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[rosewicket]

imagine....the way of the house husband rosewick au.........

[scriptflorist]

What are some good "I'm sorry" flowers?

Hello Nonny :)!

I know you are asking for flower meanings and you’ll get them, you’ll get a lot of them, but I would like to preface this list with that someone’s favourite flower or in any case a thoughtfully picked bouquet (in their favourite colour maybe) is also always a good idea for an apology.

For a character who barely knows anything about the person they’re apologising to or the meaning of flowers an attempt of being thoughtful is a good alternative. Florists often don’t know these meanings, but we do know that nevermind the meaning if someone adores a flower it’s instantly an awesome present. An apology bouquet/arrangement that your character can stand a 100% behind will have an indefinitely higher success rate even if it’s nothing fancy.

Alright, let’s go! I don’t know what they’re trying to apologise for or how they want to convey it, so I’ll try to cover as much ground as possible. Also, I hope we’re not talking a 9 on an alphabetical scale! (If anyone has the original on hand, a link would be appreciated too.)

Achillea - state of war

Allium - patience, unity, humility

Aloe - sorrow, grief

Anemone - fragile, anticipation

Arbor vitae - true friendship (a hopeful wish?)

Aspen tree - lamentation

Asphodel - my regrets follow you to the grave

Bindweed (small and or white) - humility

Bittersweet nightshade - truth

Blue bell - constancy, sorrowful regret but also humility, constancy, gratitude

Broom - humility (but also neatness and adour)

Camellia - my destiny is in your hands, but also modest merit

Caramine - paternal error (could be taken as a form of acknowledgement of it)

Carnation (red) - my heart breaks

Chervil - sincerity

Chestnut - justice, do me justice (could be used in combination with expected retribution, or when a character would think only a penalty makes their apology mean something)

Chrysanthemum (white) - truth

Cinquefoil - maternal affection, beloved daughter (have them combine it with caramine)

Gum cistus - I shall die tomorrow (for the overly dramatic character)

Clove - dignity (an acknowledgement or dignity or to say they’re trying to preserve it here)

Columbine - folly, desertation, I cannot give thee up

Columbine (red) - anxious and trembling (as in one meaning, not two)

Convolvulus - uncertainty, bonds

Convolvulus major - extinguished hopes

Crab-apple blossom - ill-tempered

Currant - thy frown will kill me

Daisy - innocence (are they innocent though? meaning has to handled with care)

Dock - patience (they could signify their own and their will to wait things to get better or the acceptance of the apology etc.)

Elm - dignity (see previous)

Eschscholzia (esch-schol-zia) - do not refuse me (risky, but good for characters stubborn as a mule)

Everlasting - perpetual or never-ceasing remembrance (of what? you will have to choose for yourself, your muse sure will know)

Fern - sincerity, confidence

Filbert - reconciliation

Fly orchis - error

Fool’s parsley - silliness

Freesia - lasting friendship, innocence, trust

Fritillary (chequered) - persecution (as in being haunted by something in this case or maybe they’re apologising for persecution who am I to judge)

Geranium - true friend, stupidity, folly (all at once)

Geranium (clouded or dark) - melancholy

Geranium (horse-shoe leaf) - stupidity

Geranium (fish) - disappointed expectation

Geranium (scarlet) - folly, comforting, stupidity

Gladiolus - you pierce my heart, generosity, I’m sincere, flower of the gladiators

Greek valerian - rupture

Hairbell - submission, grief, humility

Hawthorn - hope

Hazel - peace, reconciliation

Heart’s ease (purple) - you occupy my thoughts

Henbane - imperfection, fault

Honeysuckle (coral) - the colour of my fate)

Hyacinth (purple) - sorrowful, please forgive me

Ice plant - your looks freeze me

Iris - faith, thank you for your friendship (wishful thinking of theirs in hope it comes true?)

Carolina jasmine - separation

Lalic (field, like an actual field of lilacs) - humility

Lint - I feel my obligations

Lote tree - concord (a wish for such in this case)

Lotus leaf - recantation (of your character’s previously spoken words for example)

Marianthus - hope for better days

Marvel of Peru - timidity

Olive - peace

Fly ophrys - mistake

Osier - frankness

Peony - shame bashfulness, anger

Persicaria - restoration

Pomegranate - foolishness

Rose (deep red) - bashful shame

Rose (white and red) - unity

Snowdrop - friendship in trouble, consolation, hope

Straw (a single, broken) - rupture of a contract, dissension, broken agreement

Tamarisk - crime, guilty

Verbena (pink) - family union (wished for maybe?)

Violet (white) - candour, let’s take a chance

Volkameria - may you be happy

Wild-service - harmony

Willow (creeping) - love forsaken

Withy - frankness

For an accepted apology a sultan lilac (”I forgive you”) in combination with white tulips (”forgiveness”) would go well.

As you can see Nonny the list is quite long, and I’ve only covered the basics. if they need to apologise for a certain behaviour or certain circumstances, it would help if you let us know more details so we can try to give a more precise answer. However, I do hope the above was helpful to you and your writing.

- Mod Jana

Disclaimer: This is intended as writing advice only. We are not responsible for incorrect messages received by the interpretation of flower language in real life.

[scriptmedic]

Wound Wisdom: Lacerations, Incisions, Scrapes, and Bruises

Welcome back to Mangled Mondays, where every Monday we talk about another facet of maiming, mangling, mauling, and mistreating your main characters — and all of their friends. 

Today we’ll be talking about Lacerations, Incisions, Scrapes and Bruises. For the rest of the Mangled Mondays series, [click here].

Lacerations, Incisions, Scrapes, and Bruises

A great many of the minor injuries our characters suffer fall into this category. A character might cut their leg climbing over a chain link fence or cut their arm open on a broken bottle after taking a spill in the gutter.

