Western cultures), austerity, detachment.

[helenaklein]

morally grey does not mean “is bad but also sad”

[helenaklein]

a character that is morally grey will not burn the world down because it makes them feel powerful, they’ll do it because they perceive something about it to be broken. moral ambiguity has nothing to do with a character’s past, and everything to do with the relationship between their actions and their intentions.

[michaelbjorkwrites]

Great distinction!

A character who does bad things because they’re sad, betrayed, or hurt by their circumstances may be sympathetic, but they aren’t necessarily morally grey.

A character becomes morally grey when there’s a sense of truth, goodness, or justice in their purpose, but the actions they take to achieve that purpose are troubling, even amoral.

[princesskuragina]

I want to write. I have ideas. I open document. I type four of the worst sentences ever created in the english language. I daydream the rest of the scene. I close document.

[introvert-unicorn-deactivated20]

Words to describe someone’s voice :

adenoidal (adj) :  some of the sound seems to come through their nose.

appealing (adj): voice shows that you want help, approval, or agreement.

breathy (adj): with loud breathing noises.

booming (adj): very loud and attention-getting.

brittle (adj): if you speak in a brittle voice, you sound as if you are about to cry.

croaky (adj): they speak in a low, rough voice that sounds as if they have a sore throat.

grating (adj): a grating voice, laugh, or sound is unpleasant and annoying.

gravelly (adj): a gravelly voice sounds low and rough.

high-pitched (adj): true to its name, a high-pitched voice or sound is very high.

honeyed (adj): honeyed words or a honeyed voice sound very nice, but you cannot trust the person who is speaking.

matter-of-fact (adj): usually used if the person speaking knows what they are talking about (or absolutely think they know what they are talking about).

penetrating (adj): a penetrating voice is so high or loud that it makes you slightly uncomfortable.

raucous (adj): a raucous voice or noise is loud and sounds rough.

rough (adj): a rough voice is not soft and is unpleasant to listen to.

shrill (adj): a shrill voice is very loud, high, and unpleasant.

silvery (adj): this voice is clear, light, and pleasant.

stentorian (adj): a stentorian voice sounds very loud and severe.

strangled (adj): a strangled sound is one that someone stops before they finish making it.

strident (adj): this voice is loud and unpleasant.

thick (adj): if your voice is thick with an emotion, it sounds less clear than usual because of the emotion.

tight (adj): shows that you are nervous or annoyed.

toneless (adj): does not express any emotion.

wheezy (adj): a wheezy noise sounds as if it is made by someone who has difficulty breathing.

[romcommunist]

staring at my own spotify library like im narcissus staring at myself in the water

[spector]

rereading a story you wrote yourself to satisfy ur own SPECIFIC thematic explorations and such