Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn.
I certainly wasn’t expecting that. Still, I’d like to congratulate you on actually going through with it, most people wouldn’t have the guts to do something this big.
Anyway, is my interpretation—that Luminosity!Bella’s shield also has some sort of an enhanced-immortality power—correct? If so, that would be an interesting turn of events.
Well then, I’d be happy to correct you.
It’s fairly common writing advice that you should do your best not to use any other verb than ‘said’ to carry on a conversation.
To put it simply, most people simply ignore the repetitive nature of ‘he said’, ‘she said’. Therefore, conversation flows fairly smoothly and naturally. Constantly injecting synonyms for ‘he said’, ‘she said’ is a sign of a new writer.
Naturally this doesn’t mean “never ever use anything else besides ‘said’ to mark the dialogue”. However, the alternatives should be used only in places where they fit exceptionally well and not just for variety’s sake.
Disclaimer: This should not be taken as a definitive opinion on the subject since there are writers out there who will agree with you. I’d say, however, that the consensus is on the side of “use said as much as possible”.