First, let’s do some quick differentiation of terms.

Lacerations and Incisions

A laceration is a cut. Some textbooks describe this as having jagged or uneven edges, while others do not.

An incision is also a cut. This is differentiated from a laceration by the edges being smooth and made by a very sharp object such as a scalpel.

Most of the time, lacerations are unintentional, while incisions are made with a purpose in mind.

Both lacerations and incisions are good candidates for healing well, but either may leave a scar, depending on how they are closed, whether the overlying scab is picked at or scraped, and whether the wound reopens. Cuts over joints tend to have longer healing times because the skin is constantly moving and therefore under tension.

Some cuts require formal wound closure, while others don’t. We’ll get to this in the next chapter.

Contusions

Contusion is a fancy word for a bruise. It’s injury to an area without a break in the skin. (The discoloration from a contusion is also known as ecchymosis, but most medical staff would simply say bruise and move on.) Contusions are caused by damage to minor blood vessels called capillaries, which burst.The blood pools under the skin, causing the familiar discoloration.

Bruises may start off as small red spots of irritation, then blossom blue-black within 24 hours. As they fade, they tend to turn yellow-green. This is due to enzymes breaking down the “loose” blood under the skin.

It was once theorized that the age of a bruise could be guessed by its color, but this doesn’t hold up to science.

Hematomas

A hematoma is a pooling of blood under the skin. It’s like a bruise went 3-D: leaked blood forms a “goose egg” under the skin. Hematomas take longer than bruises to dissipate, up to and including months, but do eventually go down by themselves.

Hematomas are usually treated with cold packs for the first two days, which help to shrink the blood vessels and thus reduce the blood pooling. After two days, heat packs are used to dilate blood vessels and help the blood reabsorb into the tissue.

Abrasions

An abrasion is a five-dollar word for a scrape. (Are doctor’s appointments $5 anymore? I really need to keep up on pricing…) Abrasions are prone to scarring, because large areas of skin have been ripped up, and each individual area of scarring tends to run into the next.

Because the damage from an abrasion tends to be superficial but spread out, and the wound edges tend to be rough, abrasions form large, often unified scabs.

Scabs can be treated simply by protecting them with gauze and allowing them to heal. Topical antibiotics might be used. They can become extremely itchy, which can disturb sleep and impair focus. A scab is a natural sort of bandage to protect the underlying tissue as it heals.

Tetanus Vaccines

Tetanus vaccines are important for characters suffering any injury that punctures the skin, whether it’s from a rusted metal nail or a clean fragment of plastic. Tetanus is caused by a bacterium, C. tetani, which is present in soil, manure, and other places where nature comes into contact with humanity.

The danger of tetanus is not in what punctures the skin, it’s in the type of wound. Because it’s difficult to clean the deep portions of a puncture wound, it’s extremely easy for pockets of infection, known as abscesses, to form in the well of the wound. Tetanus absolutely loves puncture wounds.

Guidelines vary, but characters will need a tetanus vaccine or booster every 5 or 10 years, depending on their doctor’s guidelines. Because there’s little harm to vaccination other than stiffness and pain in the injection site, characters are likely to get or at least be offered tetanus vaccines for any form of penetrating trauma. If it’s been less than 5 years since their last booster, they’ll not be offered one; the 5-10 year mark may or may not get a tetanus booster, and 10 or more years since last vaccination will require a booster.

The vaccine itself is known as Td, which is a combination vaccine that prevents tetanus and diphtheria. (Characters who have never had one may be offered a TdaP, which prevents tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis, also known as whooping cough.)

xoxo, Aunt Scripty

[disclaimer]

This post is an excerpt from Blood on the Page Volume One: A Writer’s Compendium of Injuries. The book details thirty-one injuries with which to maim, mangle, and maul your characters, as well as nine indispensable articles of Wound Wisdom covering everything from burn stages to suture selection.

Print and digital editions are available on [Amazon], and digital editions are available [everywhere else].

Wound Wisdom: Lacerations, Incisions, Scrapes, and Bruises was originally published on ScriptMedicBlog.com

[scriptspoonie]

Hi! Love your blog (and all of the Scriptfam)! I have a question - I'm writing about a world where people have superpowers, but I'm wary of running into that trope of disabled people's powers being that they've overcome their disability (Daredevil in particular comes to mind). Do you have any tips for writing about this? Thanks!

Hi anon!

My biggest tip here is to not have the character’s abilities directly “make up for” their disability– deaf telepaths, blind clairvoyants, people with mobility issues and telekinesis, things like that. Being aware of the issue is a large part of avoiding the issue. And honestly, I think the solution is creativity. Get as creative as you want with what people’s powers are! Think outside the box! I got really overexcited about this ask (fun fact: we here at ScriptSpoonie are big superhero nerds), so here are some ideas off the cuff of “superpowers that don’t “make up for” a character’s disability and aren’t any more hazardous as a result of that disability”:

A deaf character who’s pyrokinetic

A blind character who can teleport

A wheelchair user who can manipulate time!

A character with Crohn’s who can fly

A character with diabetes who can manipulate probability!

A character with Multiple Sclerosis and superhuman vision

A character with chronic fatigue syndrome who’s telepathic

A character with PTSD who can change their size at will!

A character with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome who can manipulate disease!

A character with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome who can speak to animals!

A character with bipolar disorder who can see through solid objects!

A character with rheumatoid arthritis who can manipulate light!

A character with Grave’s Disease who can raise the dead! Puns can still be fun when they’re respectful!

A character with lupus who can manipulate color.

A character with major depressive disorder who’s a shape-shifter

A character with Evan’s Syndrome who can manipulate metal!

A character with chronic lyme disease who can manipulate temperature!

A character with chronic pain who can manipulate the weather!

