The Relationship Bouquet

A tension most tantalizing
The soft ferocity of a tamed animal
"I offer this to you, without expectation, as an invitation…"
"I thank you for your offer…"
"I will let you know when the time is right…"

What is this?

The Relationship Bouquet is a safety tool for collaborative storytelling games and TTRPGs designed to facilitate comfortable exploration of tense relationships. The components form a formalized ritual onto which you can offload the out-of-game pressures and anxieties that sometimes arise when one attempts to navigate those tensions within the fictional space of a game. It is especially suited toward single-session games where there is limited time for a group to build rapport but players might wish to explore intense or intimate character relationships.

The procedures of the tool will have you build out your unique bouquet of relationships — from the intense to the thematic — and serve as a navigational aid for above-table consent around subjects that are often subject to intense social pressures. If you're playing a game that includes sexual, romantic, or otherwise intensely interpersonal themes you may find yourself reaching for the bouquet to make sure that tension stays where it belongs: in the fiction.

How is it used?

The PDF has everything you need to bring the Relationship Bouquet to your table:

• A comprehensive description of the tool and how it fits in with other safety tools.
• Instructions for setting the bouquet up and using it in play
• A print-and-play toolsheet with tokens and reference materials

Simply follow the directions therein and you can be up and running in just a few minutes!