A character with narcolepsy with cloning abilities!

A character with POTS who can create illusions!

All in all, the easiest way to not have a character’s superpower “compensate” for their disability is just to not do that. Once you’re aware of the trope, it’s fairly easy to avoid, so do your research into the disability you’re giving your character and consider whether or not any symptoms associated with that disability feel like they’d be covered up by the superpower. We’d also be happy to help with simple sensitivity checks on that if you’re not sure!

Also, don’t forget that a disabled character  - take number one, the deaf pyrokinetic character - can use their super powers as tools to help them with their disabilities without having their powers directly overcoming their disabilities or ‘making up’ for them. Like the deaf superhero from number 1 could use fire signals with people who aren’t fluent in sign language, or the character with PTSD from number 8 (maybe PTSD from a severe fight with their nemesis?) could be battling paranoia about the noises in the house so they grow large enough to take on anything that might be there. These don’t make the disabilities null, but it adds another cool element to disabled superheros and what they can do! 

Go forth and make many disabled superheros! Happy writing!

~Mod T, Mod Riley

(If anyone writes something using one or more of these characters (number 5 is an OC of mine, full disclosure) and posts it on here, feel free to tag us in it! I would love to see it!)

[marauders4evr]

See, the problem with people who aren’t in wheelchairs writing about and/or drawing people who are in (manual) wheelchairs is that the people who aren’t in wheelchairs tend to think that there’s only like four movements that you do in a wheelchair. You can either push forward, push backwards, turn left, or turn right. And the characters do it all while sitting up straight or bending forward so that their noses touch their knees.

But the amount of motions that I go through on a daily basis are actually amazing. And the body language…you could write an entire book on the body language of someone in a wheelchair.

Like right now, I’m more relaxed, so I’m slouching slightly. I’ve got my right foot on its footrest and the left foot on the ground. Every so often, as I stop to think of something to say, I’ll push with my left foot to rock the chair slightly.

But usually, I sit mostly upright with my upper-half slightly leaned forward. When I’m wheeling across the campus, especially if I have somewhere that I need to be, I’ll lean and shift my weight in whichever direction it is that I’m going. It helps make the wheelchair glide that much more smoothly. How far/dramatically I lean depends on how fast I’m going, the terrain, if there’s a turn, etc.

Plus people who don’t use wheelchairs don’t understand the relationship between grabbing the wheels, pushing, and the chair moving. Like I’ve seen things written or have seen people try to use a chair where the character/that person grabs the wheel every single second and never lets go to save their lives. Which isn’t right. The key is to do long, strong, pushes that allow you to move several feet before repeating. I can usually get about ten feet in before I have to push again. It’s kind of like riding a scooter. You don’t always need to push. You push, then ride, then push, then ride, etc.

And because of this, despite what many people think, people in wheelchairs can actually multitask. I’ve carried Starbucks drinks across the campus without spilling a single drop. Because it’s possible to wheel one-handed (despite what most people think), especially when you shift your weight. And if I need to alternate between pushing both wheels, I’ll just swap hands during the ‘glide’ time.

I’ve also noticed that people who don’t use wheelchairs, for some reason, have no idea how to turn a wheelchair. It’s the funniest thing. Like I see it written or, again, have seen people ‘try’ a wheelchair where they’re reaching across their bodies to try to grab one wheel and push or they try to push both wheels at the same time and don’t understand. (For the record, you pull back a wheel and push a wheel. The direction that you’re going is the side that you pull back.)

Back to body language. Again, no idea why most people think that we always sit upright and nothing else. Maybe when I’m in meetings or other formal settings, but most of the time, I do slightly slouch/lean. As for the hands…A lot of writers put the wheelchair user’s hands on the armrests but the truth is, most armrests sit too far back to actually put your hands on. There are times when I’ll put my elbows on the edges of the armrests and will put my hands between my legs. Note: Not on my lap. That’s another thing that writers do but putting your hands in your lap is actually not a natural thing to do when you’re in a wheelchair, due to the angle that you’re sitting and the armrests. Most of the time, I’ll just sort of let my arms loosely fall on either side of the chair, so that my hands are next to my wheels but not grabbing them. That’s another form of body language. I’ve talked to a few people who have done it and I do it myself. If I’m ever anxious or in a situation where I want to leave for one reason or another, I will usually grip my handrims - one hand near the front , one hand near the back. And if I’m really nervous, you’ll find me leaning further and further into the chair, running my hands along the handrims.

Also, on a related subject - a character’s legs should usually be at 90 degree angles, the cushion should come to about their knees, and the armrests should come to about their elbows. You can always tell that an actor is not a wheelchair user when their wheelchair isn’t designed to their dimensions. (Their knees are usually inches away from the seats and are up at an angle, the armrests are too high, etc.) Plus they don’t know how to drive the chair.

Let’s see, what else? Only certain bags can go on the back of the chair without scraping against the wheels, so, no, your teenagers in wheelchairs can’t put their big, stylish, purses on the back. We don’t always use gloves since most gloves actually aren’t that helpful (as stated above, wheeling is a very fluid motion and gloves tend to constrict movements). Height differences are always a thing to remember. If you’re going for the “oh no, my wheelchair is broken” trope, nobody really has ‘flat’ tires anymore thanks to the new material for the wheels but it is possible to have things break off. We use the environment a lot. I always push off of walls or grab onto corners or kick off of the floor etc. Wheelchair parkour should really become a thing. 

This is all of the physical things to think about. I could write a thesis on the emotional treatment of your characters with disabilities. But for now, I think that I’ll stop here. For my followers in wheelchairs, is there anything that I left out?

Also why isn’t wheelchair parkour a thing? Somebody make wheelchair parkour a thing.

[pilferingapples]

This is all REALLY GOOD and I wish something like this would be in more art guidebooks and classes. 

One thing I’d add is that some of the posture stuff here is specific to wheelchair users who have the right chair; a lot of people (hi, past me) have to use chairs that aren’t at all the correct size, and that’s going to change posture, ease of use, etc.  That’s such a broad variable that it’s probably useless to try and cover here, but it’s something to be aware of and research if it seems relevant to a character. 

[scriptspoonie]

This is a super awesome post for you writers to think about! A ton of spoonies use wheelchairs, either consistently or occasionally for a multitude of reasons. This is a great starting point for those of you who are writing characters who use wheelchairs!

[scriptshrink]

Writing Personal Boundaries For Your Characters

“Boundaries” are essentially the invisible, unstated social rules we expect other people to follow.

Boundaries are weird. They can be utterly inflexible and unchangeable, applied universally. They can also be fluid and flexible, changing with the person and situation involved.

Let’s take a look at one kind of fluid boundary - that of physical proximity.

Say you’re alone and in an empty movie theater, sitting and waiting for the movie to start. A stranger comes up and sits in the seat next to you. They’re completely silent and don’t look at you.

You’d be pretty creeped out, right? 

Yet if you’re in a crowded elevator and a stranger enters it, it’s much more socially acceptable for them to be the same proximity to you as they would have been in that theater. 

The difference is that with the movie theater, there’s an unstated boundary that’s being violated; people are expected to space themselves out when in an empty theater when they don’t know each other. 

Breaking that boundary sets off alarm bells in our minds, because if someone is willing to disregard a social norm as widespread as that one, they’re likely to violate other commonly held boundaries such as, say, not following you to your car once the movie is over.

That’s just one kind of boundary; there are a lot of different kinds, and they have different strengths! This handout (see here) gives a good general overview of boundaries.

So what’s the big deal? Why should writers care? Well, figuring out your character’s boundaries can help develop and strengthen your character! Boundaries can reflect your character’s personality, and are a great way for you to show, not tell, what your character is like. 

For example, let’s say your character has really unusual hair - the kind that seems to compel people to want to touch it. What level of boundaries do you want your character to have regarding this?

Here are some examples of what boundaries your character could hold:

It is never okay for strangers to touch my hair under any circumstances.

It’s okay if a stranger asks me before they do it and I say “yes”.

I don’t really care if strangers touch my hair.

I’ve got really neat hair, and I love when strangers notice it and want to touch it.

I hate it when strangers touch my hair, but I feel too awkward to tell them not to.

So what can these boundaries say about the character holding them? Let’s take a look!

Character 1 could be described as being closed off from others and is very defensive. 

Character 2 values their bodily autonomy being respected.

Character 3 tends to go with the flow and is much more laid back. 

Character 4 could be described as an attention seeker who loves being in the limelight.

Character 5 lets other people walk over them, and lets others impose their own boundaries on them.

It’s pretty amazing how defining a single boundary like that can really help show what these different characters are like!

Disclaimer 

[scripttraumasurvivors]

How To: Flashbacks

Bringing up the word ‘flashback’ while talking about writing usually calls to mind scenes written in italics, filling in details from the past sometimes without the character even interacting with that information.

There’s plenty of writing advice out there for that kind of flashback. Don’t use them too often, keep them shorter, keep them relevant.

But today we’re going to talk about a different kind of flashback. The kind that survivors experience.

What kind of survivor? Any kind. Whether your character has gone through a nasty car crash, been kidnapped, or struck by lightning- the how to write it isn’t going to vary that much.

For the purpose of this post, we’re going to be using the character ‘Charlie’ who had a pretty traumatic experience involving hospitals when he was younger.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

There should be a trigger.

Charlie gets the news that someone is in the hospital. There’s a strong smell of antiseptic. The doctor tells him that surgery might be in his future. Depending on how often Charlie has flashbacks and how long he’s been dealing with this- depends on whether or not he’s aware of what his triggers are- but even if you have a character who is completely oblivious, as the writer you should have an idea of why this is happening.

If you’re writing a novel or a series, you can even play around with the trigger. Have it hinted at, and as the character and the reader both become more aware of what is happening, allow the trigger to become more obvious.

Less is more.

You don’t need to stop the story to give us nine paragraphs about what Charlie went through when he was nine. It can be tempting to give the whole story about what happened to them, why they were in the situation, what it did to them- but this isn’t how most people experience flashbacks.

Unless something very specific triggers Charlie, his flashback isn’t going to start at the place where he hadn’t yet gotten to the hospital. It probably isn’t going to involve the check-in process either. It also probably won’t include the part where he got better. He’s likely going to be ‘stuck’ on a specific scene or a small series of scenes. Being rushed into the ER, waking up mid-surgery, the doctors looming outside the curtain talking about his odds kind of things.

What senses are being engaged?

While some survivors of trauma do have the sort of ‘all inclusive’ flashbacks where they have a hard time recognizing what is going on around them- they aren’t the majority.

Flashbacks may or may not have a visual component. They may involve sight, smell, touch, taste, or sound. They can also involve the emotions from that time.

Maybe Charlie can’t get the taste of the horrible hospital food out of his mouth or keeps hearing the heart monitor. Maybe he feels the hospital gown fluttering against his thigh despite wearing jeans. You can have your character interact with these things- have them be aware that they aren’t actually there or trying to get rid of that sensation.

Remember that the world is still happening around your character.

Plenty of people continue to function while they’re having flashbacks. If Charlie has been doing this a while, a flashback doesn’t have to involve him running away to a closet or people shaking him to awareness.

But it is important to remember that the world is going on around him. What are people doing? Is he really processing it? Are they getting frustrated because he isn’t paying attention? 

Is he bitterly amused that no one around him does seem to notice? Is he paranoid that someone might?

Is he alone? Should he have been working on a paper? If so, you can have him get annoyed with how much time has passed. Or have him consider it with exhaustion before deciding to give up and try tomorrow.

Remember, flashbacks are distressing.

What is your character doing to deal with that distress? Do they go out to smoke, jiggle their leg, get agitated with people around them? Do they need to go take a nap?

If Charlie has been dealing with this a while, he may have come up with coping skills. He may have breathing exercises that he’s practiced, a grounding mantra. Figuring out where your character is on their healing path- can help you know what skills they’ll have access to.

Short sentences give a sense of urgency and long, rambling sentences can give a sense of dissociation or fixation.

This is pretty basic writing advice, but it felt pertinent to mention. Short sentences create a sense of panic.

Winding, imagery heavy paragraphs can show a character who is obsessing over something that the flashback started or who is spiraling.

[scripttraumasurvivors]

Writing Flashbacks, Examples From the Survivor POV

This time, rather than talk about the barebones of how someone experiences a flashback, we’re going to give example scenes from different POVs covering a few different things.

—

It was innocent.

A brochure on his friend’s desk, talking about all the wonderful things that Shatley Springs had to offer. Like the myth of the healing water. How it washed over that man’s hands and made him whole again. 

Eric breathed in through his nose, exhaled slowly. Tried not to think about how it never did the same for him. How he’d felt like a myth of himself since that visit. How no matter how much water he ran over his body he never felt clean much less healed.

“So I was thinking–” Alana’s voice broke through the memory– “Lunch and then grocery shopping? Since you’re not supposed to go on an empty stomach and all.”

Eric stretched as he nodded, trying to get rid of some of the tension in his shoulders. “Yeah. Sounds great.”

—-

What we have in this <200 word snippet: A trigger. A place the trauma happened. Knowledge that the trauma made him feel unclean. Physical tension in the body. We also have the little things people naturally do to try and.. lessen the blow. Breathing in a specific way and stretching. What we don’t know: What type of trauma occured (though, it can be … assumed to be interpersonal) We also show that the person he’s with? Likely has -no- idea where his brain just went. Which is pretty common.

—

Sarah didn’t have time for this.

Didn’t have time to be feeling like this. Like her heart wanted to come out of her chest, like there were bugs crawling under her skin. Her fingers clenched and unclenched, resisting the urge to pull out her phone to google ‘symptoms of a heart attack.’

WebMD would tell her she had cancer and she didn’t have time for that either. Needed this to stop so that she could finish getting dressed and be on her way.

Stupid. She was being stupid. Her boss inviting her out to dinner was a good thing. A sign that a promotion was coming or a nice project, or maybe they were meeting with clients. All good things. No reason for her to be acting like this.

But the hands- the bugs- they wouldn’t stop. 

—

What we have in this small snippet: A possible trigger/stressor, the fact that this character does not realize she’s having a flashback/panic attack (it’s written purposely ambigious except for one detail), we know her heart is racing. Later on, if you wanted to reify her as a trauma survivor rather than just having panic attacks- you would touch back on the hands aspect.  Or bring it up in another way.

—

“Where’d you go?”

Michael blinked, looked up at the woman in her pin-stripe suit. “What?”

Dr. Adams smoothed the front of her jacket down, whether because she’d noticed him looking or a nervous tick of her own, he didn’t know. “What were you thinking about just now? That had you looking so sad. Did something I say remind you of the shooting?”

Fuck that. Fuck her. Fuck his boss for making him come here. “Nothing, I wasn’t thinking ‘bout nothing. Can you just sign the damn slip so that I can go back to work?”

—

What we have in this snippet: Is the aftermath. We don’t see Michael experience the flashback, but we do see a professional noticing something is off and the defensiveness Michael has going on. Some characters are going to be more like Eric. Poetic-ish thought process, connecting things. Other characters are not. Some characters might know they’re having a flashback and use that word, others might say things like ‘going back there.’ Don’t try and force one style or another on a character it doesn’t work for.

A lot of the times it is going to be ambiguous. A flashback and a panic attack don’t always look different on the outside. Rumination and flashbacks are even harder to break apart. What’s important is that -you- know which symptom your character is going through, and build the little details throughout the entire piece of writing. Don’t get stressed out on making sure the reader will know ‘this one was a flashback rather than _________.’ So long as they know something isn’t quite right, you’re setting the tone.

I know it is tempting to info dump. I think a lot of writers see flashbacks as a convenient way to bring in the trauma and explain things- but when they do, it comes off forced and unrealistic.

Flashbacks tend to focus on short snippets of the memory. Whether it be a sensation, an action, the feeling of being helpless. They don’t start at a convenient narrative point and end later. Sometimes they just repeat, the same terrible thing happening over and over and over again like a scratching record until something is able to break through.

[shittyaus]

Hello! I love your blog so much >A< Do you guys have ideas for colour blind AU? :D Thank you!!

awwww, thank you!! :D Here are some colour blind aus: 

person a raising up enough money via extra jobs and asking the community to buy those glasses that let colour blind people see all colours and person b being so happy they just. start sobbing

pure colour blindness - someone asking which colour looks better against their skintone and person a just going “uhhhhh, I just see grey??? wrong person to go shopping with pal”

“what?? these totally match!” omfg N O they are maroon pants and an off-purple shirt “oh, I thought they were the same colour” who taught you to have your pants and shirt the same colour??????

person a getting frustrated because ofc their best friend had to choose yellow/greenish colours for their wedding and person a is yellow/green colourblind

person a having to call person b to help because they just don’t know what to do

ot3 - person b is red/green colour blind so they have to call person c to help the hopeless messes

person a being a model so they never have to worry about choosing their clothes most of the time but then person b sees them laying about at home and??? the style works but the colours clash so bad???

person a having to do a colouring assignment (like label a map) but some colours are just so similar?? so they have to ask person b to help

color-coded drink labels. and the nightmare that ensues because someone mixed up the colours

I hope these work for you!! :D

~Mod Karissa

[midnight-mod]

Some Oddly Specific Character Quirks (taken from my real-life friends)

Giving a character strange, highly specific quirks is one of the best ways to humanize them and make them feel more real. So I figured I’d share some real, actual Character Quirks™ from real life people that could serve as inspiration or as writing prompts for people’s characters. Let me know if you use one!

Always has a kazoo on them, and if ever a situation calls for it, will simply produce a kazoo. Often unclear where they were keeping it.

Can mimic any accent perfectly after hearing a small sample of it once. The one exception? The accent of the region they’re from.

Has strange and very long chunks of text memorized perfectly, from 40 digits of pi to several Shakespeare monologues to poems to favorite passages from books. Often forgets their own name or the words for everyday objects.

Has never once lost a game of Jenga, ever.

When stressed, participates in conversations largely through strange and loud vocalizations instead of words. Somehow, everyone still knows what they mean.

Their idea of treating themselves is buying lapel flowers, silk pocket squares, and ties.

Once biked 30 miles to the Mississippi River just so they could sit on the bank and play the harmonica. Could only play for about 3 minutes before having to immediately turn around and bike the 30 mile return trip to get home before dark.

When they get nervous they just drop and start doing push ups. Doesn’t matter where they are.

Ordered 13 boxes of garlic triscuits off of Amazon.

Whenever they hear the song “Dancing Queen” they start stripping. It started as a joke but it has become involuntary and has lead to some uncomfortable situations.

Every time they tell a bad joke, they stand up and take a lap around the room yelling “AND THE CROWD GOES WILD”

Primary mode of transportation is a razor scooter that is much, much too small for them.

Has an “off button” on their back. A spot where, if pressed, all of their muscles give out and they collapse to the ground. Their identical twin has it, too.

If no emoji exists to capture their feelings about something, they will draw a new emoji on the nearest scrap of paper and text a picture of that.

Has developed an intricate burp rating scale with specific and standardized rules and uses it to rate every burp they hear on a scale of 1-10.

Feel free to reblog and add some Real Life Character Quirks you’ve come across in your life!

[yesterdaysprint]

The language of flowers..

Polite Society at Home and Abroad, 1891

warning, it’s long, but there’s a lot of really great specifics, like:

you are a fop good but odd you will cause my death I declare war against you intellectual but heartless false and gay handsome but dangerous your looks freeze me an enemy in disguise

Keep reading

[pitaparka]

Flower meanings I wanted to get out there. It seemed pretty cool to me but was a lot of work as I couldn’t copy and past my research from websites. Use it for a florist AU or somethin’ I dunno have fun Alstroemeria - Wealth, prosperity, fortune, friendship

Amaryllis - Splendid beauty, worth beyond beauty


Anemone - Fading hope, forsaken, anticipation


Anthurium - Hospitality, happiness, abundance


Aster - Patience, a love of variety, elegance, daintiness


Bird of Paradise - Joyfulness, magnificence, wonderful anticipation


Bouvardia Double - Enthusiasm, zest for life


Calla Lily - Magnificence, beauty, purity, innocence


Carnation - Pride, beauty


Red Carnation - Love, pride, admiration


Pink Carnation - Love of a woman or a mother


Purple Carnation - Capriciousness


Yellow Carnation - Disdain, rejection, disappointment


White Carnation - Innocence, pure love


Striped Carnation - Refusal


Chrysanthemum - Fidelity, optimism, joy, long life


Red Chrysanthemum - Love


White Chrysanthemum - Truth, loyal love


Yellow Chrysanthemum - Slighted love


Daffodil - regard, chivalry, rebirth, new beginnings, eternal life, unrequited love


Daffodil (Single) - Foretells a misfortune


Daffodil (Bunch) - Joy, happiness


Daisy - Innocence, purity, loyal love, “I will never tell.”


Gerbera Daisy- Cheerfulness


Delphinium - Big hearted, fun, lightness, levity, ardent attachment


Freesia - Innocence, thoughtfulness


Gardenia - Purity, sweetness, secret love, joy, conveys loneliness from the giver


Gerbera - Cheerfulness

Gladiolus - Strength of character, remembrance


Lavender Heather - Admiration, solitude, beauty


White Heather - Protection, wishes will come true


Hyacinth - Playfulness, sporty attitude, extreme rashness, constancy


Blue Hyacinth - Constancy


Purple Hyacinth - Sorrow


Red/Pink Hyacinth - Play


White Hyacinth - Loveliness


Yellow Hyacinth - Jealousy


Hydrangea - Heartfelt emotions, gratitude for being understood, frigidity, heartlessness


Iris - Eloquence


Purple Iris - Wisdom, compliments


Blue Iris - Faith, hope


Yellow Iris - Passion


White Iris - Purity


Larkspur - Levity, lightness, fickleness, haughtiness


Lilac - Youthful innocence, confidence


White Lilac - Humility, Innocence


Field Lilac - Charity


Purple Lilac - First love


Lily - Purity, refined beauty


White Lily - Modesty, virginity


Orange Lily - Passion


Yellow Lily - Gaiety


Lily of the Valley - Sweetness, purity of heart


Easter Lily - Virgin Mary


Orchid - Exotic beauty, refinement, thoughtfulness, mature charm, proud and glorious femininity


Peony - Bashfulness, compassion, indignation, shame, happy life, happy marriage, good health, prosperity


King Protea - Change, transformation, daring, resourcefulness, diversity, courage


Queen Anne - Haven, sanctuary, complexity, delicateness


Ranunculus - Radiant charm, attractiveness

Snapdragon - Graciousness, strenght, deception, presumption

Statice - Remembrance, sympathy, success 
Stock - Lasting beauty, happy life, bonds of affection, promptness 
Sunflower - Pure thoughts, adoration, dedication, dedicated love, haughtiness 
Sweet Pea - Delicate pleasure, bliss, departure after having a good time 
Tulip - Declaration of love, fame, perfect love

Rose - Love

Red Rose - Love, longing, desire, respect, admiration, devotion

Deep Red Rose - Regret, sorrow

White Rose - Purity, chastity, innocence, new beginnings, sympathy, humility, spirituality

Yellow Rose - Exuberance, joy, warmth, welcome, friendship, caring, purely platonic emotions

Pink Rose - Gentleness, admiration, joy, gratitude, appreciation, elegance, grace

Orange Rose - Passion, energy, desire, pride, fervor, fascination

Lavender Rose - Enchantment, love at first sight, majesty, splendor, fascination, adoration

Blue Rose - Elusive, unattainable, mysterious, desire, I can’t have you but I can’t stop thinking about you

Green Rose - Harmony, opulence, fertility, best wishes for a prosperous new life or wishes for recovery of good health

Black Rose - Death, farewell, elusive

Mixed Roses - Mixed feelings, I don’t know my feelings yet but I care about you enough to send roses

Moss Rosebud - Confession of love

Thorn-less Rose - Love at first sight, early attachment

Leaf Rose - You may hope

Hibiscus Rose - Delicate beauty

Burgundy Rose - Unconscious beauty

Christmas Rose - Relieve my anxiety

Dog Rose - Pleasure and pain

Damask Rose - Freshness, Persian ambassador of Love

Garden Rose - I am from Mars

Tea Rose - I will remember always

Rose of Sharon - Consumed by love

Carmine Rose - Deceitful desire

Cardinal Red Rose - Sublime desire

Amaranth Red Rose - Long standing desire

Wild Rose - Simplicity

Musk Rose - Capricious beauty 
Rosa Mundi - Variety 
Single Red Rose - “I love you” 
A Single White Rose - “My feelings are pure” 
A Single Yellow Rose - “You bring joy to my life” “Let’s be friends” 
A Single Pink Rose - “I like you” 
A Single Orange Rose - “I am proud of you” 
A Single Peach Rose - “Thank you” “I sympathise with you” 
A Single Lavender Rose - “I am enchanted by you” 
A Single Blue Rose - “You seem like an unattainable dream” 
A Crown Of Roses - Reward of virtue 
A Bouquet Of Roses - Gratitude 
A Rose In A Tuft Of Grass - There is everything to be gained by good company 
One Red Rose - “I love you” “You are the one for me” 
Two Red Roses - “Let us be together” 
Three Red Roses - “You and me and our love for company” 
Five Red Roses - “I am halfway in love with you” 
Twelve Red Roses - “Be mine” 
Twenty Five Red Roses - “Congratulations” 
Fifty Red Roses - “My love for you is limitless”

[omegawolfmyth]

Soulmate AUs

All these AUs were created by multiple different people on Tumblr, some of them you can find as a Tumblr post screenshot on Pinterest. Just recapping the many types of Soulmate AUs out there! Feel free to use any of them!

Sidenote: How I title these AUs are gonna suck. You have been warned.

Timer Soulmate AU! Where there’s a timer on your wrists that counts down to when you meet your soulmate.

First Words Soulmate AU! Where you know the very first words your soulmate will ever say to you or what you’ll first hear them say when you meet. Alternative: Same thing but you know the words once you turn 18.

Last Words AU! Where you know the last words your soulmate will ever say to you. You don’t know you met them till you lose them.

Age Soulmate AU! Where you stop aging at 18 till you meet your soulmate.

First Touch Soulmate AU! Where there’s a black stain where you and your soulmate should make first contact. Like someone has a black stain over their knuckles. That means they’re going to punch their soulmate (probably at least) upon first meeting and contact.

Writing Soulmate AU! When you write on your skin the same mark appears on the same place as your soulmates. Such as if you doodle on your skin your soulmates gets those doodles on their skin.

Your Name Soulmate AU! Where you have your soulmates name on your wrist. First or last name (up to you). Alternative: Name appears once you’re 18. Alternative: It’s your enemies name on your wrist. Alternative: Both your soulmates name and enemies name, you don’t know which is which.

Other Half Soulmate AU! At birth you are given a necklace that is the missing half of your soulmate’s necklace.

Colour Blind Soulmate AU! Where you’re completely colour blind till you meet your soulmate Optional: Things go back to black and white when they die. Optional: Except of when you meet your soulmate its when you and your soulmate first touch.

Sharing Pain Soulmate AU! Where bruises, cuts, blisters, and such appear on your skin if your soulmate gets them and visa versa. Like if you get a paper cut your soulmate gets the same cut. Optional: You don’t feel the pain of it. Or you do feel the pain of it and can help treat the wound so your soulmate is okay.

Hues Of Hair Soulmate AU! Where you have a strip of your soulmates hair colour on your wrist and when they dye their hair it changes.

Colour Of Your Eye Soulmate AU! Where you only see in the colour of your soulmates eyes, you can’t see other colours till you meet them. Like if your soulmate has blue eyes you can only see blue till you meet them. Alternatively: You can’t see the colour of your soulmates eyes. Not until you lock eyes with them and see a whole new colour in them.

Light Of The Heart Soulmate AU! Where the center of your chest glows when you and your soulmate meet. Ex: That one comic that has the nerd in the jock that’s connected to the original post. Find it on pinterest if not on tumblr.

Fear In My Soul Soulmate AU! Where you feel when your soulmate is about to die and can help prevent it. Like you feel a pain in your soul when they’re in trouble.

Heterochromia Soulmate AU! Where you have one eye that’s your your eye colour and the other has your soulmates eye colour. When you meet and make eye contact, your eyes switch back to their original owner.

Mark We Share Soulmate AU! Where you and your soulmate have identical marks that match each other. Like you have the mark of a cat curled up in a ball, your soulmate has the exact same cat. Optional: When you and your soulmate make physical contact, the mark moves to meet each other. For example your soulmate touches your hand, both of your cats rush up to meet each other. (This one came from @gallopingmonroe-blog)

Red Thread Of Fate AU! You know the legend of the red thread of fate? That’s this AU. A red thread of string on your pinkey finger that connects you to your soulmate. The thread cannot be broken but it will stretch and tangle.

Keep reading

[haewynfirebow]

New soulmate ah idea for y'all. You’re born color blind. Everytime you meet a significant person in your life, you gain the ability to see a single color. Blue for your best friend. Orange for your greatest rival. Green for the one consider a brother/sistwr/mentor. Yellow for your enemies. Pink is for your first significant crush. So and so forth. Any color could mean Anything really. But red is always the color you start to see when you meet your soulmate for the first time. Do with that what you will.

[softbutchmiku]

Soulmate AU idea

So I had this stupid idea, idk if it’s been done already but here we go:

Soulmate AU where, everytime your soulmate is listening to a song/music (It also counts if they’re the one making the music, if that makes sense), you can hear it too. This leads to a bunch of situations, for example:

“Wtf they’re listening to this again? It’s been like 20 times today!”

Being almost asleep and suddenly, DEATH METAL OF DOOM 

Or, on a more pleasant note, hearing your soulmate sing before you go to bed every night and then one day the singing just stops

Trying to be productive while your soulmate is listening to some ass loud music, and so you try to cover the noise by putting your own music over them. War ensues

Being on the bus with only one earbud in, listening to a song not very well-known, when suddenly the person next to you starts humming the exact same thing you’re listening to

Growing up, hearing your soulmate sing almost everyday, until one day you see them on TV and they’ve become famous

Noticing that your soulmate is listening to depressing/sad music these days and trying to cheer em’ up by putting on your favorite songs

A lot of people trying to meet their soulmates at concerts of an artist they know the other likes

Soulmates who have found each other making little playlists for when they’re away from one another

Not hearing anything because your soulmate is deaf

Living your life with an almost constant soundtrack, because your soulmate really loves music

And of course, trying to communicate with your soulmate via songs and music, which is harder than it seems

[1nactivegh0st]

So I was reading some things about the Soulmate AUs

and I found this AU were everyone wake up on their 21nd or 22nd birthday in the body of their soulmate. literally it can be anyone from all around the world and you have to try to figure out who you are to find each other and regain your own body. And then I thought, what if you wake up and

you’re in prison/asylum

you’re in a mermaid body but you don’t know how to swim

you’re trapped in a coffin bc your soulmate is dead

you’re completely naked in a bed with a stranger who is also naked

you’re in another country, on a scene with a band and a micro in your hands but you don’t know how to sing (bonus if they can’t speak the language of the country they’re now in)

you’re in the body of the most popular/powerful/rich person in the world

you’re in a car with someone talking to you but you have absolutely no idea who they are or what they’re talking about (bonus if they’re in traffic and/or if there’s children in the backseat)

you’re in the body of a pregnant women (bonus if they’re in hospital and about to give birth)

you’re in a bedroom with tons of posters of rock bands but you’re religious and/or you absolutely hate punk kids

you’re falling. like literally all you can see is the ground hanging over dangerously fast

you’re in the workshop of an artist but you were blind and it’s the first time you finally get to know what colours looks like

you’re in the body of the person you hate the most in the entire world (bonus if they take this opportunity to do mean pranks to the other, like humiliate them in public or break up with their bf/gf)

you’re in the body of someone who was in the middle of a public speech OR a teacher who was explaining something to their students, but you were mute and have no idea how to speak and everyone. is looking. right at you.

you’re tied and/or shut in somewhere and the body of your soulmate is very thin and small while you were super strong and athletic

you’re in the body of the person you had a crush on for years. you’re super happy to know that they’re your soulmate until you learn that they already have a fiancé, and they think that you’re only platonic soulmates

the day after your wedding, you wake up in the body of someone who is definitely not your partner

you’re in the body of a criminal (bonus if they were in the middle of committing a crime when you swapped bodies)

you were in prison and woke up in the body of the cop who arrested you

you’re vegetarian in the body of a hunter/cannibal/vampire

you wake up in a glade in the middle of an unknown forest bc your soulmate is a werewolf but you don’t know that and think they’re a criminal or something

you wake up in a bedroom with 4 other people, and apparently they’re the friends of your soulmate but you don’t know who they are and they don’t know that you’re not their friend

EDIT: ( my friend didn’t want me to add that one for personal reasons but now she doesn’t care so here we go; ) your soulmate was about to kill themselves when you swapped bodies, so you wake up and there’s a chair on the ground and a rope around your neck and you cannot breathe

(also if you write a story based on one of these please contact me, I’ll want to read it)

[ammo-never-runs-out-of-knives]

New Soulmate Aus

- The first time you say your soulmates name you get a big ass tattoo that represents your relationship!au - Only two soulmates can fuse together!au - First you find your platonic soulmate and then /they/ find your romantic soulmate!au - you can see your soulmates future!au - You stop aging at twenty until you find your soulmate!au - only you can see the timer above your soulmates head that counts down to their death and you - for one reason or another - can’t tell them!au - if you die before your soulmate then you get stuck in their body with them and you can talk to them but have no control over their body!au - your born with tattoos that change and/or move according to things that happen in your soulmates life!au